On June 15, Yang Peng took a large group of men, horses and vehicles, pulling crossbows, steam engines and specially made large bearings to Wangjiawan to equip his new ship. On the beach of Wangjiawan, Yang Peng's first ship is almost completed, and only needs to be painted and rigged with sails. Although this ship is smaller than the giant ships of tens of thousands of tons in later generations, it is already a well-deserved giant ship in this era. The ship is four stories high. From a distance, it looks like a wooden castle standing on the seaside, very majestic.
Boss Wang saw Yang Peng's team coming and greeted them from a distance. Yang Peng looked at the big ship and asked: "Boss Wang, my cannon and steam engine weigh several thousand kilograms, how can I get on the ship?" Boss Wang said: "Don't worry, sir. I have already made a slope behind the ship. "Tell me, my craftsmen will drag and push your crossbow together later, and drag the crossbow onto the ship from the ramp."
Yang Peng nodded and said to his craftsmen: "Go up and install the bearings, paddle wheel and steam engine." Seeing his men dragging the steam engine to the ship, Yang Peng asked again: "Boss Wang, this is the boat operator." Where are sailors usually hired?" Boss Wang said: "It is a prohibited business to operate a ship at sea. The boatmen are brought out from one village after another. They are all taught by familiar boatmen and newcomers step by step. If you go there temporarily Hire, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hire you!”
Yang Peng was stunned and asked: "What key positions on the ship require veterans?" Boss Wang said: "Every position on the ship is indispensable and cannot be lacking. But if it fails, the most important thing is to have experienced fire chiefs, Guide and helm. The fire chief is the captain of the ship and is responsible for the management of the entire ship. The guide measures the waterway and ensures that the ship is on course. The helm is also the key to controlling the direction of the entire ship."
Yang Peng looked embarrassed for a moment, secretly wondering where he could find these shipping staff? Boss Wang looked at Yang Peng's face and said, "The worst option is to hire a new helmsman. I will be the fire chief myself, but a guide is definitely needed. If you drive randomly on the sea without a guide, you will run into rocks."
Yang Peng asked: "Boss Wang, do you have a familiar guide?" Boss Wang was stunned and said: "I happen to know an experienced guide, but sir, he may not dare to follow you, a newbie on the boat. Let’s go to sea together.”
Yang Peng said: "I will give him a big price to go to sea!" Boss Wang licked his lips and said: "This is not a matter of money, this is a matter of life."
Yang Peng was stunned, and secretly thought that it was really not possible for this newbie to go to sea. It seemed that he would still need to ask Zha Yunke to help hire an experienced sailor. Yang Peng asked: "How long and wide are these two ships? How many sailors are needed?"
Boss Wang said: "Both these two ships are eleven feet long, one foot nine feet wide, and have four decks. The ships usually have a fire chief, two helmsmen, a guide, and a steward. When something happens on the ship, he calls on behalf of the ship owner. One person from Zhiku is responsible for managing the weapons. One person is responsible for the lookout, Aban, who is responsible for climbing the mast and looking out. Two people from Si Ding are responsible for managing the ballast stones. Two people are Da Liao and Er Liao. One person is Si Zhen. , are responsible for managing the compass. The main store, and several others in the second store are responsible for directing the battle. These are the officials in charge of the ship. In addition, there must be forty ordinary shipwrights to operate such a large ship. "
Yang Peng nodded, took Boss Wang to climb the ladder onto the ship, and asked: "Where do the crew sleep on the ship?" Boss Wang said: "Sir, I have never built a ship with so many cannons. Originally, the second deck was For cooking and storing water, the third deck is for sleeping, and the fourth deck is for loading cargo. But now, sir, you have installed so many cannons on the second deck, so you can only store fresh water on the third deck. Cook and squeeze in some sleep at the same time. If the cannon and gunpowder are properly managed, you can also install a hammock next to the cannon on the second deck to sleep in. The fourth deck is still loaded with cargo."
Yang Peng asked again: "How many sailors can this ship carry?" Boss Wang thought for a moment and said: "It depends on which channel it takes. If it goes to sea for ten days, there will only be ten days of fresh water left on the second deck. There are also people sleeping next to the cannons, and this ship can carry more than 200 sailors. If you want to run a long route and load more supplies, there will naturally be fewer sailors."
