Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 426 The Beginning of Steam Power

Li Jing squatted down, put his palm on the iron plate to test the temperature, then stood up and said with a smile on his face.

“It is indeed enough.”

"If the thickness of the iron plate is increased, it should be able to extend its service life."

"But I don't think anyone or anything can withstand the firing of fifty magazines of the Renyi Gun."

Even a piece of iron plate would turn into honeycomb coal under the crazy shooting of the Renyi gun, not to mention wooden planks and flesh and blood.

Liu Rengui: "If that's the case, then we can use this as a base and place the Renyi Gun on the deck."

Li Jing: "Give the order and do it."

"By the way, you just said that if it doesn't work, try other methods. What do you mean?"

Su Chen squatted down and pointed at the connection between the Renyi gun and the iron plate. "Now we use steel nails to fix it to the base. Although the strength of these steel nails is very good, they will eventually break after long-term shooting."

"So, we changed the connection between the Renyi gun and the base to a track. When the Renyi gun is fired, the recoil is released by the spring, which can greatly ensure the safety of the ship."

"Even if there is damage, we just need to replace the spring. It won't cause much damage to the Renyi Gun."

"The second thing is the power of the building ship. It still uses the most primitive wind power. If it is transformed into steam power and the ship boards are replaced with iron plates, it will be easier to install the Renyi gun..."

As he spoke, Su Chen couldn't help but think of the treasure ship of the Ming Dynasty.

Both of them used primitive power, human and wind power, but the strength of their ships was obviously stronger than the Tang Dynasty's tower ships.

Moreover, those warships can be equipped with various types of cannons, which is worth learning from for the ships of the Tang Dynasty.

While Su Chen was lost in thought, Li Jing and the other two looked at each other in astonishment.

Steam power?

Replace the ship's planks with iron ones?
Can the ship still sail freely on the water?

Wouldn't it sink as soon as it enters the water?
"Can a ship made of iron plates really sail on the sea?"

Li Jing'an couldn't help being curious, so he looked at Su Chen and asked, "And what about the steam power you mentioned?"

"what?"

Su Chen looked up, and Li Jing saw that he didn't seem to hear clearly, so he had to say it again.

In response to Li Jing's doubts, Su Chen smiled and explained: "Ship made of iron plates can naturally sail on the sea, but the weight of iron plates is much heavier than that of wooden boards after all, so the best power for ships made of iron plates is steam."

"If it relied solely on wind power and human power, the iron-made ship would be like a tortoise or a snail on land, moving very slowly."

It is undoubted that snails are slow, but as for turtles, it is hard to say.

After all, Su Chen had seen surveillance footage of a turtle escaping at night, and it even had an afterimage, so how could its movements be slow?
"A ship built with iron plates must be powered by steam?"

Su Dingfang pondered and said, "What exactly is the steam power that the prince is talking about?"

"Steam power is the conversion of water vapor into mechanical kinetic energy, and then..."

Seeing the confused looks of Li Jing and the other two, Su Chen patted his head and told them what these things were for. Even if they were broken into pieces, crumpled up and placed in front of them, they would not understand.

"Why are not you talking?"

"You won't understand even if I tell you. I still need to talk to Feng Baojun about this."

"..."

Li Jing and the other two looked at each other.

Su Chen smiled and said, "It's not that I look down on you or think you don't understand, but everyone has their own expertise. Professional matters should be left to professionals."

"It's like the Duke of Wei leading the troops. If Feng Baojun and others were to lead the troops, it would be a whole different kind of fun."

Li Jing smiled and nodded, "In that case, we look forward to your cooperation with the Ministry of Industry to build an iron ship that can sail on the sea."

"Hopefully."

Su Chen smiled. If he wanted to build such a ship, he must first solve the power circulation problem.

If this problem cannot be solved, even if a warship is built with iron plates, it will not have enough power to sail on the sea.

So this matter needs to be discussed in detail with Feng Baojun, and by the way, the warships of the Ming Dynasty should be studied.

"Come on, Your Majesty, this way please, we will look at other ships."

Under the leadership of Su Dingfang, Su Chen followed them and inspected some warships. He also gave his personal opinions on some questions raised by Su Dingfang and the others.

Su Chen naturally did not refuse anything that could help them solve, but there were also some problems that Su Chen was unable to handle.

after all.

He is not a professional boat operator.

Two hours later, despite the enthusiastic persuasion of Li Jing and the other two, Su Chen left.

There will be plenty of time for drinking and other things in the future.

What he had to do now was to go back to Prince's Residence and find the documents he had read before.

The van and the unknown brand notebook are back again.

Thump thump thump thump.

