Chapter 965: Conception

"Not bad, the bicycle is very comfortable to ride."

Zhao Xu circled three times and braked in front of Wang Chong and Qu Sheng.

Wang Chong and Qu Sheng only then came back to their senses.

They had wanted to ask how Yan Wang knew how to ride a bicycle, but they tacitly kept their mouths shut.

Compared to knowing how to ride a bicycle, it seemed even stranger that Yan Wang knew how to manufacture one.

They just had to get used to it.

"Your Highness, there is no need to keep the bicycle a secret from now on, right?" Wang Chong asked.

During this period, everything from the manufacturing to the testing of the bicycle had been conducted in secret.

And after mastering the riding technique, he had suddenly grown accustomed to the convenience of the bicycle and was somewhat impatient to use it in his daily life.

"Secret? There is no need to keep this a secret." Zhao Xu paused for a moment and couldn't help but laugh.

However, one could not blame the two for being overly cautious.

Because the confidentiality measures of the Research Institute were extremely strict; no new achievement could be exposed to the outside world without his permission.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chong was delighted, "Since that is the case, this subject can rest easy and will be able to travel by bicycle from now on."

"Then you should quickly coordinate with the Industrial Department to get the bicycle workshop up and running. As for this bicycle, this King will graciously accept it." Zhao Xu chuckled and rode the bicycle for another lap.

At the same time, a bold idea gradually took shape in his mind.

He wanted to establish a bicycle unit in the army.

During the modern Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Prussian messengers began using bicycles to deliver military orders on the battlefield.

Britain formed its first bicycle army during the same period, and in the subsequent Boer War in South Africa and the Spanish-American War, they were always able to utilize high mobility to reach the battlefield ahead of other infantry.

Even during World War I and World War II, bicycles were widely used in warfare, and paratroopers even had specialized folding bicycles for rapid operations behind enemy lines.

Germany's bicycle units carrying anti-tank rocket launchers even destroyed a large number of Soviet tanks.

Even in contemporary times, the bicycle still plays a significant role in warfare.

During the Vietnam War of Independence, his country supported Vietnam with twenty thousand modified bicycles.

Because bicycles could carry two hundred to three hundred kilograms, they became a transport weapon on the battlefield at that time, delivering large amounts of food and ammunition to the front lines, increasing transport efficiency by twenty to thirty times.

Ultimately, this helped the Vietnamese guerrillas of that time defeat the French.

With so many examples before him.

Zhao Xu naturally could not help but be moved.

A normal person riding can easily travel about one hundred fifty to two hundred kilometers a day.

And a slightly trained bicycle racer can ride three hundred kilometers a day.

The marching speed of an army in war would instantly increase threefold.

Most importantly, bicycles can also carry loads.

That is to say, soldiers can not only serve as combat units but also simultaneously serve as transport units.

Obviously, this increases the efficiency of war by more than just a little bit.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but add, "You must increase the production of bicycles, and you should discuss with your father about designing a bicycle specifically for the army."

"Yes, Your Highness." Upon hearing about a bicycle specifically for the army, Wang Chong was stunned for a moment, then reacted and answered crisply and efficiently.

He hadn't thought of this; the bicycle could actually provide help to the army.

This made his sense of achievement soar.

After discussing the establishment of the bicycle workshop, Zhao Xu said, "This King just returned from the thermal power plant. The Ministry of Works says the main building will be completed by next summer. Will your equipment installation be able to keep up by then?"

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. Li Wei and the Industrial Department built a Generator Workshop in the East City. To promote electricity, he specifically built three Steam Engine Generator Sets for the workshop. The entire workshop is fully electrified, and production efficiency is very high; we can provide the equipment on time." Speaking of Li Wei, Wang Chong couldn't help but show an expression of admiration.

This kid is simply a workaholic.

He is either in the Laboratory or the Workshop all day long.

His family found him a wife,

but he didn't even have time for his wedding night.

After drinking the wedding wine, he heard there was a power line fault in the workshop and ran off as soon as he got up.

This matter became known to everyone in the Research Institute.

"That is good." Zhao Xu nodded; he was also quite at ease with Li Wei.

Thinking of how the production of Metal Bullets and Machine Guns was limited by electricity back then, he said, "Before the large-scale thermal power plants are built, promote the use of Steam Engine Generator Sets widely in various workshops to supply power to important workshops."

To him, this Steam Engine Generator Set was equivalent to the backup diesel generator in a contemporary factory.

In the transitional stage where electricity cannot be transmitted on a large scale, it can at least handle emergencies.

After discussing matters regarding bicycles and electricity, Zhao Xu instructed the two to follow the technology plan he provided and gradually overcome the technologies on the blueprints in order.

The symbol of the Second Industrial Revolution is not just electricity, but also the large number of new technologies that appeared alongside it.

He had already handed this set of technologies to the Research Institute.

The core of this set of technologies is the chemical technologies such as diesel and gasoline, which Qu Sheng is responsible for, and the machinery such as Internal Combustion Engines and steam turbines, which Wang Chong is responsible for.

Only by bringing these things out can the Great Song completely widen the technological gap with the Western Lands.

Just as the Westerners once relied on firearms and Artillery to crush the natives of the New Continent, he would crush them.

And based on this, he could build the Great Song's own global system.

However, he also knew that as technology becomes more complex, even if one imitates based on mature blueprints, the time consumed will become longer and longer; after all, the machinery is becoming more complex.

At the same time, this also requires the progress of the chemical industry and other sectors, as well as the cultivation of technical talent, which cannot be achieved overnight.

But generally speaking, even if the time to research and manufacture a technology is extended, it will certainly be faster than the normal historical trajectory.

Major technologies that would require ten or twenty years to develop might be solved by the Research Institute in a year or so.

"We will do our utmost to realize the new technologies one by one." Wang Chong and Qu Sheng looked at each other and said to Zhao Xu in unison.

The matter of Rubber had already made the two realize that the chemical and mechanical industries were interdependent and could not progress independently.

Therefore, the personnel of the Chemical Laboratory and the Physics Laboratory at the Research Institute now sit together every evening to discuss technical difficulties, working in cooperation to make breakthroughs.

"This Wang awaits your good news." Zhao Xu smiled lightly.

Having said that, he pedaled the Bicycle and headed out of the Research Institute.

Xu Lie was startled and hurriedly called out to the guards, "Start running, keep up, keep up."

The guards vanished in a flash, and Xu Lie had to use all his strength to barely keep up with the Bicycle.

Looking at the relaxed and carefree expression of Yan Wang, he could not help but click his tongue in his heart, casting his gaze toward the Bicycle.

He secretly thought that once the Bicycle Workshop was built, he must get one first to have a taste of it.

By then, he would be able to attract the attention of the whole city just like Yan Wang.

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