New Shun 1730

This was Wilkins's original intention in inventing the boring machine. It was just a coincidence that helped Watt achieve the myth of the steam engine.

Dashun's attitude towards handicrafts was very ambiguous. At the time, Emperor Taizong actually said something like the integration of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce into one.

However, the ruling ideology has always been that of small farmers and small producers. Whether it is low prices hurting farmers, or millions of laborers, everything is based on stability.

Liu Yu also revealed the true power of this thing, but used sophistry to lead the problem to war.

Naturally, money has to be invested in developing steam engines. The boring machine is the front-end technology, and there is no pressure on the subsequent technology.

But for the royal family of Dashun, the power of the boring machine that Liu Yu wanted them to see was more for boring guns.

Steam engines are good for China, but not good for the dynasty; boring guns are good for China, but also good for the dynasty.

What Liu Yu wanted to show the royal family was just what he wanted the royal family to see; what he didn't want the royal family to see, by the time the royal family understood it, it was too late.

Of course the cannon was what the emperor wanted to see.

The current artillery system of Dashun still follows the French system. If you include the four-pounder guns attached to the battalion, there is also part of the Swedish system.

The reason for choosing this system is that the casting technology and boring processing technology are not up to standard.

Now that we have boring machines, we can cancel the four-pounder cannon and the eight-pounder cannon, and compromise on the six-pounder cannon, reducing weight and maintaining power. At the same time, we can also try to produce a 12-pounder cannon at the level of the Napoleonic era.

Boring machines can solve this problem to a certain extent and can improve the Dashun Army's revised artillery system.

In the future, when new French battleships are built, lighter, larger-caliber cannons or shorter carronades can also be installed on the navy.

He guessed that Li Han couldn't understand the steam engine that didn't even have a shadow at the moment, so he only talked about the use of boring guns.

Sure enough, Li Han misunderstood Liu Yu's meaning.

Liu Yu's original intention was to say that he could build a steam engine at that time and always ensure that Dashun was qualified to maintain the free trade system at this moment.

But after Li Han heard what Liu Yu said about the boring cannon, he thought that Liu Yu meant that this thing could ensure that Dashun would have enough combat power to beat whoever was stronger at that moment.

He didn't know how to cast cannons, but after listening to Liu Yu's words, in his eyes, this inconspicuous machine really had a tyrannical sense of power, like a battleship.

It's just that this sense of power is too abstract and far less intuitive than that of a battleship.

"Uncle Ying Suo, if this thing can really bring our artillery to a higher level, I will report this to the emperor and reward the craftsmen."

Liu Yu's heartfelt statement tells the emperor to reward craftsmen? The emperor might take some cloth and silk from the internal coffers as a reward, but it was absolutely impossible to reward him for his meritorious service, as he would not be able to pass the test of the court.

With the little money the emperor could reward, nothing could be done. The British can put a reward of twenty thousand pounds for the navigation bell, but Dashun is still far from a reward of this level.

He chuckled and said: "For this thing, I have offered a reward of 80,000 taels of silver. The cost is tens of thousands taels. Seventh Prince, this matter will naturally be reported to His Majesty, but as for the reward... I have promised them money, but in addition, I also need to give them some honor.”

"The Seventh Prince is a member of the Tian family. I have a heartfelt request. Can the Seventh Prince confer a flag on these craftsmen to commemorate their merits?"

There are some things that no one else can reward except the emperor. If you reward them, it is arrogance.

But there are some things that you don’t need to greet the emperor.

Originally, Liu Yu wanted to give these craftsmen some honors as an earl, of course, honors other than money, instead of just "tying on a bull's head to replenish the charcoal value" like the royal family and the court. Don’t give money for valuable honors.

But now there is a prince here, and it would be perfect for the prince to do such things.

Even though Li Han has not yet been crowned king, in theory he is a lower level than himself as an earl, but since he is the son of a dragon, it is different.

Seeing that Li Huan was still hesitating, Liu Yu explained: "These craftsmen have put in a lot of effort. Not only will the cannons be sharper in the future, but the copper materials used to cast the cannons will also be saved a lot. Eighty thousand taels of silver, not only Not much, but less in my opinion.”