As the laptop started up successfully, Su Chen looked up the detailed records about Ming Dynasty ships in his personal documents.

Compared with the warships of the Tang Dynasty, the warships of the Ming Dynasty were divided more detailed and their single combat capabilities were stronger.

Such as the more famous linked boats, mother-and-child boats, and centipede boats.

The individual combat capabilities of these warships are extremely amazing. Of course, the biggest reason is that these ships are equipped with powerful firearms.

It has a certain reference effect.

After recording all these materials, Su Chen walked out of the ear room.

"Aqiang, prepare the car and go to the Ministry of Industry."

Manufacturing Bureau of Ministry of Industry.

Feng Baojun was a little surprised by Su Chen's sudden arrival, and he immediately brought people to greet him. "Why is the prince here?"

"I was invited by the Duke of Weiguo to go to Yong'an Dockyard. I thought of something and came here to find you."

Su Chen smiled and said, "Let's find a place to talk?"

"it is good!"

Feng Baojun invited Su Chen to his office without saying a word.

"I don't have any good tea here, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"It doesn't matter."

Su Chen smiled and waved his hand, "Lord Feng, how much do you know about warships?"

Feng Baojun pondered and said, "The warships of our Tang Dynasty are unique in shape and of many types. Their combat effectiveness on the water is definitely superior to the navies of neighboring countries."

"But when it comes to the detailed structure of warships, I really don't know much."

"If Your Majesty has any ideas about warships, I can call Lord Sun over. He has a very detailed understanding of the various ships of our dynasty."

"And most of the warship blueprints are in his hands."

Su Chen nodded, "Then please trouble Lord Feng to invite Lord Sun over."

Feng Baojun gave the order immediately.

After a moment, a bearded official with a hunched figure walked in from outside.

"Your subordinate Sun Miao greets the prince, sir."

"Master Sun, please take a seat."

Feng Baojun smiled and said, "Your Highness came here today to talk about the warship. You know this matter best."

Sun Miao immediately understood and looked at Su Chen, "I wonder if the prince has any advice?"

"I don't deserve your advice, I'm just exchanging ideas."

Su Chen smiled and took out the ship type drawings he had prepared earlier and placed them on the table.

"Lord Sun, why don't you take a look at the blueprints of these ships?"

Sun Miao took it and looked at it curiously, and Feng Baojun couldn't help but look at it curiously.

The shapes of many of the ships here are obviously different from the warships they are building now.

Sun Miao, the chief shipbuilder, became more and more frightened the more he looked at the drawings.

These drawings may not seem to have much to offer, but based on his many years of experience in shipbuilding, once these drawings are turned into real warships, their combat effectiveness will be beyond doubt.

"Were these designed by the prince himself?"

"That's it."

Su Chen responded casually, "Lord Sun, do you think this kind of warship can be used as a reference?"

"Yes, absolutely!"

Sun Miao said with a happy face, "From my experience, although the shapes of these warships are different from the types of warships currently used by our dynasty, their exquisite designs can be seen at a glance."

"Especially this centipede boat. When placed on the water, its speed must be amazing."

Su Chen nodded, worthy of being the official in charge of shipbuilding, he was very experienced.

Sun Miao asked curiously, "Why did the prince think of these ship types?"

Su Chen: "Of course it is to enhance the navy's combat effectiveness."

Sun Miao seemed to be thinking about something.

Su Chen smiled and said, "It shouldn't be difficult for you to build a ship like this, right?"

Sun Miao smiled and said, "Give me a month, and I may be able to build the prototypes of these ships. The specific effects will take time to further verify."

"Okay, then I'll leave these things to you."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty."

Su Chen waved his hand and said, "In addition to these ships, there is another more important matter that needs to be carried out by your Manufacturing Bureau."

Feng Baojun: "May I ask what is the important matter, Your Majesty?"

Su Chen smiled and took out another drawing from his sleeve.

"Please look, both of you."

"This is……"

"What a strange device."

Feng Baojun and the other man looked curious.

Such a device is really strange, I have never seen it before.

Su Chen said slowly: "Steam power circulation device."

"what?"

Feng Baojun and the other man were completely confused and didn't understand anything.

Just as Su Chen was about to speak, he heard the sound of boiling water. Looking over, he saw that the lid of the teapot on the stove was almost blown off by the boiling water.

Su Chen smiled and pointed at the teapot, "Please look, my lords."

Feng Baojun and the other man looked over and asked, "Is the water boiling?"

Su Chen: "This is just an appearance. Why is there such a strong force when the water boils that it can push the lid of the pot open?"

"Have you ever thought about using this power to propel the ship?"

(End of this chapter)