"I believe that this power generated by steam has been experienced by you." Emperor Chongzhen smiled, glanced at these high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty and said, "But have you ever thought about it, can this power be used where we let him use it?" ”

Hearing this question, the courtiers were at a loss, could this power still be used where they wanted it to be used? How can it be? Even Xu Guangqi was suspicious.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, when he said these words to the craftsmen here before, his reaction was better than theirs! If you want them to come up with something, I'm afraid it's hard for them!

So, without waiting for his courtiers to reply, he gave an example: "For example, use this force to extract heavy objects, or to forge things with a hammer, or to use it as a horse-drawn chariot, or as a man rowing a boat......

Hearing the emperor say these words, Wen Tiren and the others looked incredulous, how could this be possible? Your Majesty, can you not speak so wildly and say something unrealistic?

“…… Sounds impossible, right? Emperor Chongzhen expected them to think like this, and suddenly asked, which made these courtiers feel quite embarrassed for a while. With their understanding, when they heard this, they naturally heard that the emperor must have a way to achieve it, but he couldn't figure out how to achieve it!

"Your Majesty, the minister may know!" Xu Guangqi's face was suddenly full of surprise, and finally said, "It's like a waterwheel, it is the force of falling water that drives the waterwheel, this is the power of steam, or it can also drive the waterwheel!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen didn't expect that there were still people who could understand what he meant, and when he saw that it was Xu Guangqi, he remembered that he was good at farming, and it was estimated that he often dealt with waterwheels or something, so he thought of it, not bad!

So, he nodded approvingly and said, "Yes, the key to this steam engine is how to transform this force into other forces stably and safely. ”

Speaking of which, he stopped teaching these seventeenth-century people, pointed to the huge steam engine and said, "The steam engine that I saw was improved again and again by a few of their best craftsmen for several months, and it can be said that it was completely handmade. However, I am still not satisfied, because this steam engine still needs to be improved, and the energy conversion efficiency is too low. In many places, the requirements of the application are not met, and the cost is too high! ”

said so many shortcomings, but he had a smile on his face, so that these courtiers understood that the emperor was still proud in his heart.

After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he gestured to the craftsmen with his hand, while he himself turned to the Ming courtiers in the courtyard and said, "Next, I asked them to demonstrate to Qing and the others." “

Wen Tiren and the others listened with some curiosity and watched as the craftsmen began to get busy. It was found that they were boiling water over a fire. Because they had seen the experiment with the flask, they already had a rough idea of it and looked at it with great interest.

After the steam came out for a long time, Wen Tiren and the others didn't see anything else, but they saw that a large piece of iron connected to the steam engine was pulled up, and then smashed down, pulled up, and smashed down again......

During this time, no one pulled the piece of iron, only lit the fire. As the emperor said, the force generated by the steam is to pull the big piece of iron, one at a time.

It's really strange that it really has to be done! Wen Tiren and the others were surprised in their hearts, but then they were puzzled, but what is the use of this?

Or they knew that they would think so, and the craftsmen did not stop, and pulled another anvil and put it underneath. Another man brought a braised iron rod and put it on the anvil, and let the iron fall and smash it on the red-hot iron rod one by one.

At this point, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and asked them to stand down, while the steam engine turned off, and he turned to look at these courtiers and said: "This has many shortcomings, for example, the control of strength, you can't want as much as you want, and you can't control the force as much as you want like the blacksmith himself beating." ”

Speaking of this, his face suddenly became a little more serious, with majesty, and said loudly: "Don't underestimate that this is just a substitute for the blacksmith's beating, it seems a little insignificant, but what I want to tell you is that the expressions of strength I just said can be realized." Imagine for yourselves how much will change one day in the future, when what I have just said can be realized. ”

As soon as Wen Tiren heard this, a picture immediately appeared in his mind: a very large car, the coachman no longer drove the horse, but burned firewood in front, and then the car went forward......

This picture is so beautiful that he can't imagine it. The other courtiers probably thought for a moment, and their faces had different expressions. Anyway, the surprise they showed was far from meeting Emperor Chongzhen's expectations.

So, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to add: "I can tell you that I will continue to improve the steam engine, and in the future, the carriage pulled by this steam engine can be several times or even dozens of times that of the current horse-drawn carriage." Also, if the ship is powered by this steam engine, it will no longer be affected by the wind, and it will be able to sail whenever it wants......

He just gave these two examples, and the faces of Wen Tiren and the others finally showed the kind of surprise that Emperor Chongzhen was expecting. This kind of change, but the earth-shaking change, if they want not to be surprised, it will be strange!

Xu Guangqi was the first to come back to his senses and confirmed excitedly: "Your Majesty, can this steam engine really pull more than ten times the carriage?" ”

"Well, more than ten times is still estimated by me!" Emperor Chongzhen looked at him, nodded and said, "After improving in the future, I believe that even if it is fully loaded with goods, it will not be a problem to pull more than a dozen carts at a time!" When the time comes, goods and people from the south to the north can all be pulled by this steam engine day and night. ”

If you use a horse, there is a limit to the load, and the horse has to rest and eat feed, which is very expensive, but this steam engine just eats wood and coal, if it is really possible, Xu Guangqi thought along this line of thought, and was immediately stunned.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that he had achieved his own effect, so he said with a smile: "I said that this is a peerless treasure for the Ming Dynasty and my people, shouldn't it be an exaggeration?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is really a peerless treasure, definitely a peerless treasure!" Cao Huachun was the first to respond.

In fact, the steam engine is the source of the industrial revolution, and there are many applications that have not been said. But now it is enough, Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and said: "The reason why I showed you this steam engine is that I want you to understand a little bit in advance, and in the future, our Ming Dynasty will change with each passing day, and you must keep up with the pace, remember not to be complacent, only for immediate interests!" ”