From the moment she arrived at the Dagukou wharf in Tianjin, Cixi had been in a semi-trance state.

The car had not yet stopped, and through the glass window of the "Golden Carriage", she saw something not far ahead.

Yu'er, who was sitting on her side, clearly heard the Queen Mother gasp, and her royal face immediately changed-it was a strange look she had never seen on her master's face.

Yu'er turned her head and looked in the direction of the Queen Mother's gaze. "Ahh

This was considered a "loss of honor in front of the king", but Cixi did not hear it at all—her whole body was seized by the sight in front of her.

She saw the legendary ship.

This is - a ship?!

Like a city like a mountain, towering into the clouds.

It is not an exaggeration at all, the majestic hull is the momentum of the lofty city and the rushing face; The three huge masts are the feeling of catching the sky and piercing the sky!

Her heart was beating faster, and Cixi heard the sound of blood flowing in her body.

Today is a good day for the "King Umberto" to give the name "Champion" and "Durio" to the name "Shooting Voice", and the Queen Mother Luan drove to Tianjin Dagukou Wharf to preside over its affairs.

As usual, Guan Zhuofan opened the car door and "waited" for the Queen Mother to get out of the car. However, the soft leather boots did not extend out of the carriage for a long time, and he couldn't help but feel a little strange—he didn't know that the royal sister was trying to calm her breathing and calm her mind.

The shiny boots finally stretched out, and Guan Zhuofan keenly noticed that the slender feet inside the boots were trembling slightly. He instantly understood what was going on. Both hands were carefully added: one hand held the hand of the royal sister. One hand cares for her crown - this crown. Counting the Dongzhu and Jinfeng above, it is enough to be a foot high, and if you are not careful, you will touch the upper edge of the car door.

The Queen Mother finally "landed safely", Guan Zhuofan held the soft little hand of the royal sister who was slightly sweating, gently forced, pinched it, and then changed to the standard "arm" posture.

Cixi sensed her lover's concern and encouragement. He barely smiled slightly, then raised his head and looked at the giant ship not far away, and let out a soft, long breath.

Guan Zhuofan stood beside her, and through the gap in the veil, he could vaguely see that on the beautiful face of the royal sister, there was a very complex expression: unbelievable to the point of a slight trance, surprised but surprised more than happy. Moreover, there was a hint of fear that Guan Zhuofan could rarely see on the face of the royal sister.

Cixi thought she was mentally prepared enough. But what she saw in front of her was still far beyond her imagination.

The boat on which Cixi herself sit. There are only two kinds: one is the Upong boat in the canal, which is no more than a few feet long and has no more than a few passengers; One is the "dragon boat" in the Old Summer Palace. Of course, the "dragon ship" is much larger than the canopy ship, but how can it be compared to the giant ship in front of you? Not enough tithes—no, maybe not a hundred!

She remembered what Yu'er relayed Guan Zhuofan - this ship is as long as two Taihe halls!

Taihe Palace, that is the largest palace in the Forbidden City - two Taihe Palaces!

Also, Taihe Palace, after all, it was laid on the ground and started on the flat ground, this boat, but it floated on the water, there is no evidence, this ...... What the hell is going on?!

After thinking about this matter for a while, the royal sister felt her heart beat and her head was dizzy!

It's just tall and big—and worst of all, it's made of iron!

Oh my God, how much iron does that take?! Where can you make so much iron?

In fact, the keel of the "King Umberto" of the "Warrior class" is made of iron, and the hull is still wooden, but it is only "fully armored": first, on the outside of the iron plate on the broadside, two rows of chestnut hornwood are placed horizontally and vertically as liner plates; Then wrought iron armor was laid on it, each piece of armor was bolted with a double nut, fastened to the broadside iron plates.

This kind of craftsmanship is still fundamentally different from the all-steel armored ships of the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" of the "former dreadnought" in later generations, which are made of iron. However, the Queen Mother naturally did not know the difference between the two. However, even if it is said to Cixi, for her, there is no substantial difference between the two, they are all astronomical, and they are beyond her imagination.

In industrial society, steel is the foundation of Yiqiē, although it is important, it is ubiquitous, and it has long been regarded as the most common thing; But in an agrarian society, steel was a genuine luxury – for the poor, an iron pot was the most important thing. Knives, arrows, hoes, ploughs...... In people's minds, steel means power and authority - this is how an ordinary farmer sees it, and so does the king of a country.

However, the difference between the king of a country and ordinary peasants is that the peasant is ignorant and amazed, and there is nothing good to put into his mind, because he does not know what this matter has to do with himself; But the monarch is different, especially the monarch with brains, in the face of the behemoth of steel, it is inevitable to think of the word "national strength".

An army of 100,000 people, each soldier has a single knife, a single knife weighs about two catties, and the whole army uses 200,000 catties of iron.

What about this giant ship?

Cixi remembered that Guan Zhuofan had told her that the "displacement" of the "King Umberto" was "9,100 tons".

Sister Yu naturally doesn't know what "displacement" is and what "ton" is, Guan Zhuofan naturally has to explain: "Back to the Queen Mother, 'displacement' means how heavy this ship is; ”

That is to say, 200,000 catties are only 100 "tons".

It's just a fraction of what people do.

An army of 100,000 people, but a fraction of a ship!

The royal sister felt dizzy in her head.

This is, of course, a very rough contrast. The iron of an army is more than a single sword; The "King Umberto" is also far from being all-over steel. However, the conclusion of this comparison is generally good: the army of an agrarian society is, in a sense, "a fraction" of the industrialized army; No matter how large an agricultural country is, in terms of national strength, it is only a fraction of that of an industrialized country.

The lion remembers that for a certain period of time, there was a saying on the Internet that China's GDP at the end of the Qing Dynasty was the first in the world - the GDP of an agricultural society and an industrial society were comparative?! It is really speechless that the country has reached such a point.

Just complain about it, don't blame it.

Straight to the point.

Next, the royal sister began her semi-trance state.

The first item on my agenda today is to meet with senior admirals and foreign advisers of the Navy.

A large bright yellow tent was erected on the wharf, which was the one in the East Horse Circle and the Daxiao Field, where the Queen Mother received the admirals.

*(To be continued......)