Chapter 110

Outside the window, there is a sunny color, which is a rare good weather in winter, and it is also a good weather for travel. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 As a newly planned city, the Incheon Special Zone has been considering winter heating from the beginning, but it is not heated by a special heating center, but by the waste heat from the power plant, which can still ensure the heating supply of the special zone.

In the warm office, Stengge felt that his mood was a little strange.

Today was supposed to be a day of joy, and he himself wanted to work hard to make himself happy. But for some reason, there is always a trace of apprehension hidden in my heart that is not easy to detect.

He has spent three years since he proposed the establishment of the Incheon Shipyard three years ago, and he has spent three years since he became the head of the shipyard office and then officially served as the director of the ship administration.

As the founder of the shipyard, he personally witnessed the Harbour Master's Bureau from a deserted seaside open space to today's largest shipyard in the Far East with 7,900 craftsmen, seven docks and more than a dozen branches, and it also has the largest dock in the Far East in this era - Dock 7, a granite-based dock about 360 meters long and 33 meters wide, so that it can accommodate two cutting-edge combat ships like the monarch class at the same time.

During this period, as the actual person in charge of the shipyard, it is needless to say that Stengge has paid hardships. Words such as painstaking and exhaustive effort are not enough to describe, but perhaps it is more appropriate to use them as if they were on the edge of the abyss and walking on thin ice. After all, the importance of modern shipbuilding in Northeast China is self-evident, and there is no room for error.

Today is a special day - and in a way marks a fresh beginning.

After 425 days and nights of all-out hard work, the 2,800-ton "Pingbo," the first armored cruiser built by the Incheon Shipyard, was finally about to undergo sea trials today.

If the sea trials are successful. In accordance with the established plan, we will continue to rush to build the second and third ships...... What does this mean? This means that the Northeast has taken the most solid step on the road of building ships.

Even for the Incheon shipyard, its significance is more important than that of the "Jinghai class", because the "Jinghai class" was built under the guidance of French technicians, and not only that, but also directly used a large number of foreign components. But the "Pingbo-class" armored cruiser was a truly domestically produced warship -- the steel used was from the Incheon Iron and Steel Works, the steam engines and boilers were from the Beiyang Power Company, the artillery was from the Shenyang Arsenal, and even the sights were from the newly launched China Optical Instrument Corporation.

If that fails, then Stenge doesn't have to think about what will happen - although it will not affect his position in the shipyard, it is conceivable that the navy will immediately adjust its plans and may suspend the construction of another crucial mission, the "Zhenhai".

Two months ago, after the approval of the program for the combat ship "Zhenhae". If the "Zhenhai" combat ship has been laid at dock No. 7, it will mark China's leap to become one of the few countries that can build combat ships, and it will also mark that China has laid the most solid foundation for becoming a naval power.

However, if the "Pingbo" fails, not only will the plan to build the "Zhenhai" combat ship on its own be suspended, but the "Zhenhai" and "Dinghai" may be undertaken by a British or German shipyard, and even the plan to build the warship on its own will be postponed indefinitely, which will undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to China's shipbuilding industry.

Next. When will the next one be?

Stenger doesn't care about personal gain or loss. What he really feared was that the navy would lose all confidence in building warships because of the failure of the sea trials.

During these three years. In order to build the ship, from the Unified Inspector's Office to the Governor's Palace, a huge capital of not less than 10 million yuan has been invested in the Incheon Shipyard, and no matter whether it succeeds or fails, Stenge Court must hand over a copy of his answer sheet today.

"Mr. Shi, the time is almost up." A voice dragged Stengge, who was in deep thought, out.

Stengge looked up. It was Shao Yijie - he was one of Stenge's right-hand men and one of the first graduates of the ship major of the East Asian Tongwen College.

"All ready?"

Stengge asked a little nervously.

"Everything is ready, as long as the trial voyage is successful, the telegram will be sent to the Dalian Marshal's Mansion as soon as possible."

Shao Yijie nodded, until now. He couldn't understand why he didn't send an invitation to the marshal, after all, this was the first armored cruiser built in the Northeast, and even the Beiyang Navy did not have an armored cruiser as powerful as the "Pingbo".

"Let's go."

The two of them went out of the office together, and when they went downstairs, they went straight to the slipway.

The "Pingbo", which was hoisting colorful flags on slipway No. 6, was parked on the 300-meter launching slide, like a soldier about to set out for the battle. A red flag fluttered high on the bow pole of the ship, hunting in the cold wind blowing from the sea.

