Chongzhen Chat Group

As soon as he finished speaking, the Chongzheng Hall suddenly became very quiet. These Manchu princes Baylor looked at each other, and everyone's face looked very solemn.

They all understood that if Lu Xiangsheng really relied on watermen to respond, the Qing Dynasty would really be helpless. There is absolutely no possibility of snatching back those grains.

After a while, Daishan whispered in an unconfident tone: "This is unlikely. If the Ming navy appears on the river, Azig will definitely know about it. In this way, no matter how stupid he is, , and they will definitely be prepared, so how could they be ambushed by the Ming army!"

Hearing this, it seemed reasonable. Many princes, Baylor, seemed to have grasped the last straw and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, even a fool would have guessed that the Ming army was coming when they saw the Ming navy appearing on the river!"

"How important is this batch of food? Does Azig know? Knowing that the Ming army is planning to seize food and grass, would he leave Zhenjiang Fort without asking for reinforcements in advance?"

"..."

This time, these princes Baylor inadvertently questioned Huang Taiji's judgment. If it had been before, Huang Taiji would never tolerate his authority being offended. But at this time, he did not lose his temper and just kept silent. Sitting on the throne, with his head lowered, he didn't know what he was thinking.

After a while, when the hall became quiet, he slowly raised his head. He seemed to be much older. He glanced at everyone in the hall, and said in a low voice but with absolute certainty: "Fight with Lu Xiangsheng." After dealing with him for so long, don’t you know how he uses his troops? Would he not consider his retreat after robbing the grain? He is good at using cavalry. Don’t you know that if we go overland, this batch of grain will definitely be important to our Qing Dynasty? Will send cavalry to pursue, can he escape? Only by walking on the water, the Qing Dynasty will be unable to pursue! The food that he robbed from Jinpu Town was not transported by the Ming Dynasty Navy! Choose to just leave Zhenjiang Bao took action because it is closest to the Yalu River!"

At this point, Huang Taiji seemed to be very tired. After taking a few breaths, he said slowly: "Ajige must not have seen the Ming Navy appear at the meeting. The Ming Navy only came after the war started." I can be sure of this. Only in this way can Lu Xiangsheng be sure that this battle can be won!"

"Isn't this impossible? Did the land and sea armies just agree on a time to meet? If something unexpected happened in the middle, wouldn't it be very unreliable?" Someone raised a question.

Indeed, it is impossible for any war to be executed exactly as planned. Just like when the Ming Dynasty's five-pronged army marched in an attempt to annihilate Hou Jin, who was still the first Khan at that time, due to the inconsistent coordination of the five-pronged armies, there was a deviation from the plan. In the end, the five-pronged Ming army was defeated by the first Khan and defeated the four routes, and was frightened back. All the way.

However, this war seems to be different. At least the Ming navy actually doesn't care about the time. It has been waiting on the river for the Ming army on the shore to appear. There is nothing wrong with it. Thinking of this, most people acquiesced in Huang Taiji's analysis. Suddenly, many people's faces became very ugly. They understand that, nine times out of ten, that batch of food is finished!

Recalling the big argument just now over this batch of food, and some people even started fighting like shrews in front of the emperor, these Manchu princes Baylor in the Chongzheng Palace felt very unhappy!

In the end, Shenyang did not send reinforcements because everyone basically agreed with Huang Taiji's analysis. There is another very important reason. If the cavalry is sent to Zhenjiang Fort, it will also consume a lot of food. And what the Manchus were short of was food!

After the court meeting, Hauge seemed to be depressed and returned to his house. He couldn't hold it in any longer and sneered non-stop. He named Dorgon the crown prince. Now, okay, this crown prince actually It’s of no use! The Qing Dynasty is still short of food, these stupid pigs will starve to death!

After venting his anger, Hauge called Qian Fugui, dismissed everyone, and whispered: "Contact them over there. I have made such a great contribution this time. Should I be rewarded?"

When Qian Fugui heard this, he knew that the Ming army must have robbed the food. He was very happy, but he did not dare to show it. He just nodded and entered the chat group, chatting privately with Emperor Chongzhen, and told Hauge's request.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen already knew that Lu Xiangsheng's grain-robbery army was on the way back safely, and now that he saw Hauge coming to claim credit, he did not ignore it. After all, the information provided by Hauge was indeed not something Qian Fugui could obtain. To this end, he dealt with Haug so that Haug could continue to provide information.

