The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 806 Applying Knowledge to New Situations
Before long, Yun Dingxing hurried in, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant Yun Dingxing greets Your Majesty!"

"Junior Supervisor Yun, the clock is well made!"

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am three months behind schedule."

"But if you take out twenty at once, that's the same thing."

"Your Majesty, after we finished making the two clocks, we originally intended to present them, but then we made a third one and found that the timekeeping was very inaccurate. So we searched for the cause again and continued to make a fourth and a fifth clock, correcting a total of thirteen errors. Later, we made five more clocks without any errors, and only then did we truly master the technology of making clocks."

"Could other craftsmen have made it?"

"Your Majesty, it is entirely possible. As long as the principles are grasped and our blueprints are strictly followed, there will be no problem. The main issue is that gear manufacturing technology is very demanding. I have trained fifteen students, and each of them can manufacture qualified gears."

Xiao Xia nodded with pleasure and said, "I only admire your superb skills, but what I truly appreciate is that you have trained a large number of disciples and passed on your skills to more people. Well done! I intend to promote you to Director of the Craftsmen's Office and appoint He Chou as Minister of Works!"

Yun Dingxing was overjoyed, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

He turned around and beckoned, and a guard stepped forward with a tray containing two wooden boxes, one large and one small. "These are items that Your Majesty ordered to make. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Xia opened the small box first, and her eyes lit up. Inside, she saw two small springs lying in the box.

Xiao Xia picked it up and saw that it was exquisitely crafted. He squeezed it and found it to be very elastic.

"Is this made of high-quality steel wire?"

"Exactly. It has very high requirements for steel. If it's too soft, it won't be flexible enough; if it's too hard, it will break easily. It has to be just right, and only high-quality steel can achieve that."

Refined steel is pure iron with a carbon content of 0.8%. In the Han Dynasty, it was called refined steel or refined iron, and it was the best kind of iron.

Do you understand how it works?

“Your Majesty understands. Like a bow and arrow, it stores up power and then launches it. I can use it to build a catapult.”

"Its uses are actually very wide. You can imagine making it into a strip, rolling it up, and letting it release power little by little. Wouldn't your clock then have a power source?"

Yun Dingxing's eyes lit up. "Thank you for your inspiration, Your Majesty. I understand!"

Xiao Xia laughed again: "For example, you can roll a piece of fine steel into a slight arc and install it under the cart. This way, the carriage won't be as bumpy when traveling on muddy roads. You can try it!"

"Your Majesty understands; this is actually a kind of spring!"

Yun Dingxing is such an excellent craftsman that he can immediately apply what he has learned to other situations with just a little guidance. He is indeed a rare talent.

Although Yun Dingxing was a despicable official and morally corrupt, he was still able to be repeatedly given important positions. The key was that he had real talent, and any monarch would cherish talent.

"What is this big box?" Xiao Xia became interested in the big box again.

"It is the firing mechanism Your Majesty desires. Your humble servant modified a crossbow, changing the bowstring's power storage to a spring-loaded power storage."

Xiao Xia quickly opened the large box, and inside was indeed a small crossbow. The hook and teeth of the crossbow were the key. With a little modification, it would be a perfect firing device.

The rear section of the sight was changed to a hammer. When the hammer is pulled back, there is a spring behind it. When the spring is compressed, the hook locks the bottom of the hammer with a "click". At this time, as long as the hanging knife is pulled, the hook rotates and the hook disengages. The hammer will then strike forward rapidly under the elastic force of the spring and hit a piece of iron.

At this point, if the iron sheet is replaced with flint, a heavy blow will cause sparks to fly, igniting the gunpowder in the trough.

Of course, Yun Dingxing and the craftsmen are currently unaware of the emperor's intentions. Once the prototype of the gun is completed and they understand its principles, they will immediately work on perfecting it. Eastern craftsmen invented the crossbow and bronze crossbow mechanism during the Spring and Autumn Period; given the right conditions, inventing the flintlock gun would be a piece of cake.

Thinking of this, Xiao Xia took out a roll of blueprints from the cabinet and handed it to Yun Dingxing, saying, "Take a look at this!"

Yun Dingxing unfolded the blueprints, which depicted a long pipe. He glanced at the instructions and smiled, "Your Majesty wants me to make a copper pipe?"

Iron and copper pipes existed as early as the Han Dynasty, and the Imperial Arsenal could manufacture them, but they were far from meeting Xiao Xia's requirements.

Xiao Xia nodded, "That's right, I had the Imperial Arsenal make a copper tube, take a look!"

Xiao Xia took out a three-foot-long copper tube from the cabinet and handed it to Yun Dingxing. "This was cast by the Military Equipment Bureau using the lost-wax method. It has a uniform thickness and is quite exquisite, but it still doesn't meet my requirements. First, it has tiny sand holes on it. Second, the inner cavity is not smooth enough. I require that the entire copper tube must not have a single sand hole, and the inner cavity must be polished smooth. Refer to this copper tube and then make a copper tube for me according to the requirements of the blueprint. If you succeed, I will reward you handsomely!"

"Wei Chen understands!"

"You can also try the forging method. I'll give you a year to figure it out!"

"Your humble servant will certainly ponder this carefully!"

Yun Dingxing bowed, took his leave, and departed.

Yun Dingxing's greatest strength lies in his exquisite craftsmanship and his ability to utilize new technologies. When making gears, he wore a convex lens over his eyes, which enabled him to produce extremely fine workmanship.

Therefore, Xiao Xia had high expectations for Yun Dingxing, hoping that the flintlock pistol could be created in his hands.

That afternoon, Xiao Xia issued an imperial edict promoting He Chou, the Director of the Crafts Bureau, to Minister of Works, and Yun Dingxing to Director of the Crafts Bureau.

...........
In the afternoon, Xiao Xia returned to the palace, and the whole family gathered in Penglai Pavilion in Ningbi Pond, which was where everyone usually gathered and lived in the summer.

Everyone was very excited today. The windows of Penglai Pavilion were all fitted with crystal glass. Although Xiao Xia called it glass, the name "glass" didn't become popular; instead, "crystal glass" became popular.

Previously, the palace was decorated with glass, which allowed light to pass through but made it difficult to see outside. Now, the crystal glass is even more transparent than the crystal tiles on carriages, offering an unobstructed view of the outside scenery.

"Father, how was it made?" the eldest daughter, Yang Junjun, asked curiously.

Xiao Xia laughed and said, "It's not too difficult. You just need to use sand from the riverbank, then mix it with alkali and limestone, and you can also add a little iron. Put them all in a crucible and burn them. You must burn coal and use a blower, otherwise the temperature won't be high enough. Melt them completely, then blow air into them with an iron pipe to make a big bottle. Cut it with a knife, then flatten it, and you'll have the glass you see now."

"This is made of river sand?" Everyone found it unbelievable.

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "What's so strange about it? Aren't river sands all transparent?"

Zhang Qiao asked with a smile, "Isn't that very cheap?"

"It's not cheap now, but it will be very cheap in the future. You can put your herbs and pills in glass jars so that you can see them clearly from the outside."

"That's true. Every time we don't know how much medicine we have left, we have to pour it out and weigh it, which is a hassle. From now on, if we put it in a glass jar, I can know the amount at a glance."

Xiao Xia stood in front of the glass and smiled, "You can't feel its benefits now, but you'll know them when winter comes. Outside, the wind is howling and the snow is falling, but you can still drink hot tea and enjoy the snow and snow scenery outside while standing inside."

Xiao Xia's words made everyone long for winter.

(End of this chapter)