"Brother Xian, I have conducted a comprehensive investigation of Lai Fu, and his origin is already very clear, and you also know that when Duoduo besieged Xuyi last time, it was Lai Fuce who turned against Li Benshen, which made Duoduo retreat without a fight, and he made great contributions." Luo Jian patiently explained.

"Okay, you can arrange it." Only then did Shi Kefa agree.

"At present, it seems that the main target of the Ministry of Security is the Manchu Qing, but we can't relax the imperial court in Nanjing. Only the funds of this department can't be clearly taken from the accounts, this is from the special funds of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, right? Brother Xian, what do you think? Luo Jian thought very thoughtfully.

"Okay, I don't have experience with this, you can arrange it." Shi Kefa said.

Luo Jian returned to the mansion and told Lai Fu the results of the discussion, and he was in charge of the security department.

Lai Fu didn't say anything when he heard this, stood up and walked a few steps to Luo Jian and knelt down.

"Lai Fu, what are you doing? We in Yangzhou have long abolished the kneeling ceremony. Luo Jian was a little surprised.

"Metropolitan Governor, I know this, Xie Metropolitan Governor trusts, Lai Fu is swearing to the Metropolitan Governor, Lai Fu swears allegiance to the Metropolitan Governor!" Lai Fu insisted on kowtowing three times, and when he stood up, his forehead was already red.

The small courtyard in the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion where Song Yingxing used to live has been empty since Mrs. Gao and the others moved away, and now it has become the headquarters of the Ministry of Security.

The intelligence system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty by the General Staff was also transferred to the Ministry of Security, which became the initial team of the Ministry of Security.

After a period of time, the actions of the Ministry of Security made Luo Jian feel that it was indeed the right person to put Lai Fu in charge of the Ministry of Security.

Lai Fu quickly integrated the previous sporadic intelligence system, and the efficiency became higher, and when the list of Ma Shiying's dinner party was sent to Luo Jian's desk one day, Luo Jian was a little surprised.

But Luo Jian's recent energy is not on this, because the "Wei Qing" is about to be launched for sea trials.

Zheng Chenggong had been running to the Guazhou shipyard since the fleet had returned, and his sailors had also set up camp outside the shipyard.

Zheng Chenggong heard Lu Wei say that the speed of the steamship was so fast, and he also found the steamship to test it several times.

Since then, in addition to daily routine training, Zheng Chenggong has basically soaked in the shipyard.

According to Zheng Chenggong's opinions, the shipyard made some partial modifications to the warships, referring to the designs of some Western warships, so as to make them more suitable for the needs of naval warfare.

Scientific management methods have greatly accelerated the speed of construction, originally according to Luo Jian's estimates, the battleship will take more than a month to be built, but I did not expect it to be a month earlier than expected, today Luo Jian, Shi Kefa and many officials in Yangzhou City have come to the shipyard to witness the grand occasion of the launch of the "Wei Qing".

"Oh my God, how big is a battleship? The lucky ships that the eunuchs of Sanbao went to the West back then were just like that, right? An official sighed.

"According to the new measurement method, the 'Wei Qing' is 42 meters long, and the fortune ship of that year was more than 50 meters." An expert official said from the side.

"There weren't so many and such good cannons on the Fu ships that went to the West back then, and with these cannons, the 'Wei Qing' was able to run rampant across the ocean." An official took over the topic and said.

"Yes, with the escort of the 'Wei Qing', our merchant ships will have to go to sea again, but there is no need to worry at all."

"In the future, the 'Huo Quai' and 'Yue Fei' will be completed, and we can land directly from Liaodong and go straight to the Tartar lair." An official said next to him.

Luo Jian glanced at this official, and said in his heart that this person's vision was really good, and he actually saw the strategic use of this giant ship.

Holding a horn rolled up of iron sheets in his hand, the shipyard steward commanded thousands of sailors and shipyard workers to slowly push the 'Wei Qing' from the track to the dock, and it took more than an hour to track more than 100 meters.

Luo Jian's eyes were sharp, and he couldn't help but feel a little strange when he saw that the "Wei Qing" was hanging on the soft sail.

According to the information learned by Luo Jian, all the seafaring ships in ancient China used hard sails, and soft sails were the patent of Western ships.

The hard sail is characterized by lightness and more flexible steering, but the wind-bearing area is relatively much smaller, which is also the fundamental reason why ancient Chinese ships are inferior to Western ships in terms of speed.

The soft sail has a large wind area, and the speed of the ship is relatively much faster, but the biggest problem of the soft sail is that it is extremely bulky, and the difference in the physique of the West allows them to use the soft sail.

The Orientals, due to their physical condition, could not have accommodated more sailors in the smaller space on the ship, so they had to use hard sails. In this way, the sailors on Western ships have a great physical exertion every time they raise and lower their sails, so that after each lifting and lowering of the sails, these sailors can rest for a long time and can operate again.

Could it be that because the "Wei Qing" was big enough, Song Yingxing and the others decided to use soft sails? Luo Jian found Song Yingxing with questions.

"Haha, Xinghua, you don't even understand something, right? If you think about it, why? Song Yingxing made a joke.

After listening to Song Yingxing's words, Luo Jian carefully observed the "Wei Qing", and suddenly saw the pulley on the mast, and suddenly understood.

"Hehe, you guys use a pulley? No wonder he dared to use soft sails on the 'Wei Qing'. Luo Jian said with a smile.

"Hey, I thought there was something you didn't know, but who knew you would understand it when you saw it." Song Lao said with a smile.

"Governor, the current mainsail can be easily raised by only five or six people, which is very convenient." Fang Yizhi said beside him.

