The days when I pretended to be a cat in the Forbidden City[Comprehensive]

Liu Zhi, who got up from the afternoon nap, felt a little inexplicable. He just took a nap, but it seemed like he had slept for a year. Suddenly, a stranger appeared beside his brother, and the relationship between the emperor's brother and him Also extremely intimate.

When he was looking for someone, he saw the two people whispering together.As a sensible child, Liu Xiaozhu adjusted his clothes very gracefully, and adjusted his identity from "Liu Sheng's younger brother Liu Xiaozhu" to "the wise and handsome king of Jiaodong Liu Zhi in the Han Dynasty" After that, he stepped into the hall with a very reasonable step, and then asked the stranger: "Who are you? I have never seen you."

The baby-voiced little Douding was very cute when he called himself a widow, and Xia Anran was ruthlessly cut off by his younger brother.He beckoned for Liu Xiaozhu to come over, then moved to the side, giving half of his seat to his younger brother.

After giving an introduction, Liu She's gaze fell on the object that the two of them had been watching just now, and his eyes immediately brightened.

"What is this?"

He saw what Xia Anran and this stranger were looking at at a glance. It was a complete set of parts placed in a wooden box, but Liu Zhi was well-bred, even though he really wanted to go to see it at this time, But because Xia Anran didn't say yes, so he squeezed his little paw and endured the desire to touch it, and just glanced over and over again with his big eyes.

Xia Anran immediately demonstrated for him how to operate the small model. After watching the whole process, Xiao Douding stared wide-eyed.

So amazing?His expression said the words for him.

Xia Anran laughed, he let Xiaodouding play by himself, and then continued to discuss the improvement of raw materials with Zhai Xin.

Zhai Xin had never been in contact with the material "ceramic" before. Although he stayed in Zhongshan for a long time, "porcelain", as a secret that was deliberately concealed among the people, was not heard by him.

Although he doesn't know what porcelain is, he still knows more about Yu Tao.

After hearing that Xia Anran introduced porcelain to him, Zhai Xin had reservations.

He believes that if this fragile object is really used as a track, the difficulty of its laying is no less than that of using wooden tracks.

Zhai Xin admits that there are fatal flaws in his plan. He has indeed made railcars, but he has only built small slide rails for the sky, and he cannot determine its load-bearing performance.But if you use wood as the rail, you are somewhat sure, but if you use pottery as the raw material...it seems unreliable when you think about it.

Therefore, he suggested to use wood as a bedding first.

Because although the wooden track is perishable, it also has the advantage that it is extremely easy to replace, and the raw materials can be taken at any time.Although using wood as a rail needs to be polished, if you are in a hurry, you can directly use a log of one caliber and grind it for a while, and the process will not take too long.

What's more, Zhongshan Country also has a natural advantage, doesn't it?

Regarding the little king's frank confession that Zhongshan was short of timber, Zhai Xin's solution was to go to the Taihang Mountains to log.

This plan was firmly rejected by the little king.

From Zhai Xin's point of view, he couldn't understand the little king's persistence at all.

The vast Taihang Mountain forest in the west of Zhongshan Kingdom seems to be inexhaustible. The amount of trees used to build the track from Shenze Port to Lunu County is just a drop in the ocean of Taihang Mountain.

What's more, he feels that even if the track is decayed, he can use the abandoned track to make paper, and there will be no waste of raw materials.That's right, during his wanderings in Zhongshan country, this man also came across a not-so-secret paper mill!

It was precisely because of this that he originally thought that King Zhongshan would not object to this suggestion, but he did not expect that the two of them would actually get stuck on the first level.

Zhai Xin said that if pottery is used, both the firing experiment and kneading are extremely troublesome, and if it is made into a track shape, if the pottery is broken, there is no way to reuse it, so the cost will be higher.

As for manpower?

From the perspective of the Western Han people, manpower does not need to be calculated into the cost at all.

So on this point the two had a disagreement.

Xia Anran completely disagrees with the idea of ​​cutting down trees, especially on such a large scale.

In fact, today's Zhongshan Kingdom is not the same as the city surrounded by woods in later generations. The city is still surrounded by trees, and the greening conditions are very good, even too good, and the people need to compete with the forest for land.

