Steam was rising on the broad river surface. People on the shore looked at it from a distance. The prince was standing in the car, and the princess of Jiaxing was standing next to him and excitedly shouted: "Father, look, that big ship is blowing steam."
The paddle wheel at the stern of the boat rolled, the water rippled, and it came from the other side of the river. Only when it slowly approached did everyone see its full picture clearly.
It was a small ship, but of course it was equivalent to the huge treasure ship parked on the shore. It was an ordinary merchant ship, a 100-material-level merchant ship.
Zheng He's treasure ship cost 5000 materials, and there were also 2000 materials and 1600 materials ships in the fleet. Ordinary merchant ships cost between 50-200 materials.
When the ship docked and the people on board got off, everyone was surprised, because there were only three people.
Although this merchant ship is not very big, it is still a merchant ship. There are only three people and it can sail without sails. If you are not prepared, you will really find it incredible.
"Your Majesty, please come on board." Zheng He motioned for everyone to get on board and enjoy the scenery.
Zhu Di was walking like a tiger and everyone followed him. Princess Jiaxing trotted to Zhu Zhancheng's side: "Fifth brother heard that you came up with the idea of boiling water?"
"yes."
"Fifth brother is so smart."
When everyone stepped onto the deck, they were even more surprised because the deck and cabin were filled with ballast sand and gravel, and the ship was sailing with a full load just now.
Although Zhu Di did not change his expression and just smiled to express his satisfaction, the joy bursting out of his eyes was no less than anyone else's.
Zheng He pointed to the cargo in the ballast: "This ship can carry two hundred and forty dan of grain when fully loaded. We have tested that the ship can still travel normally even when fully loaded."
"How fast is it going?"
"No less than three hundred miles a day."
Zheng He's words made Zhu Di and the King of Han instantly change their expressions. This kind of carrying capacity can travel three hundred miles a day. Whether it is marching or delivering food, what does this mean to them who have been fighting all year round?
This means that your logistics supply is at least five times faster than the current enemy's.
"Your Majesty, after the steamer is started, it can keep moving. Only three people can operate it just now. One of them is the person who looks out at the river to remind. There are only two people actually operating it. It can keep running in separate shifts. Unless it is difficult to observe the situation at night, otherwise it can
go further."
The current sailing speed of the steam ship is about 10 kilometers per hour, of course when the weather is calm, and it has not officially entered the sea yet.
At the speed of ancient times, horses could travel thousands of miles day and night, but if the army was transporting supplies, it would not be able to travel that fast.
Suppose there is a war on the edge of the Great Wall. If soldiers and food are dispatched from the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, it will take a long time just to send people and materials there. In this era, not everyone has a horse to ride.
Therefore, important border defense towns often need to store large amounts of food to prepare for emergencies. Just transporting this food every day and managing these food materials require a lot of financial resources.
Although there are only steamships now, as long as steam engines are feasible, steam trains will inevitably appear. At least the cost of escorting supplies and soldiers will be greatly reduced, which is all wasted money.
Just imagine, if there is a battle to defend Peiping in the future, Zheng He's treasure ship carrying people and goods will disembark directly from Tianjin. It will be just like what is written in the novel. In less than three days, tens of thousands of elite troops will fall from the sky. This kind of supply support capability from the rear,
In this era, opportunities can make the Ming army invincible.
When everyone's strength is about the same, the battle is about who can replenish the supplies quickly and who has enough food and grass. Not to mention that I have strong soldiers and horses and can replenish supplies much faster than you.
The steam engine, a revolutionary product in this era, will bring about all-round innovation.
Zheng He continued to lead everyone to the heart of the steamship, the steam engine.
Looking at that big lump of iron, no one could understand his principle. Even if there were a few people who could understand it after analyzing the principle, after constant modification and trial and error, although the current steam engine is not a complete product, it has
The details are no longer visible to those who have not participated in the research.
The emperor doesn't care, I don't need to understand, I just need this iron lump to burn coal to make the ship move.
Finally, there is the paddle wheel at the stern. Originally, Zhang San and others wanted to install the paddle wheel on both sides of the ship, but due to limited technology and lack of time, they did not have time to implement it, so they finally installed it on the stern.
"Fifth Brother, this thing seems to be the waterwheel in the Imperial Garden."
"Yes, the principle is the same."
"From boiling water to steam engines, from waterwheels to paddle wheels, they are all trivial things that can be seen, but the ideas they came up with are really fantastic. Zhan Chang, well done." Zhu Di's praise made Zhu Zhanyi happy.
He scratched his head in amusement.
"Grandpa Huang, the idea of the paddle wheel was thought up by Zhang San and other craftsmen. We were still worrying about it before."
"Oh?" Zhu Di was surprised: "Is this why you want to recruit people from all over the world who can refine tools?"
Zhu Zhanzhen simply chuckled: "Grandpa Huang has seen through everything."
"It's very good that the three cobblers can stand up to Zhuge Liang. They know their own shortcomings and use the strengths of others. It's very good." Zhu Di praised Zhu Zhanyang very much today.
"Your Majesty, would you like to take a boat ride?" Zheng He asked tentatively.
Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji, who were following, hurriedly stopped them: "No, no, after all, the steamship is still in the experimental stage and has not yet been perfected. Your Majesty's dragon body is precious and cannot be taken risks."
Zhu Di's face dropped: "If he is so timid about such a trivial matter, wouldn't the Emperor of Ming Dynasty be ridiculed by others?"
"The Ming Dynasty must have steamships and steam cars. In the future, there will be steam ships everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. If you don't dare to ride on them, how will you let soldiers ride on them and how will you let the people ride on them in the future?"
Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji knelt down helplessly. Zhu Gaochi said, "I know I was wrong."
"You two get off the boat and don't follow me."
"this……"
Sensing Zhu Di's unhappiness, the two of them could only get off the boat and watch the merchant ship rise again with steam and slowly accelerate.
Zheng He had tried the steamboat many times without any problems, so he dared to let Zhu Di sit on it. He would not dare if he was not sure.
The merchant ship faced the wind. Zhu Di stood on the bow and felt the speed brought by steam power. Zhu Di looked at the river with great enthusiasm, as if he saw the prosperous Ming Dynasty.
"In the future, the river will be filled with merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty, coming from Jiaozhi, Korea, Japan, and the West. They will serve the heavenly mansion like the Ming Dynasty's Chang'an City, and all the nations will come to pay homage."
"Your Majesty is blessed with good fortune and destiny." The King of Han was the first to take the lead in kneeling down.
All civil and military officials on the ship knelt down and worshiped, and Zhu Di was so high-spirited that he seemed young again.
"Okay, starting from today, Zheng He will supervise the National Yangtze River Shipyard to install steam engines on treasure ships. Next time you sail to the West, I want to see a treasure ship that can be run by steam engines."
"My lord, I obey the order." Zheng He did not hesitate.
"Also, the cabinet has drafted a decree to strictly investigate the private use of imperial ships, tax evasion in water transportation, and salt transportation from today on. Chen Xuan is ordered to take charge of the reorganization of river trade taxes. Zhu Zhanji, grandson of Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui, and the emperor
Sun Zhuzhan was there to assist, and all taxes were settled with food stamps."