Chapter 82 Train

The Sheng Dynasty had very strict requirements on the appearance of officials. Those with ugly appearance, physical disabilities or oral diseases were not allowed to serve as officials.

Especially during the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Ming Dynasty, even having a scar on the face would lead to dismissal, and the pursuit of perfection was almost pathological.

In the previous dynasty, there was a talented scholar named Fang Rumao. Because of his stuttering, he passed the imperial examination but was still not allowed to become an official, and he died in depression.

Jin Yan was seriously injured, his left arm was broken from under the armpit, leaving only his right hand, and his face was also injured by the explosion. Such a person has basically bid farewell to his official career.

He was not afraid of being dismissed from office, but Jin Yan was afraid that the results of his research would go to waste. Explosives are extremely powerful. If they can be controlled by people, they will be a powerful weapon for opening up new lands!

"Lord Du, please help me pass a sign to the emperor. I want to see the emperor!" Jin Yan struggled to get up.

Du Qingzhi quickly comforted him, "Don't get excited yet, the emperor will come to see you tomorrow."

"Has your Majesty been here?"

"Not only has he been here before, but even the wound on your arm was treated by His Majesty himself."

He had woken up once in a daze and in pain before, and seemed to see the emperor helping him to heal his injuries. It turned out that he was not dreaming.

Jin Yan looked at his broken arm and felt sad.

"You should cultivate yourself and stop having wild thoughts."

Jin Yan nodded. Excessive blood loss made him drowsy and he fell into a deep sleep not long after.

The next day, after court, Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao came to visit Jin Yan together.

When Zhao Xiao heard that this man had developed gunpowder, which was extremely powerful and could easily blow up rocks and soil, he wondered if he could use it in the army.

When the two arrived at Jin Yan's residence, he was drinking medicine. He felt much better than yesterday. Except for the pain in his wound, he could sit up and talk.

Seeing Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao coming over, Jin Yan quickly stood up to greet them.

"Jin Aiqing, please lie down quickly."

Jin Yan sat on the bed and greeted the two of them stiffly.

Song Yuzhu helped him check the wound, and was relieved when she saw that it had not festered: "My dear, you have suffered."

"This is what I should do, it's nothing to worry about."

"Take good care of your injuries. I am still waiting for your gunpowder."

Jin Yan looked at the emperor in surprise, thinking that he would never be able to be an official after losing an arm.

He even thought about asking the emperor to demote him in advance, as long as he could stay in the Ministry of Military Industry, even if he was just a handyman.

Unexpectedly, the emperor still valued him. Jin Yan was so excited that tears fell down. He stood up and knelt on the bed and kowtowed to Song Yuzhu: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Song Yuzhu quickly supported him and said, "Lie down quickly." He didn't want to lose such a valuable talent.

Jin Yan lay down, and the light in his eyes appeared again.

Zhao Xiao asked: "Master Jin, I heard that the gunpowder you researched can be used on the battlefield?"

When it comes to gunpowder, Jin Yan has a lot to say: "Of course you can! I have developed a kind of cannonball. Put it in a tube, and it will fly far away and explode after being ignited!"

Jin Yan gestured with his only remaining hand and made a "bang!" sound with his mouth.

“It’s extremely powerful!”

This simple tube cannon is similar to the principle of later mortars, but its disadvantage is that it has no safety and is prone to explosion.

Zhao Xiao looked at his broken arm and nodded in awe. The power was indeed quite great.

Jin Yan scratched his head embarrassedly. In fact, the explosion was an accident.

During the test, the shell was put into the barrel and waited for a long time but failed to fire. He thought it was a dud, but it happened to explode when he went forward to check.

He didn't feel any pain when the explosion happened, he just felt a buzzing in his ears and his vision was blurry. It was only when his subordinates saw that his hand was blown off that they were so scared that they picked him up and ran back.

Although Song Yuzhu didn't know how to make a bomb, she could give him a reminder based on modern experience, "Try to split the shell in the middle and make a safety device to increase stability."

Jin Yan was stunned when he heard the voice: "Your Majesty, what you said is feasible! I will try it now!" As he said that, he actually got up and went to work.

Zhao Xiao pushed the man onto the bed and said, "Rest well. If you fall ill, the emperor will have to hand over the research on gunpowder to someone else."

This time, Jin Yan lay obediently in bed and recuperated.

Coming out of Jin Yan's house, Song Yuzhu couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect Jin Yan to develop the cannonball so quickly."

"Is this thing extremely powerful in your world?"

Song Yuzhu asked: "Ah Xiao, how far can you shoot with a bow and arrow?"

Zhao Xiao thought for a while and said, "A bow of eight stones can shoot sixty zhang away, and a strong crossbow can shoot farther but not more than one hundred zhang. If it is too far away, it will not be accurate." One stick is three meters and three hundred zhang is about three hundred meters.

"Do you know how far this shell can be fired?"

Zhao Xiao shook his head.

"It can be fired thousands of feet away." Of course, this is just an ordinary artillery shell. If it is an intercontinental missile or a nuclear bomb in the future, it can almost hit the hemisphere. But telling him this now is a fantasy. Song Yuzhu only told him the distance of an ordinary artillery shell.

"Bows and crossbows lose their accuracy beyond the distance, and are useless if they can't hit the enemy."

Song Yuzhu clenched one hand into a fist and spread out the other.

"But this shell is a range attack. It was fired from this side and landed over here. Even if it deviates a little, it can still raze this place to the ground after the explosion."

Cold weapons are no match for gunpowder, which is why Song Yuzhu is so persistent in studying gunpowder. He doesn't want his country to experience that humiliating period again after thousands of years, so he wants to be ahead this time!

