Dominate the Country

Whether Chinese or foreigners, they all care about a good reputation before and after death. Fame and wealth are like the root of all evil, and few people throughout history can finally see through it. Everyone wants to be a pillar of the country who will be remembered in history, and they don't want to be infamous for thousands of years.

Even if Qin Hui was resurrected from the ground, he would not want to be infamous today: People since the Song Dynasty were ashamed of the name of Hui, and I am ashamed of the surname Qin in front of the grave. That is the real infamy for thousands of years!

And if you want to be remembered in history, Chengtian Hall is a ladder to heaven.

If someone's name is recorded in history books, it may not be remembered in history. There are so many names recorded in history textbooks, and they are also remembered in history, but who dares to say that they are remembered in history? Most of them are wooden people who are neither hot nor cold. And Huang Baozhou not only went to Chengtian Hall, but also presided over the manufacture of large iron ships, which is amazing.

Didn't you hear what the emperor said just now?

The big iron ship is not called a big iron ship, but a big iron ship. This kind of ship is 100% used as a navy warship. As long as it is identified as a warship, it can be expected that there will be a main battleship in the navy fleet in the future that will be named Huang Baozhou, which is the real history!

After the motor sailing ship was invented before, there was a ship named after the director of the ship in the marine transport team of the general logistics, and Huang Baozhou's treatment would definitely not be bad.

For Chen Ming, the title can be conferred but not abused. In his eyes, Huang Baozhou's contribution is definitely not small. If China also has the title of knight or lord, Huang Baozhou's talents may not be conferred. But the lowest title in China is earl, even if it is a lord, it is much higher than the lord.

Of course, Chen Ming can also come up with a title of "doctor", but he thought about it and decided to wait until Chen Ding succeeded to the throne before announcing it.

For him, forget it.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Huang Baozhou and the senior staff of the shipyard behind him were all overjoyed. The emperor would not reward only one person. Huang Baozhou could be painted in Chengtian Hall, and at least several of them were promoted three levels.

"Is this the big iron ship?" In the dock, Wang Qi, Dai Junyuan, Cao Zhenyong and others looked at the big ship tied tightly with ropes on the high platform, with surprised expressions on their faces. The big ship in front of them was completely different from the ships they had seen before. It was like an unfinished model of a ship. Not only did it have no mast, but it also had no paddle wheels.

They had heard the words "big iron ship" more than once, but these people only thought that this big iron ship was just a layer of iron shell on the outside. Yes, until now these people didn't know what the big iron ship was. Chen Ming guarded it very strictly in secret.

And now the hull of this ship is covered with paint, and the surface outside is indeed a layer of iron, reflecting the luster in the sun, like a huge iron city standing there.

Huang Baozhou nodded with a smile: "Your Majesty, the tonnage of this ship is about 1,500 tons, and it can carry 2,700 tons of cargo. The iron ship can carry one-fifth more than the wooden ship of the same tonnage."

This data is really hard to believe without experimentation. The iron ship can carry more than the wooden ship. When Huang Baozhou and his team came up with such data, they lost all their hair and couldn't figure it out. But this is the fact!

"It's all made of iron. Won't it sink in the water?" An official accompanying Chen Ming couldn't help asking, and Wang Qi and others also showed doubts on their faces. Huang Baozhou actually said that the iron ship can carry one-fifth more than the wooden ship. It's nonsense!

But with their status, it's not the time to speak now.

"Of course not. This ship weighs 1,500 tons, and the buoyancy under the drainage line can reach more than 4,000 tons." Huang Baozhou explained. As the first person in charge of this project, he still knows this ship very well.

Maybe its speed will not reach the ideal state, but it will never sink to the bottom of the water.

The official who asked the question said "Oh". He naturally knew the relationship between buoyancy and load, but he was skeptical about it in his heart.

Chen Ming looked at China's first large iron ship. In fact, it is not appropriate to say the first one. In order to build this large iron ship, Jiangnan Shipyard had built several models in proportion before, but they were all experimental ships, just like the experimental toys made by the Ship Research Institute. Of course, they were not real. Compared with the ships of later generations, this ship looks very ugly. In order to place the steam engine, the belly of the large iron ship looks very big, and the load capacity is incomparable. The deadweight and load of cargo ships in later generations are generally above 1:3, while the load of this large iron ship can only reach 1:1.8, but it is also higher than today's wooden ships.

According to the research of the Ship Research Institute, the maximum cargo capacity of wooden sailing ships is 1.5 times the deadweight of sailing ships. And although the large iron ships are all made of iron, their performance ratio is more cost-effective than wooden ships. First of all, this big iron ship is durable and resistant to attack. When a typhoon hits, the research of the Ship Institute proves that under the same strong winds and waves, a large number of wooden sailing ships will be damaged to varying degrees, or even destroyed. Iron ships are at most slightly damaged.

In terms of disaster resistance and impact resistance, iron ships are completely superior.

In addition, the survey report of the Ship Institute shows that among the sailing ships suitable for East-West trade or Sino-US trade, the actual cost of a 1,000-ton wooden ship is not lower than that of a large iron ship. With the rapid development of metallurgical technology and the continuous advancement of the steel industry, if this development continues, iron ships will soon leave wooden ships behind in terms of cost, and there may even be all-steel ships in the future.

