The train driver in the courtyard

In the following few days, Li Aiguo carefully studied the five shield machine-related technologies purchased from the system.

It is found that it is basically impossible to produce a complete version of the shield machine in this era.

However, the core functions of the shield machine are excavation, soil discharge and support.

Under current technical conditions, it may not be possible to realize a fully automated hydraulic or electrical system, but a manual or semi-mechanized structure can be designed.

For example, using a steam car as a power source.

Our Li Aiguo is an expert at modifying steam engines.

As long as you take the steam engine off the train and combine it with a tracked tank, you can make a special tracked steam car.

The tracked steam vehicle can drive the gear and connecting rod mechanism to convert the rotary motion into reciprocating motion, driving the cutter head to rotate or move forward.

The cutter disc can be a manually operated rotating cutter disc, and an impact drill bit using the lever principle can also be used.

The soil removal system may use a screw conveyor or a simple conveyor belt, and the soil is then transported out by a human-powered tricycle or donkey cart.

Late at night, Li Aiguo finished the drawings, picked up a pen, and wrote on the white draft paper under the dim light.

"The main configuration of the shield machine includes: excavation system, soil discharge system, support structure and power source"

I worked until midnight before I finally got all the materials ready.

Li Aiguo yawned as he put the materials into a canvas bag, pushed open the door to the inner room, and got into bed.

As soon as I lay down, Chen Xueru came up to me.

A voice almost whispered in my ears: "Brother Aiguo, little Minghui has grown up, should we give her a little brother?"

Looking under the dim light, Chen Xueru's little face was flushed.

Who can bear this?
Li Aiguo suddenly became energetic.

A passionate melody rang in my ears.

[Make some noise! ​​Make some noise! ​​Make some noise!
...Step on the feces!
Make noise for me! Make noise for me! Make noise for me!
...Stepping in shit! Make a scene!
Press the pedal while changing gears.

Shift up and step on the pedal... step on the pedal!!
Make a scene for me! Make a scene for me! Make a scene for me!…

Let’s drive a train together】

In the next room, Xu Damao had been working on the construction site all day and was exhausted. He had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by the noise.

"It's only been two months since I rested, and now it starts all over again. Life is so unbearable!" Xu Damao yawned and tried to cover his ears with the quilt.

"Snapped!"

He was slapped in the face.

"What happened?"

Liu Lan sat up from the bed and grabbed him up: "Stop making trouble!"

Xu Damao: "."

Early the next morning, Li Aiguo got up yawning.

Chen Xueru was full of energy and had prepared breakfast long ago. Her voice when she called him was much softer than before.

"Brother Aiguo, it's time to eat."

On the table were cornmeal porridge, a plate of pickles, two white flour buns, and five eggs.

After eating and drinking, Li Aiguo cheered himself up, put on his canvas bag and went out.

After taking two steps, I saw Xu Damao coming out of the house carrying a hoe.

His face was sallow and he had dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he didn't get enough rest last night.

"Brother Damao, what's wrong? Did you go out to steal someone's property at night?" Li Aiguo greeted him with a smile.

Xu Damao rolled his eyes at him: "I was stolen."

What does this mean? Never mind, I should hurry to the Railway Technology Institute, otherwise Director Liu Guozhang will have to attend a meeting later.

Li Aiguo ignored Xu Damao's resentful look, rode his bicycle all the way to the Railway Technology Research Institute.

Liu Guozhang seems to be very busy recently, his eyes are bloodshot, and he should also be involved in the construction of the subway.

"Teacher." Li Aiguo knocked on the door and then walked in.

"Aiguo, now you're here, please sit down. You've been very busy lately and haven't been here for a long time." Liu Guozhang knew that Li Aiguo must have something to do, so he put down the materials, stood up, and let him sit on the sofa.

Li Aiguo took out a document from his canvas bag: "Teacher, yesterday I participated in the work of digging a subway experimental tunnel. During the work, I had some new ideas and wanted to report them to you."

"Really?" Liu Guozhang didn't care.

After all, can you dig out flowers by digging a tunnel?

