Zhao Xingchuan is the youngest son of General Zhao Yi, Deputy Chief of General Staff and Minister of Logistics and Equipment of the Empire, and has always been responsible for the development and production of the Imperial Military Industry and related development, and is now a major general. After General Zhao Yi retires, he will take over the position of director of the Logistics and Equipment Department. Because he knew that the emperor Long Yufei attached great importance to the airship, Major General Zhao Xingchuan was also very hard-working.

Under Long Yufei's expectant gaze, the inflatable work of the airship was finally completed. The hundreds of meters long airbags have been raised, and the pods below have been lifted off the ground, hovering at a height of five meters above the ground. A few foreign devil engineers have already begun to cheer. In terms of scientific research, the empire is still a lot worse, and this airship was designed and built with the help of these foreigners.

"Your Majesty, this is our 'Flying Dragon' airship, the airbag is 108 meters long, 22 meters wide, the maximum ceiling can reach thousands of meters, and the payload can reach five tons. After liftoff, a gasoline engine powers the propellers behind the pod, allowing the airship to move quickly. According to our first two tests, the cruising speed can reach 20 km/h and the maximum speed can reach 30 km/h! Major General Zhao Xingchuan said excitedly. At first, he didn't believe that this big guy could take to the air, but under the guidance of Emperor Long Yufei and relying on the technical assistance of these Western devil engineers, he didn't expect them to really complete it.

"Haha! That's great. Huzi, go and get all the ministers and generals! Long Yufei said excitedly. The research and development of airships is essential to improve the current scientific and technological strength of the Empire. Very important. In particular, the gasoline engine that powers the airship is a top priority, and its significance. And even more than the airship itself.

In fact, in the West, the development of internal combustion engines has long begun. As early as the eighteenth century, the Dutch physicist Huygens used gunpowder explosions to obtain power, but his research was unsuccessful because the gunpowder combustion was difficult to control. In 1794, the Englishman Trick proposed to obtain power from the combustion of fuel, and for the first time proposed the concept of mixing fuel with air. Year 1833. The Englishman Wright proposed the design of directly using the combustion pressure to push the piston to work. In the mid-19th century, scientists perfected the theory of the mechanical power of thermal conversion produced by burning gas, gasoline and diesel. This laid the foundation for the invention of the internal combustion engine.

After the establishment of the empire. A large number of relevant scientists from the West were specially recruited to engage in related research. Long Yufei is a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and he is also able to propose some things that are considered incredible in the eyes of these scientists today. Plus the empire threw a lot of money at it, the piston internal combustion engine. Finally, it was developed.

Back in 1845. With the help and guidance of Emperor Long Yufei, the French scientist Rosa has successfully created the first reciprocating piston, single-cylinder, horizontal, 3.2 kilowatt (4.4 horsepower) four-stroke internal combustion engine, which still uses gas as fuel, uses flame ignition, with a speed of 156.7 rpm, a compression ratio of 2.66, a thermal efficiency of 14%, and smooth operation. At the time. It is the highest in terms of power and thermal efficiency. Afterwards. The switch to gasoline as a fuel further increases the power of the internal combustion engine.

After improvements, the internal combustion engine used on this airship, which is fueled by gasoline, has increased its power to 12 horsepower. Long Yufei believes that with the continuous progress of technology, in a few years, a more powerful internal combustion engine will also be developed. When the time comes, cars, trucks, and even armored cars and tanks will be invented one after another. This will make the industrial strength and military strength of the empire once again greatly improved. Of course, in terms of warships, the steam engine is still the main one at present. The power of a large steam engine is not comparable to that of today's internal combustion engines. In the future, the Empire's land vehicles will be powered by internal combustion engines.

At this time, the cabinet ministers and important military ministers who had been waiting for a long time also rushed here. Everyone looked at the thing in front of them suspended in mid-air, held in place by several ropes, as if as soon as they let go of these ropes, this thing that seemed to be a monster would soar into the sky.

"Your Majesty, this, this is something developed by the Academy of Sciences that can fly into the sky?" The Chief of the General Staff, Admiral Niu Meng, widened his eyes and looked at the airship not far away, not knowing what he was thinking again. Other cabinet ministers and generals were also shocked.

"Remember, this is called an airship, developed by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, which can fly thousands of meters in the air, can cruise at a speed of twenty kilometers per hour, and has a maximum load of more than five tons!" Long Yufei said.