Yang Peng nodded. Yang Peng chatted with Boss Wang there, while the craftsmen on the ship installed steam engines, bearings and paddle wheels under the command of Zheng Kaida. After two hours of busy work, when Yang Peng's stomach was growling with hunger, he suddenly saw Zheng Kaida running over excitedly.
"Lord City Lord, the paddle wheel and steam engine are installed!" Yang Peng looked up and saw that the paddle wheel had indeed been installed on the side of the ship. "Start the steam engine and see the effect!" Yang Peng's craftsmen found firewood, filled the steam engine with water, and started the steam engine. The steam engine made a "whining" sound, which became louder and louder, and began to run. After a while, the power of the steam was transmitted to the paddle wheel through the gear, driving the paddle wheel to rotate.
The so-called paddle wheel is a propelling device that rotates like a Ferris wheel and is installed on both sides of the ship. The steam engine drives the paddle wheel to rotate. When the paddle wheel rotates, its outer edge pushes against the water surface, which drives the ship forward. Early steamships used paddle wheels.
Seeing the paddle wheel spinning, the craftsmen at the shipbuilding site stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the rotating paddle wheel. Without relying on the wind or the power of living creatures, the paddle wheel actually started to turn on its own! Can machines also exert force outwards? What a great experience! The craftsmen gathered around and stared at the rotating paddle wheel, as if they wanted to see clearly what was going on. "What turns this wheel?" "This is called a steam engine!" "Steamed chicken?" "Steam engine!"
Boss Wang also looked at the paddle wheel with his mouth open and didn't say anything for a long time. Although he made the paddle wheel according to Yang Peng's request, he was still a little stunned to see the paddle wheel driven by the machine with his own eyes. For the first time, he knew that a machine could produce such a powerful force to drive a ship without being pulled by a living creature.
With this steam engine and paddle wheel, wouldn’t it be possible to sail in any season? After a long time, Mr. Wang blinked and said, "I have never heard of this steam engine and paddle wheel. I really admire your uncanny craftsmanship!" "With this steam engine, things at sea are very different!" Although Zheng Kaida was there last month. I had seen a forging hammer driven by a steam engine, but now I saw that after being assembled by myself, the steam engine drove the paddle wheel. I was still very excited and said: "Sir, this steam engine is really a magical thing!"
Yang Peng smiled and used a bamboo pole to stop the rotating paddle wheel, and found that the paddle wheel was very strong. Yang Peng clapped his hands and said, "Yes, it's quite powerful." But after carefully looking at the speed of the paddle wheel, Yang Peng shook his head and said, "The speed is still a little slow." Yang Peng turned back to Zheng Kaida and said, "I'll go back and try again. Make two gears, and you can bring a craftsman to replace the gears the day after tomorrow!"
The next day, Yang Peng found the maritime businessman in Cha Yunke's shop. Seeing Yang Peng entering the store, Zha Yunke quickly knelt down and saluted, and was helped up by Yang Peng. "Mr. Cha, my ship is short of some experienced sailors. Do you know where I can hire them?"
Cha Yunke blinked and said: "Lord City Lord, I know a dozen old boatmen who have gone ashore, and I can pay them to go to sea again. However, it is still risky to go to sea with just these dozen old boatmen. Don't worry. There are still no headscarves for the cabin rock, no general manager for translators, and no one for raising the sails..."
When Yang Peng saw that Zha Yunke had stopped talking in the middle of his words, he knew that he had a solution, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zha must have a solution. If Mr. Zha can help me recruit technicians on the ship, I, Yang Peng, will owe Mr. Zha a favor." !" Cha Yunke was overjoyed when he heard Yang Peng's words. Yang Peng was now a popular figure in the Song Dynasty, and the emperor obeyed his requests. A favor from Yang Peng, at best, can help a bureaucrat find a job, or even be promoted to a noble position; at worst, a memorial may save the life of a minister, which is very valuable. Even a thousand taels or ten thousand taels of silver are not as precious as Yang Peng's favor.
After listening to Yang Peng's words, Zha Yunke smiled and said: "Lord City Lord, my ship will be back in a few months. I have four ships, each with a set of men and horses. I will assign a set of men and horses to Grand Governor, the Lord of the City will have someone to operate the ship!" "With a set of men and horses to lead the way, it will be no problem to go to sea. The Lord of the City will rely on this set of men and horses to train the novices, and rush to build the second set before the second one is built. Once the men and horses are trained, there will be manpower for two ships!"