"Xinghua, this soft sail was specially prepared by our quilt factory, and I heard that Mrs. Gao personally led the workers to work overtime to weave it." Song Yingxing said with a smile.

"And these things? Brother Song Lao and Brother Mi, have you tested the idling of the steam engine, and what is the effect? Luo Jian asked.

"It has been tested many times, the linkage effect is very good, and it can also be operated by a single or several units, and I will not be on the ship for this offshore trial, and the secret will take people to debug the ship at any time to ensure that the effect is the best."

"By the way, Xinghua, according to Damu's opinion, we have added twelve smoothbore guns to the ship for direct shooting, in case we reach a very close distance, our 'Wei Qing' melee ability will also be available." Song Yingxing said.

"Okay, you guys are thoughtful, I must go with me to see this offshore trial, by the way, you guys go and get busy first, I'll go and talk to the superintendent." After Luo Jian finished speaking, he turned around and went to find Shi Kefa.

Shi Kefa was pointing at the battleship with the officials in Yangzhou, and his face was full of excitement.

"Brother Xian, come here, I want to discuss something with you." Luo Jian said.

"What's the matter, Xinghua, you can say it."

"This time the 'Weiqing' is on trial off the coast, I want to follow it, anyway, it didn't take much time, and you have to worry more about things at home."

"Hehe, I just said that I also want to go and see it, since Xinghua wants to go, you can go, I am at home to organize another caravan, ready to wait for you to come back to sea again, during this time the people in various factories come to me constantly, they are looking forward to the merchant ship to go to sea again."

The two muttered to each other for a long time, and then called Ren Minyu over and arranged some things, so Luo Jian was relieved to prepare to go to sea with the "Wei Qing" for sea trials.

The huge battleship has been moored on the track in the dock, the valve of the dock has been opened, and the river water is constantly pouring into the dock, but the dock is too big, Luo Jian estimated that it was impossible for the "Wei Qing" to set off today, and decided to go back to the house to make some preparations.

Liu Lan heard that Luo Jian was going to participate in the trial voyage of the "Wei Qing", and immediately made a fuss about going with her, she had never been to sea.

"It's okay for you to go, what about your 'little tail'?" Luo Jian asked with a smile.

"Why don't you take her with you, Cihuan will go this time, right? It's not bad to let their siblings spend more time together, Brother Luo, what do you see? Liu Lan said.

"Okay, you can just do it." Luo Jian felt that Liu Lan's words made sense, so he agreed on the spot.

When Liu Lan heard this, she hurriedly found someone to inform Zhu Yujiao and told her to go to sea with the "Wei Qing" early tomorrow morning for sea trials, but she didn't expect the princess to let people run to the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion with a big burden that night, and squeezed Liu Lan all night.

Early the next morning, Luo Jian took Liu Lan and the princess to the Guazhou Shipyard, today's shipyard was more crowded than yesterday, and many factories and merchants sent people to watch, which was agreed to come after Luo Jian and Shi Kefa discussed.

Black smoke has begun to rise from the two large chimneys in the middle of the battleship "Wei Qing", apparently the boilers have already burned.

Luo Jian and a group of people boarded the "Wei Qing" and came to the huge deck on the top floor.

When I arrived at the ship, I felt very different from when I watched it below, under the impact of the river, the "Wei Qing" was shaking slightly, and when I looked down from the ship, the crowd below looked small.

Zhu Yujiao excitedly pulled Liu Lan to chatter non-stop, and kept asking why the battleship could not sail.

Suddenly, a naval army general holding an iron horn stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Everyone is quiet", Zhu Yujiao was so frightened that she covered her mouth with her hand.

When everything was quiet, Zheng Chenggong ran a few steps from the crowd to Luo Jian, raised his hand to salute, and said loudly: "Report to the Metropolitan Governor, the 'Wei Qing' is all ready, whether to start the sea trial, please instruct!" ”

"Start sea trials!" Luo Jian said briefly.

"All in place, set sail immediately!" Zheng Chenggong took the iron horn in the general's hand and ordered loudly.

A few minutes later, the "Wei Qing" shook a few times and slowly moved.

"It's moving! It's moving! There was a burst of excited exclamations from the crowd watching from the shore, and at the same time, the sound of firecrackers on the shore also rang out, and with the sound of firecrackers, the crowd on the shore became more and more excited.

At this time, the "Wei Qing" had already sailed out of the dock and really entered the Yangtze River.

At this time, the other side of the Yangtze River was also full of onlookers, and the launching of the "Wei Qing" also alarmed the city of Nanjing, and many Nanjing citizens also rushed to the riverside to watch.

"The 'Wei Qing' left this time, and he will never return to Guazhou, and the old man is really a little reluctant." Song Yingxing looked at the "Wei Qing" that was gradually moving away, and his eyes were full of reluctance.

According to the plan, before the Haizhou port was repaired, the "Weiqing" could only berth at the Shuishi port in Zhenjiang for the time being, and with the draft depth of the "Weiqing", it would not be able to enter the canal.

"Old Song, the 'Wei Qing' is just like your old child, it's normal to be reluctant, such a big child, only the vast sea is the world for him to swim!" Shi Kefa pointed to the east and said with a sigh.

On the main deck of the "Wei Qing", Zheng Chenggong carefully observed the wind direction and gave another order.

"Raise the mainsail and remove the steam engine power!"

With Zheng Chenggong's order, a group of sailors ran under the mainmast, and quickly raised the mainsail, Luo Jian raised his hand and looked at his watch, and it took less than five minutes for the entire mainsail to rise.