Steam trains in ancient times (9): Steam machine, instant noodles

One early morning, the prince got the news and hurried out of the East Palace. The young man waiting outside saw his appearance for the first second, his face was filled with a smile of joy, his eyes were bright, and his whole body was full of intimacy.

Such a vivid appearance made Chu Feng’s Adam’s apple twitch slightly, as if a small claw was gently scratching somewhere on his back.

He walked up to Si Qi and coughed: “Why is it so mysterious? I must see it for myself.”

Si Qi always had a cold face outside and was busy doing things. Outsiders usually didn’t dare to disturb him when they saw him. This also made Si Qi’s image in the eyes of others become more and more cold.

Even Chu Feng rarely saw Si Qi showing such a youthful and playful look. After confirming that Si Qi was in a good mood today, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

Si Qi took his hand and led him outside, and couldn’t wait to say: “I am so happy, I can’t help but want to share the joy with Your Highness!”

His Royal Highness the Prince was held by the weak and boneless hands, his steps were light and graceful as if he were stepping on the clouds, and he looked at the young man’s back and a small section of his fair neck exposed under his clothes. The snow-white skin made his vision blurry, and his thoughts were divergent and trance-like, as if he was in a dream.

He came all the way to the blacksmith shop and saw an extremely strange-looking iron block placed in the huge open space. It was like a large bronze cauldron, but it was not as beautiful as a cauldron. It was sealed like a big bucket, with a few weird bulges.

Did the boy just want to take him to see this thing?

Although he felt that this piece of art was a bit… not very good-looking, it was rare for the young man to be so happy. When the young man asked him how he felt later, he would definitely praise it and make the young man happy.

Si Qi admired the steam engine in front of him with smooth lines and full of power and beauty. He personally lifted a bucket of water, poured it into the steam room, and asked his men to come and light the firewood.

The water was quickly boiled and started to boil. There was a crackling sound in the cylinder, which was the sound of the cylinder expanding due to heat.

When the steam filled the cylinder, the piston began to push the connecting rod outward. Then the connecting rod pulled the valve, and the steam pushed the piston inward. This step was repeated.

The two connecting rods rotated the wheels rapidly back and forth, and as the firepower increased, the speed became faster and faster. The steel monster made a huge and ear-piercing roar in the frightened eyes of many ancients.

“Buzz——”

The exhaust port spitted out white mist, and the hot air rushed towards their faces, accompanied by powerful and unstoppable momentum! !

Many people were frightened by this sudden change and screamed. Some people stumbled and fell to the ground, crawling back several steps in fear.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thought that something unexpected had happened, so he quickly protected Si Qi, holding the young man in his arms, and used his own body to block the sudden threat for the young man.

Si Qi didn’t care about anything else. He grabbed the sleeves of His Highness the Prince, raised his toes, and looked over Chu Feng’s shoulders to reveal a pair of bright eyes, looking at the smoothly running steam engine without blinking.

Seeing the steam engine running faster and faster, Si Qi let out a hearty laugh, pushed away the extremely nervous prince, and said to Chu Feng: “Your Highness! Look! This is what I have been creating during this time. Machine!! With it, a new era is coming!

The hum of the steam engine forced the young man to speak at the top of his voice. The prince had never seen such an excited expression on the young man’s face. Listening to the young man’s words of love and affection, his heart surged, and he even couldn’t help but want to blurt out, I just want you! I only long for you!

It was a pity that after the young man said those words, he didn’t think of asking Chu Feng to answer. He strode up to the steam engine, cheered with great joy, turned twice towards the powerful and frightening steel monster like a waterfall, and said excitedly: “With it, any human or animal power is no longer necessary! It does not need to rest and will not get tired. From now on, it will be the never-ending heart of our Chu country!!”

Everyone stared at the boy’s appearance, the roaring monster and the boy who tamed the monster. This scene was destined to be engraved in their hearts and would never be forgotten.

From this moment on, the boy officially began his legend.

“Your Highness, do you like this gift?” The energetic young man turned around and looked at the prince with a shy smile.

The prince’s heart was beating uncontrollably as he was stared at by those shining eyes.

There might never be another person in this world who was as stunning and talented as the person in front of him, which made his heart flutter.

He tried his best to restrain himself and said: “I like it.”

Irresistible love.

He knew that he was completely lost, but he was enjoying it and was intoxicated.

–

The emergence of the steam engine changed Si Qi’s project from a slow crawl to a rapid sprint.

Many ministers heard that the roars of terrifying monsters like beasts were always heard in Si Qi’s ironworks, which made the people around him panic, and they wrote letters asking His Majesty to investigate the matter thoroughly.

The emperor called the prince, and he didn’t know what the two discussed in the imperial study. The result was that Si Qi’s iron smelting workshop was moved from the capital to the suburbs. The area expanded dozens of times, and the sound became louder than before , from one beast to three, four or even more!

The officials who didn’t know the reason were quite afraid of this. They always felt that the extremely capable Lord Si was holding back some big move. You could tell by the way he was so busy that he was definitely doing something big.

