Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 72 Frequent Victories: Pirates Promoted to Official Positions (Part 1)

Good news kept pouring in from Shanxi, and the inner court was also filled with good news.

Zhu Jue had always scoffed at Hong Chengchou's meager achievements, but he was delighted by every bit of progress made by the inner court.

Around 9 a.m. that day, he had just finished reviewing the memorials and was about to go to Tongzhou City to check on the construction progress of the three factories when Song Yingxing came running over, his face full of excitement. He bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

You didn't actually invent a lathe, did you?
Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Chang Geng, what's the matter? Why are you so happy?"

Song Yingxing couldn't contain his excitement and said, "Your Majesty, the boiler is finished."

It turns out that the boiler has been built.

This is good news. Without a boiler to provide steam, lathes can't turn and ships can't sail. With a boiler, there will be a continuous and stable power source, and once the lathe is developed, it can run continuously.

Not bad, not bad, really not bad.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

Soon, the group set off on horseback, heading straight for the East City Boiler Factory.

At that time, the boiler factory was actually a large sand casting plant.

This is because there is no large forging equipment, no machine that can roll thick steel plates, and no electric welding. Boilers can only be cast in two sections and then spliced ​​together and riveted together using riveting technology.

When they arrived at a factory, a newly built boiler was lying next to the sandy field, and several craftsmen were even adding firewood to it, preparing to burn steam.

This boiler is somewhat different from boilers of later generations. The main difference is its size. Boilers of later generations are built to be quite large. Even the smallest boiler has a diameter of about half a zhang and a length of at least zhang. This boiler, however, has a diameter of only about three chi and a length of only about half a zhang. When it lies horizontally, it is only about shoulder height with the base underneath.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask, "Chang Geng, why is this boiler so small? Didn't I say we should make it as big as possible? Otherwise, the ships will have to be refilled with water after a short time, and the machine tools will have to be refilled with water after a short time, which is very troublesome."

Do you still think this isn't big enough?

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing quickly explained, "Your Majesty, this is already big enough. I have tried it myself. Even boiling water in a large copper kettle can make the steam engine run back and forth for about an hour. This boiler holds more than ten times the amount of water that the large copper kettle can hold, so it can easily keep the steam engine running for a whole day."

Another issue is the casting process. The larger the boiler, the deeper the sand pit needs to be, and the larger it is, the heavier it becomes. Castings weighing several hundred kilograms require clay molds. The large piles that Meng Hou and his team cast recently were made using clay molds.

It's a cylindrical object with one pointed end. Clay molds are easy to make, but this boiler is hollow and much thicker than that big pile, so it's not easy to make a clay mold for it. Besides, the big pile can be laid horizontally in the sand, but this boiler can't. Whether it's horizontal or vertical, it's pretty much the same.

Our sandpit isn't deep enough; that's all we can build. If we build anything bigger, the sandpit won't be able to hold it all.

Well, the casting technology wasn't up to par back then, so it was really not easy to build such a big boiler.

Okay, whatever, we need to have something first. It's unrealistic to think about building something big when we don't even have something small.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "In that case, let's make it this big for now, and we'll figure out how to make it bigger later."

Okay.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing said rather impatiently, "Your Majesty, why don't we start burning it and try it out?"

Do we need to try this?
Zhu Jue looked at the seam and suddenly realized.

We really have to test whether it's leaking or not. Steam engines need steam pressure to work, so if the boiler is leaking, then there's no pressure left.

He thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "Let's give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing immediately ordered the craftsmen to light the firewood below and let it burn fiercely.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but remind him, "Chang Geng, it's definitely not okay to use firewood to burn this boiler. Firewood doesn't burn for long, and it would take a long time to burn it for a day. The boiler needs to be burned with coal."

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I know this. However, a stove needs to be designed underneath the coal burner, and the coal stove needs to be equipped with a chimney, otherwise it will suffocate people."

The coal stove and chimney haven't been built yet, so we can only try using firewood for now.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can indeed be fatal.

Your experience is truly extensive.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and looked at it more closely.

This boiler is really simple, just like two big iron barrels put together. On one side, there is a pipe about the thickness of a thigh with a lid, and on the other side, there is a pipe about the thickness of a finger with a stopper.