After exiting the chat group, Emperor Chongzhen thought happily that there was another batch of food in Liaodong. As a result, the logistical pressure of his personal expedition to Liaodong this year would be much lessened. And Huang Taiji is probably going to die of worry, right? It's best to be really worried. Anyway, the blockade of grain imports from the Qing Dynasty will never be relaxed before the autumn harvest.

After thinking about happy things for a while, Emperor Chongzhen shifted his attention and began to think about things that made him more worried.

The steam engine has been boasted in Haikou, but the mass-produced steam engine has not been finalized. Today, the steam engines in the Bingzhan Bureau are all handmade. Of course, hand-made steam engines are not impossible, but to realize the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty, mass production is necessary. The reason why industrialization is industrialization is because products can be processed in assembly lines, which greatly improves production efficiency. This is the fundamental reason that truly promotes the leap forward in human society.

Today's Emperor Chongzhen is mainly dissatisfied with steam engines on two points. One thing is that the steam engine is too huge, as big as a small room. Otherwise, the kinetic energy generated will be too small. But such a large steam engine is really inconvenient to use! At least in Emperor Chongzhen's impression, no steam engine with practical uses could be so huge.

The second point is that the current steam engine's efficiency in converting thermal energy into kinetic energy is too low. In other words, today's steam engine is just a steel monster that eats coal, and it has a huge appetite. In terms of economic cost, it is really not cost-effective! In Emperor Chongzhen's opinion, this should be the reason why there was no rubber seal.

He thought for a long time and felt that he still had no clue, so he decided to go to the Military War Bureau and spend some time with the craftsmen there to see if he could find any good solution!

What he didn't expect was that before he left, a servant from outside the palace came into the palace to report that Liu Chengzhi, the eunuch in charge of the military affairs bureau, requested an audience.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart. Could it be that he asked them to study it, and they really found something?

With this in mind, he immediately sent an order to Liu Chengzhi to meet him.

Before the ceremony was over, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Liu Chengzhi below with a hint of expectation and asked, "Is there any good news?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, there is something. I think it is possible to improve the steam engine. However, I am not very knowledgeable and have no confidence. Therefore, I have to follow Your Majesty's order and come to report to Your Majesty." Although Liu Chengzhi said this, there was a smile on his face. The smile he wore showed that he was probably being humble.

Emperor Chongzhen was very happy to see him and asked quickly: "Very good, tell me in detail!"

After Liu Chengzhi heard this, he quickly replied: "Your Majesty, today a carpenter heard his slaves discussing steam engines and privately told other carpenters that when their carpenters saw wood, they always had people pulling and pushing at both ends of the saw. It will save a lot of effort. If the piston of the steam engine can be pushed from both ends, wouldn't it also save a lot of effort? After hearing this, the slave felt that it made sense, so she came to explain it to His Majesty! "

At any rate, he saw that the emperor cared so much about steam engines. Although he was the eunuch in charge of the War Bureau, he was still active in the front line of steam engine manufacturing. His understanding of steam engines could be said to be no less than those of the craftsmen. Therefore, after hearing the carpenter's remarks and contacting the structure and distance of the steam engine, he had already determined that this was indeed possible.

The reason why Liu Chengzhi did not dare to say that he came up with this matter was because Emperor Chongzhen often went to the War Bureau to stay with the craftsmen. In order to encourage the craftsmen, he also strictly ordered superior officials not to take credit from their subordinates, otherwise once it was verified, They must be severely punished without credit. Liu Chengzhi was not sure that he could dominate the war situation. The risk was too great, so he might as well tell the truth.

Besides, after Emperor Chongzhen heard what Liu Chengzhi said, he thought about it briefly and was immediately overjoyed. He has also been devoted to the manufacture of steam engines, and his understanding of steam engines is clear in his mind. After a little thought, he knows that the piston movement of two cylinders pushing each other will definitely greatly improve the heat energy conversion efficiency.

