Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 20 Steam Powered Machine Tools
Fan Jing has lost weight!

After working on the construction site for dozens of days, I slept in temporary shacks and ate from big pots of rice.

He took Li Yu to inspect the completed houses.

Only half of the 30 acres of land is currently occupied.

If you look down from the air, the outermost circle is surrounded by a 3-meter-high water-milled brick wall.

Inside the fort, there are four main roads, two horizontal and two vertical, shaped like a "well".

In each of the four corners, there is a three-entry house for the brothers to live in.

These houses are far apart from each other.

Those who are interested may find that the windows of these houses are small and a bit high.

The Xiangshan craftsman in charge of the construction pointed out many times that this would affect the view and lighting.

However, Fan Jing strictly followed the drawings and never compromised.

The area in the middle of the "well" character is still vacant for the time being and is planned to be built as a warehouse.

The other areas are the training ground, kitchen, woodshed and utility room, and latrine.

……

The land Li Yu purchased has a somewhat special terrain, like a pot turned upside down.

It is high in the middle and low on all sides, with a height difference of 2 meters.

The outer wall is built in a relatively low area.

If you stand in the house where you live and look outside, you will find that the fence does not block your view at all, and you can just see the top of the fence.

The outer wall is surprisingly wide, reaching 1 meters, and the interior is filled with earth and stone.

People can stand on it calmly and watch without affecting other people passing through.

"Military advisor, I'm a little worried. If the government finds out, they might accuse us of building a fort privately."

"Do you also think this is a fort with defensive functions?"

"Yes."

"Then think of a way to make the wall not look like a city wall."

Fan Jing nodded, and he was ready to think about it carefully.

Li Yu's house is a separate house.

In a house with three entrances, the innermost one is usually the master bedroom.

According to the drawings, the bedroom and study were opened up, making the area spacious.

This will become a factory building.

The area of ​​​​the set of machine tools where the system rewards are placed is just enough.

……

"Block up these windows and build them with bricks. Also, put a big tank in this courtyard and prepare enough water." Li Yu said, pointing to several small windows on the wall of the factory building.

"Ok."

"I'll have someone buy some coal and bring it over later, and you can pile it up in this yard for me."

"The courtyard wall of my house is lined with broken porcelain pieces to prevent gentlemen from getting up."

Fan Jing held a small notebook and kept recording.

He is a meticulous person, which Li Yu appreciates very much.

"You've done a good job. I'll give you two choices. One is that I want to open a restaurant in the old hall, and you can be the shopkeeper. The other is that I want to be a housekeeper in the new hall and be responsible for the logistics."

"I want to follow the military advisor."

Walking to the wall, Li Yu suddenly asked:

"Are you curious about what I want to do?"

"The military advisor wants to be self-contained, advance and retreat in a controlled manner, and become an underground emperor."

The spring breeze blew across his face, and Li Yu stopped testing.

After wandering around for an hour, I finally thought of a way to hide others' sight.

Transplant several rows of trees in front of the fence.

At first glance, it can be very confusing.

As long as the trees are tall enough and connected in rows, it looks like a kind of literati elegance.

But Fan Jing suggested planting bamboo, which was even better.

Because bamboo grows fast and densely.

It's more like arty, everything is so natural.

……

a few days later.

Li Yu finally cashed in on the system's reward, a complete set of machine tools, equipped with a small steam engine to provide power.

Lathes, drilling machines, boring machines, milling machines, and sawing machines are all lined up.

There are simple English operating steps on the metal nameplate of each lathe.

Li Yu digested it bit by bit and recorded it in his mind.

He is an art student and has no practical experience in operating machinery.Before I traveled, I always heard news about workers in a certain factory accidentally cutting off their fingers.

Always be in awe of these cold giants.

If you want to make a musket, you need steel and hardwood.

Processing the reeds of flintlock muskets and the exquisite flintlock engines were temporarily out of his reach.

And no idea where to buy suitable metal made reeds.

This made him couldn't help but sigh. Before time travel, there were countless time travel enthusiasts on the Internet.

After imagining time travel,
Science students build guns, steam engines, and large ships, kill everyone, and become a martial arts emperor.

Even if liberal arts students cannot take the imperial examination, they can still become famous through poetry, and then carry out some economic reforms, political innovations, etc., and become a famous prime minister for a generation.

At the very least, an otaku can make glass, distill liquor, and mix perfume, earn a lot of money, become a rich man who is not enterprising, have more than a dozen beautiful concubines, and play cosplay behind closed doors every day.

Even otakus who watch dramas every day will dream of using their knowledge of palace fighting to find a pockmarked father-in-law.

……

It took Li Yu a long time to roughly figure out several types of machine tools.

For example, if you want to make a gun barrel out of an iron rod, you need to use a drill press to drill appropriate holes.

If you want to make a cannon, you need to use a boring machine to slowly rotate and pull it out.

If you want to make gears and some small parts, you have to use a milling machine to cut them.

The lathe has more functions, cutting an iron ingot into the desired rough blank.

He got some iron ingots and birch wood, and slowly started practicing.

Although I failed every day and made some strange-looking workpieces, my feel was slowly accumulating.

The day agreed with Fucheng has arrived.

Three tankers, loaded with private salt obtained from the Fu'an and Hai'an salt fields in the north of the Yangtze River, have passed Xushuguan.

Li Yu made an impromptu decision and decided to personally lead the team to escort them.

On the contrary, Fucheng was moved and felt that his sworn brother was a righteous man.

In fact, Li Yu just wanted to get more familiar with the surrounding waterways.

It is safe to board the boat from Xushuguan and go all the way south until entering Taihu Lake.

Both sides of the strait are densely packed with villages and market towns.

The river is even more crowded, with various boats going back and forth.

Li Yu brought 10 brothers with him, and he felt at ease along the way.

There are weapons in the cabin, but they cannot be taken out casually.

It wasn't until I entered Taihu Lake from Xukou that my vision suddenly became clearer.

It's like driving from the crowded Sutong Bridge to the Hulunbuir Prairie.

"Full sail."

The boss of the boat gave an order and the boat quickly picked up speed.

Li Yu noticed the island on the left, which was only a few miles away from the shore.

"Where is this?"

"Xishan Island, the largest island in Taihu Lake."

"It's a nice place."

"Yes, but there are a lot of water bandit spies on this island who sell stolen goods."

"The government hasn't cracked down yet?"

"If you pick up a knife, you are a bandit, and if you hide, you are a fisherman. Who can tell the difference so clearly, unless we kill them all!"

Fucheng heard the chat between Li Yu and the boat boss, and came over and added:
"As long as they don't rebel, keeping the water bandits is good for the gentlemen of Taihu Hall. A monthly contribution is indispensable. We, the Qing Dynasty, have our own national conditions."

……

Li Yu took the telescope from the ship boss and saw that it was a foreign product bought from Guangdong No. [-] Bank.

He opened the brass mirror body and observed Xishan Island.

There are mountain peaks on the island, fishing nets are drying in front of ordinary huts, and there are some fishing boats on the shore.

On a slightly higher ground, there are many low-key mansions.

He was silently thinking that if he could occupy this island as a logistics base, it would be a good choice.

After driving into the depths of Taihu Lake, Fucheng lost his previous relaxation and his expression became serious, which was rare.

He is a swinger brother who has always been cynical.

The sailors on each ship also became nervous.

All the swords, spears, bows and arrows hidden in the cabin were taken out.

There are also muskets, and Li Yu's ship alone has three of them.

This unusual action made Li Yu feel bad.

He grabbed Fucheng and said seriously:
"What exactly are we on this trip for?"

(End of this chapter)