"Yes, yes!" Admiral Niu Meng nodded again and again, and couldn't help but have his eyes shining. As the supreme general of the Empire's military, he had obviously thought of the military use of this thing. Although it is not very clear, he knows that with the character of the Emperor Long Yufei, if it is useless, Long Yufei will definitely not make great efforts to develop it, and he will find everyone to see it with great fanfare.

"Can this thing really fly into the sky?" Prime Minister Li Decheng still can't believe it.

"General Zhao Xingchuan, let everyone see it!" The so-called hearing is false, seeing is believing. Long Yufei didn't explain too much, but asked Major General Zhao Xingchuan to directly let the airship take off.

"Okay, Your Majesty!" Zhao Xingchuan nodded and ran under the airship. A few words with a couple of foreign scientists.

I saw that two foreigners climbed up the hanging ladder and climbed onto the pod of the airship. Soon, several of the ropes that tied the airship were untied. The airship began to ascend further. The Imperial Ministers below were all wide-eyed.

"This, this is really flying!"

"Yes! Who would believe it if they didn't see it with their own eyes? It's amazing that this thing can actually fly! ”

Soon, the airship flew to an altitude of hundreds of meters. Then the gasoline engine behind the pod began to work. The propellers began to turn, and the airship began to fly at a speed that was not slow in the sound of the humming motor. This made the imperial ministers below exclaim again.

"Your Majesty, what's the main use of this airship?" Prime Minister Li Decheng asked.

"Prime Minister, this thing is mainly used in the military. Although the current load has reached five tons, it will continue to grow in the future. However, if it is used for transportation, the cost will be relatively large and not cost-effective. Unless it is used for emergency transportation, or the delivery of emergency supplies for the army. Long Yufei said.

Li Decheng nodded, since it is mainly used in military affairs. Well, it doesn't have much to do with the cabinet.

"Chief of Staff, do you know the military purpose of airships?" Long Yufei asked.

"Your Majesty, this airship can carry so much load, and it can also fly thousands of meters in the air. If you throw a shell from above, isn't that a direct attack from above the enemy's head? Admiral Niu Meng saw the purpose of the airship at a glance.

"Your Majesty, the so-called good attacker moves above the nine heavens! That's it! Admiral Zhao Yi said.

"Yes, it's one of the main uses of airships. It is also the direction that the empire needs to focus on in the future. We can make a special batch of bombs and drop them from the airship to attack directly from the head of the enemy. In this case, any protection against attacks from heaven will be useless. Long Yufei said.

General Niu Meng waited for the arrival of the military and nodded again and again.

"In addition, the purpose of the airship is not limited to this. The so-called stand tall and see far. The airship can also provide the artillery with an accurate number of shelling. Whether it is the artillery of the army or the navy, it can be used. In particular, the artillery of the navy, once equipped with airships, the hit rate of artillery bombardment will certainly be greatly improved. Therefore, on the 'Qin-class' warships, airships must be equipped. Long Yufei said. When the warships of the navy are engaged in naval battles, because the waves on the sea surface are undulating, the warships are also constantly shaking, and whether they can hit the target depends on luck most of the time. Even the well-trained British Navy did not have a high hit rate. At such times, it is only possible to increase the speed of the shelling and the number of cannons to match the chance of hitting. If accurate guidance can be obtained, then the shelling of naval warships will undoubtedly be much more accurate.

"What His Majesty said makes too much sense. In this way, the hit rate of our army artillery and navy will be much higher! Admiral Niu Meng said excitedly. In this way, the military strength of the empire can be strengthened.

After that, the airship landed, and these ministers and generals of the empire all watched around the airship one by one, and some brave generals also walked into the pod under the airship, wanting to test ride the airship.

If Long Yufei tells everyone that this thing is very dangerous, once the hydrogen in it is ignited, it will immediately become a fireball, which will definitely scare everyone enough! Although, helium is a little safer. But helium refining is not so easy and more expensive. Therefore, the current airships of the empire still mainly use hydrogen.

An airship that can be put into actual combat will undoubtedly have an epoch-making effect. The air force of the empire will also begin to be formed. This will give the Empire the advantage of striking the enemy from the air.

In addition, Long Yufei asked scientists to focus on speeding up the research on internal combustion engines. The empire needed a more powerful and more stable internal combustion engine. Only in this way will the Empire be able to develop cars, trucks, armored vehicles and tanks in the future, so that the Empire's military strength will once again be far ahead. (To be continued......)

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