Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 45: Everything is ready, present the telescope [Please read]

Liu Kuan couldn't stand Guo Tianwen's glare anymore, so he asked, "Brother Guo, do you have any questions?"

Guo Tianwen continued to stare at him and said, "According to what Vice-President Liu said, this train seems to use a steam engine instead of horses and oxen, pulling the multiple carriages along the railway. What exactly is the principle behind this? Are there any real steam engines?"

After hearing what Guo Tianwen said, Liu Kuan was slightly surprised.

It should be noted that he had just held the meeting as planned and did not take Guo Tianwen into consideration by explaining some of the terms.

If an ordinary person heard this at this time, he would not only be confused, but also probably not understand it at all.

But looking at Guo Tianwen's expression, he seemed to have understood about 80% of it and was only confused about the part about the steam engine.

This has proved that he is quite talented and knowledgeable in craftsmanship.

Just as the four projects had been discussed, Liu Kuan prepared to test Guo Tianwen's talent in engineering.

So he handed the copied information on steam engines to Guo Tianwen.

After spending a few days together, Liu Kuan has come to understand that the simplified characters of later generations have many similarities with the cursive and vernacular characters of today, so people today can get a general idea of ​​his information.

Guo Tianwen took the information, glanced at it, and immediately looked at it attentively.

Liu Kuan said to the officials, "The original plan was for three people to be in charge of the steelmaking, carriage, and coal project teams respectively, and I will personally be in charge of the power project team."

"But now that Guo Tianwen has joined our Technology Department, if he's qualified, he'll be in charge of the Power Project Team."

"Power is the core project of our train construction, which can be divided into two sub-projects: 'steam engine' and 'transmission'..."

While Guo Tianwen was looking at the materials, Liu Kuan talked about the personnel arrangement plans for the four projects and gave a detailed explanation of the "power project".

He was not afraid that Guo Tianwen would miss these contents - he could just go and look at the meeting minutes made by Liu Yan after the meeting.

After he finished speaking, he saw that Guo Tianwen had put down most of the information and was only holding the one with the steam engine structure diagram, as if he was pondering it.

Liu Kuan then asked, "Brother Guo, do you understand the operating principle of this steam engine?"

Guo Tianwen continued staring at the blueprint without looking up, and said thoughtfully, "Water boils into steam, just like dough ferments, its volume expands."

"The steam engine uses the expansion force of water turning into steam to replace the power of oxen and horses. Yes, it can even replace the power of water wheels!"

"If that's the case, the steam engine's boiler must be extremely airtight and sufficiently strong... No wonder Vice-President Liu repeatedly emphasized the importance of fine steelmaking."

"Without good steel, it would be difficult to build this steam engine. If we really want to build one, it would have to be enormous."

After hearing what Guo Tianwen said, Su Quan, Liu Yan, Shen Lin and other officials who truly understood the operating principles of steam engines all looked at him in surprise.

They could tell that Guo Tianwen understood the principles of steam engine operation through a piece of information, and his understanding was even deeper than theirs.

Liu Kuan was pleasantly surprised.

Although he had expectations for Guo Tianwen's performance, he did not expect that Guo Tianwen would understand the steam engine so deeply just through a piece of document, and he didn't need to explain further.

This shows that Guo Tianwen has the ability to build a steam engine according to the information!
"Okay!" Liu Kuan made the decision immediately. "Since Brother Guo knows so much about steam engines, how about you become the fourth director of our Science and Technology Department, in charge of the Power Project Team?"

Liu Kuan's words surprised many officials even more.

Even Guo Tianwen couldn't help but look up in surprise.

He was a commoner. Although the Ming Dynasty now selected officials by recommendation, Liu Kuan's direct appointment of him, a commoner, as the head of the Ministry of Works was still a surprising move.

Although Guo Tianwen has low emotional intelligence, he is not stupid.

He knew that if he really took on the role, he would not only be under great pressure, but if something went wrong in the future, it would also implicate Liu Kuan, who recommended him.

After coming to his senses, he hurriedly said, "I'm afraid I'm not up to the job of being in charge... As long as I can participate in building the train, I'd be happy even if it means being a minor official."

Liu Kuan frowned slightly and looked at Su Quan.

Su Quan smiled and said, "How about this? Kaozhi will first serve as the chief examiner in our Science and Technology Department. If the steam engine test is successful, he will be promoted to a full-time position. And it will be considered that you are recommended for the position by me. How do you think?"

Liu Kuan then realized that recommending others to serve as officials in the Ming Dynasty at that time would involve certain risks.

Old Su is preparing to take the blame for him.

However, if you look into it carefully, Guo Tianwen was indeed recommended by Su Quan.

