The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 600 Trying on
"Woo..."

The roaring whistle sounded, and two ironclad ships, emitting thick black smoke, slowly sailed away from the dock.

Zhang Yunyi looked at the ironclad warship going away and said without turning his head: "Wenhui, just tell the river management office, and the two ironclad warships will be sent over to help dredge the river as usual."

Gu Wenhui bowed and said, "Yes, sir!"

Nowadays, ships are mainly moved by water currents and wind, but when sailing against the current or when the wind direction is wrong, human assistance is needed.

It is naturally impossible for the ironclad ships built to be left idle. However, their current scale is limited and they are experimental ships, so their tonnage is too small.

Zhang Yun逸 was then stationed on the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou, doing some auxiliary work similar to that of a boat tracker.

This will not only prevent them from being idle, but also allow the recruited sailors to become familiar with operating steam-powered ironclad ships.

"Zhang Hua, how is the progress of the shipyard in Tianjin?"

"Your Excellency, it will be completed in two months at most!"

"Okay! Seize this opportunity and transfer the workers over as soon as possible!"

Zhang Yunyi paused, and added: "These shipyard workers must be centrally managed. Every worker on the ironclad ship is of great importance and will be treated well, but their backgrounds must be clean. There is the Maritime Customs Office in Tianjin, and Western merchants are constantly coming and going. They must not be allowed to come into contact with them."

The reason why Zhang Yun逸 arranged for the ironclad ships to go to the canal for training was also based on this consideration.

In those days, even if Westerners wanted to trade, they had to go through the Maritime Customs Office and at most stay in coastal ports.

Firstly, the current ship is too small, making supplies and other aspects very troublesome.

Secondly, Emperor Wanlong must be shown the usefulness of ironclad ships so that he can justify increasing investment.

Once the next batch of boats come out, we can practice on the lake.

"Speed ​​up the railway construction and strive to complete it before the second anniversary of your Majesty's accession to the throne."

As the scale of Tiangong Institute's industry expanded, the demand for various materials such as coal and iron also increased sharply.

This is another reason why Zhang Yun逸 arranged three ironclad ships to assist in the Grand Canal.

Of course, in addition to being able to do things, one also has to be politically conscious. The completion of the railway is a gift to Emperor Bandung.

After explaining these things, Zhang Yunyi turned around and got into the car.

He said to Gu Wenhui and Zhang Hua who were bowing, "I'm going to Tiangong Academy to see how the new ship design is going. You guys can go about your own business!"

Although there are many different opinions about the treasure ships that Zheng He used to sail to the West in the original time and space, it is indisputable that their displacement was thousands of tons.

Although wooden ships and ironclad ships cannot be generalized, with the current shipbuilding technology of the Great Xia Dynasty, even wooden ships would find it difficult to reach this scale.

One cannot become fat in one bite, so Zhang Yun逸 plans to proceed step by step. In addition to the three training ships mentioned above, he plans to build several 500- and 800-ton training ships as a transition.

The weight of the ship, weapons and equipment, carrying capacity and dimensions all need to be verified.

The work in this area will naturally be entrusted to the teachers and students of Xianxue.

He drove to Xianxue, checked the progress and design drawings with Wang Hui, and gave an open class to the teachers and students of Xianxue before returning to the city before dusk.

……

In this way, I was busy in the yamen for two days.

After Qingwen finished making the skirt, Zhang Yun逸 specially asked for a day off and sent someone to pass the message to Lady Wang and Jia Baoyu. Then he brought Jin Chuan, the skirt and high-heeled shoes, to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

By the time Jin Chuan put the wrapped skirt and shoes on the table, Xue Baoqin couldn't wait to unwrap them.

Looking at the heels of those high heels, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but be amazed.

She looked at Xue Baoqin, covered her mouth and laughed, "These are not shoes, they are obviously stilts...Sister Baoqin, don't fall down later!"

"Sister Lin, you don't know that the girls from Zhenzhen Country are very well dressed!"

Xue Baoqin held the skirt in her hand, measured it against her waist, and said with joy, "Brother Yi's work is really spot on!"

