“It’s moving! It’s really moving! This lump of metal is really moving…!”
“Ready the coal, pay attention and don’t let the fire burn out…!”
“Excuse me, don’t get too close. This boiler will scald you…!”
It was the first sunny day in the middle of the first lunar month after a snowfall. It was getting warmer, but the snow on the ground had yet to thaw completely. Even so, it was already blazingly hot in the Yan Residence’s blacksmith workshop. It was noisy and extremely crowded. Everyone had their eyes wide open as they stared at the ‘lump of metal’ that was slowly coming to life in the courtyard.
Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu, several dozen blacksmith apprentices, stewards from the Yan Residence, Yan Liqiang, Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, Lu Peien, Qian Su, as well as a few of his old weaponsmiths and chief weaponsmiths who had rushed here from the manufacturing bureau in Huanglong County, and lastly, Wen Zhaolun and a group of disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect were all in the courtyard. They were watching the ‘lump of metal’ that the Soul Mountain Sect had delivered here slowly come to life after it was heated and given water.
Apart from Yan Liqiang, Wen Zhaolun and several other people, the moving ‘lump of metal’ had everyone in an instant uproar. Zhou Tiezhu was shouting excitedly with his trembling voice.
Yan Dechang, who had spent his entire life tempering steel, watched the flywheel spin quicker and quicker in fascination and mumbled to himself, “I’ve spent my entire life working with metal. Yet, I never thought that fire and water could make a lump of metal come alive…!”
Qian Su as well as his old weaponsmiths and chief weaponsmiths who came all the way from the manufacturing bureau were also staring at the spinning flywheel. It seemed like they all had seen something incredible and were rendered speechless. As for Shi Changfeng and the others, they basically had the same expressions on their faces too.
Yan Liqiang stood next to the steam engine that had just been assembled and started up, as he watched the rapidly spinning flywheel. He swept his gaze across every component of the steam engine and his eyes widened in surprise. At first glance, this steam engine resembled a meter-tall stove.
Beneath the steam engine was a metallic base and frame. On the left side of the frame, there was a boiler that looked like a burning stove. The boiler was made of metal and a bright yellow cylindrical water tank made out of brass was on top of it. The water tank was about a meter long with the diameter of a standard bucket.
On top of the water tank, there were a few brass pipes. Some were used as inlets for water, while some were used as vents. In between the vents was a manual valve that could be used to control the steam. The air inlet pipe was connected to the most important air tank in the steam engine. On top of the air tank was a piston, crank, and a connecting rod. As the piston started moving, the flywheel with a diameter of about fifty centimeters on the other end of the connecting rod also started spinning rapidly.
However, the thing that truly amazed Yan Liqiang were not these, but the chamber that cooled the steam in the cylinder. It was worth noting that in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, James Watt only came up with this condenser a long time after the steam engine had been invented. The first steam engine had two glaring flaws — firstly, the piston’s movements were slow and discontinuous. Secondly, the steam engine was inefficient and wasted resources.
The root cause of these problems stemmed from steam being cooled in the cylinder. Watt’s greatest contribution to the steam engine was creating a separate condenser to cool the steam outside the cylinder. It was with this modification that the basic structure of a steam engine was established and the invention started to gain popularity.
Yan Liqiang thought Zhang Youroung wouldn’t think of a separate condenser when he created his first steam engine. Little did he expect the steam engine from the Soul Mountain Sect to have already adopted this concept. As a result, the reliability and stability of the steam engine were greatly improved. Not only that, but it definitely satisfied the practical standards as well.
Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed by Zhang Yourong. Yan Liqiang had only given him a little hint and Zhang Yourong managed to create a functioning steam engine in just a year. The structure of the steam engine constructed by the Thousand Engineering Hall was extremely close to the single-cylinder steam engine that Yan Liqiang had in mind.
Although some parts were still unrefined at first glance, the basic structure and functions of the engine were pretty complete.
The steam engine was operated by two disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect. Wen Zhaolun stood beside them, looking rather proud at the lump of metal that his sect had constructed. When Zhang Yourong had just returned to the Thousand Engineering Hall back then, he thought very highly of Yan Liqiang. He even mentioned to Wen Zhaolun that Yan Liqiang’s knowledge in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things was unfathomably deep, and that Yan Liqiang’s understanding on the subject might surpass his. Although Wen Zhaolun had always been extremely impressed by Zhang Yourong’s capability, he was still rather skeptical of his praises for Yan Liqiang.
Before Wen Zhaolun came to Gan Province, he simply refused to believe that the knowledge of a fifteen-year-old brat in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things could possibly be compared to Zhang Yourong, the best engineer in the Great Han Empire. Now that he was in Gan Province and had witnessed Yan Liqiang’s archery skills at Mount Azure Dragon’s Heavenly Lake, Wen Zhaolun definitely looked at Yan Liqiang in a new light. Even so, he was still unconvinced that Yan Liqiang was better than Zhang Yourong in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things.