"Teacher, I designed a machine specifically for digging tunnels. Well, it's called a tunnel boring machine."

As soon as these words came out, Liu Guozhang's face changed: "Shield machine? Tell me quickly."

Li Aiguo opened the document and handed over a few drawings.

"Teacher, this machine actually appeared in 1825. It was used to build tunnels under the Thames. Later, after improvements, it was also used to dig the Deet Tunnel in New York. Its principle is very simple, similar to the way shipworms drill holes in wood."

Li Aiguo briefly explained the principle of the shield machine.

Although Liu Guozhang was a political cadre, he had also studied technology over the years and instantly realized the feasibility of the tunnel boring machine.

"This shield machine is highly efficient and saves manpower. It is indeed a good thing. However, it looks like the technology is quite complicated and the cost should not be low."

Liu Guozhang's worries are not without reason.

As a large-scale engineering machinery, the price of a tunnel boring machine once reached 3.5 million yuan in later generations.

Although Li Aiguo made a lot of simplifications taking into account the technical conditions of that time, necessary structures such as the shield structure, knives and cutter discs could not be saved.

Even if you make it yourself, the cost is much higher than a steam engine.

"Teacher, the cost of the shield machine is indeed very high, but it is very safe. As long as it is combined with the grouting method, the accident rate can be reduced to less than 3%."

Hearing this, Liu Guozhang was somewhat moved.

These days, using explosives to dig tunnels not only requires a lot of manpower, but is also extremely unsafe.

Every time a tunnel is dug, there are always some accidents.

"Aiguo, just go for it. The Railway Technical Institute fully supports you." Liu Guozhang made the decision on the spot.

However, there are still some considerations on how to do it.

Considering that the drawings of the shield machine had already been produced, Li Aiguo suggested that the research and development work be carried out in the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Firstly, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's maintenance workshop has excellent workers and masters, and with their cooperation, the shield machine can be developed more quickly.

Secondly, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is a grassroots unit and is not that conspicuous, so many things are easier to do.

However, even if a tunnel boring machine is to be developed, it will take several months.

Li Aiguo suggested that the excavation of the experimental tunnel in the suburbs should be slowed down to avoid any accidents.

After all, once the shield machine is successfully developed, the construction difficulty and cost will be greatly reduced. At that time, deep excavation will not have any technical difficulties.

"Wait a minute." Liu Guozhang did not answer Li Aiguo, but suddenly stood up, walked over and closed the office door.

When he returned to his seat, his face became serious.

Li Aiguo realized that there was something important to say, so he quickly sat down and placed his hands on his knees.

Liu Guozhang raised a question, "Aiguo, do you really think that deep or shallow burial is a question of technical difficulty and cost?"

Faced with this question, Li Aiguo was stunned.

When he thought about it carefully, he realized that something was wrong.

This is an era of fighting against heaven and earth. Countless projects that seem extremely difficult can be completed successfully, let alone a subway?
Liu Guozhang lit a cigarette, took a puff, and asked another question along with the smoke.

"The countries that are currently implementing shallow burial are mainly the United States and Europe, while the Russians in Moscow are using deep burial, with the maximum depth reaching 100 meters."

"Our subway is modeled after the Russians' subway. The Construction Bureau once sent people to Moscow to conduct a mathematical investigation. We should have adopted the deep burial method like the Russians, but the Construction Bureau suggested shallow burial."

"The Russians sent a team of experts to help us plan, but they abandoned their own superior technology and insisted that we choose shallow burial."

"why is that?"

The air was filled with smoke, and Liu Guozhang stopped talking here.

Li Aiguo felt cold all over.

Nowadays, the subway is not only a means of transportation, but more importantly, it is an underground protective project.

During World War II, the Moscow Metro did play an important role as a bomb shelter and made a huge contribution to victory in the war.

Now the big brother is asking the younger brother to build a shallow subway. Considering the recent changes in the relationship between the two families, the intention behind this is self-evident.

The higher-ups saw this point and repeatedly rejected the requests of the Construction Bureau and the Russian experts, thus creating opportunities for the Engineering Bureau that advocated deep burial.

