Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 145: Trying out a fake hot air balloon and asking about steam locomotives [Please subscribe]

"Great!" Zhu Yuanzhang, with his current Qi cultivation skills, was also excited when he heard this and praised loudly, "If this hot air balloon can be successfully manufactured, it will indeed be another powerful military weapon!"

"It seems its military uses extend beyond what you've described. We can continue to explore and bring out even greater benefits on the battlefield!"

"Tell me, what do you need to build this hot air balloon and conduct the flight experiment? As long as the Ming Dynasty has it, we will not be stingy!"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, there's no rush to allocate supplies. Given the current state of Ming technology and the limitations of materials, we can only manufacture pseudo-hot air balloons that can stay at low altitudes for short periods of time."

"If a fake hot air balloon can be successfully manufactured, the materials required may not cost a lot of money."

"I have come to see you primarily to request the participation of students from the main hall in the production, and to deploy two additional teams of craftsmen."

"In this way, once I direct them to develop this first hot air balloon, I can use these two groups of craftsmen as employees to establish an aircraft manufacturing bureau, laying the foundation for the research and development of Ming Dynasty aircraft."

"Flying machine?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up when he heard this. "You mean, our Ming Dynasty can also manufacture airplanes like those in the movies?"

Liu Kuan was speechless after hearing this, and thought to himself that Old Zhu was really bold.

"Your Majesty, the aircraft in the movie are quite technologically advanced. Given the current development speed of the Ming Dynasty, it would take at least three or four hundred years to build them."

"Even for the first generation of airplanes, it would probably take about a hundred years until the internal combustion engine was developed before it could be realized."

"But aircraft include more than just airplanes. There are also airships, parachutes, wingsuits, and so on. These have relatively low technological content or require less industrial system requirements."

"With the current level of technology in the Ming Dynasty, perhaps after ten or twenty years of research, we can produce one or two..."

Then, Liu Kuan described the airships in the narrow sense of later generations, as well as some "simple" aircraft that he had heard of, such as parachutes and wing suits.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again, "The wisdom of later generations is really great."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, it's not that people in later generations are much wiser than those in earlier generations. It's just that people in later generations used their wisdom mainly to develop science and technology, while the ancients did not."

"Haha, that does make some sense." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and then asked, "When do you think the hot air balloon can be built?"

Liu Kuan reminded him seriously, "Your Majesty, this is a fake hot air balloon. As for when it can be built, I don't know. After all, everything has to be learned by trial and error."

"If the Ming Dynasty really can't find the right materials, the experiment could be stuck for several years, or even longer."

In fact, under the conditions of the Ming Dynasty, the manufacture of steam engines also lacked an important material, that is, rubber for sealing.

It’s just that this material component is not the main part of the steam engine and there are certain substitutes, which did not affect the development of the steam engine.

Hot air balloons are different.

According to the information Liu Kuan stored on his computer, there are two major difficulties in making hot air balloons: one is the need for materials that are heat-resistant and high-pressure-resistant, and the other is the need for a stable and sufficiently strong heat source.

Even if he only wanted to make a fake hot air balloon that could stay and float for a short time at low altitude, which had low requirements for materials and heat sources, he might not be able to find a suitable one.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little disappointed after hearing what Liu Kuan said, but he did not give Liu Kuan any deadline. Instead, he encouraged him a few words...

After that, Liu Kuan's daily routine had one more thing to do, which was to lead his students and two groups of craftsmen to develop a fake hot air balloon.

Fortunately, this is not a mandatory task. In addition, the students of the main hall not only have to study Confucianism, mathematics, nature, and martial arts, but also have to complete the training tasks assigned by Lao Zhu every day. They do not have much time to participate in the hot air balloon experiment.

Therefore, it was usually several days later that Liu Kuan would use an extra hour after the science class to lead the students in conducting research experiments.

But the craftsmen who participated in the experiment did not have time to relax - because Liu Kuan's experimental idea or certain requirements would require the craftsmen to work carefully for several days to complete.

···
···
March and April passed in a flash, and as May arrived, the capital was already filled with heat.

Inside the warm tent with beautiful patterns, the large step-out bed shook for a while before stopping.

Zhu Huilan lazily collapsed in Liu Kuan's arms, but sighed, raised her pretty face and asked, "Husband, why is there still no movement in my stomach?"

Liu Kuan felt embarrassed after hearing this.

"My wife is still young, and we've only been married for a little over half a year. Why rush?"

Zhu Huilan pouted, revealing her innocent side in front of Liu Kuan, and said, "I just hope to give birth to a child for my husband as soon as possible."

Liu Kuan patted her shoulders and comforted her, "Don't worry, wait another year or two, and we will definitely have a child."

"Yeah." Zhu Huilan responded softly.

Then there was another round of active seeking.

The clouds cleared and the rain stopped, and the couple were exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

When Zhu Huilan woke up the next morning, her mind was clear and she suddenly remembered another thing.

"The Dragon Boat Festival is in two days. Yesterday, I went to the palace to pay my respects to my father and mother. My mother said that we should all go to the palace to celebrate the festival together and watch a movie or two on the day of the festival."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Then go ahead and watch it. There are only so many movies and videos anyway. Your Majesty won't miss them after you finish watching them."

After breakfast, Liu Kuanxian went to the Science and Technology Department to take up his post.

Today, the Science and Technology Department's business is still mainly focused on the four project teams for building trains, followed by the printing project team (the lead type project team was renamed), the pseudo hot air balloon experiment team, and other matters.

