The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 473 What is the use of steam
The winter of the 24th year of the Wanli reign came earlier than usual.

In early November, the capital was already covered in heavy snow.

The temperature seemed to be much lower than before.

This is the call for the outbreak of the Little Ice Age.

In order to deal with the Little Ice Age disaster, Wanli also took over the territory of the Haixi Jurchens and prepared to open up wasteland for farming.

There is enough land over there.

However, it is not that easy to develop.

The severe cold in winter is the biggest problem.

During the Little Ice Age, the temperature there could drop to minus 40 or 50 degrees Celsius!
With the temperature so low, neither the coal stove nor the heated kang seemed to be safe, so he decided to get something new.

On November Bingmao, the capital was still covered with heavy snow, and the Summer Resort was already covered in silver and white.

The heavy snow covered the sky and the ground, making it difficult for people to see clearly.

The temperature dropped to more than ten degrees below zero.

At this time, the waterwheel workshop on the Chaobai River was still bustling with heat.

Wanli was still in the hottest foundry workshop.

Originally, he wanted to spend the winter in Daningwei City, but after visiting Liaodongdusi, he changed his mind.

Because he thought of a very common thing in later generations, which he had seen and used frequently.

What is this thing?

Wang Wei, the Earl of Yongnian, was still a little puzzled when he looked at the pieces of iron pipes turned out from the sand field.

He knew how to make and even install this thing. His Majesty had explained it to him in detail.

However, he really didn't understand what the use of this thing was.

Zhu Changxu was even more confused.

Wanli squatted down with great interest, took a closer look at the iron pipes, and then nodded repeatedly, saying, "Well, not bad, not bad. Just use an iron brush to brush off the fine sand on them and you can install them."

The processing level of the Ming Dynasty is now extremely high. The Summer Palace can even produce a thousand-jin cannon.

It’s just because the barrel caliber ratio is not enough and the range has not reached more than ten miles, so it is still being improved and has not been mass-produced.

The craftsmen here are used to making heavy gun barrels. This kind of iron pipe, which is as thick as an arm and less than half an inch thick, is a piece of cake for them. The surface is very smooth after casting and does not require any processing at all.

Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei became a little confused again.

Is that good?
He was used to seeing the smooth surface of gun barrels.

Looking at this rough surface, he wanted to have it polished.

He thought about it and reminded: "Your Majesty, didn't you say that the connection points must be guaranteed to be airtight?
If the surface of the connecting ring is not polished, there is a possibility of leakage even if we sandwich copper sheets."

Do you want to grind it again?

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "It's not a big problem. Let it leak. There's only steam inside anyway, and it will turn into water when it leaks out. There's no danger.

What we are going to make now is like a kerosene tank, and the main goal is quantity. If each one has to be ground, the quantity will not increase.

As for air leakage, it’s not a big problem. Try clamping copper foil first. If that doesn’t work, there’s still rubber.

Kunisuke has already gone to America to tap rubber, and he will definitely bring back a lot of rubber this time.

We will use rubber to seal it, and it will definitely not leak."

What on earth is rubber? Is it so magical?

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded with a hint of doubt, and then ordered people to quickly clean the iron pipes and load them onto the carriage outside.

Wanli put on his sheepskin coat impatiently, and then asked them to get on the covered carriage in front and rush to the special grinding workshop.

They did not grind the flange surfaces on both sides of the iron pipe, but installed the iron pipe.

It is so hot in the foundry workshop that you have to wear light clothes, but the temperature in the grinding workshop is a bit low.

In the workshop that was used to grind the thousand-jin heavy cannon, because no one knew how long the barrel of the thousand-jin heavy cannon should be, the workshop was built very large, covering an area of ​​several dozen feet. Even lighting four coal stoves inside was of little use as it was still a bit cold.

However, at this moment, a large boiler was erected in the empty space against the wall.

This type of boiler is modified from an oil refinery boiler. The upper structure is basically the same as the oil refinery boiler, except that a large base like a coal stove is added underneath.

After Wanli ordered people to move all the iron pipes in, he began to direct the craftsmen to install them.

The installation is actually very simple. Just connect the various curved and straight iron pipes one by one, connect them to the ground from top to bottom, and then roughly circle them around the corners of the workshop.

The craftsmen were quite skilled at this, because the oil refining boiler also needed a pipe connected to it, and they were already used to installing it.

Wanli saw that they were almost done and immediately waved his hand and said, "Quick, light the fire and boil the water."

This is quick and easy. Just throw a pile of firewood into the big stove below, then pour a can of kerosene into it, light it with a lighter, and a blazing fire will be lit in the big stove.

Then just close the oven door and wait for a while.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the water in the boiler boiled.

At this time, the temperature in the workshop began to rise.

Before long, the huge workshop became warm as spring.

And the temperature is still rising.

