Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1257 - 1162: The King Who Opened His Birthday Present Early
Chapter 1257: Chapter 1162: The King Who Opened His Birthday Present Early
“That’s basically it,” Joseph continued, “Now let’s discuss the construction plan for the canning factory. Oh, these foods preserved in iron boxes are called cans.”
Mirabeau pondered, “Your Highness, according to the production process you just mentioned, all we need to do is find some blacksmiths to make iron boxes, put food in them, steam them, and then seal them with wax. I think we can start production with a little preparation.”
Joseph immediately shook his head, “The production speed of this method is too slow, and the cost would be very high. In addition, the wax seal is prone to falling off during transportation, causing the food to spoil.”
“What I need is industrial production.
“Use rolling mills to make sheet metal, dedicated cutting equipment, fill them, then weld the seal. It would be best to develop roll forming machines for can body production.”
Mirabeau froze for a few seconds before adding softly, “Your Highness, we also need galvanizing technology, otherwise the sheet metal will be corroded by the food’s juices.”
“Indeed, that was my oversight.”
Mirabeau thought, “I remember that the Luxembourg ironworks copied a few rolling mills, capable of producing about 1 ton of sheet metal per month.”
The so-called rolling mill is a machine that uses two rollers to compress red-hot iron billets into thinner sheets, repeating the process multiple times until it becomes sheet metal.
The British invented this some years ago, initially driven by water power. With France’s current technological capabilities, they soon replicated similar machines and switched to steam engine power.
“If enough sheet metal is ordered, the ironworks there could build a galvanizing pool, allowing the can factory to buy galvanized sheet metal directly.”
Mirabeau glanced at his notebook, “As for the cutting equipment you want, this is not available at the moment. As I understand it, this should be a machine that uses parallel rotary cutters to divide the sheet metal, and technicians can design one.”
“As for filling and seal welding, these seem to rely only on manual labor.
“Regarding the roll forming machine you mentioned, unfortunately, I really have never heard of such a thing.”
Joseph nodded.
The lack of most equipment did not come as a surprise to him, as he originally intended to use the canning factory to promote the development of mechanical technology.
Demand is the driving force for progress.
So, he began to explain to Mirabeau what kind of machine he wanted: “Join the two edges of the sheet metal making the can body, then fold and compact them twice. If the pressure is sufficient, a seal can be achieved.
If the process is inadequate, the seam needs to be welded, but it would definitely be simpler and more robust than direct welding. The bottom and top of the can are handled similarly, though the folding method differs…”
Looking at the densely packed notes in his notebook, Mirabeau said helplessly, “Your Highness, this thing can only be designed by inviting tenders. Uh, with all due respect, the technical difficulty seems considerable.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you to handle.”
Having finished discussing matters related to the canning factory, Joseph turned to Venio, “Regarding the location of the canning factory, you will need to discuss and decide with Count Mirabeau.
“It cannot be too far from the Seine River to facilitate transportation, and there must be ample meat and vegetable production in the surrounding area.
“In addition, I plan to build some more canning factories in places like Marseille and Brittany to turn the fish and oysters there into cans and sell them to inland provinces.”
Due to the lack of food preservation technology of this era, seafood that is cheap in coastal areas could become several times more expensive when transported inland.
Even so, more than 80% of seafood would still spoil before being sold.
If these items could be made into cans, it would bring massive economic income to coastal provinces while increasing the French people’s supply of meat.
Joseph knew that any industry needs the support of a civilian market in order to reduce costs. When it comes to military use, it then wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive.
Just like canned goods, if there are factories along the coast producing tens of thousands of cans daily, the cost for the military to buy them as logistical supplies may be lower than gathering fresh food from various places.
By the time dinner approached, Louis XVI unexpectedly sent for Joseph to dine with him.
Following his father’s attendants through the central corridor of the Palace of Versailles, Joseph finally heaved a sigh of relief—this was not the way to the grand dining hall, so at least he wouldn’t have to eat dinner under the gaze of the nobles.
Sure enough, dinner was held in the King’s suite.
As the court officials were conducting the serving ceremony, Louis XVI impatiently leaned over to his son, “I heard you’ve had a machine made that can precisely process iron components?”
Joseph wanted to laugh, realizing his father hastily called him just to inquire about the new milling machine.
He wondered who had informed the King about this. Hmm, most likely Dean Le Roy.
“Yes, Father, I have ordered one, planning to give it to you as a birthday gift. However, it might not be delivered by your birthday.”
“Oh, thank you so much, my dear Joseph. That would be the best gift I’ve ever received.” Louis XVI winked, then added, “I heard, there’s already one set up in the French Academy of Sciences?”
“Ah, indeed,” Joseph had guessed what the King intended to do, “But it’s soon to be shipped to Nancy. You know, it’s very needed for the manufacture of new steam engines.”
“That’s right, it belongs to the Steam Engine Company,” Louis XVI nodded, “But I can take a look before that.”
Joseph had no choice but to nod in resignation.
The King finished dinner in just 15 minutes, then ignoring the evening darkness, dragged his son to the Academy of Sciences.
The academy officer on duty, upon learning that the King and Crown Prince arrived unexpectedly, feared that his fraudulent report on laboratory equipment expenses had been discovered, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Only when the group headed straight to the workshop storing the “Royal I” milling machine did he remember that a few hundred francs wouldn’t be enough to alarm the Royal Family…
Soon, people from the Royal Precision Equipment Company also arrived—their accommodation was in the academy’s guest rooms.
Louis XVI eagerly had Renou demonstrate it to him, then instructed his assistant Emmerich to fetch a large box of items.
He took several uniquely shaped iron blocks and blueprints out of the box, handing them to Renou, “Can you process these into the shapes on the drawings?”
“Certainly, I’m happy to serve you, Your Majesty.”
More than 40 minutes later, Renou returned three exquisite components to Louis XVI.
Who immediately picked up tongs and a screwdriver, skillfully assembling them onto a dark object.
Then, he excitedly handed the item to Joseph, “This machine is truly amazing! It resolved the most critical three components!”
Joseph saw that it was an extremely intricate left-handed revolver.
