33: Chapter 33 Can My Great Qin Really Live Forever?

"Long live Great Qin!"

"Long live Great Qin!"

"Long live Great Qin!"

...

The emotions of everyone in the Forging Workshop were ignited, and they shouted excitedly.

"Long live Great Qin!"

Infected by the crowd's fervor, the First Emperor and He Zhi also began to shout.

Can my Great Qin really last ten thousand years?

As the First Emperor shouted, his expression gradually became solemn.

His ambition was vast; he wanted the Great Qin Empire to exist for ten thousand years and be passed down for ten thousand generations.

But in that dream of his, the Great Qin Empire perished in its third generation.

Even though Zi Ying, the third-generation ruler of the Great Qin Empire, had already surrendered, he still could not escape the fate of being sliced in half at the waist in the vegetable market.

Ying Zheng could not help but clench his fists.

He looked at Zhao Fusu, and he could only hope that Great Qin would survive longer in Zhao Fusu's hands.

After driving the steam locomotive to the kiln where the Refractory Bricks were being fired, he instructed the furnace workers to stop adding coal.

Furthermore, he closed the Steam Engine's intake valve.

After the steam stopped entering the cylinder through the intake valve, the steam locomotive gradually slowed down.

Zhao Fusu also began to use the brake lever, causing the bronze blocks to tightly grip the bronze wheels to bring the steam locomotive to a halt.

"Incredible!"

As Zhao Fusu stepped down from the steam locomotive, Old Mo and Old Liu were still speaking with faces full of excitement.

"Mm."

Zhao Fusu nodded.

He began to inspect the operation of this steam locomotive.

The linkage structure made of bronze was wearing down extremely quickly.

This was also within Zhao Fusu's expectations; bronze was still far inferior to steel in terms of texture and durability.

Given how heavy the steam locomotive was, the high wear on the linkage head was also anticipated.

I still need to produce steel as soon as possible!

To produce steel, Refractory Bricks must be made first!

After dismantling the Steam Engine from the steam locomotive, Old Mo, Old Liu, and the others connected the Steam Engine's drive shaft to the blower.

The drive shaft could make the blower rotate through gears.

A large gear meshing with a small gear could increase the small gear's rotational speed, thereby making the blower rotate faster and generate stronger wind power.

Zhao Fusu said, "The greater the air pressure in the Steam Engine cylinder, the greater the force the piston exerts on the horizontal pull rod, and the faster the Steam Engine flywheel rotates."

"We can usually increase the furnace fire to make the boiler produce more steam, thereby increasing the air pressure in the Steam Engine cylinder and the rotational speed of the Steam Engine flywheel!"

Old Mo and Old Liu didn't quite understand what Zhao Fusu was saying, but that didn't stop them from recording the key points on blank bamboo slips.

In any case, they had made up their minds.

Once they refined that steel, they would definitely ask Zhao Fusu for guidance on the principles of this Steam Engine.

As long as they knew the principles and construction of the Steam Engine,

then they believed they could build a Steam Engine themselves.

Once they built it, there would be so many places where the Steam Engine could be used.

They wouldn't even need to make the Steam Engine that large.

A one-ton Steam Engine has sixty-four horsepower.

If they made a smaller Steam Engine with five horsepower, it could already pull a bronze four-wheeled carriage.

Old Mo's mind was already filled with imagination; he couldn't wait to develop the second generation of the bronze four-wheeled carriage.

With the wind power from the large blower, more oxygen could be blown in, making the furnace fire burn more vigorously and the furnace temperature rise even higher.

After firing for a day and a night, the Refractory Bricks were finally produced.

Zhao Fusu was in a great mood.

He ordered the brick kiln craftsmen to fire a large quantity of Refractory Bricks.

Next, he would need Refractory Bricks in large amounts.

Whether it was for the Coking Oven, the blast furnace, or the Open-hearth Furnace, he would need Refractory Bricks.

He sent Zhang Han to the Lishan Mausoleum to invite the engineer who designed it, Cui Wenzi.

This Cui Wenzi was also known as Gongshu Wenzi.

In the Qin Dynasty, surnames (Xing) and clan names (Shi) were separate.

For example, Ying Zheng was also called Zhao Zheng; Ying was the surname, and Zhao was the clan name.

Being of the Ying surname and Zhao clan meant that the Ying surname branch had split off into the Zhao clan lineage.

Cui Wenzi's case was the same; his surname was Gongshu, and his clan name was Cui. It was the Gongshu Family branch that had split off into the Cui clan lineage.

Regarding his name, he was of the Gongshu surname and Cui clan.

It was correct to call him Gongshu Wenzi, correct to call him Cui Wenzi, and also acceptable to call him Gongshu Cui Wenzi.

Of course, under normal circumstances, everyone still called him Cui Wenzi.

But he inherited his legacy from the Gongshu Family.

The Gongshu Family was once a clan name split from the Lu surname.

Lu Ban was the ancestor of the Gongshu Family.

Lu Ban was also the grandmaster of civil engineering.

Cui Wenzi also inherited Lu Ban's skills.

He had very high attainments in architectural design and woodworking.

Zhao Fusu invited Cui Wenzi over because he wanted his help and guidance in constructing the Coking Oven.

"This commoner, Cui Wenzi, greets Young Master Fusu."

Cui Wenzi, who looked to be about sixty years old, bowed to Zhao Fusu.

Zhao Fusu looked at Cui Wenzi.

He wore a long robe and had long hair and a beard that looked like wild grass. It was clear that he was a man who did not care much for trifles.

To put it nicely, he was informal; in reality, he was someone who didn't like to maintain his outward appearance.

A wine gourd was also hanging from his waist.

When he entered, the guards even made Cui Wenzi take the wine gourd and take a large gulp before letting him in.

"Master Cui, please rise, please rise."

Zhao Fusu smiled and asked Cui Wenzi to sit down.

"This is!"

When Cui Wenzi saw the High-backed Chair, his eyes instantly became fixed on it.

Compared to a grandmaster of woodworking like Cui Wenzi, the attainments of the craftsman who made the High-backed Chair certainly could not be mentioned in the same breath.

What Cui Wenzi was looking at was not the craftsmanship of the chair, but the object itself.

He saw at a glance that this High-backed Chair was ergonomic; kneeling was too contrary to human nature. Even with a heel support behind the buttocks, it was still uncomfortable.

If someone didn't use a heel support and truly knelt on their legs all the time, their legs would easily become bow-legged! For instance, those in the 'Little Days' country who knelt for thousands of years didn't know their ancestors actually had heel supports under their buttocks, and they instead used the supports to hold sushi.

The chair was also designed with a backrest, which allowed one to lean back when sitting.

This could alleviate the symptoms of back tension from sitting for a long time.

"Good, good, good, truly excellent!"

Cui Wenzi touched the High-backed Chair with a face full of joy.

He was always a free-spirited and casual person; he couldn't stand kneeling for long periods.

He preferred sitting.

Therefore, he had made a small Folding Stool out of wood for himself.

His small stool simply couldn't compare to this High-backed Chair.

"Good, good, good, truly excellent!"

"What a brilliant design!"

Cui Wenzi couldn't help but ask, "Whose ingenious idea is this? It is truly extraordinary!"

Hearing this, Zhang Han glanced at Zhao Fusu, puffed out his chest, and said with pride, "Of course it came from the hands of the Head of State!"