Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1124

A gentle breeze tugged at his robe, and the golden sunlight shone on his face.

Standing in front of the Imperial Study, Xiao Ming said with emotion, “In the end, the purpose of my actions is to strengthen the cultural identity of the colonies with the Empire. I am not worried that they will become independent in the future. What I am worried about is that one day, they will forget their history and culture and see their own brothers as enemies.”

Qian Dafu pondered for a moment when he heard this. He said, “Your Majesty’s concern is not without reason. If one day some people forget their ancestors and the blood that flows in their veins, that would be truly terrifying. If that were the case, leaving the imperial bloodline in the colonies would be extremely important, as at least the imperial family would not forget their own history.”

Xiao Ming nodded. This was his purpose for risking the opposition of the ministers. After all, in the history of his time, whether it was Goryeo, Japan, or Annam, their ancestors all came from the land of Huaxia.

But the evolution of time had turned them into enemies of Huaxia. This kind of cultural erasure was a very terrifying thing.

The first generation might remember where they came from and their own history, but after a few generations of cultural erasure, they would completely forget and become a completely different group of people.

So, to minimize this possibility, he would strictly require that the history of the Empire be strengthened in the education of the colonies.

But at the same time, he would also make the royal family a symbol of the colonies. This kind of symbol was like the current Queen of England’s relationship with Britain.

As long as the imperial bloodline existed, the common people would not forget their history.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming’s idea became even more firm. No matter where the Empire’s system went in the future, the royal family would be engraved on the wheels of history as a symbol of the Empire.

While the two were talking, the telephone rang.

Xiao Ming’s pensive expression turned into one of joy after he answered the telephone. He hung up the telephone and said to Qian Dafu, “The Empire’s industry seems to be taking another step forward. The Department of Machinery has successfully manufactured a series of lathes with a precision of micrometers.”

“Micrometers? Ten-thousandths of a millimeter?” Qian Dafu asked with some uncertainty. He did not know much about industry.

“That’s right, it’s equivalent to 0.01 millimeters. With this kind of high-precision lathe, the Empire will be able to manufacture even more complex industrial products,” Xiao Ming said happily.

In his opinion, a country’s industrial capacity depended on two things: one was energy, and the other was lathes. This was because only with these two technologies could raw materials be turned into industrial products.

“0.01 millimeters? How small is that?” Qian Dafu could not help but laugh.

“You will know once you see it.” Xiao Ming walked outside, with Qian Dafu following closely behind.

The former Department of Machinery had now become the Empire’s Lathe Research Center, and Zhang Liu was the current head of the department.

After the two of them arrived at the department, they saw all kinds of lathes in the factory’s workshop, including milling machines, drilling machines, grinding machines, and gear cutting machines.

“Your Majesty, this is a complete set of micrometer-level lathes,” Zhang Liu said.

The current Zhang Liu’s black hair had already turned gray. The passage of time had left traces of age on his face.

Xiao Ming walked past these machine tools one by one, as if he were looking at the Empire’s future.

“After the millimeter-level lathes were developed, your humble servant led the Department of Machinery to work on developing micrometer-level lathes. We first used the millimeter-level lathes to produce the tools needed for micrometer-level lathes. However, millimeter-level lathes can only produce millimeter-level tools. To make the tools micrometer-level, we still need the meticulous craftsmanship of artisans. Sometimes, it takes several months to craft a single tool,” Zhang Liu said with great emotion.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. The Empire’s industry being able to reach this level after more than two decades of development was already a miracle.

This was because the manufacturing of machine tools alone showed that establishing an industry from scratch required a step-by-step approach. The Empire had no way of obtaining ready-made industrial products from other countries, especially lathes.

“The machine tools here were not easy to make, but you cannot relax now. The precision requirements for lathes are infinite. Micrometers are only the beginning. However, your contributions are also obvious. With this batch of micrometer-level master machines, we can mass-produce subordinate machines.” Xiao Ming said.

Zhang Liu smiled. The biggest challenge in the leap from millimeters to micrometers was the first batch of master lathes.

But once they had overcome this difficulty, the master lathes could easily produce subordinate lathes of the same micrometer level.

“We can begin mass production at any time.” Zhang Liu was very confident.

Xiao Ming showed a satisfied expression. He immediately commended the personnel of the Department of Machinery who had participated in the research and development of the machine tools. Just as the atmosphere was getting lively, a commotion suddenly rang out from outside the Department of Machinery.

It turned out that Chen Qi, Song Changping, Lin Wentao, Lu Tong, and others had all come after hearing the news.

“Zhang Liu, you must give the first batch of lathes to our machinery factory. We have now fully grasped the technology for steam turbines, and we are just waiting for these precision machine tools to produce the parts,” Lin Wentao shouted before he even arrived in front of them.

Chen Qi said, “If you are to give them to anyone, you should give them to our military industry. A lot of our weapons are still in the blueprint stage, waiting for precision machine tools to be produced. Can a steam turbine be as important as a howitzer?”

“My automatic weapons are also very urgent. Don’t argue with me…”

The four of them argued all the way as they walked. Everyone wanted to be the first to get their hands on the precision machine tools.

Zhang Liu smiled bitterly. He did not want to offend anyone and just looked at Xiao Ming, gesturing for them to ask the Emperor.

Xiao Ming had long had his own plan. In his opinion, the Empire’s top priority now was to develop its navy and improve the performance of its warships.

This was because the Empire could no longer be just a powerful land nation. It also had to become a powerful naval nation. After all, with the increase in the number of colonies, the Empire’s overseas interests were becoming more and more important.

Without a powerful navy, it would be impossible to effectively govern the colonies and control Europe.

So he said, “The first batch of lathes will be given to Lin Wentao. The steam turbine is the most urgent matter at the moment. If the steam turbine can be successfully developed, the Empire will be able to make a leap in both power generation and the performance of its warships.”

Compared to a traditional steam engine, a steam turbine could be said to be an upgraded version. Its performance was not just a little better. Even modern-day nuclear power plants and aircraft carriers still used steam turbines.

Once the Empire manufactured steam turbines and put them into use, the Empire’s warships would be completely transformed, and the Empire would enter the dreadnought era of World War II ahead of time.

Lin Wentao’s face showed a triumphant expression. He knew he would win because the steam turbine was too important.

Xiao Ming looked at the other three. He said, “But you do not have to worry. Now that we have the master machine, the speed of producing the subordinate machines will be very fast. Even if it is a bit late, it will not be by more than a few days.