1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 807 The Age of Steam
On September 1665, 9, Jianye Port.

The two warships "Feiri" and "Zhuri" under the Navy's local fleet slowly docked at the military port dock. As soon as the pedals were on the side of the ship, more than a hundred naval officers and soldiers boarded the dock impatiently, preparing to board the nearby Take the public carriage to Jianye City.

Zhu Shanping, the navigator of the "Flying Sun" and the captain of the Yuwu school (captain), carried a large bag of luggage. He did not follow many officers and soldiers to Jianye City, but took a carriage with several companions to the nearby naval base. .

"Are you planning to go home tomorrow, or go for a stroll in Jianye City?" Niu Haoliang, the gunner of the Feiri and Captain Renyong (Lieutenant) asked with a smile, "If we go home, we will be on the same road."

"Tomorrow, take the train to Kaiyuan (now Humpty Doo, northern Australia) to see the family of my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Then I will return directly to Yongxing County (now the small town of Adelaide River in northern Australia)." Zhu Shanping said with a smile on his face. With a bit of enthusiasm, "I have been drifting outside for a year, and I miss my family very much. I guess the little guys in the house don't recognize me as my father anymore!"

"Missing family? Shanping probably misses his wife even more?" Another officer said with a smile, "It's been so long since I haven't seen my own woman. I'm afraid it's more urgent in my heart than in my body!"

"Old Cheng, this dog's mouth always spews out such nasty things!" Niu Haoliang spat, but when he thought of his wife's fiery body in his heart, he felt a little uncontrollable longing.

"Old Cheng, after so many years, you should find another one. You won't be so lonely all the time, right?" Zhu Shanping has been in the army for eight years after graduating from the Naval Academy, and he has never heard any dirty words. , Not at all upset about this, but instead persuaded Cheng Zhaohui, the first mate and lieutenant (captain) of the "Feiri" on the "Feiri" to marry another daughter-in-law.

"I have sons and daughters, how can I be lonely?" Cheng Zhaohui's eyes dimmed a little, and then he said indifferently: "My wife gave birth to a pair of sons and daughters for me, but they died of bleeding after giving birth, and I didn't even see them for the last time. Thinking about it now, I feel really guilty. Just wait a little longer, I will go find another woman when the two children grow up a little bit."

"Chief Cheng has such deep affection for his dead wife, it's touching." A naive trainee officer couldn't help but look at Cheng Zhaohui sympathetically.

"I'm so touched!" A thick and thick officer said disdainfully: "In Batavia, in Malacca, in Surabaya, in Hue, I don't know how many times I have visited those hidden doors and red houses. You **** I think I will feel guilty if I do such things after marrying a daughter-in-law!"

"Hehe..." Several officers couldn't help laughing when they heard the words.Sailing at sea is a tough life. When docking at a port to rest, many naval officers and soldiers will choose some things that men love to do in order to relieve their distress. Naturally, there is no denying it.

"Old Paokou, you bastard!" Cheng Zhaohui glanced sideways at the officer, "I really miss my former mother-in-law in my heart! This **** will go with me to the secret door and the red building to find some comfort. There is no conflict of ideas. Who knows, we will encounter a storm or be shot by a gun on a certain day and lose our lives. Why don’t we relax our nerves. You said that this rest will take less than a month , I have to go on an expedition to Ottoman with the fleet, and I don’t know when I will return to the mainland!"

"It is said that we are going to attack an Ottoman territory called Egypt, not its European mainland. In addition, this country's maritime strength is relatively weak, so there is no danger in thinking." Navigator, Captain (Second Lieutenant) Yan Zong'an said: "I heard from the captain that we have assembled more than 30 warships this time, mainly to show off our military power, let the Ottoman Empire know the strength of our country, and deter the national and local forces along the Indian Ocean by the way. In the future, we will explore the Indian Ocean and make necessary forward-looking arrangements.”

"Even if we are going to attack this place called Egypt, it will take tens of thousands of miles. I am afraid it will take six or seven months to go back and forth. Including rest along the way, landing operations and some necessary aftermath work, I am afraid it will not be possible. It will take a year." Zhu Shanping said with a wry smile.

"Yes, with the gradual expansion of Qi's sea power, in the future, as long as this ship goes out to sea like this, it will be calculated in units of years!"
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In the early morning of the next day, Zhu Shanping and several companions took a public carriage to Jianye Chengnan Railway Station, bought a train ticket to Kaiyuan at 1 p.m., and then carried two large bags on their backs. Boringly waiting for the departure time in the waiting room.

