In fact, in the history of the world, after the invention of steam power, the first to build was a steamship, because it was at the peak of the colonial period at that time, and the shipbuilding technology of various countries was quite developed.

Trains, on the other hand, did not have a prototype of a train at that time, and needed to be imagined out of thin air from scratch, so the steam train was invented decades after the advent of steamships.

And Daming is just the opposite, after having steam power, the first thing to build is not a steam ship but a steam train, and now the technology of Daming to build a steam train is quite mature, and adding a 'wheel' to the ship is naturally very simple for Bi Maokang and others, so Zhu Cijiong doesn't need to draw sketches, as long as they explain it to them a little bit in combination with the real thing, they will understand.

The next thing is to discuss the problem of shipbuilding, with steam power propulsion, the size of the hull has been completely unlimited, that is to say, you can sail on the sea no matter how big the ship you build, and you don't need to look at the wind direction at all, of course, the premise is that you have to be able to build the ship, not how big you want the ship, how big the ship can be, if you can't build it, it's all fake.

The largest ship that can be built with the current shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty is the kind of large treasure ship built by Zheng He when he went to the West, which is 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide and 62 zhang wide. In modern terms, the large treasure ship is 146 meters long, 62 meters wide, and has a displacement of nearly 20,000 tons, which is almost the size of a small aircraft carrier!

There has been controversy about how big the large treasure ship is, and many historical materials clearly record that the large treasure ship is forty-four zhang long, eighteen zhang and sixty-two zhang wide, but many modern brick masters think that this is impossible, because according to the power calculation of the sail, no matter how big the sail you make, it can't drive such a huge wooden boat!

Zhu Cijiong was also very curious about this question, and he thought of it at this moment, so he asked directly: "Meng Hou, I heard that when the eunuch of Sanbao went to the West during the Chengzu period, he supervised the construction of a king-size treasure ship with a length of forty-four zhang and a width of eighteen zhang, is it true?" “

Bi Maokang nodded affirmatively and said: "Your Majesty, it's true, this matter is recorded in detail in the Ministry of Industry." “

Zhu Cijiong then asked: "Such a big treasure ship, it can't be built and can't be opened, why does he still order people to make it?" “

When Bi Maokang heard this, he immediately showed a strange look, but he hesitated not to speak, and even Wang Zheng and Song Yingxing next to him showed the same look, and the scene was extremely strange for a while.

How many meanings does this mean, do you want to hang my appetite or how to drop? Zhu Cijiong couldn't help urging: "If you know, just say it, what kind of expressions do you have!" “

Seeing that the emperor was about to go crazy, Bi Maokang had no choice but to say: "This, the emperor, Zheng He is afraid of breaking taboos." “

Committing taboos? What does building a boat have to do with committing taboos, the more Zhu Cijiong listened, the more confused he became, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "What taboos are you committing?" Give me the details of the road, don't ramble. “

This is really a bit difficult to say the emperor in front of the emperor, Bi Maokang thought about it, and then said embarrassedly: "The emperor is the respect of the Ninety-Five, and he naturally does not dare to offend as a courtier, Zheng He He did not dare to offend Chengzu on the largest treasure ship, so he built a bigger one to show respect for Chengzu." “

This is the reason for doing it for a long time, it turns out that this large treasure ship was not built to open, but just to show respect for Emperor Chengzu!

Zhu Cijiong didn't want someone to build a ship that couldn't be opened in order to show respect to him, so he asked directly: "Now that there is steam power, the big treasure ship will always move, right?" “

Bi Maokang replied affirmatively: "This must be no problem, Weichen estimates that after installing steam power, the large treasure ship will not only be able to move, but also the speed will be much faster than the current warship." “

Zhu Cijiong asked again with hope: "Then can you build a bigger treasure ship?" “

At this time, Bi Maokang shook his head, and he said embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this won't work, because the strength of the wood is limited after all, and if you go to Dali to build a treasure ship, I'm afraid it will be disconnected just after it is launched." “

When Zhu Cijiong heard this, he said with regret: "Okay, let's build a ship for me according to the size of a large treasure ship, but it needs to be propelled by a propeller like a fan, no problem, right?" “

Bi Maokang thought about it and reported truthfully: "There is no problem in building it, but the propeller mentioned by the emperor may have to be replaced in a few years, because iron will eventually rust." “

There is no stainless steel at this time, and the steel rusts faster in the seawater, Zhu Cijiong knows this, he said indifferently: "Then replace it regularly, this is nothing, but can all the warships in the navy be changed to steam-powered?" “

Bi Maokang didn't dare to pack the ticket now, he said embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is difficult, adding propellers to the battleships that have been built must not be done, only the bright wheel can be added, and it can only be added to the back, if you take the liberty to add it, I am afraid that the ship will capsize as soon as it is opened, because all ships have a center of gravity, and if the center of gravity is unstable, it is easy to capsize!" “

This is a problem, Zhu Cijiong said unwillingly: "Isn't there a 620 howitzer in the tail of the battleship, and will the center of gravity be unstable when it is moved to the bow of the ship?" “

Bi Maokang patiently explained: "This Weichen has also considered, it is definitely not possible to make a huge paddle wheel like a battleship with wood, the strength is not enough, it can only be made of iron, Weichen estimated, such a big iron wheel, at least tens of thousands of catties, this thing is loaded to the stern, the bow of the ship will definitely be warped, and a 620 howitzer is only more than 1,000 catties, and the bow of the ship can't be suppressed!" “

Zhu Cijiong thought for a while and proposed: "Isn't there still a boiler and a chimney, these two things are also quite heavy, isn't it okay to put the bow of the ship?" “

Bi Maokang was embarrassed and said: "The boiler and chimney are heavy enough, but the volume is too large, and the place in the bow of the ship cannot be placed at all, so it can only be placed in the middle." “

Zhu Cijiong thought for a while, and then proposed: "Then why don't you just put ten Type 620 howitzers on the bow of the ship?" “

Bi Maokang said even more difficultly: "At most, there are three Type 620 howitzers in the bow of the ship, and if there are more, they will be crowded into a pile, and the cannons will not be able to fire, are you sure you want this, Your Majesty?" “

You can't open it there, why do you put it there, the 620 howitzer is very difficult to build, just when Zhu Cijiong had nothing to do, he happened to see Song Yingxing showing a look of wanting to speak and stopping, he immediately encouraged: "Chang Geng, do you have any suggestions?" To be bold, I don't blame you. “

Song Yingxing then arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, then please forgive Weichen for offending, this howitzer can't add too much, but the base can be changed, just change it to the kind of cast iron base on the fort, it's a solid iron lump, and it's no problem to cast it into 10,000 catties." “

When Zhu Cijiong heard this, he suddenly realized that he was obsessed with the barrel, but he didn't think of using the base to counterweight, he couldn't help but praise: "Chang Geng is right, just do it, Meng Hou, it's no problem now, right?" “

Bi Maokang also suddenly realized, and nodded again and again when he heard the words: "No problem, no problem." “

Since there is no problem, Zhu Cijiong immediately clapped his hand and said: "Then let's do it, the Ministry of Industry will experiment with paddlewheel thrusters and propeller thrusters a few years ago, and start building super treasure ships after the year, and at the same time start to transform the super battleships of the navy, and strive to change all battleships into ships next year!" “