Future library

Six thigh-thick iron pillars stand on a black steel structure base, with long black bolts tightly fixing it to the rocky ground.

A set of two discs, like a molten iron wheel, rotates at a slower frequency, and a huge exhaust sound is emitted from the chimney next to it.

The two matching iron cables go up and down to pump out the water in the mine. Then it is discharged along the stone flood channel into the nearby river.

Cheng Jinzhou was still flying 100 meters in the air, feeling quite satisfied when he saw the flattened area of ​​three square kilometers.

The second batch of funding from the church, in addition to the materials used to continue to waste, is mainly two steam engines.

Although it is the simplest and most rudimentary Savery steam engine, it can still improve efficiency considerably when used in rudimentary mines.

Of course, the most important labor force in De'an Coal Mine, accounting for more than 90% of the labor output, is the 3,500 miners. Each of them can dig out 100 kilograms of coal a day and produce 5,000 tons a month. This quantity has great potential for development, because the coal mine in De'an is very large, and almost as much coal can be dug out as there are labor forces. Although There are not many good-quality lots, but they can still meet basic needs. At least there is no problem selling to the Star Alliance.

Coal mountains that are forty to fifty meters high are scattered in every corner of the site. It took three months to create a preliminary model of the mine. But except for Cheng Jinzhou, several of the stewards in charge of the mine were worried.

Cheng Cha, who was transferred from Hongri Village, spent the morning in the mine and went to see how the roads were being built in the evening. You can't sell the coal you dig out. Although Cheng Jinzhou always said that it didn't matter, as the person in charge, he was anxious.

Cheng Cha didn't understand that Cheng Jinzhou didn't sell the coal now, not only because it was cheaper, but also because of the lack of hidden channels. When the road is built in the future, no matter how good the sales are outside, the Covenant alone will be able to swallow up the entire mining area.

So no matter who asked "what to do", Cheng Jinzhou always smiled.

Jiang Huang admired Cheng Jinzhou's good temper and said twice that he "had the air of a general". Classmate Xiao Cheng wanted to laugh when he heard this.

However, the so-called style of a general means having a plan, and cheating should be one of them.

Erwin Star Warlock from the Templar is busy in front of the steam engine. He is one of the Star Warlocks from the far west. He has some talent in mechanics and business, has a second-level and one-star rating, and is also a team member sent by Li Zhong.

I saw him commanding a worker to use huge wooden pliers to close the valve. The two strong men at the other end would pull down the large bucket hanging above, so that cold water sprayed into the condensation container of the steam engine. , the steam inside condenses, forming a vacuum.

The previous worker now opened the valve connected to the condensation container, and due to the vacuum in the steam engine, water was forced into it.

The Savory steam engine, which has a very simple structure, actually uses air pressure to complete the process of absorbing water. In the world Cheng Jinzhou is familiar with, it is also the first practical water suction machine.

For coal mines, the most dangerous things in the mine are two things, one is gas, and the other is water.

If the water can be sucked out of the mine, half of the danger will be eliminated.

As for the second type of miner's lamp that can improve the environment in the mine, Cheng Jinzhou is completely confused. He has released a task in the Star Warlock Association, but at the price of 2 contribution points, it is difficult to attract the participation of Star Warlocks. .

In this world, the generous treatment of Star Warlocks mainly guarantees theoretical research. For practical applications, it is somewhat unrealistic to rely on Star Warlocks, because the cost of hiring them is too high.

Ys smiled in mid-air and said: "It's been a long time since I've seen such a low-level machine with a semi-manual operation method."

"Labor is cheap." Cheng Jinzhou replied in a very Chinese way: "If you can, help me modify it."

"I don't understand." Issu replied honestly.

Cheng Jinzhou laughed and drifted downwards in a very good mood.

Leaving the capital and being in De'an County, he was a complete earth emperor. Dad went to Nanling to take up his post. Considering the transportation conditions of this era, the sky is high and the road is far away, and there are familiar star warlocks around him to help him. This is the real "I will not change it even if I give it to the emperor".

When Erwin saw Cheng Jinzhou coming over, he handed over the work to the workers and said with a smile in proficient Chinese: "Mr. Cheng, don't you need to attend the discussion today?"

"Come out and relax. Xiao Wen, how are you doing here?" Xiao Cheng floated in the air and patted Erwin on the shoulder with a very affectionate attitude. The machinist from the far west was not only responsible for the two steam engines, he also managed the technical affairs of the entire mining area. Including how many people are mining where, where the explosives are used, and it is no problem to say that he is the chief technology officer of De'an Coal Mine. And the most interesting thing is that Cheng Jinzhou doesn't have to pay Erwin a salary at all - he does it purely because of his hobbies.

