Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 333 Visit
A team escorted by two guards and ten thousand Beijing troops slowly left the capital. Wherever the team passed, everyone along the way knelt on the ground.

Only after the team passed by them did they dare to look up and look at the team with awe.

The emperor was traveling. This was the first time Li Qiang left the palace since he ascended the throne.

For such a public departure from the palace, even if Li Qiang wanted to keep a low profile, it would be impossible to reduce the scale of the ceremonial procession.

Because this is not just Li Qiang's face, but also the glory of the place he is going to. The emperor's personal visit is also a reward.

"The cabinet is moving very quickly!" Li Qiang sat in the luxurious imperial carriage. He felt the stability of the carriage and praised with a smile.

"It is the cement invented by you, master, that has made this flat and solid road possible!" Jin Dong bowed and replied.

Li Qiang has become accustomed to Jin Dong's flattery. It is really convenient to have someone around who speaks nicely and is reliable.

The road that the imperial carriage traveled on was paved entirely with cement.

Currently in the capital, only the streets near the imperial palace and several main roads have been converted into cement roads.

As for why this road out of the city was given priority for transformation into a cement road, it was because this road leads directly to the manufacturing workshop of the Ministry of Industry.

The machines produced in the manufacturing workshops are huge and heavy, and ordinary roads cannot withstand frequent transportation.

That’s why we have this cement road, which is used to transport large machines.

"It's a pity that the production of steam cars is still a bit slow. Otherwise, we could form a steam car fleet when traveling, which would be much faster!" Li Qiang said again with some dissatisfaction.

The speed of the imperial sedan chair could not be increased. Although it was pulled by eight fine horses, many people in the ceremonial procession were walking. How could the speed be increased?

Li Qiang thought that when national leaders travel in the future, a train of cars would be more majestic than this ceremonial procession.

But now he can only think about it. Even if the Ministry of Industry works at full capacity, it cannot meet his needs.

The Ministry of Industry did not have the workload it has now, and even if we recruit a large number of people, it is still not enough.

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at the manufacturing workshop.

Li Qiang stuck his head out from the imperial carriage and saw a big door with a plaque on it that read "Datong Machinery Manufacturing Workshop".

"This is Tanaka Tang's handwriting!" Li Qiang recognized the words and said with a smile.

"Master, Tanakatang's calligraphy is not as good as yours!" Jin Dong said, leaning forward.

"I am still self-aware. After all, I am too greedy and spend too little time on literary matters!" Li Qiang shook his head.

Except for the time when he was studying in Yangzhou, he spent very little time studying the classics, and he stopped practicing calligraphy. It was only when he was working in the cabinet that he did not completely give up calligraphy.

With his skills in calligraphy, he is no match for Ueda Daishi, a master who has spent almost his entire life in calligraphy.

Thinking of the brush, he had some ideas in his mind.

But there was no time now, as he had already seen a group of people kneeling to greet him in front of the manufacturing workshop.

He got off the imperial carriage and came in front of the group of people.

"Your Majesty, may you be well and healthy. On behalf of the workshop, your servant welcomes Your Majesty!" The Minister of Works shouted loudly in front of the crowd.

"Please stand up. My coming here will delay your work!" Li Qiang said, waving his hand.

"It is an honor for us to have Your Majesty here in person!" The Minister of Works stood up and said.

The others also stood up. Li Qiang saw the manager Tan of Datong Money House, several master craftsmen, and some officials.

"Your Majesty, please come into the workshop for a visit!" The Minister of Works bowed and invited.

Li Qiang's visit was at a scheduled time, so the Minister of Works naturally came to greet him in person.

Although this manufacturing workshop was invested by Datong Money House, the master craftsmen and artisans were all transferred from the Ministry of Industry, and all needs were coordinated by the Ministry of Industry, so this was also the Ministry of Industry's business.

Manager Tan couldn't compete with the Minister of Works, so he could only stand aside.

Manager Tan was extremely excited. His eyes were full of admiration when he looked at Li Qiang. This was the result of 100% loyalty.

The manufacturing workshop can be operated however the Ministry of Industry allows, as the money is controlled by Datong Bank, and there are several managers supervising it.

"Your Majesty, there are assembled steam looms in the front yard!" After entering the gate of the manufacturing workshop, the Minister of Industry pointed to several obscured machines in the square and said.