It was clear that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been fighting fiercely with the Fourth Prince recently, and it was when he was most needed to shine. Why was it that Si Qi, the most important person, stayed in that simple and crude ironwork all day long and did not even go to the court? There must be something wrong. 

On this day, Si Qi hurriedly came to the East Palace and said to the prince: “Your Highness, I want to go to the coast.”

The prince reached out and touched Si Qi’s cheek gently. Si Qi looked back at him with an incomprehensible expression. The prince took back his hand, spread his palm in front of Si Qi, and said, “Is this how you came here?”

There was a trace of black coal ash on his fingertips, which he had just wiped off Si Qi’s face.

Si Qi laughed sheepishly, wiped his face with his sleeves, and said, “I’m sorry… The factory on the coast has reached a critical stage. I have to go and watch.”

The prince was slightly silent when he heard this.

Since the monster called the steam engine appeared, the prince, who had witnessed the power of the steam engine with his own eyes, finally had a concrete idea of ​​Si Qi’s ability.

That was not a character that could be accommodated by just a court battle. His strength had long been beyond the reach of human beings. As long as Si Qi was given enough time, he could even assemble a torrent of steel on his own that could easily crush thousands of armies. As long as he wanted, he could do it.

In comparison, the prince of a country was nothing.

How to keep this person, how to keep him by his side forever, and whether he could be completely his own if he used strong methods, the prince had been thinking about these things these days.

When he heard that Si Qi was leaving, the prince’s first thought was to stop him, but if he stopped him, would the young man listen to him? And could he stop the young man?

The prince was silent for a moment and said to the young man, “Do you have to go?”

Si Qi nodded: “I have to go, that’s very important.”

Prince: “Then…what if this prince says no?”

“…” Si Qi frowned, looked at Chu Feng carefully, and asked with concern: “What happened? Have you encountered any trouble that is difficult to solve?”

The prince shook his head slowly: “There is trouble, but it is not something that this prince cannot solve alone.”

Si Qi was puzzled: “Then why…”

The prince lowered his eyes slightly and said bluntly: “I don’t want you to leave here.”

Si Qi was quiet for a moment.

He didn’t want him to leave here? Why? Was afraid that he would run away?

Also, as a ruler, he would probably not allow people like him to leave his sight at will. Just like the leaders of the modern world, for whatever reason, would never allow the only scientist in the world who had mastered controllable nuclear fusion technology to run around at will. That would be too dangerous.

However, Chu Feng was not this kind of person and would restrict his freedom for his own selfish desires. Maybe he said this because of other reasons?

Si Qi thought for a while, nodded and said with a smile: “In that case, I won’t leave.”

The prince was stunned and looked up at Si Qi.

He originally just said that, no matter how Si Qi reacted, he would still let Si Qi leave.

But he never expected that Si Qi would compromise so easily.

The prince couldn’t help but say: “Didn’t you say you must go?”

Si Qi was not the kind of person who would change his decision just based on other people’s words. Chu Feng understood this deeply.

“Yes.” Si Qi nodded briskly, “But no matter how important things are, they are not as important as your wishes.”

The prince’s eyes widened slightly, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

Si Qi said seriously: “The world is so big, how can we not go anywhere? But there is only one of you named Chu Feng.”

The prince looked at Si Qi, his lips trembled slightly, and his fists were clenched, as if he was trying his best to suppress the thoughts that blurted out.

Si Qi: “But in this case, I have to write a few letters and then send someone over to keep a close eye on it.”

Otherwise, if something went wrong, a chain explosion would occur, everything would be wasted, and a lot of people would even die.

The prince said directly: “It doesn’t matter, you can just go.”

“Huh?” Si Qi asked doubtfully, “But…”

Prince: “Go ahead and come back early. I will be waiting for you here.”

Si Qi laughed dumbly. This didn’t sound like what His Highness the Crown Prince would say to a minister.

Nodding, Si Qi said: “I will come back as soon as possible”

Xiu Xiu curiously asked him: [Master, what is so important that you would rather put down the daughter of the world and go over and see it in person]

Si Qi heard this after leaving the East Palace and replied casually: [Marine Chemical Industry]

[Marine chemical industry? 】

[This is the foundation of modern industry] Si Qi gave a concise and comprehensive explanation: [You know three acids and two phosphates, right? Nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate. Almost all chemical industries require the participation of three acids and two phosphates.]

The unlearned Xiu Xiu honestly said: [I really don’t know… are they powerful?]

[Of course it’s powerful. With nitric acid, food production will no longer be a problem, and the land that killed the original owner can only be used for fireworks from now on]

[With sulfuric acid, the clothing industry will no longer rely solely on crop cultivation. Artificial cotton can allow everyone to wear strong and warm clothes]

[Food, daily chemicals, building materials, medicine, metallurgy, textiles, petroleum, national defense, there is no field that cannot be changed by chemistry]

Si Qi smiled slightly: [And what I am doing now is to change the world]

[Master is so handsome~! ! ! ] Xiu Xiu was so excited when he was told that, he looked at Si Qi with starry eyes, his excitement flying in the space of consciousness: [I can’t wait to see this world become as prosperous as the last world! ! ]

[Of course] Si Qi raised his eyes and looked at the vast blue sky in front of him, with a wanton smile on his lips: [I will make that day come.]

