Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 141 Difficult industrial progress ([-])

In December, the grasslands on the east coast have entered the early summer season.The temperature in the Changshanbao area was only about 12 degrees Celsius at this time, facing the cool wind with the fishy smell blowing from the river, Shao Shude only felt relaxed and happy.

A fleet of five inland shallow-water transport ships has left the Yihe River and turned northward, entering the artificial canal connecting the iron ore area with the Yihe River.After Shao Shude led the team to dredge the Yihe River, he applied to the executive committee to mobilize manpower during the winter to dig the river channel in the swampy land with many branches and branches, and at the same time drain the accumulated water into the low-lying land and build artificial reservoir.After a winter's struggle, the artificial canal connecting the iron mining area and the main artery of the Yihe River was finally completed.

With the current level of logistics and transportation of the East China Republic, it would be difficult to move an inch in the inland area if it left the river.In fact, the transportation capacity of this era is generally low. Before the steam train was invented, if the transportation in the inland areas did not rely on water transportation, the cost would be astonishingly high, especially in the wild and uninhabited places on the east coast. so it is.

At present, the various nodes of the East Coast Republic of China are basically connected by sea or river transport. From Luocha in the south to Pingan Town in the north, and from Dongfang Port in the east to Changshan Fort in the west, all of them are connected by water. place.

The cheapness and efficiency of water transportation is unmatched in this era.In the new year's work plan of the Government Council, there is an ambitious "Grand Canal Plan" - to build a reservoir in the semi-marsh area between the Chui River extending from the southern end of Lake Milin and Negro Lagoon, and open At the same time, this canal will eventually extend southwards to Big Fish Lake, connecting Dongfang Port, the country's elite area, with various inland nodes.

Once this canal is completed, all water systems in the country - Yi River, Milin Lake, Two Lakes Canal, Duck Lake, Duck River, Coal River, Pingan River and the Chui River in the south, Grand Canal, Lake Negro, Big Fish The lake and Dayu River will be fully connected, completely solving the current situation of relying too much on coastal shipping.It has extremely important strategic significance for improving domestic transportation conditions and traffic safety during wars.

There is a small beacon tower at the junction of the canal and the Yi River.It, too, was recently built and housed eleven militiamen.The beacon tower is quite strong, and there is a certain amount of food and fuel stored in it, which can be used by the militiamen for short-term defense.

Recently, for unknown reasons, horse bandits on both sides of the Yihe River have gradually increased, and they have begun to frequently harass the Changshanbao Iron Mine Area and the Lower Yihebao area downstream.Each of these horse bandits has horses, and many of them even have two horses. They are also relatively well equipped, with sabers and muskets, and some even carry flintlock pistols that are not cheap.These people crossed the Xiling Mountains, galloped across the vast hills and grasslands, and frequently attacked and harassed the strongholds of the Eastern Republic.

After learning about it, the Executive Committee and the Government Affairs Council urgently expanded the cavalry battalion and transferred three sentries over to start a tit-for-tat fight against the horse bandits on the grassland.It's just that the grassland is vast and the cavalry battalion has limited strength. Most of the time, the two sides can't meet face to face, so the attacks of horse bandits still happen frequently.

In order to deal with them, Shao Shude racked his brains and used all available means.For example, building beacon towers, pulling barbed wire, cleaning up the nearby Charuya tribe (to cut off the possible supplies of horse bandits), deep trenches and high fortifications, etc.At the same time, he also asked the Executive Committee to use diplomatic means to require the Spaniards in La Plata to strictly restrain the gaucho herdsmen in the territory and strictly prohibit them from crossing the border into the territory of the East Coast Republic.

Of course, this level of diplomatic protest is futile.Even, the Spanish supervisor in Buenos Aires sent envoys to Dongfang Port to protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the East Coast Republic of China connives and supports the Araucan rebels in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and supports them through secret channels. arms.

It can be seen that the contradictions and distrust between the two parties have accumulated to a very deep level.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Shao Shude secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the national flag flying high above the beacon tower and the garrison militiamen waving their arms in greeting: the beacon tower is still there, so there should be no major incidents during this period.

The sailors in the bilge chanted and paddled together, driving the ship to break through the water and move forward.Whenever there is a countercurrent or no wind, these paddlers are needed to contribute.Not to mention the slow speed, the staying power is also very problematic.At this time, Shao Shude was extremely eager for a machine-powered boat. Even if a diesel engine was not enough, at least a steam-powered boat was needed.

It's a pity, Shao Shude sighed, there is a shortage of talents in time travel.After a few years, the whole small steam boiler can explode, so there is nothing to hope for.