Chen Ming believes that that day will come, just like the Western world in the original time and space. After the great development of iron and steel metallurgy in the mid-19th century, the cost of iron ships was not only lower than that of wooden ships, but iron ships were soon eliminated by steel ships. He believes that as China's large iron ship technology matures, steel performance increases and metallurgical technology advances, it will still be easy to achieve a self-weight and load capacity of 1:2+, and the cost of steel ships will be lower than that of wooden ships. It’s also just around the corner.

After a series of ceremonies, Huang Baozhou looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, can I go into the water?"

Chen Ming nodded, and Huang Baozhou quickly conveyed the order. Dozens of crew members boarded the large iron ship, took out sharp axes and cut off the rope. The entire slipway immediately made a "creeping, creaking" sound. The last few ropes were torn off before the crewmen's axes fell. The swinging ropes rubbed fiercely with the air, making a whipping sound. Fortunately, the crew had been prepared and avoided the ropes, otherwise they would have been beaten. On the body, it is much heavier than being hit by a whip.

Without the restraint of the rope, the big iron ship slowly slid into the water along the designed route, and the huge water waves separated to both sides. When the entire captain entered the water, the bow suddenly sank, making a huge noise and splashing water. The entire big iron ship floats on the water like a big-bellied duck.

"It's really not heavy."

It is said that hearing is false and seeing is believing. Before launching the water, many civil servants still had doubts in their minds. They could not understand why a ship made entirely of steel could not sink. Moreover, in Huang Baozhou's words, this ship made of steel was worse than a ship made of wood. More capable of loading, but now they're starting to believe it.

"Beep, beep..." A puff of white smoke rose from the big iron ship, and the crew began to preheat the boiler. Compared with the internal combustion engine, it takes a long time to start the steam engine.

[Internal combustion engines also take time, but it is shorter than steam]

"My dear friends, would you like to board the ship with me?" Chen Ming asked everyone with a smile. This large iron ship, which has been named "Chengtian", will be Chen Han's first steel transport ship. How could Chen Ming not board the ship in person?

There were several people behind him who looked earth-colored upon hearing this. Chen Ming looked at him from the corner of his eye. Most of them were well-known conservatives. It’s not like these people have never studied physics, but learning is still learning, and application is another matter.

From the bottom of their hearts, they have a repulsive attitude towards rapidly changing technology, and now they are even more worried about what they will do if the iron lump in front of them sinks. But Wang Qi didn't give them a chance to speak, and said first: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I would like to board the ship for a look." There was no trace of reluctance on his face. The big iron ship in front of him was the first large ship in the world. Iron boats are rare to Wang Qi.

His political life is still long.

Chen Ming will retire next year and the next year, and the new emperor will succeed to the throne. At this juncture, it is impossible for the emperor to replace his first minister, unless he is very, very dissatisfied with Wang Qi. And Wang Qi has become the first chief minister of the cabinet this year. He wants to maintain his value in the eyes of the new emperor. This big iron ship needs to be paid attention to.

You must know that today's Chen Han is a Chen Han in war and a Chen Han in migration. With this big iron ship in hand, vigorously developing the steamship manufacturing industry will promote the entire empire. And Wang Qi even thought about the naval fleet. If this kind of ship can run faster than sail warships and motor sailing ships, then the former can be completely eliminated, and the production of the middle ones can also be stopped.

The original sailboat made the Chinese navy's technology one step ahead of the Westerners. Now if this all-iron ship can be turned into a battleship, it will really be a big step ahead of the Westerners. It can shorten the gap in sea power between the East and the West to a great extent.

You can figure it out with your toes. Iron battleships are much harder and more durable than wooden ones.

The chief assistant opened his mouth, and even the frightened civil servants quickly shut up. They understood that boarding the ship was not dangerous, but they could not overcome the fear in their hearts.

The huge wooden board was put down, and under the leadership of the emperor, a group of civil servants boarded the large iron ship. The space on the ship was quite large, more than enough to accommodate hundreds of people. The iron armor was protected by railings, which made it appear safe.

"Boom..."

Not long after everyone boarded the ship, the steam engine made a huge roar, which startled many people. Then the ship started to move slowly, carrying hundreds of Chinese monarchs and ministers and set off to the waters outside the Yangtze River Estuary.

Chen Ming and others only returned after a few dozen miles at sea. They did not test for a long time. When they got off the ship, Chen Ming still had something to say, "This is a great progress of the times." He praised Huang Baozhou and others loudly. But many of the accompanying officials turned pale.

This splash test was extremely successful. The ship ran smoothly and the maximum speed was measured to be up to ten knots. Of course, this was just a preliminary test. In the future, this large iron ship will undergo more tests and the most important outfitting. By then, as warships, coal, drinking water, food, etc. have all come on board, Chengtian's speed will inevitably slow down. But no matter how slow it is, the speed will not be doubled, and such a speed can already meet combat needs.

Returning to Nanjing from Shanghai unnoticed, Chen Ming immediately fulfilled his promise. He supervised the construction of ships with Huang Baozhou and painted a portrait in Chengtian Palace. In order to commend the iron ship department for building large iron ships, Chen Ming waved his hand and sent out a shower of medals. Everyone who participated in the Jiangnan Shipyard received generous rewards.

As soon as the news of Huang Baozhou's portrait in Chengtian Hall was published in the newspaper, it aroused heated discussion across the country.

Although this is not a title, what is Chengtian Hall? It is not the place where anyone who can be titled can leave his or her portrait.