1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 822 Ship Industry
April 1667, 4, Jianye, Shipyard.

A fully loaded sailboat with a displacement of [-] tons slowly entered the dock, ready to receive repairs from the shipyard again for various problems that occurred during the sea trial.The shape of this ship is completely different from other sailing ships currently built and used in Qi State. The whole ship is only equipped with three short masts and a schooner sail mounted on the bow jib.

The reason for this is that this ship is the latest all-steam-powered ship developed by Qi State. The driving force of the ship will be mainly driven by steam engines, and the three short-masted sails and the jib at the bow are only used as Backup auxiliary power.When ships use steam power to output higher speed and more reliable power, the original wide square sails seem to have little effect.

Fewer sails means that the number of operators on board will also be greatly reduced, which can be described as the greatest savings in personnel costs for merchant ships.However, in view of the fact that the technology of steam-powered ships is still in the process of continuous improvement and development, businessmen are still on the sidelines.What's more, the cumbersome steam engine and coal still take up a lot of valuable shipping space, and the scale of the whole model is too small, which makes the civilian use of steam-powered ships postponed indefinitely.

However, during the sea trial, this all-steam-powered ship has been driving continuously for two months without stopping, and has run out of 14-15 knots (1 knot The top speed is 1.852 km/h, which is comparable to the speed of a flying fish boat.

In addition, this steam-powered ship also used iron anchor chains for the first time to replace the hemp fiber cables that were once widely used.In fact, the cost price of the iron anchor chain is not much more expensive than the anchor cable made of hemp fiber, and the iron anchor chain is not affected by the alternation of dryness and wetness.

Relatively speaking, hemp fiber ropes will rot quickly during use, especially in the tropical regions of Hanzhou and Southeast Asia.Moreover, the iron anchor chain is not easy to break in the rock.Anchor chains can be kept in small compartments, while hemp cables require the best sailors on board to be coiled into cable boxes so that they can be pulled out quickly without tangles, otherwise, there is a good chance of jamming.

"The steam power is still a bit small. Under full load, the speed of the ship does not exceed eight knots. In addition, the machine has been running for a long time, and the entire bottom compartment is full of smoke, which also shows that the sealing is too poor."

Luo Shunwen, the captain of the steam test ship "Fenglei 5", took off his military cap, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Li Zhangrong, a master craftsman of Heishan Special Machinery Factory.

"This oscillating steam engine with re-expansion structure is not specially designed for your ships. The steam pressure has been improved, but the materials of several key valves are not up to standard." Li Zhangrong said helplessly: "Everything on this ship has to be stable and reliable. I'm thinking, those brass valves have been leaking more or less for a long time. However, a new marine steam turbine is being developed in the factory. Replace this oscillating steam engine with a direct-action steam engine with an inclined structure. At that time, the effect may be better."

"Is there any problem with the propeller structure?" Shao Kegui, a master craftsman of the shipyard, came over and asked eagerly, "Is the propeller damaged? During the propulsion process, is the rotational speed consistent? Also, is there any water leakage in the propeller cabin? "

"The propeller structure is stable, and there is no major problem." Luo Shunwen said with a smile: "However, there is still some water leakage in the propeller compartment. After a few hours, it must be drained with a water pump."

"It's still leaking!" Shao Kegui frowned when he heard this: "This propeller compartment is specially used for grease-sealed bearings, and even coated with a lot of coal tar pitch, but it still can't be completely sealed? It seems that, The propeller compartment also needs to be redesigned to make a separate channel in the stern shaft, or make an independent stern tube, so as to prevent seawater from seeping into all the bilges.”

"However, the so-called waterproof is only to reduce the degree, and it will leak. But it doesn't matter if the water leaks. This airtight cabin does not affect other cabins. Just keep the water level in this cabin low. How to keep it? Pump it out. , there is a pump for pumping water.” Another master craftsman of the shipyard said: “Our main task now is how to install a steam engine with a higher power on the ship. Just think about it, if it can drive a large ship with more than [-] tons, and This kind of big ship can also ignore the wind direction and season, which means that our maritime capacity will be increased by countless times on this basis!"

