"Everyone, you are responsible for dismantling these palaces, unloading all the good wood, and sending it to the lumber mill." Wan Lei led a large group of people to the Yuan Forbidden City and looked at these slightly dilapidated palace gates and
Temple, said without mercy.
"Sir, are you really demolishing it?" This group of people knew what they were here to do, but some people still asked in disbelief. After all, this was the palace of the former dynasty. The Ming army did not demolish it when they captured Peking, but now it has been demolished. It's really
It's such a pity.
"Demolish it, I just want good wood." But Wan Lei didn't feel any regret at all. As the so-called old ones don't go, the new ones won't come in. Anyway, no one lives in this palace, let alone maintain it, and it will collapse sooner or later.
, we might as well demolish it before it collapses and reuse useful things. Later, when we have the financial resources, we can build a new administrative center on the original site.
"Sir, where are those tiles and floors?" asked a worker. Not to mention, those glazed tiles and white marble floor tiles are also good things. How can they be inferior to those reserved for the royal family? It would be a pity to throw them away.
"I only want wood, and you can take care of the rest. You can use it for your own use or sell it. I'll treat it as wages for you."
As soon as they heard that the bricks and floor tiles were owned by individuals, the demolition workers immediately became excited. Without waiting for Wan Lei's urging, they rushed forward and started a large-scale demolition movement. Since all the valuable objects in the palace were moved away, those in the palace
It was empty and there was nothing to take. Wan Lei was too lazy to stay any longer. He had to go to the steelmaking plant to preside over the first steelmaking work.
The newly built steelmaking plant is next to the original ironmaking plant, and the molten iron produced in the ironworks is sent directly to the open-hearth furnace for resmelting. Compared with the ironmaking plant, the steelmaking plant is much smaller in scale, but the equipment is more advanced.
The process requirements are higher. Since this is the first time that smelting has been started, Tie Xuan brought officials at all levels to inspect the site early. When Wan Lei arrived, all the preparations were completed and he was waiting for the ironworks.
The molten iron has arrived.
In addition to molten iron, the raw materials for open-hearth steelmaking also need to add oxidants. Industrial pure oxygen is commonly used in later generations. However, it cannot be produced under the current technological level. Refined iron ore can only be used as an oxidant in proportion. In addition, additional oxidants must be added.
Lime is used as a slagging agent, and deoxidizer and alloy additives must be added later. In short, the process is complicated.
In addition to adding relevant raw materials, heavy oil or furnace gas must be added for combustion to increase the furnace temperature. The oxygen atmosphere in the furnace must also be ensured to remove harmful impurities such as phosphorus and sulfur from the pig iron and reduce the carbon content in the molten iron.
Make the carbon content of molten iron meet the standards of steel.
Seeing that the workers were all in place, Wan Lei asked them to start repairing the furnace and loading materials, heating the raw materials, and raising the temperature of the furnace. At this time, the iron plant had begun to produce molten iron, and several "cars" transporting molten iron came along the railway track.
In front of the open furnace, Wan Lei saw that the time was almost up, so he asked people to mix molten iron and start melting and refining it.
The weather in May is very sultry. Everyone in the steelmaking plant is sweating. Even Tie Xuan and others who are far away from the furnace are sweating. This is mainly because of urgency. After all, this steelmaking plant consumes a lot of money.
Tianfu was built with 170,000 taels of silver, which is more expensive than a money refinery. If the production fails, the money will be wasted.
Chixin and Xiaodao were also present. They recorded the details of steelmaking in detail. Whenever they had questions, they asked Wan Lei for advice, especially on how to make slag and how to refine it. Wan Lei explained it for a long time. In fact, the role of slag is also
As an oxidant, the combustion gas in the open-hearth furnace contains oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc. At high temperatures, these strong oxidizing gases supply a large amount of oxygen to the molten pool, so that the slag always maintains a high oxidizing property.
