Xu Mochen wasn't worried about this sort of problem. Instead, he took a set of blueprints from his Storage Soul Tool. They showed the Soul Guidance Steam Engine he had designed after adapting it to local conditions.
"That's not a problem. We can solve it by using a separate condenser and adding an insulating layer around the cylinder, among other methods. Specifically, we can do this..." Xu Mochen then launched into a lengthy explanation of his design concepts and ideas to Kong Dehan, pointing at the blueprints he had drawn.
Although Blue Star's technological development had taken a different path from that of the Sun Moon Continent, some design ideas and principles could still achieve much the same results. Xu Mochen had needed only one night to come up with a working design.
"This... this is... good heavens, how did you think of all this? This is just..." Kong Dehan was once again so shocked that his jaw dropped. His entire worldview came crashing down! Xu Mochen's design hadn't yet been tested in practice, but in theory, it perfectly solved the problems faced in designing a Soul Guidance Steam Engine.
When the time came, the appearance of a Soul Guidance Steam Engine powered by Soul Coal would no longer be a dream! He had lived for so long, yet he had never spent two days in a row as full of surprises as these last two. Xu Mochen's wisdom couldn't be described as merely genius; he was a freak of nature! How had he never noticed the boy's talent before?
Kong Dehan had even begun to wonder whether the Crown Prince before him had been replaced by someone else. But the thought had barely occurred to him before he swiftly dismissed it. At least, as far as he knew, nothing that absurd had ever happened.
Could it be that the Crown Prince had received guidance from his ancestors? That had to be it! Unable to think of any other possibility, Kong Dehan could only attribute it to the wisdom of the ancestors. Otherwise, he couldn't understand why a six-year-old child who had once seemed so ordinary could possess such heaven-defying intelligence!
Xu Mochen clearly hadn't paid the slightest attention to Kong Dehan's reaction. He simply waved a hand and said, "That's not the point. The point is, can we try putting my idea to the test?"
Kong Dehan froze for a moment, then immediately nodded, overcome with excitement. "Of course we can! Your Highness, I'll arrange for people to begin analyzing and building it right away. If your design really works, the development of Soul Guidance Technology in the Sun Moon Empire will surely enter an entirely new era."
Kong Dehan was indeed an expert in Soul Tools. With a single glance, he had seen what an enormous transformation such a machine would bring to society if they succeeded in building it.
"I have no doubt about that, either." Xu Mochen didn't feign modesty. He said with confidence, "I already have a comprehensive plan. Once this new type of Soul Guidance Steam Engine is developed, we can use it not only in industrial production lines, but also in agriculture, transportation, machinery operation, and all sorts of other fields. I have some other design ideas, too..."
After that, Xu Mochen and Kong Dehan threw themselves into a spirited discussion. Every now and then, they took out a few blueprints to point at, scribble on, and sketch over. They lost track of time and even forgot to eat dinner, planning late into the night. In the end, it had gotten so late that Xu Mochen had no choice but to return to the imperial palace. He left beneath Kong Dehan's reluctant gaze.
In the days that followed, Xu Mochen became utterly swamped. He had to cultivate, handle government affairs, and work with Kong Dehan on Soul Tools. Kong Dehan was indeed highly capable. In less than ten days, he and a group of Soul Tool designers had successfully built the new Soul Guidance Steam Engine.
After one experiment after another, followed by revisions and refinements, they finally did it—with the help of Xu Mochen's advanced theoretical knowledge. In just fifteen days, they had completed a new Soul Guidance Steam Engine that was fully suitable for industrial production.
As steam billowed from the new Soul Guidance Steam Engine while it burned Soul Coal, and it rumbled again and again as it ran, a burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted throughout the royal research institute.
A group of white-haired Soul Tool designers celebrated this historic moment like innocent children! Xu Mochen wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long breath. All his hard work these past few days had finally paid off.
"Old Qin, it looks like a miracle has been born in our hands," Kong Dehan said excitedly to the Soul Tool designer beside him. "It does. Even now, I can hardly believe we really succeeded! We owe it all to His Highness!" The designer Kong Dehan called Old Qin also looked quite excited.
Old Qin's full name was Qin Huaiyuan, and he was the vice president of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Research Institute. Like Kong Dehan, he was a renowned Level 9 Soul Tool designer. When he had first heard of Kong Dehan and Xu Mochen's plan to build a Soul Guidance Steam Engine, he had been somewhat dismissive. After all, even he hadn't believed they could build such an incredible machine so easily. For a while, he had even wondered whether Kong Dehan was getting old and losing his mind.
It wasn't until Qin Huaiyuan had examined the blueprints and plans drawn up by Kong Dehan and Xu Mochen that he had been deeply impressed by their wisdom and joined the project!
If Qin Huaiyuan had once thought Xu Mochen was merely a six-year-old child with a fondness for wild ideas, he now saw him as a super-genius more formidable than himself! The other Soul Tool designers were just as awestruck by Xu Mochen. Only now had they truly and completely submitted to him.
