The eldest grandson of Emperor Ming Dynasty!

Chapter 738

Recently, Zhu Ying didn't pay much attention to the situation of Wa country.

His current thoughts are all on the steam iron-clad ship.

Today, the hull is completed and it is time to start installing steam.

In two or three days at most, the steam ironclad ship can be launched.

Jingshi Shipyard.

This is a newly built shipyard, not for external use, but dedicated to the research and development of shipbuilding technology.

When the Jingshi Shipyard was first established, Zhu Ying recruited a large number of elite shipbuilders from all over the country, including a large number of scholars.

There is no other reason why scholars are willing to do the work of craftsmen. The key is that Zhu Ying's salary is high enough.

Food and housing are the most basic, and the wages are [-] yuan a month.

This is a sky-high salary.

Besides, the current scholar is worthless, except for the exemption from kneeling when meeting officials, other privileges are gone.

The reason why Zhu Ying wants scholars to participate is because in the inheritance of many techniques, craftsmen usually pass it on orally, and their expressive skills are not good enough. It is difficult for apprentices to say that they have learned the skills of their masters.

In addition, if there is a saying that the disciples of the church will starve the master to death, usually the master will still hold on to his disciples.

This puts a big lock on the already difficult skill of inheriting.

For this reason, Zhu Ying simply issued a decree that in the shipyard, it is forbidden to cherish the broom.

Anyone who finds out will be punished severely.

Coupled with generous rewards, such a phenomenon is at least eliminated in the shipyard.

The advantage of being a scholar is that you can write down these skills and organize them into a book, so that the later learners can learn more quickly.

"It's been hard work for you during this time."

Zhu Ying looked up at the large ship not far away that had been equipped with iron armor, and said to Huang Guan next to him with a bit of sigh.

He had already heard that during the period of building the iron-clad ship, Huang Guan spent almost most of his time directly resting in the shipyard.

He is Zhan Shi of the third rank, and as far as the entire Ming Dynasty is concerned, he is definitely the first step below the emperor.

As the representative of the grandson, Zhan Shifu has greater invisible power than the six ministers.

In order to successfully build the iron-clad ship, he gave up his wife at home and guarded it day and night.

Such actions really moved Zhu Ying a little.

"I just want this armored ship to come out as soon as possible. Compared with the steam armored ship, my hard work is nothing."

"I live here, and I can better control the manufacture of iron-clad ships. The sooner they are launched, the Ming Dynasty can have greater majesty above the sea."

Huang Guan bowed and said.

It has to be said that with a senior official of the third rank like him setting an example, the officials at all levels below would dare to neglect in the slightest.

The boss is like this, as a subordinate, do you have to be special?

Therefore, almost none of the officials from the top to the bottom of the Jingshi Shipyard went back, and they all lived here, not daring to take the slightest slack in guarding the building of the iron-clad ship.

This presents a peculiar phenomenon.

Often behind a blacksmith, there are four or five officials watching at any time.

Especially before dawn, Huang Guan had already gotten up. Whether he was a craftsman or an official, he had to get up too.

In fact, in the process of building the iron-clad ship, we did encounter many problems.

Some small problems can easily block the overall manufacturing progress.

Huang Guan is not omnipotent, but as soon as he finds a problem, he immediately convenes a meeting to discuss and solve it.

Zhuge Liang is the best of the three cobblers.

This is now the key to completing the ironclad ship on time.

At this moment, a huge steam engine is being carried into the cabin in front of it.

Zhu Ying patted Huang Guan's shoulder, and didn't say much, the meaning was already very obvious.

With such a great contribution, as long as Huang Guan doesn't do anything wrong and full of crimes, he can basically be forgiven.

It is more reliable than Zhu Yuanzhang's iron scroll to avoid death.

"Your Highness, it will take about two more hours here, or your Highness will take a rest first."

The dock in front was working in full swing, while Guo Zhong saw that the sun was a bit harsh here. After all, the weather in June was the hottest, so he persuaded him.

"No need, I'll just watch it here, it's just a few hours."

"You reminded me that the weather is too hot, so I asked someone to prepare some watermelons and give them to the craftsmen below to avoid suffering from heatstroke."

Zhu Ying waved her hand to refuse, asked someone to find a chair, sat on the chair and looked down, and gave orders.

Watermelons have been grown on a large scale in the Central Plains since the Southern Song Dynasty, and they are not too expensive now.