At the same time, the slag floats on top of the molten iron, isolating air and molten iron. This prevents excessive oxidation of the molten iron and prevents the liquid steel from absorbing some gas impurities. Therefore, open-hearth steelmaking requires the production of slag with a certain alkalinity and good fluidity.
, a slag layer of appropriate thickness needs to be maintained in the furnace.
Since there is no oxygen blowing technology, the steelmaking process is relatively slow. During refining, additional refined iron ore can be added to promote the intense decarburization reaction, causing intense boiling of the molten pool to increase the contact area of slag steel and enhance heat transfer.
, mass transfer effect to speed up the refining speed.
After a certain period of refining, since there was no precise equipment to detect the carbon content in the molten iron, Wan Lei could only estimate the time by counting the time. When the time was almost up, he started to add deoxidizer and prepare to tap the steel.
This furnace of steel requires about eight tons of molten steel. Wan Lei wants to cast all of them into corresponding sizes to use as the keel of the new warship to enhance the strength of the warship. Of course, in order to do this, the steel must be
The parts are quenched to improve their hardness and wear resistance. In addition, the steel for these keels is also blued, that is, bluing technology is used to generate a dense oxide film on the surface to prevent it from rusting.
Of course, these steels are hard-won and can only be used as keels and masts, not ship plates. Otherwise, the amount of steel used would be too much and Shuntianfu would go bankrupt in building a steel-armored ship. In addition, all-iron structures
Warships are too bulky. Without steam engines to propel them, iron warships look mighty, but their overall combat effectiveness is not as good as wooden warships. Because wooden warships are relatively light and flexible, speed and flexibility are also very important in naval battles.
.
As the saying goes, good steel should be used on the blade. The steel produced in the future will not be sold to the outside world. In addition to shipbuilding, most of it is used to cast cannons with better performance, and a small part is used to make important workpieces such as gun barrel steel pipes.
Under the gaze of Tie Xuan and others, strips of steel several meters long were quenched and heated again and again, and finally cooled by cold water. The steel finally became the final product. They looked at the strips of blue-colored strips.
Steel bars, I sighed for a long time, after all, these things are made with "money".
In order to measure the performance of steel, Wan Lei specially had a hollow tube as big as a thumb cast. He compared the hollow tube in front of everyone, and then took out a pig iron bar of almost the same size and put the two together.
Put it on an extruder. After a strong push, the two were put together. After a while, a soft snap was heard, the iron bar broke from it, and the copper tube was only slightly bent.
After such a vivid and direct demonstration, everyone present began to applaud in unison, because the first batch of steel was successfully made, and the quality of the steel was many times superior to that of pig iron. There were many knowledgeable old blacksmiths among the crowd, and they naturally knew how to use it.
This steel is used to cast cannons,
Not only is it high in strength and low in consumption, it can even reduce the number of barrel explosions, which makes it possible to make artillery lighter and smaller. It can also mass-produce various high-end weapons, even small muskets, and equip the Peking Army with new steel equipment.
, the combat effectiveness will definitely be greatly improved.
"My dear nephew, can this kind of steel pipe be used as a water pipe for water diversion and irrigation?" Tie Xuan asked with some expectancy.
"Yes, but the current production of steel is low, and it is mainly used in the military industry. Some of the quality does not meet high standards, and can be used to make water pipes, which can lead to mountain springs to provide water to the people in the city."
"This is so kind. From now on, everyone won't have to go to the well to fetch water." Everyone nodded in praise.
Peiping has always been a city short of water. Although there is lake water in Houhai, it is not drinkable, so wells have become the water source that residents rely on for survival. Public wells are dug in almost every alley. However, most of these wells are
The water quality in shallow wells is very poor, and the well water is too bitter to drink. There are only a few sweet wells. Not only do residents have to walk long distances, but they also have to wait in long lines to pick up water, which is really inconvenient.
If the water pipes are connected, the mountain spring water outside the city is brought into the city, or the water from the sweet wells in the city is pumped up and distributed to various streets, this is a great convenience project that can benefit all the people.
Enhance the cohesion of the people.
