In the Quanzhou Mansion in Zhining's mansion, Lao Yu was walking around the yard like a headless fly at this time.

It was already mid-October, and it had been two months since Li Chengqian left.

But the propeller still has no clue, seeing that the New Year will be two months away, Lao Yu feels that the hope of returning to Chang'an a year ago is extremely slim.

"Master, don't go around, the concubine is dizzy." The embroidery work in the hands of Mrs. Yu's subordinates looked up at Yu Zhining with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Glass has not yet become popular in Quanzhou, so the light in the room is very dim, embroidering this kind of thing that requires careful operation, for Mrs. Yu with presbyopia, there is no way to continue under that light, so she will embroider things in the yard.

"Don't worry about it, let's embroider your things." Staying with some craftsmen and soldiers for a long time has made Lao Yu's temper change a little, and he is no longer as gentle as before.

"An old thing, you don't know the hearts of good people, then you can turn around and see if you can turn yourself into a propeller." Mrs. Yu, who was kindly regarded as a donkey's liver and lungs, threw the embroidery in her hand into the small basket on the side, got up and entered the room angrily, and no longer paid attention to Lao Yu.

Between old husbands and wives, I don't know how much such a quarrel will take place every day, so Yu Zhining doesn't care what his wife is doing when she enters the house, she just stands in the courtyard in a daze.

One of the main problems he needs to face in the matter of propellers is the problem of water leakage, because the propeller is different from the previous boats of Datang, it is immersed in water to work, so this involves the problem of sealing.

The propeller is connected to the propeller shaft, which is on the drawing, and Yu Zhining can read and understand, but when the position of the propeller shaft is sealed, it will be found that the propeller shaft is stuck and cannot be rotated at all.

Then don't seal it, let the propeller shaft spin, but then the boat will be flooded, and a lot of water will pour into the boat from the position of the propeller shaft, and it won't be long before the boat will be full. is such a problem that has been plaguing Yu Zhining and has made him fall into a dead loop.

"Mr. Yu, you didn't go to the dock today!" The neighbor passed in front of Yu's house, saw Lao Yu circling in the yard, and said hello with a smile.

"Go, I'll go in a moment." Yu Zhining dealt with it hastily, still thinking about the propeller in his heart.

When it was noon, Mrs. Yu looked at Yu Zhining, who was still walking around the yard, and couldn't help but nag: "Oh, I said master, what are you worried about, isn't it just a leak, if it leaks, you will smoke, His Royal Highness just said to let you get things out, and he didn't say to let you plug the leak, what do you say you are doing with that heart." ”

"What do you know, if you don't solve the problem of water leakage, then how can you ......" Yu Zhining rolled his eyes and muttered, but the sound became smaller and quieter the more it went, and in the end it was simply impossible to hear.

"How about getting things out, let's talk about it! It doesn't matter if it's leaking or not, you get it out and let the boat run first. Really, if people think about everything like you, do they not have children because they are afraid that their children will get sick? ”

Seeing her husband's worried appearance, Mrs. Yu was also distressed, afraid that Lao Yu would be in a hurry because of the ship's affairs, so although she said that she didn't care about it, she couldn't help but come out to persuade him in the end.

"What if it can't be solved, what if it keeps leaking?" Yu Zhining also knew that his wife was for his good, although the two of them did not agree on some aspects.

"You've read so many books, do you know what you're called now? Do you know what you call choking and eating waste, and you waste food because of choking! "Mrs. Yu is also the daughter of a big family, although she is not as good as the daughters of some scholarly families in terms of learning, but she is more literate than ordinary scholars.

Choking on food? Lao Yu looked at his wife in a daze, didn't speak for a long time, and seemed to be poked in the dead hole.

"Master, master, what's wrong with you? The concubine body is to say, don't really take it to heart. Looking at Yu Zhining's performance, Mrs. Yu was a little anxious, thinking that she was talking too seriously and confused the old man.

"No, no, no, you're right, the husband is indeed choking." Yu Zhining pulled away his wife's hand waving in front of him, and said with a glittering gaze: "I'll go to the dockyard, let them start work today, let's install this thing for him first, and then gather skilled craftsmen from all over the country to solve this leakage problem, yes, just do it, do it." ”

Yu Zhining seemed to be awakened by his wife's cocktail drink, patted his head and walked out, and said to the 'fang' squad leader standing at the door: "Send a message to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in a while, tell us about the problems we encountered, and let His Highness think of a way for us, if you can, it is best to transfer people over." ”

"Whoa! I'll do it! "The small squad leader of 'Fang' is too small, and he doesn't even have a grade, so he can only call himself a subordinate.

"Well, go and get back quickly, remember to explain things in detail." Yu Zhining told carefully, for fear that the 'fang' squad leader would forget something.

However, this small squad leader has been guarding him from the beginning, and he can say everything about the propeller, so there should be no problem with letting him send a message.

Because of Yu Zhining's re-energization, the dock, which had been silent for about ten days, was lively again, with cast iron long shafts, steel propeller blades, various gears and ratchets.

The main drive of the propeller still relies on manpower, and compared with the steam turbines on later ships, manpower is obviously much worse, so the most need to install is a variety of variable speed gears of different sizes, and finally the axle and blades.

As the days passed, the renovation work was also carried out little by little, and the difference from Li Chengqian's design was that there were two more things on the stern of the ship similar to the later pumps, but they were much thicker than the pumps.

This is a simple pump for draining water, and the water that leaks into the hold can be pumped out little by little. There is no way, if you don't pump out all the water that leaks in, then you can only drown the sailors who step on the flap below.

On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, the king of the stove went to the west of the sky, and on this day, every family had to sacrifice to the god of the stove, and the king of the stove was invited to say good things to the heavens and go down to the earth to keep safe.

It was on this special day that the first propeller-powered battleship of Datang was launched for sea trials, and in the earth-shattering sound of gongs and drums, the warship covered in red and green was slowly dragged up by the seawater poured into the dock, and then with a high-pitched horn, the tail propeller began to rotate slowly.

It was an exciting time, and all eyes were on the massive hull in the hope that the months-long effort would bear fruit.

(End of chapter)