"But when it comes to honor, in the system of the Celestial Dynasty, scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, all workers are low-level. In the previous dynasty, there were craftsmen and households with bad customs and bad governance. Even if this dynasty is abolished, it will not take a day to freeze three feet, and it will not take a day to freeze the snow and melt the ice. "

"If I ask His Majesty to grant awards and honors, I'm afraid that the court will criticize him and think that Your Majesty values ​​craftsmen and underestimates the scholar-bureaucrats. Moreover, during the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, there was a cannon-casting craftsman who was granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. If you reward the craftsmen now, I am afraid that the scholar-bureaucrats will accuse you of being a barbarian."

"The affairs of the DPRK are too complicated. But the Seventh Prince should be less restrained in his actions. After all, His Majesty's construction of the navy is also 'independent', and the ministers in the DPRK do not support it. Your Majesty sent the Seventh Prince to the Navy for training, but he did not want the Seventh Prince to come. Pay attention to small details like this.”

Li Han quickly waved his hand to indicate that he had no intention of doing so. He thought to himself that I was an outlier in the palace because I studied more practical things. The navy is also an outlier. My father asked me to come here instead of calling others. Apart from my eyes and the Christian name of Ignatius, it was also because my father felt that I was the most able to accept new things.

"Uncle Ying Suo has misunderstood. I really have never thought that craftsmen must be humble. In the past, during the reign of Emperor Zhou, hundreds of craftsmen could also be scholars. Emperor Taizong of this dynasty also said many times about craftsmen's households. I am a member of the heavenly family, how can I not remember it? Ancestor instruction?”

"It's just that I'm just a prince. I think if your Majesty awards the reward, it will make the craftsmen feel more blessed and valued."

Liu Yu pulled him aside and whispered: "The seventh prince needs to think about this matter. I have offered a reward of 80,000 taels of silver. If your majesty is to reward you, how much can you reward? There are rules in the palace. The court has its own rules. We have our own system. Even if I conquer the Western Regions and capture quasi-chiefs, I will only be rewarded with eight thousand taels of silver."

"You and I both know that Your Majesty must abide by the rules. Besides, there are many uses for internal funds, and the Western Regions have also used money in recent years. Even if Your Majesty is willing, it is difficult to reward too much. When the time comes... these craftsmen will not know, Don’t you think His Majesty is stingy?”

He is so little, Li Ye thought, yes, 80,000 taels of silver? There have never been so many rewards in the palace. As a prince who has not been crowned king, he only gets a thousand taels of silver a year. This is really difficult to handle.

Liu Yu rewarded too much and the emperor rewarded too little, so it would be better not to reward at all.

Liu Yu instigated again: "Although this object can be used to boring cannons, it is not a cannon after all. The ministers in the court may not understand the techniques, but the seventh prince has read books on practical knowledge. Don't he also think that this object is far less powerful than a battleship?"

"If you don't wait until the new cannon is bored and present it to Your Majesty, you will be rewarded at that time. Moreover, the seventh prince is new, and it must not be the seventh prince's fault at this time. If a few years later, the new cannon is cast and the new weapon is bored, At that time, the performance was announced, and it was said that the Seventh Prince had given the honor to encourage craftsmen..."

Li Han was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes! What Ying Suobo said is absolutely true. This boring machine looks really ordinary. Not to mention compared with battleships, even compared with those cruisers, it is far behind." . Most of the ministers in the DPRK do not understand the beauty of it, so they should wait until the new cannon is cast before making a demonstration."

"Then the honor and ceremony conferred..."

Liu Yu smiled and said: "Don't worry, Seventh Prince. Although I don't read much, I still know what trespassing and overstepping the rules are. Everything has been arranged, as long as the Seventh Prince comes forward when the time comes."

Under the huge cultural inertia, the status of craftsmen is still low. The patriarchal hierarchy of the feudal system is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The superiors can make the inferiors burst into tears at a very small cost.

Although the craftsmen in Weihai are somewhat different from those elsewhere, they are not so confident that they "deserve what they deserve."

