Valley Emperor

"Before this, the highest power record for a steam engine was twelve horsepower!"

Naturally, Shi Huanren would not say that the previous record for the highest power of a steam engine was produced by a single-boiler steam engine, but their steam engine is said to be one, but in fact it is a piece of two.

This is the latest low-pressure steam engine modification plan proposed by the Royal Institute of Technology!

Under the circumstance that the material could not make a breakthrough, and the high-pressure steam engine was designed a long time ago, but it was impossible to build it, the Royal Institute of Technology took great pains to improve the power of the existing low-pressure steam engine!

They began to spend a lot of time on various designs and came up with a separate cooler, and this change, they expected to increase the power of the existing steam engine by more than three times, in addition to many other improvements.

Its biggest purpose is to increase the power of the low-pressure steam engine while maintaining stability and improving the utilization rate of fuel.

In addition to these improvements, they also tried to combine multiple steam engines and use the linkage of multiple steam boilers to increase the power of a single steam engine system, and carried out carrier-based improvements to see if they could be used in Use on board.

And they asked Zhaoqing Machinery Company to build a test machine. Later, when they heard that the Navy urgently needed a machine that could be used on the 680 merchant ship, they simply tested the test machine several times, and it seemed that there was no major problem. Well, move directly to the rose issue.

Of course, they didn't make any package tickets before. The pre-test was smooth, but it didn't mean the actual use was smooth. At the same time, they also said that even this latest steam engine has only 35 horsepower. It is very difficult to push the modified 700-ton rose, and the speed will be very, very slow.

But the navy doesn't care!

This rose is not to go to war, and there is no requirement for maneuverability. The reason why they need a steam engine is purely to prevent the rose from entering the depths of the Pacific Ocean. After entering the windless zone, the sail can not work, so that the rose can be made to work. There is a backup power.

Even if it's slower, as long as you can walk, that's enough.

Furthermore, the navy has long been interested in steam engines, and has long wanted to equip them. Now I heard that the Royal Institute of Technology has produced a steam engine with barely 30 horsepower. They also want to actually test it, if they can. If they are used, then they will move these steam engines directly to the battleship.

It doesn't matter if it's slow, it's very troublesome to use, and the cost is high. These are not problems.

The Navy's requirements for steam engines have always been very low, as long as they can be used!

Rose, an armed transport ship of the navy, became the first navy ship officially equipped with a steam engine after it was converted into an expedition ship!

As for whether it is easy to use or not, we have to see it!

However, in order to plug this huge steam engine and carry coal, the rose number also sacrificed a lot of space, but in Su Jiade's view, it is all worthwhile, and he already has plans for other supplies. , when he arrives in Ryukyu, he will bring two more merchant ships, fully loaded with supplies, to use as supply ships.

At the same time, in terms of personnel, he also made the biggest reduction. Marine personnel are not required. As long as sailors are required, if they need to land combat, they will be directly filled by sailors.

However, he estimated that such a situation would not happen, because he never planned to fight people on land, he just went to explore the route, not to establish a colony, and he didn't need to deal with the local people too much.

The expedition led by Su Jiade is not only one ship, but three ships are scheduled. The Rose is the main ship, and on the Ryukyu side, it is expected that there will be two supply ships from the Tang Dynasty Navy.

At that time, the expedition team composed of these three ships will sail all the way to the east, towards the depths of the Pacific Ocean. As for what will happen and what will happen on the subsequent journey, no one can predict it.

Just when Su Jiade was leading the Chinese Rose to sail, another merchant ship was also undergoing refit. This ship was Jinyuan, which belonged to Datang Xiyang Company!

However, now this vessel does not belong to Datang Western Company, because this vessel has been requisitioned for more than a year. As compensation, the navy directly gave Datang Western Company a new 680 merchant vessel!

Today, this merchant ship directly belongs to the Datang Navy, but it does not belong to any squadron, but directly under the direct jurisdiction of the Datang Navy Command Headquarters, just like the Rose and other expedition ships.

According to the plan of the Navy, the follow-up exploration of routes in the South China Sea and the Americas will be undertaken by the Navy. As for the exploration of routes in the Indian Ocean, Africa and Europe, it will continue to be the responsibility of Datang Western Ocean Company.

The Jinyuan is now berthed in Wusong Port. Officials from the navy, as well as technicians from Jiangnan Shipyard, Zhaoqing Machinery Company, and the Royal Institute of Technology, are making preliminary modifications to the Jinyuan.