On the farmland near the mountains, the locals don’t even bother to reclaim it. Without him, the tree roots in the forest will cross the border at every turn, wanting to get a bite of “wild food”. The soil is much more delicious.

But apart from the normal expansion of the city, Xia Anran had previously banned large-scale tree cutting. On the one hand, it was to prevent soil erosion, and on the other hand, it was because the woods were a natural barrier against nomadic peoples.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, during the long-term struggle with nomads, they discovered a technique that was planting trees.

This is because horses are very bad at moving in dense woods, and the nomads at that time were not good at distinguishing directions in the woods.

In the era when there was no compass, the lush forests that could block the starry sky were enough to trap the nomads who used stargazing to tell their direction.

As long as there is a small forest, the high-speed raid plan of the nomads can be forced to go bankrupt.

After entering the woods, the cavalry had to slow down, and the cavalry who lost their speed would definitely lose more than [-]% of their combat effectiveness.

The Song army often used this to collect people. Even when the two countries had good relations in history, the Liao Kingdom suggested that you stop planting greenery.

But Da Song’s reply at the time was also very simple-our tree planting in Da Song is linked to the promotion of officials, and officials with good tree planting performance can be promoted to a higher level. For our official position, you still forgive me.

Although the blocking effect of this kind of forest is not very obvious during the war, it is still very useful for rushing marches.

Apart from this reason, the trees in Taihang Mountain...he dare not cut them down.

Hebei Province, where Zhongshan Kingdom is located, was a huge underground funnel in later generations. The groundwater reserves here are insufficient all the year round. Tried back and forth on the edge of the crash.

The reason for this result is that on the one hand, Hebei was blocked by the Taihang Mountains from the cold air from the northwest, and the precipitation here dropped sharply after the rain belt moved southward in later generations. The amount is large, and groundwater has to be pumped to ensure plant growth.

Thinking of the ecological environment of this place in the future, Xia Anran is tied up and feels guilty about doing everything, not to mention that Taihang Mountain is responsible for regulating the climate, and now it is the Western Han Dynasty with rain belts in the north, and the precipitation is very heavy.

If he cuts down trees on a large scale unilaterally, resulting in a decrease in the water retention of the land, what will happen if the rainfall triggers mudslides or landslides.

In Xia Anran's five-year plan, planting trees also occupies a small square, and he hasn't done it yet because he hasn't considered what kind of tree to plant.

However, Zhai Xin couldn't say all these things clearly.

Faced with the little king's stubbornness, Zhai Xin also had some headaches. He admitted frankly that if he used the pottery rails, he would have to start from scratch, and all his experience might be useless.

"A lot of experiments are still needed." This also means a lot of experimental funding, which is unnecessary in Zhai Xin's view.

Having said that, Zhai Xin is also very curious about whether pottery can be used instead of wood to make rails. He has even begun to recall the physical properties of pottery, and thinking about how to make use of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

Whether it is the investment in experiments or the investment in laying the track, it is an extremely huge number.While calculating the project cost, the two engineering men Qi Qi returned to reality.

After the two looked at each other for a while, Xia Anran rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed, and suggested that we should not think too far ahead, and study how long the track should be burnt, and how to fix the ceramic track.

Zhai Xin nodded to the new boss to show that you are right.

Liu Zhi, who had been listening in, was very puzzled by the suddenly low atmosphere, "Brother, are you worried about the lack of funds for laying the track?"

"That being the case, why not build a warehouse near the port area first, and then connect it to the port area by rail, first transport the goods to the warehouse for storage, and then let the owner of the goods retrieve it by himself?"

Xiao Douding asked his brother naively: "If the warehouse is close enough to the port area, it doesn't matter whether it's a pottery rail or a wooden rail, right? Just try which one is more suitable for Zhongshan Country?"

Xia Anran fell into silence. He took a deep look at his younger brother, and then at the shocked face of the Mohist giant who suddenly changed color. Then it swelled up quickly.

Yes, although I didn't think of this, but my brother did!My brother is so hot!The reason my brother is so good is because I taught him.

