A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 192
The "Aviator One" manufactured by the Wright brothers is very light, even with the driver, it is only about 360 kilograms, so any design should pay attention to lightweight.

Limited by the aerodynamic layout of their canards, it is even more required to reduce the mass of the front end, otherwise it will increase the top-heavy and affect the flight stability of the aircraft.

In other words, the key to engine design is weight and the front-to-rear weight ratio.As for the horsepower, a dozen horsepower is more than enough, after all, the lifting quality is very low.

Perhaps it was because most of the patents applied by the Wright Brothers were canard layouts, and subsequent American aircraft manufacturing companies adopted conventional layouts in order to bypass his patents.

As mentioned before, although the United States now has a patent office, it is difficult for the approval process to be as strict as that of later generations.The U.S. Patent Office has a certain responsibility for this matter, but now the Patent Office really has no one who understands aircraft, otherwise it should not allow the Wright Brothers' aircraft to be patented as a whole.

It is even more unlikely that everyone in the patent office is Einstein.

"You own the engine plant in Detroit, too?" asked brother Wilbur Wright.

"No," Li Yu said, "I need to make it for you in New York."

"New York seems to be nearer to North Carolina, too," said brother Alway Wright. "We'll pay you enough."

"I don't need to be paid, I have the right to contribute to your aviation career." Li Yu said.

It is much more meaningful to participate in the development process of the first aircraft in human history if you can earn a few dollars by selling only one engine.

But the Wright Brothers were happy.Research and development is expensive, especially something like an airplane that no one has ever succeeded in.

"Thank you so much! I really can't think of a Chinese with such knowledge and mind." The Wright brothers said.

Li Yu said: "The manufacture of the engine will take some time. Do you have a telegraph? I can notify you in time when it is ready."

"You can send it to the newspapers and they'll tell us," the Wright brothers said.

"A word is settled!"

The Wright Brothers are currently working on a very tight research and development project, and they will soon return to North Carolina to continue the manufacture of Pilot [-].

And Li Yu was also preparing to return to New York.

"You really want to build engines?" Sierra asked.

In her opinion, this is definitely not an easy task.

"What's the problem?" Li Yu said with a smile, "but it's better to buy an engine with as many cylinders as possible."

Li Yu remembered Buick's twin-cylinder engine and decided to ask him to buy one.

David Buick has not yet established the Buick company. It can only be regarded as a small workshop for R&D and manufacturing of cars. The two cars produced at the New York Auto Show are already the limit.

Detroit isn't that big at the moment, and it's not hard to find him.

Li Yu walked into David Buick's small factory and said, "You are safe, Mr. David Buick, I just said we will meet again."

Buick's small factory has the most variety of engines. It can be seen at a glance that there are some problems in his research and development focus: he is too obsessed with more advanced engine technology and does not pay attention to vehicle sales.Unlike many other car companies, they do research and development while selling.

David Buick's approach was not a wise move in the early days of the auto industry.

David Buick recognized Li Yu: "It's you! Could it be that my car has a problem?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "No problem. I came here to see if there is a multi-cylinder engine that I can buy."

Buick smiled wryly: "If I really didn't want to sell it before, but now my factory is almost out of funds, it would be great if you are willing to buy it."

Next year at the latest, Buick's company will be sold.William Durant, the owner of a carriage company, will buy Buick as a whole, and later rely on Buick to establish a larger General Motors Corporation.

Buick himself was quickly fired and left sadly, leaving only the Buick car brand named after him.

Li Yu turned around, pointed to an engine and said, "Can I buy this one?"

Buick said: "Your vision is really accurate. That engine uses overhead valves, but the stability is not very good."

"It doesn't matter," Li Yu said, "I'm interested in its small size."

Buick said: "Small is small, but if it is too small, the gas explosion in the cylinder will not be easy to control. It is not a finished product. I have another mature overhead valve engine, but the volume is slightly larger, but it has been installed In the car that the lady bought."

"I can't dismantle the car," Li Yu said, "If I can, I'll buy this engine."

David Buick, almost at the end of his rope, said, "Well, it's not finished yet, it's only $200."

"make a deal."

This engine also weighs tens of kilograms, and Li Yu can actually understand its structure with just a few glances.

In fact, the reason why he bought the engine was really not for learning, but because the designs in his mind were too advanced, but he couldn't grasp it properly.That's why I bought such an old-fashioned engine to limit my thinking.

