Chapter 4 Development of Electric Power

  The families of the original Jin soldiers moved to Hexi Four Cities one after another, and the families of the Huatian soldiers also found their way there. The population of Hexi Four Cities suddenly increased by a third, and the city was more prosperous than ever before. With no threat of war, some people also abandoned the comfortable environment in the city and moved back to their original villages.

  Many people also moved to the west of the river, as the first batch of pioneers, they received strong support from the official Lei Meng, they built roads for them and helped them build houses.

  Early in the morning, the sunshine is bright and beautiful, with a gentle breeze blowing. On the road to Hexi Bridge, there are endless streams of peasants working in the fields, some carrying shoulder poles, others pushing carts, or leading oxen... In short, it's very lively.

  Lei Meng and Huang Chu, Luo Yang Tian, and Yang Tian walked on the He Xi Bridge, all along the way, there were people greeting them and giving way to them. Lei Meng felt very satisfied and self-satisfied in his heart.

  Huang Chu smiled and said, "General Lei, General Yang, you two are in charge of state affairs and military affairs respectively. Now the four cities on the west bank of the river are truly prosperous and peaceful. It won't be long before the people will want to deify the two of you as gods."

  "I'm afraid you won't be able to escape your share of it either, Mr. Huang!" Luoyang Tian chuckled and said from the side.

  Yang Tian glanced at Luoyang Tian and Huang Chu, chuckled and said: "Everyone has a share, everyone has a share, those who see it have a share."

  "What nonsense!" Leiming said with his hands behind his back, walking and looking at the distant crops. "By the way, where did Meng Fan go?" He turned his head to look at Yang Tian.

  Yang Tian smiled wryly and said, "He ran to Huáng Yuè's martial arts school, saying he wants to spread the ideology and martial arts of Tiān Wǔ Mén." The appearance of Huáng Yuè City had left a deep impression on Yang Tian. He didn't expect Meng Fan would actually go there to spread the teachings of Tiān Wǔ Mén, and only teach the martial arts of Tiān Wǔ Mén, not teaching him or Léi Míng's martial arts, nor the combat skills for killing enemies on the battlefield. This was an attempt to establish a new sect in Huáng Yuè Tiān Mén.

  "Is Heavenly Gate going to openly establish a sect?" Lei Meng was also shocked, how did Heavenly Gate change its usual ways?

  "Maybe they think Huanyue City has enough military strength to protect them." Yang Tian's mouth twitched. In the past two years, they had produced more than 2,000 sniper rifles and steel cannons, as well as over 200 submachine guns, nearly half of which were used in Huanyue, while the rest were deployed in Baishan Department.

  "Hmm, this is also a good thing. It means they rely on us." Luoyang Tian nodded and said.

  "What about Qin Hao and Yang Erwu?" Lei Ming has been busy with production matters lately and hasn't paid attention to their situation.

  "They're either mixed in with the special forces or the elite troops, don't worry, no one can bully them." Yang Tian hummed a tune, during peacetime he didn't have anything to do. It was all left to them to stir up trouble. Old man Yang Fu was immersed in the vast machinery of White Mountain, indulging in various ingenious design ideas and craftsmanship.

  "It seems that there is nothing to keep us busy now, everything has fallen into place, and all we need is the passage of time." Huang Chu Kai stroked his beard with a pleased smile. The prosperity of these four cities on the west bank of the river was indeed largely due to his great efforts.

  Upon hearing this, Lei Meng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Yang Tian, who was equally stunned. He raised an eyebrow and said, "No, there's still much to be done." For the two scientists, literary and military affairs were not their forte; research and development were their strong suits.

  After a moment of silence, Lei Meng looked at the river water under the bridge and sighed: "If there were some more copper mines, the things made would be even richer."

  Huang Chu and Luoyang were puzzled, so Qi furrowed his brow in thought, waiting for the thunder to provide an answer. Yang Tian chuckled and said, "You can send someone to look for copper mines, after all, it's not your first time searching for mines."

  The thunder rumbled and said: "This thing is not so easy to find, it's luck if you run into it, and fate if you can't!"

  "Haha, I have an idea. Since we lack manpower and equipment, why not make more explosives and go to the mountains to blast them! It'll be easier to find minerals once they're blasted open!" Yang Tianyi said with a smile, thinking that even if they didn't hit any minerals, this method of burying explosives would still greatly train the soldiers, who would then have great use on the battlefield.

  Lei Meng rolled his eyes and sighed, "Well, I suppose we have no choice. Without any drilling equipment, it's really troublesome. But if it were on flat ground, wouldn't that be impossible to find?"

  "What you said, can't find is fate!" Yang Tian shrugged his shoulders, with a completely careless attitude.

  The steam engine had been designed and manufactured by Lei Meng earlier, but it was bulky and did not have an electrical output, only mechanical transmission, which was not conducive to large-scale use. Only four were used in the metalworking workshop at Baishan, and two for weaving. He thought that if he could find copper mines, he could make electric wires and widely promote the use of electricity.