The stupid brother's mentality is so direct.

This matter will be decided for the time being, and the work on the construction of long-distance tracks can be temporarily put aside, because the experiment of raw materials and how to lay them will take time, but the wooden pallets responsible for transportation can be manufactured first, and the transportation method based on wooden pallets can also be used. It is completely in line with the current situation in Zhongshan.

Even if the track is not used, the wheelbarrow or truck can be pulled to the port and carried directly.Now Shenze Port is not yet open to navigation. After the opening of navigation, the goods in the short term are basically materials between Zhongshan and Hejian, and the volume will not be too large. It is not a problem to pull the truck directly to the port.

In addition, in order to prepare for the track, the road on the edge of the port area also needs to be fully compacted, and then covered with concrete to level the road surface.

The water seepage effect of the composite soil is very good, and the road is not easy to accumulate water.However, the effect of pressure resistance is unknown. If heavy objects are carried on the track for a long time, it is likely to form ruts or even sink.

If it doesn't work, I still have to try to get cement... The little king rubbed his hands.

He didn't make cement before, on the one hand because there is no such demand, and on the other hand, it is also because the manufacture of composite clay is simpler and cheaper.The raw materials for making concrete in Zhongshan are very abundant. Clay and sand are all by-products of the dredging of river channels, which can be used after being mixed with limestone on the river bank.

As for limestone, although Zhongshan does not produce this material, it is produced in nearby counties and counties, and the price of transportation is very cheap.

But to make cement, you need gypsum.

Compared with widely distributed limestone, gypsum is now mainly produced in Shandong, Jiaodong and Jiaoxi. Because of his brother's relationship, Xia Anran can indeed buy cheaper gypsum, but the transportation cost is inevitable.

When the waterway is opened, maybe he can still take the combined transportation of the Yellow River and the Hutuo River, but now he can only take land transportation along the road... This expense made the little king's heart twitch a little.

It's all money.

If the composite soil really doesn't have enough compression resistance at that time... the little king who searched and searched thought: At that time, a layer of cement should be laid on the composite soil at the first layer under the track, so that the cost will be much lower.

In reality, it hurts to spend money everywhere, but he thought about the bright future, and there are some subtle little happiness in the heartache.

This sense of happiness reached its peak when the craftsman told him that Zhongshan's new ships could be launched.

That was when the snow in Zhongshan was already as deep as a palm. At that time, Xiao Douding was already excited when he saw the snow, and he would rather put on a smelly down jacket to build a snowman, and then huddled in the room and played checkers. after.

The sudden good news made the little king put on his cloak and stride out without any hesitation, and then he was blocked back immediately.

For the purpose of setting a positive example for his younger brother who was blinking and staring at him, Xia Anran patiently asked someone to put him on one piece of clothes after another, and finally he circled around twice with the same His younger brother boarded the carriage and headed all the way to Shenze Port at the southern end of Zhongshan Country.

Ships are built and spliced ​​on an inland lake in the south of Zhongshan, where there is no wind and waves and the water level is suitable.

After the construction was completed, the craftsmen poured water into ice along the way, and it took nearly a hundred strong cattle to pull it to the Shenze Port area.

The size of this ship is not large, but it has brought together the hard work of the old craftsman. During the construction period, he also inspected the hydrology of the Hutuo River along the way, and measured the water level almost everywhere to change the chassis of the ship. Finally, considering the lake Due to the situation, the ship's chassis changed from a sharp bottom to a flat bottom.

This kind of flat-bottomed boat has many advantages. The first point is that it can store more goods, and the draft is shallow, which can meet the undercurrent of the Hutuo River during the dry season.In this way, if there is no large-scale cut-off, such ships can go all seasons.

This modification delayed the delivery of the ship by almost one month, but in terms of the results, it was very worthwhile.

In addition to the bottom of the ship, and the watertight compartment that the little king was most looking forward to, this large ship named Zhongshan is also equipped with a rudder.

The invention of the rudder in China is the earliest in the world. The existence of the rudder makes it easier for the boatman to change the course of the ship.In the past, this kind of direction adjustment needed to be coordinated by multiple helmsmen by adjusting the direction of the oars, but now only one person is needed.

