"We said we could see the emperor later, right?" Wang Erbiao said to Zhou Yuji and others with a smile, "Thanks to you for arriving in Tongzhou in time, no, we can catch up with the test of this new type of ship."
After finishing speaking, he ignored the surprise of Zhou Yuji and others, straightened his appearance, and then took them to see Emperor Chongzhen.
In a makeshift stand by the river, wooden boards were erected on three sides to block the cold wind. Only the side facing the Tongzhou River is unobstructed.
Therefore, it is actually quite cold in this stand.
However, Emperor Chongzhen in the stands did not feel cold at all. In addition to being heavily clothed, he was also excited.
Before the experiment started, I saw Wang Erbiao leading a group of generals over.
"The last general Zhou Yuji (Bai Guangen...) has seen my emperor, long live, long live, long live!" Zhou Yuji and others immediately stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and saluted Emperor Chongzhen.
All in all, it has been almost three years since we last met, and the emperor seems to be getting younger and younger.
In my impression, I haven't seen anyone smiling all year round, but now he is always smiling. This emperor's change seems to be a bit big!
Emperor Chongzhen stepped forward in person, helped Zhou Yuji up, and then said to the other generals with a smile: "Haha, you have been fighting for the country for many years, and I have always thought about it. I am very relieved to be back safely. Come, come, come. , Let’s not talk about anything else, the test of this new ship will start soon, please come with me to take a look!”
"The general will obey the order!" Of course Zhou Yuji and others had no objection and quickly responded loudly.
While others were curiously looking at the two ships on the water, Zhou Yuji saw Princess Kunxing. Judging from her bun, she seems to be unmarried.
Of course, this is not what he cares about most. What he cares about most at this time is that the woman standing behind Princess Kunxing is really getting more and more beautiful!
The two looked at each other, and the strange ships on the water lost their appeal.
"Sir, are you ready?"
Emperor Chongzhen's words brought Zhou Yuji back to his senses. He turned around and saw Xingguo Zhengyi walking into the stands.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuji and others immediately became excited. However, they did not dare to lose their composure in front of the emperor. They could only look at Duke Xingguo, their expressions showing their mood.
"Almost done, right away!" After Zhang Mingwei answered Emperor Chongzhen, he turned to look at Zhou Yuji and others.
There are so many generals standing here. If you can't see them, you are blind.
Zhang Mingwei took the initiative to say hello to them: "Just arrived?"
It's like saying hello to a group of friends who have just returned from a long trip.
Hearing Princess Xingguo's warm greetings, Zhou Yuji and others quickly clasped their fists and responded excitedly: "I've met the Duke!"
"Haha, you guys came just in time!" Zhang Mingwei saw him and said with a smile, "Come, let's witness the first official appearance of the Ming Dynasty Steamship!"
Zhou Yuji and the others were all veterans of Duke Xingguo's service. They had already forged a deep friendship during the southern and northern wars. Although they had not seen each other for about two years, they felt close to each other.
Therefore, when they faced Zhang Mingwei, they were not as restrained as they were when facing Emperor Chongzhen. After hearing Zhang Mingwei's words, Zhou Yuji immediately asked curiously: "My lord, this steamship is really strange. It even has a chimney. I have never heard of a chimney on a ship before. Could it be that this is the same as Does the steam train from before still matter?”
They all have steam names, and they all have chimneys, so he asked this question.
Zhang Mingwei looked at their curious expressions, nodded immediately and said: "Yes, they are all steam-powered. If you have any questions, just ask your wife later. She has been staying with Princess Kunxing, and she probably knows enough to give you Confused!"
When the others heard this, they really wanted to laugh at the good luck coming next week, not being as good as their wife!
But since Emperor Chongzhen was here, they all suppressed their laughter and did not dare to make fun of Zhou Yuji.
At this moment, I saw smoke starting to come out of the two boats on the water.
When Zhang Mingwei saw it, he ignored Zhou Yuji and the others, and smiled at Emperor Chongzhen and said, "It's begun!"
As a result, everyone fell silent and stared at the two strange boats on the water.
I saw that the smoke was just spraying out in puffs at first, but later, after it became coherent, I could clearly see that the ship started to move.
Among them, paddle steamers are the most obvious.
The paddle wheel rotates, that is the most intuitive.
As the paddle wheel rotates, the ship begins to move forward. The water splash driven by the paddle wheel made a sound and turned faster and faster, and the speed of the boat was slowly increasing.
The other boat is a propeller boat. The entire hull was covered with iron sheets, and when there was no movement on the water surface, I saw it starting to move. However, the speed was a bit slow, and after just a moment, it started to be thrown away by the paddle steamer.
However, everyone's eyes are on the propeller boat. Especially Zhou Yuji and others, it was as if they had seen a ghost.