Because the two layers were stacked together, Xue Baoqin and Lin Daiyu didn't notice anything unusual.

Zhang Yunyi looked embarrassed and said, "This is my first time making this, Qingwen doesn't have much experience, and there are some issues with the material I chose. You can try again later..."

"How can that be?" Xue Baoqin interrupted him before he could finish, "Third sister has mentioned it several times, but we're just waiting to see!" Her eyes never left her skirt, and she didn't notice the twitching corners of Zhang Yunyi's mouth.

Holding the two corners of her skirt, she ordered the maids outside the door, "Go quickly! Invite all the sisters over!"

To say that Zhang Yunyi didn't want to see the effect was to deceive himself. Anyway, he had already reminded her in advance, and since Xue Baoqin insisted on wearing it, he couldn't blame him.

After the maid ran out to ask for help, Xue Baoqin returned to the table and turned the skirt over and over with Lin Daiyu to check its structure.

Lin Daiyu touched the tail feathers inside the lining and asked, "What kind of bird's feathers are these?"

"There is a kind of white peacock in Nanyang..."

Xue Baoqin sighed: "Brother Yi is really well-informed, he knows all this!"

"Let the Maritime Customs bring a few from Southeast Asia and raise them in the garden..."

"That's a good feeling!"

The three of them chatted idly, and when all the sisters came over after hearing the news, Xue Baoqin showed it to everyone like she was presenting a treasure, and introduced it inside and out.

When they heard that the lining was made of white peacock's tail feathers, everyone couldn't help but marvel at it.

"Brother Yi and sisters, wait a moment. I'll go in and change first!"

Xue Baoqin carefully held her skirt and carried her shoes back to the house.

Tanchun asked with a smile, "Brother Yi, you must have taken a lot of trouble for this white peacock's tail feathers, right?"

Zhang Yunyi's face did not turn red, and his heart did not beat. He said perfunctorily: "It's okay! It's okay! The color of this feather is too plain, and the ladies in the palace don't like it. Nanyang has also paid tribute to it, so there are still many stocks."

Lin Daiyu glanced at the two of them and said with a smile, "Brother Yi said that he would also bring back some live white peacocks from Southeast Asia and keep them in the garden. If Third Sister likes these peacocks, she must make an appointment with Brother Yi in advance!"

"..."

Tanchun's face froze, she pursed her lips and said, "I'll forget it, I'll just focus on my sisters first!"

Shi Xiangyun, who was standing by, said absentmindedly, "With feathers lining the skirt, won't it mean that she can't even sit on it?"

Of course you can sit, but your skirt cannot be pressed down by it.

Zhang Yun逸 had a deep understanding of this. That night, he was not paying attention and creased his skirt.

Originally, no one paid attention to this detail, but after hearing what Shi Xiangyun said, their faces suddenly turned red and they looked at each other.

The scene was a bit embarrassing.

Xue Baochai said quickly, "Western things can only be worn at home for a while, just for fun, but how can you wear them all the time?"

Yingchun said with a lingering fear: "That's true... Let alone wearing it outside, even in the garden, I dare not let the old lady and the ladies know..."

Yuanchun hurriedly said, "That's right! Baoyu is getting married soon, why is he still not around all day?"

"I don't know what kind of person this new sister-in-law is like?"

Everyone quickly changed the subject.

After chatting for a long time, Xue Baoqin still didn't come out.

Lin Daiyu suddenly stood up and said, "Go and have a look. Could it be that he didn't stand firmly on the stilts and fell?"

As he was speaking, he heard a series of "dong dong" sounds coming from the west.

Xue Baoqin walked out staggeringly with her arms outstretched and an embarrassed look on her face.

"This……"

Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai were quick to act and rushed forward, supporting Xue Baoqin on the left and right.

Xue Baoqin couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and said, "It's easier said than done. It looks simple, but I can't even walk when I put it on!"

Lin Daiyu said angrily and amusedly, "You have to force yourself to wear it even though you can't. Didn't Brother Yi tell you to do it? He didn't force you to wear it now!"

……

(End of this chapter)