In the past, the main reason why steam engines were so large was that if the steam engine was small, the heat energy conversion efficiency would be low, which would lead to insufficient kinetic energy. There was really no way to make the steam engine larger. But now, if there are two cylinders, after pushing each other, the kinetic energy will be greatly increased under the same thermal energy. In this way, the steam engine will definitely be able to reduce a lot of volume. This means that one of the previous difficulties with steam engines has been solved.

Emperor Chongzhen became excited about the idea, and immediately arranged a military battle. Based on this idea, he improved the design of the steam engine, and then immediately asked Liu Chengzhi to mobilize skilled craftsmen to start building it immediately.

The results of the experiment proved that Emperor Chongzhen's idea was correct. The new steam engine is indeed much better than the previous one. This made Emperor Chongzhen think that it might be possible to use this as a prototype for mass production of steam engines.

When he was happy, he gathered all the personnel, including all kinds of craftsmen, in the military battle bureau. It was inevitable to reward Liu Chengzhi. What many people didn't expect was that they heard Emperor Chongzhen ask with a smile on the steps: "Who is the carpenter Sun Erniu?"

"Long live the common people, Sun Erniu, long live, long live, long live, long live, long live!" A sturdy young man in his twenties came out of the procession in full view, knelt down in front of Emperor Chongzhen and responded loudly.

Kneeling there, he was very excited. He knew that something good must be happening.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and nodded in his heart. Only young people would have less scruples and blurt out whatever thoughts were in their minds.

After Sun Erniu finished his ceremony, everyone was stunned to see that Emperor Chongzhen actually stepped down the steps, personally stepped forward to help Sun Erniu, and at the same time said with a smile: "That's right, come back quickly!"

Sun Erniu had never thought about receiving such courtesy. You know, this is today! His arms were supported by the emperor, and his hands were shaking a little with excitement. Of course, he didn't admit it when he said it afterwards.

Looking at Sun Erniu who had stood up, Emperor Chongzhen stood in front of him and said with a smile: "Your idea is very good. Not only that, you can also express your thoughts and finally make the improvement of the steam engine successful. I am very happy I appreciate young people like you. Dare to think and speak without being constrained by status. Not bad, not bad!"

After he said a few good things in a row, he suddenly said in a more serious tone: "Carpenter Sun Erniu has accepted the order!"

Sun Erniu was excited when he suddenly heard this. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately knelt down again.

"Any merit must be rewarded. I have decided to give you 1% of the profits from the steam engines sold in the next ten years, and enjoy the courtesy of a master." Emperor Chongzhen said this, and added, "I hope your skills will continue to improve, and you will be better." Go further and reach the standard of a master, then I will be happy to grant you the title of master, do you understand?"

What he meant was that Sun Erniu was not yet a "master", but he would be given the treatment of a master, improve his skills, and reach the standard of a master before he would be given the title of master. But even so, it also means that his status has been greatly improved, and it can be said that he has reached the sky in one step. What's more, he can still get 1% of the profits from the sale of steam engines within ten years. What a huge fortune this is!

Sun Erniu gained both fame and fortune because of one association, one sentence, so to speak. This made him extremely excited, and he could only kowtow repeatedly and shout long live.

And those people in the courtyard, not only the officials of the War Bureau, but also all kinds of craftsmen, were all very jealous. Many people cursed in their hearts, "You Sun Erniu, I don't know what kind of shit luck you got, you turned out to be like this." With just a few words, he improved the steam engine and received such courtesy and generous rewards from the emperor. Is there smoke in the ancestral grave?

After Emperor Chongzhen admired Sun Erniu, he looked at the steam engine on display, then turned around and looked at the people in the courtyard again. When he saw their expressions, he knew that this time his golden horse bones seemed to be in trouble. When it works, it should greatly intensify the enthusiasm of these people.

The Han people have never lacked smart people since ancient times. I hope that these craftsmen, who are rare in the world, can use their minds to improve more things in their future work.

With this in mind, Emperor Chongzhen prepared to drive back to the palace.

But who would have expected that at this moment, someone in the crowd in the courtyard suddenly shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, the common people have an idea for this steam engine!"

Thanks to book friend 161224080623947 for the reward!