"Fifty machines were delivered, but now there are less than ten. We still need to speed up the work here!" Li Qiang said as he glanced at the few steam textile machines.

"Your Majesty, the manufacturing speed of the manufacturing workshop is steadily increasing. Each skilled craftsman has dozens of apprentices to ensure the output of parts!" The Minister of Industry explained hurriedly.

Li Qiang nodded. The square was paved entirely with cement, which was a treatment only given to the key projects he was paying attention to.

Cement workshops have been built, but production is still extremely limited.

It is said that many noble families in the capital wanted to use cement to decorate their mansions, which further increased the value of cement.

A few days ago, a memorial was submitted to the Construction Department, saying that they wanted to use cement to renovate the floors of the palace halls.

Li Qiang directly rejected it. He said that unless he was mentally ill, he would not use cement floor in the hall.

For him, the imperial kiln gold bricks now paved in the palace are many times better than cement.

While thinking about it, he came to the factory gate under the guidance of the Minister of Industry.

"Go and tell everyone to stop what they are doing and welcome the emperor!" the Minister of Works ordered an official.

"No need to do this. Don't affect production. I just want to take a look at the production site!" Li Qiang stopped him.

The Minister of Works had nothing more to say and could only lead Li Qiang inside.

The factory building of this workshop was built according to Li Qiang's idea, and the interior area is larger than two football fields.

When he designed the factory building, he was worried whether Daqian's construction level was capable of building such a large building.

But it is obvious that he underestimated the architectural level of that era.

The craftsmen used a wooden structure and perfectly built such a huge factory building without using any pillars.

Perhaps the craftsmen had no knowledge of physics, but the craftsmanship passed down from their ancestors allowed them to perfectly distribute the forces on the building, allowing the huge building to stand stably.

Thousands of workers were busy in the factory. Even with the manager's call, the craftsmen and workers did not stop their work even though they saw the people coming.

There were fifty iron furnaces lined up in a row on site. The rough blanks made by the blacksmith were taken over by the next process and began to be refined.

Perhaps because of a certain amount of experience, the work on site was carried out in an orderly manner, with thousands of people working together without a trace of chaos.

Li Qiang came to the furnace and watched the blacksmith hammering the iron block. He understood why the efficiency was slow.

"Master Craftsman Wu, Master Craftsman Jiang, Master Craftsman Wang, come here!" Li Qiang waved to the three master craftsmen.

Three master craftsmen walked up to Li Qiang from behind, bowed and waited for Li Qiang's instructions.

"If we use a steam engine to drive the hammer to strike up and down, and use some structure to control the force of the hammer striking up and down, it can completely replace the complicated manual hammering. What do you think?" Li Qiang said to the three master craftsmen, pointing at the blacksmith who was working.

After he said this, the three master craftsmen fell into deep thought.

After a while, Master Craftsman Wu's eyes lit up, and the other two master craftsmen also thought of something, so the three master craftsmen came close to talk.

"Your Majesty, there is no problem at all. If we can use a steam engine to drive the hammer, it will make forging iron products easier and the output will increase greatly!" Master Wu reported to Li Qiang.

"It's just that the blacksmith still needs some time to adapt. Once he does, it will be easy!" Master Jiang continued.

"Then you will take the lead in manufacturing the steam forging machine!" Li Qiang ordered with a smile.

After making the steam car, the three master craftsmen had gained a lot of experience in the manufacture of machinery and equipment. The difficulty of steam forging machines was not too great, so they readily agreed.

"The Ministry of Works must guarantee a promotion channel for craftsmen. As long as their strength meets the requirements and they pass the assessment, they will be promoted. We must ensure that the craftsmen's own abilities are consistent with what they earn!" Li Qiang instructed the Minister of Works again.

Hearing Li Qiang's words, all the craftsmen present were very excited.

All the craftsmen were extremely grateful to Li Qiang. It was Li Qiang who changed the craftsmen's status from humble to normal civilians, allowing their descendants to go to school and become officials like ordinary people.

Nowadays, Li Qiang still cares about their promotion, making them feel how honored they are to be born in this era!
Li Qiang walked through the factory and came out from another door.

This is not the entire manufacturing workshop. The land allocated to the manufacturing workshop was not small. With more manufacturing needs, the workshop is constantly expanding.

