Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

After asking Wang Changjian, Li Chengming looked at Liu Dazhu, who looked nervous.

Although this wasn't the first time Liu Dazhu had met Li Chengming, and he had even given Li Chengming directions before, this was their first formal meeting.

The news that the Xingfu Army had defeated Zheng's tens of thousands of troops had already spread throughout Xinzhou Prefecture, and Fenglingtou Town was the first to hear about it.

At this time, the Restoration Army was at the height of its power, and the regions that had implemented the new policies regarded Li Chengming as a hero of the world, and all prayed that the Restoration Army could conquer the world!

At the time, it was one thing not knowing Li Chengming's identity, but now that he did, Liu Dazhu became even more nervous when he saw Li Chengming looking over.

Ignoring someone's nervousness is the greatest respect you can show them.

Li Chengming asked directly, "Are you Liu Dazhu?"

Liu Dazhu stammered, "Yes...I am."

Li Chengming said, "I heard that you wiped out half of the bandits on your first team. Were you nervous at the time?"

Liu Dazhu whispered, "No... I'm not nervous. I'm just thinking about my worthless life. Killing one is a bonus."

Li Chengming said, "Raise your head and speak louder. The Restoration Army doesn't need cowards. If you're not even afraid of death, what else could you be afraid of?"

Liu Dazhu raised his head, but didn't dare to meet Li Chengming's gaze, and spoke a little louder: "Yes!"

Liu Dazhu felt a mixture of gratitude, awe, and inferiority towards Li Chengming, which explained his nervousness. This nervousness wasn't something that could be easily eliminated; it would take some time to adjust.

Seeing Liu Dazhu's reaction, Li Chengming found it amusing and then asked, "I heard that you not only have great strength, but you also have a talent for reading?"

Liu Dazhu looked completely bewildered: "What...what is talent?"

"That means you're cut out for studying." Li Chengming handed Liu Dazhu a piece of dried clay and said, "Here's what we'll do: write down all the characters you've learned recently on the ground. Start writing now!"

Liu Dazhu was puzzled, but he carefully took the clay and squatted down to start writing on the flat ground.

Liu Dazhu's writing is powerful, neat, and each stroke is well-arranged.

Li Chengming nodded, "Judging from this handwriting, he has the potential to be a scholar."

After Liu Dazhu finished writing, Li Chengming said to Wang Changjian, "Teach Liu Dazhu all the characters you have learned. After you finish teaching him, have Liu Dazhu come to the city to find me."

Wang Changjian shouted, "Yes!" At the same time, he secretly envied Liu Dazhu. Being chosen by Commander-in-Chief Li meant that Liu Dazhu's future was limitless. He had to get along well with him so that Liu Dazhu would remember his kindness when he became successful in the future.

Then, Li Chengming ignored what Wang Changjian and Liu Dazhu were thinking and sent them away.

Watching Wang Changjian and Liu Dazhu's departing figures, Liang Zicheng said, "Those two are both quite good!"

Li Chengming smiled and said, "There are more than just one or two good people in the Xingfu Army, but perhaps they started their studies at too old an age, and many of them don't have much talent in academics. That's why Liu Dazhu is quite rare!"

Liang Zicheng thought for a moment and asked, "Don't we still have two scout companies? There must be quite a few good prospects in them, right?"

Thinking of those scout companies, Li Chengming smiled with satisfaction: "Those are all treasures. Regardless of their talent, they must all receive three years of compulsory education. They must master literacy. After three years, they will be given subject-specific education depending on their abilities. Those who emerge from there will all be talented individuals!"

Liang Zicheng said with some regret, "It will take at least three years, that's too long..."

Li Chengming interrupted, saying, "Three years is very short. We received nine years of compulsory education. Education is a long-term project and cannot be rushed."

Liang Zicheng gave a wry smile. Since arriving in this era, he had always thought about seizing every minute, but he never imagined that truly changing an era could not be done in a short time.

Li Chengming and Liang Zicheng chatted as they toured the steel plant.

The steel plant here is now on the right track. All six blast furnaces have been built, and the operators at every stage have become proficient.

Following the assembly line concept, Liang Zicheng assigned each operator to only one small step of the process. The advantage was that operators could quickly get started and the efficiency was high. The disadvantage was that if any step went wrong, the entire process could easily come to a standstill.

Therefore, it is still necessary to have a skilled craftsman familiar with the entire process overseeing the process so that any problems can be resolved promptly.

A skilled craftsman requires a great deal of time and resources to train, and the lack of skilled craftsmen is the most important reason limiting the expansion of steel mills.

In conclusion, the problem is still a lack of talent, and what is most needed to cultivate talent is time.

Many things can only be achieved by continuously investing resources and waiting for a long time to pass before finally reaping the rewards.

......

In Qianshan County, Yan Huidong looked excitedly at the two motors in front of him.

The two motors are connected by a wire, so that if one motor is turned, the other motor will also turn.

These two machines are both motors and generators, capable of producing stable direct current. If direct current is applied, they can also be made to rotate.

Yan Huidong looked at the pair of motors/generators in front of him with satisfaction; they finally resembled the motors/generators of later generations.

Are electric motors/generators difficult to manufacture?

The answer is not difficult. As long as you have magnets and copper wire, a skilled wire winder can hand-wind a motor/generator.

The problem is that with a haphazardly designed motor/generator, you can't control the magnitude of the current and voltage it generates, and it's difficult to guarantee long-term operation and the generation of a stable current.

The thickness of the copper wire in the motor/generator, the number of turns, the size and magnetic field strength of the magnet, and the design of the motor can all affect the current, voltage, and efficiency.

The more fatal problem for Yan Huidong was that he didn't have any measuring instruments and initially had no way to measure current and voltage.

Everything had to start from scratch. Yan Huidong spent a lot of time making an electrometer himself. Then, using the generator and walkie-talkie batteries he brought with him as references, he constantly adjusted the electrometer's measurement scale until it was finally usable.

Only after the electrometer is properly manufactured can the current and voltage generated by the generator be measured.

In short, making a motor/generator is a simple matter, but to build a truly usable motor/generator, a lot of experiments are needed before the various parameters can be determined.

Yan Huidong recorded the generator's parameters: speed 600 rpm, voltage 76 volts, power generation efficiency 79%, maximum power 428 watts.

It's barely usable, but it's too strenuous to drive by human power; it must be driven by animal power or water power.

Yan Huidong excitedly jotted down the various parameters of the DC motor/generator on a piece of paper, then placed it alongside the design drawings. He instructed his guard, "Take these drawings and these two generators to Xinzhou City. Be careful not to bump or damage them. Once you arrive in Xinzhou City, you must personally hand them over to Commander Li; he will need them greatly!"

Zhou Lei was in charge of guarding Qianshan County, while Yan Huidong was only there to assist in the defense, or more precisely, to scout out enemy positions. Compared to Zhou Lei's busy schedule, Yan Huidong had much more free time.

With no movement from Fenshuiguan and the troops from Nanchang yet to arrive, Yan Huidong spent his free time studying generators.

The generator components and copper wires had to be brought from Xinzhou City, so it was really not easy to make the generator.

For Yan Huidong, discovering a usable motor/generator was more exciting than winning a battle.

Once the prototype is manufactured, it is not difficult to mass-produce motors and generators.

Yan Huidong is also developing other specifications of motors and generators.