"Actually, you seniors don't need to praise me. Without your combined efforts, there's no telling how long it would have taken me to build a new Soul Guidance Steam Engine on my own." After a brief show of modesty, Xu Mochen's expression turned serious. "But, seniors, all we've done so far is build a basic steam engine. If we want to put Soul Guidance Steam Engines to real use in industry, agriculture, and other fields, we still need to produce the equipment that goes with them. I have some ideas about that, too."
With that, Xu Mochen picked up his tools, spread out the blueprints, and began to design. The other Soul Tool designers no longer looked down on him as they had at first. Instead, they hurried over, jostling one another to study Xu Mochen's designs, afraid they might miss even the smallest detail.
Xu Mochen already had his own plan for manufacturing the equipment needed to accompany the steam engines. First, he intended to use the Sun Moon Royal Group, which belonged directly to the imperial family, to establish a number of Soul Guidance Steam Engine factories and build up a large enough stockpile of engines.
Next, he would build prototypes of the Soul Guidance Steamship and Soul Guidance Steam Train he had designed, along with various agricultural and industrial Soul Tool machines compatible with the Soul Guidance Steam Engine.
Then, while attracting merchants to place advance orders for these derivative products, he would urge the National Congress to allocate funds to pre-order the Sun Moon Royal Group's new equipment. Once they had raised enough money, they would build the relevant production lines and manufacture the related products in batches.
Of course, there was no way to count on other groups not taking the opportunity to copy his technology. But he wasn't worried, because under the Sun Moon Empire Constitution and Patent Law, he and the Sun Moon Royal Group held thirty-year patent rights for the Soul Guidance Steam Engine and its derivatives.
In other words, for thirty years, any company that wanted to copy the Sun Moon Royal Group's Soul Guidance Steam Engine would need permission from him and the Sun Moon Royal Group. Otherwise, they could be hit with enormous fines and other penalties under the law. Surely even the other members of the Ten Great Families wouldn't dare openly defy the laws of the Sun Moon Empire.
However, Xu Mochen didn't intend to stop other families from researching and developing Soul Guidance Steam Engines. After all, although he was chairman of the Sun Moon Royal Group, he was also the Crown Prince of this country and its Hidden Emperor. The interests of the empire came first in his heart. So not only would he refrain from obstructing other groups' research and development of Soul Guidance Steam Engines, he would even proactively provide them with technical references and blueprints.
Of course, they would have to pay Xu Mochen a hefty patent and technology fee. He wasn't running a charity, after all. If he wanted to carry out even more ambitious research projects, he would need more research funding.
Many people might wonder: if Xu Mochen was both the Crown Prince and the Hidden Emperor, why couldn't he simply transfer money from the national treasury to the Sun Moon Royal Group?
That came down to the political system of the Sun Moon Empire. As mentioned earlier, after the God-Emperor War, the current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire and the Great Merchants and New Nobility factions had reached a compromise and established the National Congress to limit the emperor's power. Even though the emperor still wielded great authority, he no longer held the supreme, unchallenged position of the past.
First, according to the Sun Moon Empire Constitution, the National Congress and the emperor both had the power to make laws and to interpret, supervise, amend, and repeal them. However, laws passed by the National Congress required the approval of more than half its members before they could take effect. Although the emperor could also make laws, his laws could not conflict with those passed by the National Congress. If they did, the laws passed by the National Congress took precedence.
The emperor had the power to veto individual provisions of a law and could amend or repeal them, but only if fewer than two-thirds of the members of the National Congress supported keeping those provisions. Otherwise, the veto was invalid. At the same time, the emperor had no authority to freely allocate money from the national treasury. Any withdrawal of treasury funds, including one made by the emperor, had to be approved by the National Congress. If the Congress refused, the emperor couldn't move a single coin.
Of course, the National Congress also set aside a private allowance for the royal family. It was the emperor's salary and could be spent as he wished, but it wasn't especially large. It was more than enough to cover the royal family's regular expenses, but it would have been rather tight if he wanted to use it to accomplish anything major.
In addition, the National Congress of the Sun Moon Empire also held other powers over the empire's administrative officials, including the authority to appoint them, oversee them, impeach them, and try them. Its powers were undeniably extensive.
The Sun Moon Royal Group was privately owned by the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire and was also the empire's most powerful business group. Although the group belonged to the two imperial families, the Xu and Kong clans, it received no direct support from the imperial government. In other words, despite being an imperial group, the Sun Moon Royal Group competed with other enterprises on relatively equal terms, operated by board vote, and was responsible for its own profits and losses.
As for whether he could persuade the other members of the Sun Moon Royal Group's board to approve his plan? Well, the Xu family's successive emperors had always been the group's largest shareholders. After the late emperor's death, Xu Mochen himself had naturally become the Sun Moon Royal Group's largest shareholder. The second-largest shareholder was none other than Kong Dehan, the group's vice chairman and president of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Research Institute.
Xu Mochen had already presented his plan to Kong Dehan and received his support. Their shares alone added up to more than fifty percent of the Sun Moon Royal Group's total shares, so approval of his plan was already all but guaranteed.
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