Of course, laying out water pipes is a big project, and we are just talking about it now. We will not be able to do it until steel production increases in the future. Wan Lei does not dampen everyone's eagerness for future life, but just arranges for people to use these newly produced steel products.
Pack it up and transport it out of the city by horse-drawn carriage, because the shipyard at the mouth of the Haihe River has completed preliminary preparations, and the raw materials are waiting for assembly at the dock. The keel of the ship is an important part of the ship, and it must be assembled first before it can be assembled.
Attach wooden boards to the outside.
Since these steel materials are cast according to the designed size, they can be assembled directly. In order to improve the bonding, various large screws must be used to strengthen it. In short, the newly built warship must be as solid as a rock, so that it can
Mount as many large artillery pieces as possible.
According to the plan finalized by Wan Lei and the shipwrights, the new warship Zhenyuan No. 1 is 70 meters long, about 8 meters wide, and 3 feet high. It is expected to have a draft of about 5 meters and a displacement of 1,700 tons. It is expected to be equipped with 100 artillery pieces.
Thirty heavy guns, thirty medium guns, and forty small guns are expected to carry a crew of about 500 people.
Although the Zhenyuan No. 1 looks very big, it is still smaller than the Dafu Ship prepared by the Ming Dynasty. However, the Zhenyuan won with artillery, and it did not try to collide with the Fu Ship, so it strived to be small but powerful. Of course, the Zhenyuan No.
No. 1 is only the main gunboat. It must be equipped with two warships smaller than No. 1 as escorts, and it must also be equipped with some small clippers such as shuttle ships, eagle ships, serial ships, mother-child ships, fire dragon ships and other auxiliary warships.
Combat to form a complete combat unit.
Since the construction of warships was very important and the construction period was tight, Wan Lei did not attend the celebration banquet hosted by Tie Xuan and others. Instead, he went out of the city to the shipyard with the team transporting steel. At this time, there were thousands of troops stationed at the shipyard, including the
One thousand sailors were selected from the original artillery battalions and city defense troops. They are all strong infantrymen. They are beginning various water training under the leadership of several veteran sailors.
Since the warship has not yet been built, the navy can naturally only conduct training on various simulation facilities. The reason for this urgency is because the enemy is imminent, and Wan Lei requires the navy to formulate a training plan within four months, that is, before the warship is completed.
Combat strength.
In addition, the navy must have not only sailors and gunners, but also marines. After all, maritime wars are not just naval battles, but sometimes landing battles. In addition, there must be frogmen units to lurk near enemy ships.
Destruction is also a very important means of decisive victory.
In order to speed up the training progress, the new naval commander Liu Wenxiu asked his soldiers to engage in hell-like training. Whether they were sailors, gunners, marines or frogmen, the first thing they did in the morning was to run, running around the military port for ten miles.
Of course, ten miles is far away for ordinary people, but for the soldiers of the Peking Army who have been training for a long time, it is also relaxing and comfortable. Training soldiers with such intensity, not to mention it is not hell-style training, the combat effectiveness of these soldiers is also
It's hard to make any improvement. You know, most of the people in Shuntian Mansion are strong and physically strong, and their physical strength is already very good.
However, Liu Wenxiu played a new trick. He divided a thousand people into one hundred teams, with ten people in each team. The last person to arrive was regarded as the last team. The last team to arrive was
The whole team has to squat down and count a handful of soybeans scattered on the ground. After counting, if the number is correct, they will have food. If they are wrong, they will count again.
There is also a countdown. If no one in the army completes the ten miles within thirty minutes, the entire army will run an additional ten miles.
Ten miles, if you run this distance at the normal training speed, you will only be a little tired at most. Everyone present can persevere. But with these two penalties, the meaning of running training has been greatly changed, and too much has been added.
A sense of competition.
Who can bear to be fed only after running, and the last one has to hurt his companions? Therefore, these new recruits can only try their best from the beginning and rush forward desperately. Although this kind of extreme type
The running method is very cruel, but it can best improve people's endurance and leg muscle strength.
