Chapter 975: Chapter 993: A Matter of 1,000 Autumns and 10,000 Generations
On the next day, Jinrong, who received a message from Jiang Yifan, brought Hu Jing and went directly to the place where Jiang Yifan worked at the Ministry of Works.
He waved off the officials who came to greet him, sat down on the chair at the head, with Hu Jing and Jiang Yifan accompanying him on both sides.
After the department clerk served tea and retreated, Jiang Yifan said, "I only mentioned that there was something to discuss, not that it was urgent. Yet, Your Highness has come right over."
Jinrong had just come from the court not long ago. He took a sip of tea, breathed out, and said, "Did Qi Younian bring back any news when he returned from Yuanzhou the other day? As you know, my Imperial Father wishes to promote new-style agricultural tools from the Mechanical Workshop. I’m just wondering if Qi Younian’s news might be related to these tools?"
Maybe Qi Younian, moved by the hardship of the disaster-stricken people, had thoughts of doing something good? After all, the Mechanical Workshop is split into three shares, one of which was invested by Ye Xinyan in the name of the Qi family, with Qi Younian as the head.
Although those farming tools are good, they also pose a dilemma. He promised his Imperial Father to consult with Ye Xinyan, but can this really be discussed?
Ye Xinyan had originally stated clearly that the farming tools were borrowed, so rent wasn’t even charged. Yet after usage, the Mechanical Workshop’s people reclaimed all the tools under the pretense of maintenance, storing them away in shops in Yuanzhou and other places, never to see the light of day again.
With Ye Xinyan’s personality, she would probably hold onto those things, waiting for the right price to sell them.
Hu Jing, standing by, smiled and said to Jiang Yifan, "Why else would I have come along? I also want to know what news Old Master Qi brought back."
"It’s unrelated to farming tools; it’s that steam engine Wong Qiao wanted to make earlier." Jiang Yifan stood, retrieving a scroll from a partition in the bookshelf. He walked to the table between Jinrong and Hu Jing, pushed aside the clutter on the table, spread the blueprint, and said, "Wong Qiao asked Grandfather Qi to bring this design back for Ah Yan to see. They say it can already operate, so Ah Yan can take a look."
So quickly? Jinrong and Hu Jing both focused their attention.
Their gazes roamed over the blueprint several times, yet they couldn’t grasp it.
Hu Jing helplessly lifted his head and asked Jiang Yifan, "Yuanfan, can you understand this thing? To these old eyes, it’s unclear what this actually is."
Jinrong sipped his tea, also waiting for Jiang Yifan to speak.
Jiang Yifan laughed, "If Mr. Hu’s eyes are unclear, none of us are better off. I couldn’t make head nor tail of it when I got this drawing yesterday, until Ah Yan spent a long time illustrating it for me with cardboard, toothpicks, string, and other materials, then I got a general idea."
"Did Ye Zi make it work?" Jinrong immediately showed interest, "So, this steam engine has been completed, right? Can it be used for the Iron-smelting Furnace?"
No wonder Jinrong was excited; whether in the Great Xia Dynasty or neighboring countries, the demand for iron materials was always high. Even with Great Xia’s top-notch smelting technology, the speed of iron production couldn’t keep up with usage. This was while Great Xia strictly limited foreign trade of iron materials; otherwise, the gap would be larger.
If the iron smelting technology improves and output increases, not only can Great Xia significantly ramp up the production of numerous iron tools, but also trade with neighboring countries, obtaining warhorses and other items, gaining a vast advantage.
Jiang Yifan, however, shook his head, "It’s not about improving iron smelting efficiency."
Jinrong immediately glared at him, as if to say: If it’s not related to iron smelting, why are you so excited? Sixth Master, I’ve seen enough new devices over the years, this doesn’t make a difference!
Jiang Yifan ignored Jinrong’s dissatisfaction and continued, "If a steam engine could be successfully made, its applications wouldn’t be limited to iron smelting, many industries could benefit. The impact is unimaginable, it could even ensure Great Xia’s invincible status in the foreseeable future, making all countries near and far look up in awe."
Jiang Yifan’s painting of this grand vision was enough to attract Jinrong and Hu Jing, even as they showed skepticism.
"But there is a prerequisite, we need time to continually improve and refine the steam engine," Jiang Yifan said. This was what he truly wished to convey, representing the undeveloped ideas of industrial progress and limitations that he had yet to present.
Jinrong was momentarily stunned, then said, "As long as the benefits you mentioned are real, we have the time, ten years, twenty years? ... If it’s thirty years, now that would be quite a stretch. You have to at least allow me to see some results, right?"
Jiang Yifan was helpless, thinking how Jinrong, with such a significant matter on hand, could still be unserious.
"If it involves future generations, of course, more patience is required," Jiang Yifan remarked, somewhat irritably.
He distinctly remembered how Ye Xinyan once spoke of groups of people across the Great Ocean using such things and corresponding policies to develop lands that were once backward Barbarians to a level that the Celestial Empire found hard to reach.
Reaching that point, the so-called Celestial Empire would cease to exist, with nothing but defenseless territories subjected to humiliation and fierce struggle.
But such things could not be verbalized; he could only express them in ways that Jinrong and Hu Jing could understand.
Jinrong’s expression became slightly more restrained, spreading his hands, "You need to make it clearer for us to comprehend, don’t you think?" He said, recalling Jiang Yifan’s earlier words with great skepticism, "It’s merely a tool, how could it relate to future generations? Are you talking nonsense?"
As he spoke, he even reached out, intending to touch Jiang Yifan’s forehead to check if he had a fever.
Jiang Yifan slapped his hand away, annoyed, "Don’t speak nonsense about things you don’t understand!"
Nearby, Shi Yu rolled his eyes, looking upwards, pretending not to see the bickering between the "Immortals."
Shi Yu and Shi Shu, unable to contain their reactions, twitched their mouths vigorously, thinking: Sir, you’re nearly thirty now, not that youth who fought in the capital. The Prince Yu’s current status is not ordinary either, yet you dare say such bold things. Besides, that hand might very well become the dragon’s claw in the future, yet you courageously slap it away?
This matter, they thought, should be reported to the lady back home to instruct the master to exercise more caution.
Hu Jing, nevertheless, wasn’t too surprised by Jiang Yifan’s actions but timely interjected to divert their attention: "Since Yuanfan says so, he must have his reasons. Yuanfan, why don’t you enlighten this old fellow first."
Jiang Yifan, despising Prince Yu’s ignorance and even slapping the dragon’s claw away without any awareness, smugly glanced at Jinrong. His wife, coming from an era a thousand years later, allowed him such insights, so Jinrong should just focus on being a prince or emperor, and resign from other matters.
Feeling smug, he turned to the drawing on the table.
Pointing to the section of the crankshaft in the diagram with his finger, he traced the rotational path of the crankshaft in a circular motion, saying, "The main output part of this machine is here. The internal structure and transmission principles of the machine are complex, so let’s not discuss those now; focus on this rotating shaft. Once the machine operates, this crankshaft will rotate, producing great force. Extending such rotation can accomplish many tasks."
Jiang Yifan described to Jinrong and Hu Jing what Ye Xinyan had once explained to him.
For instance, the power generated by the steam engine, through connections and output, could cause numerous spinning machines to operate simultaneously, with consistent and stable force, not only increasing spinning efficiency by dozens of times but also producing superior threads.
There was also the steam-engine-driven wheel, capable of propelling heavily loaded vehicles swiftly...