Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 413 Development Planning Department

"Therefore, before the construction of the laboratory is completed, I ask everyone to start working immediately, to do theoretical research first, and then conduct sufficient experiments after the completion of the laboratory. According to the recent development and defense needs of the empire, this five In the annual plan, I require breakthroughs in materials research, machinery industry, power industry, energy research, etc. It would be even better if it can be transformed into industrial production. But first, I want to emphasize materials research.” With that said, Guan Xuqing looked at Rong Hong.

Rong Hong took a deep breath and said: "As the emperor said, materials have always been the biggest obstacle restricting the development of the empire's industry, and it is also an important obstacle restricting the improvement of military equipment.

Think about it, as early as the beginning of the second five-year plan, the empire started to vigorously promote the development of the car industry, but it has been unable to make greater progress.Why?Because the miniaturization of automobile power system is not yet possible.All of you here are experts and know very well that the prerequisite for the miniaturization of the powertrain is the material.Cylinders, pistons, crankshafts, intake and exhaust pipes, various oil pumps, etc., which do not require excellent material support.In last year's war, a large number of tanks and armored vehicles broke down halfway, why?Because the damping system is not good enough.Many torsion bars, springs, and load-bearing steel plates were broken because the materials were not up to standard. "

Guan Xuqing said: "The problem of materials should not be underestimated. It can save a lot of money if it is used well, but it will cause huge costs if it is not used well. The biggest constraint I know is the power equipment. Dameng, what do you think?"

Yung Hong agreed: "Your Majesty is really perceptive. Let's take our aircraft as an example. They still use a lot of wood and canvas to make them. This has great disadvantages in actual use, especially in military affairs. Once a fire breaks out It cannot be extinguished. Why not use light alloys such as aluminum? It is still a matter of materials. Because the materials cannot meet the requirements, a smaller high-power engine cannot be successfully developed, and the manufacture and processing of light alloys cannot continue. During the construction of our naval ships, in order to emphasize the strong defense capability during use, we abandoned the traditional riveting and adopted a large number of welding techniques, but the cost was relatively high, which was almost 40% higher than that of riveting construction. 10. If we solve the problem of welding materials, the cost will increase by at most [-]% compared with riveting. This is a considerable economic benefit.”

Yung Wing paused, and continued: "In the turbines that are widely used now, materials play a decisive role. Some time ago, during the construction of the cruiser, because the materials of the Chongqing Iron Works were not up to standard, the Wuhan Iron Works was finally used. Thanks to the products of Wuhan Iron Works, otherwise, our cruisers would not be able to go to sea to fight in the war. Why are the radios you use now relatively large? It is because the materials inside are relatively rough Not only that, but it also affects the mobility of the wireless communication equipment of the troops, so that our troops can only equip radios up to the battalion level, and they are also extremely vulnerable to interference. If the material problem is solved, the quality of communication will be greatly improved and it will be easy to carry , it can be spread to the platoon or even the squad level, or even every soldier. Think about it, how powerful should such an army be?"

Guan Xuqing finally said: "I hope that everyone will truly realize that the problem of materials is like a person's muscles and bones. When the muscles and bones are strong, this person can move naturally and flexibly. Therefore, materials are the basis of all industrial production, and they are also the most important work of our planning department at present. It is the most important. I hope that everyone can give full attention to the research and industrial production of materials."

After this meeting, the start-up of the planning department went very smoothly.Various departments have also formed close ties with related companies. Some science and technology departments such as the Imperial Academy of Sciences have transferred some technical experts into the department, and some directly merged with some newly formed research departments in the department.It is worth mentioning that the Metal Materials Research Bureau of the Materials Research Department has jointly established several material research institutes with Chongqing Iron Works, Wuhan Iron Works, Panzhihua Iron Works, and Guizhou Metal Bureau.The materials developed by these research institutes have become the best metal materials in China and even in the world, and are widely used in various industries.

After the meeting, Guan Xuqing kept Yung Wing and said compassionately: "Da Meng, at the age of 70, you can share my worries again, I am very happy."

"The emperor can think of the old minister, the old minister is already very grateful, share the emperor's worries and be loyal to the country, this is our duty as a courtier, and the old minister has a duty." Rong Hong said with cupped hands.

"The booth of the Development and Planning Department has been set up. Next, I plan to let you have more contact with the scientific research institutions of the empire. After all, the Development and Planning Department has two major responsibilities, one is scientific and technological planning, and the other is economic planning. If you have If it’s okay, I plan to take you to Shaanxi, where there is the most important experimental base of the empire.”

"I would like to obey Shengming's order. Could it be that the emperor is talking about the aircraft experiment base?"

"Dameng, it seems that you have already prepared for this, yes, it is there."

