"Sir, I want to take this ship to Duolun in person. I am the chief engineer for the modification of this ship. I am responsible for my products. Only by taking a trip in person can we truly understand the performance and shortcomings of these devices. ." Chen Xi said to Yang Fan seriously with a small face.
"Nonsense, your position is not on this ship, but in the research institute. Do you know how risky this trial voyage is? Don't think that there will be no problem after the trial voyage has run more than a hundred miles. From here, go upstream to Toronto. The waterway is more than five hundred miles one way. You can guarantee that there will be no problems."
"Master, I will bring the technical team, and we will also bring accessories. If it breaks, we can fix it at any time." Chen Xi puffed up his chest and said loudly.
"This is a war, not for you to play house or joke around. You have never been on the battlefield, and you don't know the dangers of the battlefield. If you cut a person with a knife, he will bleed, and he will die. You don't have eyes for loss on the battlefield, no They won’t look for you just because you have a pretty face.”
"Master, as you said, problems can only be discovered during use. The worse the battlefield environment, the more problems we have not discovered yet can be exposed. Only in this way can the steam engine mature as soon as possible. I can also know the next step of the reciprocating steam engine Possible problems and the needs of actual users. A good designer cannot work behind closed doors. I can't convince myself without a trip."
Yang Fan didn't want her to put herself in danger, but Chen Xi was right. Only when a designer and engineer follows his or her product to the battlefield and inspects its performance on the spot can he truly have a deep understanding of the product's advantages, disadvantages, and performance potential.
Only then can you grow up quickly.
"Master, why don't I lead the team? I will protect Miss Chen." Mo Zhui said. "We should be fine if we don't leave the ship along the way. Even if we need to repair the ship, we can anchor and stop in the middle of the river. The Mongols don't have artillery, so missing arrows won't pose much of a threat to us.
Yang Fan pondered for a while and finally agreed.
After all, he also hopes that Chen Xi can grow up quickly.
Early the next morning, at Chen Xi's request, the river steamship named Chenxi lit a fire and set sail.
The first inland river steamship put into use in the Ming Dynasty set off with billowing smoke.
Watching the boat leave the dock, Yang Fan was still a little worried.
He regretted agreeing. After all, Chen Xi was of great value and could not be lost. Yang Fan still expected her to support the Power Research Institute in the future.
Because it was a trial voyage and the channel was restored, there was no cargo on board. In addition to twenty crew members, six technicians. It was Mozuo who carried a general flag and fifty fusiliers, responsible for the security work.
In order to deal with the Mongols along the way. Three small column-type Fran cannons were installed on each side of the ship.
In order to counterweight equipment such as steam engines and paddle wheels and prevent the bow from tilting up, a rotating turret and a 24-caliber red cannon made of cast steel were installed on the bow.
This gun weighs two tons and has a caliber of 130 mm. Spherical solid lead bullet, the shell weighs 36 pounds. The effective range can reach 1,500 meters. When using shotguns, each custom shotshell is loaded with 500 small steel balls. Can shoot enemies within 200 meters in a fan shape.
Spherical solid bullets and shotgun shells are the two main types of ammunition. In addition, chain bullets and rod bullets used by the navy are also carried. I plan to try it out if I encounter the Mongolian cavalry.
During this trial, Fu Laoliu, the head of the firearms workshop and a veteran master craftsman from Xinghe Iron Works, also came with six apprentices.
He wanted to take the opportunity to test their artillery.
The artillery and flintlock muskets used on this ship were all produced by them. Like Chen Xi, he wanted to take this opportunity to test his products.
The former main gun was produced by Xinghe Iron Works and was cast by Fu Laoliu himself.
Xinghe Iron Works now fully masters the casting of various large and small Folang machine guns and propeller cannons. The next step is to cast long-caliber naval guns for ships, heavy guns for city defense, and light field guns for vehicle camps and infantry.
Now the materials for casting cannons have changed from copper and iron to open-hearth steel. The cannon is cast in an iron mold and cooled by oil. The generation of bubbles has been greatly reduced, and the success rate has increased from 15% in this era to 60%.
The use of steel allows the cannon walls to be cast thinner, greatly reducing weight.
And its performance exceeds the imported red cannon currently used by the Ming Dynasty.
If the cannon is made of bronze material, the bronze cannon is safer and less likely to explode. However, when the copper cannon is fired multiple times, it is prone to thermal expansion and the expansion of the gun bore, resulting in a great decrease in accuracy.
