Cutting 1719

Chapter 387 Technological Leap
After hearing the translation, Thomas Newcomen felt a little surprised. He didn't expect that an emperor could recognize himself, which is really unbelievable.

"Your Majesty, I am Thomas Newcomen, an Englishman who has come to far away China at the invitation of Mr. Ernst."

Ning Yu nodded slightly. He didn't know much about this person, but he was very clear about one thing, that is, Thomas Newcomen created the world's first real man more than ten years ago. The first practical industrial steam engine can be called an epoch-making creation.

Before Ernst went to the West, although Ning Yu said that he specifically asked him to find Mr. Newcomen, but in this era, it is unknown whether Ernst will be able to find him, and whether he will be allowed to come to China if he finds it. , so I can only hold the attitude of giving it a try, but I didn't expect to get it.

"Mr. Thomas, it is a great thing for you to come to China from far away England! Although I did not receive you immediately, I am still paying attention to you and your companions. I believe you are in China. You will be treated accordingly! Mr. Thomas, I will give you a good research and development environment, and as long as you can develop a practical steam engine, I will confer a knighthood on you!"

Ning Yu's praise moved Thomas Newcomen a little, his lips trembled, and he said excitedly: "Mr. Ernst said that you are a benevolent emperor, and your country is also the greatest in the world. Country! I am really happy today, I made such a correct decision.”

After some complimenting each other, everyone came to the theoretical protagonist of today—it was a machine that was more stupid, big, black and thick than what Ning Yu had seen years ago, it was making the roar of the machine, and the thick white Smoke is constantly rising above, and some people are adding coal to the fuel port. It seems to be an industrial monster, devouring a lot of resources.

Everyone was stunned when they saw this scene, and even Ning Yu was a little excited at the moment. Lei Tuozi who was on the side quickly introduced: "Your Majesty, this steam engine is improved on the basis of the original Newcomen steam engine. Yes, compared to Mr. Thomas's steam engine more than ten years ago, it has been improved in many ways, and Thomas is more familiar with it, so let him introduce it to the emperor."

"Okay, then please ask Thomas to tell me how this new steam engine performs in all aspects."

Thomas hurriedly walked to the steam engine, and with a rather proud attitude, said loudly: "Your Majesty, this new steam engine can be called the most advanced steam engine in the world. All aspects of the steam engine have been upgraded, please take a look here, Your Majesty."

"In the past, the steam engine worked by introducing steam into the cylinder, closing the valve, and then letting cold water be sprinkled into the cylinder. When the steam condensed, a vacuum was created, and the air pressure on the other side of the piston pushed the piston. But we later found that this operation was too much. If it is too inefficient, the cylinder and the condensation cylinder are separated by a valve, which can not only improve the efficiency of the steam engine, but also make the operation easier."

"Another point is that when the steam enters the cylinder of the previous steam engine, the steam is easy to condense on the cylinder wall that has just been cooled by water, resulting in a large loss of heat, which reduces the thermal efficiency, so we are working hard to solve the problem of installing an air pump , to extract condensed water and air from the condenser to reduce condensation loss."

As the inventor of the Newcomen steam engine, Thomas Newcomen was the most clear about his achievements back then, and he was also the one who understood its advantages and disadvantages best. Therefore, after joining Guimaoyi Base, he quickly integrated into it. , and in a short period of time, together with Lei Tuozi and others, they have produced new results.

For Ning Yu, this is naturally a great thing, which means that after some improvements, the steam engine can enter the initial mass production, and then put it into mineral production and other fields. It can be realized through the steam engine. To increase production, when the steam engine technology is further mature, you can try to promote it in smelting, textile, machine manufacturing and other industries.

Of course, Ning Yu will not ignore the real source of the industrial revolution - the Jenny textile machine, because the essence of the birth of the industrial revolution is the beginning of the working machine represented by the Jenny textile machine, and the steam engine is widely used as a power machine. In addition, the birth of the Jenny textile machine also means that the rise of the technological revolution has led to changes in related social relations. The factory system has replaced the manual workshop, and the machine has replaced manual labor. Therefore, the importance of the Jenny textile machine is very high.