And as a person from the future, I am ashamed to say that Xia Anran's only contribution to this boat is the trapezoidal slant sail, and he only contributed a conceptual drawing, and the craftsmen of Zhongshan Kingdom did everything else.

As a modern person, Xia Anran has carried forward "knowing what but not knowing why" very well. He is not interested in shipbuilding, so he can probably make some analysis from the perspective of mechanics, and these analyzes can only be done by craftsmen. Saying is better than nothing.

In the end, it was all made by artisans.

This trapezoidal sail uses bamboo as the skeleton, and each section is reinforced and strengthened with bamboo strips in the transverse direction.In this way, although its wind-receiving effect is not as strong as the strength brought by the entire bulging sail, it can greatly improve the durability of the sail and reduce its high requirements for the firmness of the fabric.

And after the Mohist disciples who entered the workshop to help intervene, the top of the sail is equipped with pulleys that can be controlled by ropes, so that the boatman can control the opening and closing of the sail under the mast.Of course, there is bound to be a chance of failure, but it is much safer than requiring sailors to climb the mast every time they are harvested.

The craftsmen patted their chests and said that this ship is definitely one of the best treasure ships in the entire Han Dynasty. They specially wrapped its head with iron wood.

ok, ok.

Looking at the attitude of the craftsmen, this makes them more proud than the previous "black technology".

Xia Anran was speechless for a while, then looked at Liu Xiaozhu who clenched his small fist and said that he must see the hard wood of the bow, he had no idea about this big man who respected martial arts.

The little king led the people into the cabin and walked all the way from the stern to the bow.This ship, which was manufactured by Zhongshan State and mainly serves the water transport of Zhongshan State, fully meets the port needs of Fukasawa Port, and is divided into left and right sides that can be used for storage.

Such a design undoubtedly has higher requirements for the structure and hardness of the ship, so the little king specially approved that their ship plates can be reinforced with iron in some areas.

Zhongshan State owns an iron mine, but after he improved the iron smelting technology, the production of ironware from this iron mine could not keep up with the pace of processing. For this reason, he had to ask others "Are you There is too much money” to go to the neighbor next door to buy iron ore.

Although the cost has risen, the result is excellent. Zhongshan's considerable iron ore reserves make the little king feel at ease, and he can occasionally afford a luxury.

When walking inside, the configuration of watertight compartments looks like small rooms. Explore the ingenuity in the door.

Zhai Xin, who has already joined Zhongshan State and served as the second-in-command and young supervisor of the Shaofu, is very interested in this. He has difficulty communicating with local craftsmen in Mandarin.Seeing him like this, Xia Anran hurriedly sent a "translator" to explain the local dialect for him.

Doors were designed to open inwards because a leak in a cabin would cause internal water pressure to build up and hold the door firmly against the door.In this way, it is possible to effectively avoid the occurrence of water leakage from the warehouse to the outside.

Of course, this situation also has disadvantages. For example, if the external area of ​​​​the warehouse is flooded, the hatch door may be washed open, but considering that the latter case is less in today's ships, it is still designed in this way.

Zhai Xin touched the seal of the partition with his hands, and raised his eyebrows, "It's putty."

But then he noticed some fiber traces in the putty, "What else is there?"

The craftsman smiled heartily, and said to the translator, "It's the palm."

Palm tree is a common tree species in China. It is widely used because of the dense palm fibers that grow from the entire trunk.

Palm fiber is very long, very hard, waterproof, and breathable. Crushing it and mixing it into the putty can effectively increase the adhesion between the putty and the material, and under the condition of external force, these scattered palm fibers can also play a role. Force distribution and support.

This is a small discovery of the craftsman before, and he has rich experience in using it on the fishing boats he made, and the effect has been proved to be very good.

This "Zhongshan" was mainly manufactured by him, and the old craftsman devoted all his life's painstaking efforts and manufacturing experience to this ship. "This may be the last ship in this life."

The old craftsman gently stroked the cabin with his rough hands, but there was still a bit of regret in his eyes.

