The two ships "Tsunami" and "Fubo" were roughly the same size as the previous two paddle steamers, but the size was slightly enlarged, reaching the level of 1,150 tons of full load. Both ships still use the "Popeye-1" marine steam engine, with an output of 48.3 horsepower, and its speed reaches about 5.5-6 knots without the use of sails, which is quite satisfactory.

I heard that the No. 2 Machinery Factory improved the cylinder seal design on the basis of the original "Popeye-1 modification" marine steam engine, and used a higher-precision boring machine to process the cylinder inner wall, so that the output power of the latest "Popeye-2 basic" marine steam engine increased by about 30% at once, reaching 62.8 horsepower. However, this steam engine is still undergoing the most intense debugging, and the two ships were not built to catch up, so they continue to use the old steam engine of 48.3 horsepower produced before.

"At present, the new round of eastward movement is mainly promoted by the Admiralty." Sang Kai picked up a porcelain cup from the coffee table next to him, took a sip of tea, and continued to tell Li Yi the gossip he had inquired about: "If Commissar Wang wants to strengthen the influence of the navy, then a direct voyage to the east to the coast of Daming is naturally the best shortcut. Once the Executive Committee really made up its mind to organize a large-scale fleet to sail directly to the coast of Daming, then in the next period of time, several domestic shipyards will inevitably begin to build and build all kinds of ships, including transport ships, warships, and steam ships, and the influence of the Navy will naturally increase. ”

"It's good, but isn't it good? That black charcoal head in the army is so easy to talk to? Li Yi reached out and took an orange handed to him by his daughter Zexin, and kissed her fiercely on the face before saying, "The army and we are not of the same mind. The first thing they thought about all day long was how to expand the influence of the Army. The second thing is how to weaken the influence of the Navy. These guys advocate bringing in more Europeans. In order to reduce the huge financial expenditure of the government on immigration, hum, but it is a pity that there has been no consensus among their own people for so many years, which is ridiculous. ”

"Of course Peng Zhicheng disagreed!" Sang Kai smiled and took an orange handed over by Li Zexin, and then said with a twitch of the corner of his mouth: "This guy advocates the expansion of the army in China, the introduction of a large number of European and Indian immigrants, and actively prepares the strategy of westward expansion into the inland areas. At first, he really attracted a lot of supporters. However, after Xiao from the Ministry of Communications also joined our camp, the call for eastward expansion began to gradually gain the upper hand. After all, large shipbuilding is also very good only for their Ministry of Communications, and there is no reason why he should not support it. After arriving at the end of the day, some elements of the Imperial Han faction under Peng Zhicheng himself also made a fuss and wrote a petition to the east, and the executive committee set the tone. Ha Luha, the black charcoal head has lost a lot of face this time, Minister Wang has good means, not only to attract these foreign aid from the Ministry of Communications. He even rebelled against some army officers. ”

"How can Minister Wang have such strong energy? The main reason is that the eastward expansion is the trend of the times and the will of the people, and those army officers of the Imperial Han faction also support us for their own ideals or interests. This is not to say that they are of the same mind as our navy. Li Yi said disapprehantly, "After all, everyone and the Ming people have some incense feelings, and many people are still interested in introducing more Ming people." At least while our generation is still in power, there won't be much of a shift in this policy. ”

"That's right." Sang Kai nodded, and then said: "Although the details of this eastward movement are still being discussed, it is certain that the scale will not be small. The South China Sea Transport Company launched two flute-type transport ships the other day, and now they have a total of ten such ships. Moreover, the construction of flute-type transports has recently begun, except for one of the seven slipways of the two shipyards, which is under construction for a frigate. This kind of ship is made of wood from the Xinhua area, only a very small number of sailors are needed to operate, and the cargo capacity is large, and the Ministry of Communications likes it from top to bottom. The timber is ready-made, there is no need to import, we only need to pay some wages and equipment maintenance fees, basically no cost. The only thing to worry about is the number of sailors, which is the biggest constraint on the number of transports and warships. ”

Naturally, the ten transport ships will not all be transferred to the eastward expansion plan, and the increasingly booming local economy requires a large amount of transportation tonnage, so being able to squeeze out two transport ships to participate in this plan is already their boss Ding's conscience. Two transports plus four sailboats, this is already the size of six ships; Maybe the Admiralty will send one or two more warships to escort the convoy, and the scale will be even larger.

