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The name of the Yangtze River Shipyard seems to be a little "tall", but in fact, it is not much different from the old shipyard, if there is a difference, I am afraid that it is the 400-foot-long stone dock, which is made of granite on all sides, and the two sides of the dock are stacked with stone stairs. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

In fact, after the completion of this shipyard, it has been mainly engaged in repairing ships, and only a few small sailing ships have been built -- those small Western-style sailing ships of more than 100 tons have now replaced the Chinese sailing ships in the fleet.

But the small Western-style sailing ship was not all it was built, as in the case of the one now on the launching slipway, its shape was very different from that of an ordinary sailing ship, its hull resembled that of a river boat on the river, but the upper part of its hull was tilted inward at a 45-degree angle, and on the deck there were no towering masts, no oars on either side, only a lone chimney.

And this ship is the first gunboat of the Yangtze River Naval Division - an ironclad gunboat!

That's right, it was an ironclad gunboat, and it was called "ironclad" because of the fact that a layer of iron plates half an inch thick were nailed to its wooden hull, which were purchased through foreign companies in Shanghai, and amounted to dozens of tons.

In the sunlight, the exposed iron armor above the wooden hull glowed with a dark sheen, and on its broadside, at the open gun window, four short barrels, the thirty-two-pounder carons, plus the four carons in the bow and stern, had a total of 12 guns, and that was not the whole of its firepower - on its top deck, there was also a ring of iron plates more than a meter high, where sailors could line up and shoot at water targets.

What's more, it's powered entirely by steam!

Iron armor, artillery, and steam power make it possible for it to become the overlord of the entire Yangtze River once it is launched, even if the Taiping army that crosses the Yangtze River is not all his opponent.

At this time, the "ironclad ship", which was actually a wooden ship, was parked on the 400-foot launching slide, like a soldier about to go on an expedition, majestic and immovable. A red flag fluttered high on the flagpole at the bow of the ship, and the hunt sounded. This is the banner of the Righteous Army, which originated from the Red Turban Army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but now this red scarf is no longer tied on the head, but has become the battle flag of the Righteous Army.

And what this flag inherits is a certain kind of hope!

The wharf was crowded with shipyard supervisors and craftsmen, crowded with thousands of people. The sailors of the Yangtze River Fleet in white uniforms were also lined up, armed with rifles.

A one-zhang high altar is erected in the center of the pier, and a large altar is placed on a table covered with yellow brocade forging. On the sacrificial table, incense burners, arm incense, and fruit offerings are all available, and although this is a "Western-style warship", it is launched in a traditional way. In addition to the shipyard supervisor and the shipbuilding expert Granson hired from Hong Kong, there were also officials such as the local prefect of Wuchang who sat on both sides of the altar, and of course, there were also officials and staff members in the Metropolitan Governor's Palace, after all, the launch of the "ironclad ship" was a major event for the rebels.

"The Governor has arrived!"

With a shout, these people got up one after another to salute the Metropolitan Governor, and after Zhu Yifeng, who was the Metropolitan Governor of the Righteous Army, bowed and returned the salute, he walked in front of Granson and asked cautiously.

"Mr. Granson, there will be no problem with the Chuwang, right? ”

"Chuwang" This is the name of this "ironclad ship", the name of this ship comes from the famous place of Wuchang "Chuwangtai", which is also fundamentally related to the Yangtze River Fleet foundation in Hubei, although "Chuwang" is not the largest warship of the Yangtze River Naval Division, but it is the most powerful warship, steam engine, ironclad and 32-pound guns, all indicate its combat effectiveness, and more importantly, it is an inland river ship, the draft is extremely shallow, so that it can sail unhindered in the Yangtze River and nearby lakes.

Faced with the Duke's question, Granson, a naval architect, replied in a tone full of British pride.

"Governor, if there is any problem after such hard work, it is that God is playing a joke on us."

On the surface, this is an "ironclad ship", but in fact, he knows very well that this is just a layer of iron plates nailed to the side planks of the wooden barge on the waterline, so that its side has a stronger protective capacity, and the weight of the iron plate has not even reached its actual load capacity, and the only question he has now is whether the ship can reach the designed speed - the maximum speed of 7.5 knots.

In Granson's view, the speed and the design itinerary of coal carrying are the most important, and the speed is directly related to whether it can surpass ordinary ships in the river, and the range of coal carrying is related to its future use in the rivers and lakes.

Granson's self-confidence made Zhu Yifeng laugh.

