At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 355 Trials
In the simple world view of the ancients, it is impossible for iron to float in water.

Therefore, from ancient times to the present, both large and small boats have been made of wood.

Although the people of the Academy of Sciences have popularized relevant knowledge long ago, they have also proved through experiments that containers such as iron basins and iron pans can float on water.

However, when this [-]-ton giant ship really stands in front of everyone's eyes, such doubts inevitably arise in everyone's mind.

This ship is piled up with countless steels. Just imagine, if you throw rails, trains, and large boilers into the water, can they float?
Although Jin Ying, the governor of the shipyard, has put all his energy on the first iron-clad ship of Ming Dynasty in the past two years, but he is not professional after all, and it is the first time he faces such a huge steel monster. I really don't know if it will sink when I start it.

Maybe... it won't sink, right?
To him, this warship is like a child he raised with his own hands, but after all, it is made of steel. Although it is floating in the water now, who knows what will happen after the big boiler is turned on?

All I can do now is to pray that everything goes well, countless silver, countless personnel, countless days and nights...

Can't sink!

At this moment, he secretly made a decision in his heart, if the ship sank, he didn't have to apologize, he just sank to the bottom of the sea with the ship!

Although Zhu Qizhen knew the principles of steam engines, he had little experience in shipbuilding.

He is very clear that he is at most a guide, and whether this huge ship can be started depends on the efforts of thousands of technicians and craftsmen.

Looking at the huge chimney standing on the boat, it feels like a boiler room in the backyard of a school...

At this time, a large number of carefully selected sailors and crew members have already lined up on the deck, waiting for the next step.

Zhu Qizhen raised his eyes and saw that these people were straight and dark-skinned, but they looked energetic.

"Soldiers, everyone has worked hard!"

Everyone immediately replied in unison: "Long live the emperor!"

Zhu Qizhen was very satisfied, those who have been out to sea are different, this momentum is full.

"Now follow my will, everyone returns to their posts and prepares for the sea trial!"

"Yes!"

There was another uniform shout from the deck, and then everyone immediately dispersed and rushed to their posts.

Following behind Zhu Qizhen, Bei Lin was engaged in scientific research and was very interested in the ship's steam engine. She couldn't wait to see what the ship would look like when it started.

Tang Xinggu's face was a little strange, he was not interested in science or anything, but what the emperor liked and admired, he would support it vigorously, and it was over!
But, is this ironclad ship really unsinkable...

"Your Majesty, no!"

Just when Tang Xinggu was hesitating, someone beside him spoke.

He turned his head to look, and it turned out to be Cao Yi, the governor of Zhejiang Province.

Zhu Qizhen was dissatisfied and said, "Why not?"

Cao Yi saluted and said: "My Majesty, this iron-clad ship is moored in the port, and if there is any problem, it can be rectified in time, but once it leaves the port, in case something goes wrong, what should I do?"

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Chun, the prefect of Ningbo, also persuaded: "Please think again, Your Majesty!"

Both of these two were Jinshi during the Yongle period, and they could be regarded as veterans of the four dynasties.

Old pedants like them not only don't understand science, but resist it from the bottom of their hearts.

In the capital, there were also a large number of scholars, including high-ranking officials and dignitaries, who publicly opposed natural science and regarded these people as aliens, which is a shame for scholars.

However, with the rollout of the railway, many people consciously shut up.

On the contrary, the localities, especially the affluent places like Jiangnan, where there are many big families, are more opposed to science.

In fact, this is easy to understand. The reason why these families can rise is mostly through reading.

They will naturally regard Confucianism as a sacred and inviolable truth.

With the implementation of the New Deal, a large number of natural sciences have emerged, which has shaken the dominance of Confucianism, which they cannot accept.

Therefore, neither Cao Yi, the governor of Zhejiang, nor Zhang Chun, the prefect of Ningbo, have ever really supported the construction of ironclad ships by Ningbo Shipyard.

With these 3000 million taels of silver, wouldn't it be good to build more treasure ships?
Treasure ships can earn money back when they go out to sea, what can this big iron lump do?
Now that they heard that the emperor wanted to try the sea himself, the two hurriedly dissuaded him.

Let's not talk about the performance of this iron lump, we don't understand, but it would be nice to have a crew on the trial voyage, you are the emperor, the Ninth Five-Year Lord, do you have to risk your life?

