Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 796 Steamship

On a high platform at the mouth of the harbor, a group of people waited to stand here, and then looked at the prince and others.

Seeing the crown prince confessing to Song Yingxing, Song Yingxing sent a signal not far away.Then I heard the familiar sound of a steam engine, and black smoke billowed from a nearby boat shed.

Everyone looked over there curiously, imagining what a steamship would look like.

That's right, when they came here, they already knew that they were here to see the steamship, but the specifics, because regardless of these, no one except Emperor Chongzhen knew.

After a while, I saw the steamboat emerge from the shed, and under the sunlight, it actually reflected the luster of metal.

"Eh, no way, is this a ship made of iron?" Cao Huachun, the eunuch who was in charge of the ceremony supervisor, cried out in surprise when he saw it.

Logically speaking, based on his experience, his position and his city, it is absolutely impossible to make such a fuss!

But, who told this ship to be a good thing built by the prince himself under the direction of the emperor himself!
"Yeah, it looks like a boat made of iron!"

Cao Huachun's eunuchs who hold pens are all servants, how can they not know Cao Huachun's real meaning, and they also echoed and marveled.Only Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting, the two youngest eunuchs who held pens, showed expressions of "I've guessed it a long time ago" and smiled without saying a word.

On the civil servant's side, Xue Guoguan and others watched Cao Huachun and other eunuchs perform there, after all, they were a little thin-skinned, and did not dare to flatter the emperor and please the prince by showing their ignorance.

This may be the reason for their different backgrounds!
Finally, the whole ship was exposed, sailing on the river of Tongzhou Bay.The biggest feature is a big chimney on the ship, emitting thick smoke, but there is no mast or paddle wheel.Although wood can still be seen on the inside of the boat, the outside is indeed made of iron.

This time, even Xue Guoguan said in surprise: "What's going on, there is no sail, no paddle wheel, how does this boat move?"

"Yeah, I didn't see the paddle moving either. What's going on?"

"Are the wheels of this boat under the water surface? Doesn't it mean that under the water surface, it is easy to bump into other boats or reefs?"

"..."

Seeing the steamboat driving back and forth on the water is a bit contrary to the cognition of people of this era, and many people are surprised.Although there was still the intention of flattering the emperor and pleasing the prince, it really surprised them in the end.

The prince Zhu Cihong was already 21 years old at this time, and he had never experienced wind and rain. He belonged to the flowers in the greenhouse, and he also belonged to the age that likes to listen to praise.He was also very proud to hear that these well-educated ministers were so surprised.

Looking at Emperor Chongzhen, seeing him nodding with a smile, he coughed, which attracted the attention of the ministers, and then explained: "The driving of this boat is not the wheels, nor the wooden oars, but the propeller, which is the father's The emperor instructed."

Xue Guoguan and the others knew without thinking that the weird things, or the new and useful things they saw for the first time, definitely came from the emperor's incredible brain.But when they heard it at this time, they pretended not to know, and expressed surprise in front of the emperor one by one, admiring the benefits of propellers that they didn't know.

Zhu Cihong did not dare to interrupt this praise.After waiting for a while, when the surprised voices of these ministers finally calmed down, he continued to introduce: "According to the instructions of the father, this propeller has been tested for at least fifteen times before the shipyard is familiar with it. The performance advantages of the propeller have also been improved to overcome some difficulties of the propeller. For example... "

When he said this, he pointed to the steamboat that continued to demonstrate sailing on the water and said: "The vibration generated by the propeller on the wooden boat will have a very large impact on the hull. In addition, the propeller shaft bearings are worn out, and the propeller shaft is sealed. Thrust bearings etc. are a whole bunch of issues that took a lot of work to fix or mitigate. For example..."

After taking a breath, he continued: "...This boat is not all made of iron, so the iron sheet is wrapped on the wooden boat, one is to reduce the damage to the wooden boat caused by the propeller, and the other is to increase the damage to the wooden boat. The protection of the hull..."

Hearing this, the eunuchs and civil officials finally understood that the ship was made of iron, so it was okay, but it would be strange if it was all made of iron.

Just when they were thinking of this, they heard Zhu Cixiang say: "... Of course, all the ships are made of iron. In fact, they have been tested and progress has been made. It is estimated that there may be experimental ships coming out in the next year or so."

"Your Highness, I have a question that I can't figure out!" Fang Zhenghua suddenly asked after hearing this.

When Zhu Cihong heard it, he seemed to enjoy answering people's questions. Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had no objection, he nodded and said, "Say it!"

