American: Native Empire - Chapter 103

Chapter 103: Steamboat.

Going back in time, a steamboat research team was formed from the laboratory of Sharp Teeth, who had made a delicate glass with a wish.

Of course, there was a lot of pain before they separated.

“If there is anyone who wants to research with Delicate Glass, think carefully and let me know.”

Research cannot be done alone.

Especially for such a big project, many experts were needed.

Sharp Teeth knew this very well.

That’s why he first proposed to the researchers who joined his laboratory.

“Hmm. Making a boat using a steam engine is very interesting, but…”

“I don’t really want to join that research.”

“Right.”

But the researchers’ reactions were not very positive.

Most of the researchers highly praised the idea of moving a boat with a steam engine.

But they were the ones who joined Sharp Teeth’s research, who had created the amazing device called the steam engine.

No matter how high the possibility was, they didn’t want to give up and take a risk.

Besides, Delicate Glass was young.

He was so young that he could be described as the youngest in this laboratory.

Age was just a number in front of a genius brain, but there weren’t many people who trusted Delicate Glass, who hadn’t proven anything yet.

“Ho-ho. Steamboat… This looks like it can only succeed no matter how I look at it. It seems much more likely than replacing carriages with steam engines.”

Of course, not everyone thought negatively.

Some weirdos who only looked at the success possibility of the research showed great interest.

And so, four scholars joined from Sharp Teeth’s laboratory.

But with only five people, including Delicate Glass, they couldn’t start the steamboat project.

“There’s no choice.”

Sharp Teeth swallowed his regret.

If possible, he wanted to split his laboratory staff into two and conduct two experiments at the same time.

He could fill up the empty researchers who left.

‘Steamboat using a steam engine is a very attractive topic just by hearing it.’

It wasn’t for nothing that Sharp Teeth boasted that he would form a team for him as soon as he heard Delicate Glass’s words, the youngest of his laboratory.

If this concept was known, there was a high possibility that other universities or research institutes would also be interested.

So he wanted to form a team secretly as much as possible.

And since it was forbidden to leak information from the inside to the outside in an already formed laboratory, this had a high possibility of being realized.

‘Only if I could recruit internal staff.’

He was able to do this because he had a great reputation, so he told them about the experiment topic after recruiting all the researchers.

But Delicate Glass was out of the question.

He was so young that he suited being young rather than being old.

As a result, he was not enough to attract scholars secretly.

Of course, if he wanted to recruit new external scholars, he had to announce the experiment topic and attract them.

It was impossible to recruit new researchers in advance and force them to go to Delicate Glass.

That would be no different from deceiving those who joined Sharp Teeth’s research.

After considering all these things, he had no choice but to go by the book.

‘I can only hope that Delicate Glass will do well.’

Sharp Teeth made a decision.

He decided to announce the experiment topic and attract external scholars.

But he didn’t just announce it recklessly.

“First of all, let’s prepare the research that Delicate Glass will conduct. So that you can start the research as soon as you have enough scholars.”

“…I guess that would be better.”

The scholars also had some sense and realized what was going on to some extent.

So they agreed with Sharp Teeth’s words.

After that, they selected a river where they could conduct the experiment and built a laboratory there.

Building a shipyard in the laboratory was easy.

There were plenty of shipbuilders in the empire, so building and operating a shipyard was a piece of cake.

Thus, the preparations for the steamship project were all completed.

***

“A steam engine on a ship?”

“That’s right. They use the steam engine on the ship to make it move faster.”

“Wow. So they replace the oars with a steam engine?”

“Exactly. And this is a topic that Sharp Fang praised and helped set up the laboratory himself.”

“Hmm… I was very sorry that I couldn’t get into his laboratory, but what about Delicate Glass? I have to get into his laboratory.”

“Haha. I was thinking the same thing.”

The news of the recruitment of steamship researchers made a stir in the imperial college.

The idea of using a steam engine as a propulsion force for a ship was very fresh and seemed promising.

As a result, as soon as the recruitment started, many scholars applied for the steamship research.

However, as the topic was publicly known in the imperial college, information about it leaked out.

It was what Sharp Fang had feared.

“Steamship… This is bound to succeed, right? Especially, it would be great to go up against the upper reaches of the river where the wind doesn’t blow well.”

The direction of the river was fixed.

The water flowed from upstream to downstream.

They had tried to solve this problem until now, but there was no fundamental solution yet.

But they saw a possibility that the steamship could be a perfect countermeasure.

“Didn’t they say that the steamship laboratory of the imperial college was completed?”

“Yes. As soon as the recruitment of researchers is finished, they will start the research right away.”

“As expected, they are conscious of other competitors. But if they think we will give up, that’s a big mistake.”