However, there is no so-called Jenny textile machine in the West at present. Even the key tool of the Jenny machine, the shuttle, has not been seen so far. This part is a magical item that can really effectively improve efficiency. Where the soul is.

Ning Yu knew in his heart that before the invention of the Jenny loom, whether in the East or the West, weaving was an extremely complicated and cumbersome process. People usually use a hand-operated spinning wheel when weaving. This kind of spinning wheel needs to be spun continuously for ten hours to spin four taels of yarn. A piece of cloth about a foot wide.

The efficiency of this kind of weaving requires a lot of manpower, and the cost is very high. Therefore, the price of cloth has remained high for a long time, and even common people often use cloth as currency.

However, after the flying shuttle was invented by the British, this model was instantly swept into the garbage dump of history.What is a shuttle?In fact, it refers to the shuttle with small wheels installed in the chute. It is equipped with springs at both ends of the chute, which can make the shuttle travel back and forth very quickly. The biggest function of this kind of shuttle is to greatly widen the weaving surface. It can also change from the original two people weaving to one person weaving,

Therefore, after possessing the flying shuttle, the Jenny spinning machine is almost eight times more effective than the old spinning machine. Although manpower is still needed, the manpower required is much less than before. too much.

Of course, since the shuttle has not yet been released, the design of the Jenny textile machine is mainly completed by the personnel of Guimaoyi Base. In this process, Ning Yu also provided a lot of help, at least like the idea of ​​the shuttle. , he is still very clear, and the technical difficulty of the Jenny textile machine itself is not high, so it was developed very logically.

Under the leadership of Lei Tuozi, Ning Yu and others were quickly led all the way to another large-scale test site, and soon saw the original Jenny textile machine. Its overall structure is very fine, with a The spinning wheel, driving eight vertical spindles, is spinning efficiently under the operation of a researcher.

Looking at the scene where the flying shuttle drives the spindle, Ning Yu's eyes flashed a hint of surprise. In a sense, the traditional Chinese spinning technology was not backward before the advent of the Jenny textile machine, and there was a solid cotton spinning technology. For example, the cotton seed removal process was invented by Huang Daopo in the Song Dynasty, and this technology was hundreds of years ahead of the West.

Therefore, with a deep background in this area, and the fact that the process of the Jenny textile machine is not complicated, after Ning Yu’s relevant points, after a period of research and development, a practical finished product was produced. The effect is indeed nearly eight times stronger than that of traditional spinning machines.

With a bit of excitement on his face, Lei Tuozi pointed at the loom and said loudly: "Your Majesty is indeed a genius, I didn't expect to know so much about this weaving technology, but this new loom is much more efficient in terms of efficiency." Compared with the past, it is much stronger, and it can directly enter the practical stage, and its performance in all aspects can be further tested."

"That's right, all the ministers have made contributions this time, and I will give you rewards for responding, but you must not be complacent. There is still room for improvement in these things. I won't say much about steam engines. The next step for textile machines is to consider hydraulic drive. , to develop a hydraulic loom, and when the steam engine can produce more mature results, the steam engine can be applied to the loom.”

Ning Yu had a slight smile on his face. He could already foresee the hydraulic looms scattered all over the south of the Yangtze River. With those preliminary industrial products, the era of the industrial revolution could begin!

At this time, Lei Tuozi had some hesitation on his face, and said softly: "Your Majesty, the steam engine and the weaving machine have not been named yet, so please give them names from Your Majesty."

The so-called Jenny textile machine is named after later generations, so it is naturally gone in this era. Ning Yu thought about it carefully, and said softly: "Just call it according to the year number. The steam engine is the steam engine that has been reformed for two years. The textile machine is also a textile machine that has been innovated for two years, so it is relatively simple to call it this way.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The successful development of the steam engine and the textile machine made Ning Yu quite excited. Up to now, all of the things he planned have been developing very smoothly. It is conceivable that the industrial revolution from the East will be here. The times appear in front of people with another attitude.

