I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1009 First Voyage
Following Zheng He's sound below zero, the hull that was originally suspended in mid-air still slowly descended.

The hatch for drainage was also slowly opened, and the water outside the dock slowly poured into the dock.

Amidst the creaking sound of the chain stirring, the ship slowly fell into the water.

Although the falling speed was already very slow, there was still a huge noise at the moment of falling into the water.

This made the crowd waiting anxiously outside feel a little worried, thinking that something happened inside.

Since Li Tian came here for the first time, he didn't know much about the situation here.

But looking back at Zheng He's calm expression, his heart gradually calmed down.

Not long after, the gate of the dock slowly opened.

Accompanied by the roar of tiny machines, a huge monster slowly drove out of the dock without wind.

Seeing such a huge ship, it sailed out of the dock by itself without the help of any wind and without the traction of any trackers.

The people watching the excitement on the bank suddenly burst into exclamations.

"This...how is this possible, how did he move, how could the boat move by itself!"

"Look, why is there still smoke behind it, it must be on fire."

People in this era still have too little knowledge. When they see something they don't understand, they almost always associate it with gods or something.

This group of people is no exception, except for a few people who are relatively calm.

Surprisingly, many people knelt down and bowed down seeing this giant machine that was automatically roaring without wind.

"The Dragon King has appeared, this is a treasure ship possessed by the Dragon King!"

Hearing such a misunderstanding suddenly, Li Tian also smiled wryly.

But it is somewhat understandable, in the hearts of these people.

The roar of the machine and the long whistle of the siren, under the background of this atmosphere, are really similar to Long Yin.

Although, no one in this world has really survived what the sound of the dragon roar is like.

The roar of the machine is almost the loudest noise that humans can hear except for thunder.

It is not difficult for them to be mistaken.

The hull is automatic without wind, as well as the rear half of the hull, the gray smoke and white steam emitted by the steam engine when it burns.

At first glance, it really looks like a giant dragon, swallowing clouds and fog.

All of a sudden, it looked like this, and it really looked like that.

Because this steamship is an experimental model, and it also has the important task of carrying Li Tian and others to Nanjing, the main sailing place is the inland river.

So his size is not very big, only more than ten meters long and less than twenty meters long, and his width is only five or six meters wide.

Ten meters doesn't sound like a lot.

But if you compare it with ordinary residential buildings, you will know that nearly 20 meters is actually very big.

That is equivalent to the length of two houses connected together. In terms of the area of ​​a single-wheeled house, only one floor is equivalent to two houses.

If you count the lower two floors and the two raised floors above the deck, it may be comparable to the area of ​​five or six ordinary residential buildings.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a giant with five or six houses gathered on one boat.

As time went by, the whole picture of the steamship slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes.

The tall chimney looks like a mast, but it doesn't look like it, which surprised the onlookers.

"What is that thing that is emitting white smoke? It is a mast. It seems that it is not that short. If it is not, why is it so high?"

The boat sailed slowly to where Li Tian and others were.

A hundred households in charge of the test stood on the bow of the ship, and people like Li Tian and others called a semaphore and asked to go.

Zheng He, as the overall person in charge this time, nodded solemnly, and then ordered someone to wave a flag to respond to the other party.

"Permission to set off, stay with the wind."

Some people may be curious, the distance is not too far, what kind of semaphore is used, can't you just shout directly.

The person who was talking probably had never really seen the earth-shattering roar of a steamship or train after it started.

After the siren sounded, it could be heard several kilometers away.

With such a short distance, one can imagine how deafening the sound would be.

Although, the distance is so close, it can barely be heard by the people on the boat if it is louder.

But who is Zheng He, let him raise his voice and yell, as if something is going on.

In addition, the accuracy of semaphore is sometimes higher than that of language, and it is more ceremonial, so using semaphore to convey instructions is not unbearable, but a more solemn thing.

This time, the steamship has to go through a voyage of at least two hours and a round trip of nearly 100 miles in order to test the various performances.

Therefore, after receiving the order from Zheng He, they started to speed up and galloped away. It didn't take long for them to disappear before everyone's eyes.

What Li Tian saw was unfinished, and Sophia who was on the side was beating her chest and regretting that she hadn't been able to experience a thing or two on the ship during the maiden voyage.

"When will they come back, and the next time they set sail, whatever I say, I will follow them to experience it."

Li Tian glanced at Zheng He who was still calm, then smiled and said to Sophia,

"As long as it passes the test this time and all the data are satisfied, I will definitely satisfy your wish. You can sail as long as you want!"

Sophia's eyes lit up, and she said happily,
"Your Majesty, what you said is true, I can really stay with it forever."

Li Tian nodded,

"Of course, I'm the emperor, I keep my promises, and when I speak, it's not an exaggeration."

When he said that, he didn't mean to be perfunctory to Sophia, but he had already planned to take him to Nanjing together.

The voyage would take at least ten days and half a month. She wanted to experience the sailing of a ship, but she had plenty of time.

The conversation between the two was interrupted by a man dressed as a craftsman.

Zheng He introduced to Li Tian,

"This is Li Zhi, the person in charge of building this ship.

He knows more about the hull of the ship than ours. If you have any questions, please feel free to tell him! "

This Li Zhi is not tall, only about 1.6 meters. He is in his thirties, with dark skin and looks a little thin, but his eyes are piercing and very clear.

He respectfully bowed to Li Tian, ​​and then said,

"Small people, you have lived up to your Majesty and Dugong Zheng's entrustment, and finally completed the sea trial as scheduled."

(End of this chapter)