Are you kidding me?
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, is known as the most beautiful woman in the world. So, do you think that I will jump at the mention of Egypt?
You really underestimate me!
Am I that kind of lecherous person?
Although the Queen of Egypt is very tempting, you still have to be alive to enjoy her, right?
If we don't defeat Caesar, even if we capture the Queen of Egypt, won't she be taken back by Caesar in a few days?
What I want is eternity, not just possession once!
As for whether the Greek navy could catch up with Caesar's fleet, Xia Zhe had never considered it at all.
Seeing that the king had made such a formal request, the generals could only nod silently even though they had doubts in their hearts.
After all, the supreme leader of this army is the king!
Moreover, Wang never miscalculates!
If you understand, you must execute. Even if you don’t understand, you must execute first. Then you will slowly understand during the execution.
Among a group of doubtful generals, only Archimedes, who had remained silent, had a look of surprise on his face.
When everyone had left and even Xia Zhe was planning to take Lillian away, Archimedes finally came up to Xia Zhe and spoke respectfully.
"My king must have seen my research over the past few days and felt that there is a chance to catch up with Caesar's fleet! However, my research still has some flaws, and I still need to ask the king for advice!" said Archimedes.
Have you read your research these days?
I've been enjoying the delicious food and beautiful women of Sicily these days, so I don't have time to read your research.
After hearing what Archimedes said, Xia Zhe felt quite helpless.
This mad scientist thinks about those boring inventions all day long. Does he think that others don’t know how to live like him?
However, after being the king for more than three years, Xia Zhe has made a lot of progress in his cultivation.
In order not to dampen the enthusiasm of the chief scientist, he did not lose his temper immediately, but just nodded and motioned Archimedes to continue.
Seeing the king nod, Archimedes thought he had guessed correctly and was extremely happy. Without hesitation, he immediately spoke out.
"Your Majesty! I have discovered that the steam from boiling water is very powerful. It can completely replace human power to sail a ship. However, I have already made the boiler, but how can I concentrate this power and prevent it from dispersing? I haven't thought of a good way yet. Does your Majesty have any good ideas?" said Archimedes.
During these days, Archimedes enthusiastically studied steam power and built a large number of boilers of various structures to boil water and generate steam.
However, even though steam was available, the method of driving the oars was always less than ideal.
Spray directly onto the impeller, Archimedes tried it.
Archimedes also tried to use steam to drain water and then use the vacuum after cooling to absorb water, repeating the cycle.
However, they cannot achieve a good energy conversion rate.
A large amount of powerful steam was always wasted, making Archimedes' experimental site a vast expanse of white all day long.
Therefore, Archimedes concluded that such a big commotion must have alarmed the king. You know, the king himself is a genius inventor who is even more powerful than himself!
boiler!
Steam power!
Xia Zhe's eyes widened when he suddenly heard this.
No way, in this ancient time, Archimedes had already discovered the power of steam!
Wouldn't that mean he would invent the steam engine and start the Industrial Revolution?
No, I can't let him look down on me!
I have to quickly show off the little physics knowledge I haven’t fully returned to the teacher!
"If you want the steam engine to be efficient, well, let me think about it. It seems that we should use a piston! Yes, a piston!" Xia Zhe answered seriously.
"Piston? What is a piston?" Archimedes was stunned and asked in surprise.
"A piston! It's a thing placed in the middle of a sealed cylinder, and steam can push it back and forth at both ends! Oh, it's hard to explain it just by talking about it, so I'll draw you a diagram!"
Feeling a little nervous when asked, Xia Zhe hurried to explain.
However, Xia Zhe had almost forgotten all the physics he learned in high school, and it was difficult for him to express himself clearly.
In desperation, he picked up a pen and drew a crooked diagram of a piston. He then explained to Archimedes that energy utilization efficiency could only be improved if both ends did work.
As for how to make the piston work at both ends and what materials to use to achieve this, Xia Zhe himself couldn't explain such overly professional things.
He could only talk in general terms and began to give empty theories.
What is the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy, what is the conversion of reciprocating motion into rotation, I hope to make Archimedes dizzy so that my image will not be ruined.
Hearing these overly technical contents, Lillian and the guards beside them yawned repeatedly. But Archimedes was unusually focused, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
After Xia Zhe finished rambling on about what little knowledge he had in his head, he finally stopped. Archimedes expressed his sincere admiration.
"Listening to your speech is better than reading for ten years! You are a true genius. Compared with you, I am far behind!" said Archimedes.
Praise me as a genius?
Finally, all the talk was not wasted!
Hearing such praise, Xia Zhe secretly sighed that it was a close call.
I, the child standing on the shoulders of giants, am actually just a highly myopic shortsighted person!
I can't see the scenery in the distance clearly at all, I can only give a rough idea of it.
It’s really not easy to successfully fool the famous Archimedes!
"Go ahead. This is all I can tell you. You'll have to figure out the rest on your own!"
Not daring to say any more nonsense and arouse Archimedes' suspicion, Xia Zhe quickly ended the topic.
Only after Archimedes nodded respectfully and left did Xia Zhe breathe a sigh of relief.
What he said was all empty talk. Xia Zhe didn't have much hope that Archimedes could actually invent a practical steam engine.
Xia Zhe had been talking to Archimedes for a long time, purely for the sake of face. He forgot about it in a blink of an eye.
Having decided to pursue, the troops moved quickly.
The next morning, the fleet set out one after another and headed north towards the Adriatic Sea.
Themistocles was a veteran naval commander and had already made his judgment based on the direction and position of Caesar's fleet.
The distance between our fleet and the Roman fleet was at least four days.
Caesar's arrival in Venice was estimated to be ten days from now. According to common sense, it would be impossible for us to catch up with him within ten days!
However, the king had already given the order, so Themistocles certainly would not slack off.
He could only try his best and chase after it day and night.
At the same time, Themistocles also hoped that God would help him and send more rain.
Because we have the compass, a groundbreaking navigation tool, we can sail confidently even on moonless nights with few stars.
The Roman fleet still relied on traditional navigation rules. If the weather was bad, they would definitely stop and rest at night.
As long as the rainy weather lasts a few more days, we may be able to intercept Caesar before he arrives in Venice!
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