The strange siege battle under the city of Yizhou has been fought for nearly half a month, and Liu Zhaojiquan is a training soldier, organizing troops to shoot the Qing soldiers on the city wall of Yizhou every day, and he has killed nearly 2,000 people in Wu Sangui in half a month.

Wu Sangui has been confused, what is the Yangzhou army going to do? This battle is not fighting, retreating and not retreating, sticking to the outside of Yizhou City like a locust, sucking the blood of Yizhou City all day long, driving and not driving away, this day is simply impossible to live.

The city of Yangzhou is very lively today, and people are rushing to spread the news that the steamship in Yangzhou is going to be launched today.

What is a steamship, the people of Yangzhou City have different opinions, there is a grapevine that this ship does not need sails, does not need people, you can go by yourself, I heard that people are disdainful, "Who do you lie?" The boat does not hang sails, and can only be paddled or pedaled by people, otherwise how can it walk on its own? ”

If you don't believe it, you don't believe it, but curious people still came to the canal early in the morning.

Yangzhou City is no longer the original Yangzhou City, according to Shi Kefa's estimates, the population of Yangzhou City is now much less than that of Nanjing City.

The canal was bustling with activity, and the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture had already set up a cordon along the river to prevent people from falling into the water, and even the garrison sent many people to help maintain order.

The small traders and vendors were the happiest, and all kinds of food stalls were moved to the canal, and a variety of small goods were also carried by the small traders to sell them on the periphery of the crowd.

Even the glass factory and some factories have held fairs along the canal, which is the idea of Liu Lan, and such a lively scene is rare now, and it would be a pity not to make good use of it.

The fairs of these factories were much more pompous than those of the small traders, and in the canopies made of colorful silks, the young men who sold their goods held cardboard horns in their hands and constantly advertised their goods to the crowd.

Luo Jian and Shi Kefa came to the Guazhou dock early in the morning.

Luo Jian didn't expect Song Yingxing and them to install the steam engine on the ship so quickly, I thought it would take them a while, Xiao Liu said that Song Lao and they worked day and night, and often saw him with a large group of people in the factory as soon as it was dawn.

Next to the pier is a flat-bottomed barge, which according to Luo Jian's estimation is at least a dozen tons of tonnage. This kind of ship is generally used to transport coal on weekdays, pulling more goods, and the most stable, now there is a tent in the center of the ship, and a big chimney sticks out of the canopy, and black smoke has drifted out of the chimney, and it is obvious that the steam engine is installed in it.

Luo Jian pulled Shi Kefa onto the ship, walked into the cabin and saw that Song Yingxing, Fang Yizhi and others were making the final adjustment.

"Old Song, you have worked hard, and now there is no problem, right?" Luo Jian asked.

"Xinghua, Inspector, you can rest assured, it will be fine soon." Song Yingxing glanced up at the two of them, and then lowered his head and went to work.

"Brother Xian, when the first voyage of this ship is successful, we must order Song Lao to take a period of vacation, it's not okay to exhaust the old man, spring has arrived, Slender West Lake is very beautiful, let Song Lao go there for a vacation, at least half a month." Luo Jian turned to Shi Kefa and said.

"Yes, Song Lao is our baby in Yangzhou, so he can't be tired." Shi Kefa nodded yes.

"What are you two muttering? Don't bully me, the old man's ears are not good, I heard it, the old man is in good health, what kind of vacation are you taking? Song Yingxing put down the tools in his hand, raised his head and said to the two.

"Old Song, you can't help but let go, Brother Mi, they have grown up, you have to let them take the lead, you just need to check on the side." Luo Jian said with a smile.

"It's good to be secret, but I'm anxious old man, if we don't get these things out, our life in Yangzhou will be difficult." Song Yingxing said.

"Mizhi, you look at the pressure gauge again, check the valves, and finally try the machine, if there is no problem, we will sail." Song Yingxing ignored Luo Jian, turned around and explained with wisdom.

Fang Yizhi agreed, and went into the cabin to take a closer look, and then came out to report that everything was normal.

Song Yingxing looked up at Luo Jian, Luo Jian knew what he meant, and said, "Old Song, you don't care about me for this kind of test, just follow your arrangement." ”

"Okay, boilermaker, coal!" Song Yingxing turned around and shouted into the cabin.

When the boilermaker heard this, he hurriedly shoveled a few large shovels of coal and sent them into the furnace, and the red flames rushed up, and the black smoke floating out of the chimney almost became a straight line.

A moment later, Fang Yizhi pulled a valve, and a long whistle sounded from the boat.

"Huh? Old Song, you even got the whistle out? Luo Jian asked curiously.

"This is Xiao Liu's boy's idea, this idea is good, just like the horn on your warrior car, it can remind the ships in front to pay attention to avoidance." Song Yingxing said proudly.

"Let's go?" Shi Kefa asked.

"It's not busy, there are still a lot of things to pull to Yangzhou, and the ship can't run empty." Song Yingxing said.

Listening to Song Lao's words, Luo Jian couldn't laugh or cry, this Song Lao was so careful and calculating.

"Xinghua, do you think the old man is too calculating, this is also to test the load capacity of this steamship." Song Yingxing seemed to know Luo Jian's thoughts.

As Fang Yizhi beckoned, many workers on the dock began to carry goods to the ship, the number of people was strong, and soon the ship was full, and even Luo Jian and Shi Kefa stood at the bow of the ship and felt that the ship had sunk a lot.

The people on the canal were already waiting impatiently, one by one they craned their necks to watch, and some simply ran out of the crowd to eat at the food stalls in the back.