Cao Huachun looked at Fang Zhenghua with a smile, but cursed secretly in his heart, he is always escorted by the emperor, it's no wonder you have so many doubts!

At this time, Fang Zhenghua said solemnly: "It is a well-known fact that wood floats on water. It is also common sense that heavy objects such as stones and iron will sink when they fall into the water. This iron-clad wood boat on the water, The slaves can also understand. But if all the boats are made of iron, will they float on the water?"

Emperor Chongzhen watched from the sidelines, but did not expose this stuff.Just looking at this guy, it looks like I'm a eunuch, and I don't understand what's normal.

Zhu Cihong didn't notice this, and replied enthusiastically: "You still need to read more books. In fact, the fifth lecture of the third volume of physics written by Father Huang actually mentioned why objects can float on the surface of water. The real reason for..."

Then, he started popularizing science for Fang Zhenghua.

Among the civil servants, many people have actually read the works of Emperor Chongzhen.Although some of them can't understand it, it doesn't prevent them from reading it all, so as not to be unable to answer the questions asked by the emperor.

Therefore, when the prince mentioned this, they all remembered it.But after thinking about it, they didn't study deeply, so in the end, they were still surprised.

"...According to the buoyancy formula given by the emperor, we have verified the weight of the iron ship and the buoyancy of the shape on the water surface. Therefore, the next step is to start building a real iron-clad warship based on the calculation results." Zhu Cilang Introduced here happily, still did not forget the existence of Emperor Chongzhen, and finally said, "Of course, all this must continue under the guidance of the father, so as to avoid many detours."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Upon hearing this, all eunuchs and civil servants, without exception, paid sincere compliments.

At this time, the steamboat on the water also completed a circle of sailing as planned and began to return to the boat shed.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "This kind of propeller ship actually does not make high use of steam engine power conversion. It can be said that it is not as much as a paddle wheel. In other words, the ship speed is a bit different. Therefore. In the future, it is better to use steamships more often in inland rivers. And steamships with this kind of propeller will be used at sea, and their ability to withstand wind and waves will be stronger than steamships."

Next, Ming Dynasty's war of external expansion will be fought across oceans.For the improvement of warships, it has come to an urgent time.The steam battleship with propellers can also have sails at the beginning, and when the wind is down, the sails are used to blow the wind as the power of the battleship.When there is no wind, or when there is a headwind, steam power will be used instead. It doesn't matter how many generations ahead of this era, it only needs to be one level ahead. It will play a very important role in improving the strength of the Ming Navy.

Today, Emperor Chongzhen brought over only the inspector of ceremonies and the six departments of the cabinet, and no one from the navy has come yet.If Zheng Zhilong and others were there, they would definitely be able to see how powerful the propeller warship would be.

The Naval Armament Academy in the capital is almost ready to be built, and it is certain that Emperor Chongzhen himself will serve as a sacrificial wine.As for the deputy, he plans to transfer Zheng Zhilong back to serve.Other instructors come from experienced generals in the navy.

In a few years, the Ming Dynasty will be fully capable of launching violent troops and ships, and now, everyone is preparing for that time.

After that Anders came over, with the guidance of Portugal, Colombo was no problem as a base for Daming, and his goal was to occupy the Arabian Peninsula.As for the Americas, there is no hurry. You can send a fleet over there first, and then attack the entire American continent after gaining a firm foothold in North America.

When Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about this, the steamship had already docked and turned off.So, with a slight smile, he took the officials under his command to board the ship and began to visit.

The most important purpose is to open the eyes of these most important helpers, so that they will not make any mistakes when they usually do things.And Emperor Chongzhen himself inspected the steamship and checked some key parts, asked some questions, and even put forward some suggestions for improvement.

Later, Emperor Chongzhen took them to inspect several other docks, including the research work on ironclad warships, and also gave some instructions.The current point is not to make it too big, nor to require too many gun positions, but to make the battleship first, and then improve it on the basis of making it.

It was not until evening that Emperor Chongzhen returned to the capital with the eunuchs and civil servants.

Sitting on the train, admiring the afterglow of the setting sun, all the eunuchs and civil servants were whispering, talking about their feelings today, or communicating about the affairs of the yamen.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the capital, which was getting closer and was about to be shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, he smiled and said to his courtiers: "My loves, in two days, I will open your eyes again!"

Eye-opening?Is that something new?All the courtiers couldn't help being curious.

(End of this chapter)