29: Chapter 29 Desiring to Build Steam Locomotives in the Qin Dynasty

Great Qin did have brick factories. Bauxite was placed into molds and pressed into bauxite bricks before being sent into blast furnaces for calcination.

Firing refractory bricks did not go as smoothly as Zhao Fusu had imagined.

After a continuous calcination process lasting twelve double-hours—that is, twenty-four hours—the bauxite bricks remained just bauxite bricks; their hardness did not meet Zhao Fusu's expectations.

These bauxite bricks simply could not be used to construct the blast furnace.

Zhao Fusu frowned slightly.

"Young Master Fusu, how could this be?"

Old Liu came to Zhao Fusu's side and asked him with a look of confusion.

"It seems the temperature of the furnace fire isn't high enough!"

Zhao Fusu said thoughtfully.

Bauxite was, after all, a refractory material; wanting to sinter it was no easy task.

"Then what should we do?"

Old Liu looked at Zhao Fusu.

"We can only enlarge the bellows."

Enlarging the bellows was equivalent to increasing the volume of air blown into the blast furnace. This would allow more oxygen to enter, making the fire burn more intensely and raising the furnace temperature.

"This..."

Old Liu looked troubled.

He spoke up, "If we enlarge the bellows, they will become heavier. The workers' speed in pulling them will slow down, and the air volume might actually decrease!"

The bellows used in the brick factory were many times larger than those used for blacksmithing, requiring several people to pull them.

If they were enlarged further, it would take over a dozen people to operate them. The speed of the bellows' back-and-forth motion would slow down, resulting in even less air volume.

"That is indeed a problem."

Zhao Fusu said, "In that case, we'll redesign the bellows. I'll also bring out my 'Great Treasure'."

"Redesign the bellows?"

"Great Treasure?"

Old Liu and Old Yang both became curious.

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu said, "As for the bellows, we'll abandon the traditional bellows design and switch to a centrifugal Blower design."

"Centrifugal Blower design?"

Both Old Liu and Old Yang were intrigued.

The bellows they used were like drawers, pulled in and out to generate air.

They had never heard of a centrifugal Blower design. Consequently, their gazes turned toward Zhao Fusu with curiosity.

"Please look."

Zhao Fusu brought over a piece of white cloth.

On it, he drew a Blower.

"The Blower uses rotation to make the turbofan generate wind power."

Compared to ordinary fan blades, the blades of a turbofan have a steeper pitch and are more curved, producing much greater wind power!

"First, create the molds, then cast them using molten bronze."

"The key point is the Bearing at the center of rotation."

The main function of a Bearing is to support a mechanical rotating body and reduce its friction coefficient during motion.

"Young Master Fusu, are you referring to a rolling Bearing?"

Old Yang suddenly asked.

"Old Yang, you know about Bearings?"

Zhao Fusu asked, somewhat surprised.

This wasn't the modern era; did Bearings already exist in the Qin Dynasty over two thousand years ago?

Zhao Fusu truly felt a bit of admiration for the wisdom of his ancestors.

"Indeed."

Old Yang said, "In our Forging Workshop, we have a section specifically for crafting Bearings."

"Bring one over for me to see."

Zhao Fusu said quickly.

Old Yang sent his apprentice to the Bearing workshop to fetch one.

Holding the Bearing, Old Yang said, "This Bearing is primarily used for rotation at the wheel hubs of vehicles."

The use of Bearings was quite widespread in the Qin Dynasty.

Whether for carriages or war chariots, Bearings were necessary.

While the two wheels of a carriage or chariot rotated, the axle connecting them did not.

To achieve this, Bearings were utilized.

Zhao Fusu looked at the bronze ring in his hand.

He admitted that this was indeed a primitive Bearing.

Zhao Fusu said, "We can craft another ring, nesting a smaller ring inside a larger one with round Ball Bearings placed in between. This Ball Bearing design can further reduce the friction coefficient, allowing wheels to rotate even faster."

"Oh!"

Old Yang's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

He quickly pulled out a blank bamboo slip to record this piece of knowledge.