Liu Kuan did not compete with Su Quan for taking the blame, after all, the blame had not yet fallen.

He looked at Guo Tianwen.

Guo Tianwen glanced at Su Quan, then looked at the information in his hand, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I will be the person in charge of this trial and build the train with you all!"

···
noon.

It's time to go to work and have lunch.

Liu Kuan was about to leave the Science and Technology Department and return home when he saw Zhao Cheng approaching. "Vice-Law Liu, His Majesty invites you to a banquet at the Dashan Hall."

At this time, the officials of the Science and Technology Department had not left yet. After hearing this, they immediately cast envious looks at Liu Kuan, even Su Quan and Guo Tianwen were no exception.

This is a royal banquet.

Not everyone can obtain it.

Because it is a symbol of the emperor's favor to a certain minister.

Although some officials in the Science and Technology Department knew that Liu Kuan was trusted by the emperor, they did not expect him to be favored to such an extent.

Liu Kuan knew that Old Zhu would never invite him to dinner for no reason, and most likely he wanted to ask him about something in the future.

He then said goodbye to Su Quan and others, left the Science and Technology Department first, and followed Zhao Cheng into the Forbidden City.

After arriving at the Dashan Hall, Liu Kuan discovered that there were still only three people working on the roof: Old Zhu, Little Zhu and Empress Ma.

"I, your humble servant Liu Kuan, pay my respects to Your Majesty, the Empress, and the Crown Prince." Liu Sheng bowed.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be in a good mood and said with a smile: "Stand up and take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Liu Kuan took his seat, the palace maids began to serve the dishes.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang said directly: "Liu Kuan, you should know that we have decided to send troops to the southwest on the first day of September."

"This must have been a major battle. Are there any records of this battle in later generations? Did the Ming Dynasty win or lose?"

Liu Kuan was not surprised. When he heard about this at the morning court the day before, he guessed that Lao Zhu might conduct relevant consultation.

It was a bit unexpected that Lao Zhu waited until now to ask.

He said, "Of course we won, and it was a great victory. We eliminated the Hu Yuanliang King in one fell swoop and brought Guizhou and Yunnan under the rule of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao both smiled, while Empress Ma seemed relieved.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was already quite confident about this war, he was still quite happy to hear the prediction of "victory" from Liu Kuan.

However, he immediately asked, "Do you know the details of this battle? Or a general overview of what happened would be fine. The Ming Dynasty is somewhat different from later history, so please don't let this war have any negative impact."

Liu Kuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a historian in the future, so I only remember the great victory of this battle, but I don't know the process of the battle."

"However, I have something to offer Your Majesty that will make this battle more likely, or at least easier to win."

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested and asked, "What is it? It can't be your precious cell phone, right?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Although mobile phones are high-tech, they are of little use in the entire war."

"As for the gift I'm offering, it was also brought with me when I traveled through time. It's called a telescope."

telescope?
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered these three words and simply asked, "What is the use of this telescope?"

Liu Kuan said, "A telescope, as the name suggests, is primarily used to observe distant scenery—it can make scenery miles away appear right before your eyes."

"If used on the battlefield, it could be used, firstly, to observe the enemy's situation, secondly, to observe the battlefield situation, the enemy's military formations, and so on."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a founding emperor who gained power through fighting. After hearing what Liu Kuan said, he immediately realized that this telescope would be of great use in warfare.

He was delighted and said, "How could there be such a rare thing? Where is this telescope now? Why didn't you give it to us earlier?"

Liu Kuan was embarrassed.

I didn’t know how to answer – could he say that he was too busy in the past few days and forgot about it?
Fortunately, Queen Ma spoke at this time.

"Zhongba, how can you talk like that? The telescope belongs to Kuan'er after all, and you're talking as if it were yours."

"Haha, we're just in a hurry." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed casually, then asked, "Liu Kuan, do you have any other treasures that can help us win the battle?"

Liu Kuan thought, if I were like some travel bloggers, driving out and bringing a drone to take pictures and live broadcasts, and also bringing the drone to Ming Dynasty, it would be of great use on the battlefield.

It's a pity that he just came out to play and just carried a bag.

The binoculars were the only thing in his bag that would be of real use in battle.

He then said, "Your Majesty, the telescope is the only thing I carry that will be of use in the war."

"However, I do know how this telescope is made. With the skills of Ming Dynasty craftsmen, it shouldn't be difficult to imitate a simple version of the telescope."

　I was delayed in updating today due to something, so I'm late.

　　I am still asking for collection, follow-up reading and votes. There is only one week left before the new book is released.

　　Thanks to [Chu Yuyou 12138] for the reward of 100 Qidian coins!
　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)