As a general, Zhao Xiao was very sensitive to war. He understood what Song Yuzhu meant as soon as he heard it. On the battlefield, an inch longer is an inch stronger. If this shell really has a long range and great power as Yuzhu said, it will be a catastrophe for the enemy.

He excitedly grasped Song Yuzhu's shoulders and said, "This thing is simply a magical weapon. When will it be ready and sent to the army for use? I can't wait to try it."

"Ah Xiao, don't get excited. We have to wait until Master Jin recovers before we can continue our research."

Zhao Xiao suddenly felt a little regretful for stopping Jin Yan just now. He could only hope that he would get better soon so that he could develop the shells as soon as possible.

*

After the autumnal equinox, the weather gradually cooled down, and Shen Lun's train was almost finished. The train, which was more than one person tall, had six carriages connected together and could bear several hundred kilograms of weight. After the boiler was lit, it ran on the rails at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

This speed is not slow. After all, the speed of a horse carriage is only about 20 kilometers per hour. If it encounters a rough road, it may not even reach 20 kilometers per hour. Moreover, the train will not get tired. As long as there is enough fuel and rails, it can keep running forward.

When the scientific research department came up with a result, the emperor excitedly invited all officials to watch it together.

All the civil and military officials in the court felt that the emperor's obsession with studying these things was useless, time-consuming and laborious.

But which emperor didn't have his own hobbies? Compared with the previous emperor Tiansheng who was keen on building tall buildings, the emperor Chonghua who liked to build imperial tombs, and the emperor Longwu who liked beautiful women... Song Yuzhu, who was fiddling with iron lumps, was much better.

Although the ministers also gave advice, none of them was too harsh. After all, everything will turn into the opposite when it reaches the extreme. If they angered the emperor and made him do these useless things even more, it would be a waste of time.

So the ministers turned a blind eye and never held any hope for this thing.

A group of people came to a wide open space near the Science and Technology Department and gathered in twos and threes. Some discussed state affairs, some discussed family matters, and some mentioned the train, but their words were full of sarcasm.

"What's this thing called?"

"train."

"Tsk, can such a big piece of iron be used to call a taxi?"

"Who knows? I heard it cost a lot of money."

Shen Lun and his men finished the inspection, bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, can we start?"

"Let's get started."

Jiang Yida lit the boiler, and soon the train began to emit thick smoke. After waiting for an incense stick, the train stopped where it was, without moving an inch.

The Minister of State Administration was choked and coughed, "Cough, cough, cough, I said this thing is useless. It's a waste of time and effort. I don't know how Chen Lun persuaded His Majesty to believe him."

Chen Lun was a little anxious. He had clearly checked in advance and found that there were no problems. The water was full and the coal was burning, so he should be able to move forward.

Jiang Yida desperately added coal into the car, and the water boiled, but the car remained parked there, as if it had broken down.

The Minister of War An Changrui put his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky, feeling that his 30,000 shi of pig iron might just splash into the water.

Chen Lun was so anxious that tears were about to fall. He had been busy for half a year and had wanted to make the emperor proud today, but what he ended up doing was proving that the emperor wasted his time on weird ideas. How could their scientific research department gain a foothold in the court in the future?

Song Yuzhu saw their panic and comforted them, "Don't worry, it's okay if you fail, I won't blame you."

"His Majesty……"

Chen Lun suddenly remembered that the brake seemed to be not pulled up, and he shouted: "Jiang Yida, brake!"

Jiang Yida then remembered that the brake was not closed, so he quickly lowered it. The train creaked, making a teeth-grinding sound, and the dark brown iron box actually slowly moved forward.

The ministers fell silent instantly. Everyone seemed to be frozen in place, standing still and watching the train move forward.

No one was pushing or pulling, but such a large piece of iron sheet actually moved away by itself? Could this be some kind of magic?

"Oh!" Jiang Yida stood on the train, excitedly took off his coat and swung it in his hands. Chen Lun anxiously waved at him from below. How could this brat be so untidy in front of His Majesty!

Song Yuzhu also stood up excitedly. He pulled Shen Lun and said, "Nothing, today the entire research department will give a big reward!"

Seeing the train going farther and farther away, some military officers ignored their status and ran behind the train, wanting to catch up and see what was going on.

The train ran for two miles before stopping. Because there were no more tracks ahead, Jiang Yida pulled the brake and jumped off the train with his teeth bared.

This time, no one said that this thing was useless. Although those who could become officials were not necessarily extremely smart, they were definitely not fools. If the rails were long enough, wouldn't this train be able to go anywhere in the world? !

Chen Lun knelt on the ground, his face covered with snot and tears: "I have accomplished my mission!"

Song Yuzhu took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to him: “Wipe it, Mr. Shen.”

Chen Lun didn't dare to use the handkerchief given by the emperor, so he wiped his face with his sleeve.

Chen Lun stood up and choked up as he explained to the adults: "This is a train, but it's just a scaled-down sample. A real train is two or three times bigger than this, and can carry tens of thousands of tons of cargo!"

Xu Bing asked: "Can this thing carry people?"

"Of course!"

Everyone was talking about it, saying that traveling would be extremely convenient in the future!

If you send troops to fight, it can not only transport soldiers but also food and fodder. This thing makes the military officers jealous!

However, the only shortcoming of the train at present is probably that it cannot turn, and the tracks can only be built into a circular shape to be used back and forth, which greatly increases the cost of building railways.

Song Yuzhu had a solution, "Shen Aiqing can make a double-headed train. After reaching the end, turn off the boiler and then burn the other locomotive to drive in the opposite direction."

This type of double-ended train is also used in modern monorails, but for the ancients thousands of years ago, it was still very advanced.

The problem that had troubled Shen Lun for a long time was solved, and he clapped his hands happily and exclaimed: "Your Majesty, wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)