"Master Dai, don't be patronizing, the motivation is solved, and the next thing to consider is balancing. "Xie Hong was not a flamboyant surname, even though the people around him were jubilant, he still kept calm.

It is also a matter of course that it may be difficult to invent a steam engine from scratch, but in fact, its principle is very simple, and it is a machine that is easy to make and difficult to refine.

Knowing the principle, as long as there is appropriate processing equipment and corresponding materials, the manufacturing is very simple. The real technical content is behind, such as improving the power consumption ratio, enhancing the corrosion resistance surname to improve the service life, increasing the power by adding cylinders, and even upgrading to an internal combustion engine.

Xie Hong only knew the general direction of these things, and he didn't have a clue how to do it, so he knew very well that the current steam engine was just providing an opportunity, and there was still a long way to go.

"Balance surname?" Pointing to the steamer that began to sail along the coast with black smoke, Dai Ziyan was stunned and said, "This ship is not stable enough?" Although it is not as good as the fortune boat, according to this width and narrowness, it is already very stable, even if it encounters strong winds and waves, it should not be a big problem, of course, the specific surname can be known only after the test. ”

After staying in Lushun for a few months, in addition to building a big ship and teaching a bunch of apprentices, Dai Ziyan was also greatly affected. Conception, research and development, experimentation, manufacturing, testing, practicality, he is quite familiar with this set of research and development process, so he blurted out without thinking about it, which is very the style of later generations of scientific researchers.

"Sailing is definitely no problem, but it's different if you want to set up guns on the ship, you have to think about how to reduce the swing amplitude, so as not to capsize the battleship."

Zheng He's treasure ship has also been equipped with artillery, but it is all erected on the bow, so there is no need to think too much, but the battleship conceived by Xie Hong is to be erected on both sides of the hull, in the case of the test ship in front of him, at least twenty or thirty guns must be set up on one side, and the balance must be considered.

"That's it, I know, when the voyage test is completed, Lord Xie, you can send the cannon over, and then try it." Dai Ziyan nodded, and shook his head again, "This matter shouldn't be difficult, but the speed of shipbuilding in the dockyard is probably difficult to complete according to the pre-planned schedule." ”

"How so? Didn't this ship take more than two months to build? Once raw and twice cooked, shouldn't it be faster next time? "It is Xie Hong's established policy to eliminate the old ships after the mass production of new ships, and he is very satisfied with the progress of the test ship, so he gave instructions to the dock to put it into production as soon as the test is completed.

"There is a shortage of manpower, I can only stare at the side, the others are still reliable in Xiaoyunzi, and the rest of the people can only be regarded as craftsmen, and they can't fully read the power......"

The old man spread his hands and said helplessly: "Therefore, although the dock is large enough, and the materials and manpower are also sufficient, it may not be enough to be in charge alone, even if the test goes well, and then the construction starts, I am afraid it will not meet your expectations, and by the summer of next year, let alone twenty, ten ships will be difficult." ”

"Then, I'll think of a way again, Master Dai, you don't have to think about the output, just start work immediately after the test is completed." Xie Hong frowned and sighed softly, he couldn't solve this matter.

What is lacking is not manpower, but senior technicians, the technical content of large ships and small boats is completely incompatible, don't look at Wang Yun leading the artificial flywheel battleship to build fast, can be replaced by this kind of nearly 1,000-ton ship, he can only be regarded as a general.

The task of building the navy is really heavy and long, where can I get a bunch of old shipwrights like Master Dai, well, he is from Jiangnan, otherwise, my brother will take someone to Jiangnan to grab a vote? This kind of thing has been done a lot, and Xie Hong has gradually formed a habitual surname thinking.

"Master Hou, there is a letter, it is from Wudao."

"Oh?" Xie Hong looked up and saw that he had unknowingly returned to the Hou Mansion, "Since Brother Ma has sent a letter, the reinforcements must have arrived, so everything should be going well." ”

"Well, by the hour, the monkeys should also enter the country, and this way is really cheap for those tartars." Jiang Bin shook his head, and his mouth was full of envy.

"Brother Jiang, are you very envious? If you want to go, you can still catch up now, after the scourge of the stick, and then go to the scourge of the Japanese people, what a beautiful life. Xie Hong smiled and teased.

Jiang Bin asked his head like a drum: "Don't go, it's better to Lushun, except here, where can you see a boat that can run fast without sails and just emit black smoke." ”

"Cut, there is no way to smoke black smoke, who burns coal without smoke?" No longer continuing to talk nonsense with Scarface, Xie Hong shook off Ma Ang's letter.

The letter is very long, it's not that Ma Ang has a problem with talking, it's just that there has been no communication between the two sides during this time, but there are a lot of things happening on the five islands, and many of them are not expected by Xie Hong in advance, of course Ma Ang has to talk about it carefully.

"Brother Xie, there is good news?" Seeing a smile on the corner of Xie Hong's mouth, Jiang Bin asked.

"Well, it's a bit of an effect on the differentiation of Jiangnan scholars." Xie Hong nodded, Wang Hai's initiative to defect was indeed an unexpected joy, this person is a member of the Wang family, and the movements of the Wang family can largely indicate the intentions of the Jiangnan family.

"However, there are troubles, and there are those who don't open their eyes and have already come to the door." Xie Hong's smile turned cold.

"Who?"