It's just that the price is tens of pennies a catty, and people who are not rich don't dare to eat it.

Guo Zhong quickly brought a cart of watermelons with the eunuchs.

He walked to the big pit and shouted: "Your Majesty, the sun is scorching like fire today. Considering that the construction is not easy, we will give you three large carts of watermelons to relieve the heat."

The artisans who heard this immediately knelt down and shouted: "Thank you, His Royal Highness, for the reward."

In this summer, they started working before dawn in the morning, and now it was noon, so Zhu Ying asked the craftsmen to eat melons to relieve the heat.

Today's watermelon is not as sweet as later generations, but for craftsmen, it is the best thing.

After a mouthful of watermelon, the whole person is much more energetic.

While eating, many people would say thank you grandson and so on.

After a short rest, the craftsmen naturally worked harder.

Lazy tricks have long been forgotten at this time.

Before noon passed, the steam engine had already been installed in the cabin, and the bottom of the ship was also laid with iron plates, and the work was completely completed.

The shape of this steam ironclad ship is quite ugly.

Compared with the treasure ship, it is simply the difference between an ugly duckling and a white swan.

The iron sheet was hammered by the craftsmen, of course it cannot be said to be smooth. The gap between the iron sheet and the iron sheet was fixed to the hull with rivets, leaving many traces of nails.

Heibuliuqiu's appearance is completely iron bumps.

Only the sails on the ship indicate that it is a ship.

Behind the hull is the propeller.

This is where the connection to the steam power was made, and by the time the steam engine started, the propeller would have been enough to power the big ship.

It took a lot of effort to manufacture this propeller. It was done by more than a dozen master blacksmiths, and then it was continuously polished and calibrated.

In the absence of lathes, almost all high-precision things are done by hand.

That is, only Ming Dynasty can do this.

Other small countries do not have this capability at all.

In the big pit, the work of the craftsmen has basically been completed. This is the last step of the steam ironclad ship, oiling.

If it is in water for a long time, the iron sheet will be easily rusted. Wipe it back and forth with a grease cloth, which has a good anti-rust effect.

These iron sheets have already been maintained, and the large-scale oiling is to fill in the grease that was damaged during the previous binding.

"Your Highness, you can open the gate now."

After all the craftsmen in the pit came up, Huang Guan said beside him.

The Jingshi Shipyard was built on the riverside, using a dock type.

That is to say, dig a big pit by the river and build a dock. Shipbuilding is usually carried out in the big pit.

Large factories like the Jingshi Shipyard will also build two separate river channels, made of bricks and stones, and the outer channel will be made of large gates.

After the hull in the pit is made, the gates are opened for waterproofing, and the water from the river is introduced into it.

After the water is full, the boat can enter the river along the river channel.

After the front gate is closed, the rear gate is opened again, and the water is drawn into the downstream to drain, and the big pit can continue to build ships.

"Open the gate."

When Zhu Ying spoke, she also stood up from her chair.

"The grandson has an order, open the gate! Release the water!"

As shouts rang out, the strongmen on both sides of the gate began to turn the roulette chain.

The chain gradually rises, driving the huge gate.

Like a flood, the water from the river poured in violently, quickly filling the entire crater.

Gradually, the steam iron-clad ship slowly floated up.

This caused a series of exclamations.

Due to the limitations of knowledge, many people actually participated in the creation, but they still have doubts in their hearts.

Will a ship covered with iron sheets not sink?

Even the outside is covered with iron sheets, so what if it sinks.

And now, the floating iron ship is the best proof.

This is like a scene of a god appearing, causing many craftsmen to kneel down and shout for His Royal Highness, a thousand years old.

They felt that if the iron boat could float, it must be because His Highness Taisun, as a banished immortal, cast immortality on the iron boat.

Huang Guan's expression also became excited.

Of course, he was not excited because the iron ship floated, but because the steam iron-clad ship he supervised was finally available.

From another point of view, the reason why Huang Guan worked so hard was because he understood the significance of building a steam iron-clad ship.

This is a major event that is bound to remain in history, and even affects the pattern of the world.

And as someone who participated in the design and supervised the manufacture of steam engines and iron-clad ships, he must have a very strong stroke in the history books.

Literati, who can care less about fame.

"What a steam armored ship!" Zhu Ying's eyes were shining.

At this moment, Huang Guan had a flash of inspiration, bowed and said: "Please give me your name, Your Highness."

