Seeing that the three of them were stunned and hesitated, Feng Yunshan sighed and said, "Three gentlemen, this king has always wanted to enlighten the people under his rule, especially the schoolchildren. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoBut I don't want to let the schoolchildren only learn from those old masters, so I have always wanted to invite people like the three gentlemen who understand Western studies and teach the people under the rule of this king to learn about things. ”

Hua Yufang's mouth opened, thought for a while, stopped talking, and looked back at Li Shanlan and Xu Shou.

Li Shanlan said: "Thank you for the kindness of the Holy King!" However, although we don't like the Manchu government either, our relatives are all in our hometown, and if we join in and agree to the Holy King's invitation, I'm afraid..."

So that's it! Feng Yunshan arched his hand and said, "What Mr. Li said is extremely true! The king immediately sent someone to take the families of the three gentlemen to Guangzhou, and then the three gentlemen promised the king that it would not be too late! Before that, the manuscript of the "New Edition of Naturalism" was copied so that it could be printed! ”

What Feng Yunshan said was actually not to ask for the opinions of the three people, but to leave them in Guangzhou categorically. The three looked helplessly, but they were silent.

Seeing this, Zuo Zongtang and Xu Xiangguang wanted to speak to ease and persuade them, but they were stopped by Feng Yunshan.

He continued: "This king is about to set up factories such as machine factories, shipyards, textile factories, etc., and the three gentlemen can go to these factories to help in addition to teaching the knowledge of Gewu Zhizhi in the school. The king believes that only by constantly learning things can we learn. ”

Hua Yufang couldn't help but be surprised: "Holy King, are you talking to those foreigners about workshops that can manufacture machinery and equipment?" That's great. ”

Xu Shou also said loudly: "Shipyard? Saint King, is he going to build a steamship like the Hi Yang? ”

Li Shanlan shook her head helplessly, these two people, when they talked about the machine ship, they forgot everything.

Feng Yunshan smiled: "Exactly! The king saw that the muskets and artillery of the foreigners were far away and accurate, and the steamship was much larger than the wooden sailing ships of China, and the steam engine was infinitely powerful! These utensils are far beyond my Huaxia. Therefore, this king decided to introduce the technology and machinery of foreigners, and then transform them, hoping to make my own muskets, artillery, steam engines and ships in China as soon as possible! ”

Hearing the words, Hua Yufang and Xu Shou were full of enthusiasm, and even Li Shanlan was also excited.

Sure enough, Hua Yufang and Xu Shou both bowed down and saluted Feng Yunshan, and said in unison: "I wish to stay in Guangzhou, and ask the Holy King to take him in!" ”

Li Shanlan has been with the two for a few months, and she has become a confidant, and she has advanced and retreated together, so she has to give it up.

Feng Yunshan is overjoyed! At that moment, he immediately ordered to send people to Wuxi in Susu and Jiaxing Mansion in Zhejiang, and secretly bring all the families of the three to Guangzhou.

…….

Early the next morning, the guards came to report that the captured British warship had been towed to a bay on Cheung Chau Island last night.

Feng Yunshan hurriedly called Xu Xiangguang and asked him to find some shipwrights and carpenters who had originally built warships for the Manchu government, and were responsible for repairing the captured three warships, an armed steam merchant ship, and the original wooden sailing gunboat.

Feng Yunshan mentioned it to Xu Shou and Hua Yufang again, and the two immediately showed strong interest and said that they would go to Changzhou Island together to help repair the damaged warship. They didn't know that the warship was captured by the Holy Army, and they thought that Feng Yunshan had bought some broken warships that foreigners didn't want and repaired them.

Feng Yunshan knew that the two of them had heard that there was a steam merchant ship, so they insisted on going. Feng Yunshan vaguely remembered that the first self-built steamship in history was independently designed and manufactured by Xu Shou, so it would be good for him to study it.

Feng Yunshan himself wanted to meet the captured British warship, so he called Zuo Zongtang and Li Shanlan to rush to Changzhou Island by boat.

Changzhou Island is more than 30 miles southeast of Guangzhou City, is a river island on the Pearl River, is an east-west narrow shape, the island area is more than 10 miles. There is a river bay in the middle of the island, which is very convenient for parking warships.

However, only Feng Yunshan knew that in later generations, next to the river bend was the Zhongshan Park and the revolutionary memorial hall that overthrew the Manchu Dynasty.

Feng Yunshan planned to follow the plan of later generations, and set up the school and shipyard on this Changzhou Island, which was convenient for transportation and would not be disturbed by the world. Therefore, he has ordered Xu Xiangguang to relocate all the scattered fishing families on the island to the nearby Xinsha Island in advance.

After taking the boat for most of the day, it was already afternoon when I arrived at Cheung Chau Island.

Coming to the bay where the warships were stored, Feng Yunshan and the others got off the boat.

Luo Xuan and Liang Peiyou led a group of sailors to meet them.

Luo Jian was already officially preparing for the creation of the Naval Division, so as soon as he heard that the British warship had been captured, he was itching.

Yesterday, he was in a hurry to lead his people to the direction of Humen Fort, and on the way, he happened to meet Liang Peiyou and other sailors, who used troop transports and red boats to pull the captured damaged warships, so they escorted the warships to the bay of Cheung Chau Island.

