Start with liberation

Chapter 217 Difference Engine

Before 1815 in this small world, the concept of "Eden" was no different from the concept Wu Qing knew well.

God's Paradise: the place where God created man; the birthplace of mankind; the origin of civilization...

Until 1815, on a barren hill near Lake Windermere in England, a little boy kicked a stone down a fissure that was glowing with heat...

"Boom!" There was a loud noise accompanied by flames.

The first red coal mine in the world was discovered by a little boy in this way, followed by "Barcelona, ​​Spain... Toulouse, France... Munich, Germany... St. Petersburg, Russia..."

Coincidentally or in other words, red coal mines began to appear one after another in the country of the civilized world shrouded and favored by gods, and the Europeans also took the lead in developing and utilizing this new energy.

So far, a great wave has swept the five continents and four oceans with the spout of steam.

This wave is called "civilization".

Prior to this, although the Europeans, who claimed to be the leaders of civilized society, possessed the most advanced science and technology in the world, they were exhausted and unable to expand their power in the face of various "evils" in barbaric countries on five continents and four oceans.

Until the mass-produced steam soldiers turned out.

From this point of view, the Red Coal Mine is no less than the Garden of Eden, the "origin of civilization". Therefore, Eden's name gradually shifted from "the birthplace of mankind" to the Red Coal Mine.

Eden has become synonymous with Red Coal Mine.

…………

When Xiong Hua told the story, he had complex emotions of melancholy and yearning on his face. As one of the "barbarians" conquered by "civilization", he should have such an expression.

Lao Ji, a godly man who was mixed up among the lower-level Chinese laborers, had only heard a few words about it before, but did not understand it in detail. He is a godly man who is not very interested in the so-called "technology". Even if Xiong Hua's impassioned words, he can still hear it Dozed off.

Wu Qing held his chin with his hands, his eyes lost focus, obviously in deep thought, and asked after a while,

"Then is there any news about a new red coal mine recently?"

Obviously, Wu Qing believes that the new Eden required by the mission refers to the newly emerged red coal mine.

Xiong Hua bowed his head and thought for a while, then shook his head,

Wu Qing was a little disappointed, but there were still many things worth doing, so he simply forgot about it and told Xiong Hua about other things first. He saved Xiong Hua not only for the sake of New Eden, but also for Xiong Hua. As a person with a higher social class, he has many social resource advantages.

One is to ask Xiong Hua to collect a bottle of Lake Baikal water and a bottle of Caspian Sea sea water, which is the requirement of Doumu Zheng Shengqiang's promotion ceremony.

Although the camp here is in the wild western mountains of America, Xionghua Labor Service Company is not just a company that provides labor.

In addition to the more than 3000 laborers in the camp here, there are eight labor camps distributed along the construction section of the Central Pacific Railway Company, with a total of [-] Chinese laborers. Whether it is the Central Pacific Railway Company or various labor service companies, recruiting The conditions for Chinese workers do not include "board and lodging".

Therefore, every Chinese railway worker has to spend a full 5000% of his meager salary to buy food and daily necessities. The food and drink of [-] people requires a huge channel, and this channel is labored by Xiong Hua. The company gives monopoly.

Xiong Hua guessed that Wild Miller was hired by other labor service companies who were jealous of the profits to assassinate him, but it has not been investigated clearly yet, so it is too early to say.

All in all, Xiong Hua has his own procurement channel. Although Wu Qing's request was a bit strange at first, he didn't talk too much, but thought for a while,
"Lake sea water is not a normal commodity in circulation. Perhaps some Europeans who are homesick will bring a few bottles of home water to the American continent, but it may be difficult for my company to collect it. It may be necessary to send people to Lake Baikal and the Caspian Sea to fill the water.

From sending telegrams to collecting sea water from the lake, and then taking the fastest route, airship, inland train, and ocean train, it may take two to three months along the way. "

In order to prevent Wu Qing from thinking that he was deliberately delaying, Xiong Hua also added,
"You know, sir, that the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are too wide after all."

