RPAGF Chapter 84 The Mission Should Return
Chapter 84 The Mission Should Return
Chapter 84 The Mission Should Return
Wang Lai personally led several craftsmen from the Chemical Industry Department to conduct tests on nitrocellulose propellants on their own.
This test needs to be divided into two parts: one is the rate of propellant combustion, and the other is the time it can be stably stored.
Wang Lai personally supervised the craftsmen's experiments throughout the entire process, and it took ten days to roughly determine the effects of the formula.
Then he went to the palace alone to report the results to the emperor: "Your Majesty's formula is very effective. Camphor can control the burning rate of nitrocellulose and increase the decomposition and auto-ignition thresholds."
"If a large amount of camphor is added, a thin, transparent, and flexible film can be produced, which can even be made into paper rolls for storage and retrieval, making it an excellent film material."
"But when making propellant, too much camphor should not be added; three percent is optimal."
"Soaking in oxalic acid can make nitrocellulose more stable and further increase the threshold for decomposition and spontaneous combustion."
"Graphite powder can increase the fluidity of colloids and lubricate particles, reducing the probability of spontaneous combustion caused by friction and collision."
"Nitrocellulose prepared in this way is still suitable for use as a propellant, while maintaining relative stability."
"The specific storage time requires long-term observation to obtain more accurate data."
"But the craftsmen observed the decomposition rate of the treated nitrocellulose and compared it with the decomposition rate of the untreated pure nitrocellulose, thus estimating a rough time range."
"It is currently believed that nitrocellulose processed according to His Majesty's formula should be able to be stored for one to two years."
After listening, Liu Yulong was quite satisfied: "Not bad. Now that we have suitable film material, let's try to design cameras and film that can be mass-produced."
"Build a camera manufacturing plant in Tongzhou, a camphor refining plant in Taiwan, and an independent nitrocellulose and film manufacturing plant in the suburbs of Shenzhou, and ban the export of camphor."
"Although one to two years is not a long time for nitrocellulose propellant, it is at least usable to a certain extent. It is no longer a laboratory material and can be used for practical effect testing."
"Summon Qin Yang, the Director of the Military Industry Department of the Imperial Academy."
Wang Lai immediately agreed, and the eunuch beside Liu Yulong immediately left the palace to go to the Institute of Natural History to summon Qin Yang.
Qin Yang bowed and greeted them. Liu Yulong asked him to sit opposite Wang Lai and inquired about recent developments: "How is the research progressing on copper-cased bullets and rifles?"
Qin Yang immediately said, "Your Majesty, our colleagues in the Military Industry Department have been testing and inspecting for many days and have found the cause of most of the malfunctions. They then remade two prototype guns and retested them."
"The new prototype gun can now fire continuously, achieving a rate of fire of twelve rounds per minute, and has been fired continuously for up to sixty times without any malfunctions."
"In order to facilitate testing the shooting effect at long distances, some craftsmen suggested installing a fixed telescope on the gun."
"I believe that once the design is finalized, a telescope can be installed, allowing it to function as a small-caliber artillery piece."
Liu Yulong was quite satisfied with their progress and made further arrangements for follow-up work: "You've done a very good job. This rate of fire is sufficient. Now, the more important thing is to continue to reduce the failure rate."
"The idea of adding a telescope for aiming is also very good; a custom-made telescope could be made to fit the target."
"Next, we will coordinate with Scholar Wang to test the effects of the new smokeless gunpowder formula."
"Smokeless propellant is far more powerful than black powder, so special attention must be paid to the possibility of barrel explosion."
"First, use a fixed test stand to test the barrel's load-bearing capacity remotely."
"If the existing barrels are too weak, we can arrange for the factory to customize a batch of barrels with thicker walls."
"If the lead bullet cannot withstand the pressure and shatters, you can try to coat the bullet head with a copper shell as well."
"In addition, referencing the structure of this rifle, we designed a small-caliber breech-loading rifled cannon."
"It involves loading the projectile, gunpowder, and primer into a brass cartridge, then quickly loading and firing it."
Qin Yang and Wang Lai immediately agreed and went back to begin cooperating on further testing.