After arriving at the laboratory in New York, Li Yu began to redesign. The main purpose was to replace cast iron with aluminum structure as much as possible, which could greatly reduce the weight.

It is still more expensive to buy some aluminum now, but the aluminum makes the processing difficulty slightly lower.

The follow-up of aluminum is extremely important in the aircraft industry, but many early aircraft were made of wood.

When the work was in full swing, there was a knock on the door of the laboratory.

After Li Yu opened it, there was a middle-aged man standing outside, and he could tell at a glance that the man was Chinese.

The middle-aged man said, "You are Li Yu, right? I think I made the right mistake."

"I'm Li Yu, may I ask who you are?" Li Yu asked.

"My name is Situ Meitang." The other party replied.

Well, it turned out to be the boss of Hongmen in the United States.

However, Situ Meitang has not yet established the Anliang General Hall, and has not yet become a real Hongmen boss.

Now the big boss of Hongmen Zhigongtang in San Francisco is Huang Sande.

However, Situ Meitang has joined Hongmen in the United States for nearly 20 years, and Anliangtang, which was established before, is subordinate to Zhigongtang, and its scale is also very large.

A few years ago, he resigned and came to the eastern United States. With years of accumulation, he is still the highest among the active Hongmen in the northeastern United States.

Li Yu naturally knew Situ Meitang's name, "I've admired you for a long time! Why are you here?"

"It should be said that I have admired you for a long time," Situ Meitang said with a smile, "I am just a wandering soul wandering overseas."

Li Yu said: "You can organize a mutual aid association, unite the Chinese, and help each other. How can you be called a wandering soul!"

Situ Meitang said: "You also know our Hongmen?"

"Of course I know, it's just that I haven't had the chance to meet with him," Li Yu said.

At the beginning of the 2000th century, there were almost [-] million Chinese living overseas.

It is not easy to wander, so everyone will naturally gather together to keep warm. Many clan associations and fellow villager associations are difficult to enter because of blood relationship restrictions, so many Chinese have joined Hongmen, where conditions are relatively free.

Everyone also agrees with Hongmen's philosophy of "joining health and helping each other, helping each other, and caring for each other in times of adversity".

Hong Men called those who had just left the country "Brothers from Tangshan", who provided board and lodging, financial assistance if they wanted to do business, and even legal assistance in case of lawsuits.

Because of the nature of mutual aid organizations, Zhigongtang in the United States has successfully registered with the government in the name of "Chinese Freemasonry" and has become a legal organization.

In fact, apart from the most famous Zhigongtang and Anliangtang, there are many other similar ones.

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are also fights among the gangs. One of Situ Meitang's great contributions to the Hongmen in the future is that he can quell the fights between the various gangs. He is definitely a big brother.

Moreover, he has a good brain and knows that brute force alone is not enough. In a place like the United States, the law must be followed.Therefore, his Anliangtang not only has a stricter organization and more sufficient funds than Zhigongtang, but the most important thing is that he has always hired American lawyers as legal consultants.

The most famous is the later US President Roosevelt Jr., who served as legal counsel for Situ Meitang for more than ten years.

Situ Meitang walked into Li Yu's laboratory and sighed: "You are such an educated person. I have seen many American machines, but I can't name them at all, let alone the articles you posted. I am a I can't read the words."

Li Yu said with a smile: "There are specialties in the arts."

Situ Meitang said: "We are so short of people like you. If we can build strong ships and guns, we will not be afraid of foreigners."

"Sooner or later, there will be," Li Yu said, "step by step."

"You are right. If you are anxious, you may be the next Kang Liang." Situ Meitang said.

Li Yu asked: "Kang Nanhai has also been to the United States, I wonder if Mr. has seen him?"

Situ Meitang said disdainfully: "What are you doing seeing him? We are not on the same boat, Kang Youwei is full of pretending to be his emperor, and our Hongmen don't even recognize the Qing Dynasty."

Li Yu said with a smile: "That's true. But Kang Nanhai's energy is not small, and he cheated the Chinese a lot of money. You should be careful."

Situ Meitang sighed: "There is no way, he is too talkative, we can only guarantee that our congregation will not donate to him."

Hongmen and Kang Youwei have extremely conflicting ideas.

To put it bluntly, Hongmen was anti-Qing from the very beginning, so later he unswervingly supported Mr. Zhongshan's revolutionary cause.