There was already a hint of pride on Wanli's face.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei, however, remained bewildered. The Emperor's second son, Zhu Changxu, was rather flattering, saying, "Wow, it's getting warmer, Father. I understand. This is used for heating, just like a coal stove, right?"

Why didn’t the father-in-law react?

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, this thing is called a heater, and it is used specifically for heating.

How do you feel, father-in-law?"

Feel?

How does this feel?
Yongnianbo Wang Wei pondered and said, "This is better than the furnace in the foundry and the big furnace in the forging workshop.

The furnaces and stoves were out of control, and the heat was extreme in the winter, and unnatural in the summer."

Oh, so you have seen many foundries and forging workshops, so you don’t feel anything.

Wanli nodded slightly, then explained: "I mean, what do you think of this way of heating?"

How do you say this?

Yongnianbo Wang Wei thought for a moment, then said carefully, "Your Majesty, this is indeed a good way to heat a large workshop like this.

However, there are very few such large workshops, and even fewer that can accommodate such large boilers.

I would like to say that there seems to be no need for us to go to so much trouble.

After all, if we install a few coal stoves here, it won't be very cold anymore, and just wearing a cotton coat will be enough.

Moreover, this large boiler will only be used for a few months after it is installed. It will not be used for eight or nine months a year, and it will be a bit of a hindrance to put it here.

I feel that if we only consider the craftsmen in these grinding workshops, it would be better to give them a few more sets of cotton clothes for replacement.

It wouldn't cost much, wouldn't be that much trouble, and besides, they could wear the cotton-padded clothes at home, so they'd have a few new sets of clothes."

I didn't do this just for the craftsmen in this grinding workshop. You've misunderstood me!
Wanli shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Father-in-law, this thing is actually mainly used by the garrison troops in Nurgan.

It was incredibly cold there, and the coal stove couldn't handle it. And there was ice and snow for five or six months.

They can't just sit on the warm kang for the next five or six months.

So, I want to install this kind of heating for them."

what?
This is for the garrison troops in Nurgandusi!

Upon hearing this, Yongnianbo Wang Wei couldn't help but exclaimed, "Your Majesty, how much money will it take to invest, and how long will it take?
I have heard that there are at least several million military households stationed there!

Even if we increase production and build as many foundries as possible, we can only produce 10,000 sets a month at most. If we produce more, there will not be enough craftsmen to make muskets and cannons.

By this calculation, we will have to work for ten years to serve more than one million households, and twenty years to serve more than two million households.

Moreover, the cost is quite terrifying, this set must have at least a thousand pounds of wrought iron."

Do you think every household has one?

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "We don't need to do so much. The houses of the garrison troops are not this big.

This boiler can probably provide heating for dozens of households, and two or three sets are enough for a hundred households.

That is to say, 20,000 to 30,000 housing units are enough for one million households, and 70,000 to 80,000 housing units are enough for three million households.

You can have everyone work hard before the New Year, and then start building the foundry after the snow stops, and start mass production after the New Year, so that everything can be fully equipped before the temperature drops in October next year."

How many households does this boiler serve?
Yongnian Earl Wang Wei thought for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, are the courtyards of the garrison troops connected?
Where can such a large boiler be installed? It seems that an ordinary bungalow cannot accommodate it, right? "

This needs to be taken into consideration when building courtyards for the military households there.

Wanli pondered and said, "We really need to build a courtyard for the garrison troops.

It just so happens that the cowshed, pigpen, chicken coop and other places over there also need to be heated in winter, so we can consider using these to connect the courtyards of the garrison soldiers.

As for this boiler, it was not originally intended to be placed in a house where people live.

We need to build a dedicated boiler room to house the boiler, and the boiler room needs to be well ventilated so that no matter how much gas is burned, it won’t smoke anyone.”

Oh, it turns out that this boiler is placed in a special boiler room.

This is much more comfortable to use.

Nowadays, even if you use a coal stove for heating, it is still a bit suffocating, and the doors and windows cannot be closed tightly, otherwise you might faint from the suffocation.

It would be different if a special boiler room was built for heating. The coal would not be burned in the house where people live, so no one would be affected by the smoke.

Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. This way of heating is indeed much more comfortable. I can try changing it for the craftsmen here first."

what is this.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, “This heating or steam has more than one function. It is very useful.

Next we'll start developing something that specifically uses steam."

steam?

Why don't you steam the steamed buns to gain reputation?

Yongnianbo Wang Wei was quite puzzled and asked, "Your Majesty, what else is the steam in here used for besides heating?"

This is more complicated to explain.

However, he had to explain it clearly. He didn't have time to develop things that used steam, so these had to be handed over to Yongnianbo Wang Wei to develop. If others didn't understand, then there was no way to develop it.

The problem is, people these days have never seen those things, how do you explain this?
Upon hearing this, Wanli frowned and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)