Steam Daming: Stop calling me to supervise the country

Chapter 76 Steamship ([-])

On the wide river, steam was rising, and everyone on the shore watched from a distance. The prince was standing in the car, and the county master of Jiaxing shouted excitedly beside him: "Father, look, that big ship is jetting."

The paddle wheel at the stern rolled, and the water waves swayed, driving from the opposite bank of the river, and when they approached slowly, they could see the whole picture clearly.

It was a small ship, of course, it was equivalent to a huge treasure ship parked on the shore. It was an ordinary merchant ship, a 100-class merchant ship.

郑和的宝船为5000料，船队里面还有2000料和1600料船只，普通的商船都在50-200料之间。

When the boat docked and the people on the boat came down, it took everyone by surprise, because there were only three people.

Although this merchant ship is not very big, it is also a merchant ship. There are only three people, and it can sail without Yang Fan. If you are not prepared, it will be incredible.

"Your Majesty, please board the ship." Zheng He motioned for everyone to board the ship to enjoy.

Zhu Di followed suit, and everyone followed. The county master of Jiaxing trotted to Zhu Zhanchang's side: "Fifth brother heard that you came up with the idea of ​​boiling water?"

"Yes."

"The fifth brother is really smart."

Everyone was even more surprised when they walked on the deck, because the deck and the cabin were full of ballast sand, and the ship was sailing with a full load.

Although Zhu Di's expression did not change, he just smiled to express his satisfaction, but the burst of joy in his eyes was no less than anyone else's.

Zheng He pointed to the cargo in the ballast: "This ship can carry 240 shi of grain when it is fully loaded. We have tested that the ship can still sail normally when it is fully loaded."

"How fast is it going?"

"No less than three hundred miles a day."

Zheng He's words changed the expressions of Zhu Di and King Han in an instant. This kind of load can be carried out for three hundred miles a day. Whether it is marching or delivering food, what does this mean for those who have been fighting all year round?
This means that your logistical supplies are at least five times faster than the current enemy.

"Your Majesty, after the steamboat is started, it can keep going. There are only three people who can operate it. One of them is the person who reminded the river. There are only two people who are actually operating. go further."

The current speed of the steamship is about 10 kilometers per hour, of course, when the weather is calm, and it has not officially entered the sea yet.

At the speed of ancient times, Ma You can travel thousands of miles day and night, but if the army is transporting supplies, it will not be able to travel so fast.

Assuming that there is a war on the edge of the Great Wall, if the soldiers and food are dispatched from the prosperous land in the south of the Yangtze River, it will take a long time to send people and materials there. In this era, not everyone has a horse to ride.

Therefore, the border defense towns often need to hoard a large amount of food for emergencies. Just transporting this food every day requires a lot of financial resources to manage these food materials.

Although there are only steam ships now, as long as steam engines are feasible, steam trains will inevitably appear. At least the cost of escorting materials and soldiers will be greatly reduced. This is all a waste of money.

Just imagine, if there is a battle to defend Beiping in the future, Zheng He's treasure ship will go ashore directly from Tianjin with people and goods, just like what is written in the novel. In less than three days, tens of thousands of elite soldiers will fall from the sky. This kind of rear supply support capability, In this era, the opportunity can make Daming's army invincible.

When everyone's strength is about the same, the fight is whoever replenishes quickly and who has enough food and grass, not to mention that my troops are strong and horses are strong, and the replenishment is much faster than yours.

The steam engine, a revolutionary product in this era, will bring about all-round innovation.

Zheng He continued to bring everyone to the heart of the steamship, the steam engine.

Looking at the big lump of iron, no one could understand his principle. Even if he analyzed the principle, only a few people could understand it. After continuous transformation and trial and error, although the current steam engine is not a complete product, it is still a complete product. The details are no longer accessible to those who have not participated in the research.

The emperor doesn't matter, I don't need to understand, I just need this iron lump to burn coal to make the ship move.

Finally, there is the paddle wheel at the stern. Originally, Zhang San and others wanted to install the paddle wheel on both sides of the boat, but due to limited craftsmanship and lack of time, they did not have time to implement it, and finally installed it at the stern.

"Fifth brother, this thing seems to be a waterwheel in the imperial garden."

"Yeah, the principle is the same."

"From boiling water to steam engines, from waterwheels to paddle wheels, they are all common and visible things, and they are really fantastic ideas, Zhan, well done." Zhu Di's praise made Zhu Zhan not happy. Kindly scratched his head.

"Grandpa Huang, the idea of ​​Ming Lun was conceived by craftsmen such as Zhang San, and we were still worried about it before."

"Oh?" Zhu Di was surprised: "Is this why you want to recruit people in the world who can refine tools?"

Zhu Zhanchang simply smiled and said, "It was all seen through by Grandpa Huang."

"Very good. The three cobblers can stand up to Zhuge Liang. It is very good to use the strengths of others." Zhu Di praised Zhu Zhanchang today.

"Your Majesty, do you want to take a boat?" Zheng He asked tentatively.

Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji who came with him hurriedly stopped: "No, no, after all, the steamship is still in the experimental stage and has not yet been perfected. Your Majesty's dragon body is precious and cannot be risked."

Zhu Di's face was pulled down: "If you are afraid of even this trivial matter, wouldn't the emperor of Daming be ridiculed?"

"Daming should have steamboats and steam cars. In the future, Daming will have them everywhere. If you don't dare to ride them, how will you let the soldiers ride in the future, and how will you let the people ride?"

Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji knelt down helplessly, and Zhu Gaochi said, "My son is wrong."

"You two get off the boat, don't follow."

"This……"

Feeling Zhu Di's unhappiness, the two could only get off the boat and watch the merchant ship rise again and speed up slowly.

The steamboat Zheng He had tried many times without any problem, so he dared to let Zhu Di sit. If he was not sure, he would not dare.

The merchant ship was facing the wind, and Zhu Di stood on the bow, feeling the speed brought by the steam power. Zhu Di looked at the river with pride, as if he saw the thriving Ming Dynasty.

"In the future, this river will be filled with merchant ships of my Daming, from Jiaozhi, from North Korea, from Dongying, and from the Western Ocean. It will be like the Chang'an City of Daming, and all countries will come to the DPRK."

"Your Majesty's luck is blessed, and destiny is yours." The King of Han was the first to bow down.

The whole boat, both civil and military, knelt down and worshipped, and Zhu Di was so high-spirited that he seemed to be young again.

"Okay, from today onwards, Zheng He will supervise the National Yangtze River Shipyard and install the steam engine on the treasure ship. The next time you go to the Western Ocean, I want to see a treasure ship that can run with a steam engine."

"My minister, obey the order." Zheng He did not hesitate.

"Also, the cabinet plans to strictly investigate the private use of the imperial ship, tax evasion and tax evasion in water transportation, and salt transportation, and order Chen Xuan to organize the reconstruction of river trade taxes. Sun Zhu Zhanchang assisted by the side, and all taxes were settled with food stamps."

　Thanks to book friend 20190622003504730 for the reward

　　
　
(End of this chapter)