(In fact, in later generations, although the Beijing Metro seemed to have adopted a shallow burial method for various reasons, its depth was as high as 40 meters, far exceeding the concept of shallow burial.

Later, a concrete cover with a thickness of up to 1 meter was built above the subway.)
After finishing a cigarette, Liu Guozhang put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, looked at Li Aiguo and said, "Aiguo, there are some things that you just need to know about, don't get involved."

Li Aiguo understood the teacher's intention to protect him, and nodded, "Teacher, don't worry, I know what to do. We will only discuss technology, not rectification."

This is exactly what Liu Guozhang was satisfied with Li Aiguo for.

This student had the opportunity to get involved in the "rectification" several times, but he withdrew in time each time and instead focused his main energy on research and solving practical problems.

The two chatted for a while and finalized the research plan for the tunnel boring machine.

"It's decided. I'll notify Section Chief Xing now." Liu Guozhang couldn't wait to see the tunnel boring machine and was ready to pick up the phone.

At this time, the phone suddenly rang.

Liu Guozhang was startled, hesitated for a moment, and then answered the phone.

"Hey"

Liu Guozhang's face turned ugly, and he said in a lost voice: "What? Something happened at the construction site?"

Li Aiguo was also startled, and stood up and asked, "Teacher, what's wrong?"

"It's Engineer Dong calling. There was a landslide at the construction site, but the details are still unclear."

Liu Guozhang put down the phone and quickly calmed down.

"The Railway Corps has already dispatched rescue workers. Aiguo, let's go to the scene and take a look."

Sitting in the car, Liu Guozhang briefly explained the cause and effect of the accident. This matter has to start from this morning.

Liu Haizhong rushed to the construction site with the residents early in the morning. Under the command of Captain Chen, the excavation work started quickly.

But compared with yesterday, the residents today were clearly lacking in strength.

Especially those comrades who were transporting the reinforced steel pipes, who were already of relatively weak constitution, could not even walk, resulting in the reinforcement work being unable to keep up with the excavation progress.

When Engineer Dong discovered this situation and remembered Li Aiguo's instructions, he immediately suggested to Commander-in-Chief Zhou to suspend the excavation work, but his suggestion was rejected.

Chief Engineer Zhou called Liu Haizhong over and criticized him harshly.

Liu Haizhong finally became the squad leader, but if he fails to manage the residents well, he will never have another chance in the future.

He went into the tunnel and gave the temporary workers a beating.

Engineer Dong was worried that Liu Haizhong had gone too far, so he followed Captain Chen in. As soon as he entered, he realized something was wrong.

The pile of rocks blocked the cave wall next to it, making it impossible to see what was happening on the wall, which violated safety regulations.

Engineer Dong quickly called for people to clean up. There was a young man who was still reluctant. After being scolded, he reluctantly picked up the shovel with Captain Chen and the others.

When the cave wall was cleared, Captain Chen saw a crack on it and immediately shouted at the top of his voice: "Everyone, run away! It's going to collapse."

When the railway soldiers and temporary workers saw that the situation was not good, they turned around and ran away.

Captain Chen had already run out of the tunnel, but when he saw a young woman carrying steel pipes, he was so scared that he collapsed on the ground and turned around.

"According to Engineer Dong's report, most people escaped because Captain Chen discovered the danger in time. What we can confirm now is that Captain Chen and the young wife are still trapped in the cave, and their lives are unknown."

After listening to Liu Guozhang's introduction, Li Aiguo's heart rose to his throat.

Since Captain Chen came down from the battlefield, he has been in charge of digging tunnels between the mountains. He finally got married last year, and his wife is now pregnant.

If something really happened, it would be a tragedy.

The car arrived at the Xiaoxishan construction site in the suburbs at lightning speed.

At this time, the railway troops launched rescue work.

When the railway soldiers learned that their captain was buried underneath, their eyes suddenly turned red and they picked up shovels and started digging the collapsed cave.

When Li Aiguo and Liu Guozhang got out of the car, the entrance to the tunnel had been cleared.

"Director, you're here." When Engineer Dong saw Liu Guozhang, he hurried over.

