The sky was blue, the waning moon was hidden, and it was close to dawn. In a factory on the outskirts of Berlin, the street lights are bright, and people are running, as if they are making the most difficult preparations for something. As the light increased in the far reaches of the East, a giant cigar with a length of more than 100 meters and a width equal to that of a battleship slowly swelled in the flat and wide clearing; The Hohenzollern family emblem painted on both sides shows the world its unique identity and majesty in this empire.

With a slight sound of brakes, Qingying, who was dressed in a strong suit, belatedly stepped out of the car; His youthful face was a little tired, but his starry eyes were still full of energy. Beside him, Sanya, who saw this big toy, was even more excited, smiling like a flower, if it weren't for the presence of others, she would almost immediately hug Qingying's arm and run forward with cheers. Originally, Qingying wanted to take a closer look at this kind of flying machine that had almost disappeared in later generations, but under Sanya's coquettish drag, she had to reluctantly choose to go directly into the metal cabin hanging under the airship.

Since this airship was specially made for the little princess Sanya, the maiden creatures from the Romanov dynasty arranged the living space that belonged to her in this airship to be extremely luxurious and luxurious; As far as the eye can see, it is full of amazing silver and jade decorations. In a few moments, the ground personnel completed the filling of helium and untied the rope, and the airship broke away from the ground in a very smooth and elegant posture and went straight to the sky. Throwing down the little princess who was rolling back and forth on the big bed in her room, and looking out the window at the ground far away and cheering excitedly, Qingying got up and walked into the cab; An old man with two big beards on his lips was staring at the various recording meters in front of him, and it was the old Count Zeppelin, whom he had not seen for a long time. I heard a noise behind me. Zeppelin turned. Smile at Qingying.

"Your Highness. You're now on the greatest vehicle on the planet, and it's the result of all the thirty years I've spent researching flying machines. Whether it's a large, smooth and powerful shape, a fantastic flying weight, a fast forward speed or an excellent stable flight, it is absolutely perfect. Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me an incomparably abundant R&D funding, which allowed me to fulfill my long-cherished wish to build this magnificent work of art that is completely out of this era. Zeppelin bowed slightly to Qingying and whispered in an extremely grateful tone.

Qingying walked up to Zeppelin and said, "Mr. Earl, please tell me a brief introduction to your masterpiece." ”

"The airship is 102 meters long. At 27 meters wide, 18,000 cubic meters of rare helium filled with 24 airbags not only ensured the absolute safety of the royal crew, but also gave it a theoretical buoyancy of up to 20 tons, which could carry everything they wanted to carry in the cabin below. In order to maintain the structural strength, I added a lot of internal metal supports to this hard airship, which made it more resistant to bad weather to a new level. In view of the lack of stability of the previous airship, I also found the reason through a large number of tests, and made extreme improvements on this airship. Your Highness, you should also feel that the airship that is currently climbing does not have the slightest tendency to shake head-to-tail or sideways, and is always sailing forward in an extremely smooth attitude. Zeppelin stepped on the floor to show that he was fine. Then he said with a smile.

"In terms of power, it is equipped with two 100 hp diesel engines. The measured maximum stable flight speed is 40.5 knots, which is almost 3 times that of the first hard airship I built. Compared to conventional passenger trains, it is even faster than conventional passenger trains, and it is not limited by any terrain, and can fly in a straight line to and from all areas at will. The maximum altitude of the airship is 3000 meters, but since it is used for sightseeing, its normal lifting altitude should not exceed 1500 meters. Zeppelin's energetic eyes were full of undisguised relief and pride, and he said loudly, "As long as the wind speed does not exceed level 6, then it can easily stay in the air for 40 hours, and if it is windless and sunny weather, then its time in the air can be further improved." In the course of the previous five test flights, the airship achieved a two-day liftoff time without exception. ”

Qingying nodded with satisfaction when she heard this. Two days of activity and a speed of more than 40 knots will undoubtedly make the airship have a wide range of activities that can be used for long-range military missions, and even if its sortie is heavily dependent on the weather, it can be extremely useful on the battlefield. Looking at the rapidly shrinking land and mountains under him, Qingying suddenly thought of a question, and couldn't help but say: "Mr. Earl, can the airship still ensure its maneuverability even when the load in the air is reduced?" ”