The key point of the modification is to install a steam engine to act as a backup power. In addition, it is also necessary to make changes to the cabin and sails!

The goal of the changes is to have better survivability with this ship!

Expedition ships, life is the key!

Therefore, some redundant facilities of this ship will be taken away, and even the artillery, only two five-jin artillery pieces are left as the most basic self-defense firepower.

At the same time, the handling of the ship has also been modified to ensure that the ship can be operated with fewer people!

In fact, using the 680 merchant ship as an expedition ship is actually not qualified, because of its good maneuverability and high speed, it is useless for exploration. , in this way, we can carry more materials, so that the people on board can support it for a longer time.

As an expedition ship, it is not a problem to see the land for a few months, or even half a year, it is also possible.

Under such circumstances, how to survive is the biggest problem!

With the successful return of the Jinyuan, under the promotion of Li Xuan, a new round of route exploration of the Datang Dynasty will be launched. If the route exploration goes well, then the Datang Dynasty will also enter the era of great navigation.

And through the huge profits brought by the era of great navigation, it will feed back the development of domestic industry and commerce, thus completely completing the industrial revolution!

When Li Xuan in China was about to set off a new round of route exploration, Ying Zihua, who was the first group of explorers, was thinking about what to do next in distant Africa!

After a very difficult voyage, his fleet finally successfully crossed the western Indian Ocean and then reached the east coast of Africa, but after reaching the east coast of Africa, his fleet had to pause because his fleet was one On the one hand, all kinds of supplies are about to be exhausted and need to be replenished. On the other hand, in his fleet, the mast of one of the ships was interrupted, resulting in a significant drop in speed and difficulty in sailing. They need to find it as soon as possible. One place for supplies and maintenance of ships.

At this time, they are located in the eastern coastal area of ​​Ethiopia. If they continue to the south, that is Mogadishu, which is a port controlled by the Portuguese. And the ports that maintain large merchant ships are under the control of the Portuguese. Even if they bypass the Cape of Good Hope, many of the ports they encounter are also Portuguese trading posts and supply ports.

Other countries can't get in at all. It is such a powerful empire that the sun never sets in Spain. In this sea area, you have to avoid the Portuguese!

Otherwise, in the past few years, why did the Spaniards stubbornly want to establish colonies in Africa, India, and East Asia? It was not forced by Portugal.

Today, the route from Europe to East Asia is almost completely monopolized by Portugal!

This also makes many countries have opinions on the Portuguese. This is the case with the Tang Dynasty, and so is Spain. Otherwise, why is the Tang Dynasty like seeing its own nephew whenever Spain comes to Nanyang? , excited to go up to protect it.

Then the two of them signed various business cooperation agreements with great pleasure.

Not because there is a common enemy like the Portuguese.

It's a pity that the current Spaniards are still a little weaker. The route they opened up from Europe to Asia has never been successful!

Therefore, the Datang Dynasty simply came by itself, established the Datang Western Company, and opened up European routes!

Ying Zihua discussed with a group of staff members under his command and decided to suspend the southward journey first. After all, considering the current state of their fleet, it would be too dangerous to go south, and it would be too dangerous to meet the Portuguese fleet. dead person's!

Today's Portuguese, no matter whether you are the fleet of the Tang Dynasty or the Spanish fleet, as long as you dare to pass by the coast of Africa, no matter whether you are going to Europe or East Asia, if you are encountered by them, all will be sunk. !

Otherwise, they can monopolize the route from Europe to East Asia for so long, relying on naval guns!

So Ying Zihua decided not to go south, but to go north to the Gulf of Aden first, go to the Arab port, get some supplies first, and then get in touch with the Ottoman Empire to establish diplomatic relations.

After all, the ultimate goal of Ying Zihua, or the Datang Western Company, is to completely open up the European route, but to go to Europe, it is also for business, and it is also for business to come to the Gulf of Aden to find people from the Ottoman Empire.

Moreover, the Ottomans controlled the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt, and they were doing the business of second-order traffickers, transporting a large number of eastern goods transported by merchant ships into the Mediterranean Sea by land, and then selling them to European countries. In the process, they made a lot of money. big.

Furthermore, in the past two years, Ottoman merchant ships have traveled across the oceans and arrived at the coast of Datang for trade. To be honest, the people of the two countries are old friends.

Therefore, Ying Zihua decided not to go south, but go north to talk to the people from Ottoman about business.

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