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Chapter 1305: The Divine Tool

Although Prussia had formally returned Poznan and the port of Gdańsk, which it had previously occupied, to Poland, was it truly so easy to resolve such deep-seated animosity?

On stage, the master of ceremonies continued to receive small balls from Prince Charles, opening them to announce: "Second Group...

"Third Group...

"Northwest European Bracket, First Group—Brunswick, Hesse, Bavaria, and Thuringia!

"Second Group—the Netherlands, Flanders, Oldenburg, and Cologne..."

Indeed, what appeared to be random lottery groupings had actually been subjected to some "behind-the-scenes" intervention by Joseph, primarily to ensure each group was packed with compelling matchups—

either two nations with a generations-long feud, Catholic teams clashing with Protestant teams, or sides that had recently fought tooth and nail on the battlefield.

By the time the drawing ceremony concluded, and Joseph and his entourage returned to Versailles, it was not yet six in the evening.

As Joseph stepped down from his carriage, he saw his father's attendant approaching swiftly, bowing deeply as he said, "Your Highness, His Majesty the King is waiting for you."

The King's attendant quickly stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, His Majesty is at the Engineering Design Institute."

"Oh, right."

Joseph promptly turned around, but he didn't get back into the carriage—about a hundred meters west of the Marble Courtyard was a wooden rail track, where small carts, pulled by a steam winch, could go directly to the Design Institute. This service was exclusively for the King.

Indeed, having the Engineering Design Institute located just two kilometers from the palace, was quite a unique feature of France in this era.

Joseph, guessing what it might be, asked with some anticipation, "Has the steam forging machine made a breakthrough?"

The King's attendant paused, then bowed slightly, saying, "Forgive me, Your Highness, His Majesty has forbidden me from telling you."

Alright. Joseph's heart settled with certainty. 'It seems the steam forging machine really has made progress,' he thought.

True enough, when he arrived at the Engineering Design Institute, Louis XVI eagerly led him into a workshop, pointing at a machine specifically covered with a tarpaulin, standing as tall as three men, and exclaimed excitedly, "My dear Joseph, I have the finest gift in the world for you!"

Joseph quickly played along, feigning surprise: "What is it, Father? I'm so excited!"

Louis XVI gestured to the technicians nearby, and immediately several men stepped forward to pull back the tarpaulin, revealing the black, gleaming steel 'behemoth' within.

At that moment, Louis XVI showed no signs of his usual social awkwardness, and, pulling his son along, he rattled on excitedly, "Look! It has a 7.2-ton steel forging hammer, controlled by dual hydraulic rods, capable of striking 70 times per minute, with a precision exceeding 0.8 centimeters!"

This time, Joseph wasn't just humoring his father; he spoke genuinely from the heart: "You are truly magnificent! This is what I, and France, need most right now!"

Louis XVI continued, fervent with enthusiasm, "It's good that you like it. Oh, and most importantly, its stability is completely beyond doubt. Extensive prior testing has shown it can operate continuously for 40 hours before a single malfunction."

He glanced towards a High-Precision Milling Machine in the corner: "It's entirely thanks to the exquisite craftsmanship of this 'gentleman' that parts identical to my designs were produced, otherwise, this forging machine could not possibly be so reliable."

He suddenly remembered something, and gestured somewhat awkwardly towards the dozen or so technicians standing on the west side of the workshop: "Ah, of course, Monsieur Noiret and his team also made outstanding contributions. Without them, this forging machine wouldn't exist."

Joseph didn't hesitate, telling the technicians, "I will have Monsieur Carnot award you double bonuses, as well as the 'Medal of Distinguished Service'."

Louis XVI rubbed his hands together with renewed enthusiasm, saying, "Let me demonstrate how this machine works for you. By the way, what do you want to forge? How about an anchor for a Battleship?"

Joseph smiled and said, "Perhaps we could try forging a section of Iron Rail."

"Ah? Just Iron Rail?"

"Yes, Iron Rail." Joseph nodded definitively.

He knew very well that the most significant meaning of the steam forging machine at present was its role as a divine tool for producing Iron Rails!

The most advanced Iron Rail manufacturing process of that era involved using hydraulic forging machines to hammer incandescent iron blanks into strips, which were then finely processed by blacksmiths with hammers—as the precision of hydraulic forging machines was far from sufficient, requiring artisans to handle the tolerances.

Furthermore, because hydraulic forging machines had to be built near water, it was impossible to locate them too close to the ironworks. This inevitably meant that iron blanks would cool down by the time they reached the forging workshop, necessitating reheating them to an incandescent state before forging could begin.

However, all these problems simply vanished in the face of the steam forging machine.

Firstly, the steam forging machine boasted extremely high precision, allowing it to directly forge qualified Iron Rails without the need for manual secondary processing.

Secondly, the steam forging machine could be built right next to the ironworks' crucibles. Iron ingots, once produced, could be immediately transferred to the forging machine, eliminating the secondary heating step.

Moreover, since long-distance transportation was unnecessary, there was no need to even cast the iron into ingots. Instead, it could be directly cast into long strips, doubling production efficiency.

Coupled with the steam forging machine's striking speed, which was several times faster than hydraulic forging machines, the speed of Iron Rail production increased by more than four times compared to before!

Not to mention that hydraulic forging machines would effectively "go on strike" during dry seasons, whereas the steam forging machine could produce continuously, 24 hours a day.

With this divine tool, the time and cost of laying railways in France would be drastically reduced. At this point, it would be difficult not to monopolize the railway business across Europe.

The forging machine workshop boomed with a mighty roar late into the night, yet the King of France and his son remained tireless in their enjoyment. Around their feet lay a growing pile of Iron Rails, as well as processed components like bearings, chassis frames, and pistons.

The next morning.

Joseph stepped out of the Engineering Design Institute's dormitory—where he had spent the night. It was said that his father often stayed there as well—when he saw Monsieur Carnot, the Institute's director, waiting for him at the entrance with three officials.

After they had exchanged bows, Joseph asked, "Do you need something from me?"

Carnot quickly handed over a document: "Your Highness, this is the reward plan for the 'Steam Forging Machine Project Team' members, detailing each individual's contributions. Please review it."

Joseph quickly scanned the proposal and nodded with a smile: "You've done well. Oh, is there anything else? Let's discuss it in the workshop."

He knew, 'Carnot would never have come so early just for this.'

"Well, there is indeed something else, Your Highness," Monsieur Carnot said with a troubled expression, following behind the Crown Prince. "As you know, the entire Engineering Design Institute, apart from the steam forging machine project, is severely short on funds."