Under the hierarchy, the emperor was the eldest, and the emperor's sons were of course far beyond the reach of craftsmen. As an earl, he has been in Weihai for too long and does not have much official status. At this time, he is not as good as the prince who has not been crowned king.

To adapt to the times, we must naturally use the lowest cost in this era to achieve the greatest results.

Under the hierarchical system, if someone is praised in person by a superior, the greater the level difference, the more pleasure one will get converted into corresponding silver. Even in future generations, young people who have just started working may be so excited when their leaders praise them for free that they may even work hard for no money. The situation is now.

Liu Yu praised so much that most of the craftsmen here were immune. Their thresholds soared and they needed stronger stimulation.

Now that Liu Yu has arranged everything, Li Han is completely relieved. As long as he doesn't overstep or exceed the rules, he has nothing to worry about.

He followed Liu Yu for a few more tours, and then went back to prepare his speech. Because Liu Yu reminded him that the cultural level of these craftsmen is very average, so it is better not to use very written classical Chinese. It is best to use spoken language to praise, otherwise it will be like playing the piano to a cow and others will not understand.

Li Han felt that it made sense. Although it was a bit uncomfortable to speak plainly in such a formal occasion, he still felt like giving it a try.

As soon as Li Huan left, Liu Yu called several leading craftsmen over. Those craftsmen were beaming with joy. They had already received money, and they were all real gold and silver. Although he had known for a long time that Liu Yu meant what he said, the feeling was still very different when such a large amount of money actually fell into his hands.

"Uncle Ying Sao, according to your requirements, this tool can drill a circle of three feet, and the error is only as thick as two or three large coins. Of course, there are still areas that can be improved, but it can be regarded as meeting the requirements of Uncle Ying Sao."

The leading craftsman proudly introduced the situation of the boring machine. Compared with the one used by Watt to dig cylinders in history, the accuracy is not much different. The diameter of one meter can be different by three to four millimeters. This accuracy is completely sufficient at this time.

Previously, he paid the French to help him buy a lot of Newcomen-style steam engines. The craftsmen in Weihai were responsible for each one. Anyway, Liu Yu spent a lot of money, and the craftsmen dismantled a lot of them according to his requirements. Basically, Liu Yu spent a lot of money on them. Weihai can already manufacture its own Newcomen steam engine.

At this time, he can split it up and assign talents from different professions in the same way as the previous technical research team. If he spends a lot of money, he can get what he wants.

Since it is enough to produce a cylinder that can be used in this era with this precision, we can't be willing to spend money and throw one hundred thousand taels of silver into it. After all, Watt does not have such a good configuration and such strong capital.

The commendation meeting will be prepared later. Taking advantage of the fact that there is still time, Liu Yu said: "Now that this thing has been made and the money has been given, I guess you have just put your mind to it this time and feel that I am not Are you fooling you?"

The craftsman laughed hurriedly and said: "You are joking, adults. The reward money that several technical research groups have already received is not bad at all. We are really not worried at all. But we are not afraid of adults' jokes. We really have this money in our hands. It feels like It’s still different.”

"Those of us have put it all together, and it doesn't make sense to go back and buy land to farm and study. There are many novel things here, and I still like it better. But the money is in our hands, and we can't let it go bad. We have to find ways to make money. If we talk about borrowing money at usury, It’s not easy to borrow money here in Weihai. Can you please help me buy some shares so that I can leave some property to my children and grandchildren in the future?”

At this time, in Weihai, the awareness of commercial capital may be stronger than in Songjiang. Not to mention changing customs, it has also given many people different choices from before.

"It's easy to talk about. However, I still have a few things here. Of course there is a reward. Since you are the foreman, I will choose some reliable ones tomorrow. I still have a few things for you to do."

The craftsmen were all happy when they heard that there was a new project. Is the money still too much?

Liu Yu looked at these happy craftsmen and thought to himself that I am the one who makes the most money. There is no patent system in Dashun. If your things are patented, compared with the reward I gave you, I am afraid it will be like watermelons and sesame seeds.