Chapter 1257 State Machinery
"I need to expand an ammonia plant and a nitrate plant. You should have already prepared for this, right?" Roland asked.
Previously, both of them were stuck on the catalyst, which had been solved by the abilities of Agatha and Baizhi, and the output was always maintained at a level that was neither high nor low. It is much higher than the original saltpeter acid-making method, but it is limited by the witch's magic power and population and cannot further expand the scale.
Since the complete periodic table of elements was completed, the chemistry laboratory immediately focused on establishing sample specimens. With the help of Lucia's element separation, the Ministry of Chemical Industry has now matched the elements on the table with the actual specimens one by one. This makes some rather rare substances no longer unfamiliar, such as platinum, rhodium, etc., commonly used catalysts in industrial nitrate production.
Perhaps in terms of efficiency, it cannot compare to Agatha and Blank Paper, but as long as there are people, any factory can be built. As the saying goes, quantity is not enough for quality, and the former is impossible to talk about without witches.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Kaimo said slowly, "We have technically verified its principle and created a small reaction vessel to simulate the synthesis process. As long as we have enough manpower, we can start construction at any time."
"I can provide you with literate immigrants first, and get ready after the meeting." Roland paused, "In addition, I plan to open a new production line for the manufacture of lead-acid batteries."
The Minister of Chemical Industry did not show any signs of abnormality. Others may not know what this thing is, but he has already read through the junior and secondary chemistry books by heart, and has memorized all the contents.
Lead-acid batteries also have a popular name, which is a battery. The materials used are extremely simple. They only require lead, lead dioxide and dilute sulfuric acid. It is not difficult for the Alchemy Association, let alone the current Ministry of Chemical Industry. Using electrolyte solution to light a bright lamp is also a very classic experiment in high school chemistry. .
The advantage of the battery is that it can be recharged and used repeatedly, and you only need to replenish it with pure water every once in a while. The difficulty of manufacturing lead and lead dioxide plates is close to zero. They were not produced before because they were narrowly used and were not a high priority in the case of insufficient population.
"The amount you need is approximately..." Kaimo took out a small notebook and recorded it.
"One hundred units a month is enough," Roland replied.
The battery is mainly used to start the cold engine of the piston machine. As the most dazzling industrial crown in Neverwinter, it is really out of style to have the ground crew shake the biplane for a long time when it takes off. In the past, it was just that there were not enough people. Now that Neverwinter has been supplemented by a large number of immigrants, naturally it does not have to be so constrained.
With more people, you can do whatever you want.
"With such a small quantity, the factory can recruit a dozen new people to complete it," Kaimo said, twirling his beard. "Of course, the manufacturing of lead plates, shells and other components requires the help of Her Highness Anna."
"If you can provide detailed drawings, the Ministry of Industry will have no problem." Anna nodded.
"Then Rong Chen will think about it for a few days and then send the drawings."
Roland took a sip of tea with satisfaction. After several years of training, the Administration Department is now full of talents, and cross-department cooperation has become the norm. This means that he only needs to start many new projects, and then someone will complete them.
"Next is the task of the Ministry of Industry——"
After the Battle of Taquila, his mind had a lot of things that needed to be improved and added, and now he could finally let go and get started.
The first urgent need is to improve the combat capabilities of the infantry squad.
It is the so-called universal machine gun plan.
Use lighter materials to reproduce the Mark I heavy machine gun, and optimize its structure so that the gun body and gun frame can be separated and carried by a single person, and the ammunition is fed by ammunition trays or magazine clips, so that it can be used whenever encountering an enemy. Can immediately launch a counterattack. Even if the opponent is a high-level devil, as long as he is not suddenly attacked, he can still provide fire suppression and create opportunities for the anti-devil grenadier.
Since there are no major changes to the structure, the focus of lightweighting falls on materials. For example, aluminum alloys and plastic-like products made from rubber bug slime - the output of both is not high, and the demand for biplanes is huge, so the output will not be high.
But something is better than nothing, not to mention that Sky Knight also needs a machine gun. Putting this project on the agenda can be said to serve multiple purposes.
In Roland's mind, even if the First Army goes to fight in Wolf Heart and Eternal Winter, it should still maintain local superiority in troops and firepower against the enemy as much as possible. Only elite teams tasked with special tasks such as reconnaissance, cover, and rescue will be equipped with this weapon.
In addition, the semi-automatic rifle modified by Vanner has been transferred to the arsenal for formal production, and is currently replacing the bolt-action rifle at a ratio of 1:5, which means that one out of five people will hold a "Vanner rifle." The reason why it has not been completely replaced is that in addition to concerns about logistical pressure, the exposure of the linkage mechanism leads to reduced durability and easy jamming of the shot.
However, its effect on improving the firepower of soldiers is real.
Next is the biplane - after nearly four months of high-intensity testing, the first-generation biplane has been finalized and named "Skyfire". It is not much different from the "unicorn", and the structure cannot be called complex when taken apart. However, if it is really left to ordinary workers to produce and assemble, how high the yield rate can be is still a question. As for the engine, Anna can still only rely on Anna to make it in the short term.
Even so, Roland still plans to gather all the best workers in the industrial zone to overcome this difficulty. It has been more than three years since the first steam engine factory was established today, and those blacksmith apprentices have also transformed from wielding hammers to masters of operating machine tools. To what extent Neverwinter City's manufacturing level has been accumulated, now is the best time to test it.
If you want to curb the Terror Beast's maneuverability, seizing the sky is the only way to cure it.
And "Sky Fire" is undoubtedly just the beginning.
Finally, it is designed to deal with the new spider-shaped monsters that appeared in the devil and the deficiencies exposed by the First Army - Roland plans to add a new small-caliber artillery between the mortar and the fortress cannon to be used for attacking and confronting. Abnormal beast. Its size is tentatively determined to be a 75mm short tube. It does not rely on hummingbird weight reduction and hardened roads, and can also move with the army. Usually one or two horses can be used for towing, but when there are no horses, people can also be used.
This kind of infantry cannon has no technical difficulty. It can be started by recruiting some workers from the original artillery factory to bring in new ones - but before that, he must first complete the trial production and test firing of the prototype cannon.
Roland and Anna have discussed these contents in private countless times, and there is no need to explain them in detail. They can easily understand them in one sentence.
Nearly ten factories were built at the same time, and 20,000 to 30,000 people were invested in the new project at one time. It can be regarded as the most ambitious manufacturing plan since the establishment of Neverwinter City.
And with the acceleration of immigration, this pace will not stagnate, but will intensify.
The machine called "the state" has been activated.