Wu Qing was not surprised. What Xiong Hua said was probably the way of adding money, otherwise it would be like Chinese laborers coming here from Qianguo, slow boats and slow boats, and it would take half a year to wait.

he nodded,
"Just try your best. The second thing is to collect as much information on the mysterious side as possible, such as evil gods and the like..."

Speaking of which, Wu Qing glanced at Lao Ji,

"Old Ji, don't worry about it."

Sensing Wu Qing's gaze, Lao Ji's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened, a bit embarrassed, but he still insisted,
"Sir, you are serious. Let me handle the matter, Laoji, and I will definitely handle it for you safely."

Before Wu Qing came, Lao Ji was a believer of evil gods, and he had a way to do this, but are things like evil gods so easy to contaminate?
Wu Qing added, "You just need to find out the news, and let me handle the rest."

Lao Ji heaved a sigh of relief.

Finally, the 16 taels of gold worth nearly 5000 U.S. dollars that caused Wu Qing the most headache. Tell Xiong Hua to pay attention to news about nearby gold mines.

Xiong Hua secretly looked at Wu Qing's face, thought it over, and knew what to do.

I was searching for memories in my mind, not only gold mines, but also banks where gold is stored... Xiong Hua suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said,
"Sir, I remember something about the Xinchi Coal Mine."

"Say it." Wu Qing responded, "Don't be so small, it sounds awkward."

"It's sir... When I was invited by the board of directors of the railway company to visit the headquarters in Sacramento, the capital of California, I was fortunate enough to see a small difference machine at the headquarters. , so it is not easy to remember.

The small difference machine shows that after the last red coal mine was discovered in Houston two years ago, the next new red coal mine will be found in Utah on July 1869, 15.That is two years later. "

"Within two years?" Wu Qing frowned. Utah is very close to here, but since the time span was stretched to two years by the exploration team looking for red coal mines, it shows that the exploration team did not have full ambitions. Be sure, if you find three or four years, is he also exhausted?

Unexpectedly, Wu Qing was thinking about it, but Xiong Hua said seriously,
"Sir, it's not within two years, it's July NO.15 in two years' time. It won't be a day earlier or a day later."

"Ok?"

Wu Qing was confused.
"What do you mean, it won't be a day earlier, and it won't be a day later?"

The reason for asking this question is that Wu Qing can understand someone's superb achievements in geology, but he must also know that no matter how outstanding his ability is, the discovery of mineral deposits is quite dependent on luck. Such a certain time is not like a mine survey. It's more like a calculation of the progress of the project, or... an auspicious day?
Xiong Hua was silent for a while, realizing that the "heavenly general" in front of him might not know enough about mortal affairs, so he asked tentatively,

"Do you know much about difference engines, sir?"

Wu Qing did not answer in a hurry. The word "difference machine" briefly appeared in Jie Jiesheng's brief description of the world. What Xiong Hua said, like the special steam machinery in this world, this difference engine seems to have turned into another historical process?
He then asked,
"What is the difference engine?"

Xiong Hua lowered his brows and raised his eyes, and made a long nasal sound for a while, probably thinking about how to use popular language to understand Wu Qing as much as possible, and said after a while,

"A complex and precise scientific machine, driven by a red coal block steam engine, is the other leg of the progress of civilized society besides the steam engine. Before the difference engine, the expansion of civilized society was violent, but after the difference engine , is in order.

The difference engine can calculate many questions, including but not limited to numerical questions, such as 'where and when will the new red coal mine appear' asked by you, sir, input through the perforated copper plate, and the answer will be output through the perforated copper plate at the other end ...and the answer is absolutely precise!Never went wrong. "

Xiong Hua paused, then glanced at Lao Ji who was also curious,

"For those who know its mechanical principles, they can understand that it is a kind of science, but for those who do not understand the mechanical principles, it is like a kind of prophecy. But the difference engine is by no means a prophecy, it is science and civilization."

While talking, Xiong Hua stroked the back of his head, as if he was stroking the braid that he had cut off a long time ago.