The propeller was conceived by King Qi more than ten years ago. After the steam engine was moved to the ship, it was immediately applied to this new type of power-driven ship.The propellers used in the earliest experiments were made of hardwood. Although this new structure proved to be more convenient and more efficient than the paddle wheel propulsion, it could not withstand the impact of water force during use, and basically could not run After a few hundred kilometers, it was completely destroyed.

Later, the Heishan Special Machinery Factory used cast iron to make wrought iron propellers by one-time forming and pouring, which made this latest underwater propulsion structure shine.However, the propeller requires a higher rotational speed during propulsion.Therefore, steam engines with speed-increasing mechanisms are used on propeller steamships.This steam engine used steel cables, short link chains, and gears to achieve the increased speed.

"I heard from the craftsmen of those shipyards that the newly built Daxing Special Shipyard is developing a steel ship that can sail at sea." Several sailors were talking in low voices while furling a few auxiliary sails.

"A ship made of steel?!" A sailor couldn't help being happy when he heard this, "Put a lump of iron in the sea, and it won't sink to the bottom immediately! Who dares to ride on this kind of iron ship?"

"I also wondered if it was unreliable." The sailor said: "Everyone knows that this iron is heavier than wood, and it will definitely sink when placed in water. Tell me, is Daxing Special Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. fooling the cabinet and the government?" Our navy, we want to cheat some research funds. The craftsmen of the shipyards also said with certainty that once this kind of iron ship is successfully developed, it can run across the entire ocean, and no warship of any country can sink it. it."

"That's right, no warship from any country can sink it, it sank to the bottom of the sea by itself!"

"Haha..." The sailors couldn't help laughing when they heard this.

"Who said that a ship made of steel will definitely sink to the bottom of the water?" A naval captain (second lieutenant) had a contemptuous expression on his face when he heard these sailors' comments, "Our ship for sea trials, the keel and The ribs are made of wrought iron, and I haven't seen it sinking into the sea!"

"Sir, although the keel and ribs of this ship are made of iron, the hull and most of the outer shell are made of hardwood, so it will naturally float to the surface of the sea and will not sink."

"A ship made of all steel, in everyone's subconscious, will definitely sink to the bottom of the water." The naval captain thought for a while and said: "However, a ship made of steel, as long as its cabin is empty, will sink to the bottom of the water." It can float on the water. It should be known that the weight of a hollow ship is much smaller than that of a solid iron of the same volume. Any object in the water will be subject to the buoyancy of the water, and the buoyancy will increase with the increase of the volume of the object immersed in the water. According to the principle of buoyancy, the buoyancy of an object in water is equal to the gravity of the water it displaces. And the gravity of the water displaced by a ship made of steel should also be able to balance with its own gravity. Therefore, in theory, an iron ship can float on on the water."

"what?……"

Several sailors nearby couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this. Can this ship made of iron lumps really float on the sea?
-
On May 5, Daxing (now Brisbane, Australia).

In the evening, two large flying fish boats (flying shear boats) from Gonggong Island (now the North Island of New Zealand) approached the berth lightly under the bright lighthouse of the wharf.

These two large flying fish boats are merchant ships under the Handong Trading Company. The boats are filled with fur, whale oil, seal oil, emerald jade, and some precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper.

In fact, compared to steam-powered ships whose technology is not yet fully mature, merchants have a soft spot for flying fish boats, especially those routes that can take advantage of ocean currents and monsoons. The speed of flying fish boats can easily reach 12-15 knots .

From Gonggong Island to Daxing City, the distance is more than 2000 kilometers, and it only takes six or seven days for a large flying fish boat with a full load of 40 tons to complete the journey.Even if it is going to the American continent, it only takes 50-[-] days for the big flying fish boat to drive close to the edge of the westerly drifting belt, and it will be the "long-distance running champion" at sea.

With more than 20 years of development and continuous improvement of technology, Qi State is now able to build a large flying fish boat with a full load displacement of [-] tons.

The flying fish boat has a small freeboard and less superstructure, which not only improves the stability of the ship, but also can give full play to the role of the sail.The boat sailed almost close to the water.The length-to-width ratio of the hull is generally greater than 6:1, and its underwater shape is designed as the minimum resistance to increase the speed and maintain a certain transverse resistance profile, making the waterline of the whole ship very beautiful, even in the waterline surface of the bow. The concave, long and sharp curve scissors-shaped stem presents a posture suitable for fast running, and can cut waves (cut waves) to reduce wave resistance on the sea.