  A large amount of explosives began to be manufactured by Yang Tian and was tested by his special forces on the sparsely populated Huanyue Mountain, where loud explosions could be heard from time to time on sunny days, followed by a slight tremor; in Huanyue City, those who knew about it knew that General Yang was opening up the mountain, while those who didn't know thought the ground was going to collapse...

  A month later, the people of Huángyuè City had become accustomed to an afternoon of explosions. After a loud bang, the explosions stopped altogether. It turned out that after Yang Tiān's repeated explorations, a deep explosion had finally led them to discover copper!

  Only one special forces soldier was seen rushing out of the dust, holding a red metal block and shouting: "General Yang, General Yang, take a look at this thing!"

  Yang Tian heard the joyful cry, knew that there was a discovery, and flashed several times to come to the front of the running person, pressed him down with one hand, and stared at the thing in his arms with shining eyes: "Wu Yong, stop! Quickly give me the thing in your hand!"

  Wu Yong was startled at first, but when he saw that it was Yang Tian coming, he happily took out the bright red object from his bosom and handed it over, panting slightly: "General, take a look at this thing."

  That thing was the size of a basketball, but it was completely irregular in shape. It looked fiery red and occasionally reflected metallic luster. Yang Tian stretched out his left hand to hold it lightly, but as soon as he touched it, it felt icy cold and heavy, almost dropping the ore on the ground, scaring him into using all his strength to steady the object in his hand, also saving him from embarrassment.

  Yang Tian looked left and right, but couldn't figure out what it was. He thought it might be red copper, but he needed to confirm the composition. He carried the ore for dozens of meters, found a flat rock, put it down, pulled out a dagger from his foot, and lightly scratched the ore, leaving a deep scratch; with a swift swing of the dagger, the ore was cut off with a "poof" sound, and a small piece fell to the ground.

  Looking at the smooth cut and crimson color, Yang Tian's smile spread from the corner of his eyebrows to his entire face, and then he burst out laughing: "Haha! This is indeed heavenly assistance! This is high-purity copper! Haha!"

  Wu Yong behind him was also overjoyed, after a month of non-stop blasting, the Huáng Yuè Mountain was finally blasted into a rugged terrain, and they finally had a harvest!

  The message and sample were delivered to Baisan's Leimeng the next day. He didn't say a word, took the sample and came to a small laboratory, where he did a chemical test on the sample.

  A blue solution was quickly prepared and this substance is also soft and easy to forge, with excellent ductility. Lei Meng almost certainly confirmed that it was indeed red copper!

  Thus, Huáng Yuè Shān began to vigorously develop mining, a five-meter-wide road was quickly pushed out, steel cables were also pulled straight as an essential tool for transportation, and pulleys were used extensively...

  In the White Mountain City, Lei Meng also personally took up his sword and went into battle. He wanted to use the newly acquired copper wire to make a generator. Although he couldn't find large natural magnetite, he did manage to prepare artificial magnets himself...

  Time flies and three months have passed. Leiming has finally completed the power generation unit and connected it to a newly made steam engine.

  The machine roared into action, with a voltage he didn't know the specifics of, but theoretically estimated to be around 10,000 volts!

  There was no measuring tool, so he brought a large basin of water with two six or seven pound carp in it. Two electric wires were connected and the machine started, causing the two carp to turn over immediately, followed by a surge of steam from the basin, which was too hot.

  The thunder rumbled and his heart was filled with joy, the happiness overflowed from his words. He said to Yang Fu who was watching: "With this electricity, things will be much easier in the future."

  Yang Fu didn't think so, this laborious and crowd-pleasing way of killing two fish, what's the big deal, he thought to himself, but still smiled on his face to accompany his grandson, he was happy, so the old man was happy too, just let him have his fun.

  The days of hard work and dedication are fulfilling and satisfying. In just half a year, Yang Tian successfully developed various hand-cranked generators, which had no other use except for one thing - they were great for electric fishing. With just a shake of the hand, the fish in the water would frantically jump around, and then all you had to do was stop and pick them up...

  The light bulb was also invented, but the voltage was unstable at first, and it would burn out as soon as it lit up, causing Yang Fu, Huang Chu and others to be excited for a moment in the brightness, only to fall back into darkness...

  After several setbacks, Lei Meng finally adjusted the output ratio, and the voltage fluctuated within a very small range. The bulbs no longer burned out easily, and in the hum of the steam engine not far away, the city lord's mansion was finally able to enjoy bright lighting.

  Listening to that noisy sound, Old Man Yang couldn't help but ask: "Lei Meng, can you not let it make a sound over there, yet still enjoy this light?"

  "Okay, okay, just lengthen that line and move the machine a bit further away. We're still in the experimental phase, after all." Lei Meng was also annoyed by the noise, but since they were still in the trial stage and hadn't fully implemented hydroelectric or coal-fired power plants yet...

  "Then you figure out a way to move it, this thing is disturbing the peace, can't even sleep soundly." Yang Fu frowned and started complaining.

  He shrugged and said with a helpless expression: "Just turn off that machine, but then we'll have to light candles again."