The old technician's face had turned pale with fear and even his voice was trembling.

"Don't worry about it, let's rescue the people first." Liu Guozhang understood that Engineer Dong was worried about the accident, so he patted him on the shoulder and comforted him.

"Where is the on-site commander?" Liu Guozhang asked with a stern face when he saw the mess at the scene.

"It's me, it's me!" At this time, Chief Engineer Zhou was standing there, he was so scared that his soul was out of his body, and his legs were shaking.

When Liu Guozhang saw his look, he wanted to get angry, but Chief Engineer Zhou was from the Engineering Bureau after all, not under the jurisdiction of the Railway Technology Institute, so he could only suppress his anger.

"Commander Zhou, how should we carry out the rescue work on the scene?"

Commander Zhou calmed down and pointed at the railway soldiers who were digging the collapsed tunnel and said, "Dig it open!"

Liu Guozhang was almost so angry that he fainted. This guy is an engineer, how could he not have any common sense at all?
He really misunderstood this time. Commander Zhou was indeed an expert in engineering projects, but he was engaged in building houses and factories, and he really didn't understand digging tunnels.

"We can't go on like this. Something bad will definitely happen." Liu Guozhang frowned when he saw several temporary workers fall down while pushing stones.

"Teacher, I have participated in rescue work in caves and worked with railway soldiers. Can I go and help?" Li Aiguo offered.

"Okay, Comrade Aiguo will now take charge of the on-site command." Liu Guozhang looked at Commander-in-Chief Zhou: "Comrade Zhou, do you have any objections?"

"No, no." Commander-in-Chief Zhou was already at a loss at this time, wishing someone would come and take over this mess.

Liu Guozhang also knew that letting Li Aiguo take command at this time would be tantamount to asking for trouble and making Li Aiguo bear the blame.

However, in the face of life, it is worth it even if it means taking the blame.

He thought for a moment and added: "If you are patriotic, go ahead and do it. I am the top leader here. If anything goes wrong, I will take the responsibility!"

"Don't worry, teacher, it will be okay."

After Li Aiguo became the on-site commander, he saw that the scene was in chaos, so he immediately called the deputy captain of the railway troops over and held a short meeting with Engineer Dong and the street leaders.

"Deputy Captain Wang, where are those two buried?"

"It's about thirty-five meters away." Deputy Captain Wang was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Thirty-five meters."

Li Aiguo stood up and estimated the distance, then immediately stopped the rescue work of the railway soldiers and the residents.

"Stop it all!"

"The top of the slope is not solid right now. If we continue to dig deeper, a second collapse may occur at any time."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rock rolled down from the cliff and almost hit Xu Damao.

Fortunately, Xu Damao often went to the countryside to show movies, and his reaction was quick enough, so he managed to escape.

Xu Damao was so scared that he covered his chest, turned his head and looked not far away, muttering quietly: "How come the patriotic brother has become the commander-in-chief on the scene?"

Liu Haizhong narrowed his eyes and raised his chin in the direction of Liu Guozhang: "Didn't you see Aiguo calling that big leader teacher?"

Seeing that Li Aiguo had become the on-site commander and was planning how to rescue people, Yi Zhonghai felt suffocated and turned his head to look around.

It's no big deal to take a look and find that one person is missing.

"Where's Qin Huairu? Has anyone seen Qin Huairu?"

Yan Jiecheng, Liang Ladi, Nan Yi and others were also startled and stood up to look around.

Liang Ladi didn't find Qin Huairu either, and couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that Qin Huairu hasn't come out yet?"

"It seems so. I was the last one to run out and saw Captain Chen going to rescue Qin Huairu." Yan Jiecheng came over.

For a moment, everyone's faces looked a little ugly.

When Yi Zhonghai realized that Qin Huairu might be trapped in the tunnel, he was a little panicked at first.

After all, Qin Huairu is Jia Dongxu's wife, and she has a good relationship with both the aunt and him.

However, Yi Zhonghai was very cunning and soon calmed down, realizing that this was a good opportunity.