"Pirates." Xie Hong sneered: "First of all, I sent scouts to the door to test, it seems that I still have the idea of setting a trap and grabbing a ship, but fortunately, the captain is not greedy for merit and does not chase after him." A few days later, they sent messengers to the door, saying that they wanted me to eat, but it seems to me that they had a two-faced idea. ”

"Two-sided? Are those people in Jiangnan? These people really don't remember to eat. The hand holding the handle of the knife tightened, and Jiang Bin asked a little nervously: "Brother Ma didn't promise them any conditions, right?" ”

"Of course not, it's just a group of pirates, what's there to worry about, anyway, the reinforced fleet has arrived, if they dare to come, we will dare to kill." Xie Hong snorted coldly: "But these pirates also have some ability, and they gave up two ships in order to test the power of incendiary bombs, and it seems that they have found a way to extinguish the fire, which is a bit interesting." ”

"Huh?" Jiang Bin was surprised: "How do these guys know?" It can't be that our side is out of the annihilation, right? ”

"What's the matter?" Xie Hong waved his hand and said with a smile: "There are many ways to extinguish fires on sea ships, and only sticks are rare and strange, only water is stored on the ship, and no other preparations have been made, and those maritime merchants have not prepared for war, so this is the way, in fact, this phosphorus fire is not so terrible, not to mention that it is not white phosphorus." ”

"That's bad, if the thunderbolt is ineffective, the disparity is huge, and our ship is small, wouldn't it be bad on Brother Ma's side?" Jiang Bin was in a hurry.

In addition to his old brother, the sailors on the ship also have the border troops of Liaozhen, but they are basically half-monks, and if they do it on the ship, the combat effectiveness will be reduced by at least half, and if the incendiary bombs are useless, the balance of strength will have to be reversed.

"It doesn't matter, I guess they use sand to extinguish fires......" The ship is loaded with sand and soil to extinguish fires, this news is what Xie Hong learned from Dai Ziyan, for ordinary fires, this method is also effective, and the effect on phosphorus fire is better.

"However, as long as you don't save ammunition, with the firing speed of a thunderbolt, as long as you bite a ship, you will definitely not be able to extinguish the fire, but it is not as refreshing as before when a shell solves an enemy ship."

The flywheel battleship was already on the wrong side, and it was not surprising that someone had found a way to deal with it, compared to the blind and arrogant stick, the enemy inside the Ming Dynasty was the most difficult to deal with, Xie Hong was also very emotional.

"What's more, our ship is also fast, even if we can't beat it, we can always run away, I have already explained to Brother Ma, you don't have to stick to which island or route, in order to preserve your strength. When the gunboats on Lushun's side are built, we will clean them up together when the time comes. Compared with strategic and tactical adjustments, Xie Hong feels that continuous upgrading is the king.

"But, Brother Xie, if there are pirates who have taken refuge in the Jiangnan people, then they may not only stare at the five islands, maybe there are also people who have the idea of fighting Lushun, didn't the main force of the Beijing camp concentrate on the Ordnance Division last year?" Jiang Bin reminded.

The Defending Weapons Division was the most disparity battle Jiang Bin had ever experienced, don't look at the final result that he won, but if it weren't for the means that Xie Hong had arranged in advance, he would have had no chance of winning as early as when the other party attacked the city with artillery.

And today's situation is actually a bit similar to the beginning, Lushun's workshop has more wealth than the original Ordnance Division, and Xie Hong himself is also here.

According to Xie Hong, the maritime strength of the Jiangnan people was already very strong, and after attracting pirates, it must be even stronger. In this way, would they turn a blind eye to such a tempting target as Lushun?

"That's right, it's a bit of a hassle." Xie Hong frowned, he had been focusing on the steam engine recently, and he had never been distracted except for making underwear for Zhengde, so he didn't think of this section until he was reminded by Jiang Bin.

"In this way, the dockyard will not be able to stop the production of flywheel warships, and the production of incendiary bombs will have to continue, so won't the production of ships and cannons be delayed?" Xie Hong patted his forehead and felt a pain in his head.

"By the way, Brother Xie, don't forget, over there in the capital, the emperor is still urging for something." Jiang Bin continued to remind.

"I don't know what the second brother wants so much underwear for? Could it be that he plans to expand the harem? "Xie Hong's head hurts even more, the effect of the last underwear incident was very good, eradicating Liu Jin and Zhang Yong's two major internal troubles in one fell swoop, and eliminating his worries, you must know that Zhang Yong killed Liu Jin in a similar way in his previous life, and it was a trouble to keep him.

However, this matter also brought a little trouble to Xie Hong, that is, Zhengde placed a large number of orders from the capital, and there were various models and sizes, which made Ling'er and a group of tailors work hard for more than a month before they were finished.

Underwear can be sewn by Ling'er, but the rubber bra pad is very troublesome, there is no mature process, Xie Hong can only make a small amount of rubber, and large-scale production is still far away. Therefore, in the face of Zhengde's big order, he could only shake his head and smile bitterly, after all, the steam engine is more important than underwear.

Alas, the troubles are all coming together, I can't say it, my brother just started first and went to Jiangnan to grab it. After sighing, Xie Hong said viciously in his heart.

"Master Hou, the lookout is warning that there is a fleet approaching Lushun from the sea, and its identity is unknown."

"What?" Xie Hong was taken aback, could it be that someone grabbed the lead? It came so quickly, but it is said that the efficiency of the scholars and doctors should not be so high, right? But it doesn't matter, the soldiers will come to block the water and cover the earth, and they will come in a hurry, and they will fight a battle in a hurry.

"The order is given, the sailors are on board, the gunners are in position, the craftsmen and idle men are quickly hidden, and the whole port is on alert, ready to meet the battle!"

(To be continued)