Liu Yulong continued to handle daily administrative affairs with his secretaries in the cabinet.
Cabinet Secretary Niu Jian picked up a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, the Court of State Ceremonies reports that the Prime Minister of Johor, Temenggong, Taung Ibrahim, has led a delegation to court."
According to the Honglu Temple's verification, the main territory of Johor is located on both sides of the Strait of Malacca, in the central part of Sumatra and the southern part of the Malay Peninsula.
"The British colonies here were originally part of the territory of Johor."
"Seventeen years ago, Johor signed an agreement with Britain, ceding Singapore to Britain for use."
"The King of Johor neglects state affairs, and the Temenggong family, as hereditary prime ministers, actually manage all matters large and small in Johor."
"It should be because in the past two years, the Great Han Heavenly Army has been fighting in Southeast Asia and has controlled Luzon and Borneo."
"The King and Prime Minister of Johor were worried that the Great Han would also attack Johor, so they took the initiative to pay tribute."
"But they might also want to use the might of the Han Dynasty to restrain the influence of Britain and the Netherlands in the region."
After listening to the memorial, Liu Yulong did not directly comment on its contents, but instead asked him, "How many is this? From the Southeast Asian states? How frequently have they visited us in the past?"
Niu Jian immediately replied, "If all the large and small princely states are included, this should be the seventh this year."
"However, Johor is the largest of them, and its territory is also the most strategically located, straddling both sides of the Strait of Malacca."
"These Southeast Asian kingdoms rarely visited the court before the mid-Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty."
"The frequency of their tribute missions only increased slightly when the British and Dutch expanded their influence in Southeast Asia."
"But they still only come once every ten years or so, and they usually don't come together to pay homage."
"Most of those who came to pay homage this year were driven by fear."
(The blue area is Johor, the red area below is Jampi, and below Jampi is Palembang.)
Liu Yulong understood the mindset of these Southeast Asian rulers very well.
Most of the time they were local tyrants, and they would only come to the Central Plains to pay tribute when they needed to.
The purpose of these exchanges was either to engage in trade or to use the banner of the Celestial Empire to intimidate Europeans operating in Southeast Asia, which is why they came more frequently than before during the Jiajing and Daoguang reigns.
Now that the Great Han has personally gone to Southeast Asia to conduct activities, they are afraid of the Great Han's power and have collectively submitted.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Liu Yulong gave a verbal instruction: "Johor is indeed in a strategically important location, but the approach to dealing with it should remain the same as in other countries."
"Referring to Brunei and Sulu, change the outer vassal state to the inner vassal state, change the king to the duke, and change the prime minister to the marquis."
"They were ordered to cooperate with the Han militia to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land in the central region of Sumatra."
"If they obey, then a time will be set for their audience and investiture."
"If you do not comply, when the Heavenly Army of the Great Han arrives next year, they will exterminate everyone, regardless of whether they are kings or prime ministers."
The secretary handed the memorial to the secretary's attendant, who then wrote down Liu Yulong's instructions and sent them back to the Court of State Ceremonies through the Office of Transmission.
Upon seeing the Emperor's arrangements, the Honglu Temple held another meeting with Johor's Temenggong Yi Xia Lahim to convey the will of the Great Han Emperor and the Great Han Court.
When Yi Xia Laxin came to the Great Han in person, he had already made mental preparations, as the princely kingdoms of Luzon and Borneo had already set a good example.
If you accept the Han Dynasty's arrangements, you can continue to be the monarch; if you don't, you will only face death.
So Ichai Rahim readily agreed.
The Court of State Ceremonial reported to Liu Yulong again, and then began preparing for the investiture ceremony.
The Honglu Temple, the Gewu Academy, and other institutions of the Han Dynasty were all busy with their own affairs, while the Governor-General's Office was also preparing for the war next year.
Time slowly passed until the end of July in the second year of Hanchang, which was the beginning of September in the Gregorian calendar.
As the summer heat fades, nighttime temperatures plummet, dew begins to condense, and the monsoon across China is about to shift from south to north.
The delegations from the United States, France, and Great Britain submitted a memorial to the Emperor to bid him farewell.
