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Chapter 591 Railway Tracks
"Let your eldest son take his grandson to find Ma Jinglun first, and we will make arrangements after I return from the expedition. When we entered the factory, I saw a tall tower to the east from a distance. What is it used for?"

It's a pity that the tricks that Li Zhizao can use may not be able to be used well by others, so we won't talk about them here. I can tolerate him using crooked methods to manage the factory, but I will never allow anyone to spread religion in the industrial base. That tall tower looks a lot like an unfinished church steeple from a distance. If it is true, it must be stopped immediately.

"I wrote a memorial on this matter, but Your Majesty was in such a hurry that he probably didn't deliver it. It was the turret I built, eight feet high, made entirely of coal gangue, iron slag, lime and scrap iron bars. The bottom layer was six feet thick, and the artillery fire was Indestructible.

There are ten in total, distributed in strategic areas of the factory. Each building is divided into five floors, with the top floor providing a lookout, and the lower three floors housing artillery carriages and artillery, with three guns on each floor. The first floor is used to garrison the musketry team. If the enemy attacks, the factory guard team can enter the tower and shoot to prevent the enemy from getting close.

There is a well dug in the tower, and enough dry food and ammunition are provided to allow hundreds of people to hold on for several months. This is the first one and will be completed in more than ten years. The foundations of the other four have already been dug. It will take two months to complete the work at full speed. What do you think, Your Majesty? "

Li Zhizao immediately became eloquent when he mentioned the tower. While talking, he sketched it on the table while dipping his tea in water. His expression was full of pride, and then he stared at the emperor with expectant eyes, hoping to be recognized.

"Did you come up with this? Aren't the factory walls and the factory protection team enough?"

Hong Tao would definitely not praise it. Isn't this thing just a large turret? Although they are all scrap materials, it is still a bit wasteful to deal with enemies who fight with cold weapons and lacks cost-effectiveness.

"It is indeed my idea. It's just because the factory guards are all craftsmen. It's not easy to train them. Even if they have artillery and guns, they will inevitably suffer casualties when encountering strong enemies. I thought that spending some materials and time can save them casualties." It doesn’t hurt to get up.”

Although he did not get the emperor's approval, Li Zhizao did not lose heart. He fully explained his ideas and reasons, and his attitude was very firm.

"...It's done, I'm sure. Then think about what else I don't know, and I'll tell you all."

Hong Tao thought about it and it seemed to make sense. After all, the factory protection team is not an army. It can deal with small-scale bandits. However, it does have psychological problems when a large number of troops attack. Having these huge towers as cover should give you a bit more courage.

In fact, the Army has not seen much large-scale combat scenes so far. The difference is that the Army has some Marine Guards officers who have personally participated in the battle, and there are generals like Li Ruzhang who have participated in the war, so the situation may be better.

Of course, this is just a theoretical assessment. No one can guarantee that there will be no accidents on the battlefield. This is also the main reason why it is necessary to conduct the expedition in person.

It's not that he has an aura of courage, but having the emperor standing behind him at the critical moment can delay the soldiers' escape by a quarter of an hour. Don't underestimate this quarter of an hour. Many times both parties are gritting their teeth and holding on. Whoever holds on for a quarter of an hour longer may collapse first.

As long as they have experienced the baptism of a war, more than half of the soldiers will develop antibodies. Next time they encounter the same scene, they will still be afraid, but they will have more self-control. No longer Liushenwuzhu is a capable soldier, but after two more times, when he gets used to seeing blood and killing, and takes victory for granted, he becomes a fearless and strong soldier.

"The master craftsman of the coking plant mentioned something to the minister, saying that the wooden rails from the coal mine to the coal washing plant were too unwieldy and were often cracked by coal trucks. At the end of last year, a coal truck capsized due to a broken wooden rail. The driver and the mules and horses were not seriously injured, but two passing craftsmen were killed.

Afterwards, it took two and a half days to clean the coal cars and repair the wooden rails. All the coal blocks could not be transported, and the coking kiln almost stopped working. He wanted to build another track so that if one broke, he could use another.

The minister thought for a moment and decided that the tracks should not be built too close together. A new bridge would need to be built along the way, which would be very expensive. If it is possible to use railway rails instead of wooden rails on the original roadbed, His Majesty still needs to give guidance on whether it is feasible. "Speaking of work problems, Li Zhizao did not mention any technical problems. The mining, smelting and casting of coal and iron have been in operation for ten years since the Yongding River Ironmaking Plant, and each process has basically formed a fixed pattern. In addition to serious There is nothing that can be changed beyond execution and refinement.

But there is one thing that must be decided by the emperor, which mainly involves a large amount of engineering work and capital investment. We have to listen to the emperor's opinion whether we can use new ideas to replace the old ones. After all, no one has done this before.

"Okay, first it's the turrets, and now it's the railway tracks. It seems that I don't plan to sleep tonight! Go call the forging and casting masters, and let's study together how to make the railway tracks!"

Although Li Zhizao just mentioned it casually and had no detailed plan, he still touched Hong Tao's sweet spot. Railway rails, if this thing can be developed, the next step can be to focus on the development of steam engines.

When he thought that he was touring Eurasia in an armored train, Hong Tao immediately felt no longer sleepy or tired. He pushed his job away and ignored Wang Chengen's winking reminder to hold a technical seminar on the spot.

Then there was a tragedy. An emperor, a fifth-grade doctor, and five great craftsmen gathered together in the room to talk freely and express their opinions. Wang Chengen and more than a dozen warriors from the Royal Horse Guard stayed up all night with them.

As a result, at dawn, Li Zhizao and the craftsmen happily retired with a large pile of drawings. Only the emperor and Wang Chengen were left with a pair of panda eyes, yawning and climbing on their horses, and continued on their way according to the original plan.

"Write it down. When Li Zhizao's grandson goes to Haikou, let Zhang Yongling practice hard. He must cry three times in the morning, noon and night every day! Damn it, the whole night was in vain!"

The team had already crossed the Luanhe River, and Hong Tao woke up only after being blown by the cold wind. Hegan himself was told by Li Zhizao that he was obsessed with success and wanted to achieve personal victory regardless of actual conditions.

Fortunately, reason finally prevailed over human nature, and the rail development project was not forced to be launched. Otherwise, we would not know how much money would have been thrown into it, and how much precious time of the craftsmen would have been consumed.

The rails haven't been built yet? Certainly, if it could be built, Xiong Sanba would not have been asked to use wooden rails instead. From the current materials to equipment to uses, they are not suitable for the birth of railway tracks. Science is science. The annual output of large-scale steel smelting is tens of millions of tons, catching up with the United States and the United States. It is enough to suffer a loss once, and you cannot fall into the same pit twice.

But for Li Zhizao and the craftsmen, this night was very rewarding. Under the guidance of Emperor Jingyang, a new L-shaped cast rail drawing was released.

A length of three feet and three feet is enough; the material of gray cast iron can be made by a foundry; as long as the test proves that the compressive strength exceeds that of wooden rails, it will be a huge success.

What? Cast iron is brittle, so it depends on who you are comparing it to, but it can still be used after heat treatment. Is cast iron expensive? This is true, but from the perspective of ensuring the normal operation of coking plants and ironmaking plants, it is nothing. After all, it is iron, not steel, and the output of the Luanzhou Iron Works is enough to supply it.

Of course, this kind of cast iron rail can currently only be used for the coal transportation track of more than 30 miles from the mine to the factory, and the freight track from the factory to the dock. The distance is still too long, so Xiong Sanba's track company can only Continue using the wooden rails.

(End of this chapter)