However, there are indeed not many educated people in Hongmen, and the regularization of Hongmen can not be separated from the participation of Mr. Zhongshan.

Just like in Zhou Xingchi's version of "The Deer and Ding Tale", Wei Xiaobao played by him had a very simple but reasonable dialogue with Chen Jinnan, the chief rudder of Hongmen's early organization Tiandihui.

Chen Jinnan told Wei Xiaobao: Most of the people who have read the book and understood the truth have become officials in the Qing court, so if we want to fight against the Qing court, we must use some stupid people.To deal with them, you can't tell the truth, but use religious methods to hypnotize them, making them feel that everything they do is right.Therefore, anti-Qing and restoring Ming Dynasty is just a slogan, which is actually the same as Amitabha Buddha.The Qing Dynasty has been oppressing us Han people, taking away our silver and women, so we have to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

Wei Xiaobao: We must fight against Qing Dynasty and take back our money and women.To be unrecognized is simply to take off your pants and fart!

If you think about it carefully, the situation reflected in this passage is also very sad, it is really difficult.

"Then leave Kang Sheng alone," Li Yu said, "Since you can't stop him, let him go."

Situ Meitang said: "That's right, he has already indulged in the luxurious life of the United States and Canada. Such a person can't do anything. But your two articles attacking him are so wonderful that several of our Chinese newspapers also reprinted them." .”

"Chinese newspaper?" Li Yu asked in surprise.

"Yes, not only New York, but San Francisco (San Francisco) also has our Chinese newspaper, but it is incomparable with the "Le Monde" that published your article." Situ Meitang said.

Li Yu clapped his hands and found the way.

Since they can read and write, it means that they have been educated, and they have been in the United States for so long, they must also know English, and they can definitely choose some Chinese among them to train and become technicians.

Sure enough, if you want to find Chinese in the United States, you cannot do without Hongmen.

Mr. Sun Yat-sen came to the United States six years ago to seek sponsorship, but with little success. The reason is that he did not find the right channel and Hongmen for help.

So when he came to the United States for the second time, he joined Zhigongtang directly and was named "Hong Chou", and the Hongmen's children also respectfully called him Big Brother Sun.

When he came to the United States in 1904, Kang Youwei’s Loyalist Association and the San Francisco Consul colluded with the Immigration Bureau to frame him as a false passport and detained him in order to prevent him from propagating the revolution.It was all thanks to Huang Sande, the big boss of the Hongmen Zhigong Court, who spent money, hired a lawyer, and went to court to get him out.

If you want to reach as many Chinese as possible, it is most effective to go through Hongmen.

Li Yu said: "I am thinking of setting up a factory and recruiting some Chinese to become skilled workers."

Situ Meitang was a little disbelieving: "You, a Chinese, can open a factory in the United States?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "It is possible."

Situ Meitang gave a thumbs up: "It's amazing."

"It's not all my credit." Li Yu said.

Without Sierra and the Carnegie family power behind her, it would not be easy for him to start a company and a factory.

Situ Meitang sighed again: "Our Chinese workers suffered too much back then, all because they could only work for foreigners. If there is a factory run by a Chinese, it is really exciting. Even if the husband is not me, Hong People in the door, we will also do our best to help!"

Li Yu clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Mr. Situ! Your help is enough. I wanted to go to San Francisco to see if there are any suitable Chinese who can be recruited."

Situ Meitang waved his hand: "It's not necessary. Now California's Chinese Exclusion Act has brought many Chinese to the East Coast. It may be useless to go to San Francisco. But I can let them know, and if there is a suitable candidate, I can recommend it. .”

"The situation is still familiar to you," Li Yu said.

Situ Meitang said: "If you want to find someone now, you don't have to go very far. There is our Chinatown in the south of Manhattan. I think you can find a lot of people there."

Li Yu almost forgot that there is this place. Chinatown in New York is indeed very close, more than twenty miles away, and the identity of the people inside is relatively clean.

Li Yu asked: "Should there be Western-educated Chinese in Chinatown?"

"Yes," said Situ Meitang, "but even if you have studied in an American school, it is not easy to find a job. It's a pity for these young people."

Discrimination is much greater now than it will be in later generations.

Li Yu said: "Sir, you can take me to have a look. It happens to be published in our newspaper to recruit some people to enter the factory."

Situ Meitang smiled and said: "It's easy to say! You are doing a good deed, helping us Chinese, and I must personally assist you to do it!"

(End of this chapter)