It has been five years since the train came out. From the original novelty (still a very magical and rare thing in other parts of Hanzhou), it has gradually become similar to those heavy horse-drawn carriages and horse-drawn carriages that run on the road every day. A common means of transportation like a stagecoach.

With the continuous advancement and improvement of technology, there have been fewer and fewer failures and slumps during train operation. However, the emergence of this fast means of transportation has not completely abandoned traditional horse-drawn carriages in this era.

Compared with the cost of train rides, the price of a carriage is more affordable.This makes many people who travel still prefer public carriages.However, the transit time of horse-drawn carriage is much longer than that of train.But who let us ordinary people have more time and what we lack is money!

Therefore, most of the currently operating Jian (Ye) Yong (Xing) line undertakes the transportation of various goods and raw materials along the line.As for passenger transportation resources, there are very few (Jianye Mansion's small population base is also a reason), mainly businessmen, government officials, and some wealthy families. Of course, there are also some passengers who are purely for the experience of taking the train.

As a senior officer of the navy, in addition to generous military pay, there are also a large number of various sea allowances and combat allowances. Therefore, Zhu Shanping can easily afford the train ticket of a few cents.

There are only three trains from Jianye City to Yongxing every day, at [-] am, [-] noon and [-] pm.Because the passenger flow is not much, they are all mixed passenger and cargo trains, two or three passenger carriages and more than a dozen freight carriages are hung together to run.

During this period, limited by the level of technology, although trains could depart on time, they could not guarantee that they would run on time. Even the braking device, which is indispensable for transportation, was initially equipped with zero configuration.In an emergency, the brakes cannot be braked at all, and the train cannot stop at the stop position when it arrives at the station.When the brakes are needed, it is completely dependent on "manual", that is, the driver turns off the boiler according to his experience, so that the train will slow down according to the inertia, and then blows the whistle on the train, and the male passengers jump off the still moving train and work together to pull the train stop.

However, three years ago, a manual mechanical brake mounted on the wheels of a locomotive was invented. When the brakes are needed in an emergency, the driver must manually pull the brake handle, and the brake shoes are slowly pressed onto the wheels. , although the operation is cumbersome and the effect is not good, but at last there is no need for all passengers to go out.

Later, locomotive researchers modified the braking device and installed brakes on each car, but human braking was still inseparable. When the driver needed to brake, he whistled to signal, and the brake personnel in the car After hearing the sound, immediately pull the brake handle to stop the whole train.

The load capacity of the train has increased from more than 200 tons at the beginning to more than [-] tons at present.Correspondingly, whether it is a passenger compartment or a cargo compartment, the size has also expanded, and the number of mounted compartments has also increased.

"Beep..." With a high-pitched siren, the train started slowly. Many passengers who took the train for the first time lay down in front of the windows, opened the curtains, and looked outside.The scene outside started to go backwards as the train speed gradually increased.

That's right, there were no glass windows installed in the train carriages at this time, and pieces of canvas curtains were simply hung on both sides for shelter in rainy days.As the speed of the vehicle increases, all passengers can directly experience the feeling of "speeding like lightning" at a speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour.

Some businessmen and officials who often took the train sat reservedly on the hardwood seats and talked loudly among themselves, from the thriving factory manufacturing to the lucrative overseas trade, from the chaotic situation of the Ming Dynasty, Anecdotes from Western countries....Occasionally glancing at those "hillies" lying on the window and exclaiming from time to time, their faces could not help showing a strong sense of superiority.

"I don't know, when will this railway be built to our Songcheng County (now Catherine City in northern Australia)." Yan Zongan looked at the constantly changing scene outside the window, shook his head and said: "Otherwise, we can build the railway from Jianye City I took the train all the way back home. Unlike now, I have to go to Yongxing to change to a carriage, and it will take two or three days more time on the way."

"It should be soon." Zhu Shanping said: "The railway extending from Yongxing to the south seems to have been built to Beiliang County (now the small town of Pine Creek in northern Australia). It is estimated that when we finish the Ottoman When we get back, we should be able to drive.”

"That would be the best. According to the current speed of the train, in the future, from Songcheng to Jianye, I'm afraid it will take less than a day." Yan Zongan showed a hint of excitement on his face, "It's not like Now, it will take four or five days of effort on the road, which is too time-consuming."

"I heard that the Ministry of Communications will extend this railway to Weihai Prefecture in the future to achieve the purpose of connecting the eastern part of Hanzhou." Niu Haoliang said.

