Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Immediately afterwards, Song Zhong and Sun Chang developed the theory of triple-expansion steam engines used in large ships.

If the industrial level is not high enough, then the two of them won't be able to make this thing just with theory.

But because of Wei Wu's existence, the Ming Dynasty possessed the most important machine tools for industrial development hundreds of years in advance.

In this way, Song Zhong and Sun Chang could easily realize their ideas.

At the same time, with the help of industrial machine tools, there is no need to worry about the sealing of steam engine boilers.

Combined with several types of micrometers provided by Wei Wu, more precise accessories can be manufactured.

Therefore, although it was beyond Wei Wu's expectations that such results could be achieved after the treasure ship was transformed, it was also reasonable.

"Your Majesty attaches great importance to the renovation of the treasure ship. The navy is intensifying training in preparation for the eastern expedition against the Japanese pirates."

"This time when I came to the palace, His Majesty specifically asked me how long it would take to renovate the treasure ship and whether efficiency could be improved."

Song Zhong and Sun Chang had been following up on the renovation of the treasure ship, and they had long been aware of the relevant issues.

Hearing Wei Wu's question, he gave the answer without any hesitation.

"Vice-President, it takes about eight to nine days to rebuild a treasure ship. As for improving efficiency, I can't say for sure."

"If there were sufficient manpower and all the necessary accessories, this time could be accelerated, but this is simply impossible."

Nine days?

Wei Wu was a little surprised to hear this answer, because it was much faster than the time he calculated in his mind.

Wei Wu originally guessed that one ship would take about ten days, so thirty ships should take a year.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was given half a year was because the assembly work could not be carried out until one ship was completed.

The assembly work can be carried out on several ships at the same time, and half a year for thirty ships is already a very conservative estimate by him.

Unexpectedly, Song Zhong gave him a surprise. It only took eight or nine days to complete the transformation of a ship.

Just when Wei Wu was happy about it, Mr. Song spoke again:

"Mr. Vice President, you are aware that all our parts must be precise, and this can only be achieved with machine tools."

"But our institute doesn't have enough electricity. Most of the machine tools are idle, and the parts can't keep up with the assembly speed."

"I wonder how many modified treasure ships Your Majesty needs. If the number is too large, I'm afraid it won't be possible in such a short time."

After Song Zhong finished speaking, he looked at Wei Wu. However, when he saw the expression on Wei Wu's face, he immediately realized that the number was probably quite large.

Sure enough, just when Mr. Song was feeling uneasy, Wei Wu gave the answer.

"Your Majesty is sending 30,000 elite troops on an expedition to the east, so at least 30 treasure ships will be needed, and the timeframe will be approximately half a year."

"Half, half, half a year? And thirty ships are needed?"

After hearing the number Wei Wu said, Song Zhong was so frightened that he even stuttered.

In fact, this cannot be blamed on Song Zhong being timid. The main reason is that this task was requested by the emperor, and it was not an easy job!

These are thirty treasure ships, and the number of spare parts required is so large that he can't even imagine it.

With the current output of the Institute of Science and Technology, this is simply not something that can be achieved in a short period of time.

Once the progress fails to meet the requirements, the emperor will blame us, and it is obvious who will bear the wrath.

So after a brief panic, Song Zhong fixed his eyes on Wei Wu.

"Mr. Vice President, you can't take this job! We can't possibly rebuild thirty treasure ships in six months."

"Forget about successfully renovating it. Even producing the necessary parts is difficult. This is an impossible task!"

Perhaps he was a little anxious, and Song Zhong's voice was trembling.

But in fact, Wei Wu also understood what he was worried about, and immediately patted his shoulder and said with a smile:

"Old Song, you don't have to worry. I told His Majesty to come back and ask about the situation first, and then give His Majesty a reply."

"I'm also aware of the situation at the Institute of Science and Technology. I'm just asking, if the power supply problem is resolved, can we do this?"

Hearing that Wei Wu did not agree to His Majesty, Song Zhong immediately felt relieved.

Then he heard Wei Wu talking about the power supply problem, and Song Zhong immediately thought of something.

"Mr. Vice President, you said we need to solve the power supply problem. Does that mean we should start making generators?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wu smiled slightly.

"Whether it can be manufactured or not is not up to me. It mainly depends on you."

After saying this, Wei Wu turned to look at Sun Chang, who had been silent, and asked:

"Sun Chang, before I left Beijing, I gave your blacksmith team the task of making strong magnets. How are the results so far?"

Hearing Wei Wu's voice, Sun Chang quickly stood up and replied:

"Replying to Vice President, as per your request, we have specially sent people to various places nearby to search for areas with thunderstorms."

"It is indeed as you said. Cast iron becomes magnet after being struck by lightning. It's just that it rains more often than it thunders."

"So far, we have only produced sixteen strong magnets. I don't know if they meet your requirements."

Sun Chang paused for a moment before continuing:

"But in addition to strong magnets, we also made a large amount of copper wire. We also made two of the propellers you mentioned."

"We've also tried to make the generator you gave us, and we've tried to install it, but... we can only wait for you to come back."

I have to say that Sun Chang’s preparations were really good, and almost everything was ready.

Wei Wu just needed to assemble the things, but the number of strong magnets was less than he expected.

There are only sixteen strong magnets, but that should be enough.

The generators made of these strong magnets are used for small turbine hydropower, not for making large hydropower stations.

According to Wei Wu's estimation, ten yuan would be enough.

"Very good, the blacksmith team did an excellent job."

After saying that, Wei Wu turned around and looked at Wu Qiang.

"Wu Qiang, how's the progress with your construction team? Is the hydropower station you were assigned to build finished?"

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, Wu Qiang immediately stepped out from among the craftsmen and bowed and replied:

"Reporting to the Vice President, we have completed the construction according to your design and have also blocked the water flow."

"The design has also been precisely measured, so we can install it directly once the generator and propeller are ready."