Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 244 Supplies Exhausted, Reinforcements Cut Off, Jurchens Weep in Bleeding (Part 1)

Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, actually conquered the entire Central Plains!

This guy is no longer just the strongest rebel king.

It's no exaggeration to say that this guy even has the strength to contend for the world!
The Central Plains have hundreds of millions of acres of farmland. Although they have suffered a disaster, the situation is not serious. After deducting the food for the common people, collecting tens of millions of bushels of grain a year is certainly not a problem.

Moreover, the population of the Central Plains was frighteningly large. Although the number of people officially registered in the Ming Dynasty was only five or six million, the number of people enslaved in the vassal states of those vassal kings was more than ten million!

Originally, 99% of these fields and people were controlled by princes, royal families, and local gentry. Therefore, although the Central Plains suffered from drought and the disaster victims were poorly clothed and starving, the princes, royal families, and local gentry continued to live a life of extravagance and debauchery.

Now, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong have wiped out all the princes, royal families, and even local tyrants and gentry in the Central Plains. More than 90% of the land in the Central Plains has become ownerless.
These fields were naturally taken by Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, without any hesitation. Now, this guy would have more than 90 million mu of land.

Moreover, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong only took away the looted money; they didn't take much of the grain they plundered from the various vassal states. The King of Hanzhong already had an enormous amount of grain.

In this situation, if Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, were to mass produce troops at an alarming rate, he could easily amass over two or even three million soldiers!
How many troops does the Ming Dynasty court, or rather the current emperor, have?
The Central Plains borders Beizhili. What if Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, mobilizes two or three million troops to march straight to the capital? The Central Plains also borders Nanzhili. What if Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, mobilizes two or three million troops to occupy the rich lands of Jiangnan?
There's a saying: "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are dying of anxiety."

Zhu Jue didn't seem to be in a hurry at all; he was currently focused on building the railcar.

This is because this thing has so many uses. It can be used in ports and docks, cities, open-pit mines and mine shafts, factories, warehouses, and even streets and alleys!
At this time, the streets of the outer city in the northeast were covered with all kinds of tracks, some with sleepers and some without, some large and some small, all sorts of them.

The trolleys on the tracks come in all shapes and sizes, some with frames and some without, some made of steel and some of wood.

This is systematic research and development, and systematic testing.

With Zhu Jue's guidance, Song Yingxing understood that the various parameters of the railcar could be tested before various styles could be developed as needed.

For example, if they plan to use a steam locomotive, then the main consideration should be sturdiness and durability, and the carriages should be made of steel as much as possible.

For example, if they are going to use it in the workshop, then the main priority should be lightness. After all, a few people can only move things weighing a few thousand kilograms, so there is no problem using wood for the base, and the frame is not needed.

As for the parameters they tested, they mainly tested the load-bearing capacity of the track and the bearing capacity of various foundations.

For example, a steam locomotive-powered train can weigh tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of kilograms per section, so it definitely needs the thickest rails and sleepers.

For example, a flatbed cart pushed by a person only weighs a few thousand kilograms, so the track can be made smaller and there is no need to put any sleepers underneath.

This systematic testing seems to be the first time in history that it has been done. People in R&D seem to be naturally obsessed with this kind of testing process.

Song Yingxing and his disciples were having such a blast with the test that they didn't even notice Zhu Jue had been there for most of the day.

Zhu Jue examined it carefully for a while, and finally couldn't help but lean over and ask, "Chang Geng, how did the test go?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing quickly turned around, bowed, and then excitedly said, "Your Majesty is wise! We can make the tracks and carriages into all sorts of different styles."

For example, for those used in factories with a load capacity of up to 5,000 jin (2,500 kg), the track only needs to be two inches wide, and there's no need to place sleepers underneath. It can be cast directly into square steel without any problem; those thick ones, even one zhang (3.3 meters) long, would only weigh about 50 jin (25 catties).

For example, the kind used between warehouses and factories, with a load capacity of up to 10,000 jin (5,000 kg), is pulled by horses. The track only needs to be three inches wide, and a sleeper can be placed vertically underneath. It can also be made of square steel.

As for load-bearing capacities of tens of thousands of kilograms, we are still testing that.

It seems that for loads around 20,000 jin (10,000 kg), a single sleeper can be buried vertically under the track. However, for loads around 30,000 jin (15,000 kg), standard sleepers won't be sufficient. We're still considering whether to thicken the sleepers or lay them horizontally.

