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Chapter 1095: Something exciting

"Mr. Santorio, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. Roberval spent a lot of time calculating, Mr. Galileo and Mr. Girard redesigned the blueprint, and the factory is rushing to produce parts. In more than a month, we should be able to see the finished product of the steam engine.

I personally have high expectations for this work. The new sizes of pistons, crankshafts, flywheels, and a completely new structure of the sliding valve distribution device. If the rubber seal really works, its energy will be doubled, enough to drive several looms.

But if a stronger driving force is needed, a larger cylinder and piston are required, which is not a big problem in terms of calculation and design, but the factory's processing capacity cannot meet the requirements. "

Descartes actually fell into the trap. When he heard about the purpose of the steam engine and its possible impact on mankind, he immediately put aside all the melancholy caused by the previous topic and enthusiastically introduced the parameters of the new model. Although he did not mention his own contribution in his words, he could not hide his pride.

When they first came into contact with steam engines, no one had any experience, and they only relied on the emperor's ideas and a few sketches to figure it out. The first three models were actually successful, at least they could operate normally, but they could not be put into practical use because of various major defects.

But no one was discouraged by this, instead, they became more and more courageous, because everyone found many problems worth pondering, and if they could be solved, it would not only promote the development of physics, but also achieve breakthroughs in mathematics.

Even if the emperor said he didn't want the steam engine anymore, they would not stop research and development. Before the fourth test machine was finalized, they used the collected experimental parameters and gathered more than ten talented students in the academy to perform calculations. In theory, it should be foolproof.

"Let's try it at the Haihe Machinery Factory first. As long as we can successfully develop a practical machine model, the factory's processing capacity will also increase, and it won't take too long, that's for sure."

But Hong Tao was not too worried about the processing capacity. With the steam engine replacing the traditional water wheel and animal power as the driving force, the first to benefit were large machinery factories. After a period of familiarity and exploration, they could in turn provide higher quality parts to improve the performance of steam engines.

Scientific and technological research and development is like a person walking on two legs. One foot takes a step at a time, and alternating steps are the most stable and fastest. Jumping on one leg or jumping on two legs can speed up progress in the short term, but it won't last long.

"Thank you very much for your strong support, Your Majesty. We were just soldiers and at best mid-level officers in the birth of the steam engine. Your Majesty is the real commander. Without the genius inspiration and a lot of financial and material resources, the progress would not be so smooth."

At this point, Descartes had to temporarily erase the image of a dictator who was trying to rule the world and replace it with a picture of a great emperor who was quick-witted, full of strange ideas, had many inventions, and was very supportive of research. He couldn't figure out which one was the real one for a while.

"Inspiration is indeed more important than hard work in scientific research. I accept this praise with pleasure. Speaking of inspiration, I think of something else. You should definitely see it with your own eyes! Let's go. It's not in the palace. We need to leave the city. But I can guarantee that you will never be able to imagine how wonderful it is!"

Seeing Descartes' expression changing from excited to worried, Hong Tao knew that he was struggling internally, not knowing whether becoming a leading figure in the empire's scientific research would be an accomplice to the evil or would add wings to the tiger.

We can't wait for him to think things through now, because that would not be very successful, so we have to continue to stimulate him, using huge temptations to make him lose some of his rational thinking. Unless he can completely abandon his human nature, he will have to give in.

Go northwest from Xizhimen for 15 miles and you will see a small earthen hill called Wengshan. There is a depression at the foot of the hill, where the water from the West Mountain gathers to form a natural lake. In the distance, you can see the shadow of the West Mountain, and nearby, you can see rippling blue water, creating a unique and beautiful scenery.

During the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Liang built the Jinshan Palace here and made some artificial changes to the natural lake. During the Yuan Dynasty, when Dadu was built, Guo Shoujing, the water conservancy commissioner, was ordered to repair the canals here to supply water to the capital, and many renovations were also carried out. In the Ming Dynasty, Luo, the wet nurse of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, built a Yuanjing Temple on Wengshan Mountain. Influenced by this, the number of gardens nearby gradually increased. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, a palace was simply built, and Wengshan Mountain and the lake below were enclosed, making it a proper royal garden.

Hearing the distance and the geographical features of mountains and water, people familiar with the capital should have guessed that Wengshan is most likely the Wanshou Mountain of later generations, and the lake below is naturally Kunming Lake.

That’s right, it is the Summer Palace, but the royal garden of the Ming Dynasty was not as majestic as that of the Qing Dynasty. Only a small palace was built on the sunny side of the mountain near the lake, and a small pier was built. On weekdays, more than ten old eunuchs were arranged to take care of it. That was all. It was called Wengshan Garden and was one of the emperor’s choices for summer escape.

But ever since Emperor Jingyang ascended the throne, he vigorously advocated increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. As a pure expenditure item, Wengshan Garden was deposed from its status as a temporary palace and turned into a training ground for the Imperial Stables.

"René, are you afraid of heights?" At this time, Hong Tao and Descartes were walking on the stone steps leading to the top of the mountain.

"Dizziness from heights?" Descartes still didn't understand why the emperor brought him here, but he had no way to refuse and could only follow him.

"Are you afraid of heights... like standing on top of a mast... oh yeah, you probably won't have the chance to climb up a mast. Then stand on the edge of a cliff... anyway, if you stand at a height and look down, will you feel dizzy, weak in the limbs, and out of control of your body?"

It's just a simple word, but it's not easy to explain it in Latin. Hong Tao gave two examples but failed, so he had to describe the symptoms of altitude sickness in detail.

"No, absolutely not! I learned skiing and mountaineering when I joined the army. Very, very high mountains are no problem!" Descartes seemed to understand and responded without hesitation, which seemed a bit of an overreaction.

"That's good. Do you see the tall tower up there? We'll go to the top soon." Hong Tao was not surprised. Descartes was born into an aristocratic family. His father was a member of Congress. He had never had to worry about food and clothing since childhood.

If he had to say that he had a problem, it was that he was born weak and had many minor illnesses. He chose to join the army after he became an adult to exercise his body, and he would get very upset if someone said that he was not in good health.

"That tower is very strange. Did you order its construction?" Descartes looked up at the top of the mountain and became even more confused.

There is a wooden tower on top, the appearance is very sloppy, you can also call it a wooden frame. Because it is built with wood, more than ten stories high, leaking everywhere, standing alone on the top of Weng Mountain, it is neither beautiful nor poetic.

"Of course, but it's not a tower. To be precise, it's not a tower in the ordinary sense. I prefer to call it a starting point. Come on, walk faster and move your body. A little sweat will be very helpful for the arrangements later."

Looking at his masterpiece, Hong Tao smiled maliciously. But he didn't want to explain too much, so in order to avoid being questioned, he simply jogged, calling it a warm-up.

(End of this chapter)