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The working model of the steam engine will be produced by the French physicist Papin in another 35 years.

But this steam engine is a lever type.

Another 11 years later, this same Papin proposed the idea of ​​a piston steam engine, but did not actually start manufacturing it.

It was not until the 31st year of Kangxi that a real industrial steam engine appeared, which was a vacuum steam engine.

In the forty-fourth year of Kangxi's reign, the atmospheric steam engine was born and was quickly used in coal mines, which could easily discharge underground water.

What Watt improved was the atmospheric steam engine, which was still only used to lift water.

Later, Watt invented the reciprocating steam engine, and then the steam engine could be used in factories. In fact, decades ago, during the Kangxi period, there were already ideas for piston workmanship, and even the piston cylinder was designed. What Watt had to do was to design the connecting rod and flywheel and use the piston and cylinder.

European steam engines have taken a detour for decades, purely due to differences in commercial use. Everyone only thought about using steam engines to drain mines, and they were always working on it, but they never thought about using it to drive textile machines.

Zhao Han proposed from the beginning that a steam engine should be used to spin yarn and weave cloth.

Under this kind of thinking, neither vacuum nor atmospheric steam engines will be born (these can only be used for drainage). If you want to complete the tasks assigned by the emperor, you can only move closer in the piston direction.

However, it was still outrageous.

Xu Zhengming is simply a god. He built the Watt steam engine in just four days. Pistons, cylinders, connecting rods, flywheels, slide valves...all available!

If you had to ask Xu Zhengming how he designed it, he would definitely say this -

"Cylinder? To make steam work, there must be a cylinder." This is nothing. 35 years later, the first generation of European steam engines also had cylinders.

"Piston? If steam wants to exert force, it has to push something. This thing is a piston." It is also understandable that after 1946, European scientists also had the same idea.

"Connecting rod and flywheel? My flying chair (helicopter) uses a connecting rod. Doesn't the water-spinning spinning wheel also have a flywheel?"

"Spool valve? The flywheel is already spinning. Isn't it logical to add a connecting rod and let the flywheel control the connecting rod?"

Zhao Han was always calm and unhurried no matter what he did.

When he thought about it, he could accept the task of inventing the steam engine and spending ten years slowly grinding it out.

But what’s the point of drawing out the drawings in four days and knocking out the prototype in one month?

Just like a parent who urges his child to pass the exam, but ends up getting a perfect score from his child.

Of course, many areas need improvement.

From the French steam engine model to Watt's improved steam engine, it took a long 86 years. It took another 25 years from Watt's improvement of the first-generation engine to Watt's perfection of the steam engine.

Xu Zhengming's steam piston uses a cast iron core, wrapped in leather and oiled. After the surface grease is worn away, the friction resistance will increase greatly.

The improvement plan for this product is to wrap a layer of fine cotton soaked in vegetable oil outside the leather, which can extend the effective working time of the piston.

Since there is no rubber, leather, cotton and the like are substituted. The air tightness is not too far off, but the main problem is that it wears out easily and cannot withstand the high temperature environment, so it needs to be replaced after a few days.

In addition, compared to the full version of the Watt steam engine, Xu Zhengming's steam engine is still very unstable, and its efficiency is much lower. Because there is no planetary gear, no speed regulator, no safety valve, no pressure gauge, no outer cylinder insulation device...

That day in front of Zhao Han, the steam engine suddenly got stuck. It was because of the lack of a speed regulator that the flywheel was moving at a non-uniform speed. Coupled with the lack of planetary gears, in the end the reciprocating work can no longer be reciprocated.

Without a safety valve and pressure gauge, this defect is barely acceptable. Because of this simple steam engine, the steam pressure is very small, less than one-third of that during the Opium War, and only a few tenths of that during the Republic of China.

Generally it won't explode, and even if it does explode, it probably won't kill anyone.

Let’s put it this way, even if we build a loom that can be driven by a steam engine, given the unstable nature of the existing steam engine, we must always have professional repairmen in the factory. It won't turn even after turning it, and small parts such as gaskets and cotton layers have to be replaced every few days.

However, no matter how many shortcomings there are, Zhao Han encountered a rare start from Tianhu in the research and development of steam engines.

The next step is to improve it. It will be worthwhile to improve this steam engine in ten, twenty, or thirty years.

In Europe this year, Italian scientist Torricelli has measured the atmospheric pressure value. Newton is also one and a half years old. He is a premature baby, so he probably hasn't been weaned yet.

In terms of physics and mechanics, China has left Europe behind in many places.

At the same time, we must also thank the missionaries for introducing scientific concepts such as theorems and formulas to China since the Longqing period. Today, through Zhao Han's education reform, it has taken root among new students.

Just when Xu Zhengming invented the steam engine, far away in England, Lord Protector Cromwell won the Battle of Marston Moor. This was the turning point of the British Civil War. Cromwell truly rose to power. After he came to power, Britain would also embark on the road to maritime hegemony.

In the northwest of China, Ge Erdan... Well, Galdan was born this year, and the Jungar tribe is thriving north of the Tianshan Mountains.

The more Zhao Han thought about the invention of the steam engine, the more excited he became, and he smiled while reviewing the memorial.

Good things come in pairs. Officials from the Ministry of Industry reported that the construction of the Forbidden City in Nanjing has been completed.

To be precise, it is restoration. The walls and foundations of the Forbidden City in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty are all there. Some halls and even pillars do not need to be dismantled and can continue to be used with a coat of paint. A lot of wood and glazed tiles can also be reused, and those things are very strong.

Officials of the Qintianjian Planetarium, under the instructions of the Ministry of Rites, have selected an auspicious day of the zodiac, the sixth day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, to move to the palace.

