Outside the wall of the Hongye Village Shipyard, a short figure was jumping constantly, trying to climb up the wall and mix into the shipyard.

"Usopp!" A red-haired boy walked slowly behind Usopp with rice balls in his hand and said vaguely, "If you always run to the factory like this, you will be interrupted by the masters. In two days, there seems to be a big shot to visit. Now it's a busy group. Don't ask for trouble."

Usopp patted the dust in his hand and stopped unwillingly.

Originally, William meant to take Jesus' family to the city of Kalmar to take care of Usopp, which would allow Usopp to receive a good education, but Jesus was a very proud person in his heart. Although he was already an important cadre under William, the name of the sharpshooter in the East China Sea is well known. Every gunshot seemed to ring the death knell of the enemy.

But Jesus Bu never wanted his son Usopp to be treated too much because of his identity and status. He also believed that in doing so, Usopp would never become a famous man and achieve higher achievements, so he did not agree with William's opinion.

However, given that Jesus Bu's original hometown of Silobu Village was too remote, and in recent years, Jesus Bu's wife Banchina's health seemed not very good, Jesus Bu still let Usopp and Banchina move to the prosperous Hongye Village that has developed in recent years to live in medical treatment.

Influenced by Jesus' low-key and Bancina's words and deeds, Usopp did not develop the bad habit of playing dandy boys. However, Usopp, who yearned for pirates and was full of curiosity, always liked to run to the shipyard in Hongye Village and peek at various new ships here.

As the pillar industry of the entire village today, the shipyard, which is always covered by high walls, is like a mysterious forbidden area for a boy who is only nine years old and loves to imagine. Every factory inside seems to be full of magical technology.

"Eric," Usopp's eyes rolled for a moment, "Someone is here to visit? Is it because there is a new invention in the shipyard?"

The red-haired boy named Eric did not reply. Although his expression was childish and he looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, he had a burly figure like a bodybuilder because of his years of working in the shipyard. He came to Usopp, holding a rice ball in one hand and easily lifted Usopp up with his hands and holding a long-nosed boy who was dancing and leaving the surroundings of the shipyard.

"Let me go, I will be a big pirate in the famous Donghai in the future. You are like this?" Usopp said with a twitch.

Eric called out: "When you grow up, you don't know if there are any pirates in the East China Sea."

"I will join the Morgan Pirates!" Usopp defended.

"Then I wish you what you want. When you really become a cadre of the Morgan Pirates, I hope you can board the new warship I supervised and built." Anyone could hear the perfunctory manner in Eric's tone.

However, Usopp didn't care. He was smart and immediately grabbed what was revealed from the other party and asked excitedly: "New warship? Do you have the new warship?"

Eric smiled bitterly when he heard this.

...

"Is this the new ship?"

Two days later, in the shipyard in Hongye Village, William frowned and looked at the sea, where a strange-shaped ship was sailing.

The reason why this ship is said to be strangely shaped is because there are wheel-like paddle wheels on both sides, one of which is sunk in the sea, and the other part is exposed on the sea. At this time, sailing on the sea, the sails are collected, and the two slurry wheels are used to lift water to provide the ship with the power to move forward.

The shipyard's director and the local village chief Omar wiped cold sweat, looked at William who couldn't tell the difference between his emotions and anger, and looked at him, and Omar stepped forward and said, "Sir, this is a new type of ship invented by the shipcraft masters in the factory after working together. It is called paddle steamer. It can travel even in windless areas. There is also a steam engine installed on it, which can power the external slurry wheels, but..."

William glanced at Omar: "Just what?"

"But this structure makes the ship not flexible enough. In a wind and wave environment, the navigation is not stable enough because the blades of the pulp wheel are exposed to the water." Omar lowered his head, and was afraid to look at William's eyes, but he did not dare not report the problem, and he did not dare to fool William with rhetoric, because he understood that no matter how he said he was scattered, he would eventually be ridden and submitted to William for use. If the concealment problem was discovered by William, the consequences would be even more serious.

Omar knew very well that the seemingly young man in front of him was not a ignorant person. He was completely different from the prince in the palace who could tell why the poor could not afford bread and not eat meat. He worked hard from the bottom, and some problems could not be hidden from him.

Omar continued to whisper, "The blades of the slurry wheel are also more likely to be damaged, and it is not convenient to dock on the dock, and it is easy to collide with the steamships on both sides. In addition, if aquatic plants and other winding objects twist the blades or shafts of the slurry wheel, the paddle wheel may lose its rotation."

"Where is the propeller boat I mentioned last time?" William asked with a frown.

William had some impression of this kind of steamer powered by slurry wheels, but he had never seen it in his previous life and was replaced by propeller ships. William had no interest in it at all.

The head of the shipyard with a somewhat bald head stepped forward and said, "We are still studying the technology of using steam as the power of ships. It is the first time we use it. It is still very immature. The steam engine on the paddle steamer often has problems and is very low in efficiency. Sometimes it depends on manpower to apply it to the propeller you mentioned. We still need to continue experimenting."

William turned around and went to see the paddle steamer running on the sea. As Omar and the shipyard manager said, the new ship was still very unstable. As the few people spoke, the ship stopped. The slurry on both sides stopped moving. It seemed that something was wrong with the power.

"In two years, after leaving the clipper, I developed the paddle steamer. Your progress cannot be considered slow," William glanced at the two places with a embarrassed look on his face, "but I still hope that your speed can be accelerated a little more."

"I have never refused to ask for money, people, and resources. The weapons laboratory in Denpiel may not be as generous as you," Omar and the shipyard manager were a little uneasy, and then heard William say, "Since the masters in the shipyard are not enough to work together, then let's focus on some ideas. In two days, I will publish news in the newspaper to collect talents and ideas, and provide reward bonuses. Those who can improve the stability and power of the existing steam engine will be rewarded with a minimum of 10 million Bailey. If I can take out a mature and usable steam engine, I will provide a bonus of 500 million Bailey."

When William turned around, he found that Omar and the responsible person in the shipyard were red. He said to the factory manager: "You can tell the shipbuilder in the factory first about this matter. In two days, I will publish this matter in various newspapers in the East China Sea. I will set up a special project team to be responsible for the review."

"There's another thing," William stopped the factory director who was jealous and heartbroken by 500 million Bailey. "I'm going to select some young people in the factory and send them to the Seven Water Capital of the Great Railway to learn shipbuilding technology. You will draw a list of recommendations for me and detailed information about young people in the factory for my reference."

"Great Route?" The factory manager hesitated when he heard this. The status of the Seven Waters Capital is naturally extremely high in the hearts of ship craftsmen, but the infamous reputation of the Great Route is not so easy to dispel in people's hearts.
Chapter completed!