"The emperor often warns his ministers and others that everything that is forewarned will be established, and if there is no forewarning, it will be abandoned. The minister has always kept this in mind for many years."

Guan Xuqing said leisurely: "A lot of things are still due to you old officials, who can be considerate of my wishes. In contrast, many young officials seem a little frivolous and impatient."

Rong Hong suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, what do you think of Yang Shiqi?"

Guan Xuqing knew that Yung Wing's sudden mention of this person must have deep meaning, "I know something about this person. Now under the orders of Sheng Xuanhuai of the Imperial Savings Bank, there were many obstacles in the issuance of banknotes by the Empire. This matter has been achieved. It shows that this person still has a certain ability to handle affairs."

"Your Majesty, I have paid more attention to this person since that incident, and found that Yang Shiqi is not only an expert in economics and finance, but also adept at handling affairs, and has a good reputation in the business world. Therefore, I dared to ask the Emperor to tell him This person was transferred to the subordinates of the minister, and he will be cultivated vigorously in the future, and I think he will be qualified for the position of the minister in the future."

Guan Xuqing smiled and said: "As the saying goes: People are old and treacherous, horses are old and slippery. I just transferred you to be a minister, and I wanted to take off the burden."

Rong Hong hurriedly said seriously: "I don't dare, I'm old, weak and sick, and I'm going to try my best to support the development and planning department with these old bones. It will be too late for someone to take over.”

"Well, well, I will do as you say. But I also count on your health and longevity, so share my worries."

"I will do my best to do my best for the emperor."

The next day, Guan Xuqing took Rong Hong all the way westward and arrived at Yanliang, Shaanxi.Accompanied by local officials and the Wright brothers, Guan Xuqing visited the newly built wind tunnel and the new aircraft being designed and developed.

Guan Xuqing frowned, and said to everyone: "I saw that you are still testing a biplane model today. To be honest, I feel a little regretful."

Speaking of this, everyone was very surprised, and the faces of the Wright brothers turned pale all of a sudden.

Guan Xuqing continued: "You must know that the biplane is the most primitive model at the beginning of aircraft construction. It has been five years since the first aircraft Air Force No. 1. In the past five years, the empire has invested a huge amount of money in the development and construction of the aircraft. Your aviation career has always been one of the things I care about the most, but no matter how much money you spend, I will never feel distressed. I also know that you have all put in great efforts for this cause. But what makes me regret now is that, Five years have passed, why do you still spend time and energy on an old model, why can't you expand your horizons and focus on the development of new models? As aviation professionals, you should be clear that biplanes have a specific There are many flaws in the flight operation, and there is no future. If the empire wants to keep ahead of the world at all times, we must develop by leaps and bounds. So, today I saw that we and you are still conducting research on biplanes. Pity."

The scientific research experts were all ashamed after hearing this, especially the Wright Brothers were sweating.After a long time, a foreign expert stood up and said to the emperor: "His Majesty the Emperor, in fact, we also know that the performance of the biplane will be greatly reduced due to too much resistance, especially the speed and ceiling performance. But we There is no way."

Guan Xuqing was stunned and said, "Why?"

The man replied: "Because of the power, the volume and weight of the aero-engines we produce now are suitable for the size and weight, but the power is not enough, and the volume of the suitable power is too large. The engine of the Northwest Aviation Power Bureau currently used is very suitable for the volume and weight of the aircraft, but the power Only 300 horsepower, in order to achieve the best flight performance and take-off and landing performance, we have to adopt a double-wing structure, otherwise, the lift is not enough, the load will not be able to keep up, and there is no practical significance in developing it.”

Guan Xuqing nodded. What the expert said was not unreasonable. After pondering for a while, he said: "How about this, you first change the design plan to a monoplane. However, we can no longer research and develop biplanes. Biplanes can be used as civil aircraft in the future, such as small air transport, or research and development as seaplanes, but as the most advanced aviation in the empire In the direction of development, the biplane will soon be eliminated by history."

The Wright Brothers were a little confused. The first aircraft they built was a biplane. Since then, aircraft research has been developing along this line of thought, but now the idea of ​​a biplane has been categorically rejected by the emperor, which is equivalent to overthrowing their idea at once. Most of the research ideas are somewhat at a loss for a while. "Your Majesty is very right. The biplane does have some and other shortcomings, but we have always believed that this is the best form of aircraft design so far. I really can't think of any more advanced form."

Guan Xuqing smiled and said: "I can tell you clearly that the future aircraft style should be a straight-winged monoplane, and even jet aircraft will appear in the future."

"Jets?" The Wright brothers were even more surprised. They had never thought of this concept.

Guan Xuqing nodded, thought for a while, and said to the experts present: "Give me a piece of paper and a pen."

Everyone was very surprised and didn't understand what the emperor wanted to do.

(End of this chapter)