This is why he still didn't believe in divination even though he knew there were "mysterious", "unnameable" and "tribal gods", etc., because of this...

After seeing the scientific, precise, and advanced difference engine, how can I trust the ignorant, vague, and backward so-called divination.

Xiong Hua is a new immigrant who came to the United States a long time ago and has been bathed in "scientific civilization".

He is the only boss of a Chinese labor service company who can write his name "XIONG HUA" in cursive handwriting, while other bosses will only press red handprints on the payroll.

Lao Ji's face was a little flushed by Xiong Hua's glance, and he couldn't tell whether it was the anger of being ridiculed or the shame of "ignorance".

As for Wu Qing's expression, it's hard to describe, mainly thinking,

Difference engine?Can you answer questions other than mathematics?

science?

Is this thing scientific?Why does Wu Qing sound like the supercomputer "Veda" in an unknown super-system combat anime, or the "Altar of Truth" in Liu's novel "Chaowendao"?
He pondered for a moment, then became interested,

"What does the difference machine look like?"

……

Next to the Chinese labor camp, the office of the fourth section of the steam train.

The person in charge of the railway site, Strobl, nicknamed "One-Eyed Dragon", held his six-year-old son in his arms, and was enthusiastically explaining the small model of the difference engine on the desk.

In 1824, Charles Babbage, an English mathematician in Europa, designed and invented the difference engine. With the strong support of the British Empire Trade Union, he quickly launched the second generation product, and successfully started manufacturing and selling it in 1843. Replicated in many countries.

The difference machines imitated in different countries all have similar appearances.

Dozens of brass pillars reflecting the light, the upper and lower ends of the copper pillars are firmly fixed in the socket, tightened tightly with smooth nuts, and there are countless joysticks, connecting arms and component parts shining likewise. Thousands of gears, all the parts are so precise and clear, driven by the red coal block steam engine integrated inside.

Strobl was explaining vigorously, not paying attention to the fact that the youngest son in his arms was rubbing his eyes and feeling drowsy.

"Hey."

Red steam surged, the door of the carriage was opened, and the sound of metal hitting the rebar floor of the carriage came in.

Strobl didn't even need to look at it, he knew it must be Dicky, the director of the Workers' Security Department. Only this guy who was almost completely transformed could be so impolite and uninvited, and he also had a pair of iron big feet and The rebar floor collided loudly.

Strobl put down his son,
"Go and play with mom."

The little guy ran out happily as if he had been pardoned.

Watching his son pass through the junction of the carriages, Strobl lost his temper.

"It's off-duty time."

Dicky said with a sullen face,

"You are the general manager of the project. I haven't heard that the leader has a rest time, and I have the responsibility to let you know that not long ago, a wild gunman named Miller was killed in Huagong. in the camp.

Whoever killed him...maybe none were human, wizard of the East?Evil spirit?Indian tribal god? ...I'm not sure, my men didn't catch him...Anyway, there is such a mysterious person on our construction site. "

Strobl handed Dicky a glass of whiskey, blinked his one eye, and said indifferently,
"What are you worried about? Are you worried that our railway construction will be affected?"

Seeing Dicky with his hands hanging down, not intending to take the glass, Strobl raised his head and drank the whiskey in one gulp.

"Hiccup~"

After hiccupping, Strobl continued,
"You are asking for trouble. We knew that no one, anything, or anything would affect the construction of the Pacific Railway. She will eventually penetrate the North American land and become an industrial miracle in human history.

Nine months before the first railroad track was laid in Sacramento, the board of directors inserted our perforated copper plate into the silver tank of the largest and fastest central differential engine in the capital, Washington, D.C., and the question on it was' Will construction of the Pacific Railroad go well'

After nine months of calculations, the central differential engine finally punched fifteen holes in the output copper plate, giving us fifteen letters of the answer..."

boom!
The empty wine glass was smashed heavily on the desk, the remaining liquid splashed, Strobl held his head up, his blond hair was so bright under the light, he said,
"Manifest Destiny!"

(Manifest Destiny: translated as, Manifest Destiny!)
(End of this chapter)