Chương 631: Song Yingxing reports, Liu Ce acts as a copyist late at night

"I watched the test this morning. It ran smoothly from morning till afternoon, with the automatic valve clicking away steadily! The old one would only last half an hour after burning a basket of coal before it ran out of power, requiring three people to watch over it and turn the valve, leaving them exhausted. This improved one, however, can run for an hour after burning a basket of coal, and only one person needs to watch over it, while still being able to drink tea and read the newspaper!"

He counted them off on his fingers, one by one, as if announcing good news:

"The thermal efficiency has increased by almost four times! In the past, one pound of coal could produce one unit of output, but now one pound of coal can do the work of four pounds of coal. Coal consumption has been reduced to one-quarter of what it used to be! The money saved on coal can be used to build several more machines a year!"

The automatic valve is the one with the eccentric wheel design that Your Majesty drew up, and it really works! It opens and closes by itself, without anyone having to squat by and turn it. The output force is very even, no longer the old "coughing steam engine" that wobbled and could break the thread when weaving cloth. Now it's like an old ox, stable and strong.

And the cylinders, as you said, were boring on a boring machine, and they fit perfectly, not a single air leak! The pistons run very smoothly, without any jamming! I touched them with my hand, and they're as smooth as a mirror!

Liu Ce was overjoyed, his mind screaming: The Industrial Revolution! I've finally waited for the Industrial Revolution! All these years!

No more relying on horses, people, or water! Trains, ships, and massive factories—we'll have it all! Forget Rome and Kushan; with industrial dominance, conquering the whole world will be a piece of cake!

He patted Song Yingxing's shoulder hard, making a loud thud, and grinned from ear to ear:

"Good! Well done! These past few years have not been in vain! Everyone involved in the research will be richly rewarded! The leader will be promoted one rank and each will receive a reward of 100, 000 coins! Ordinary craftsmen will each receive 10, 000 coins, a three-day holiday, and plenty of meat and wine!"

"On behalf of everyone, I thank Your Majesty!" Song Yingxing's eyes reddened with emotion, and his voice choked with emotion.

"Let's go! Let's go to the Ministry of Works!" Liu Ce pulled him up and started to walk out, but stopped after taking two steps. He turned back and pointed to the milk tea and snacks on the table.

"Li Dequan, take these tea and snacks with you for Lord Song and the others to eat on their way. Look at how they're running, all sweaty. People who don't know better might think I'm exploiting the artisans. Take plenty, so the brothers in the Ministry of Works can all have a taste."

Liu Ce stayed at the Ministry of Works until dark that day, circling the steam engine several times, looking it over from all angles, as if he wanted to take apart every single part to examine it.

He watched as the piston clattered and rotated at a steady speed, driving the water pump to pump water out with a whooshing sound. The water jets shot higher than a person, draining all the water from the test tank.

He touched the hot cylinder as if it were a treasure, almost burning his hand. Li Dequan was so frightened that he quickly handed him a wet towel.

Even dinner was eaten at the Ministry of Works canteen, where they would gnaw on braised pork knuckles amidst the smell of coal smoke, and they enjoyed it even more than in the palace.

He also toasted each of the workers in the Ministry of Works with a bowl of wine, saying, "You are all heroes of the Han Dynasty." The workers were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes.

That night, the side hall of Ganlu Hall was lit up for half the night.

Liu Ce lay on his desk, furiously sketching on a pile of blank paper, continuing his work as a copyist. A thick stack of draft paper lay beside him, with crumpled-up drawings scattered all over the floor.

There was a teapot, snacks, and half a plate of melon seeds on the table. He would draw a few strokes, then grab a melon seed and crack it open, spitting the shells all over the floor.

Li Dequan brought in lotus seed soup, and looking at the strangely shaped iron lump on the paper, he wondered to himself: What is His Majesty drawing now? Long nose, round wheel, and even smoking, could it be some kind of new sorcery? I've never seen anything like this before.

He gently placed the lotus seed soup on the table and whispered his advice:

"Your Majesty, it's already midnight. Why don't you take a rest? It'll hurt your eyes. You can paint tomorrow; it won't make a difference if you wait a little longer."

"Almost there, almost there, just a few more steamships to go." Liu Ce didn't even look up, his pen still moving as he continued copying, the nib almost worn down.

Li Dequan leaned closer for a look. The paper showed a long iron box with two large wheels at the bottom and a chimney on top, complete with black smoke. He was even more confused:

"Your Majesty, this... this iron lump can run on its own? Without horses? And faster than horses?"

"Of course." Liu Ce raised his eyebrows proudly.

"This is called a steam locomotive, nicknamed a train. It can carry thousands of tons of goods and travel hundreds of miles a day. It's much faster than a horse, and it's not tiring at all. Once the railway is built, it will only take a few days to get from Luoyang to Zhuoxian."

Li Dequan was speechless, thinking to himself: "Your Majesty is truly a god descended to earth. He can come up with all sorts of strange and wonderful things. How is his brain structured?"

Just then, small footsteps came from outside the door, and Crown Prince Liu Chen came in rubbing his eyes, wearing a cotton-padded pajama and with messy hair.

"Dad, why aren't you asleep yet?" Liu Chen walked over, peering at the blueprints on the desk. Standing on tiptoe, he pointed at the locomotive and asked curiously, "Dad, what's this? Is it an iron monster? Does it eat people? It looks really scary."

Liu Ce smiled and pointed to the blueprints, explaining, "This isn't a monster, it's a train. It will be able to pull lots and lots of things and carry lots of people, running on the tracks faster than a horse."

Liu Chen exclaimed, "Wow! What does it eat? Does it eat coal? Or does it burn like a stove?"

"Yes, it eats coal and drinks water. It has a big boiler inside its belly, and it smokes when it's heated," Liu Ce said with a smile.

The father and son chatted for a while, then Liu Chen, feeling sleepy, kept yawning before going back to sleep.

Liu Ce continued drawing until dawn, when the east was beginning to lighten, before finally finishing the last drawing of the steam forging hammer.

He stretched out a big yawn, his bones cracking, and looked at the blueprints spread out on the table: steam trains, steam ships, steam boring machines, rolling mills, steam pumps... densely covered with annotations and data.

"Alright, let's show those old ministers what to do tomorrow, scare them to death."

..................

The next morning, the Liangyi Hall was temporarily converted into a "classroom".

Xun Yu, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun You, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Minister of Works Song Yingxing, along with the ministers of the other seven ministries (Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Agriculture), as well as some trusted civil and military officials, filled the room with at least several dozen people.

Each person had a cup of hot tea and a plate of melon seeds and snacks in front of them, creating a relaxed yet strange atmosphere, much like watching a theatrical performance.

Everyone looked at each other and whispered among themselves, wondering why His Majesty had summoned them so early in the morning.

"What is His Majesty going to talk about?" Fang Xuanling asked Xun Yu in a low voice, his notebook already prepared.

"It's just a water-boiling and pumping machine, why give a whole lecture about it? Isn't that a bit much?"

Xun Yu stroked his beard and shook his head: "I don't know. Song Yingxing said it's quite powerful, but I haven't seen the actual object."

Cheng Yaojin, mingling among the generals, munched on a snack and muttered to himself, his cheeks bulging:

"What good is it? At most, it saves a bit of effort when mining. Can it be more powerful than a cannon? I don't believe it. You can't boil water and make flowers grow. Flowers have to grow in the soil."