Chapter 23: Obstructing the Progress of the Times
Berlin Energiewende.
Ernst returned to Berlin. After all, the military academy could still operate without him. He had checked and edited the textbooks. As long as the teachers in the school taught according to the textbooks, there would be no major problems.
The Berlin Energy and Power Company was about to come and take a look. Ernst received news that the four-stroke engine had made a major breakthrough and the first prototype had been made.
It is now in the laboratory waiting for Ernst's acceptance. This slightly large and rough thing is the world's first four-stroke engine.
"Start it and see!" Ernst ordered his men to start the operation.
After the staff filled the gasoline, they took a joystick from the workbench, concentrated their energy, stood firmly in a horse stance, and began to shake the joystick with a little effort. As the wheels turned, the speed increased.
"Let's go shopping, let's go shopping..."
“Boom…”
A huge cloud of black smoke gushed out of the chimney, and under the reciprocating motion of the piston, the huge engine wheel worked along with the shaft and gears.
The whole room was filled with a huge noise, but it sounded so pleasant to Ernst.
Lenoir and his assistant Benz also showed satisfied smiles. This was definitely a great innovation in changing mechanical power and would go down in history in the future.
After leaving the laboratory, Ernst talked to the technicians, "I'm glad you succeeded. This is a great feat that changed history. This month's bonus will be doubled. After mass production in the future, all staff will share 20% of the technology shares according to their contributions."
Ernst gave what he considered to be a large concession and then said, "I am very satisfied with this prototype, but this initial machine is still too bulky. You need to improve it to the best of your ability, correct the precision of the components, and reduce the size to adapt to the work of small machinery."
This is to prepare for seizing the automobile market in the future. Currently, steam engines and internal combustion engines in the market are mostly used in large objects such as factory machines and ships, so the requirements for volume are not so stringent.
"No problem, boss."
Lenoir said confidently. Since Ernst found him, with sufficient funds and venues, many ideas that were once impossible to realize can now be realized.
And the young man named Benz is also very good. Although he has just graduated, he has good abilities. He often has some different ideas to make up for his shortcomings, and he has strong hands-on ability.
Secondly, most of the other people in the company have received a good education, and they can understand and implement Lenoir's ideas very well.
As the general manager of Berlin Power Company, although Lenoir is more interested in research, with the help of people Ernst transferred from Hechingen Bank to assist in the company's specific affairs, Lenoir can devote more time to R&D.
Under the influence of these factors, Lenoir was confident that he could speed up the progress of his work.
"As for the production of the product, you don't have to worry. I plan to implement it around 70 years ago," Ernst continued.
"Boss, isn't it a little late? I think as long as we improve some details, this engine can definitely occupy the market now." Lenoir asked puzzled.
Ernst certainly knew that the sooner it went into production, the sooner it would make a profit, but the four-stroke engine had a huge impact on history. Historically, it was not until 1876 that Otto came up with the first four-stroke engine, and it was only 1865.
As a time traveler, Ernst's greatest advantage is his understanding of some historical developments. If history changes too much, then his advantage will be gone.
The four-stroke engine is directly related to many industries, led by automobiles. What if it causes history to be completely unrecognizable in advance? Although Ernst has changed history, it seems that the historical process has not changed significantly because of Ernst. Ernst naturally wants to keep history on its original track.
Just talking about this four-stroke engine, although Ernst planned to launch it five years later, it was still six years ahead of history.
Therefore, Ernst still has to be cautious. If history really changes, it is better to wait a few years. However, Ernst will naturally not tell others his little thoughts.
"Mr. Lenoir, this is actually the company's strategy. After our team investigated the market, we found that although the four-stroke engine has improved efficiency, the steam engines and two-stroke engines currently on the market are also fully sufficient."
Ernst went on to say: "I am very optimistic about the future of the four-stroke engine, so I want to maximize the benefits and lay out related industries, so I don't want this great invention to be released prematurely."
In order to appease his employees, Ernst continued, "Don't worry, we already have the patent, and no one can take it away from us. The market will still be ours in the future, and we are only temporarily delaying the machine's impact on the market in order to better plan for the future."
Lenoir and others probably "understood" Ernst's idea and wanted to play the long game, but they still asked cautiously: "Boss, what if someone else invents a four-stroke engine?"
Ernst said: "Don't worry, even if someone else develops it, our product is more complete and advanced, and we have the insurance of patents. There will be no rivals in the market."
In order to completely appease everyone, Ernst pretended to be serious and said: "In fact, the biggest purpose of delaying the launch of the four-stroke engine is to develop a product that can change the whole world. I have always had an idea, which is to change the way people travel with a small size and more powerful engine."
Ernst went on to say, "The emergence of the four-stroke engine is such an opportunity. We can install this engine on a horse-drawn carriage in the future. Since it is powered by gasoline, let's call it a 'car'! If you think about it, the emergence of the car will definitely be another epoch-making invention."
"Of course, I am only saying this to you. Today's content will be subject to a confidentiality agreement. After all, it is related to the company's future development strategy, so you must keep your mouth shut now." Ernst emphasized.
…
On July 13, 1865, the world's first four-stroke engine was invented. These were made public in the declassified documents of the future Hechingen Consortium, so much so that some people in later generations said that Ernst hindered the development of the times.
If the four-stroke engine had appeared on the market earlier, it would definitely have changed the era, and the technological explosion of the Second Industrial Revolution would have been even more violent.
Some bad media in later generations even used such headlines: "Shocking! This person is the biggest behind-the-scenes culprit for humanity's inability to reach Mars and enter the interstellar age ahead of schedule..."
Of course, these are all things that happened later, and Ernst could not hear the fierce attacks from these people.
(End of this chapter)
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