"If that's the case, then the cost of this joke is too great!"

Yes, in that case, the cost is inevitably too great, the wood used in this ship is from the oak trees in the Hubei and Shaanxi regions, the cost of wood is not high, the highest cost is probably the iron plate - the iron plate is imported from abroad, in the absence of a steam hammer, the iron plate used in shipbuilding can only be imported from abroad, in fact, these dozens of tons of iron plates, are all purchased from Hong Kong, they may have been used to repair steam engines or other purposes, but now they are used to build this "ironclad ship". Because of this, the price of these iron plates can be described as extremely expensive, worth thousands of taels, but it is all worth it!

The auspicious time for the sacrifice has arrived.

"Yu Wei Holy Spirit, quite born in ancient times, following the heavens, opening things into business. The dragon of merit, the ...... of the world"

The celebrant recited the ritual in a high tone.

Zhu Yifeng, who was dressed in a military uniform, burned incense and sacrificed incense with other officials, and worshiped the gods of heaven, rivers, earth and ships according to the rules of shipbuilding in previous dynasties. At this time, the sky is high and the clouds are light, the wind is clear and the sun is clear, and the rushing river in the past is also a wave of unhappiness.

"Governor, the auspicious time has arrived, please order a sea trial."

As the admiral of the Yangtze River fleet, Shen Ming reminded on the side that a few months ago, he never thought that one day he would become the admiral of the fleet, just like the captains of the Western Navy he had seen in Hong Kong, Singapore and other places, commanding the fleet and fighting at sea.

Now people see only a "Chuwang", but a few years later, as the fleet grows day by day, sooner or later it is bound to be like the Western fleet, galloping on the ******, and even like them, to open up colonies overseas, perhaps, as the admiral of the fleet, Shen Ming did not even receive a full-time naval education, but the experience of sailing half the world on foreign merchant ships for more than ten years has made him have insight beyond ordinary people, just like he has never been satisfied with the Yangtze River, in his opinion, The Yangtze River was nothing more than the beginning of the Navy.

In the eyes of everyone, Zhu Yifeng picked up the order flag and calmly looked at the "Chuwang" who was about to test the water. After a moment of silence, he waved the order flag in his hand without losing his strength and shouted loudly.

"Pass my order, "Chu Wang" - launch - set sail! ”

"Yes!"

As the admiral of the fleet, Shen Ming immediately took the command flag and left quickly with Engineer Granson.

Granson, who was the shipyard's engineer, instructed the craftsmen to remove the bollards on both sides of the hull and knock out the brackets at the bow. The bow naturally slopes downwards and the hull enters the slipway steadily. The crowd of onlookers on the shore suddenly stopped talking, and they all held their breath and opened their eyes wide.

Especially the students from Wenshan Yishu in the crowd, they held their breath and looked at this ironclad ship with unblinking eyes, for these teenagers, at this time, the scene in front of them attracted their attention, in the crowd, Du Xinyuan looked at such an ironship in surprise, and muttered on his lips.

"Can iron float on water? How could an iron ship float on the river? ”

Shen Ming, who raised the order flag, shouted.

"Cut the cable!"

As soon as the cable broke, the hull of the ship slid down again, gliding leisurely towards the river like a divine help. In an instant, it has left the shore for dozens of meters, and the whole process is not alarmed, and it is natural. The sailors on board took advantage of the situation to throw out the anchor, and the behemoth with a displacement of 870 tons was anchored as a rock in the river.

Everything seems to be a bit boring, not spectacular at all, but even so, it also subverts Du Xinyuan's idea, iron can really float on water. Just when he was surprised to see this scene, the people around him who were watching seemed to come back to their senses, and the cheers were like a tide, cheering one after another, and in this shipyard, for a moment there was even more drumming, and the shore was even more salute, and the craftsmen of the shipyard were cheering and jumping with joy, for them who had personally completed the construction of this "iron ship", at this time they did not care about the launch of any ship for sea trial, but cheered for the prize that had been received - this was the shipyard's previous promiseIf the "Chuwang" is successful, they can get a month's salary as a reward.

Looking at the scene in front of him and the ironclad ship on the river, Zhu Yifeng found that his heart seemed to be extremely calm, and he was not as excited as he imagined, perhaps because he knew very well that this so-called "ironclad ship" was not an ironclad ship, or even a warship in the strict sense.

For the Navy, the long journey is not even the beginning today...... (To be continued.) )