Actually, laying sleepers horizontally is a misconception.

The reason he initially taught Song Yingxing to lay the sleepers horizontally was because railway tracks in later generations all had their sleepers laid horizontally.

Laying the sleepers horizontally at this point is a mistake!

This is because they didn't have steam locomotives yet, and at this time the carriages could only be pulled by horses. If the sleepers were laid sideways, the horses would definitely trip over them!
Therefore, Song Yingxing hesitated whether to thicken the sleepers or lay them horizontally.

There's really nothing to hesitate about. Whatever we're researching, we have to start from reality. Since laying the sleepers horizontally is wrong, then we should lay them vertically. Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and then decisively said, "You should consider laying the sleepers vertically first. Don't consider laying them horizontally for now."

We don't have time to develop a steam locomotive right now. Laying the sleepers horizontally and testing them later is fine. The key is to quickly develop the horse-drawn railcar; many places are waiting to use it.

Oh, so we don't need to consider laying it horizontally for now, right?
That's easy.

Song Xingxing pondered, "Now we can use sleepers that are about six inches wide and thick to support the track vertically without any problem, and they can support a load of 20,000 jin."

So, if we make the sleepers about nine inches wide and thick and place them vertically under the tracks, it should be fine to support about 30,000 kilograms.

Based on this calculation, a load of around 40,000 jin would require 1.2 feet of timber, and a load of around 50,000 jin would require 1.5 feet of timber. This humble servant only needs to have someone test it; there shouldn't be any problem."

Don't be so simplistic and crude!

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Chang Geng, you need to consider the timber issue. A 1.5-foot timber square requires at least a 2-foot or 2-hub tree to cut. Such trees are too rare."

Moreover, the main track we need to lay is one that can carry a load of about 50,000 kilograms, which can easily stretch for hundreds of miles. How many of these rare large trees would that require?

Therefore, you can't just think about making the wood thicker. You can consider putting cement mortar under the wood, or you can directly add stones to the cement mortar and mix it into concrete.

Once this concrete has completely hardened, it becomes as hard as stone. It's like a foundation built with stones, you know?
Just think about it, how heavy is a wall, and how wide and deep does the foundation need to be dug?

If concrete is used as the roadbed, then the sleepers only serve to stabilize and cushion the load. Regardless of the weight of the railcar—20,000, 30,000, 40,000, or 50,000 kilograms—six-inch thick timber will suffice. You only need to consider how much concrete to place underneath.

Oh, we also have to consider the timber issue. Timber that is 1.5 feet long is really rare; that kind of timber is needed to build giant ships.

If I were used as a sleeper, Liangfu would fight me to the death.

If you're just laying concrete underneath, then it's simple; you don't even need to calculate the dimensions of the foundation—any bricklayer would know that.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. If we use concrete as the roadbed, then there is no need for testing. Even bricklayers know how much weight a foundation can bear. We can start laying the tracks tomorrow."

Don't worry, this is just the issue of laying the tracks; there's also the railcar above.

This railcar can be used not only to haul goods, but also to transport people.

He later saw a movie, something like "Let Something Fly for a While".

There are scenes of horses pulling trains at breakneck speed.

He originally thought it was something that only happened in dramas, but he even looked it up later.

As it turns out, this wasn't just something from a play; horse-drawn wagons and even horse-drawn buses were popular in 19th-century Europe. Many European cities even had horse-drawn bus systems, and it was no problem for one horse to pull a bus carrying forty or fifty people.

We could also consider laying tracks in the capital and establishing a system of horse-drawn passenger trains or freight trains.

As he was pondering this, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode over, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, General Pan has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

Pan Yunteng must have advanced to the north bank of the Yellow River.

Zhu Jue took the memorial and was taken aback.

Pan Yunteng's feat wasn't just limited to advancing to the north bank of the Yellow River. This guy actually scared Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong away, and the entire Central Plains has been taken over by him!

Now the rebels don't need to worry anymore. Without the grain-producing land of the Central Plains, the rebels can only maintain a size of a few hundred thousand at most, which is enough for Pan Yunteng's 900,000 troops.

As for the Jurchens, I wonder how well the siege of Liaoyang is going.

(End of this chapter)