"This thick steel plate is used to build ironclad ships?" Shen Baozhen looked at the French freighter with the whistle blowing, and looked a little excited. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Exactly, the seven-and-a-half-thick steel plates purchased last time were too thin and not suitable for building large ships, so this time Kunyu pre-ordered fifteen-life-thick steel plates at the Schneider factory as a reserve, and when the machinery is fully equipped, the dock is completed, and the labor is proficient, the construction of the ironclad ship can be started." Wu Zhongxiang thought of the prospect of the shipyard, and his heart was also excited.

"Suddenly start building an ironclad ship, I'm afraid I can't catch it, right?" Shen Baozhen thought for a while and said.

"Yes, with the current strength of the shipyard, gunboats of about 3,000 tons and patrol clippers should not be a problem. Ships of more than 5,000 tons will have to take time and will need the assistance of French technicians. At present, there are many ships needed for coastal defense in various provinces, and Kunyu's idea is to first try to build a 5,000-ton ironclad patrol clipper (i.e., an armored cruiser), and then build an ironclad ship on this basis. Due to the huge amount of the project, the need for a large number of steel and iron parts must be reserved in advance. Wu Zhongxiang said.

"That's very good." Shen Baozhen remembered the ups and downs he had experienced since the establishment of the shipyard and the efforts and hardships that Lin Yizhe had made for the shipmaster, and he was more and more worried about him.

"Father, the auspicious time has come." Shen Baozhen's eldest son, Shen Weiqing, came to his side and reminded him.

Because today is the day when the two ships of the same class of "Weiyuan", "Chaowu" and "Chengqing", were launched.

The 30-year-old is the eldest son of Shen Baozhen and is now also working as a deputy to the Harbour Master. It was the shipmaster's right-hand man who promoted Wu Zhongxiang.

Shen Baozhen nodded, walked down the stairs with Wu Zhongxiang, left Luoxing Pagoda, and went to the Mazu Temple in the back mountain-Shipbuilding Tianhou Temple to worship.

The initiator of the Mawei Shipbuilding Tianhou Temple is Shen Baozhen, the Tianhou Temple started construction in the spring of 1868, completed in the summer, consumed 3082 taels of silver, and the Tianhou Temple painted carved beams after completion, majestic and magnificent. The whole wooden structure of the Tianhou Temple, its total building area of about 1000 square meters, the overall layout of the building is one axis and two courtyards, one is the gatehouse, the lower atrium is the stage, and the upper atrium is the worship pavilion; The second entrance is the main hall of the middle hall, the main hall is splendid, and the three statues of Mazu, Chen Jinggu and Liu Qiniang are enshrined. The beams and pillars of the upper and lower atrium, the main hall and the Kuixin Pavilion are all made of ebony wood collected from Taiwan, the carved part is camphor wood, and the statue of Mazu adopts the traditional lacquerware process of Fuzhou, which is painted with mineral color that does not fade for thousands of years, and the gloss of hand-pressed gold is comparable to that of gold plating. The whole building is rich and elegant, but not lose the solemnity, the layout is vertical and horizontal and orderly, which can be called a classic work showing Mazu culture and Chinese temple architecture. After the completion of the Tianhou Palace, Shen Baozhen specially folded and asked the Tongzhi Emperor to "write the plaque of the imperial book, and the appearance of the temple with light", and the Tongzhi Emperor quasi-played, and gave the "Virtue Shi Gongpu" and "Heavenly Virgin" plaques, which were hung in the Tianhou Palace. This makes the Tianhou Temple double its value and is famous far and wide, because the incense is extremely prosperous.

Shen Baozhen, Xia Xianlun, Wu Zhongxiang and other shipbuilding officials came to the main hall of Tianhou Temple to worship Mazu, the god of the river, and the god of the earth as usual. Shen Baozhen burned incense with his own hands to sacrifice, and after reading the sacrificial text, Shen Baozhen faced the statue of Mazu and prayed softly, hoping that Mazu could bless Lin Yizhe to return safely.

After the worship ceremony was completed, Shen Baozhen came to the slipway, and in the noisy sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, the workers pulled off the slipway pillars one by one, and in the cheers of the crowd, the "Chaowu" and "Chengqing" ships, both of which belonged to the "Weiyuan" class, were launched one after another.

The "Chaowu" and "Chengqing" warships are the same as the "Weiyuan" ships in terms of appearance, design, and various sizes. Moreover, all the keels and iron ribs used in the "Chaowu" and "Chengqing" warships were copied by Chinese technicians themselves, and the power models selected were also the same as those of the "Weiyuan" warship, and the Kangbang-type steam engines on the ships were also made by Chinese workers. The two ships are completely national products. Shen Baozhen said in his recital to the imperial court: "As for the two ships of 'Chaowu' and 'Chengqing', the ribs, engines and all the parts required on the ship are all imitated by Chinese workers in the new style of foreign countries, and they are built by themselves, just like those who buy from foreign countries. ”

As a result of the continuous improvement of the level of shipbuilding technology, various provinces have received warships built by the shipyard, which has greatly improved the coastal defense situation along China's southeast coast; up to now, the "Wannianqing" and "Fuxing" warships have been used by Zhejiang, the "Meiyun" warships have been used by Beiyang, the "Zhenhai" and "Jingyuan" warships have been used by Guangdong, and the "Zhenwei" warships have been used by Nanyang. At present, in China's coastal areas, the steam warships with dragon flags fluttering from time to time have become a new and beautiful scenery. The live advertisement of the shipmaster's self-built ships has now become bigger.

