Become a feudal king from today

"You all go back." Seeing is worse than hearing.

Zhao Xu now wanted to see with his own eyes the achievements of Wang Ying and Wang Chong, so he chased Liu Fu and others away.

The eyes of Liu Fu and the others were somewhat resentful. Their official positions in the court were higher than those of Wang Chong and Wang Ying, but in their eyes, they seemed to be the real treasures.

He was extra affectionate to them, which made them jealous.

Zhao Xu was too lazy to pay attention to them and went straight out of the study with Wang Ying and Wang Chong.

The three of them went to the steam engine workshop first.

There is indeed a steam engine the size of a locomotive lying on the ground.

However, there are still some parts that have not been installed.

"With a little modification, it can become a steam locomotive." Zhao Xu said to Wang Chong.

The mechanical drawings he gave Wang Chong included a steam locomotive.

Therefore, Wang Chong is quite familiar with the concept of steam locomotive.

Hearing this, he said: "Making a steam locomotive is already in my plan. This steam engine has been assembled. The next step is to build a steam locomotive head."

Zhao Xu nodded, looking forward to this very much.

Thinking of something, he continued: "But this is a single-cylinder steam engine after all, and its efficiency is limited. Next, you need to expand the efficiency of the steam engine and develop a three-expansion and four-cylinder steam engine."

If the steam engine currently manufactured by Wang Chong is a large steam engine, then the three-expansion four-cylinder steam engine is a super-large steam engine.

This extremely large steam engine was designed for use on giant steamships and ironclads.

Titanic's steam engine was a three-expansion four-cylinder steam engine.

Single-cylinder steam engines can only match small steamships.

But it is enough to pull the sail warship forward.

"I have asked a group of students to explore this giant steam engine." Wang Chong heard this and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

With the advent of the steam age, there were too many machines that needed to be developed, and they were becoming more and more complex. He was under a lot of pressure.

Zhao Xu saw this and patted him on the shoulder, "I can only continue to work hard for you."

"Your Highness is serious. This is my interest. I am just worried that I will miss the important event of His Highness." Wang Chong said.

"It doesn't matter, I know you tried your best." Zhao Xu smiled.

After thinking for a while, he said: "In order to stimulate more enthusiasm among students and create a good research and development atmosphere, I decided to establish a research and development institute."

"At that time, we will choose a quiet place to build the research institute, and at the same time, we will equip you with complete laboratories and living facilities in the hospital. From now on, your food, clothing, housing and transportation will be taken care of by dedicated people. You only need to concentrate on research and development."

"Also, the monthly salary of students in the research and development institute will be greatly increased, with a minimum of thirty taels of silver per month and a maximum of three hundred taels of silver per month. For every research result produced, the students in the corresponding team will also receive rewards, how about that?"

Before Wang Chong had time to speak, Wang Ying said enviously: "Your Highness, I am a little moved by such a generous treatment."

His monthly salary is only fifty taels of silver.

If he develops something more and adds rewards, he will be no worse than him.

"Is this appropriate, Your Highness?" Wang Chong said. He was a little worried. In this way, wouldn't the treatment be much higher than that of officials?

He was moved by the attention King Yan paid to them, but he was a little flattered.

Zhao Xu's tone was decisive, "You are worthy of this silver. You can just take what this king gives you."

He did this not only to motivate the students involved in the research and development, but also to set an example for the students in the Science and Technology School.

Let them study hard and strive to enter the R\u0026D institute.

After all, after the R\u0026D institute is established, there are certain thresholds.

Only the best of the best will be selected.

After talking about this, they went to the Military War Department and inspected the steel mill.

As soon as I entered the workshop gate, a wave of heat hit me.

Zhao Xu saw an iron cable running from south to north above the steel mill, and the iron locks were constantly moving, transporting buckets of molten iron that fell below to the converter in the middle.

The craftsman then pours the molten iron into the converter below.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Xu felt as if he had entered a modern steel factory.

No, not as if.

This is a real modern steel plant.

Following the iron rope, he passed through a door. Next to the converter was the blast furnace.

At this moment, molten iron gushes out of the blast furnace and flows into an iron barrel with an iron sheet on the outside and refractory material on the inside.

When the iron rope was raised from under the blast furnace workshop, the craftsmen hooked the hook on the iron barrel.

The iron rope rises, pulls the iron bucket up, and then moves it to the converter.

The power of the iron cable comes from the steam engine fixed underground in the steel mill.

This molten iron becomes molten steel after being smelted in a converter.

The craftsman opens the valve at the bottom of the converter, and the molten steel flows out, entering each mold and changing into different shapes.

"It's really like a native chicken turning into a phoenix." Zhao Xu joked.

The amount of steel smelted every day in such a steel mill is huge.

The era of cheap steel has arrived in Yanzhou, and the conditions for manufacturing rails are already in place.

"Your Highness's words describe it aptly. Isn't it like a chicken turning into a phoenix?" Wang Ying laughed.

When he saw the first batch of molten steel flowing out of the converter, he was beyond shocked.

Compared with the steelmaking scene in the past, it is really a world of difference.

"Hahaha..." Zhao Xu and Wang Chong also laughed.

After wandering around the steel workshop for a while, Zhao Xu followed Wang Ying to the musket workshop.

Here, he saw gun barrels made of converter steel.

Unlike the previous barrels, the barrel made by Wang Ying this time has a trapezoidal protrusion at the front and a concave iron sheet in the middle.

This is the sight of the gun.

Because the rifled guns used by the Wangfu Army are modified from the previous flintlock guns.

There is no sight on the barrel.

After all, the flintlock gun relies on dense shooting to kill the enemy.

Including the modified rifled guns, they still use the flintlock array to kill the enemy, but the accuracy is better than the flintlock gun.

But if the soldiers can accurately aim at the enemy on the battlefield, they still need the assistance of the sight.

So, since a new barrel was made this time, he simply asked Wang Ying to add a sight to the barrel.

In this way, their soldiers will be more threatening to the enemy.

Moreover, he can even train some snipers.

After all, the effective range of the rifled gun with the new barrel reaches 500 meters, and the maximum range reaches 900 meters, which can be used as a sniper rifle.

If appropriate tactics are adopted on the battlefield, it will be a serious threat to the enemy artillery and generals.

"Currently, 3,000 new barrels have been drilled out. In three months, 60,000 barrels can be drilled out." Wang Ying introduced to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly. This time he only planned to make 60,000 new rifles to replace the front-line soldiers.

After all, rifles with an effective range of 300 meters are enough.

Moreover, if it is not a sniper equipped with a telescope, the enemy soldiers are just peanuts at a distance of more than 300 meters.

It is difficult for soldiers to shoot the enemy accurately, and in the end, they still have to rely on intensive shooting to injure the enemy in large numbers.

Therefore, there is no need to replace them all.

When needed, it is not too late to mass produce.