However, it was a real headache for so many sailboats to sail to the Far East, and it was better for them to find a way to cross the equator during the southern hemisphere winter, when there was still some southeast wind to take advantage of. In the windless zone of the equator, the voyage had to be carefully considered, that is, how to use the ocean current to cross there as quickly as possible, which required careful consideration by the Admiralty staffs. Otherwise, these transport ships would have to sail to Gushan Port to deliver some supplies there. As for the transportation to the port of Blackwater, it is estimated that it can only be done by sailboats, because they can ignore the currents and the direction of the wind.

"No matter what, at least the section to Gushan Port is unimpeded." Li Yi concluded, "Actually, I don't expect these transport ships to be able to transport all these supplies to the port of Heishui, which is unrealistic, because not only is it not easy to go, but it is also very troublesome when I come back, and I have to go through the Strait of Malacca." So, as long as they can smoothly transport all kinds of goods to Gushan Port and set up a large cargo storage center in Gushan Port, I will be satisfied. The rest is to rely on the Executive Committee to build steamships, as long as the steamship fleet forms a certain size, then everything is fine. ”

Sang Kai also nodded, and then he seemed to suddenly think of something again, and asked, "Have you ever thought about competing for the position of captain of the Blackwater Pioneer Team?" I've heard that there is going to be a position in the Australian Pioneer Team or the Blackwater Pioneer Team, and there are many competitors at present, so if you fight for it, I guess the odds of winning are not small. ”

"These guys are foolish!" Li Yi was a little unhappy, "Why do you set up a pioneering team everywhere?" Do they want to develop Australia? What are you doing? What do we need in Australia at the moment? Nope! In my opinion, whether it is Gushan Port, Jinshan Port or Heishui Port, there is no need to spend a lot of effort on development, they just need to do their duty as a transit base, and everything else is still local first! If such a position is really set up, then the guy who took office will definitely have to do a lot of work for his own consideration, which will inevitably involve our energy and thin our strength. Forget it, I'm not interested in competing for this bird position! ”

Sang Kai sighed in disappointment, but still said with some reluctance: "If you don't fight, it is estimated that it will fall into the hands of the army." Recently, in order to move eastward, the War Department seems to have begun to mobilize and form the 102nd Company of the Army, and it is likely that an artillery company will be equipped in the local area in the future. An infantry company, an artillery company, and several squadrons of Eight Banner warriors, and then recruit some local personnel, with an estimated strength of 2,000 troops. With these 2,000 people, with the weak national strength of the Ming Dynasty and North Korea, it shouldn't be too much trouble for us to go in and out, and it shouldn't be too much trouble to kidnap some people, which is all a waste of money. ”

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "If you don't fight, you don't fight, I became the captain of this pioneering team, and I will have to stay there for a long time in the future, what should I do at home?" Do you want to take your wife and children over? Even if I want to, will the Executive Committee do it? Use your brains, South Africa and New China are okay to say, but Daming is definitely a sensitive area, and anyone who goes to take office near there will be strictly scrutinized, and their families will definitely not be able to take them with them. If you look at it, the candidate for the captain of the pioneer team will definitely change often, and no one will do it long. ”

Sankai nodded knowingly. Just as they were about to say something more, the two women over there were already calling them over for a picnic. Li Yi and Sang Kai immediately consciously stopped talking, got up and walked over.

Picnics are plentiful, with delicious bighorn goat meat from the east coast, tender veal from La Plata, South African yellow beef, new Chinese hump beef, duck from Duck Lake, deep-sea cod, prawns famous from Rocha Lake, verdant vegetables and delicious fruits. On the flat tablecloth, two bottles of Xiangshan dry red and two bottles of Hezhong Daqu were also placed, as well as some high-priced imported French wines.

It was a typical spring picnic for the upper class of the East Coast, where civilians could only eat cheap local potatoes and South African sorghum, and then buy some fish, shrimp and seafood every now and then. As for meat, except for the cheapest La Plata beef, you have to think left and right before you can decide to buy a little and try it at home.

Several servants were busy on the side, and the orderlies of Li Yi and Sang Kai brought chairs to everyone. In the late spring, the sky on the shore of Luoqia Lake is cloudy, and the rippling blue waves blow on the lake, and the wind seems to be mixed with a trace of distant singing, which is the fishermen fishing in Luoqia Lake singing a small tune. Under the sky, the men, women and children who were picnicking broke out into cheerful laughter from time to time, the male hostesses were in straight uniforms, the hostesses were elegant, and the excited children's faces were flushed, like a beautiful picture. (To be continued......)