Before that, ships did not have names. Throughout the dynasties, the army has always been the main force, and the navy has been supplemented. There are only types of ship names, but no ship names.

If no name is given, then this type of ship will be called a steam iron-clad ship in the future.

Zhu Ying was also moved when he heard the words, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Once this ship is out, there is no other ship in the sea that can compare with it. For example, the Dinghai Shenzhen of the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea gave it the name: Dinghai Ship."

Guo Zhong next to him heard the words, and immediately raised his voice and shouted loudly: "The grandson gave the name, and ordered the sea ship."

At this time, Yu Jing, a hundred sailors already on board, knelt on one knee and echoed: "Please give the order to allow the ship to be set on fire!"

Yu Jing is the second son of Yu Tongyuan, Marquis of Yuexuan. Since the eldest son Yu Yi died early, Yu Jing is the current eldest son.

Steam ironclad ships are not just built, of course, they also need sailors to operate.

During the period of building the iron-clad ship, Yu Jing, as the son of Yuexunhou and a core figure of the Ming Navy, naturally came here early.

One is to be familiar with the operation of the iron-clad ship, and the other is to be the naval commander of the iron-clad ship in the future.

The son of the Marquis, of course, has no shortage of sophistication.

Zhu Ying was also a little excited, and shouted in person: "Yes!"

Yu Jing heard the words and shouted: "The grandson has orders, light the fire!"

The soldiers on board began to operate immediately.

As the booming boom spread, a puff of black smoke gradually poured out from the ship's pipes, which was a sign of the steam engine igniting.

At this scene, everyone present watched closely.

It would be a big joke if the steam engine stalled at this time, or failed to ignite.

Zhu Ying looked calm, but actually she was a little nervous.

The five fingers are already clenched into fists.

He knew better than anyone else the significance of the advent of the steam ironclad ship.

The rumbling sound became more and more intense, accompanied by noisy noises.

This is the bottom propeller starting to spin.

"It's moving, it's moving, the boat is moving."

"Without using the sails, the boat really moved."

As the speed of the propeller increased, the Dinghai ship really started to move like this, and there was a burst of joyful cheers in the dock.

All the hard work is worth it.

Daming's first steam ironclad ship, the Dinghai Ship, was really built successfully.

On the deck, Yu Jing looked particularly excited.

He grew up on a ship since he was a child, and he can clearly feel the power of this ship.

At this moment, the steam engine below is far from reaching the fastest speed, but it is already faster than ordinary large ships.

When the ship is free from the influence of the wind, there is no other ship that can compare.

There are also sails on the Dinghai ship, which can also be used when the wind blows.

With propellers, this will be the fastest boat in the world, bar none.

Today's ships are not loaded with artillery. Once loaded with artillery, one ship can be used as a hundred ships.

No, this is an existence that cannot be compared with even a hundred ships.

After the Dinghai ship entered the river, its speed became faster and faster.

This is not the Yangtze River, but the Qinhuai River.

Around the Jubao Gate, Shuixi Gate and Dinghuai Gate, three branches of the river flow into the Yangtze River.

This section of the waterway is not allowed to be used by merchants, so there are no merchant ships sailing.

Yu Jing didn't drive very far, and he didn't even reach the limit of speed. He just drove for a mile or two, and started to turn back before leaving the sight of the dock.

He knew very well that there would be many opportunities for the Dinghai Ship to sail in the future, but if it sailed far away, His Highness Taisun would have to wait for a long time.

Things that were originally meritorious may all become sins.

Of course, the Dinghai warship that sailed back did not need to go back to the dock, but docked at the pier next to it.

Yu Jing, who got off the pier, immediately greeted Zhu Ying.

"His Royal Highness, the Dinghai ship sailed correctly, everything is normal."

Zhu Ying nodded slightly: "Okay, intensify your training these few days, I will give you three days, after three days, I will join His Majesty on boarding the naval vessel."

In fact, Zhu Ying wanted to get on the boat to experience it now, but she still asked Yu Jing to train for three days first.

Three days is enough time to become familiar with steam engines, including some other issues.

This short voyage only represents the advent of the steam ironclad ship.

What's more, this sea ship is actually only used as a test steam engine and propeller, and the real ones manufactured later will be equipped with artillery and go out to sea.

At that time, not only one ship will be built, but more than ten ships will be built at the same time.

"My lord, I will fulfill my mission!" Yu Jing knelt down on one knee and responded in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)