And copper is much heavier than iron. After all, copper is the material used to make money and is expensive.
Cast steel is much better.
It is cheaper, has better strength and toughness, and can be cast thinner, which reduces the weight. Or the same weight with a larger aspect ratio and a longer range.
The bridge is placed on top amidships. It is a simple small platform paved with wooden planks, with a good view. It is convenient to see the route clearly, and it is also convenient to use the iron pipe to transmit commands downward to the cockpit at the rear of the ship.
There is a simple lookout at the top of the mast. The mast is made of steel pipe and the ladder is riveted. The top of the mast is a simple circle of tiled steel plates.
net
The steamboat puffed out thick smoke and sailed upstream at a speed of about five knots.
The man on the bridge was Chen Zhijian. Yang Fan was worried and sent several people from Beitang Shipyard.
Regardless of the scorching heat of the boiler in the summer, Chen Xi would go to the back cabin to check it every once in a while and record the working conditions of the machine in a small notebook.
Ten kilometers per hour is not considered slow. It takes about a whole day to get to Toronto.
At noon, the boat was already far along the Great Wall. It has entered the hilly and valley area along the Luanhe River.
Chen Xi wiped his sweat and walked up the escalator from the back cabin to the bridge, where Chen Zhijian and several apprentices were driving carefully.
There are no more hidden reefs in inland rivers than in the sea. And the river becomes shallower as it goes upstream.
Particularly prone to running aground and being stranded.
Fortunately, I am familiar with this route, and I brought along Li Shan, my guide from the previous human-powered boat, to be the hydrographer and assist the command on the bridge.
"There are some shoals here, yes, try to stay as far to the left as possible." Li Shan shouted loudly.
Along the way, he played a big role. The voyage was fairly smooth.
It was very windy on the bridge and it felt cool.
Chen Xi held the railing comfortably and admired the scenery.
"Master Craftsman Chen, there are so many shoals, can we still drive when it's dark?" Chen Xi asked.
"Don't worry, Li Shan is very familiar with this road. When it gets dark, we will turn on the carbide searchlight. The light is very strong. You can see the river clearly." Chen Zhijian said.
"The food is ready, let's all have some food," Mo Zui came up from behind, carrying a tray. Above are more than ten barrels of instant noodles.
Instant noodles are a good thing, but they are all delivered here and are expensive. In Yang Fan's system, only some people at the top are rationed. Being able to eat instant noodles is a status symbol.
Yang Fan attached great importance to this task, and Duoyi specially approved a lot of instant noodles and self-heating foods.
"Wow, that's great. There are instant noodles. I want spicy ones." Chen Xi immediately became happy. After leaving the secretariat, I haven’t had instant noodles for a long time.
After an afternoon of sailing, it was getting dark.
Two huge searchlights were turned on on the bow.
The searchlight is a large carbide lamp, made of a semicircular reflective hemisphere on the back, and is equipped with glass on the front, so it can be used normally even in heavy rain.
This boat, with its dark body in the silent night, looked like a monster.
The loud noise from the steam engine was heard far away. The two searchlights are like two eyes, constantly scanning the front and both sides.
In the middle of the night, the boat had sailed out of the mountains and entered the grassland.
Before long, dots of bonfires and tents appeared on both sides of the river bank.
You can already meet herders here.
Batu got up at night, yawning while peeing.
His tribe was very small, with only about twenty felt bags, and was taken by Master Taiji to attack the earth city built by the Han people on the grassland.
Their strength was too small and they were sent to camp on the outside.
It is the habit of the Mongolians to camp by the river for easy access to water.
He suddenly heard a sudden sound in the distance. He was a little confused. He didn't wake up and was suffering from hysteria.
At this time, a strong light came over, illuminating the surrounding area.
Now he knew that this was not an illusion, but something was really coming from the river. He was so frightened that he immediately screamed.
Following the shouting, the sleeping herdsmen got out of their felt bags one after another.
At this time, a monster came from the lower reaches of the river.
Even in the dark night, because the moon is very round, you can clearly see that the ship has two large smokestacks, emitting fire and billowing black smoke, and there seem to be two big eyes on the bow, emitting terrifying electric light. Shooting everywhere.
"What is this? It's terrible."
"Is this a legendary monster?"
At this time, an old man was trembling, shaking his white beard, and shouted: "Quickly, send someone to report to Taiji. This ship is bound for the Han people's earth city."