Restricted by the raw materials and cost, as well as the inevitable technical difficulties in the manufacturing process and the requirements of the construction period, there are still many problems on this ship. These problems have been spoken by the old craftsmen, and the craftsmen wrote them down on the ship for future reference. of boaters are aware of the boat's problems in order to maintain it.

At the same time, the old craftsman also looks forward to young people who can solve the problems and regrets left by him in the future.

Hearing what the translator said, the little king who was walking in front turned his head and smiled, "The most perfect ship in this world will always be the next one, and this king is still looking forward to your next work."

The old craftsman was stunned for a moment, his eyes were suddenly sour, and then he bowed deeply to the young boy, unable to get up for a long time.Until he felt that he was being gently supported by someone, when he raised his head, the person who supported him was a child named Zongjiao. The child was wearing brocade clothes, and his eyes were full of spirit. He was the King of Jiaodong, Liu Zhi.

His Highness straightened him up, and said solemnly: "Brother said, it is impossible not to make mistakes, and it is impossible not to leave regrets."

"I feel that there are regrets when building a boat, so I can change it on the next boat. I really don't have to be so pessimistic."

In the eyes of the young boy, what he sees is always the future. He really can't understand that this old man is not very old, but he looks like it's okay to die after finishing the job.

Since you have regrets, how can you stop?Shouldn't conditions be created to make up for this regret?

The craftsman trembled, his eyes met Liu Zhi's eyes, and then moved up to meet the gentle eyes of the Lord, "This king is not going to stop here."

Xia Anran said: "The Zhongshan is only the first ship, but it won't be the only one."

"Even if the Zhongshan Kingdom is finished, there is still my Jiaodong Kingdom!" Liu Zhi took up his elder brother's words and said proudly, "And my Jiaodong Kingdom needs sea ships."

"Old man, have you ever built a sea boat? A sea boat is countless times larger than a river boat. My brother said that once the sails of a sea boat are opened, it must have the potential to block out the sky."

The child talked eloquently, as if stars were shining in his eyes, and what he described seemed to be a brilliant new world, a vast new world completely different from the narrow river.

To put it bluntly, the craftsman is also in a turbulent mood.How tempting it is for him who has been trapped in a square inch to build a sea ship.

However, at the end when the child asked him if he would build a sea-going ship, the craftsman still hesitated and said: "I have never built a large ship... I have no experience, so I don't know if I can meet His Highness's expectations..."

But the child frowned and pointed at him, accusing him, "It's not a good habit to be discouraged before doing something, and my brother said that as long as you want to do something, you are willing to do it, and you can do it, you can do it. So, you just need Just say whether you want to build a big ship or not."

As soon as he said this, the old craftsman was dumbfounded, he kept the words in his mouth, hesitated for a while, and finally bowed deeply, "I, I think!"

"I want to build a big ship!"

The little king looked back at his elder brother, his big eyes were shining, and his cleverness was not to mention so lovable!

Xia Anran gave him an appreciative smile. He sensitively noticed that after Xiao Douding finished speaking, the atmosphere in the cabin became a little different. Whether it was the accompanying craftsmen or officials, they all looked at Liu Xiaozhu. There are several different meanings in the eyes.

The little king smiled slightly and didn't take it seriously. He took his brother's little hand and walked to the deck of the ship, where there was still a helm opening ceremony waiting for him.

Strictly speaking, this is just a symbolic ceremony, as long as the red cloth covering the rudder of the ship is taken off, but it is this ceremony that makes the old craftsman cry.

Because the center of this boat is also the most important device—the rudder rod is engraved with his name.

Since then, every captain at the helm will see his name.He can set sail with this ship, which is the culmination of his painstaking efforts and skills.

Always and forever with this ship.

The author has something to say:

Craftsman: I have no regrets anymore!

Craftsman: Half of the old man's soul will accompany this boat!

Craftsman: The ship is in the nest, and the ship's nest is also with him.

Craftsman: Even if one day, it becomes a sunken ship in the river and sea, the old man will also be... (mouth covered)

Xia Miao: My boat hasn't launched yet, do you want to order something better? ! !Even if one day it is discovered and listed as a national treasure, it will be my Zhongshan King's ship... No, I think I have to put a stamp on it.