He pretended to be panicked, grabbed Liu Haizhong's arm and said, "Haizhong, hurry up, save Qin Huairu."

"Old Yi, I do want to save people, but you can see the current situation. Aiguo has called a halt to the rescue." Liu Haizhong's head was full of lumps. If something happened to Qin Huairu, wouldn't Jia Dongxu fight him to the death?
"You are so bad, Liu Haizhong. You are the squad leader and you brought Qin Huairu here. Now Qin Huairu is in trouble and you can't do anything!" Yi Zhonghai scolded Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong was sprayed so hard that he couldn't raise his head, but there was nothing he could do.

Zhang Gangzhu couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Master Yi, are you in a hurry to save people, or do you want to take this opportunity to scold people?"

"Save people, of course."

When Yi Zhonghai heard this, he knew that the time was right.

He stumbled to Li Aiguo, who was discussing with Engineer Dong and the deputy team leader, and shouted, "Aiguo, Qin Huairu is buried in there, find someone to rescue him."

Qin Huairu? The woman carrying the steel pipe is Qin Huairu. Li Aiguo frowned.

"Yi Zhonghai, there is a possibility of a second collapse during the rescue. We are planning the rescue work, so don't worry."

When Yi Zhonghai heard this, he was immediately angry and said, "Li Aiguo, I know you have a grudge against the Jia family. They really did you wrong, but you can't just stand by and watch!"

“You misunderstood.”

"What misunderstanding? You just want to harm Qin Huairu! You think I don't know what you are thinking."

Li Aiguo originally wanted to explain a few things to Yi Zhonghai, but now he saw that Yi Zhonghai was already angry and didn't want to listen at all.

He glanced at the deputy captain and said, "Lao Zhang, this man is hindering the rescue. Take a few people and arrest him first."

Deputy Captain Zhang called a few railway soldiers and tried to hold Yi Zhonghai down.

Yi Zhonghai was furious: "Li Aiguo, Qin Huairu is a resident of our compound. You watched her die without helping her. Do you still have any friendship between neighbors?"

Li Aiguo had always thought that Yi Zhonghai was worried about Qin Huairu, but when he heard this, he immediately felt something was wrong.

This is an opportunity to cause trouble.

It’s just that Li Aiguo was concerned about the rescue work and had no time to argue with Yi Zhonghai.

Li Aiguo ignored Yi Zhonghai. Those railway soldiers were not going to tolerate him.

Deputy Captain Zhang grabbed Yi Zhonghai by the collar and yelled, "What are you talking about? Our captain came here to save Qin Huairu and is now trapped. What? Do you think we are not in a hurry?"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless for a moment and could only hang his head.

"Lao Zhang, you need to organize the people now and start the rescue according to the plan we have determined." Li Aiguo called out to Deputy Captain Zhang.

"If we weren't in a hurry to save people, I would have let you know what the iron fist of the railway soldiers is today." Deputy Captain Zhang shook off Yi Zhonghai and turned around to get busy.

Li Aiguo looked at Engineer Dong and said, "Old Dong, in order to prevent collapse and rescue people as quickly as possible, we still need the help of the train rescue team of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. They have professional rescue tools. Please notify Captain Liu of the rescue team immediately."

"I'll go."

After Engineer Dong rode away on his bicycle, Li Aiguo called Liu Haizhong over again.

"Second uncle, don't worry, Captain Chen and Qin Huairu will definitely be fine."

Seeing Liu Haizhong trembling with fear, Li Aiguo comforted him.

Although it was just a simple sentence, Liu Haizhong felt as if he had found a backbone.

"Aiguo, you decide what to do, I will do whatever you say."

"Take the temporary workers and clear the rubble outside immediately."

“good good”

Liu Haizhong and his men started to get busy.

Li Aiguo called Xu Damao and said, "Damo, go to the subdistrict office immediately and ask Director Wang to mobilize the residents in the neighborhood to help."

The 72 hours when something happens is called the golden time.

Every extra piece of soil and land dug can provide a chance for breathing and life.

In the absence of machinery, the only option is to resort to the method of strength in numbers.

(End of this chapter)