"From Jianye Mansion to Weihai Mansion, the distance is probably more than 2000 kilometers!" Yan Zongan exclaimed: "It will take a lot of steel and money to build a railway to go there! It is estimated that it will cost at least more than 1000 million Hanzhou silver dollars." ?”

"Of course, this is a long-term plan for the next few decades. With our national strength, we can't afford to repair it for the time being." Niu Haoliang said: "From Songcheng to the south, and then to Weihai Mansion in the east, it is all a deserted area. , Even if it is built, it will not be of much value. The main area for future railway construction should be the eastern and southeastern areas of Hanzhou. After all, that is where the population of our country is most concentrated."

"That's right, this railway will have huge economic value only if it is built in a densely populated place." Zhu Shanping said with a smile: "At that time, our country of Qi will have a population of more than ten million, and maybe this railway will be able to cover the whole city." Hanzhou Continent. In the future, from Jianye Mansion, not to mention going to Weihai, even to the southernmost Nandu Mansion (now Melbourne) and Guizhou Mansion (now Perth), you can arrive within ten days. This is comparable to It saves a lot of time to go around by boat.”

"...Hey, why did the train stop? Could it be another malfunction?" Several people were chatting, and suddenly felt that the train had begun to slow down slowly, but when they looked outside, they did not arrive at the nearest Montenegro stand.

"Well, it should be to avoid the train coming from the south." Niu Haoliang poked his head out of the window to look for a while, then shook his head and said: "Our train stopped at the fork and gave way to the railway line. There must be someone on the opposite side. The car is coming."

The train stopped for about seven or eight minutes. Sure enough, a train came from the south, blew its whistle, and whizzed past, leaving behind a puff of thick smoke and a choking smell of soot.

"I heard that among the battleships that accompanied our fleet to the Ottomans this time, there are two new steam-powered ships. I wonder if there are trains at the speed of sailing at sea?"

As the train restarted and slowly accelerated, several naval officers shifted the topic to the steam-powered ship.

"How is it possible!" Zhu Shanping shook his head and said, "If there is a ship that can reach the speed of a train, wouldn't it be able to become an invincible existence? Think about it, having such a fast speed on the sea means that it has a terrifying power. No warship can avoid its pursuit because of its maneuverability. Even if its firepower is weak, it can escape from a distance immediately with its rapid speed. But its opponents can only look at the sea and sigh."

"Brother Zhu is right." Niu Haoliang nodded and said, "The ocean surface is fluctuating, the sea water has great resistance, and there are no two rails to support it, so the speed must not be so fast. However, the steam power With the aid of sails, the speed of the propelled ship should be much faster than our ordinary sail warships. This should be certain. If the sea is calm and there is no wind on the sea, perhaps it will be more powerful."

"However, this steam-powered ship also has a shortcoming." Yan Zongan said with a smile: "To drive the ship forward, it must be like this train. It needs to burn coal, and a large amount of coal must be stored in its cabin. In this way, it The various materials that can be carried will be much less than ordinary sailing warships. In addition, since it needs to burn coal, it will definitely emit thick smoke like a train. Maybe the enemy ship will be able to advance from a long distance. If you find its trace, you can avoid it in advance, or prepare for battle."

"These shortcomings should be negligible compared to the many advantages of steam-powered ships." Zhu Shanping said: "In the future, if all of our warships are equipped with steam-powered ships, we can choose any time to block hostile ships. At the doorstep of the country, or on the routes they must pass, they can't avoid fighting. I feel that the use of steam-powered ships in future naval battles may change the existing tactics and combat modes."

"Not to mention, the emergence of steam power not only changed the existing modes of transportation and naval warfare, but also changed the original production and processing modes in many domestic manufacturing workshops and production workshops." Yan Zongan said with a wry smile: "My family's original hand-milled oil mill, facing the steam oil mill in the village, is completely incomparable in efficiency and output, and has no competitiveness at all. I don't know at this time, people in the family are still there. Hold on no."

"Xiao Yan, the monthly income of your hand-milled oil mill may not be as much as your monthly salary." Niu Haoliang patted Yan Zong'an's shoulder and said in relief: "In this case, you should let your family also Make an upgrade, get a steam power system to extract oil. Or, simply shut it down and find another good business. In the future, I guess, with the advent of the steam age, like yours I am afraid that small family workshops will face the fate of being eliminated in the end.”

(End of this chapter)