"Shortage of manpower is the biggest problem. When can you bring over all the people from the nearby mines?" Xiao Wen is an old foreign man who values ​​efficiency. His cheeks are a little chubby, but his body is very healthy. His fingers are thick and long, like An old screw.

The nearby mine he was talking about was the native small mine in De'an County. Cheng Jinzhou is not the only local mine owner, nor is he the only employer. As a small county in the feudal period, the number of idle people that could be recruited from society was very limited. Even for men who had become miners, their biggest dream was still to buy a piece of land and become farmers again. Therefore, although the competition between several small mines will not affect the mining process, it will slow down the expansion.

Cheng Jinzhou laughed twice and said: "We have just completed the warehouses, and if we destroy them now, De'an County and nearby Nanling and other states will soon be without coal."

Erwin didn't care about this and kicked the rocks below: "I'm ready. If I want to increase the monthly production to 10,000 tons, I will need to add at least 2,000 people."

"Where's the machine? Is there a way to do it with a machine?" Cheng Jinzhou came from modern times and was always superstitious about the power of machines. Naturally, he wanted to replicate the success of later generations locally.

Xiao Wen smiled and frowned, and said: "Add more manpower and more explosives, and you will soon see an increase in production."

He doesn't care about sales, and he doesn't care about how much coal will accumulate in the mine. What Erwin values ​​more is his own little experiment, how to mine coal mines with maximum efficiency. Even without Cheng Jinzhou's invitation, Xiao Wen would still find other mines.

Cheng Jinzhou held his chin and thought for a while, then said: "If we close those two mines, we will only add 2,000 people at most."

"Then we will recruit people from other mines." Xiao Wen was very optimistic and laughed loudly: "We want to reform."

"It is necessary to enclosure the land, and to separate people from the land as voluntarily as possible." What Cheng Jinzhou was thinking about was the British land enclosure movement. Regardless of the impact of the movement on farmers, it was real. The source of workers was created - farmers who left the land.

In past Chinese textbooks, the Chinese referred to the British wave of migrant workers as the enclosure movement, a movement known as sheep eating people. But no matter what the appearance of the movement is, the essence is to create cheap labor.

Factories need cheap labor, and mines need cheap labor.

Cheng Jinzhou patted Erwin on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Xiao Wen, I will find a way to recruit more people for you."

As a top county, De'an has more than 10,000 households, which means a population of more than 30,000, not to mention several surrounding states and counties.

Xiao Wen then continued to study his steam engine with peace of mind. Cheng Jinzhou rubbed his forehead and seemed to be talking to himself: "Is there anything that can squeeze people out of the land?"

He flipped through the autonomous trading platform, hoping to find something he could use.

It is easy for him to find things to make money. He can still do business of buying grain, selling medicinal materials and cloth from the platform, and he can earn 100,000 taels of silver every month. But in a relatively closed society, it is not easy to sell a lot of things.

On the other hand, Cheng Jinzhou wants to create some kind of industrial system, at least something that can improve his ability and strength, rather than simple money.

He was drifting away as he thought, like a ghost. Then I heard Bai Jing shouting from below.

Classmate Xiao Cheng couldn't help but sigh.

Since he started making nitroglycerin, Cheng Jinzhou has instilled a lot of simple chemical knowledge into Bai Jing and others, such as helping them clarify the concepts of compounds or simple chemical reactions. These are all questions that have been studied in the 17th century, but they are not clear.

In three months, although nitroglycerin could not be produced on a large scale, Bai Jing and others came up with the idea of ​​publishing their results.

Contribution points are an irresistible temptation for Star Warlocks.

When it was time to finalize the draft, Bai Jing and the others would keep calling Cheng Jinzhou.

Cheng Jinzhou shrugged and walked over.

While other members of the team were working hard to publish papers, Xiao Cheng himself was not idle either. Although he often helped Bai Jing and others clarify their concepts, the other three also helped him do a lot of experiments and record the experimental data. His own results report contained a lot of content, and he even directly asked the three of them to do it.

This time, Bai Jing did not ask the question directly like before. Instead, he pressed a copy of "Journal of Xia Jing" into his hand and then said: "Your article has appeared on the first page."

The first page of a journal is always the highlight. It not only represents a kind of affirmation, but also contains many other factors.

Cheng Jinzhou couldn't help but said doubtfully: "Is the association so generous?"

"Journal of Xia Jing" is a product of the Star Warlock Association.

Bai Jing blushed with excitement and said, "Last month, you added 227 contribution points."

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