Zhang Yourong claimed Yan Liqiang was the person who came up with the concept of this ‘lump of metal’ in front of him. Even after meeting Yan Liqiang in person, Wen Zhaolun still felt that it was a total fluke for him to suddenly be hit with this idea. The real impressive person was still their Hall Master Zhang of the Thousand Engineering Hall.
Vice Hall Master Wen Zhaolun of the Thousand Engineering Hall was extremely satisfied by the shocked expression on everyone’s faces. He remembered everyone else also had similar expressions when Zhang Yourong first created this object. In his eyes, the stunned look on their faces was their wordless praise toward the Soul Mountain Sect and the Thousand Engineering Hall. It brought great satisfaction to him. However, when the Vice Hall Master’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang’s face, he was taken aback because Yan Liqiang didn’t look shocked at all. He merely examined the ‘unprecedented’ machine that the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall had created with interest.
While looking at something that no one else could possibly construct, shouldn’t one be shocked or impressed? Yet why he was examining it? Why was he doing that?
Wen Zhaolun secretly felt unpleasant. “Ahem, ahem… Lord Yan, what do you think of this Aquapyro Engine that our Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall has constructed?”
The strange-sounding name was the name that the Soul Mountain Sect had given to their steam engine. Simply put, it was an engine that could be powered by fire and water.
“As expected of Brother Zhang, he is indeed the best engineer in the Great Han Empire! This A-Aquapyro… Engine created by the Thousand Engineering Hall is definitely the newest invention on the Silver Continent. Impressive! Simply impressive!” Yan Liqiang smiled and praised.
A smile finally appeared on Wen Zhaolun’s face when he heard Yan Liqiang’s praises and felt his modesty.
“Liqiang, how do we slow down the flywheel’s rotation…?” Yan Dechang couldn’t help but ask after staring at the steam engine for a good while.
“Oh, it’s actually very easy to slow this flywheel. Look, this is the valve that controls its speed, Father. If we slide the valve this way, the flywheel will turn slower. If we slide it the other way, the flywheel will turn faster…” Yan Liqiang went over to the steam engine while speaking, then personally demonstrated by sliding the slide valve on the boiler’s pipe.
Wen Zhaolun and the other disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect were taken aback when they saw Yan Liqiang’s demonstration. How did Yan Liqiang find out just by looking at it, when none of them had even explained how to control the Aquapyro Engine?
“How can this valve control the speed of the flywheel?” Zhou Tiezhu asked in puzzlement.
“That’s because when the water in the brass tank heats up, the steam will enter the steam reservoir via this brass pipe. This slide valve is used to control the amount of steam in the pipe. If there’s only a little steam, then the flywheel will move slower. If there’s a lot of steam, then the flywheel will move faster!” Yan Liqiang explained while pointing to the steam engine.
“This engine should be used with caution. If the boiler underneath the water tank is still running, then this slide valve shouldn’t be completely shut. If you shut the slide valve, this exhaust valve here must be opened. If the water is being boiled while all the valves are shut, the water tank will explode. It’ll be extremely dangerous as it might severely injure or kill the people who happen to be around it…”
“Oh?! This thing can explode?!” Zhou Tiezhu asked in surprise.
“Of course!”
Wen Zhaolun was stunned. When the Thousand Engineering Hall first started researching and developing this object, the same accident that Yan Liqiang described had indeed happened. Fortunately, no one got hurt as there was no one around when the boiler exploded. However, it did make a mess in the workshop. It was only after that incident did Zhang Yourong think of installing a vent for this boiler.
“I heard from the Hall Master that Lord Yan is gifted in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Can you guess which part of this Aquapyro Engine our hall master spent most of his effort in?” Wen Zhaolun asked another question, still unwilling to believe that Yan Liqiang was this talented.
Yan Liqiang smiled, then pointed to the inconspicuous condenser located beneath the steam cylinder. “I’m guessing that the earliest versions of the Aquapyro Engine in your Thousand Engineering Hall didn’t come with this thing. It must have been invented by Brother Zhang at a later stage, after spending a lot of time and effort in conducting countless experiments. Am I right?”
“Ah…!” Wen Zhaolun looked at Yan Liqiang in shock. The other disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect also looked at Yan Liqiang as though they had just seen a ghost. As the saying goes, ‘One would know an expert as soon as he speaks.’ Yan Liqiang’s simple answer instantly left Wen Zhaolun and the other disciples totally flabbergasted.
Yan Liqiang turned his head around and asked Qian Su, “Uncle Qian, do you think the manufacturing bureau can construct this thing?”
