I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 132 Daye (Part )

From time to time, molten iron from the blast furnace was released, and with the skilled cooperation of the workers, the bright molten iron was introduced into the mud mold.

Zhu Houzhao stared at the scene in a daze. What he saw today far exceeded his expectations.
"We are still improving our railways and steam engines. They still have a lot of potential that has not been tapped. I believe their performance will be improved again and again in the near future." Zhu Houxuan said casually.

"Can you improve these artifacts?" Zhu Houzhao opened his mouth in shock at Zhu Houxun's words, "This is beyond my imagination."

Zhu Houxuan tilted his head and thought for a while, "This is just the beginning. As long as we continue to improve, I think we can reduce the cost of iron to one-thirtieth or one-fortieth of the previous price."

According to the marginal diminishing effect, it is easiest to reduce costs at the beginning, and it becomes more and more difficult as time goes by.
Zhu Houzhao was completely speechless. If Zhu Houxun had not dragged him around to see it today, he would never have believed that this was true.

Listening to Zhu Houxuan's casual tone, Zhu Houzhao suddenly had the urge to pry open his head to see what was inside.
Zhu Houzhao suddenly remembered that when he first arrived in Qizhou, he had the idea of ​​building a railway to connect the nine borders. At that time, he thought his idea was too crazy, but now it seems that his idea might be realized.

He simply could not imagine how much could be done with so much cheap iron.

After visiting the steel plant, Zhu Houxuan took Zhu Houzhao to the next place.

To be honest, Zhu Houzhao was numbed by shock today. He had spent more than three years doing nothing in Beijing, and his younger brother had accomplished such a big thing just over three years after returning to Qizhou.

But when he got there, he was shocked again.
"You...are you planning to put the steam engine on the railway?" Zhu Houzhao felt a flash of light in his mind.

"Yes, I'm sure brother has seen the shortcomings of the Ma Lie rickshaw. One has to be very careful when going uphill and downhill, and the driver is required to have very high skills, otherwise the horse will be easily injured. The cost of raising so many horses is also quite high. The most important thing is that the upper limit of using horses as power is not high, the upper limit of transportation capacity is not high, and there is no room for improvement in the upper limit of speed." Zhu Houxuan explained casually.

He brought Zhu Houzhao to a train testing ground, where there was the only test train in the world.

The steam locomotive of this train was modified based on the Watt steam engine, so the front of the train is not very big and the horsepower is not very high. There are five wooden carriages attached to the back, and the last four are filled with ore, but not particularly full.

"Let's go up and take a look!" Zhu Houxun took the initiative to invite Zhu Houzhao.

Of course Zhu Houzhao readily agreed, and sat in the empty carriage with great interest, watching curiously the driver in the driving carriage fiddling with the steam locomotive.

Since the steam locomotive head was not large and the driving compartment was not very large either, there were three drivers inside.

The three drivers were all very young, and one of them was visibly nervous when he saw Zhu Houxuan and his group.

He whispered to the leading driver in a trembling voice: "Brother Xiang, it's the prince. The prince actually brought people here in person."

The man called Brother Xiang glared at the man fiercely and said in a low voice: "Look at your behavior, do what you should do, fill the coal quickly, Da Zhang!"

Da Zhang quickly lowered his head, picked up a shovel and filled coal into the furnace. The fire in the furnace burned brighter and brighter, the water in the boiler boiled, and steam began to flow into the cylinder continuously.

Brother Xiang saw that the pressure in the cylinder was up to standard, so he pulled a handle, and the train started to move slowly. Due to the limited traction of the steam locomotive, it could not move fast with 5 tons of ore. This test train started to run with a thumping sound. It is not accurate to say that it was running, but it should be said that it was crawling. The speed was less than kilometers per hour, which was not as fast as a normal person walking.

Such a huge car started to move on its own, which still shocked Zhu Houzhao. He stared at the rolling steel wheels intently.
Fortunately, after a series of shocks, Zhu Houzhao has calmed down a lot.

"It's a good idea, but it's a bit too slow," Zhu Houzhao said, touching his chin.

"Just improve it slowly. I think this steam locomotive still has great potential. With further improvements, I believe a steam locomotive will be able to carry hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms of cargo. As long as there is coal and water, it can run hundreds of miles a day." Zhu Houxuan said confidently.

"So this is called a steam locomotive! What a good name! Very descriptive." Zhu Houzhao was a little bit unconvinced by Zhu Houxun's words, but when he thought of Zhu Houxun's deeds, he couldn't help but believe it a little more.

"Your Highness is not lying. When this steam locomotive was invented last year, it couldn't even run with an empty carriage. The masters at the machinery factory have been improving this steam locomotive. It's only been a short time, but it can now carry so much cargo." Brother Xiang had been listening to the conversation between Zhu Houxuan and the others. When he heard about the steam locomotive, he couldn't help but interrupt.

Zhu Houxuan did not blame Brother Xiang for his sudden interruption. When he was in the factory, he always encouraged the workers to speak freely.

He smiled and nodded to Brother Xiang: "Master Wang is right. He is an old man. Master Wang was here when this experimental steam locomotive was built. He witnessed the development of this train!"

When Zhu Houxun called him "Master Wang", Brother Xiang's face was full of smiles. He was so excited that he puffed out his chest with pride.

Zhu Houzhao also nodded slowly.

Zhu Houxuan suddenly thought of something and shouted, "Master Wang, make a whole sound!"

"Okay! Your Majesty, listen carefully!" Brother Xiang said, and then he slowly pulled down a handle. Some steam in the cylinder was released, making a long whistle sound...

The sound of the whistle echoed throughout the valley, startling a flock of birds.

Zhu Houzhao was startled, then found it very interesting and even climbed into the driver's compartment to try it out.

They stayed on the steam train for quite a long time, until it got dark.

When leaving, Zhu Houxuan said to Brother Xiang: "Master Wang, I went around the steel plant today but didn't see your old man. I haven't seen him for a while. Please bring him something good for me."

"Yes, I will definitely bring it. Thank you, Your Highness, for still thinking about my father. My father was also talking about Your Highness the other day." Wang Xiang showed a grateful expression on his face.

Zhu Houxuan nodded, boarded the Malie and left.
Da Zhang watched Zhu Houxuan and his group disappear from his sight, looked at Wang Xiang with envy and said, "That's great, Brother Xiang, I didn't expect even the prince knew you."

Wang Xiang picked up the cup and took a sip of tea, then glanced at Da Zhang with disdain, "You newcomer, you don't know that my family are all veterans of the steel plant. The first shovel of soil for this steel plant was dug by my grandfather."

(End of this chapter)