…..

After Si Qi left, the fight between the fourth prince and the crown prince in the court became more and more intense, causing constant turmoil in the court and the public, and even the people outside the palace heard about it.

Naturally, such an important matter could not escape the eyes and ears of the enemy. When the first heavy snowflakes fell on the borders of the capital, a letter rushed from the border arrived at the palace.

Neighboring countries had mobilized their entire country to attack, and the war situation had reached a point where there was no need to delay.

In the original history and the world line changed by the Daughter of the World, the battle for the throne had always been one where one party was strong and the other was weak. There had never been a situation like this where both sides were evenly matched and fighting endlessly.

Probably because of the disputes caused by the struggle for the throne, the enemy countries noticed the opportunity. The war, which was supposed to break out in three months, happened early this winter.

Si Qi said in disbelief: “Why would this happen in such a critical moment?”

Prince: “The fourth prince and the fourth princess completely ignored the safety of the people in the border towns and wholeheartedly opposed me. If I don’t care, the people in these cities will suffer!”

As the prince said, in the world line where Si Qi never came, the daughter of the world was indeed trying to deal with the prince, and trapped the people of the three cities and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield, and let everyone be buried with the prince.

She knew clearly that the prince valued the safety of the people in the world most, so she forcibly suppressed the public opinion of the war faction in the court, preventing the soldiers from going to the battlefield, and preventing money and food from being transported to the border. She wanted to make the prince take the initiative to leave the capital at this critical moment of the struggle for the throne and go to that dangerous place.

If the prince didn’t go, the daughter of the world would rather be defeated, would rather have the people of several cities slaughtered by the enemy and flow into rivers of blood, but she would definitely delay with him to the end.

On the contrary, if the prince relented and took the initiative to ask for help, she would open the door to cooperate with the prince and even hint that she would help him defeat the enemy.

Si Qi looked at Chu Feng helplessly. He was not surprised that the seemingly cold-blooded Crown Prince was so kind. He did not say anything to dissuade him from saying “this is unwise” and said directly: “I will go with you.”

“No!” The prince denied without thinking, “Absolutely not! It’s too dangerous. I can’t protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection.” Si Qi looked at him deeply: “And it is precisely because of the danger that I want to go with you.”

When the prince heard this, he looked at the young man in front of him who he had been missing day and night with mixed emotions. After restraining himself for a long time, he finally hugged him gently: “Meeting you is the greatest luck in my life.”

“Me too.” Si Qi smiled lightly and patted Chu Jie on the back for comfort. His words revealed strong confidence, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you win this war.”

Although the battle was advanced three months and many of Si Qi’s plans were in vain. But even if he only had a few chips on hand, it would be enough for Si Qi to do a lot of things.

Because when he heard the news and rushed over, he ordered his men to bring countless bottles and cans.

Many workers who moved goods did not understand what was in the boxes. If they moved a little rough or made a little loud noise when transporting, they would be yelled at by people in the factory with pale faces, as if they were trying to fight for their lives.

When the workers later learned that it was all filled with the legendary colored glaze, they immediately no longer dared to treat the priceless treasure that was said to be more easily broken than white paper. Their cautious appearance made the craftsmen in the factory heave a sigh of relief. .

In fact, what they care about was not the glass that could be made from sand, but the unspectacular light-colored liquid inside the glass bottle.

Recalling the power that they witnessed with their eyes during the experiment that day…

A few people were so frightened that they shuddered and secretly wondered why they had to take on this unfortunate task of escorting.

The prince spent several days preparing military resources in the capital. During these days, Si Qi was not idle. He stayed in the increasingly functional steam factory all day and night, who knew what he was doing.

A week later, the troops were ready to go. In the farewell of the emperor and many ministers of the people, His Royal Highness led the army to leave the capital and go to the border.

That day, there was heavy snowfall in the capital, and many people were worried about the war situation that would affect the national situation.

The emperor felt deeply guilty that he could not let the prince stay.

If it hadn’t been for his connivance over the years, how could that ambitious couple have grown to where they were today?

After more than half of the ministers in the court knew that they had taken refuge with the Fourth Prince, they had no room to look back. If they didn’t help the fourth prince ascend to the throne, they would never be able to get ahead in their lives! 

In the end, the struggle for imperial power turned into who was more ruthless than the other, and who was more willing to kill more people than the other… Every time the emperor thought about this, he would feel sad and resentful for not seeing through the fourth prince’s true nature earlier.

Perhaps it was because the weather was getting colder and the wind was cold, or maybe it was the worries and hardships in his heart that weighed down his body. The emperor found that his energy was getting weaker and weaker during this period.

After drinking the nourishing ginseng soup in his hand, he didn’t notice the twinkling look in the eunuch’s eyes when he took away the tea cup. The emperor coughed a few times, corrected the memorial in hand, and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to ensure the supply of food and supplies for the prince’s army and not to neglect it.

Then he rubbed his brows tiredly, feeling that his vision was a little dark.