Internal Combustion Engine Number One

The group left the meeting place and traveled in batches by carriage to the location of the research lab.

"Veronica, how's the prototype running? It's been almost a month since I last went to the lab."

"My lord, rest assured, we have conducted multiple ignition and durability tests, and it is running very smoothly. The next step is to transport it directly to the Steelworks for loading tests."

Victor nodded, after all, he had great confidence in Veronica.

The research lab is located in a relatively remote area, far from the Wood Fort Town. It is situated on the west bank of the Xishui River in Wood Fort Town, surrounded by pine forests and shrubs, with farmland further away.

From the outset, for the sake of secrecy, Victor chose this location as the site of his research lab. Orlando's Intelligence Department was responsible for security here, with a 20-person security team stationed on-site and equipped with alarm fires.

Three kilometers downstream, there is a garrison camp with two squadrons stationed there to patrol the river. They are fully equipped with horses and can arrive within half an hour if there is any alarm.

Although Victor didn't believe any spies could steal the data and intelligence here, given that the technology here was far more advanced than what was available in this era, he still made meticulous arrangements just in case.

Currently, the situation in the Two Rivers Territory is relatively closed. Foreign caravans are only allowed to stay in Wood Fort Town and Sea Song Town, and are prohibited from passing through other places.

Although the management of the territory has been gradually relaxed, from the initial military control to the gradual opening up now, Victor has always implemented strict trade policies in order to ensure that he has a firm grasp on the market within the territory.

Apart from a few merchant guilds permitted by the Two Rivers Territory, foreign merchant guilds are prohibited from entering the territory for trade. Previously, some small and medium-sized merchant guilds backed by Northern Frontier nobles had expressed their dissatisfaction with this, but after Victor married Viscount Benjamin and became a shareholder of the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce, such discussions completely disappeared.

In fact, the Freemen of the territory have always longed for foreign goods. However, since these Freemen are mostly family members of the territory's soldiers and government employees, under the influence of Victor's low-materialistic atmosphere, these soldiers and civil servants rarely buy consumer goods except for some daily necessities.

However, with the large-scale trade of the Territorial Chamber of Commerce this year, and the frequent arrival of caravans from the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce and the Gorn Trading Company, the consumer market in the territory is gradually becoming more and more active. As the industrial sector of the Two Rivers Territory is gradually completed, it can provide more and more goods.

As the number of Freemen gradually increased, small-scale handicraft industries began to emerge. In addition, the availability of specialty products in the territory's market, such as White Sugar priced much lower than outside, and the presence of linen, cotton, and yarn provided by the territory, attracted a large number of Freemen to purchase them.

Victor's mind raced quickly. Considering the need to improve the territory's internal market, Victor simply assigned a task to Number One: "Number One, is there any way to make the territory's internal market more orderly and ensure that the territory's funds can be effectively circulated internally without any outflow?"

"Victor, we could consider establishing a system similar to Supply and Marketing Cooperative and marketing cooperative to improve the economic cycle within the territory. We could set up government-run shops in various settlements throughout the territory to sell products from within the territory, while also introducing goods from the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce and the Gorn Trading Company to compete."

"Then let the Calculation Module come up with a solution, and then let Rabik execute it."

"Okay, Victor, mission established."

Just then, the carriage arrived at its destination.

After getting off the bus, they saw several two-story buildings, constructed with a large amount of bricks and cement, which Victor himself designed.

Veronica led the group into the largest building, where each floor was very tall, about four or five meters high, to facilitate the placement and manufacture of large equipment.

Once inside, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

A colossal steel behemoth appeared before people's eyes. It wasn't very tall, about two meters, but it was a full ten meters long. The oil pipes, as thick as tree trunks, the dense array of bolts, and the massive cylinders would make people instinctively hold their breath.

The machine was entirely black and gray, like a beast lying dozing. When Powell, Weber, and Orlando first saw it, they were all somewhat afraid and dared not approach it, as if this giant beast might wake up from its slumber at any moment and tear them apart.

Victor looked at the machine with satisfaction. Judging from the prototype, it was very well completed. After all, the blueprints for this low-speed diesel engine were designed by Number One using the Calculation Module and drawn by him stroke by stroke. He was very familiar with this machine.

Even when not in use, this machine has a more industrial feel than "Steel Mill Number One". It is constructed entirely of metal and uses a lot of modern technology. The single cylinder is cast in one piece by sand casting with extremely thick inner walls, and is then trimmed by hand bit by bit. The oil pipes are also made of rolled iron sheets produced by Steelworks, and all the joints are made of cast copper, because it is easier to process than steel and is suitable for making sealed parts.

However, to others, they couldn't distinguish the function and differences of these parts; they only felt that they were enormous and mysterious.

"Veronica, please introduce this device to everyone."

"This equipment is called Internal Combustion Engine Number One. It uses Sunflower Oil as fuel. This is the combustion chamber, and above it is the plunger pump. The fuel enters the combustion chamber from here and is ignited with air under high pressure. After ignition, it can output a continuous power through the cylinder, piston, connecting rod, and flywheel. We have made a body for it, and the wheels are specially made so that it can run on rails."

Veronica paused for a moment, then said, "This machine weighs a full 8 tons. After testing, we found that it can pull three fully loaded 20-ton carriages on the tracks at a speed of 5 to 6 kilometers per hour. Although it seems a bit slower than a horse-drawn carriage, as long as there is a supply of fuel, this machine can keep moving forward. This fuel tank can hold one ton of Sunflower Oil, enough for it to travel on the tracks for a day and a night, covering a distance of 140 kilometers."

Powell immediately realized, "Ms. Veronica, you mean this machine can pull 20 tons of cargo and run for more than 100 kilometers without stopping?"

"That's not the case, Manager Powell."

Powell breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he had indeed misheard. Weber and Orlando also relaxed.

"Each carriage is fully loaded with 20 tons, and there are three carriages in total, with a total load weight of 60 tons."

Powell and his colleagues exchanged bewildered glances; the truth was even more shocking to them.

Weber exclaimed, "In that case, with just one machine, at least 900 tons of iron ore can be shipped to Steelworks every month."

"Actually, it still needs maintenance and repair. It can only transport a maximum of seven or eight hundred tons of ore. Moreover, this machine is too heavy. Running on the iron-clad wooden rails for a long time will damage the rails." Veronica was still not satisfied.