Liu Yulong knew that they should indeed leave, so on August 1st of the second year of Hanchang, he summoned the main members of the three kingdoms' delegations again at the Wanshou Palace in the Western Garden.
A simple gift was bestowed upon everyone, and gifts were arranged again for the royal families of the three kingdoms.
All the officials, engineers, and scholars in the three-nation delegation received at least one gift.
It mainly consists of the same three items: a set of high-end porcelain, a set of silk clothes, and a bag of high-end tea.
The official delegations from the Three Kingdoms were accompanied by two additional test cameras, four rolls of test film, and two stainless steel rulers.
The ordinary merchants and members of the delegation also received gifts, but they were much simpler than those of the engineers, consisting of only a set of ordinary civilian porcelain bowls and plates, the same as those for ordinary export goods.
After this semi-formal meeting, the delegations from the three countries could depart from the Han Dynasty at any time.
We should wait until the wind direction stabilizes and confirm the intentions of the engineers and scholars.
Should they stay in the Han Dynasty for a while longer, or return home with the mission directly?
The research project is still ongoing, so of course I'll stay.
For example, Babbage, who designed the Difference Engine, had less than one-fifth of the Difference Engine 1 in production.
The key point is that Babbage is still designing a new generation of Differential Engine 2, and only the Great Han would support him to continue manufacturing it.
After it was built, Babbage wanted to continue his research using the difference engine instead of rushing back to his country.
Therefore, Babbage doesn't need to consider returning to Britain for the next few years.
Those who come to invest with large amounts of assets should also stay temporarily.
For example, Stephenson and Talbot.
The investments they brought all turned into bad assets, which were then handed over to the Dahan Gewu Institute for disposal at a low price.
They themselves actually began working as engineers in the industries under the Institute of Geography.
At the same time, he also planned to use the silver coins he obtained to invest in the Han Dynasty and make back the huge amount of money he lost in this investment.
We need to ascertain the situation in Britain before we can consider whether to go back and visit, which would be at least two years from now.
Inventors who received direct investment from the Han Dynasty government were also required to stay and work.
For example, Hall and Colt have now accepted official positions in the Han Dynasty and are organizing and debugging rifle manufacturing plants.
Most of the scholars who came specifically for the exchange were preparing to return home immediately.
They spent nearly four months working in factories under the Imperial Academy of Sciences, in and around the capital and in the countryside, and felt they had learned most of what they wanted to know.
A large amount of text has been recorded, a large number of drawings have been created, and a large number of photographs have been taken with a camera.
The key point is that Faraday and others realized that the Great Han maintained a high level of vigilance towards them, and they were unable to access the true core research of the Institute of Physics.
This made them feel that there was no point in staying any longer.
If a collaborative project is basically completed, the team will return together with the scholars they met, such as Lusac.
Lussac supported Daguerre and Talbot in overcoming the material challenges of the camera, and also supported the construction of two sulfuric acid steam towers in the subordinate sulfuric acid plant of the Great Han Geological Institute, which verified the effectiveness of its design.
Lussac also took many photos documenting the differences before and after the factory used the steam tower, and was eager to return to France to request that the factory there build the same facility.
Finally, the engineers and inventors who did not receive investment from the Great Han Dynasty were essentially relegated to the status of exchange scholars. After spending a few months with the exchange scholars, they naturally had to return to their homeland as soon as possible.
There are also merchants who came simply to trade. They have already completed their purchases in Shanghai and Bao'an and are now returning to their homeland with their goods.
The British Trade Director General, Lawrence, the Deputy Director General, Davis, and the Chief Secretary, Elliot, finally took office.
However, Liu Yulong did not allow them to stay in the capital, nor in Tongzhou, Shenzhou, or other places.
Lawrence and Elliot could only stay in Shanghai, while Davis went to Bao'an.
On August 15th of the second year of the Hanchang era, the delegation from the three kingdoms completed its final preparations and officially set sail from Leting Port.
They sailed successively to Shanghai and Bao'an, where they joined the caravans that had completed their transactions, and officially left the Han Dynasty.