Yang Peng was stunned. He didn't expect that Zha Yunke would give him the men on his ship, and asked: "Master Cha is so kind, but you gave me the men and horses, how can your ship go to sea?" Zha Yunke said: "City Lord Sir, it's fine with me. I'll let the people on the other three boats train newbies, and I can train another set of people in the next six months. When the north wind stabilizes during the Qingming Festival next year, and I go to Japan again, my new boatmen will be trained." Yang Peng nodded and said, "Then it all depends on Mr. Cha's organization."
On June 17, people knelt on both sides of the road outside Shangjing City in the Daliao Kingdom. On the road, strong Khitan men slowly walked southward holding complicated ceremonial guards of various colors. Behind the ceremonial guard were the civil and military officials of the Liao Kingdom, and behind them were the nobles of the Liao Kingdom riding large horses.
Xiao Tianzuo was also in this long honor guard procession. However, he has been feeling depressed recently and has been unable to keep his spirits up. The impact of the Battle of Qingshan Pass on Xiao Tianzuo has not subsided to this day. In the past, when Xiao Tianzuo encountered enemies, he could often defeat them with force. If his strength failed, he would use strategies to divide and disintegrate them and use detours to defeat them. From his first expedition at the age of sixteen to now, Xiao Tianzuo has fought in the north and south, and has never been defeated before the Battle of Qingshan Pass.
However, at Qingshan Pass, Xiao Tianzuo lost miserably, losing to Yang Peng's absolute power. In front of Yang Peng's upright power, Xiao Tianzuo's strength seemed so insignificant, and his so-called strategy seemed so pale. Yang Peng was like a big rock rolling down from the top of a steep mountain. Nothing could stop it, and it hit Xiao Tianzuo hard.
After returning to Beijing, Xiao Tianzuo has been somewhat taciturn and depressed in the past few months. It was not because the Empress Dowager scolded him, nor was it because the Empress Dowager demoted his prince to a general. It was because Xiao Tianzuo was stunned by Yang Peng, and his past pride disappeared.
Every time he thought of the brutal charge of 70,000 people against that small fortress, the corpses of Daliao warriors piled in front of the fortress, and the battlefield like a pool of blood, Xiao Tianzuo felt chills all over his body. Yang Peng's upright and impeccable power made Xiao Tianzuo feel like his willpower had collapsed.
At that time, I was in a hurry to get out of the battlefield, but I didn't feel it yet. After leaving the battlefield and thinking carefully for a while, Xiao Tianzuo felt an increasing sense of powerlessness. If he encounters Yang Peng on the battlefield again, the only thing Xiao Tianzuo can do is to turn around and run away. If the Song Dynasty had such powerful generals, how could the Liao Kingdom take control of the Central Plains? If we can do our best to defend the Liao Kingdom, this is the best ending, right? The more Xiao Tianzuo thought about it these days, the more frustrated he became. His movements were a bit weak and he was no longer the heroic "Mergen Dai Qing" before.
Behind Xiao Tianzuo was a tall golden umbrella, and the Empress Dowager's six-horse carriage was walking under the umbrella. The Empress Dowager looked at the depressed and lonely Xiao Tianzuo in front of her and shook her head. This Xiao Tianzuo is too conceited and too unable to withstand setbacks. After the battle at Qingshan Pass, Xiao Tianzuo became depressed and no longer had the same energy as before. Although the Queen Mother had always been wary of this resourceful brother-in-law, worried that he would threaten Han Derang's arrangement for ascending to the throne, the Queen Mother also cherished talents and did not want to see Xiao Tianzuo depressed like this.
However, no one else could help Xiao Tian's left heart energy recover. Beside the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother's eldest son Yelu Longxu followed on horseback. Although Yelu Longxu attacked the stronghold several times at Qingshankou, the Queen Mother did not do much to deal with Yelu Longxu after returning. The Empress Dowager used the reason that Zhang Hua was only a deputy general and put all the responsibility on Xiao Tianzuo, who was the chief general. Although the generals complained about this arrangement, no one took offense.
