The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 248 Ming Speed
It's already a bit hot in Jiangnan in April.

It was even hotter in Jinling City because there were so many people. It was so hot during the day that people had to wear light clothes.

Longjiang Island is not bad, with a cool breeze and extremely comfortable.

The so-called Longjiangzhou is the Jiangxinzhou opposite the Baochuan Factory.

This place is really huge, with a length of more than twenty miles and the widest part probably about four or five miles.

Originally, there were no people or anything here, just wild grass, trees, and sandy mudflats.

At this moment, Longjiang Island was filled with tents, people everywhere, and walls and houses under construction everywhere.

More than 20 docks have been built on the other side of the Baochuan Factory, which originally had no dock, and more than 20 huge pits have been dug out on the originally flat mudflats.

In the direction of the river center, hundreds of water wheels have been erected, and the workshops next to the water wheels are about to be completed.

This is the speed of the Ming Dynasty. As long as enough money and food are provided, not only is the Ming army invincible, but the speed at which the Ming Dynasty craftsmen work is also invincible.

Wanli originally lived in the Jinling Imperial Palace, but it was too troublesome to run back and forth every day. He had to ride a horse and take a boat, and it would take him an hour or so just to be on the road every day.

He simply took tens of thousands of soldiers from the Shenwu Camp and set up camp in Longjiang Island, inspecting the construction progress every day.

Early in the morning at about 1 a.m., when the sky was just getting light, he could not wait to lead thousands of imperial guards and cavalry towards the center of the river.

Because Peng Shugu sent someone to bring the news yesterday that several waterwheel workshops here are about to be built and the sawing machines are about to be installed.

At this moment, there are not only a row of waterwheels and a row of workshops in the middle of the river, but also piles of neatly stacked logs.

Deng Zilong and his team are very fast at cutting down trees. Now they can deliver a batch of trees every five days or so. They cut down trees of all sizes, and they will cut down any tree that can be used for shipbuilding.

Moreover, they left behind 3,000 soldiers and hundreds of craftsmen to cut logs in the deep mountains and forests. Although the freshly cut logs were a bit wet and heavy, and one centipede boat could only pull about 500 logs, it would be quite terrifying if they had 100 centipede boats pulling them continuously.

They pulled 50,000 pieces of wood in one trip, and 100,000 pieces in two trips. Now more than 20 days have passed, and they have pulled four trips, a total of 200,000 pieces of wood, enough to make 200 1,000-piece Fu ships.

Wanli led thousands of light cavalry across the piles of huge logs and soon arrived near the row of water wheels.

At this time, a waterwheel was actually turning, which proved that the sawing machine there was most likely installed.

He rode his horse over and saw that Peng Shugu, Old Yang and others were already standing outside the workshop waiting for him.

After everyone exchanged greetings, he couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? Can the saw be used?"

Peng Shugu nodded excitedly and said, "It works, Your Majesty. This sawing machine is really useful."

Upon hearing this, Wanli immediately waved his hand and said, "Let's go and take a look."

There was a lot of fog on the river, and it was still hazy outside at this time, but there were still oil lamps lit inside.

He walked into the workshop and took a look, and nodded slightly.

This kind of workshop for sawing wood blocks and boards is actually very simple. It just has a sawing machine similar to a large table in the middle, and some racks on both sides for placing wood blocks and boards. Nothing else is needed.

However, their sawing machines and stands are made very neatly and exquisitely, and they look very comfortable.

The sawing machine is actually very simple. It is just a large platform with a gap near the waterwheel, and the circular saw blade extends from the gap.

If they wanted to saw wood squares and boards, they just had to measure them with a ruler and then nail a piece of wood about half a meter long to the inside of the saw blade.

At this time, the circular saw blade was spinning rapidly, the wooden planks next to it were nailed, and there were some sawdust on them. There were also several wooden planks about the thickness of arms on the shelf next to it. It was obvious that they had tried it.

Seeing this, Wanli said with interest: "Let's try with a log."

Uh, you want to come to the log?

Upon hearing this, Old Yang quickly picked up a wooden plank with nails on it, carefully inserted it into the inside of the saw blade, and then gently hammered it a few times.