On both sides of the slipway, the directors of the various branches of the Incheon Shipyard and the craftsmen involved in the construction of the "Pingbo" are crowded here, and Chinese, English, French, and German meet here, and the naval officers and sailors from the Incheon Naval Base are lined up in a row, showing a majestic momentum. Almost everyone looked at the armored cruiser with anticipation.

Under the flying shear bow unique to the "Pingbo-class" armored cruisers, a one-zhang high platform is built in the center of the bow, compared with Mawei or Gangnam, the Incheon shipyard did not set up an altar, and there were no items such as incense burners, arm incense, and fruit offerings on the sacrificial table, some only had Western-style platforms, under the platform with flowers, and the chief of the naval department Rong Shangqian had already arrived there, with a smile on his face, and when he saw Stenge coming, he hurriedly greeted him. Shi Tenge stepped forward quickly, bowed to Rong Shangqian and the others, and exchanged greetings.

After some politeness, Rong Shangqian cautiously asked:

"Mr. Shi, there won't be a problem with the "Pingbo", right? ”

This is what he is most concerned about, this "Pingbo" ship, which is equipped with two 152-mm rapid-fire guns and six 120-mm rapid-fire guns, will be the most powerful warship of the Northeast Navy before the "Jinghai" class armored cruiser is put into service.

Rong Shangqian owed his body slightly, and replied in a confident tone.

"My Director, if anything goes wrong after all this hard work we've done, it's that God is playing a joke on us."

Shi Tengge's confident answer made Rong Shangqian couldn't help muttering in his heart.

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

Yes, in that case, the cost would be too high, even too expensive for the navy to bear, thinking of this, he looked at the Western naval officers, who had been invited to participate in the launching ceremony. Of course, this is based on one reason -- in order to send a signal to the Western shipbuilding community, we can build warships, and when we negotiate business with you in the future, you should lower your posture and lower the price, and do not treat us as wronged.

However, if the sea trial fails, the Western shipyard will definitely regard the Northeast Navy as the culprit, and this price is undoubtedly extremely heavy, and it is not something the Navy is willing to bear.

Although the shipyards in Incheon do not have the rules of the old shipyards, and their habits are close to those of the West, it is still a custom to choose an "auspicious time" to be launched, and this is how modernity and tradition are combined in the Incheon Special Zone, and now the auspicious time has arrived.

It's time to get in the water!

Shi Tengge cleaned up the Western-style dress on his body, and then said to Rong Shangqian beside him.

"Please!"

At the invitation of Stenge, Rong Shangqian also made an invitation. The two walked onto the platform almost hand in hand, standing under the bow of the "Pingbo" flying with colorful flags,

"Sir Rong, now that the auspicious time has come, please ring the champagne."

Stengge reminded from the side.

"Let's go together, return to our ancestors, after all, you are the designer of the "Pingbo" ship! ”

After Rong Shangqian announced that the ship would be named "Pingbo", the two of them smashed the bottle of champagne into the bow at the same time, and the next moment, the "Pingbo" ship began to slowly slide along the slide towards the sea.

As the hull of the ship slid steadily down the slipway towards the sea, there would be streamers from compressed air cylinders every other section, and in the flying of the streamers, deafening fireworks bombs continued to rise into the air, exploding balls of fireworks, and firecrackers echoed with the fireworks.

The crowd of onlookers on the shore suddenly stopped talking, and they all held their breath and opened their eyes wide.

In an instant, the "Pingbo" had left the shore for dozens of meters, and the whole process was microwave-free, and the natural launching process did not seem to be very spectacular, after it fell into the water. The sailors quickly threw out the anchor, and the behemoth with a displacement of 2,870 tons was anchored as a rock on the seashore.

After a long time, everyone on the shore seemed to come back to their senses, and the cheers suddenly resounded like a tide, one after another, resounding through the clouds. All of a sudden, the drums were noisy, the salute was fired again, and the craftsmen, who spoke with northern and southern accents and even spoke English and German, wept with joy and clapped their hands.

Looking at the scene in front of him, the corners of Shi Tenge's eyes couldn't help but be a little moist, looking at the "Pingbo Ship" moored at sea, it was as if he had seen his son, this was the warship he designed!

At this time, reporters from various newspapers swarmed around, wanting to interview the director of the ship administration, but Shi Tengge had already instructed his subordinates to interview Rong Shangqian. While the chief of the naval department was busy under the siege and questions of reporters, Stengge had quietly left the platform.

It's just that when leaving, I glanced back at the "Pingbo", at this time the sailors were on board, the first sea trials were waiting for it, and the sea was waiting for it! (To be continued.) )