Liu Lan also rushed to Guazhou with the princess, I heard that there was such a lively thing, the princess had to make a fuss to come and see, Liu Lan had to bring her, Xing'er was in charge of the quilt factory, and today she also asked for leave and ran over, following Liu Lan and the princess.

Liu Lan finally pulled the princess and ran to the boat, the boat was about to leave, and she wouldn't be able to catch up if she came any later.

"Liu Lan, why did you bring the princess too?" Luo Jian asked.

"The princess has to come and see it, it's not impossible, so I brought her here, anyway, I have to write a report, this is not the scene, how can I write it?" Liu Lan said with a smile.

The princess shrank behind Liu Lan and smiled embarrassedly.

Luo Jian hadn't seen the princess for more than half a month, and when I saw her today, her complexion was much better than when she first came, and her face was flushed, so the princess looked like a girl in the flower season.

"Is the princess dressed enough? It's windy on the bow, so don't catch a cold. Shi Kefa looked at the princess with some affection, regardless of the identity of this girl, in fact, she was a poor person.

"Supervisor, I have dressed enough, Sister Liulan is afraid that I will catch a cold, so she let me wear such a thick one." The princess pouted, looking very cute.

Song Yingxing stood on the deck and glanced at the entire ship, then waved his hand and shouted at the top of his voice: "Set sail!" ”

Fang Yizhi in the cabin heard Song Yingxing's shout, pulled down a few valves, and everyone only felt that the ship shook a few times, and it moved slowly.

With another long whistle, the barge slowly left the dock and headed for the middle of the canal, followed by two sailors' warships.

"Move, move, sister, this ship has no sails to move." Zhu Yujiao excitedly pulled Liu Lan with her only right hand, and Liu Lan took the princess into her arms with pity, this girl is estimated to be the most alive few days she has lived in more than ten years.

The ship slowly marched in the canal, Song Yingxing kept observing the operation of the steam engine, and seeing that everything was in good condition, he shouted with wisdom: "Mizhi, start accelerating!" ”

Fang Yizhi increased the valve again, and the speed of the ship slowly increased.

"Tell the sailors to go as fast as possible!" Seeing that the steamship had begun to accelerate, Luo Jian had the intention to test its speed, and ordered the sailor ship following behind to move at full speed.

The sailors on the ship waved the flags in their hands, and the sailors received the order, one of them was still moving at the same speed, and the other was already hanging full sails, and the sailors also entered the cabin to drive the battleship forward with all their might, and the sailor ship quickly overtook the steamer.

"Mizhi, how is the output power now?" Song Yingxing stood outside the cabin and watched while asking Fang Yizhi in the cabin.

"Old Song, it's one-third of the power now." Fang Yizhi replied in the cabin.

"Plus to one-half." Song Yingxing shouted.

The speed of the steamship quickly picked up again, and it was getting closer and closer to the sailor ship in front, and the other sailor ship behind had already been pulled down a long way.

Before the canal turned into Yangzhou, the sailor ship had slowed down significantly, and the manpower drive could not always last, which was obvious, but the speed of the steamship was getting faster and faster, and soon overtook the sailor ship in front.

"Old Song, how is the steam engine running now?" Luo Jian asked loudly.

"All good! Try the maximum power now. Song Yingxing also replied with a roar, no way, the noise of the steam engine was so loud that it was impossible for people to speak quietly.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Luo Jian remembered that there was an article in the middle school Chinese textbook about the launch of the first steamship, and it seemed to be in a dream at the moment, but the current steamship was much more advanced than what was described in the textbook.

The people on the shore first saw the black smoke rising from the top of the canal, and then saw a barge quickly come into view.

"It's coming! Here it comes! Look, there's really no sail! "The crowd on the banks of the canal was in an uproar.

The black smoke rising from the ship became thicker and thicker, and the speed of the ship continued to increase, which was the maximum output of the steamship.

"So fast! If you look at the naval division battleship behind, I'm afraid it has already been pulled down for seven or eight miles. The sharp-eyed man had already seen the naval battleship behind him and shouted with his finger.

"Look! You see, the ship is full of cargo. Someone shouted pointing to the barge.

"How? Song Lao, when the ship is running at full speed, what is the state of the steam engine? Luo Jian asked Song Yingxing.

"At present, it seems that there is no problem, but this section of the canal is too short, and the test time is still not enough, but when we built this steam engine, there was a margin, and now it seems that there is no problem with this steam engine on the ship. It's just that if it is to be built on a warship at sea, I'm afraid it will have to be studied again. Song Yingxing walked up to Luo Jian and said.

Shi Kefa stood on the bow of the ship and looked at Yangzhou City, without saying a word, but his heart was like a pot, he knew very well what the advent of the steamship meant.

"Sister, it's so quick, I'll go back with this ship in a while, and I'll go and see how the machine that drives the ship is made." Zhu Yujiao's little face was flushed with excitement, and she pulled Liu Lan tightly with her right hand.

Xing'er stood next to her and watched Liu Lan hugging the princess, Xing'er knew that the princess was also a poor person, and she was not jealous, the princess now had no relatives, and she still had Mrs. Gao and that kid.

Thinking of Wang Qiang, Xing'er has an indescribable feeling, this kid seems to have no enlightenment, he is so good to him, but he stays in the army all day long, staying with those soldiers, if it weren't for Sister Liu Lan urging him, he might not come to see him once in half a year.

I also asked Sister Liulan, Sister Liulan said, Wang Qiang said that she is still too young, and when she grows up, she will come to her, so that she has to learn more things now, and she can't do anything except chant a few broken poems like those big young ladies.

Without waiting for Xing'er to think too much, the steamship had already arrived at the Yangzhou dock.