The Empress Dowager had no choice. He wanted Yelu Longxu to ascend the throne behind him, so he had no choice but to do this. Because Yelu Longxu had not been punished, he was still full of ambition these days and was not at all discouraged by the defeat at Qingshan Pass. At this time, he looked at the gorgeous ceremonial guards in front and behind, and couldn't help but ask: "Queen Mother, for inspecting the new recruits of the Xijun Banner, just call the new recruits to the front of the palace for inspection. Why do you need to dispatch so many Baylors?" Let’s swing to the river to see the military flag?”
The Empress Dowager looked at her son and said seductively: "Yelu Longxu, do you know the current situation in Daliao?" Yelu Longxu was stunned and said: "After entering Cangzhou in the Song Dynasty and plundering it, ,. Nowadays, there are only more than 250,000 people left in the real Liao Kingdom, and its power has been damaged." The Queen Mother nodded, and then asked: "How can I, Daliao, succeed?"
Yelu Longxu was stunned, thought for a while and said: "You can achieve success with riding and shooting!" The Empress Dowager shook her head and said: "Riding and shooting are the worst. You only see the power of riding and shooting, which is the same as the depressed Xiao Tian." Same as the left." After a pause, the Empress Dowager said: "Between the rise of the Liao Kingdom and the white mountains and black waters, the ability to control is fundamental. Because we can control the people and handle everything properly, then we can let the people work together. We exerted external force, so we became powerful and unified all the Liao tribes. Because we were able to control the Khitan tribes, we were able to exert external force to conquer the Song Dynasty and North Korea."
"Without me, Daliao, before the Khitan, would the Khitans still be fishermen and hunters that anyone could bully? If it weren't for our Liao's control ability, would the Khitan be as majestic as it is today?" "Today, our Daliao has lost more than 10,000 Khitans. Soldiers, many generals feel that they are unable to fight anymore. This is the conclusion reached by putting aside the basics and pursuing the end. As long as my ability to control Daliao is still there, even if more than 10,000 of these banner men die, we will still be the country of Daliao."
Yelu Longxu thought for a while, raised his head and said, "With this power of control, can we control the Xi people? Take over the world of the Han people?" The Empress Dowager looked at Yelu Longxu with satisfaction, nodded and said, "Exactly, I have these Over the past few years, we have worked hard to recruit Xi generals, plunder the Song Dynasty's population, and set up hundreds of officials based on the Song system. This is to spread the control ability of our Daliao to the people of the Song Dynasty. Given time, even if our Daliao no longer rides and shoots, we will rule the Han with the Han. , it can also frighten the Song army and make the Song people come with their families!"
Yelu Longxu thought for a while and said nothing. The Empress Dowager added: "This time we entered the Pass and plundered more than 100,000 Han people, this is an opportunity. I organized the Han army into two new Han army camps and managed them properly. As long as we manage them properly, these Han people will be ours in the future." of help.”
"Riding and shooting are just appearances, and the ability to control is the foundation of our country. Observing the training of these Han soldiers in person shows that our country attaches great importance to surrendering people, and it is also the method of controlling them." Hearing from his father, the emperor Yelu Longxu nodded as if he understood the abstract but careful instruction.
The large group of honor guards advanced slowly, passed through the endless blacksmith shops outside Shangjing City, and arrived at the Han Army Camp Yamen. The more than 100,000 Han people who entered the customs and plundered this time were incorporated into the Han military camp by the Empress Dowager. Therefore, the Han army expanded again, from two battalions to four battalions. Most of the Han people who were plundered were incorporated into the two Khitan's thousand-man troops.
The six-horse carriage of the Empress Dowager stopped next to two kneeling Han officials. The two Han officials led hundreds of Han generals to kowtow to the ground and shouted: "Kowtow to the Empress Dowager!" "Long live the emperor, long live, ten thousand years." age!"
On June 25, Yang Peng's first ship was built. Yang Peng named the first ship Tianjing. Boss Wang used smooth fir wood as guide rails and led more than two hundred shipwrights to push the ship, pushing the Tianjing to the shore bit by bit. That day, the Jingjing moved along the guide rail little by little toward the coast, and finally landed in the deep water on the shore with a "bang", splashing huge waves, and calmed down after shaking a few times.
