The daily life of the science master's book-wearing group

Chapter 20 Paddle Steamers and Bulbs

In February, samples of concrete were brought into the palace by Jin Yiwei.

In fact, the emperor heard about the newly established official roads in Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Since the two provinces did not use the silver taels in the treasury, the emperor turned a blind eye and wanted to wait for the development of the situation.

Now, merchants from the south all say that the new road is smooth and clean, and it is not muddy when it rains, and there are no ruts.

Now he has seen concrete and cement with his own eyes, and he heard that this thing can also build houses and plaster walls, and it sticks stronger than concrete, so he is very surprised.

"Who invented this thing?"

"It's Mrs. Song's seven-year-old third daughter, who made it out of playing with mud at home..." Feng Kun, commander of Jin Yiwei, had a smile on his serious face.

Hearing this, the emperor raised his eyebrows high, pointed to the south direction with his hand and said: "There are such strange things in the world, this Song Si is lucky."

Feng Kun nodded in agreement.

The emperor asked again: "How much is the price?"

Feng Kun replied: "The local price of concrete in Guangdong and Fujian is 22 pennies a stone, but the price of selling it to the government for road construction is only [-] pennies a stone. For cement alone, it is more expensive because it needs high-temperature calcination during production, at [-] pennies a stone."

"Why is it so cheap?" The emperor was a little disbelieving, "The price is so much lower than Sanhe soil!"

"Your Majesty, glutinous rice needs to be added to the concrete, so the price of glutinous rice is not low. This kind of concrete does not need glutinous rice, so the price will naturally be lower."

The emperor's eyes lit up when he heard that, he stood up, walked around the imperial study with his hands behind his back, and asked Feng Kun: "If I want the Ministry of Internal Affairs to participate in the production of this thing, what does Ai Qing think?"

Feng Kun said with a distressed expression: "Your Majesty forgot, last year His Royal Highness King Su forced his way into Song's mansion because he was too tanned by Mr. Song's teasing, pointed a knife at Mr. Song, and threatened Mr. Song to sell it at a very low price. [-]% of the shares were given to His Royal Highness King Su, this matter was scolded bloody by the censors..."

The implication is that if the emperor insists on letting the Ministry of Internal Affairs intervene, it will be no different from King Su's behavior last year, and he will be condemned by the people of the world!
The son of heaven has a good face, and he calls himself a wise king. Hearing this, he frowned fiercely, thinking: This youngest, I have indulged him too much, and his behavior is so insane!Tell him to return to Beijing immediately, I must personally teach this unfilial son a lesson!

But after thinking about it, he calmed down again, the third child only has this kind of virtue, and such an important thing is still in the hands of the royal family.That's all, since the third child has money, it's the same with the military expenses in the south.

In late September, the second season of rice in the southern region was harvested, and the air in southern Guangdong, Fujian, and even some areas in Guangxi and Yunnan was filled with the smell of burnt smoke.

Modern people hate burning fields because of air quality problems, but this was an indispensable process in ancient times. Burning straws helps to kill diseases and insect pests in the soil, and can also increase soil fertility.

After burning the fields, before the temperature drops, we can plant another wave of potatoes, corn, and peppers. This autumn, we added several new varieties, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and kidney beans (that is, green beans). And mangoes and sunflowers.

They are all new varieties brought back from overseas by merchant ships that sailed to the West with the imperial fleet. In addition, there are many spices.

Song Qingyue had money in her hand, and the land in Lingnan was not worth much. She drew circles with her small hands, circled east and west, circled thousands of acres of wasteland, mountains, and woodlands, and bought a large number of official slaves who were exiled here. All the new varieties are planted, of course, the most important thing is the sugar cane that she has been thinking about.

She wants to make and sell sugar, and reach the pinnacle of a rich woman's life!
The only thing she was worried about but still couldn't find was the rubber tree.

She remembered that there are obviously some in Southeast Asia. Although the species are not the same as those in America, there are definitely some!

Do you have to go to America to get rubber?How much money do I need to save to set up a fleet to America... Song Qingyue worriedly calculated why the corn and potatoes from South America had already been delivered, but why didn't the rubber?
Even the merchant ships going to Nanyang have never seen this kind of "latex tree", which is really a headache.

Or, first improve the ship design?

With the current welding technology, it is probably impossible to make a propeller that can be used for a giant sea-going ship, but a kind of paddle steamer with large wheels on both sides is achievable!

There is also the big streamlined nose on the bow, which is called "ball nose" in technical terms. When she was studying fluid mechanics in college, she went to check the information out of curiosity. She knew the principle. resistance, greatly increasing the speed of the ship.

In addition to the bulbous nose, there are also baffles installed on both sides of the bottom of the hull to reduce the shaking angle of the hull.

She didn't waste time in the Maritime Academy's class, even if it was an elective, she listened very carefully!
It's winter and spring again.

In mid-March, as the weather turned warmer and the wind and waves weakened, the Nanyang navy began to go out to sea again to fight Japanese pirates and pirates.

Su Wang went to Zhezi and cried for money.

Because the law and order along the coast has improved a lot, the south has paid tribute to the palace a lot of rare things, which makes the emperor quite satisfied. King Su has made a contribution, and the emperor is in the mood to take care of King Su's crying poverty, and let the Ministry of Households see how much money will be allocated to the south. Navy fleet.

But after that, His Royal Highness King Su had to ask for money every month, which made His Majesty extremely annoyed.

The king of Piansu had to be justified in asking for money, especially in the south, it is said that a new type of boat was invented, called a paddle boat.

Two big wheels are installed on both sides of the hull, a round nose is added to the bow, and it is covered with iron. The speed is much faster than the boats that rely on oars before, and it is equipped with artillery... The sum of all kinds of things is not what it used to be. Is military spending not enough?

In the Xiaochaohui, the emperor sought advice from all the elders and ministers, especially the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War. The Northeast Army demanded an increase in military spending.

Mr. Sun, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, cried and wanted to take off his shoes and show you his patched socks to prove that the Ministry of Household Affairs really has no money. He also hoped that the emperor could allocate some silver taels from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After a few days of the Xiaochaohui, the emperor decided to allocate limited money to the Northeast garrison.As for the south...let King Su find a way to go by himself.

Here, Song Jianming really figured out a way. In less than a month, Mr. Song asked the court to allow him to open an official casino in Guangdong and use all the casino revenue for military expenses.

Gambling has always been prohibited in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and only some underground gambling houses are also sneaky. Now Lord Song applied for the open construction of an official casino, which caused a lot of controversy in the court.

The emperor thought about it, but couldn't make up his mind, so Lord Song made another book, saying that he could set an entrance fee of 20 taels of silver for the casino, and as long as he wanted to gamble, he had to pay 20 taels of silver first, so as to avoid nothing. The little people in the family ruined their families because of their drug addiction.

The emperor looked at Song Jianming's idea in the imperial study, and he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, and said to the eunuch Yin beside him: "Song Si is a capable minister who can share my worries with me."

Eunuch Yin immediately bowed and smiled, "Your Majesty still has the discerning eye, who overcame all opinions and promoted Mr. Song!"

The emperor laughed loudly, swiped the imperial pen, and wrote a correct word.

(End of this chapter)