The fleet docked at the iron ore cargo terminal.A platoon of the army was stationed here, and strong barracks and watchtowers were also built.The new immigrants who had been shaking in the cabin for a long time tremblingly stepped on the solid ground with mutual support. Shao Shude asked them to arrange for them to rest and eat here first, and then went to the iron mining area in the mountains in the afternoon.But he didn't care about eating, so he took two pieces of meatloaf in the dock kitchen, took a few entourages, and rode to the mining area.It has been more than a month since I left, and I don't know how the situation in the mining area is now.

The current situation in the mining area is not optimistic.Due to the continuous rain, not only did the miners fail to start work smoothly, but also a large amount of water accumulated inside the mine, which made mining more difficult.Of course, the mining area is not unprepared for this situation.Some water pumps produced by the First Machinery Factory had been installed two months ago to pump out the stagnant water in the pit.

Most of the several water pumps are driven by animal power to pump water, except for a steam pump.This steam engine sent by the First Machinery Factory for trial use can only be described as "terrible", because it spends most of the time lying still - there is no way, there are too many problems A: Poor machining accuracy, not too hard material, poor sealing, etc.Of course, there are design flaws as well.

In essence, this steam engine designed for pumping water has not deviated too far from the technical level when Watt improved the button-door steam engine.Of course, the design may be more optimized than Watt's improved steam engine. After all, with the thermodynamic theory of later generations as the basis, the people from the steam engine research and development department will definitely be more reasonable in the design such as the ratio of cylinder to boiler. Relatively speaking, the steam engine The thermal efficiency is also higher.

Moreover, Li Hongxing, the former physics teacher who led the design of this steam engine, adopted a two-way cylinder design, so that the steam engine can be driven by input steam on both sides of the piston in turn. Compared with the button-opening steam engine, the piston is mainly reset by atmospheric pressure. Working at a pressure greater than 1 standard atmosphere, it can be said that it has the elements of a real steam engine.

However, the steam engine designed by Li Hongxing does not have such a device as a crank flywheel, so the steam engine still performs linear reciprocating motion.Li Hongxing's explanation is that this steam engine is mainly used in mines to pump water, not for power output, so there is no device added to change linear motion into curved motion.

Shao Shude had good luck today.As soon as he entered the mining area, he saw that this model named "Barbarian-1" - a steam pump with someone's funny name was working, and a large stream of muddy water was pumped out of the mine pit , and then discharged into the side drain.

Shao Shude looked at the boiler that was bubbling hot steam with some anxiety. Xu Wenxuan's words from the past few days were still in his ears, and the things made by these unreliable guys would explode if they were not handled properly.

Seeing Shao Shude coming, Li Hongxing, whose face was covered in soot and was almost black, showed his white teeth and smiled, and said, "The First Machinery Factory (First Machinery Factory) sent over some specially made parts. After a few tinkerings with my brothers, I started to toss this steam engine again. No, it just came in handy on rainy days.”

Shao Shude nodded, the designers are not afraid, as a leader, it would be boring to dodge it. "This steam engine is much more efficient than the livestock-driven water pumps next to it. Unfortunately, there are always problems and it has little practical significance. You have to continue to improve."

"Of course it's better than those water pumps." Li Hongxing's voice was a little louder, probably because he had been in the boiler room for a long time, "We tried it with an Andalusian horse, and the output power was equivalent to eight horses, that is to say It has eight horsepower. What's more rare is that it doesn't eat or drink, it works 24 hours, as long as it has enough fuel. Of course, we are also improving the materials of parts and some design issues, but it is more difficult. You know the reason, We lack an industrial foundation. For example, the precision machine tools required for processing parts, many parts can only be made by hand, and the error is very large. Although other parts can be made with molds, the error is still not small. These cannot be changed for a while, only slowly Come on slowly. Of course, our 'Barbarian' steam engine is much better than Watt's improved button-door steam engine, haha."

"Well. Improving thermal efficiency, reducing volume, reducing coal consumption, and increasing output are your eternal pursuits." Shao Shude also joked, "Steam engines can't be mass-produced, so let's make them by hand first. Improve them as you go." Design, while waiting for the progress of other industrial sectors, take your time, don’t worry, anyway, we don’t plan to sell steam engines to Europeans.”

In the past month or so, Shao Shude has been running around, witnessing the industrial progress in various parts of the East Coast Republic of China.Technology does not mean that you only need to know the principles. It also involves a whole set of industrial systems, which are extremely complicated. It can be said that it is not easy to make any progress.

And this, just like this country, is moving forward with difficulty but perseverance.

(End of this chapter)