New Shun 1730

After figuring this out, the entire plan will have a direction.

Different national conditions must be taken into consideration and existing experience cannot be copied mechanically.

For example, Dashun has many talents who know geometry. He wants to provide practical education so that the level of basic education will not be too low in the future.

However, the clock processing industry in Dashun is not strong, so when the British are developing marine clocks, they must go all out to develop astronomical almanacs and mathematical navigation.

He was just waiting for his cousin to come back from Europe and bring back the British star catalog and the Southern Hemisphere star catalog, as well as the discussion about the moon's orbit in his previous letter to Euler.

For example, the clock processing industry in Dashun is not very strong, but there are also many people in Guangdong and other places who have learned how to make Western clocks.

It is definitely impossible to make something as high-precision as a marine clock, but there should be no problem in developing improved lathes and hydraulic boring machines for precision processing.

For example, it took Britain sixty years from the invention of the flying shuttle to the spinning machine. In the past sixty years, Britain has launched trade protection and strictly inspected Indian and Chinese cotton to prevent impact. Sixty years have passed.

Dashun is a major cotton textile country, and there is no internal trade protection, so it is impossible to follow the British evolutionary route. Moreover, the British salary equivalent to silver is about four times that of China at this time. This mechanical route is in Jiangnan. It's even more difficult.

To this end, Liu Yu formulated a "Technology Research Project Team" to select some targeted development directions based on Dashun's strengths and weaknesses, needs and needs that would be of great use in the future, and whether it could be copied or not. .

Inventions and attempts that are completely unsupported by profits cannot be made by the private sector.

And the things he wanted to build required a lot of money and trial and error, so he had to consider priorities.

When Weihai's outstanding craftsmen were gathered together, they had no idea what they were going to do.

The craftsmen in Weihai come from all over the country, some are hired from Europe, some are hired from Jiangnan, and some are recruited from the capital.

As long as you have money, you can assemble enough talents. It's just that the money spent is a bit too much, and these craftsmen are receiving excessive salaries.

More than 400 craftsmen from all walks of life gathered together, including blacksmiths, watchmakers, carpenters, etc.

In this era, scientists’ contribution to technology is not as great as that of carpenters and blacksmiths.

Liu Yuxian took out the most important scientific and technological research project and drew a conceptual sketch of a boring machine on the blackboard of Liugongdao auditorium.

The more than eighty people who were selected were here alone, including carpenters, blacksmiths, and watchmakers, both Chinese and Westerners. Liu Yu could only take the trouble to explain back and forth in Chinese and Latin.

After briefly talking about the simple principles he knew, he came to the temptation of benefits.

"You are all the best craftsmen Weihai can find. Money is not a problem. You can pay five thousand taels of silver every year for whatever you want. All you need to do is keep accounts. If five thousand taels is not enough, you can withdraw it from Mr. Kang at any time. "

"As long as it can be made and meets the requirements I just mentioned, there will be a reward of 50,000 taels of silver. Thirty thousand taels of it will be divided equally among you, and I will distribute the remaining 20,000 taels according to the contribution."

"Maybe more people will be added in the future. You are just craftsmen. I will also allocate a group of non-dividend employees to assist you in your work."

"I don't want to know how much money was spent in the process. As I said, five thousand taels a year is not enough, so go get it. I just want you to make this thing."

"I've also told you the general principle. You divide the work internally. Some are responsible for the cutter head, some are responsible for the hydraulic transmission, and some are responsible for the clamps."

"You should know that I always keep my word and never deduct your salary. Fifty thousand taels of silver may seem like a lot to you, but since I said it, I will do it."

"Five years, are you sure?"

A group of craftsmen looked at the concept drawings on the blackboard and thought that this thing didn't sound too difficult.

As a craftsman, I understand many things at a glance, and I also know where the difficulties lie.

Tool head, fixture, accuracy, precession, hydraulic stability...

It is indeed difficult.

But the reward of fifty thousand taels of silver is a bit too much for anyone to bear.

Although Dashun canceled the craftsman status and the treatment of craftsmen was much better than that of the previous dynasty, the reward of 50,000 taels of silver was still an unimaginable huge sum of money for the craftsmen.

Even if more people are added in the future, including a hundred people, if the fifty thousand taels of silver are divided, each person will still have a few hundred taels. This is no small sum of money.

You can buy hundreds of acres of land and become a leisurely landlord; you can also invest in some industries and rely on dividends to make a living in the future.

Five years is not a short time. Thinking about some of the difficulties involved, several prestigious craftsmen leaders took the lead and said, "Don't worry, sir, five years should be about the same. Even if not, seven It took eight years to get it done.”

Liu Yu estimated that these craftsmen should be aware of the difficulties and understand the difficulties. To achieve sufficient processing accuracy, Liu Yu would also organize watchmakers to publicize various precision rulers.

Since these people think that five years is about the same, or at most seven or eight years, as long as they invest enough money, there should be no problem.