There was no paddle wheel, and no one was seen paddling, and there was no sail to use the wind. What the hell, what does it rely on to move?
At this time, the north was roaring, and the two ships were heading northeast, and they were so fast!
Really, when Zhou Yuji and others saw this scene, they all became dumbfounded, and their expressions were really exaggerated. Because what they saw was completely beyond their understanding.
Emperor Chongzhen did not speak. He kept staring at the two ships until the ships were far away. Then he came back to his senses and said to Zhang Mingwei excitedly: "Sir, how is it? Is this considered a success?"
"It's hard to say!" After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei immediately replied with a smile, "Paddle steamers are definitely fine, but propeller boats are best driven for a few days in a row and then look at the condition of the ship before we can make a final conclusion! "
"The Duke is so cautious!" A voice sounded from one side, attracting the attention of Zhou Yuji and others, "Being able to travel so fast just by relying on the headwind is definitely a weapon for the Navy!"
They did not recognize who the speaker was, but Emperor Chongzhen was obviously very concerned about what this person was saying. He nodded repeatedly with a smile on his face, and then said to Zhang Mingwei: "Sir, Zheng Qing said so, this ship is It can’t be wrong, it must be good!”
This Zheng Qing is naturally Zheng Zhilong. Of course he would be there when the new ship was being tested.
At this time, he was obviously very excited. Following Emperor Chongzhen's words, he said to Zhang Mingwei: "My lord, it doesn't matter about the paddle steamer. Compared with the sail, the target is much smaller. On the battlefield, it is definitely better than the sailboat of Xiyi." It’s even more powerful. If you add rifled cannons, haha, my lord, I really want to give it a try!”
In the past, Xiyi's sail warships were definitely the kings of the sea. Zheng Zhilong was very envious, but he had no choice.
It's not that a sailboat can't be built, but operating the sail is more complicated and requires specialized training of manpower, and the cannon on the ship is also a problem. Generally speaking, although Zheng Zhilong's fleet included sailing warships modeled after those of the Western Yi, in the end, overall, they were still not as good as those of the Western Yi.
Xiyi has always made it clear that it is not that he cannot defeat Zheng Zhilong, but because they have come from afar, this is Zheng Zhilong's territory. Zheng Zhilong only relied on the large number of people on the boat to overwhelm them.
In other words, Xi Yi is actually unconvinced.
But Zheng Zhilong knew very well that if the imperial court had this steamship in the future, whether it was a paddle wheel or a propeller, it would definitely be faster than a sailboat.
The most important thing is that it is minimally affected by wind. Even if there is no wind or there is a headwind, you can maneuver quickly. Such a warship is definitely the king of the sea!
At this time, he was very lucky. It was so wise to surrender to the court. Having given birth to that son seems to be of some use! If it hadn't been for him, he probably wouldn't have been able to make this decision.
If he had disobeyed the court and was reclassified as a rebel by the court, although at that time, the court would have been unable to do anything to him. But in just a few years, with this new type of steamship, my own fleet is definitely no match for it!
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen smiled from ear to ear when he heard what Zheng Zhilong said!
Zheng Zhilong, a great pirate who had dealt with Xiyi the most, said that he was even more powerful than Xiyi. Then when we compete for global hegemony in the future, we are absolutely guaranteed!
Zhang Mingwei also had a smile on his face, but he still remained modest and said: "It's not that easy. This ship hasn't added rifled guns yet. We also need to consider the deployment of the artillery on the ship, the impact of the recoil of the artillery on the ship, and the impact of the recoil of the artillery on the ship. Sail, hybrid power can also reduce coal consumption, etc., there are many things!”
After a pause, he saw that the smile on Emperor Chongzhen's face was less. He did not want to be too harsh, so he continued: "Of course, as for the paddle wheel, it is basically not a big problem. You can try to modify the current warship first. , let’s take a look first. The longer the voyage is, the more data there will be, which will also be of great benefit in the future.”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, the smile on his face suddenly grew again. I saw him and asked quickly: "Then when will we have a steam warship?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei did not answer immediately. Instead, he first looked up at the two ships in the distance coming back one after another, and then said slowly: "I'm afraid the Tongzhou River will be frozen next. It is not suitable for shipbuilding. I will summarize the data from this experiment with them first, and do some preparatory work first, so that we can start building steam warships after the river thaws next year."
Here in the north, there is this inconvenience. However, these are still in the experimental stage at present. Therefore, it will take some time, at least after the time period has been determined, before the technology can be used in shipyards in the south.
Over there, it is not affected by winter ice.
This day's steamship experiment basically ended successfully. Next, there was the reward for the victorious troops the next day.
However, no one expected that just before the reward was awarded to the victorious master, another unexpected incident would occur.
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