Even if you can't think about it, don't have an accident in Ningbo!
If the ship sinks and the people are gone, what will we old brothers do?
Seeing this, Zhu Qizhen smiled lightly, and said: "Before I came, I had doubts, but after meeting today, all doubts have been dispelled. If the two Qings are worried, you can go to the shore and wait."

Cao Yi and Zhang Chun looked at each other, oh, the emperor personally commanded the sea trial, and our brothers are waiting on the shore?
If something happens, our heads will still be lost!
Take a step back and say, even if everything goes well, how will the two of us behave in the future?
"Your Majesty, I think that there is a specialization in art. Since it is a sea trial, you should find someone who understands sailing. Your Majesty is always in charge of everything, and you don't have to do everything yourself."

"You say I don't know how to sail?"

"no no……"

Cao Yi waved his hands again and again, and said, "Chen... I mean, it's..."

Seeing this, Zhang Chun hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Cao means that the weather at sea is unpredictable. What should we do if we encounter wind and waves?"

Except for Beilin and Tang Xinggu, most of the accompanying officials did not want the emperor to board the ship.

Because... If the emperor boards the ship, they will definitely follow!

Seeing that Cao and Zhang stood up, others also began to persuade them.

Zhu Qizhen turned his head and asked, "Jin Ying, let me tell you, how safe is this ship? Have you prepared corresponding rescue measures?"

Jin Ying nodded hastily, and said: "Please rest assured, the emperor has already prepared a search and rescue ship at the port. I have learned swimming a few days ago, and now I am proficient."

After hearing this, Cao Yi rolled his eyes angrily.

Why didn't you say you learned to swim earlier, let us learn together!
What's the use of saying these things now, when you really fall into the water, how can you still save a whole boat of people?

Seeing that the situation was not good, he rolled his eyes and said: "As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. If the emperor insists on boarding the ship, and the Ministry of Rites and the Metropolitan Procuratorate find out, I am afraid that he will..."

Knowing that he couldn't persuade him, he simply pulled out the Ministry of Rites and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

At this time, Tang Xinggu stood up and said: "The emperor wants to test the voyage himself, there is a reason for it, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate has no objection!"

Cao Yi's heart suddenly turned cold, why didn't this guy play his cards according to the routine?

You are the censor of the left capital!
Shouldn't the censor fight against the emperor everywhere, and find some problems if he has nothing to do?
what's the situation?
"Tang Yushi, you must be responsible for what you say!"

"Naturally responsible!"

Tang Xinggu said expressionlessly: "No matter what the emperor does, the procuratorate will support it!"

Cao Yi was shaking with anger, what are you doing?

Zhu Qizhen didn't bother to talk nonsense with him anymore, so he said with a gloomy face, "Who else from the Qing family wants to dissuade you, please do so after boarding the ship! This ship is the first iron-clad ship in Ming Dynasty, and countless people's efforts have been poured into it." Hard work, if I don’t board the ship today, how will I know the suffering of the army and the people? I am a real dragon, and the dragon cannot be drowned in the sea!"

Although he himself knows that feudal superstition is not a good thing, but in this era, the status of the real dragon emperor is still easy to use.

Even people who don't believe in ghosts and gods still like all kinds of beautiful meanings more or less.

Everyone had to keep their mouths shut, and Jin Ying immediately ordered to go down and prepare to leave the port!
Zhu Qizhen still stayed on the deck, looking at the sea from here, as far as he could see, the scenery was completely different, and his mood became wider.

The waves beat against the ship, but the feet did not feel the slightest shaking, which showed that the waterline of the ship was already quite high.

Inside and outside the cabin, orders are everywhere, and everyone is making final preparations.

"The power system is normal!"

"The gun bay is ready!"

"All crew members in the sail cabin are assembled!"

"The mainsail is normal!"

"The jib is normal!"

"The helmsman is ready..."

At this moment, the busiest person was Jin Ying, he couldn't even take care of the emperor, he was completely devoted to the boat.

Finally, all equipment has been checked and all personnel are ready.

Jin Ying came to Zhu Qizhen, saluted solemnly and said: "Your Majesty, the preparations have been completed, do you want to set sail?"

Zhu Qizhen nodded, and said, "Preach my will, set sail!"

"According to the order!"

Jin Ying took two steps back, then turned around.

"The emperor has a decree, set sail!"

In front of him, the herald immediately shouted: "Qi-hang-"

Soon, the anchor was pulled up and the sail was lowered.