Zeppelin was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Theoretically, after the airship is lifted off, it is not allowed to have a large change in mass. Because the density of the air itself is very small, and most of the airship itself has to be allocated to the airbag used to provide buoyancy, the buoyancy adjustable area formed by absorbing and discharging air is very narrow. Once a large amount of load is thrown away after liftoff, the airship will rise sharply due to the buoyancy greater than the gravity, and the only solution is to puncture or throw away some of the buoyancy airbags, so that the airship can return to a controllable equilibrium state. Zeppelin showed a hint of doubt in his eyes, and said in surprise: "What's the matter, Your Highness, why did you suddenly ask this professional question?" ”

Qingying was speechless, and her face showed disappointment. His eyes froze, but he asked rhetorically: "Mr. Earl, do you hope that from now on, your airship company will be able to get a steady stream of orders from the army?" ”

"Of course!" Zeppelin replied without hesitation. If Qingying hadn't ordered an airship from him in time, the company founded by this Junker tycoon would have gone bankrupt due to huge losses, and he himself would have slept in the bridge like those homeless people in two years! At this moment, Zeppelin finally caught an opportunity to turn over, and he must grasp it firmly; The Junckers all have a heart for wealth, and in addition to Zeppelin's love of aeronautical science, it is also his long-cherished wish to expand his ancestral business.

Qingying smiled, "Very good. In that case, let me ask Mr. Earl to begin to address the issue I have just raised. In addition to good stability, not slow speed and long flight time, the airship also needs to have maneuverability after a significant weight reduction, so that these cute cigars can return to the base smoothly. Oh yes, and it should also have some protection, be immune to rifle bullets, and be able to return to survive machine gun bullets. If Monsieur Earl can do this, then the golden Mark is beckoning to you! ”

Zeppelin's pupils contracted, his lips opened and closed, and he said with surprise: "Your Highness, do you want to ......?"

"At the moment, the airship has only completed the first step of militarization and can be used for reconnaissance missions. But this is clearly not enough. A slightly larger rigid airship can carry more than 10 tons of cargo after subtracting its own weight, how can such a huge carrying capacity not be well utilized? If all of these things can be thrown in the air, it will have an unparalleled attraction for the military. And it is also necessary for the airship to have a certain amount of protection, after all, its target is too big, and if it has no power to parry the bullets, it will almost lose the meaning of being purchased by the military. Qingying explained simply.

Zeppelin nodded slightly. He was also a member of the Prussian officer corps before starting the airship company, so he already had a deep understanding of Qingying's words. If your airship wants to be accepted by the army and ordered in large quantities, it really needs to meet the conditions that Qingying just mentioned. Although these requirements are very demanding, this is exactly a field that military officers and scientists who sing the praises of swords and steel in their bones are intoxicated by, not to mention that the current scientific research funds have been paid for by the young people in front of him, and there are no constraints in the objective conditions. The two thick long beards on his lips curled upward, and he said hesitantly: "To be honest, the realization of this idea is more difficult than my balancing airship and increasing the time in the air. However, as long as His Highness has provided research and development funds, I am very happy to continue to climb the heights on the road of science! ”

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Leaving the cab and entering the living room, the soft and delicate body suddenly fell into his arms, and the familiar fragrance was smelled between his noses. Because she got the flying toy of her dreams, Sanya was in a good mood, and rubbed her head against Qingying's neck socket like a cat. He gently stroked the little princess's soft and silky blonde hair, and was about to say a few words, when a brilliant morning light suddenly bloomed in front of him.

A red sun jumped out from the horizon far away in the east, shining on the vast and flat fields. The river lingers, the wheat waves surge, the birch stands upright, and the Qianmo crosses. Horses neigh, cattle and sheep are singing, goshawks spread their wings, and birds float. The hard-working and kind peasants walked out of the scattered houses and began their day's work in the fields under the bright morning light.

Qingying saw it in her eyes, and an electric current suddenly flashed in her head. (To be continued......)