Seeing this scene, the entire Wangjiawan people cheered. The boatmen swam aboard and used long oars to row the Tianjing to the small pier in Wangjiawan. Yang Peng climbed onto the ship with the troops supported by Cha Yunke and a hundred sailors. The sailors Yang Peng brought on board this time were veterans selected from the selection team who could swim. There is no king's law on the sea. When encountering other ships, they may rob each other at any time, depending on whose force is stronger.
If Yang Peng wants to make money from ocean trade, he must use the best force to protect his ships. The veterans of the Selection Group have rich combat experience, so they are naturally Yang Peng's first choice to bring on board. Yang Peng got on the ship and stood on the top of the poop and shouted: "Turn on the steam engine!" The ship's steward ran down the poop and passed Yang Peng's order to the craftsman who managed the steam engine. When the craftsmen heard the order, they turned over the coal and burned it under the steam engine. The fire became more and more fierce, and the steam engine made a loud noise and started to start little by little.
The paddle wheel gradually turned, and the paddles slapped on the sea, creating waves. Driven by the paddle wheel, the ship drove towards the deep sea little by little. Yang Peng's steam engine ship was successful. The sailors on the ship cheered and shouted loudly. The Tianjing drove faster and faster, heading towards the open sea. The guide on the boat ran out, threw a piece of wood from the bow of the boat, and then ran with the piece of wood, calculating the time it took for the piece of wood to reach the stern of the boat. After calculating for a while, he was a little shocked and speechless. After being stunned for a long time, he shouted loudly to the crew: "You can run sixty miles in one hour."
After hearing the guide's words, the old boatmen on the boat were all stunned. It was incredible that they could run sixty miles an hour with two machines without oars or sails. You must know that the wooden sailing ships of this era ran very slowly. Even with a favorable wind, it would take more than ten days at the fastest from Cangzhou to Hirado in the Japanese state. According to the speed of this steam engine ship, wouldn't it be possible to reach the Japanese country in six or seven days, and make a round trip in half a month? This ship can run without sails. Doesn’t it mean it can travel to and from Japan dozens of times a year?
Not to mention that the ship's speed improves safety. If you encounter pirates, just run at full speed. The sailboat will never be able to catch up with the steam engine ship. Everyone looked at Yang Peng in awe, admiring the city lord's magical invention. Yang Peng saw everyone looking at him with rounded eyes, smiled, waved and said: "The crossbowmen are in place!" More than seventy crossbowmen ran into the second deck and began to operate the crossbows. There is one cannon at the bow and stern of the Tianjing, and nine powerful crossbows on each side, for a total of twenty powerful crossbows. A heavy crossbow is equipped with eight crossbowmen, and seventy-two crossbowmen are needed to operate a nine-gun strong crossbow on one side.
The eighteen-fold crossbow was loaded with thick bows and arrows. The crossbow commander adjusted the elevation and angle of the crossbow and aimed at a dilapidated small fishing boat five hundred meters away from the Tianjing. That broken fishing boat was used by Yang Peng as a target. A new type of flintlock ignited crossbow. The crossbow leader is holding a rope and preparing to launch.
"Launch!" With a deafening roar, the nine-gun heavy crossbow on the port side opened fire. On the bumpy sea, the cannon rose and fell with the ship, and its hit rate was relatively low. Ninety long arrows flew past, but none of them hit the fishing boat.
The boatmen who were supported by Cha Yunke on the ship had never seen such a large crossbow. They all lay on the side of the ship and watched the crossbows fire. They were startled by the roar of the crossbows, but at this time they saw not a single shot. Hitting the fishing boat, they shook their heads and sighed again. The Tianjing turned around and fired the nine-gun heavy crossbow on the starboard side. More than seventy crossbowmen turned to operate the crossbows on the starboard side. The strong crossbows fired one after another. This time a long arrow hit the fishing boat and shattered the entire sail of the fishing boat.
There was a burst of cheers on the deck of the ship. The hit rate of naval guns at sea is relatively low. However, this is because the fishing boat target is too small. If the target is a merchant ship of several hundred tons, the hit rate will be much higher. Yang Peng waved his hand and said: "Buy a few more scrapped fishing boats and let the crossbowmen practice firing! Practice until one out of ten shots is fired!"
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