“Then…”

“Why don’t we try to challenge this thing called steamship? Let’s prepare a laboratory as soon as possible. It’s not too late yet.”

There were more than one or two colleges and laboratories that made this decision.

Anyway, there was no patent for the steamship with just a vague concept.

There had to be enough results to judge that it was an exclusive right for that person or group.

Especially, the laboratories that received support from the giant guilds recently were very active about this.

For the giant guilds, the existence of a ship that could quickly go up against the upper reaches of the river was very attractive.

So, like a race, the competition for making steamships became fierce.

***

‘Damn it. How can people be so weak?’

The steamship was his idea.

But it was just an idea.

As long as he didn’t get a patent, the possibility was open to anyone.

So as soon as Delicate Glass’s team was formed, they headed straight to the laboratory built on the riverbank.

“Team leader, please say something.”

It was the oldest researcher in the laboratory.

Perhaps because it was a team that was created so quickly without any breathing time, this was the first time they all gathered together.

Gulp!

As all eyes focused on him, Delicate Glass’s throat tightened.

He felt an enormous tension.

The researchers who were looking at him now were all prominent scholars of the imperial college.

People who had been building achievements since before he entered the imperial college.

Some of them were even scholars he had admired in the past.

But Delicate Glass shook his head.

‘I am the head of this laboratory. If I falter, the whole lab will fall apart. I can’t let down Sharp Fang’s expectations like that!’

Squeak!

Delicate Glass clenched his fist and made a vow.

Then, the tremors and nervousness that shook his body gradually subsided.

After that.

He slowly walked a few steps forward and opened his mouth.

“I am truly grateful that such brilliant scholars have joined our laboratory. I’m sure many of you are worried about my young age and lack of experience.”

“…”

The researchers did not deny it.

They had joined because of Sharp Fang’s aggressive attitude and the potential of the steamship.

Most of them still had doubts about Delicate Glass’s abilities.

“I won’t ask you to trust me with my words. As we conduct research together, please judge for yourself what kind of person I am and how capable I am. But, in the meantime, please follow my wishes.”

The researchers quietly listened to Delicate Glass’s speech.

Seeing that, Delicate Glass took a breath and continued.

“As you all know, we have too many competitors. We could lose our patent rights in the blink of an eye. How unfair is that? The achievements of the steamship must be made under the name of Imperial University. Don’t you agree?”

“You are right, team leader.”

“We can’t let others take away Imperial University’s achievements.”

Delicate Glass emphasized the reputation of Imperial University, not his own accomplishments.

Then, the researchers who were proud of being scholars of Imperial University readily agreed.

Thanks to that, the researchers’ eyes softened a bit when they looked at Delicate Glass.

***

From then on, Delicate Glass’s laboratory started to operate in earnest.

“We don’t need to make a big ship from the start. It’s enough to make one that can run with a steam engine and not break.”

The bigger the ship, the better.

It could transport more goods at once.

But Delicate Glass had to make a steamship first, so he avoided wasting time.

“I understand what you mean. We can make a ship of this size in no time.”

The shipbuilders nodded their heads.

They were skilled workers who had built huge ships for the empire until now.

From their perspective, the ship that Delicate Glass wanted was quite easy to make.

Of course, it seemed difficult to attach a steam engine and propeller and balance the structure and stability of the ship.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Ha ha. It’s an honor for us to participate in this experiment.”

They worked on the blueprint in a friendly atmosphere.

“Hmm. It’s a matter of whether to attach the propeller to the front or back, or to the side.”

“That’s right.”

The method that Delicate Glass adopted was to attach the propeller to the outside.

It was a way to rotate the propeller with a steam engine and push the water with it.

He devised a steamship in the form of a paddle steamer.

As the design progressed, the shipbuilders came to a conclusion.

“It seems better to attach it to the side for stability.”

“Hmm… Then we have to attach propellers to both sides.”

“It’s better that way. It’s more complicated to attach them to the front or back.”

The propeller was much longer in front and back than in width due to its nature.

And since the bow and stern of the ship were curved and had many structures, there was a lot to consider.

“Then let’s do it that way.”

Eventually, Delicate Glass accepted the shipbuilders’ opinions.

With that decision, the blueprint was completed surprisingly quickly.

They just had to attach propellers below the outside side of the ship so that they would be submerged in water.

“Good. Let’s make it like this.”

They had already started making it roughly before the blueprint was completed.

Thanks to that, things went smoothly afterwards.

As time passed, the shape of the ship gradually formed, and they made a steam engine, propeller, and connecting parts to put inside the ship.

“Let’s work harder!”

The shipbuilders and researchers did their best in their respective positions.

As a result, research progressed day by day.

And finally.

“This is…”

“Ha ha. It’s quite impressive!”

The first steamship revealed its appearance.