"Come on, try putting these two iron plates together," Roland said.

Anna stretched out her fingers and pressed them on the seam of the iron plate. The flames spewed out between her fingers and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Reduce the firepower and do it again on the back."

She nodded and did it all. The two iron plates were spliced ​​at 90 degrees and were firmly welded together.

Roland carefully checked the interface and found that the effect was as he imagined - a perfect weld without any flaws. If it was slightly polished, the fluid traces of the melted iron were ground off, and the two iron plates were almost no different from the forged body formed in one piece.

"Very good, Miss Anna, it's amazing," Roland couldn't help but exclaim, "Next, let's connect the other two iron plates."

"What is this? An iron made of... a bucket?"

"No, it's a cylinder," he corrected.

"Cylinder?" Anna repeated in confusion.

"Yes, it can be used to fill air," Roland pointed to another square iron plate, "Did you see the small hole above? The air enters the cylinder from this small hole and pushes the piston - uh, the piston is a plate with a smaller inner diameter than the cylinder, which can move freely in the cylinder."

Even Anna was confused in the face of so many life-making words, "What are these... cylinders, pistons, etc. for?"

"To build a machine that can move automatically."

The steam engine brought the driving force needed for the first industrial revolution of mankind, and completely liberated human and animal power.

Its schematic is familiar to every mechanical dog. To put it simply, it is an enlarged version of the boiling kettle. The boiling steam is directed into the cylinder, pushing the piston and connecting rod, converting heat energy into mechanical energy.

The principle is extremely simple, but it does not mean that it is easy to manufacture. Its difficulty lies in the sealing nature of the cylinder and the piston, as well as the manufacturing of gas pipes. When metal processing is not skilled enough, it is a fantasy to use manual forging to create a qualified cylinder.

However, Anna's ability perfectly compensates for the shortcomings in craftsmanship.

As long as Roland designed four iron plates of the same size in advance, cast and polished the blacksmith shop, then fixed the shape with right-angle plates, and then welded by Anna, he could get a square cylinder with extremely high stiffness. With the help of the witch, he did not have to build a cannon boring machine like the traditional production process, and then process a circular cylinder. The same is true for other large parts, which can be made into small pieces and then spliced. In this way, even a small workshop like the blacksmith shop can work together to create all the parts needed for the steam engine.

In fact, before welding was invented, people could only connect small pieces by bolts or riveting, and the inside of the cylinder had to be smooth, and conventional connections obviously could not do this.

The only troublesome thing is the gas pipe. Its production method is nothing special. It burns a long iron plate until red hot, then puts it into a groove mold, and uses a hammer to hit it until it is formed. This is also the method of making the barrel of the flintlock gun. However, the barrel also needs to be straightened afterwards, drilling and rifling, etc., which is more complicated.

The trouble is that Roland could not call the blacksmith to his back garden, and the witch could not be exposed for the time being, and the ironwork was not his strength. In desperation, he had to let the chief knight do it and command it by himself.

After three days of hard work, Roland finally made the first steam engine in the backyard.

"Is this your powerful thing?" Carter frowned and looked at the strange machine. First of all, he was sure that this thing had nothing to do with the cult ritual. Every iron lump on it was installed by him, and it looked like a sealed stove. It would be unreasonable if the devil could be attracted by it.

But how can a bunch of iron lumps move? It looks clumsy and has no feet. Could it be able to fly?

But in Roland's eyes, this seemingly simple machine exudes the beauty of industrial. Standing on the shoulders of the giant, he naturally did not follow the route of the Newcomer steam engine - Watt steam engine - the improved steam engine. His first trial product was a high-pressure steam engine with double links and sliding valves. Its production is no more difficult than the most primitive steam engine. The key lies in some innovations in ideas.

"You'll know later."

Roland poured a bucket of water into the steam room and asked Anna to light the firewood.

After more than ten minutes, the water was boiling and rolling rumbling. Soon, a crackling sound came from the cylinder. Roland knew that it was the sound of the cylinder expanding due to heat. The iron plate of the piston was thinner, and the expansion deformation was larger than that of the cylinder, and it would eventually press firmly against the cylinder wall.