Wait, how do I add water?
He circled the boiler once, then asked, "Chang Geng, where's the water inlet?" Song Yingxing quickly pointed to the thick pipe and said, "Your Majesty, this is the water inlet."

Is this where you add water?

I thought this was a place to vent my anger and that was a place to relieve pressure.

Zhu Jue pointed to the pipe, which was even thicker than a finger, and asked, "Is this the one that lets out the steam? Is the steam engine directly connected to it?"

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the steam engine pipes are only this thick; you can just connect them directly to the top."

Uh, that's way too simplistic and crude.

The key issue is that your light can only power a steam engine; it can't be used as a boiler for heating.

How much heat can a pipe as thick as a finger provide?
Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then said solemnly, "Chang Geng, it's not safe to connect the steam engine directly to the boiler. It's fine for testing, but for mass production, the boiler still needs to use a large pipe to output steam, and then switch to a smaller pipe when it reaches the steam engine."

We need to make the vent as thick as a thigh, so that the boiler can also provide heating in winter, and the house can be warm and cozy without burning firewood or charcoal.”

Heating?

Song Yingxing exclaimed with delight, “Your Majesty, is there such a wonderful thing? That’s wonderful! It’s already unbearably cold back home in winter, and it must be even colder here. I was worried about how we would get through this winter. Now that we have heating, it’s so comfortable, and we don’t have to suffer anymore.”

Feeling better now?
People's needs are the way to make money!
Don't rich people just want to be comfortable?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Chang Geng, how much do you think such a boiler, plus pipes as thick as a thigh, could sell for if it were used to circle the main house of a wealthy family?"

You want to sell boilers with pipes as thick as a thigh?

Song Yingxing pondered, “We use steel here, which is much better than wrought iron. It should sell for ten taels of silver for a hundred catties. This boiler weighs about five or six hundred catties, and the pipes probably weigh more than five or six hundred catties. Add the copper sealing inside and the processing costs, and a set should sell for at least three hundred taels to make a profit.”

Are you kidding me? Three hundred taels for a set? How am I supposed to make money?

Besides, wealthy families would spend more than three hundred taels of silver burning smokeless or even fragrant charcoal all winter, which is much more comfortable than roasting over a charcoal fire.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then decisively said, "We'll sell each set for three thousand taels."

what?
Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing gasped and asked, "Your Majesty, can a set really sell for three thousand taels?"

Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "You don't need to worry about that. As long as we install one set at the Zhou family mansion, it will definitely sell. What you should be concerned about is the production volume."

Winter is just over a month away, you need to build at least a few hundred units, otherwise you'll miss out on making money this winter.

Several hundred sets still?

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, there isn't enough copper. The joints and pipe connections in the boilers need to be sealed with thick copper sheets, otherwise there will be air leaks. If we build hundreds of such boilers and pipes, then there will be no copper available elsewhere."

No copper?
The only way to get this copper was to buy it from those colonial bandits.

I don't know how things are going with Xiong Wencan. If all else fails, I could ask Zheng Zhilong to buy some copper as a temporary measure.

Sometimes, things just happen by chance.

Zhu Jue was thinking about Xiong Wencan when Fang Zhenghua suddenly rushed in with a memorial in his hand, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, good news from Fujian."

It's like my wish came true.

Zhu Jue took the memorial and saw that it was indeed a report of victory from Xiong Wencan.

In fact, Zheng Zhilong had already accepted the offer of amnesty.

Xiong Wencan did not make a fuss. Not only did he not make a fuss, he also deliberately sent Yu Zigao to lead the Zhejiang and Fujian naval ships to Dongfan to patrol for pirates.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zheng Zhilong located Xu Xinsu's pirate fleet along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian and annihilated it in one fell swoop!
Xu Xinsu's strength is actually not that great. He only has about fifty pirate ships and three or four thousand pirates under his command. Without the protection of the Zhejiang and Fujian naval forces, Xu Xinsu is no match for them.

Zheng Zhilong had thousands of warships of various sizes and more than 30,000 pirates under his command.

Xiong Wencan also specifically mentioned that Zheng Zhilong wanted to become a naval commander.

Therefore, this time Xiong Wencan not only requested Zheng Zhilong to be granted the title of Zhaoyong General, but also proposed to add the title of Five Tiger Guerrilla General to Zheng Zhilong's memorial.

(End of this chapter)