Just as Zhao Liang set off to leave Chenzhou to head north, several large boxes finally arrived at their destination after experiencing thousands of miles of sea routes and thousands of miles of land routes and water routes.

This is a batch of steam engines purchased from the UK.

In June this year, the British delivered the goods as scheduled.

Qidian did not personally escort the things back to Chenzhou this time, but he arranged a total of thirty guards for these boxes.

Two 16-horsepower Newcastle steam engines, two 16-horsepower Bolton-Watt steam engines, and a 30-horsepower Bolton-Watt steam engine.

For this, Zhao Liang paid a high price of 15,000 taels of silver.

Even though these things are second-hand goods, they are all old goods removed by the British from their own company's factories. Even if the two 16-horsepower Newcastle steam engines are completely gifts from the British East India Company, the steam engine is so expensive.

In the UK, a 16-horsepower Newcastle steam engine costs 200 pounds, a 16-horsepower Bolton-Watt steam engine costs 800 pounds, and a 30-horsepower price is as high as 1,500 pounds. The high price is an important factor restricting the promotion of steam engines. In fact, until 1815, hydraulic machines still dominated the British textile industry.

So Hodgson's three Watt steam engines asked Zhao Liang for a full 15,000 taels of silver, which was not a big conscience.

In 1717, Newton set the price of gold at 3 pounds per ounce, 17 shillings 10 and 10 half pennies. Since then, pounds have a fixed ratio to gold, which is the earliest prototype of the gold standard. Today, 1 pound can buy 7.3224 grams of gold. At the current price of gold and silver, 1 pound is equivalent to three taels of silver.

Hodgson's three Watt steam engines cost 1,200 pounds for 16 horsepower, and 30 horsepower doubled to 3,000 pounds. After the starting point, the price was bargained to 2,500 pounds. In addition, two worthless Newcastle steam engines cost 5,000 pounds and 15,000 taels of silver, nothing wrong.

Five steam engines were sent to Longlukou, not Ruzhou Mine or Zhoujiakou, because their "responsibilities" were not for work at all, but for the masters of the Zhao family to study.

Regardless of whether the principles can be understood or not, please try to imitate them first.

Anyway, the steam engine was not too complicated at this time.

After taking off that magical halo and looking at it with a realistic look, the truth is not complicated.

Although the masters of the Zhao family are far worse than those of Watt, they only talk about the skill of hitting iron and bronze ware, and they are not inferior to those of the top colleagues in the UK.

Zhao Tong was responsible for a series of assembly work of the steam engine. This man was Qidian's brother-in-law. When he was ordering the steam engine from the British, Qidian didn't think of sending someone to study. Fortunately, Huosen had a very thoughtful idea and didn't have much tricks Qidian. There was still a lot of information that was sent to the steam engine together.

Zhao Tong has learned English well, so this time I will be back as a translator.

Along the way, he repeatedly studied and pondered the materials. When the people and the machinery returned to Longlukou, Zhao Tong had already mastered the series of structures of the steam engine.

The Zhao family had long received Zhao Liang's advice to provide these devices with conditions.

So soon Zhao Tong directed people to assemble a Newcastle steam.

Next to a well in the technical school? There is a steam engine that is much larger than the size of a cow, and is sitting there? It is spitting out white smoke and making huge noise.

A large group of technical school teachers watching the fun around them? And the Zhao family.

Before, no one knew what a steam engine was? These people now have only limited their understanding and impression of steam engines.

No one is gossiping about it, everyone is just watching the excitement? This is mainly because Zhao Liang has established a deep prestige in the Zhao family.

Not to mention 15,000 taels of silver, that is the sale of 100,000 taels of silver is ruined? No one would think that Zhao Liang’s sin is unforgivable.

Now everyone is more curious in their hearts.

"It's out of water? It's really out of water..."

A group of people shouted loudly. It's so amazing!

It’s obvious that this thing is just burning coal, how can it pump water? It’s incredible.

Moreover, the amount of water outlet is also very large. It can be seen that the depth of this well is a piece of cake for this steam engine. That means that this thing can really go to the mine to pump water from the mine...

"The ability of Westerners to be strange and lewd skills? The skillful and skillful? It's really incredible."

Grandpa Liang shook his head and said, shaking his head.

From the shuttle machine, to the Jenny machine, and the water conservancy and textile machine, just a few equipment can actually increase the output of cotton yarn and cloth more than ten times. What a powerful force this is.

Although Grandpa Liang is an old scholar? He is not a nerd who studies hard. How could he not know the profound impact of the price reduction of cloth and cotton yarn?

This mechanical power cannot be underestimated.

Dad Zhao, who was standing by, nodded with consent. The three views of the father-in-law and son-in-law have always been very consistent.

Both of them only see the surface? And never thought about it carefully, how much impact will this phenomenon have on the traditional small peasant family economy in China?

Then large-scale equipment such as hydrolooms are not something that ordinary people can own at home? Once it is really promoted and popularized in China, cotton yarn, the price reduction of cloth will only be more low-key than it is now? This will have a disastrous impact on the people.

From cotton to cotton yarn, then from cotton yarn to cotton cloth.

The original means of production of cotton could have been deeply processed by the common people and then converted into a larger quantity of profits, but now the profit has been greatly reduced, and even the common people do not even need to carry out deep processing. This has a profound impact on any small peasant family.

Don’t think that the people of Dazhaozhuang are rich, or the people of Longlukou are rich, the people of the whole world will be rich.

That's nonsense.

Let’s see, wait for another three to five years, and when some machinery becomes more popular, it becomes more common, and when shuttles and water conservancy and textile machines become more common, the harm to small farmers’ families will begin to be revealed.

Tens of thousands of small peasant families affected and impacted, and even hundreds of millions of bankrupt farmers, would only make the harsh situation in the Qing Dynasty worse.

In contrast, the benefits of casting silver dollars are simply insignificant.

But this is also more beneficial to Zhao Liang's grand career, right?

Anyway, this is a necessary pain during the period of social change. Everyone will endure it and it will pass.

Not too long?

When Mr. Zhao overthrew the Qing Dynasty and moved around to relocate and immigrate, wouldn’t the good days of the big guy come?

There are so many lands in all directions waiting for everyone to reclaim and build.
Chapter completed!