Kai Fu Han

Chapter 319 New Ship Launched
"The tactic of 'releasing paper kites' means that when the enemy is close, move away, and when the distance is far, move closer. Always keep the distance between the enemy and ourselves within the range of 'I can hurt the enemy, but the enemy cannot hurt me.' until the enemy is captured with artillery. sink the ship, or force it to surrender. "Liu Xinqi explained.

"No wonder you have to install so many masts and sails on the new warship. I thought you were just doing it to make the ship run fast so that it would be easier to chase the enemy or escape. It turns out there is another reason." Liu Zhimu suddenly realized.

"Yes, all martial arts in the world are invincible, except speed. As long as we can be faster, we can take more initiative." Liu Xin said.

"Since this artillery has such a great improvement in combat power against sea-going ships, I should speed up the progress of research and development and casting, and strive to equip each ship with enough artillery before the new warships enter service." Liu Zhimu promised.

"This is the best. Today Baishiwan's first new standard version of the warship was launched into the water for sea trials. After several rounds of modifications and improvements, it should be delivered to the Navy in a month at the earliest. Your time is still very tight."

"understood."

After watching the artillery, Liu Zhimu introduced some other technological research and development progress to Liu Xinqi.

Xinghanmeng's scientific research institute has made rapid technological progress. Liu Xinqi even saw that the steam engine research department had developed an initial form of steam engine, but it was still at the stage where it could not output power due to problems with materials, accuracy, sealing and other issues.

Liu Xinqi believes that now that the No. [-] engine has been released, the next step is to encounter problems and solve them. With goals and pertinence, a practical steam engine should be developed soon.

"Leader, it's time to make an appointment with Minister Zhou to go to Baishiwan." the guard reminded.

"Let's go."

After leaving the institute, they met Zhou Xinyuan at the port, and they boarded a barge.

The boat has no sails and is powered by a modified paddle.Since there is no major breakthrough in sealing technology, the wheel shaft is still above the water level, and only two-thirds of the blades penetrate deep into the water, resulting in a large waste of power.

There are many shortcomings, but because the propellers are powered by warriors and super human-powered motors, the boat speed is still quite fast, more than twice as fast as using sails, and it is basically not affected by the wind direction.

"I didn't expect that this kind of paddle could also be used at sea." It was also the first time for Zhou Xinyuan to see a walking barge with a modified wheel paddle.

The State of Zhao already had wheels and paddles, but they were used in inland rivers and lakes. The wind and waves were small, so there was no need to worry about water overflowing from the gaps in the wheel shafts.The sealing technology of the Xinghan League has improved a bit compared with that of the Zhao State, so it can be used at sea.

"It is mainly used as a communication ship. It is tied behind the big ship during long voyages and can move flexibly during combat. It is more convenient and faster than a long oar boat. Paddling with legs is more powerful and more durable than paddling with hands." Liu Xinqi explained .

Paddle by hand mainly depends on the strength of the waist. After a long time, the waist will definitely not be able to bear it. Using the paddle to move the paddle mainly depends on the muscles of the legs and has higher endurance.

The thirty-mile sea journey took more than an hour.

We had lunch with several stewards at Baishiwan. In the late afternoon, the launching ceremony of the new ship officially began.

Liu Xinqi came to a dock. The dock was 35 feet long and [-] feet wide. The new ship seemed a bit small in the huge dock, but compared to the people in the dock who were still cleaning tools, it seemed very huge.

The hull is longer than 200 people standing side by side.

"It's really shocking. If you encounter such a big ship at sea, you will definitely not be able to resist." Zhou Xinyuan praised.

"Indeed, I never dreamed that I would be able to participate in the construction of such a powerful warship in my life." The person in charge of the construction of this ship was also filled with emotion.

After chatting for a few words, the commander began to give instructions, and all the craftsmen under the dock began to evacuate. After repeatedly confirming that there was no one underneath, the seaward side began to open the sluice to release water.

The water level in the dock slowly rose, and the ship in the dock began to vibrate, and then the amplitude became larger and larger, and finally broke away from the support and floated on the water.After the water surface in the dock was equal to the sea level, the entire sluice on the north side was opened, making way for a road to the sea.

"Detect water leaks on ships!"

"Received! Check the water leakage on the ship!"

Several shipwrights boarded the ship along the rope ladder and entered the cabin. After waiting for a little more than a quarter of an hour, someone returned to the deck and reported:
"After the preliminary inspection, no major leaks were found, and no obvious traces of water seepage were found. A second detailed inspection is in progress."

"Okay, continue testing, and report any findings promptly," the commander replied, and then continued the order.

"Cut the fixed cable!"

"Yes!"

A shipwright walked to the walls on both sides of the dock, raised an ax and cut off the fixed cables.This process cannot be solved by hand, because the stress of each fixed cable is not yet known, so as to avoid someone being disturbed by the cable.

After all the fixed cables were cut off, the ship swung from side to side violently, and then slowly stabilized.

"Detecting the symmetry and stability of the ship."

There are various markings and marks on the hull of the boat. Just by reading the water entry status of these marks, you can calculate how many degrees the boat is deflected.

"Report, the port side is one foot and one inch higher than the starboard side, and the forecastle is one foot and two inches lower than the stern."

Looking from the stern to the bow, the left-hand side of the ship is the port side, and the right-hand side is the starboard side.

The left and right side deviations can be adjusted and balanced by adjusting the position and weight of the ballast, and currently this deviation is not large and is within the adjustable range.

"Okay, get ready to test the ship's ability to withstand wind and waves."

The originally cut cable had been picked up, and there were ten people on each side of the ship holding the cable, waiting for the commander's order.

This was intended to test the ship's righting moment.

When the ship is anchored or sailing, it often encounters interference from various external forces such as wind and waves, and the balance of the ship will be destroyed.When a ship is tilted under the action of an external moment, a ship with appropriate stability will generate a restoring moment under the combined action of buoyancy and its own gravity to offset the effect of the external moment to prevent the tilt from continuing to expand.When the external moment is eliminated, the restoring moment returns the ship (after a certain periodic swing) to its original equilibrium position.

"Port side hard!"

The boatman outside the port side began to pull hard on the rope tied to the side of the ship, and the boatman outside the starboard side began to pull hard on the rope fixed to the bottom of the ship.The ship began to tilt to the left, and Liu Xinqi couldn't tell how much it tilted, but seeing that the commander had been staring at the sign on the hull of the ship, he probably knew it.

"loose!"

The shipwrights on the left and right sides suddenly let go of the ropes in their hands, and the hull lost external force. Under the influence of its own gravity and buoyancy, it suddenly returned to the right side. After returning to the right side under the action of inertia, it tilted to the starboard side, and then returned to the right side again. Positive, the amplitude becomes smaller and smaller until stable.

(End of this chapter)