"Isn't this boiling water? I didn't expect it to be a stove," Carter muttered.

When the cylinder was filled with steam, a scene that excited Roland appeared. The piston began to push the connecting rod outward. When it reached its peak, the other connecting rod pulled the sliding valve, and the steam pushed the piston inward. The two connecting rods rotated rapidly with the wheels, and as the firepower increased, the peak quickly reached its peak.

The machine made a harsh roar, and the exhaust port was whimpering and breathing white air, with an unstoppable momentum.

"This is what you said...the power hidden in nature?" Anna asked blankly.

The chief knight was full of disbelief. The last big iron wheel was installed with great effort. Now it rotated like a feather. Standing next to it, you could even feel the airflow caused by the wheels rushing towards you - this only shows that the iron lump in front of you was so powerful that it was amazing.

A hint of uneasiness gradually arose in his heart.

His Highness said that it can replace human and animal power. If it was not a lie to itself, when it replaced horses to pull the chariot, this brute force alone would be difficult for ten knights to resist.

It takes fifteen years to train a qualified knight, but only three days to build an iron furnace like this. It only takes one week to build parts by blacksmith.

It does not need to be fed, it is not afraid of cold and hunger, nor is it afraid of arrows and guns. As long as the corners are installed in front, it can rush around the battlefield.

In this way... is it necessary for traditional knights to exist?

************************

At night, when Roland returned to his bedroom, he met the Nightingale again.

This time she didn't wear a hood, and sat at the table with a smile on her face, fiddling with a few parchment paper in her hand. "It seems that the rumors outside are really unbelievable. It is said that the Fourth Prince is ignorant and has a bad personality, and is actually no less than the court masters. The one drawn on this paper is the design of the iron stove? You call it... a steam engine, right?"

I'll leave some privacy for people? Come whenever I want, leave whenever I want, do you think this is your home! Roland was very worried and replied as if nothing had happened, "It's a design drawing, but without Anna's help, it's just a drawing."

“What can it do?”

"Many, mine transportation, drainage, iron smelting, forging, wherever there is a lot of effort, it can play a role."

"Then I'll take it," Nightingale rolled the parchment and put it in her robe. "There are people in the Co-Assistance Association who can control the flames."

"Hello--"

She waved her hand to stop Roland's protest, "Of course, I'm not taking your stuff for nothing, you can take a look at this first." She put a small ball of white stuff on the table.

Roland walked over and pinched it with his fingers, and found that it was actually a roll of paper.

He spread it gently and glanced, "This is..."

"The secret letter used for the delivery of the pigeon," said Nightingale in a playful tone, "The recipient is your maid, Tir. Tsk, it seems that your harem is not stable."

"I haven't touched her," Roland frowned.

Tyre, in my memory, the woman seemed to have followed her very early. The fourth prince was originally quite interested in her, but she had no choice but to harass her several times. This time, she simply promoted her to the maid and served her closely, and her room was arranged next door. Unexpectedly, it was the suspense arranged by Brother and Sister Wang?

Although the letter was not signed, based on the content, it was probably from the work of those brothers and sisters. The letter said that the last failure made the owner very unhappy. Next time, he took advantage of the riots in the Changge Fortress, he would never allow him to fail again. Well, in fact, you have succeeded, he thought, otherwise he would not have become Roland Wimbledon.

This letter is unlikely to be forged by Nightingale, because only those involved in this conspiracy will clearly know the plan for the first assassination. If Nightingale wants to kill herself, there is no need to be such trouble.

"You stolen it from her?"

"Your maid is not that stupid. She planned to burn after watching it. It's a pity that I happened to be behind her when she watched it," she made a move to adjust the bag, "So, what are you going to do? Do you need my help to "handle" it?"

Roland naturally understood what she said about the treatment. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded, "Please trouble you." He really didn't have the confidence to do this by himself, "If possible... ask me who is behind her."
Chapter completed!