The punishment that followed may not seem like much in the eyes of others, but Liu Wenxiu knew clearly: after running these ten miles, it would be considered good if his legs did not cramp, and people could not squat at all when they were extremely tired;
And it was difficult to even breathe, and they couldn't concentrate at all. Asking them to squat down and count beans one by one was a test of people's mental concentration under extreme fatigue.
With this training method, the navy's combat effectiveness can be well guaranteed in the future no matter how difficult the conditions are. Especially after a fierce battle, when the body is in a state of extreme fatigue, even if it is attacked by an enemy, it can respond quickly.
, the chance of survival will be greatly increased.
After all, the ocean is different from the land. There is nowhere to stay except for ships. If you want to fight against the tyrannical ocean, you must be strong enough.
After breakfast, the Marines took a small boat out to sea and were thrown directly into the sea five kilometers offshore. They were then allowed to swim back on their own. The sailors and gunners in each row hugged a giant log and stood in the sun to practice their postures.
The most painful thing was the frogmen. These fifty people were carefully selected by Liu Wenxiu, and they were selected from a thousand people with the best water skills. They were taken to the sea, their hands and feet were tied and then thrown into the sea. They wanted
Untie yourself within half an hour, and then surface. If you can't do it, you will pull them up to revive them, and then do it again until you can do it.
All in all, training is the hardest. After a day of training, these soldiers have to cry for their parents. Fortunately, Wan Lei attaches great importance to the navy and provides sufficient military pay. Every officer and soldier in the navy receives double pay, which is more than others.
Of course, if you get more money, you will have to work harder, so no one dares to complain.
"Brother, why are you here?" As soon as Wan Lei arrived at the military port, Zhao Xueer came to greet her. The reason why she was here was to bring the Jingzhong Guards to observe the training. The Jingzhong Guards she was responsible for were also highly paid special forces.
In terms of training, we are not on par with the Navy, but directly surpassing it.
"The keel will be installed in the next few days. I will stay here. Tell Miss Zhang and ask her to arrange a few female guards to protect my wife." Wan Lei said.
"Don't worry, today is different from the past. With Sister Zhang in charge, whoever dares to attack our sister Wei'er will be seeking death." Zhao Xueer said with a proud smile, but she has the capital to be proud, because she has nearly a thousand elite loyal guards under her command.
There are also two hundred female guards. These eyes and ears can be said to be everywhere in Beiping City. They even send many people to various places to engage in espionage and infiltration and sabotage activities.
In fact, Zhao Xueer is only responsible for the training of the Jingzhong Guards. Zhang Yan is responsible for the field work. Wan Lei usually gives various orders to Zhang Yan, and Zhang Yan is only responsible for him. Moreover, the names and destinations of the Jingzhong Guards sent out are unknown.
It is classified as confidential and no one can check it except Wan Lei and Zhang Yan.
In addition, these expatriate elite guards have great freedom. In addition to completing designated tasks, they can also engage in various activities without exposing their identities. As for liaison, they are handled by specialized liaison officers.
, not only uses a single line of communication, but also uses code words and secret codes for communication, and never meets each other. Even if someone is unfortunately arrested, the entire intelligence network will not be implicated.
It's just that the intelligence system is in its infancy, and many places have not yet been penetrated, so the intelligence work is still lagging behind. Until now, Jingzhong Guard still has no definite information to prove who attacked Madam Liu's three warships.
However, Wan Lei could use the elimination method to exclude the Ming Dynasty, because there was no news from the court that the artillery had been captured, but there was news that the Ming Dynasty navy was gathering to prepare for a major operation, so Wan Lei was even more anxious.
Develop maritime power. After all, Shuntian Prefecture only has one outlet to the sea. If it is besieged by the Ming Navy, life will be even more difficult in the future.
Zhao Xueer saw Wan Lei looking thoughtful and worried, so she asked: "Brother, I heard that you had people demolish the palace, is it true?"