At least under the relevant influence factors of long distance and technological blockade, the west will not take the road of industrial revolution in advance because of the factors of Ningyu. According to the trajectory of the original era, the node that the west really entered the industrial revolution was in 18 The middle of the century, at least 30 years away from now.

It should be noted that this is the time point when the West began to launch the industrial revolution, but the real large-scale large-scale promotion basically reached the second half of the 18th century, and the peak period will not be until the 19th century, and the end of the first industrial revolution Almost until the middle of the 19th century, it can be said that it lasted for nearly 100 years.

However, with the current progress of Ningchu, Ningyu is fully confident that in about 20 years, it will completely develop to the peak of the first industrial revolution and start the era of the second industrial revolution, which is a full 100 years ahead of the West.

The gap between technology and industrial strength formed in 100 years is enough to make Ningchu a top power in the world. At that time, the so-called British Empire will naturally become unnecessary.

After Ning Yu inspected the Guimaoyi base, Ernst came to see him again, and he also brought good news to Ning Yu, that is, as the newly issued Ningchu gold, silver and copper coins, several coins have been issued. Samples can be officially issued through the Dachu Central Bank after Ningyu is confirmed.

A yellow gold coin, a shiny silver coin, and a restrained copper coin are lying in the palm of Ning Yu at this time, the touch is cold and delicate, and the pattern on it is even more exquisite. .

The obverse of the gold, silver and copper coins depicts Ning Yu's profile. On it, Emperor Ning is wearing a dress, with a short beard on his lips, looking at the opposite side with piercing eyes, and a vague smile on his face——the whole The image and temperament of the two are very extraordinary, and it is obvious that they have put their heart into it.

Even though Ning Yu is not well-known, seeing his own portrait appearing on it, he smiled a bit, and then turned the coin upside down, and the pattern on the back was quite different, among which a graceful and luxurious peony was depicted on the back of the gold coin , while on the back of the silver coin is a quiet and elegant chrysanthemum, and on the back of the copper coin is a plum blossom that is proud of the snow and bullying frost.

In addition to the flowers, there is also a word "one" engraved on the top, and four small characters "the second year of innovation" are engraved on the bottom.

Generally speaking, Ning Yu is quite satisfied with the appearance of these three gold, silver and copper coins. At least when they are taken out, they are no worse than those Western coins, and their artistic conception is also in line with China's original intention. Therefore, regarding the appearance, Ning Yu Yu has nothing to criticize, of course, for coins, this is only part of it.

"When it comes to gold, silver and copper coins, firstly, we must consider their exquisite appearance, and secondly, we must also consider their cost. I wonder how much this gold, silver and copper coin will cost?" Ning Yu held the coin in his hand, with a bit of doubt on his face.

With a serious face on Ernst's face, he said softly: "Gold coins weigh one tael, are nine cents and seven cents in fineness, and have three cents of interest. Silver coins also weigh one or two cents, but they are only nine cents in silver, and the interest is one cent. For casting with this weight, one gold coin can be exchanged for 12 taels of silver, and one silver coin can be exchanged for one tael of silver, which is still profitable.”

"Are the people willing?"

"My Majesty, the quality of the newly minted gold and silver coins is higher than that of the current silver, so I don't have to worry about not being able to exchange them." Ernst said softly. The purity of silver on the market is not high at the moment. It is obvious that two silver coins can be exchanged with the common people, and the court can also earn part of the interest on the coinage.

Ning Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He understood that as long as the purpose of circulation can be achieved, there will be no problems. The most fearful thing is that the people will not recognize the gold and silver coins. At that time, the entire coinage plan will be greatly affected. The influence, especially the credibility of the imperial court, completely collapsed.

But when it comes to this, Ning Yu pays more attention to copper coins. After all, gold and silver coins are not so closely related to the lives of ordinary people, but copper coins are used by ordinary people every day, so they need to be more careful.

(End of this chapter)