Feng Yunshan ordered dozens of guards to be left behind to set up camp, and Liang Peiyou and Luo Xuan led them to the captured warship.

Among them was the largest fifth-class warship.

When I came to the bottom of the boat, it was a heavy and oppressive feeling. Whether it is a person or a wooden sailing ship of more than ten tons, under this fifth-class warship, it seems insignificant.

Zuo Zongtang saw this big ship like a mountain, and finally understood the terrible British military power that Feng Yunshan told him!

Feng Yunshan stood aside and said to everyone: "This fifth-level warship that was brought from Yingyi's hands is just a partial ship, not a flagship. You see, this ship is about 134 zhang long and 3 zhang high, with a displacement of nearly 800 tons, which is the unit of weight used by foreigners. That is to say, with the addition of the hull and the heavy cargo, it can reach more than 1.5 million catties together. ”

Hearing everyone's exclamations, Feng Yunshan continued: "According to this king's understanding, Yingyi's side divides the warships into several levels: from large to small, from the number of gun positions to the number of gun positions, they are generally divided into first-class warships to sixth-class warships, and if they are less than 500 tons, they are not called ships, but are called boats. ”

Everyone gasped! This is such a big warship, and it is still the smallest on the foreigners' side? If it were a foreigner's big warship, what would it be?

Hua Yufang, who was anxious, asked even more eagerly: "Holy King, so to speak, this warship is only a fifth-class warship, and it is the lower tonnage level among the Yingyi warships?" ”

"Yes! At present, many of the first-class warships of those powers already have a displacement of more than 4,000 tons. France had a battleship called the Valmy, with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons, with 1,100 soldiers in service and 120 large-caliber heavy guns. As for the entire Yingyi Navy, this king estimates that there are more than 200 warships of this kind of fifth class and above, of which there are nearly 100 large first-class and second-class warships. Feng Yunshan explained.

"Ahh Isn't that Yingyi ......" Liang Peiyou said in shock, he didn't finish his words, but everyone understood what he was going to say.

"I can't imagine that the navies of the European powers are so powerful! I have always been like the Manchu court, thinking that they were a land of barbarians and backward. It's really self-righteous, sitting in a well and watching the sky! Zuo Zongtang shook his head and sighed.

The last time Feng Yunshan talked to him, although he was also very touched, after all, he didn't see the warship shocking with his own eyes. If he hadn't joined the Holy Army, it would have been ridiculous to follow the arrogant Manchu court, known as the Celestial Empire, like other Manchu gentry.

When they boarded the warship and saw more than 40 guns on the lower deck inside, everyone exclaimed. They have all seen the forts, and the general forts, that is, more than ten or twenty guns, unless there are super large batteries such as the Humen Fort and the Liede Fort, which are combined by several batteries, there will be dozens or even hundreds of guns. It's a huge battery that can be moved!

Think about it, if a few such warships rush to the city of Guangzhou, isn't it equivalent to a few batteries aimed at the city wall? Just thinking about it like this, everyone is terrified!

Feng Yunshan noticed that in addition to the conventional smoothbore front-loading guns on both sides of the deck, there were two 18-pounder cannons that fired explosive shells at the stern of the deck where the guns were placed.

The bow and stern of the third fast warship were each loaded with a mortar, one end fixed, and the other end was placed on a slide rail, which could rotate freely. Feng Yunshan speculated that this kind of fast warship, with its small tonnage and high speed, must be a long-range attack and fast run in naval battles, giving full play to guerrilla warfare.

But these captured warships, after they are repaired, must also be taught.

Feng Yunshan immediately thought that the group of prisoners on the warship would be able to recruit a few if they could surrender.

So, he asked Liang Peiyou if there were any British prisoners on the warship, and Liang Peiyou told him that a total of hundreds of British sailors had been captured, but they were all handed over to Lin Fengxiang and imprisoned with the group of land soldiers.

After learning about the situation, he remembered his plan, and Feng Yunshan immediately decided to rush to the Humen Fort a day in advance to arrange it.

Subsequently, Feng Yunshan led everyone to the west of the river bay under the guidance of the holy soldiers, pointed to an open space and said, "Ji Gao, you saw the wharf to be built the day before yesterday, is this it?" ”

Zuo Zongtang replied: "Exactly! The bay here has little wind and waves, and the water is deep, which is just right for docking large ships. Moreover, the terrain of the west bank is flat, and the soil is harder than that of the east bank, which is suitable for building houses. ”

Feng Yunshan laughed, the later Guangzhou Shipyard Group set up a shipyard here, and it seems that it is really determined by the environment.

However, if a large warship of more than 5,000 tons is built, the bay is too small, and the ships enter the bay and block the entire bay.

Feng Yunshan thought for a moment and said, "Then the shipyard will be set here!" Let Xu Xiangguang send more manpower to build the foundation in the early stage, and first build a wharf for docking and repairing ships. When the purchased foreigner machines arrive and are installed, a real shipyard can be established! However, this shipyard should be expanded, not only in the river bay here, but also to the Pearl River waterway behind. ”

When Zuo Zongtang heard this, he immediately understood that the Holy King thought that the river bay was too small! Could it be that the Holy King is going to build a first-class warship as big as a foreigner as he said?

Thinking like this, Zuo Zongtang, who is over forty years old, is also on fire in his heart. He hurriedly responded.

(To be continued.) )