Chapter 654: The Foundation of Industry

"Compared to the First Steam Engine Workshop, how is the production capacity of this Second Steam Engine Workshop?" Zhao Xu asked.

Not long after the Steam Engine was first developed, Zhao Xu had Wang Chong build the First Steam Engine Workshop, specifically for manufacturing Steam Engines.

However, at that time, this Steam Engine Workshop was only experimental in nature, so only six Steam Engines were invested for production.

When the First Steam Engine Workshop successfully used Steam Engine-powered Lathes to manufacture parts and successfully assembled a Steam Engine, the construction of the Second Steam Engine Workshop was put on the agenda.

Compared to the First Steam Engine Workshop.

The Second Steam Engine Workshop was personally designed by Zhao Xu.

The layout of the workshop moved toward a modern style.

A perimeter wall was built around the workshop, and the buildings within the wall each had their own functions.

Workshop rooms specifically for production, dormitories for the craftsmen to live in, public restrooms, a canteen providing three meals a day, and an office for the workshop managers.

From now on, all workshops in Yanzhou would be built according to this standard, officially stepping into standardization.

"Replying to Your Highness, if we produce at full capacity, manufacturing five hundred Steam Engines in a month is no problem," Wang Chong said, holding up five fingers.

Compared to the First Steam Engine Workshop, he was particularly fond of the Second Steam Engine Workshop.

Compared to traditional workshops of the past, the workshop built according to the Yan Wang's design felt, on the whole, to possess more of an industrial atmosphere.

Now, whenever he went to other old-fashioned workshops, he always felt they were an eyesore.

"What is the current demand for Steam Engines in Yanzhou?" Zhao Xu was quite satisfied with this number.

However, as various types of workshops shifted from manual labor to steam power, the demand for Steam Engines was also growing larger and larger.

The installation of these workshop Steam Engines was handled directly by Wang Chong and the students under his command, so he knew best.

After pondering for a moment, Wang Chong said, "At first, there was a surplus, but after seeing the huge changes the Steam Engine brought to the Spinning Mill, Manager Yang now stares at us every day, wishing he could install Steam Engines in all the workshops immediately; these five hundred units are just enough to meet the need."

After a pause, he continued, "Currently, most Steam Engines are being put into mining, for pumping water and grinding ore. I am also ordering the students to develop ore transport machinery powered by steam, such as Elevators, Mine Carts, and Guide Rails."

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

An Elevator is actually just an iron cage that can move up and down; the structure is very simple.

It is just like drawing water from a well, only replacing human labor with Steam Engine power.

It only requires a pulley to continuously wind up and then lower the rope on the Elevator.

The Mine Carts on the tracks follow the same principle.

In the contemporary era, after the Steam Engine was introduced, it was first used in mining and the textile industry.

He was not following a set routine, but rather, these two industries currently had the greatest demand for Steam Engines.

Of course, with the development of steel smelting, steam locomotives, shipbuilding, and other industries, the demand for Steam Engines in other areas would also continue to increase.

"You can hand these simple machines over to other students to be specifically responsible for; what is most important for you right now is Converter Steelmaking,

as well as the large Steam Engines and auxiliary parts needed for building Steam Engines," Zhao Xu thought for a moment and said.

Mentioning this, Wang Chong gave a bitter smile and said, "Your Highness, I was just about to tell you about this. I used to feel too idle, but now I am truly too busy to keep up."

In the past, the Yan Wang only occasionally had him develop things, and the items were not complex, so he had been able to handle them with ease.

But since the advent of the Steam Engine, all kinds of machinery powered by Steam Engines had appeared in an explosive manner.

Even though the Yan Wang gave them mature mechanical blueprints, they still needed to grope their way through practice for a while.

For this reason, he had already divided the students under his command into several groups, with each group responsible for different machinery.

Although this had greatly alleviated the problem.

He knew that in the future, the machinery would only become more and more complex, and by then, they might not be able to keep up.

From now on, he had to take precautions.

So he continued, "Your Highness, although this is not a matter for me to manage, I believe it is necessary to fully popularize education similar to that in the Technology Academy and select talent; otherwise, Yanzhou's industrial development will inevitably be limited by this point."

"It is very rare that you can realize this problem," Zhao Xu said, patting Wang Chong on the shoulder upon hearing this.

This was exactly the problem he was about to solve.

He naturally felt the limitations that a lack of talent placed on Yanzhou's development.

If he had thousands of talents like Wang Chong.

In a very short time, the mechanical blueprints he gave to Wang Chong would be realized one by one.

But as it stood, although the speed of developing machinery could be called fast, if there were sufficient talent, it could actually be faster.

This was still machinery from the First Industrial Revolution period.

If he wanted to lead Yanzhou into the Second Industrial Revolution, the talent required would need to show explosive growth to meet the needs of industrialization.

The engineer dividend is not just empty talk.

Currently, the level of popular education in the countries of the Western Lands was already very high.

They were building up strength for the Second Industrial Revolution.

Therefore, just as Wang Chong said, popularizing education could not be delayed.

Previously, because his energy was limited, he could only first establish the Technology Academy and focus on cultivating a batch of people.

Other parts of Yanzhou still relied on traditional feudal private school education.

This state naturally could not continue.

According to his plan, some people from the Technology Academy were originally going to be invested in Yanzhou's education.

Furthermore, the war to unify Da Song was about to begin.

After unifying the whole country, he would need more talent to go to all parts of Da Song to popularize education.

Therefore, from now on, it was very necessary to first raise the level of education in Yanzhou.

In this way, when facing the entire Da Song in the future, Yanzhou would be like a lighthouse illuminating other places.

"When I go back later, I will give instructions on this matter, and you should also select some suitable students from the Technology Academy; I have a use for them," Zhao Xu said.

Wang Chong nodded.

As the two chatted, they arrived at the accessory room of the Workshop.

Here, the machine tools rotated, emitting bursts of roaring sounds.

Arriving before a Lathe, Zhao Xu asked, "How is the research and construction of the various types of lathes coming along?"

The lathe before him was a Thread Cutting Lathe.

This lathe could be used to cut threads; in the contemporary year of 1797, the world saw the birth of the first thread cutting lathe.

With this, it would be possible to process all kinds of screws.

"The blueprints Your Highness gave this subject last time—the lathes depicted on them have all been researched and constructed," Wang Chong said, feeling quite proud of this point.

According to Yan Wang, the lathe is the mother machine of all machinery.

Yet, people are the mother machines of lathes.

The lathe industry in Yanzhou started from zero; the students could only use tools like rulers and Vernier Calipers alongside veteran craftsmen to polish castings, accessories, and assemble lathes step by step.

Some lathes even consumed two or three months of a team's time.