Due to the ultra-high-speed nature of flying fish ships, merchant ships operating in India, Africa and Handong (South Pacific) are increasingly using this type of ship in order to speed up the turnover of material flows.However, those merchant ships operating in the Nanyang region, because they were in the windless zone or the breeze zone, instead used a large number of three-masted sailing ships in order to better capture the weak wind.

"Oh, God! Every time we land ashore, the beautiful Daxing City always brings us a new kind of surprise." Scott Moore sat on the carriage, stuck his head out of the window, and exclaimed.

"Old Mo, what are you screaming?" The fellow sailor patted Scott Moore on the shoulder, "Did you see a beautiful girl? Beware of people treating you as an unscrupulous apprentice Son, call the patrolman!"

"Oh, workmen, look at the streets outside." Scott Moore said in his inexperienced Chinese, "Bright street lights! Do you think there are beautiful ribbons, covering the city under the night sky?" The city is beautifully decorated? Oh, God, under the illumination of the street lamps, Daxing City is simply a city of light!"

"Hey, the government in Daxing City is really extravagant, so many street lamps are lit!" A sailor also poked his head out of the car window when he heard this, "My dear, with so many street lamps, I'm afraid it will burn a lot in one night." money?"

Street lamps first originated in London, England in the 15th century. At that time, in order to brighten the dark night of London in winter, London Mayor Henry Barton issued an order to hang lamps outdoors for lighting. This is the initial form of street lamps.Later, his initiative was supported by the French.

At the beginning of the 16th century, lighting fixtures had to be installed outside the windows of Parisian residential buildings facing the street.During the time of Louis XIV, many street lamps appeared on the streets of Paris.Just this year, the "Sun King" Louis XIV also officially promulgated the urban road lighting decree.

And because Daxing City is the most important whale processing center in the eastern part of Hanzhou, more than a dozen whaling ships dragged huge whales to Daxing Port every month, bringing a huge amount of whale oil to the city.Under such circumstances, Daxing Prefecture set out to build a "City of Light" and began to build an urban street lighting system.

After more than 20 years of continuous development, Daxing City has a population of more than [-] people, becoming the third largest city in Qi State after Jianye and Weihai.However, after the completion of the relocation of the capital of Qi State in the future, relying on the geographical advantage of the relatively close distance from the capital, coupled with the superior geographical location and flourishing industry and commerce here, the city will inevitably be "prosperous", and the population size will also increase. Followed by rapid growth.

"Huang, Li, our ship will stay in Daxing Port for five days. What are you going to do during this period?" Scott Moore turned to his companion.

Scott Moore, a German, was a former employee of the Dutch East India Company. After his service period expired, he directly jumped to Qiguo Handong Trading Company and became a senior sailor on a merchant ship.In the third year of living and working in Hanzhou, he completed the naturalization of Qi State and married a woman from Annan at the same time.

There are quite a few sailors like Scott Moore who have switched to the Qiguo Trading Company after finishing their service in the Dutch East India Company, which once caused the Dutch East India Company a headache.The sailors who worked so hard to recruit from Europe ended up taking advantage of the Qi people in vain, and they continued to get a large number of skilled sailors from them.

For this reason, the Dutch East India Company extended the service period of recruited personnel from the earliest three years to four or five years in order to stabilize the working period of the company's employees.

"I heard that the railway from Daxing to Chang'an (today's Toowoomba, Australia) is open to traffic. Why don't we experience the feeling of taking a train?"

"Huh?...Trains?!" Scott Moore immediately became interested when he heard this, "Is that the kind of steel giant running on the railway? I have seen it in Jianye City before. Noisy locomotives, dragging a long string of carriages, running like the wind on the railroad track. Oh, God, this is nothing short of a miracle!"

"A miracle? This is a steam locomotive built by the people of Qi. On the railway, it can pull the weight of hundreds of carriages at a time. Even if it is carrying people, it can also pull hundreds of people! Well, tomorrow we will all go to Daxing Buy a ticket at the train station to experience the miracle that Lao Mo said!"

(End of this chapter)