Because these project groups and experimental groups are all on track, Liu Kuan's daily work is not busy, and can even be said to be free.

In other words, the second phase of the train's implementation test required more attention. After much investigation, Guo Tianwen finally chose the more than 100-mile railway from the capital to Dantu, Zhenjiang Prefecture, as the site for the second phase of the train's trial.

Nearly five months have passed since the beginning of spring.

The trains that were initially tested in the outer city of the capital gradually exposed many problems. Fortunately, they were not major issues and were solved one by one by Guo Tianwen, Qiu Qichi and other project team staff.

In the latest experimental progress report submitted by Guo Tianwen, the train has been in continuous use for ten days without exposing any new problems. Every time it returns to the joint base of the two major project teams near the Lime Mountain in the outer city, it only needs to undergo routine maintenance.

In addition, the upper limit of train speed has been slightly increased as problems have been solved and improvements have been made in various aspects.

If we want to make a major breakthrough in the upper limit of train speed, we must update the steam engine.

Now this steam engine is the best steam engine that the Ming Dynasty can build under the limitations of materials, technology, etc.

Liu Kuan estimated that if the steam engine performance wanted to make a big breakthrough, it would have to wait until the Ming Dynasty obtained rubber from South America...
"Deputy Lang Liu, Deputy Lang Qin Wei from the Military Industry Department is here to visit." Clerk Zhao Wenyuan came to the door of the office to report.

Qin Wei, the Yuwailang who oversees all affairs of the gun factory?

Liu Kuan was slightly stunned, then stood up to greet him - although he had a special status, his official position was only a Yuanwailang after all, which was the same rank as Qin Wei.

When he arrived at the courtyard, Liu Kuan saw a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man who looked more like a military general than a civil official.

This person is Qin Wei.

According to Su Quan, this man was a soldier in Zhu Yuanzhang's army before the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Later, he was injured and unfit for combat, so he became an official in charge of military craftsmen. He then entered the Ministry of Works and rose step by step to the position of Yuwenlang.

Qin Wei was accompanied by a minor official in a green robe whom Liu Kuan knew. This official was Shen Lin, whom he had recommended to be the deputy director of the gun factory last year.

"I hope you will forgive my intrusive visit, Vice-Lord Liu."

"You're too polite, Vice-Lord Qin. If you have anything to say, let's go sit down in the office and talk."

After greeting each other and exchanging a few words, the three of them entered Liu Kuan's office.

The Gun Factory was a "military industrial unit" that Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to, so he appointed Qin Wei, a member of the Ministry of Personnel, to oversee all affairs. This also showed Zhu Yuanzhang's trust in Qin Wei and his recognition of his ability.

After Qin Wei sat down, he said, "I'm here on official business, so I'll get straight to the point."

"Vice-Chairman Qin, please feel free to speak."

Qin Wei said, "As far as I know, when Vice Minister Liu first proposed to Your Majesty the establishment of the Capital Gun Factory, he mentioned that the factory could manufacture various steam machine tools in the future to replace the existing hydraulic machine tools."

"Deputy Director Shen mentioned this to me again today - the Gun Factory originally planned to expand the factory area and increase production capacity after the Dragon Boat Festival this year."

"If forging hammers, drilling machines, and other machine tools still use water power, we'll probably need to open a branch factory. Even then, building a dam to store water will cost a lot of money and time."

"A few days ago, I heard that the steam engine used in trains has been quite stable, so I wanted to ask, can this steam engine be used to build steam locomotives?"

Liu Kuan paused for a moment and said, "Theoretically, it's possible, but I'm afraid I'd still have to ask Director Guo about the specific circumstances."

"After all, he was the one who actually developed this steam engine, so he knows its performance better than I do."

Qin Wei said, "Then please ask Deputy Liu to inform Chief Guo. I will come to visit again tomorrow to discuss this matter."

"it is good."

After finishing his speech, Qin Wei stood up, bowed to Liu Kuanping and left.

Shen Lin bowed and did not talk to Liu Kuan.

After the two left, Liu Kuan sat at his desk and began to ponder.

"I didn't expect the gun factory to consider replacing steam locomotives so quickly. They're developing really fast."

"I remember when I visited the gun factory before, they had hydraulic forging hammers and hydraulic drilling machines, but no punch presses. If this steam engine can be used for machine tools, the gun factory could try to build a steam punch press."

"It always feels strange for the gun factory to build its own machine tools - perhaps it's time to petition Zhu and establish a machine manufacturing bureau."

···
The next day.

Guo Tianwen, who was busy, received a notice from the clerk and came to the Science and Technology Department with a reluctant look.

Su Quan, Liu Kuan, Qin Wei and Shen Lin were already waiting in the lobby of the office building.

None of them liked red tape and were all capable people, so after greeting each other and sitting down, they got straight to business.

Guo Tian asked, "I understand machine tools like forging hammers and drilling machines. With all due respect, although steam engines are now quite stable, they still carry certain risks when in operation."

"Machine tools like forging hammers and drilling machines are inherently dangerous when in operation. Using a steam engine to operate them is naturally even more dangerous."

"After the gun factory was established, it was only responsible for producing a few types of cannons and matchlock rifles. I'm afraid it may not have much research and development capabilities. I'm afraid it's unlikely to create a practical steam engine tool."

After hearing what Guo Tianwen said next, Su Quan, Liu Kuan and even Shen Lin were speechless.

Isn't this statement clearly showing disrespect for the gun factory?
Sure enough, after hearing this, Qin Wei's already dark face instantly became even darker.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)