Chương 635: Ministry of Industry Research Institute, Everyone Examining Blueprints

Light snow was still falling in Luoyang, and the walls of the Ministry of Industry's research institute were covered with a thin layer of white, with long icicles hanging from the roof tiles.

But there was no coolness in the workshop. The smell of coal smoke mixed with the smell of machine oil and rust was mixed with heat, making people's faces shiny with oil.

There was a half-eaten sesame fried cake in the corner. It was a New Year's snack, and there was still some coal ash on it, but no one paid any attention.

The young apprentice, Gou Sheng, squatted next to the chopping block. When his master wasn't looking, he secretly took a piece of food and put it in his mouth. He had only chewed a couple of bites when he was slapped on the back of the head.

"You little brat! Have you finished your work before you eat? The cylinder seal is still two threads short. Master Song said that even half a thread short is considered unqualified!" Old machinist Ma Teng held up the vernier calipers, blowing his beard and glaring, his eyes wide like copper bells.

His hands were covered in engine oil, iron filings were embedded in his fingernails, and his face was streaked with black and white.

Gou Sheng hunched his shoulders and quickly stuffed the fried cake into his pocket. He picked up the file and continued sharpening it, muttering under his breath, "As long as it's a little bit off, it'll be usable. Why be so picky..."

As he spoke, he glanced at his master, his hand sharpening the file so fast that sparks flew.

"You know nothing!" Ma Teng poked his head, his fingers covered in engine oil.

"His Majesty wants something that can be mass-produced. Even the slightest error can mean a difference of ten feet in a thousand parts! If it can't be assembled, will you compensate? Your entire month's salary wouldn't even cover the cost of a single screw!"

Just as they were arguing, a series of loud footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard gate, making the wooden floor tremble.

Everyone looked up and saw Song Yingxing carrying a stack of blueprints half his height, his official hat covered in snow. He rushed into the main hall and slammed the blueprints onto the large table in the middle with a loud "bang," causing the calipers, charcoal pencils, and scrap parts on the table to bounce up and fall to the ground with a clatter.

"Stop what you're doing! Come here! The good stuff has arrived! His Majesty just sent it over! Put down what you're doing!"

The crowd swarmed around them like they were grabbing a freshly steamed bun, so tightly packed that their chests were pressed against each other's backs.

Gou Sheng was short; even standing on tiptoe, he couldn't see anything, and he was so anxious he was jumping up and down.

"Make way! Make way! Let me see too!"

After glancing at them briefly, Ma Ping, the Vice Minister of Works, asked, "Your Excellency... where... where did you get these blueprints from? Even if we gathered all the artisans in Luoyang together, we couldn't come up with such a comprehensive method."

His hands were shaking as he flipped through the blueprints, and his eyes widened as he flipped through them.

Song Yingxing glanced at him and said indifferently, "These were all drawn by His Majesty himself. His Majesty stayed up until midnight last night..."

Everyone paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement, their faces showing a "I knew it" expression. They weren't surprised at all; instead, they seemed relieved.

"Oh, it was given by His Majesty? Then it's alright."

"I knew it! Who but His Majesty could have drawn such a divine creation? Look at the lines, the annotations—it's clearly His Majesty's work."

"It's normal, it's normal. There's nothing His Majesty can't do. We're used to it. I was surprised when the steam engine blueprints were first brought out last time, but now... sigh, I'm not surprised by anything His Majesty brings out. His Majesty is sent by God to enlighten us."

Zhang Tie slapped his thigh and laughed, "I knew it! No one but His Majesty could figure out the boring machine so well! Last time His Majesty casually mentioned 'deep hole drilling,' and we spent half a month figuring it out before we understood. It turns out His Majesty had already drawn up the whole diagram! We were foolishly pondering for so long, while His Majesty had already figured it out!"

Gou Sheng whispered from the side, "Master, is His Majesty a deity descended to earth? How does he know everything? He's good at fighting, governing, and even blacksmithing and machine making?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Ma Teng slapped him, but his tone was tinged with pride.

"His Majesty is a genius! We can't go wrong by following him! Study hard, and you'll be able to make a living this way in the future!"

......

Afterwards, everyone opened the blueprints and slowly looked at them one by one, as if they were looking at some rare treasure. They didn't dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of wrinkling the paper.

First picture: Steam locomotive.

The paper showed a square-headed iron thing with a round boiler standing in the middle.

The large drive wheels, connecting rods, and counterweights at the bottom are clearly drawn, and even the specifications of each screw are marked.

It clearly explains how to prevent the boiler from tipping over, how to ventilate and introduce oxygen into the smoke box, and how to seal the furnace door to prevent air leakage. It even includes cross-sectional diagrams, making it easy for people to understand at a glance.

At the bottom, two options were listed: cast iron rails and wrought iron rails. The hardness, service life, and manufacturing cost of each were written out word for word, and even the number of sleepers needed per mile was calculated.

Cast iron rails are cheap but brittle, while wrought iron rails are expensive but durable. His Majesty even commented from the side, "Choose the expensive one, and you'll be set for life."

Ma Teng stared at the large spoked wheels, his lips trembling for a long time until his voice became hoarse:

"This... this is the train His Majesty mentioned before? This lump of iron can pull a line of carriages by itself? Without horses? How many horses would it take to move it?"

Gou Sheng, standing on tiptoe, pointed at the railway tracks and exclaimed:

"Master Ma, look! These wheels roll on iron bars? How heavy would those iron bars have to be to break them? If you're hauling a thousand pounds of goods, wouldn't they bend into noodles under the weight? Wouldn't they collapse as soon as they're pressed down?"

"You don't know anything." Ma Teng glared at him, his rough fingers poking at the gauge markings on the blueprint.

"See? His Majesty even specified the dimensions. These forged iron rails need to be hardened, they're incredibly tough. They can withstand not just a few thousand pounds, but tens of thousands. The hammer you used to crack walnuts when you were a kid was hardened, it would last for years without breaking."

That's what he said, but his palms were sweaty. Things he never dared to imagine before, His Majesty actually drew out where the screws were, what size they were, and even marked the screw thread pitch.

He had never seen such detailed drawings before; they were even more exquisite than the patterns made by embroiderers in the palace.

......

The second page, when flipped open, shows a steamship.

The ship's slender hull lines... even the size of the rudder and where it should be installed for optimal rudder performance are clearly marked.

A small steering wheel is painted at the stern, labeled "Effortless steering, can be operated by one person," and next to it is a diagram of a small person holding the steering wheel.

Wang Duo, the old shipbuilding craftsman, squeezed in immediately.

His ancestors for three generations had been boatmen, and he himself had pulled boats when he was young. His back was covered with thick calluses from the ropes, and in the winter, they would crack open.

He stared at the two large wheels, his eyes wide like saucers, his fingers trembling as he touched the blueprints, his voice quivering:

"My goodness... this boat doesn't need sails? It just needs to burn coal? And it doesn't need boatmen to pull it upstream? It only takes about half a month to get from Jiangnan to Luoyang?"

In the past, when the canal was used to transport goods upstream, it took dozens of porters to pull it along, and they had to kowtow with every step. In winter, ice shards would get stuck in their legs, and some people would even die from exhaustion.

If steamships really existed, wouldn't the fate of the Grand Canal be completely changed?