"First, produce a small-scale Blower. Once the technology is mature, we'll build a large one."

"I will have the soldiers transport the Great Treasure here."

"When the time comes, you can see how to connect the Blower to my Great Treasure."

"Very well."

Old Liu and Old Yang were both filled with curiosity.

They were eager to know what this 'Great Treasure' Zhao Fusu spoke of was.

After Zhao Fusu arrived at the station of the hundred-thousand-strong army, he ordered men to set up a perimeter.

Then, his consciousness entered the system space.

He looked at the massive object weighing a full ton; its volume was roughly equivalent to a small room!

A Steam Engine!

He had obtained the Steam Engine through a check-in long ago, but he had never found a use for it.

Now, it was finally time to put the Steam Engine to work.

He summoned the Steam Engine from the system space.

Looking at such a massive steel beast, Zhao Fusu faced a dilemma.

Transporting such a huge object to the Forging Workshop was a problem.

Even if he mobilized a hundred men to carry such a heavy thing, it would be back-breaking work.

He hadn't chosen to summon it at the Forging Workshop because it would be difficult to explain to the people there.

If a massive object like a Steam Engine suddenly appeared in the Forging Workshop, there would certainly be gossip, and some might even say he practiced sorcery.

The military camp was filled with soldiers he had branded with the Thought Steel Seal; even if he summoned the Steam Engine right in front of them, no explanation would be necessary.

Got it!

Zhao Fusu thought of a solution.

Instead of having people carry it, it would be better to build a four-wheeled bronze chassis on the spot.

Then, he could place the Steam Engine onto the four-wheeled chassis.

Even if the Steam Engine's power couldn't be transmitted to the wheels yet, using manpower to push or horses to pull would still make transportation much easier.

With four wheels to distribute the one-ton weight of the Steam Engine, bronze wheels should not be crushed.

A ton wasn't actually that heavy; modern household cars approached two tons, and some electric vehicles even reached three tons.

If he could transmit the Steam Engine's power to the wheels, wouldn't it become a steam locomotive!

Zhao Fusu felt a surge of excitement.

It was worth a try!

Zhao Fusu gathered the master craftsmen from the Forging Workshop who specialized in building war chariots.

Old Yang was primarily in charge of the bronze forging area.

Therefore, Old Yang had sent Old Liu to study the Blower.

He brought the veteran chariot-building masters to meet Zhao Fusu.

"Old Yang."

Zhao Fusu took out a piece of white cloth and began to sketch.

"You have the means to craft two-wheeled war chariots from bronze; see if you can build a four-wheeled bronze chassis."

"Young Master Fusu, your drawing is a bit... abstract."

The corners of Old Yang's mouth twitched incessantly.

Zhao Fusu felt rather embarrassed.

He wasn't an artist; it was perfectly normal for his blueprints to be a bit crude.

"Old Yang, do you have a way to build it?"

Zhao Fusu asked.

"No."

Old Yang shook his head bluntly. "Young Master Fusu, this old man cannot build the four-wheeled chassis you desire."

It wasn't that Old Yang literally couldn't build a four-wheeled chassis.

It was nothing more than adding two more wheels to a two-wheeled vehicle.

However, although Zhao Fusu's drawing was abstract, Old Yang could tell that the four-wheeled chassis Fusu wanted was clearly different from the one he had in mind.

To avoid disappointing Zhao Fusu later, he could only politely decline.

"Sigh."

Zhao Fusu felt quite disappointed.

It seemed he would have to trouble the soldiers to move it bit by bit using rolling logs.

"But Old Mo might be able to."

Old Yang's gaze turned toward one of the elderly men. "Old Mo has inherited the Mo Techniques."

"Mo Techniques encompass everything; perhaps he can build the four-wheeled chassis you want, Young Master Fusu."

"Mo Techniques?"

Zhao Fusu was quite curious.

"Yes."

Old Yang said, "The Mechanical Arts of the Mohist School."

"Wasn't the Mohist School wiped out?"

Zhao Fusu asked.