Along the Chaobai River, ten people including the ministers and Sun Chengzong also walked on the cement road.
Looking far into the distance, on the mirror-like lake, birds flying over for food from time to time, and occasionally fish tails swim, causing ripples on the lake surface!
The reeds around the lake have long withered and turned yellow. A large number of villagers are cleaning the reeds in an organized manner. They have also cleared a large open space and sprinkled a white powder on it.
But I don’t know what the purpose is.
At the end of the road, thousands of shipyard workers and their families were specially invited to watch the ceremony.
Beyond the crowd, there is a huge dock in front. A black warship is parked quietly in the dock. The water from the gate is constantly flowing in, and the hull is slowly floating.
I saw the warship, with its pointed head and broad body.
According to visual inspection, it is about thirty feet long (actual 94.5 meters) and eight feet wide (actual 25.4 meters).
A set of thick and towering chimneys stands in the rear half of the ship, and the ship island is a three-story structure built in the front of the ship.
What surprised the ministers the most was that there were two giant cannons at the bow and stern of the ship. The barrels were pointed at an angle and the caliber was astonishing.
There are more than twenty artillery pieces on each side of the battleship, and the muzzles are lined up!
Extremely spectacular!
This is the design drawing of the Zhenyuan ship that Huang Xiao specially spent money to get!
And improvements were made on this basis.
For example, changing the original two sails to one also freed up space.
Relying on two horizontal triple-expansion reciprocating steam turbines as power, two were added to the original eight coal-fired boilers, which increased the endurance of the Zhenyuan ship by hundreds of nautical miles to 5,000 nautical miles.
After modification, the speed is much higher than that of the original Zhenyuan ship, increasing from 15.4 knots to 18 knots (one knot = one nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers).
Furthermore, the fort was also changed to a rotatable design, and the design of an armored fort was adopted. The important forts, boilers, steam engines, and ammunition depots were surrounded by 508mm steel plates, which greatly improved the protection!
In this era, this is almost invincible.
Huang Xiao didn't believe that the enemy's artillery could penetrate the Zhenyuan ship's armor!
Huang Xiao, no matter how advanced he was, didn't do it, he thought this was enough!
This giant ship cost more than one million taels of silver, and was successfully built today with all the soldiers and civilians of Dahuang Village working day and night!
Historically, the Zhenyuan ship cost 2.8 million taels and took eight months to complete.
Wang Zheng and Song Yingxing both greeted him.
Everyone is greeted.
Yang Lian asked: "Master Wang, is this boat really made of iron?"
Wang Zheng nodded and said: "This is an iron-clad ship built according to Mr. Huang's drawings. Iron-clad ships are naturally made of iron."
Yang Lian asked: "How much does it cost to have so much fine iron?"
Wang Zheng said: "One million two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, five thousand for the common people..."
Everyone was shocked.
Yang Lian's face twitched and he trembled: "It's just a waste of national power! It's a waste of national power! What's the use of spending a million taels to build this iron lump?"
He glared at Wang and Song and said, "Your Majesty and the Marquis want to build this, don't you know how to advise? If these money were used for people's livelihood, how many people could live!"
The ministers nodded repeatedly.
Gao Panlong said: "What Yang Yushi said is absolutely true! If this steam engine is used in water conservancy, smelting, textiles, etc., it is indeed a powerful weapon for the country, but this iron-clad ship is useless!"
Yang Lian said: "The wood is now a done deal, no! The iron is a done deal! But if Mr. Hou wants to build it again, we will never allow it! We will die to remonstrate with him!"
"Yes! Yang Yushi is right! Damn it!"
"I second the motion!"
"I also agree!"
Suddenly the officials started making noises.
Sun Chengzong and others remained silent and watched.
Zhang Xianzhong said to Li Hongji and the others: "Brother Cheng said last night that with this armored ship, we can open up new territories, but it's useless!"
Li Hongji shook his head and said: "Ignore them, they just don't understand the Marquis's plan."
But Song Yingxing said: "Do you still remember the fight between Mr. Zuo and I in the hall? On that day, Yushi Yang also wanted to remonstrate to death just like today, but what is the truth? Are Your Majesty and Mr. Huang wrong?"
Everyone looked strange when they thought about what happened that day.
Zuo Guangdou laughed and said: "Today I am on Mr. Song's side. Dahong, how about you have a fight with Mr. Wang first? Then wait for Mr. Huang to come over, and then I will answer your questions?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Yang Lian blushed and said, "Don't try to steal a beam! Even if such a heavy armored ship doesn't sink when it hits the water, it won't be able to move!"
Song Yingxing said: "Yang Yushi, how about we make a bet?"
Yang Lian was about to speak when Wang Zheng smoothed things over and said: "Don't argue with each other, Yang Yushi, just take a look first. Not only is this armored ship unsinkable, it is also extremely fast to move. I can guarantee this. I bet." , Yang Yushi will definitely lose, it’s better not to hurt your harmony.”
When Yang Lian heard what Wang Zheng said, he said nothing angrily.
Wang Zheng smiled and said: "It's human nature for you to have doubts about your unknown intentions. However, this armored ship will definitely be built. As for how many? We have to wait for the orders of your husband and your empress. As far as I know, Tianjin The shipyard has also started construction of two ships at the same time!"
The ministers were shocked again, and Wang Zheng continued: "Although it costs a lot and requires a lot of labor, I can conclude that the benefits it will bring will be a thousand times, ten thousand times! And it is a matter of great concern to our country for eternity. !”
All the ministers were stunned.
This should be irrelevant, why has it lasted forever?
Wang Zhengdao: "You will understand the specific situation when you enter the training class. After you understand it, you will definitely support the construction of iron-clad ships!
And not all ironclad ships have to cost so much money. Smaller warships will not cost so much money. Moreover, cargo ships can also be built to transport goods, and cargo ships can also be sold for profit. In the future, our shipyard in Dahuangzhuang will specially build Inland river warships, cargo ships, and large warships are built by Tianjin Wei Shipyard. "
After Wang Zheng explained, the ministers stopped talking.
You don't understand it, it's just a joke.
While he was talking, Zhang Yan's wife came over behind him, and everyone saluted.
Zhang Yan got off the imperial ban with the help of the palace maid.
Huang Xiao quickly stepped forward and stayed by her side.
"No need to be polite, please follow me to the shipyard."
Zhang Yan walked forward.
The ministers followed.
Go down to the open space at the shipyard dock.
Originally, when everyone was at a high place, they felt that it was extremely majestic from a distance. Now that they were closer, everyone was shocked when they saw this huge thing.
"Mother, sir, the shooting area has been cleared, the personnel have been evacuated, the dock has been filled with water, and the boiler has been preheated. Please give the order!"
Zhang Yan nodded towards Huang Xiao.
Huang Xiao stepped forward, and the soldiers brought a loudspeaker.
Huang Xiaodao: "At this historical moment, on behalf of Your Majesty and Your Majesty, I would like to say thank you to all the craftsmen and family members for your hard work!"
His voice was loud and clear, and when it came out of the loudspeaker, everyone around him could hear it clearly. In addition, there were soldiers shouting simultaneously, which could be heard clearly by thousands of people.