"As the saying goes, being an official for thousands of miles is just for money. Since you are craftsmen, it is possible to be an official. But being an official is just for money. If you have money, you don't have to be an official."

"I dare not say what it's like elsewhere, but here, as long as you come up with some new ideas and new equipment, money is not a problem. Not only do you have money now, but if this thing is really useful in the future, you can also get more money."

"Whether this thing can be made, I dare say it can be made. But I don't know how long it will take. Don't save money for me. You need to buy good steel and use good iron. As long as money can buy it, it's not a problem."

"As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. You should discuss more on weekdays. I will send some literate people to help you. If there is anything, write it down and solve it bit by bit."

The previous reward of 50,000 taels of silver had already shocked these people.

Now Liu Yu actually wants some literate people to help them. This is not just as simple as shocking.

There are many literate people, but in their eyes, Liu Yu is a high official. The literate people sent must be at the level of a scholar?

Let the scholar help the craftsmen and take notes? This is really rare in ancient times, and it feels like the world is about to turn upside down.

"Sir... this... this is not possible, right?"

Liu Yu waved his hand and said, "What's wrong with this? I will assign someone to be responsible for clearing registration and purchasing materials. Just tell him what you need. He doesn't know anything about how to do it, and I won't let him ask. He is just a handyman, just think so."

"I say it again, don't save money for me, I just want the things. If it can be made within five years, let alone five thousand taels a year, even if it triples or five times, I think it's worth it."

The craftsmen didn't quite understand. This thing seemed to be used to drill the barrel of a cannon. The reward of fifty thousand taels, plus the annual expenditure, just to make the cannon more useful, it would cost so much money?

Although they didn't understand, these people didn't ask any more questions. After a statement, Liu Yu sent a few people who could read and count, and divided them into a group, and specially vacated several courtyards on Liugong Island.

Subsequent craftsmen also met one by one and set up different research groups.

A series of mechanical equipment groups such as cotton gin, horse-drawn harvester, caliper, cotton combing machine, milling machine, lathe, etc. were set up one after another, and a total of nearly 200,000 taels of reward were offered. Some simple ones may be redeemed in two or three years, so the reward is less; while some difficult ones may take five or even ten years, so the reward is higher.

The whole set of plans to tackle the key problems, in addition to the pre-technology of steam engines, basically go in two directions.

One is to temporarily not touch the domestic cotton textile industry under the premise of combing, ginning and other technologies, the goal is to seize India as a cotton production base in the future, without touching the domestic small farmers and small producers, and make the raw materials well.

The other is the animal-powered machinery of large farms, laying a solid foundation for the future reclamation of Northeast China, Australia and other places.

As for industries such as smelting and primary acid and alkali, Liu Yu plans to wait until the first batch of people who have learned the basics of chemistry have finished their studies before doing it.

The experience of craftsmen combined with the theories of students can at least find the right direction for tackling key problems, so-called getting twice the result with half the effort.

After dealing with these matters and setting up a number of tackling key problems, Liu Yu was busy setting up the framework of the Navy Department, which was in name only.

Although the emperor trusted him very much, he could not just do things casually based on trust.

There were only a few candidates for the captain of the warship, and he could recommend them.

However, for people in departments such as those in charge of military pay, managing wood, and auditing procurement, he still had to write down the requirements and submit them to the capital, go through the Tianyou Palace, or the Wenyu Court. These officials did not need professional qualities, and the clerks under them were enough.

Anyway, the people in these positions were officials, and he was not qualified to appoint them. Even if the emperor said to be sincere, he would not get involved, nor would he recommend them, and let the capital choose.

He also pushed the matter of the Jinghai Palace official school examination. He was only responsible for teaching, and was no longer responsible for enrollment and examinations. This matter of selecting talents must still be handed over to the emperor.

But as long as the content of the exam follows the path he suggested, and more practical knowledge is tested, in fact, these people will still be the students he can control in the future.

Once the money is in place, the things to be done in various plans have also begun in an orderly manner. He had a plan before, but he was always short of money.

Building ships and cannons, people have wood, and now there is money.

Recruiting soldiers, there are money, instructors, and enough officers, as well as previous training experience.

Practical learning, the legitimate Jiedushi of Whale Sea, Wendeng Prefecture is temporarily under his jurisdiction, Bai Yunhang owes him a big favor, and he also knows that he will definitely not stay in Wendeng for too long and will be promoted soon, so he will not care about Liu Yu's plan to establish practical learning and learn less about the holy words. And Liu Yu is his boss at this time, just cooperate.

It was busy until October, and the Japanese trade ships also returned, and it was time for the sea merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to share dividends.

The boat was loaded with silver, and a lot of new handicrafts such as cigarettes, matches, glass, etc. that Kang Budai had prepared were also loaded. Taking advantage of the change in wind direction, Liu Yu was going to Songjiang to meet the shareholders who had cooperated with him for so long.