Then he asked the carpenter next to him to carry up a log about ten feet long.

It is really easy to saw wood with a sawing machine. They just need to push the log on the inside of the saw blade. The rapidly rotating saw blade is much better than two people sawing together.

In a short while, several inches of thickness were sawed off on one side of the log, and the side became flat.

Next, push the log back and then push it over the inner wooden square. Do this four times and the log, which is thicker than your thigh, will become a square.

Old Yang pulled out the newly nailed wood, then led the two craftsmen to push it back and forth a few times, and several wood squares as thick as arms were sawed. This speed was indeed fast, but there was something wrong with their method.

Wanli looked carefully and then pointed at the rapidly spinning saw blade and said, "Be careful. This saw blade can't distinguish between wood and hands. If your hands touch it, you will get hurt. So, when you push it to the last point, it's best to use a piece of wood to push it forward, and don't put your hands there."

His Majesty is really good to the craftsmen.

Old Yang nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I will remember it."

There doesn't seem to be anything interesting here.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Have you ever tried sawing wood boards?"

Peng Shugu quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the plank must be at least a foot wide. This saw blade isn't big enough to cut it. We're just installing a sawing machine for cutting planks next to us."

Just in time to check it out.

Upon hearing this, Wanli immediately waved his hand and said, "Come on, take me to see it."

Peng Shugu and Old Yangtou hurriedly took them to the workshop next door.

At this time, the sawing machine inside had not been installed yet. The table had been made, but the saw blade had not been installed yet. The things under the waterwheel were still scattered.

Wanli walked over and took a closer look. The saw blade on the ground was probably as big as a small foot basin, and the iron frame that mounted the saw blade looked like a cannon turret.

He looked at it for a while, then waved his hand and said, "Let's start."

Upon hearing this, Peng Shugu immediately ordered his men to lift a large object similar to an iron bucket, put it on the cylinder extending from the waterwheel, and then use a small iron rod to reach into the hole that had been drilled and hit it a few times.

Then he picked up a cylindrical pin as thick as a child's arm, hammered it in with force, and then smashed both sides. The big pulley was then installed.

The small pulley seemed to be connected to the saw blade. He put a copper ring on the small pulley and inserted it into the round hole on the iron base. He also installed two semicircular baffles, and the small pulley was also installed.

The next step is to measure the size and determine the position. After the position is determined, install the thick leather belt and use a few large iron nails about a foot long to fix the iron base to the ground. It seems to be almost done.

He then ordered someone to bring the wooden platform over and insert the saw blade through the gap that had already been opened. The sawing machine seemed to be installed.

The problem is, the saw blade isn't spinning very fast.

Wanli couldn't help but look towards the waterwheel axle with curiosity.

Seeing this, Peng Shugu quickly waved his hand and said, "Go, have the people outside open the buckle and install the water bucket."

Oh, the waterwheel won’t turn without the water bucket and the clip.

After a while, the waterwheel began to turn slowly, and the saw blade began to spin rapidly.

Next comes sawing the boards.

This time they nailed a half-foot-wide wooden square on the inside of the saw blade, and then they were able to lift up a waist-thick log.

The first four pushes were still peeling, and it seemed like there was no problem after several people pushed it together.

Once the log is roughly square, it can be sawn into boards.

As a result, when several people pushed it together, the saw blade got stuck!
Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but frown.

Old Yang calmly ordered his men to move the wooden plank back a little, then pushed it slowly, and it was no longer stuck.

Wanli saw them sawing a piece of wood about ten feet long and had to retreat several times. He couldn't help but frown and said, "It seems that the power of this waterwheel is not enough."

Old Yang nodded excitedly and said, "That's enough, that's enough, Your Majesty! If we were to saw this board manually, it would take at least half an hour and be very tiring. This is easy and fast, no problem at all."

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Let's make a few 24-meter water wheels. It's not easy to push those pine trees that are over ten feet long back and forth."

That's true. It would probably take more than ten people to push a pine tree that's over ten feet long.

They haven't even built a platform that long yet.

Upon hearing this, Old Yang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will immediately order someone to build a 24-meter waterwheel."

(End of this chapter)