Jin Feng has always been generous to his workers, just like when he set up a factory in Jinchuan. After word spread about the treatment of various factories in Yuxi Town, people from the surrounding area came here to look for jobs.
If Daqiang hadn't arranged for people to block the main road to the Central Plains, Yuxi Town would have been overcrowded.
Most of the navy's soldiers come from the East China Sea area, and most of their families are not in very good condition, otherwise they would not send their children to the navy to fight for their lives against pirates.
Now that I have a good job, I naturally have to arrange for my own people first.
So Zheng Chiyuan encouraged the navy soldiers to go back and bring their families to work in Yuxi Town.
This can not only improve the economic environment of the soldiers' families, so that the soldiers have no worries, but also control the soldiers' families in disguise to prevent them from rebelling. It can be said that it kills several birds with one stone.
The bodyguard prevented others from going back to report the news, but did not stop the navy soldiers from going back to take their families. They just asked them not to spread the news about Yuxi Town at will, so as not to cause a wave of refugees.
This month, almost all Navy soldiers have moved their families to Yuxi Town. When various factories recruit people, they also give priority to the families of Navy soldiers.
That night, the sailors suspended training and went to town to reunite with their families.
After all, they have to sail thousands of miles to a place they have never been to. Although sailors say they are not afraid, most of them are still a little scared in their hearts.
But early the next morning, all the sailors still rushed to the camp to gather, and no one was missing.
Jin Feng didn't sleep in, he came before dawn.
The pre-war mobilization that needed to be done had been done some time ago, so Jin Feng did not make a long speech again. He just stood at the front of the queue, straightened his back, and solemnly saluted the sailors with a military salute!
Wow!
The sailors also raised their arms and uniformly returned a military salute to Jin Feng. Then, under the leadership of Zheng Chiyuan, they lined up and walked towards the No. 1 dock.
The heavily guarded Dock No. 1 opened the dock door today, allowing sailors to enter.
The sailors did not get on the ship immediately, but walked through the dock and came to the trestle behind the lock.
Jin Feng also followed the sailors to the dock, but instead of going to the trestle, he and Hong Taoping walked to the ladder beside the wall.
The dock is a huge shed, with half-empty walls on the left and right sides of the shed, and a gallery-like platform on each side.
When everyone got on the platform, Jin Feng nodded towards Hong Taoping.
"Open the gate!"
Hong Taoping shouted in the direction of the gate.
"yes!"
There was a response from the direction of the gate, and then the huge chain next to the gate was slowly moving.
Rumble!
The heavy gate slowly lifted as the chain rotated, and the seawater that was blocked from the outside surged into the dock and entered the water tank below the iron ship.
Ten minutes later, the huge gate was completely opened, and the water in the dock tank became level with the sea surface.
The iron-clad ship was less than half submerged in the sea water and rocked back and forth with the fluctuations of the sea water.
However, because there are cables tied to both sides and a gantry crane hanging from above, and the water in the water tank is limited, the shaking of the armored ship is not serious.
After waiting for a few more minutes, the armored ship finally stopped shaking and stopped quietly in the water tank.
Only then did the sailors line up to board the ironclad ship.
During the training process, they have entered the armored ship many times and have a very clear understanding of the structure of the armored ship.
After getting on the ship, everyone rushed to their posts quickly and got ready to start work.
Then the workers in the shipyard loosened the cables on both sides and the gantry crane, while another group of workers dragged several new cables from the gate and hooked them to various places on the stern deck of the ironclad ship.
As the winch rotates, the cable is stretched straight, and the armored ship is towed to move slowly.
Chapter 1575 First time in the water (2 / 2)
2540 words
1 month ago
When the armored ship passed the gate, the winch suddenly rotated in the opposite direction, and the tight cable instantly became loose.
The workers immediately lifted the hook and threw it down.
Although the ironclad ship lost the drag of the cable, it still moved toward the sea due to inertia.
Although it moved slowly, it finally broke out of the dock and entered the sea. Then its inertia was exhausted, and the iron-clad ship floated quietly on the sea.
"Success!"
There were countless cheers all around.
Hammer clenched his fist and looked up to the sky and screamed.
This ironclad ship was the work of so many people. Workers in the entire shipyard had been working on it for several months, and almost no one had even had a day off.
After all, there had never been an iron ship in this world before. Even if they believed in Jin Feng, everyone was still worried about what would happen if the iron ship sank.
Now it turns out that iron ships can really float!
"Sir, it worked!"
Hong Taoping shook Jin Feng's shoulders excitedly.
Relatively speaking, Jin Feng was much calmer.
He patted Hong Taoping's paws away and said with a smile: "Why are you excited? This is just the first step, the next step is the highlight!"
"Yes, yes, the highlight is later!"
Hong Taoping rubbed his face, forcing himself to calm down, and then looked at Jin Feng expectantly.
Jin Feng did not disappoint him and nodded towards the messenger behind him.
The messenger immediately waved the flag and conveyed Jin Feng's order to the armored ship.
Soon, thick black smoke came out of the huge chimney at the stern of the ship, and the smell of burning coal filled the air.
Previously, in the dock, the propeller couldn't work because there was too little sea water in the tank. Now on the sea surface, the steam engine can be started.
More than half an hour later, a puff of white mist spewed out of another chimney.
This means that the water in the boiler is boiled.
With a loud whistle, the propeller at the rear of the cabin slowly turned.
Everyone was staring at the turbulent seawater stirred by the propeller at the stern of the ship, and they did not dare to breathe out.
Entering the sea is only the first step, getting it moving is the most important thing.
Success or failure depends on whether the steam engine can push the iron-clad ship next!
Jin Feng could confirm that the iron ship could float, but he could not confirm this. At this time, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
The surroundings fell into an eerie silence, with only the sounds of steam engines and propellers churning the sea water.
In the expectant eyes of everyone, the armored ship slowly moved.
It didn't move very fast at first, and you wouldn't be able to spot it unless you were paying attention.
But as the steam engine continued to work, the armored ship moved faster and faster, from moving a little bit to the speed of an adult walking, and then to the speed of a brisk walk.
This process took more than ten minutes, and the armored ship also moved forward several hundred meters.
This speed is a bit slow for a child, and it is not worth mentioning for a war horse, but for sailing, it is already very good.
After all, the armored ship has to sail a long distance. Once it starts running, it may not stop for several months. The temporary slowness is nothing, as long as it can continue to accelerate.
Judging from the current performance of the armored ship, it is obvious that it is continuing to accelerate, indicating that the current speed is far from its maximum speed.