"It's just a ruined palace, why don't you tear it down and leave it to be eaten by insects?" Wan Lei said nonchalantly.
"If you demolish the palace, where will you go to become king and emperor?"
"Who said I'm going to be king and emperor? Don't talk nonsense, kid." Wan Lei patted Zhao Xue'er. This girl was getting more and more courageous, and she dared to say anything nonsense.
"If you don't call yourself king or emperor? Then why are our Peking troops conquering the world?"
"The world is for the public, not anyone else's. The Peking Army is helping the people conquer the world, not helping me conquer the world."
"If you don't proclaim yourself king or emperor, what will happen to the heroes in the future? Are you not going to canonize them?" Zhao Xueer asked again.
"Of course you can be canonized. If you have enough military merits, you can be granted a title."
"If there is no emperor, who will take care of them if they are granted nobility or land?"
"Of course there are people taking care of them. Don't worry, the world will still be stable without the emperor, and the sun will still rise without the emperor."
"Isn't it good to be an emperor? Above tens of millions of people, the world is vast, and the emperor is the greatest."
"The emperor's power seems to be boundless, but in fact it is not the case. The so-called blessing and misfortune come together, and too much power is the root cause of the emperor's misfortune. The emperor is the freest person in the world, because his power has no restrictions. And the emperor is
The most unfree person in the world is also because his power has no boundaries." Wan Lei shook his head and said: "I don't want myself and my descendants to become slaves of the imperial power."
"If you don't become the emperor, what will happen if others try to become the emperor? Then you will be even more in danger." Zhao Xueer said with worry.
"I am not the emperor, and I will destroy anyone who dares to stand on his own. I still have this ability." Wan Lei grinned. He was certainly not blindly arrogant, because he had many cards in his hand that he could play, and he was not afraid of others stabbing him in the back.
Knife. Besides, he and the party leaders have reached a consensus not to implement one-man dictatorship, but to implement a rotating system of governance and discussion. Everyone has a certain say, so there is no need to fight to the death for imperial power.
The most important thing is that the citizen consciousness of the people of Shuntian Prefecture has been awakened, and the spirit of self-reliance and self-reliance has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people. If anyone dares to take control against the will of the public, they will definitely be attacked by both the army and the people, and the result will definitely be tragic.
end.
Seeing that Wan Lei didn't take the glittering imperial power seriously, Zhao Xueer flat-mouthed and said no more. It was useless anyway. But what she didn't know was that Wan Lei was just not formal.
Although he is an emperor, he still has a lot of power in his hands. He can be said to be a shadow emperor.
Of course, Wan Lei can not be the emperor himself, but if he really conquers the world in the future, the meritorious officials will still have to be granted titles. The titles such as dukes, princes, and princes will definitely be given out, and the land will definitely be allocated to the meritorious soldiers. After all, people are paying for their lives.
If you work hard, you must give people a long-term job and give them more to look forward to.
But by that time, we will definitely have entered the Age of Discovery, and things like land will no longer be worth much. The real money comes from industry and commerce. And although the title is hereditary, it can only guarantee certain privileges and priorities.
Quan, if you want to enter the military and political circles, you must have real ability. It is impossible to have a vegetarian diet.
"Sir, you're here just in time. The soldiers are about to start dinner, and I would like to treat you to a meal together." Liu Wenxiu, who was busy training, saw Wan Lei standing at the dock directing workers to unload cargo, and immediately ran over to greet him.
Liu Wenxiu used to be a captain in the Ming army. He played a great role in the defense of Peking and became the commander of the artillery battalion of the city defense army. This time, he took advantage of the east wind of establishing the navy and was promoted to commander, becoming a brigadier general. Although
I don't have many soldiers at hand, but they are all elites, and their future is boundless.
"Oh, the soldiers have worked hard in training, I should go and express my condolences." After Wan Lei finished speaking, he told the workers who were unloading the goods a few words, and then followed Liu Wenxiu into the military camp. When the soldiers saw them, they stood up and saluted one after another, as if the leader was in person.