Before Zhao Han moved into the Forbidden City, some female officials and palace maids needed to move in advance to clean up the palace. As the house grew larger, the manpower had to be expanded, so a second large-scale recruitment of female officers and maids was launched.

Recruit 800 female officials and 1,200 palace maids at one time.

Most of them are handymen, that is, hired workers who work in the Forbidden City, and they receive wages. Only female officials who hold leadership positions are considered imperial officials, with rank and salary.

"Send it to the cabinet for approval." Zhao Han drafted an order.

Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua and Tian Younian didn't react at all when they saw the decree. They signed their names in a hurry, and Pang Chunlai finally drafted the official decree.

What's going on?

Increase royal expenses!

There are so many female officials and palace maids, and their monthly salary is tens of thousands of taels of silver. How can the previous royal family budget be enough?

This time it did not increase much. The annual royal budget increased to 1.2 million taels, which was roughly equal to the royal expenses of the Chenghua Dynasty.

In the middle and early Ming Dynasty, the royal family's annual expenses were basically around one or two million, which meant that Zhu Houzhao was a bit of a prodigal. It wasn't until Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne that the royal family's expenses skyrocketed, and a lot of money was used to build Taoist temples and perform rituals. Later, there was no distinction between private treasury and state treasury, and the keys to the treasury were all controlled by eunuchs.

The reason why the words "extensive construction work" are often used when evaluating a foolish king is because it wastes people and money.

Emperor Wanli's biological mother was also a wise empress dowager, and fully supported Zhang Juzheng's reforms. But the Queen Mother also liked to build temples, and she would spend at least tens of thousands of taels to build a temple. She often took money from Zhang Juzheng to build temples. Moreover, every time a temple was built, it not only cost money, but also recruited a large number of civilians, making the people around the capital miserable.

Zhao Han has detailed the rules. Commercial taxes on salt, tea, porcelain, silk, etc. must be submitted to the central government as part of the central budget. Sufficient royal budget must be reserved every year and directly deposited into the royal account of Datong Bank. The construction of the royal mausoleum, the repair of the Forbidden City, and the wedding of the emperor and the prince all have to be paid for by the national treasury, and the royal family will not pay for it themselves.

However, if the emperor wants to build a garden for vacation or build Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, the civil servants can directly reject it. The emperor can repair it if he wants, and he can pay for it with his own money!

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Cabinet and the Ministry of War would like to see you. There is an urgent military situation!"

"Invite them in."

Good things come in pairs, as if that wasn't enough.

Pang Chunlai stepped into the door and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the hypocrites are in civil strife, and Hao Yaoqi led his troops to defect to our Datong court."

"What?" Zhao Han stood up in surprise.

Hao Yaoqi was Li Zicheng's general in the Chinese army and was a flag bearer for Li Zicheng. Today, his status in the Dashun court is second only to Li Guo and Liu Zongmin, and he is at least ranked among the top five generals in Dashun.

Xu Ying said with a smile: "The Pseudo-Shun has invaded Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu, all of which are bitterly cold places in the northwest. In the past two or three years, Li Zicheng has reorganized the administration, recruited refugees, and cultivated crops to accumulate grain. He has great ambitions for revitalization. But the Pseudo-Shun civil and military ministers, I still have a peaceful heart and know that I can't compete with our army for hegemony. According to the news from Xizuo, although Li Zicheng repeatedly issued orders not to allow officials to engage in corruption and fraud, those hypocritical military leaders are lawless in the local area. They change their ways. If you make money, even if hypocrisy is destroyed, you can still become a rich man."

"What did Hao Yaoqi do?" Zhao Han asked.

Xu Ying said: "This man is stationed in Zezhou (Jincheng) and confronts our Huaiqing Mansion army. Many dangerous places such as Tianjingguan and Hengwangling are garrisoned by Hao Yaoqi's troops. He is extremely powerful in Zezhou. , local civil servants did not dare to offend, and plundered the people's wealth and wealth without any hindrance. The trade route from Shanxi to Henan mostly took the Qinshui River. Hao Yaoqi also set up a road in Qinshui to force tolls from those merchants. Last year, there were merchants After reporting the matter, Li Zicheng personally wrote a letter to reprimand Hao Yaoqi, and also fined Hao Yaoqi half a year's salary and ordered him not to do anything wrong."

Zhao Han probably guessed what was going on.

Xu Ying continued: "Hao Yaoqi withdrew Qinshui's business card, but he still exploited the people. Li Zicheng probably sent a spy to investigate. After learning the truth, he planned to let Hao Yaoqi change his defense, and did not dare to hand over Zezhou to This person was guarding him. Hao Yaoqi was frightened and thought that Li Zicheng wanted to kill him, so he secretly wrote a letter to surrender to our court."

"This letter was intercepted by Li Zicheng's spies?" Zhao Han asked.

"Exactly," Xu Ying said, "Li Zicheng did not dare to force himself. He secretly contacted Hao Yaoqi's generals and planned to trap this man without any blood. When the matter was revealed, Hao Yaoqi took five thousand soldiers, property and military rations with him. They didn't dare to take away too much, so they came south to join our court."

Zhao Han asked: "Where is this person?"

Xu Ying said: "North of Huaiqing Prefecture, by the Danshui River. The entire army has been disarmed and the whole family is being detained in Huaiqing Prefecture (Qinyang)."

Zhao Han was greatly disappointed. A general defected with five thousand soldiers. He thought that there was a civil war in Li Zicheng.

Li Banghua said: "Your Majesty, you should treat this person with special treatment. There will be imitators on the hypocritical side."

Zhao Han said, "Cut it off and send the head to Li Zicheng, saying that I also hate corrupt officials!"

Cut?

Everyone was collectively speechless.