20demayo Chapter 356 The Concept of Steam Trains!
Chapter 356 The Concept of Steam Trains!
After returning to the Institute of Geology, Zhang Fan went straight into his room and locked the door behind him.
He took out his phone from his pocket and skillfully dialed Zhu Feng's number.
"Hello, sir, it's me."
As soon as the call connected, Zhang Fan didn't waste any words and directly recounted what had happened in the imperial court, his one-month deadline, and his crazy idea of building a "steam train."
Zhu Feng, on the other end of the phone, gasped after hearing this.
"One month? Building skyscrapers and steam trains from scratch in the Qin Dynasty?"
Zhu Feng's voice suddenly rose, but without the slightest hesitation, he immediately issued instructions to those around him: "Immediately contact the senior professors at the Locomotive Research Institute and the Infrastructure Engineering Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences! Quickly! Initiate the highest-level online meeting!"
After hanging up the phone, the entire think tank of Bureau 749 instantly sprang into action, frantically analyzing the feasibility of the "building a railway and opening train service in one month" plan, based on the current technological level of Daqin.
Half an hour later, Zhu Feng called back, his tone unusually grave.
"Comrade Zhang Fan, the expert group has provided a detailed evaluation report."
Zhu Feng said in a deep voice, "To make a steam train run, it's not as simple as just building a metal shell."
"This involves the limits of metallurgical processes, precision-machined lathes, high-temperature and high-pressure boilers and containers, complex transmission machinery, as well as the long-term railway infrastructure construction, fuel and water supply along the route, and the most critical chemical sealing issues!"
Zhu Feng paused, then continued, "Although with the modern blueprints you brought over, and the practical skills of the Mohist disciples, it's theoretically possible to assemble the first steam engine. However... the timeframe is too tight!"
"Turning blueprints into physical objects and laying tracks in just one month is almost pushing the physical limits of industrial history. A slight mistake could lead to a boiler explosion and a disaster."
Listening to Zhu Feng's analysis, Zhang Fan frowned slightly.
He took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes: "I know it's incredibly difficult, but this train is the road for Qin to industrialize!"
"Within a month, no matter what we can achieve, I must force Great Qin to take this first step!"
"Even if we can only produce an experimental locomotive after a month, we must get started!"
Sensing Zhang Fan's do-or-die determination, Zhu Feng gave a heavy "hmm" on the other end of the phone.
"Since you've decided to give it your all, 749th round, we'll fully cooperate!"
Zhu Feng changed the subject, his tone becoming more enthusiastic, "However, in order to prevent the railway from not being fully laid to the northern border in a month, which would lead to the army's food and supplies being cut off!"
Our expert team just worked overnight to develop a safety net plan for you!
"A guaranteed minimum plan?" Zhang Fan's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Let's start manufacturing ball bearings and four-wheel steering carriages!"
Zhu Feng quickly explained: "The grain transport vehicles in the Great Qin Dynasty are basically two-wheeled wooden horse-drawn carriages."
This type of vehicle has a rigid structure, with all its weight resting on the horse's back and the axle. When the road is bumpy, the wooden axle and wheel hubs will rub violently together!
"When transporting heavy loads, wood is extremely prone to overheating, wear, and even breakage. This is the fundamental reason why grain transport in ancient times suffered such high losses!"
"My car always breaks down on the road!"
"A four-wheeled carriage can perfectly distribute the weight, and by simply adding a steering axle, the turning problem can be solved. The core technology is [ball bearings]!"
Zhu Feng's voice was excited: "As long as bearings are fitted into the axles, and the rolling friction of steel balls replaces the sliding friction of wood, the resistance of the carriage will drop dramatically!"
One horse can easily pull the weight that previously required three horses, and it's extremely difficult to damage!
Zhang Fan was thrilled, but he keenly noticed a challenge: "Sir, ball bearings require extremely high machining precision, right? Can Daqin's current lathes make them?"
"It's indeed difficult; truly modern high-precision bearings can't achieve that!"
Zhu Feng answered with certainty, "But the expert team has already simplified the blueprints for you. There's no need to pursue extreme quietness and ultra-high speed; it just needs to meet the requirements of a carriage speed of tens of kilometers per hour."
"With the current molding and polishing technology of the Mo family, this simplified version of the steel ball bearing can be mass-produced! Even if the precision is slightly inferior, it will definitely be a hundred times more wear-resistant than the original wooden structure!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan slapped his thigh and was overjoyed.
Steam locomotives tackled major transportation arteries, while four-wheeled horse-drawn carriages solved the last-mile problem!
With these two groundbreaking industrial tools, the Qin Dynasty's industry truly began to take off!
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Fan let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes filled with excitement.
Not long after, the phone made a soft sound, indicating that all the relevant technical drawings and manufacturing processes from Bureau 749 had been sent and received.
Zhang Fan opened the file and was immediately left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The expert team and logistics personnel of Bureau 749 were extremely meticulous in their work. In order to make it easier for the craftsmen on the Qin side to read directly, all the annotations, dimensions, and operating instructions on these drawings were specially translated into Qin seal script.
Looking at the dense text on the screen, Zhang Fan couldn't help but press his temples, immediately feeling a headache coming on.
During his time in Qin, he had indeed come to understand most of the basic Qin seal script, and daily official documents and simple bamboo slips were no problem for him.
However, when these obscure and complex ancient characters are forcibly translated and pieced together into hardcore modern mechanical terms such as "tolerance precision," "radial clearance," and "carbon steel quenching," the reading experience is even more torturous than reading gibberish.
"Forget it, let the professionals handle these professional matters."
Zhang Fan sighed helplessly and quickly organized all the drawings.
He picked up the technical drawings, still smelling of ink, pushed open the door to the secret room, and strode out.
"Someone come here!"
Zhang Fan's gaze was intense as he ordered the guards outside the door in a deep voice, "Immediately ring the bronze bell of the Institute of Physics! Summon all core disciples of the Mohist School to the main hall for a meeting within one incense stick's time!"
Before long, the dull sound of the bronze bell in the Gewuyuan (Institute of Physics) rang out.
Upon hearing the bell, the Mohist disciples scattered throughout the workshops quickly gathered in the main hall.
No one looked tired; on the contrary, they were all fervent and excited.
These past two days, the foot-operated machine tool has kept everyone so excited that they haven't slept a wink for several nights, constantly conducting various extreme tests.
Inside the main hall, while waiting for Zhang Fan, the Mohist disciples couldn't contain their excitement and began whispering among themselves.
"The Immortal Master has suddenly summoned us today; could it be that he possesses some other earth-shattering immortal blueprint?"
"Very likely! But then again, while our foot-operated machine tools are ingenious, they rely entirely on human power. They're fine for processing small, delicate parts, but when it comes to cutting large pieces of steel, a person's leg strength is simply too weak. They'll become sore and weak after less than half an hour!"