Soon after the construction of the "Chaowu" and "Chengqing" warships began, they heard that these two warships were of the same type as the "Weiyuan," and Beiyang, Nanyang, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and other places expressed their willingness to claim them, but Shen Baozhen finally decided to retain the two new-type warships in the shipmaster out of consideration for strengthening Fujian's coastal defense and building the foundation of the shipbuilding fleet as soon as possible.

After the launching ceremony, Shen Baozhen, who was in a good mood, was accompanied by his eldest son Shen Weiqing and returned home, he did not go to rest immediately, but went to visit his wife Lin Puqing first.

Shen Baozhen came to Lin Puqing's room, and saw that Lin Puqing had already sat up at this time, his complexion seemed much better than before, and he was talking to Li Sizhu.

Seeing that Lin Puqing's complexion was good today, Shen Baozhen's heart also felt very comfortable.

"The new ship is launched, the dockyard is started, and there will be more and more things in the future, so you must pay attention to your body." Lin Puqing saw that Shen Baozhen's eyebrows were very haggard, and said distressedly.

"Hmm." Shen Baozhen nodded, came to Lin Puqing, took her hand, and shook it, "I see that you look good today...... It's still a little cold in this hand! ”

"I think it's because I'm old, my blood is insufficient, and my operation is not as smooth as before." Lin Puqing said with a smile, "I've been drinking Ejiao these days." ”

"A few days ago, I asked people to enter the good Ejiao from Shandong, is there anything else?" Shen Baozhen said with concern, "If it's gone, I'll ask for more people." ”

"It's okay, it's okay, it's enough to eat for a while." Lin Puqing smiled and said to him, "Besides, it's not a matter of just taking medicine, you have to force yourself to do it." ”

Lin Puqing said, looked at her adopted daughter Li Sizhu, and said with a smile, "Come, Sizhu, help my mother to walk two steps." ”

Li Sizhu stepped forward and gently held Lin Puqing's hand and helped her get up. Shen Baozhen noticed that Li Sizhu moved gently when he helped Lin Puqing, and the concern in his eyes naturally revealed, and he couldn't help but feel very relieved.

Lin Puqing's love overflowed and the daughter who was adopted for a while was more intimate than Lin Puqing's five own daughters.

"In a moment, Sizhu has grown into a big girl." Shen Baozhen looked at Li Sizhu, who was very graceful, and his eyes were full of appreciation.

Li Sizhu, who is eleven years old this year, has a pair of beautiful almond eyes, willow eyebrows, cherry small-mouthed melon seed face under the thick and shiny braided bangs, and a slender and well-proportioned figure that has just grown, and his skin is so smooth and tender that he seems to be able to pinch out water. Although it is only a half-grown girl's family, both in appearance and figure, it has already revealed an extraordinary temperament.

"This kid, it's good, it's just too quiet, he doesn't like to talk, he just knows to guard me all day long, and he reads in his spare time. On weekdays, I asked her to talk to me, but in fact, I was the only one who said that she listened, hehe, it's not bad today. Lin Puqing patted Li Sizhu's slender fingers on his arm affectionately, and said with a smile.

"As you said, Sizhu is not just reading, I have seen Sizhu practice martial arts with Wan'er." Shen Baozhen remembered the scene when she happened to bump into Chen Wan teaching Li Sizhu to practice swords a few days ago, and said with a smile.

"Oh? And what's going on? How did I not know? Lin Puqing asked Li Sizhu with a smile.

Li Sizhu's face was slightly red, and he hung his head and replied: "Practicing the sword can be used for self-defense and fitness, and it can also cultivate temperament, I saw my sister-in-law practicing the sword that day, and I liked it very much, so I asked my sister-in-law to teach me......"

"Hehe, good, good, wait for one day, let my mother see and understand." Lin Puqing said with a smile.

"Sizhu's books are also very good, and I can remember everything I have read. My memory is getting worse and worse now. Shen Baozhen sighed.

"By the way, I don't know how the children have been reading these days." Lin Puqing suddenly remembered the children's studies and couldn't help asking.

"I've already invited them sir, they've been studying in the library for the past few days, so don't worry about it, just rest in peace." Shen Baozhen said.

"Always look at it to be reassuring." Lin Puqing said.

Shen Baozhen has a total of seven sons and eight daughters, of which in addition to the adopted daughter Li Sizhu, Lin Puqing has five sons and five daughters. She also treats her two sons and two daughters as her own. On weekdays, she used to teach the young children homework, but now that she is sick, she is a gentleman who has been invited to teach the children. Although she can no longer teach children, she is still very concerned about their schoolwork.

"Then let them come over and greet you, and check their homework by the way." Shen Baozhen also wanted to see the children's homework, so he happily said to his eldest son Shen Weiqing beside him.

"Yes, my son will pass now." Shen Weiqing saluted his father, then turned around and walked away quickly.

"You can lie down for a while, too." Shen Baozhen was afraid that Lin Puqing would be tired after walking for a long time, so he persuaded him.

Lin Puqing nodded, was supported by Li Sizhu, returned to the bed, and lay down again.

After a while, several young children rushed in under the leadership of Shen Weiqing.

"Greetings to my mother." As she spoke, the children came to the bed and knelt down and kowtowed to Lin Puqing.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" As soon as Lin Puqing saw the children, she was happy in her heart.

"Have you all been studying hard these days?" Lin Puqing smiled and asked, "What did you learn?" ”

"Back to his mother's words, what my son has learned in the past few days is the way to govern the country and secure the country." Shen Baozhen's fourth son, fourteen-year-old Shen Yuqing, hurriedly replied.