Immediately afterwards, under the feet of everyone, there was a rumbling sound, and the whole ship was shaking.

Cao Yi and the others were taken aback. They started shaking before it even started?
Even Fan Zhong, Yuan Bin and others showed nervous expressions on their faces.

The only one who is calm is Belin, the steam engine, such a huge steam engine, if it doesn't make some movement, it will be strange!

The steam engine had started, and thick smoke began to be emitted from the huge chimney.

The entire hull shook again, and then, the hull tilted slightly to one side.

Cao Yi's face turned pale with fright, and Zhang Chun let out a wailing sound.

Belin glanced at them and said calmly: "Everyone, don't panic, it should be that the ship is turning."

The ironclad ship is different from the treasure ship, it uses a pointed bottom, and the heavy hull moves slowly, setting off huge waves.

In the boiler room, a large number of people are constantly replenishing coal.

These coals will be converted into heat energy, and then converted into power, driving the propeller to rotate and pushing the giant ship forward.

Although people in this era don't know the principle of energy conversion, they know that as long as coal is burned, the ship can go.

With the rumbling sound, the hull began to move.

At the beginning, the movement was very slow, so that Zhu Qizhen felt a little disappointed.

The hull is too heavy and the power is simply not enough.

This was made with 3000 million taels of silver. In the end, it's not just an embroidered pillow.

Looking up, Ningbo Port is gradually going away.

Slowly, you can see the whole picture of the shipyard. From this angle, it is very spectacular.

The hull is still very stable, but the speed...is really not enough.

Zhu Qizhen called Jin Ying over and asked, "Is it the biggest motivation now?"

Jin Ying said: "If you go back to the emperor, there are four boilers in the power cabin, and now only one is activated."

Zhu Qizhen couldn't help asking: "Why only one is activated?"

Jin Ying hurriedly explained: "The original idea was to activate two and reserve two, and three or even four could be activated at critical times. However, today is only a trial flight, and this servant thinks that one is enough."

When Zhu Qizhen heard it, he immediately became interested: "How can it be possible, now activate two sets, and I will see the effect."

Jin Ying had no choice but to do so, and soon, the hull began to accelerate.

The shipyards in the port are also getting farther and farther away, and obviously, the speed has increased.

This is just steam power, without the sail, the effect is already very good.

However, some of the accompanying officials began to react, dizzy, nauseous, and it seemed that they were seasick.

Zhu Qizhen ordered someone to send the seasick person to the rest room or medical room, and then gave another order to start the third boiler!

Jin Ying's face was a bit ugly, because no one can guarantee whether these boilers can operate normally, or how far can they go?
In case of failure in the middle, there is a spare.

The obvious reason is that the more boilers that are active, the greater the chance of failure.

However, whoever dared to disobey the emperor's will had to do so.

The whole ship made a rumbling sound, and Zhu Qizhen felt that the speed increased again.

Looking behind him, the escorting clippers couldn't keep up.

At this time, he became even more interested, and ordered again: "All four channels are on!"

Jin Ying's face has turned black, if everything is broken, there is no going back!

He hesitated for a moment, and just about to dissuade him, Zhu Qizhen said impatiently: "Hurry up, what are you waiting for?"

Jin Ying was very helpless, sighed silently, and passed on the order.

The hull accelerated again, and the escorting clippers behind, even with their sails inflated, became smaller and smaller, and finally became blurred black spots.

At this point, everyone gasped.

The body of steel, the load capacity of [-] tons, the speed is so fast!

It can be used to go like the wind.

However, in most people's hearts, there are still concerns.

Because I am used to living on land on weekdays, with the solid earth under my feet, and now I am a ship floating in the vast ocean, I will inevitably feel uneasy.

Jin Ying trotted over and said, "Your Majesty, nearly [-]% of the fuel has been consumed. Do you want to return?"

Zhu Qizhen frowned, and asked, "It's only been a short time, and you've used up [-]%?"

Jin Ying laughed and said, "Your Majesty doesn't know. Since today is just a test voyage, the servants are worried that too much coal will affect the speed of the voyage, so they make their own proposals...the fuel tank is only filled with [-]% of the capacity."

Zhu Qizhen was dissatisfied and said: "I just want to see the true speed of this ship. You have loaded less coal today, and if you really sail in the future, will you also load less?"

Jin Ying hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your servant... I know I was wrong..."

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said impatiently: "Okay, let's stop talking, let's go back to the voyage!"

(End of this chapter)