The Minister of Industry led Li Qiang into the second factory building. As soon as Li Qiang entered, he saw the parts of steam cars being produced. It seemed that this was a steam car production plant.

"Your Majesty, this is the research area of ​​the three great craftsmen. New steam chariots are currently being manufactured!" The Minister of Works first pointed to an area and introduced it.

When Li Qiang arrived at the research area, she saw a unique steam car. The outer shell of the steam car was replaced with steel plates, which were still very rough. Due to the lack of welding technology, copper nails were used to connect the steel plates.

"How can this steam car be manufactured so quickly?" Li Qiang asked curiously.

You have to know that the first steam car was given to him as a gift for his coronation not long ago, and manufacturing a steam car is a huge project with today's technology.

"This is a spare for your steam car!" the Minister of Works explained.

Li Qiang understood that this was to prevent any major problems from occurring with the steam car, so two steam cars were manufactured at once.

This cannot be blamed on the Ministry of Works. This is a steam car built for the emperor. If something goes wrong and there is no backup, you will be beheaded.

"This is great. It can speed up manufacturing and produce samples as soon as possible!" Li Qiang said with a smile.

This factory is still in the initial processing stage. Apart from this ready-made steam car, the rest of the steam cars will probably take a long time to be produced.

Coming out of the factory, Li Qiang arrived at the dock inside the workshop.

This river connects to the Grand Canal, and it is precisely because of this convenience that the manufacturing workshop was built here.

There are cement roads for land transportation and the Grand Canal for water transportation, which makes it very convenient for both the import of materials and the export of finished products.

This is a deep-water wharf, and the transport ships docked at the wharf are considered large ships.

"I hope that craftsmen can have the ability to develop on their own and make full use of steam engines. If there is a craftsman who can design a useful steam machine, I will reward him generously!" Li Qiang looked at the Minister of Works and said.

"I will definitely convey Your Majesty's words to every craftsman!" The Minister of Works bowed and replied.

"Do you know why I say so?" Li Qiang asked indifferently.

"I am stupid!" said the Minister of Works with his head down.

"Look at the ship in front of us. If we replace the propeller with a steam engine, we can make the ship move in the water like a steam car without having to consider the influence of manpower and wind!" Li Qiang continued.

The three master craftsmen were shocked by Li Qiang's words countless times. It seemed that Li Qiang had countless ideas in his mind, and each idea could change an industry.

The Minister of Works could only marvel in his heart. When Li Qiang first started paying attention to craftsmen, he still didn't quite understand.

As Li Qiang's design drawings were sent to the Ministry of Industry, the number of craftsmen required became higher and higher. He then understood why Li Qiang paid special attention to craftsmen.

The Minister of Works is now full of admiration for Li Qiang. He has been in the Ministry of Works for many years and knows better than anyone else how much changes Li Qiang's designs will bring to Daqian.

Not to mention the previous ones, let’s just talk about the propeller that Li Qiang just mentioned. Once it is successful, the transportation volume of Daqian’s water transportation will increase several times.

In the past, water transportation depended on the weather. If the wind was not favorable, water transportation would be very slow.

But with the propeller driven by the steam engine, water transportation can, to a certain extent, be carried out at a stable speed, and the use of manpower is also reduced.

Of course, Li Qiang’s proposal has not yet been tested, and the specific details remain to be discussed.

But Li Qiang's designs are never aimless, and the same is believed to be true for steam propellers.

"Three great craftsmen, my energy is limited and I don't want to interfere too much in your research, but I still want to put forward some ideas. These will be the country's most important weapons!" Li Qiang said again.

He gestured to Jin Dong, who took out a stack of design drawings and handed them to the three master craftsmen.

The three master craftsmen took the blueprints. When they saw them, their eyes widened and they looked incredulous.

The Minister of Works was very curious about what kind of design would make the three master craftsmen have such expressions.

You know, the three great craftsmen have already created the magical steam car. Is there anything that could shock them more than a steam car?
"I know this thing is a bit difficult, and I will also participate in the research!" Li Qiang said with a smile.

No matter how capable the three master craftsmen are, they are unable to complete some non-mechanical tasks, and there is no such talent even in the entire Daqian.

Therefore, Li Qiang had to do the research himself, transform what he remembered in his mind into practical operations, and then find people to mass-produce it.

(End of this chapter)