A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Those who shared a dormitory with Li Yuan were the second sons of the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, and the Pei family of Hedong.

They are all first-class families in the world today, with the Cui family of Qinghe even being a top-tier clan.

They went to the Imperial Academy and shared a dormitory with Li Yuan, all arranged by their families. They both chose to study the Mohist and Gongshu schools, preparing to seize the initiative.

Given their backgrounds, they naturally knew Wei Hao's identity, and the group made an appointment to attend Wei Hao's class.

This was also an outdoor practical class. Wei Hao arrived at the class location early and arranged the props needed for the class in advance.

The topic of this lesson is steam waterwheels.

The props were very simple: a stove, a kettle, a piston, a connecting rod, and a waterwheel.

The process involves boiling water to produce steam, which is then used to rotate the waterwheel by pulling a connecting rod via a piston.

Then Wei Hao began to explain the underlying principles to them, and after he finished, he started asking them one by one for their opinions on the technology.

Even those who were sent here to gain experience are all intelligent people.

Even if it's just for gilding, the major aristocratic families would never send over some纨绔 (playboys).

Knowing full well that the Wei family was here, and that the Imperial Academy was one of the places most deeply controlled by the Wei family, sending a spoiled brat here was like lighting a lamp in a toilet—it was suicidal.

Therefore, although they would use special privileges to send some people to the Imperial Academy without taking the exam, these people were all very talented and capable.

Many people have proposed various uses for this technology, but most of them are still within the framework of waterwheels.

When it was Li Yuan's turn, he proposed a new direction: ships.

Li Yuan lived in the Guanzhong region, so he was extremely drawn to the sea from a very young age.

I have traveled thousands of miles to the seaside many times and have seen all kinds of boats.

Some of these large ships have wheels on both sides, with people sitting inside the cabin who use their feet to pedal to turn the wheels and propel the ship forward.

If this technology could be applied to ships, wouldn't it allow the wheels to turn and the ship to move forward without the need for pedals?

Humans get tired, machines don't.

The ships would travel distances and travel speeds several times greater than they do now.

Transportation to coastal prefectures and counties will become more convenient.

After he shared his views, Wei Hao praised him generously.

The steamship project is also under research in coastal workshops and is nearing completion.

According to news from Qingzhou, steamships have already been launched.

The ship's various performance characteristics are currently being tested at sea.

Seeing that no one was coming up with any new ideas, Wei Hao gave another hint.

"Think about it, what other things are driven by wheels?"

"You need to break free from your preconceived notions and be bolder."

One of Wei Hao's students, who had been studying under him for a long time, boldly proposed a hypothesis: "A horse-drawn carriage?"

"That's right."

"If the wheels of a carriage are driven in this way, the function of horses can be replaced."

"Besides horse-drawn carriages, there were also donkey carts and oxcarts, which were usually used for hauling goods."

"If this technology is applied to cargo transportation, it is possible that in the future one person will be able to use a steam engine to pull thousands of kilograms of goods."

"Just like the imperial post stations, as long as enough fuel is stored at the post stations and some supplies are replenished at each station, it can replace the wagons."

Wei Hao only scratched the surface; there was no need to say so much without actually seeing it.

His goal for this lesson was simply to give them a basic impression so that people would be more accepting of the emergence of steam locomotives in the future.

Wei Hao glanced at Li Yuan without making a sound. They had all seen what Yang Jian had done, and the Wei family was secretly pushing things along.

Li Yuan's personal involvement in the project contributed to the promotion of mechanical arts.

If given the opportunity, he wouldn't mind letting Li Yuan get some benefits.

As the heir apparent to the Prince of Yan, his every move is scrutinized under a magnifying glass.

Whenever he holds a class, a large number of people attend, and they spread every word he says in class to their families or factions.

There will be specialists to analyze and determine his political leanings.

After today's events were reported, many people were completely bewildered.

What is a steam engine? What is a steamship? Why does a waterwheel turn when you boil water?

Without seeing the actual object, based solely on written descriptions, someone who has never seen it before simply cannot imagine it.

So they had the family's craftsmen make a small steam waterwheel according to the principles described in today's class.

The result was naturally that they returned empty-handed.

This principle seems simple, but it involves a core concept: sealing.

Only a sealed environment can create high temperature and pressure to drive the piston and make the waterwheel rotate.

Although Wei Hao explained the principle of sealing, it was not so easy to succeed.

However, there are truly many talented people in the Central Plains. Someone came up with a substitute using cotton, linen, and tung oil. The sealing effect was not good, but it was barely usable. Moreover, the production process was complicated and costly.

Although the cost was extremely high, the waterwheel was eventually turned on by boiling water.

The heads of various families who came upon hearing the news marveled at the scene, marveling that such a small waterwheel could be turned by burning just a little coal and hot water.

If there were more, would it be enough to turn the big waterwheel and solve their long-standing problem of getting water?

With the physical object in hand, the most elite group of people in the Great Qian Dynasty could barely imagine what a steamship would look like.

The Great Qian Dynasty has never lacked intelligent people, and soon someone thought of something that the students had not thought of.

"Does the intensity of the boiling water affect the speed at which the waterwheel turns?"

A family head proposed this idea, and the craftsman beside him immediately went to try it out.

The result is naturally affected: the stronger the fire, the more water vapor is produced, and the faster the waterwheel turns.

The head of the family immediately thought of military applications. If a track is set up and the vehicle travels along it day and night, wouldn't the Great Qian be able to quickly deploy troops to any place?

Isn't this an alternative kind of highway?

Why is the territory of the Great Qian Dynasty only this large now?

It's because deploying troops to the border requires too much time and money.

So much so that even an empire like the Great Qian Dynasty could hardly bear it.

Therefore, the territory can only be maintained to this extent. Any further, and even the Great Qian Dynasty cannot hold on, and it may be lost at any time.

However, if this method is adopted, both the time and money required to deploy troops will be greatly reduced.

This means that the territory ruled by the Great Qian Dynasty can once again radiate outwards.

"It's not just about outwards; if a rebellion breaks out somewhere, the central army can quickly reach the battlefield using these steam-powered vehicles."

"This also greatly strengthens the central government's control over local areas."