Xu Xinsu was born in the sea, and in his early years, he often sailed with the fleet, and ran through many places, from Japan, Korea, and Ryukyu in the north, to Annam, Luzon, Java and other places in the south.

Judging from the appearance, this warship is very much like an enlarged version of the "exploration-class" warship that the Fujian Navy has begun to equip, but Xu Xinsu himself is also an expert, of course, he knows that shipbuilding can not only be built by proportional enlargement, and the hull is large enough to a certain extent, and its structural strength may not be able to carry the weight of the hull, otherwise so many shipbuilding docks in Fujian should have realized the construction of large warships by themselves. And after the "Exploration-class" warship purchased from Haihan arrived, he also personally went to carefully inspect the internal structure of the hull, and indeed there are many hull components that cannot be imitated by Fujian.

The artillery arranged on both sides of the ship was covered with oilcloth artillery clothing, and Xu Xinsu could only focus on other places. He soon noticed that there was a thick iron cylinder in the stern that extended from the lower deck, pointing straight to the sky, and the upper end was one and a half or six feet higher than the command cabin, and this component had not appeared on the "Exploration-class" and the "Expedition-class" warships in the Haihan Mission.

Xu Xinsu couldn't understand it, so he asked Shi Diwen, and Shi Diwen smiled and asked, "What does Lord Xu look like?"

Xu Xinsu observed it carefully before replying: "The old man saw that the traces of smoke outside this iron cylinder were very heavy, but it was a bit like a chimney. ”

"That's right, it's a chimney. Shi Diwen nodded and affirmed Xu Xinsu's guess conclusion: "Lord Xu will go to the lower deck with me to have a look." ”

Going down the stern passage to the cabin, Xu Xinsu found that there was a huge iron guy hidden in it, although it was still a little unknown, but Xu Xinsu recognized part of this thing: "This thing...... It's a bit similar to the hot water boiler installed in the old man's house......"

Shi Diwen said: "That's right, the iron can that Lord Xu saw is actually a hot water boiler. However, it was not used to provide hot water to the crew, but it was used for another purpose. ”

Xu Xinsu was still waiting for Shi Diwen to reveal the mystery, but Shi Diwen had already changed the topic to another direction: "For a long time, we can only rely on wind or manpower to sail at sea, not to mention the slow speed, and it is also very affected by the climate. So we used a lot of ways to find another solution that could propel ships at sea without the need for wind or manpower. ”

Xu Xinsuqi said: "Is there really such a wonderful method in the world? Could it be that this is the method used by those big iron boats without sails and oars in Shengli Harbor to cross the sea?"

"Although Lord Xu's statement is not very accurate, it is not too much. Shi Diwen replied with a smile. The ships used in the crossing are basically diesel engines, while the "Wei Signal" is equipped with steam propulsion power, although the structure and principle are different, but they are indeed the use of thermal energy into mechanical energy. However, the steam engine on the "Wei Signal" is still in the prototype stage, the power is not large enough, and the stability of operation is relatively limited, and more often it still needs to rely on the wind propulsion system.

Regarding the various folk legends of the Haihan Iron Ship in Shengli Harbor, Xu Xinsu naturally heard of it. Personally, he didn't believe much of this kind of mystical stuff, thinking that it was probably just some kind of gimmick made up by the Haihan people - if these ships could really move, why had no one ever seen them sail out of Victory Harbor?

However, the meaning expressed in Shi Diwen's words was obviously that this "Wei Signal" warship had been equipped with a similar device. Xu Xinsu saw a large number of strange-looking metal transmission devices connected to the boiler, and suddenly had an idea: "Could this be what Mr. Shi said?"

Shi Diwen did not shy away from admitting: "With this set of devices, the speed of our ship can be increased by about 30% on the basis of simply using sails, and I think Lord Xu must be able to understand what this 30% acceleration function means on the battlefield." ”

Of course, Xu Xinsu understands the importance of speed, and he spent a lot of money to order warships from Haihan, in addition to the powerful firepower configuration on the ship, its high speed exceeding that of traditional Chinese warships is also one of the reasons. In the past, when confronting the pirate ships of the Eighteen Zhi at sea, they often chose to retreat because of the loss of numbers, but after adopting the warships of the Haihan, even if they were not as many as the opponent's ships on the battlefield, because of the advantage of speed, they could arrange their tactics more flexibly, and fight and retreat the opponent's kite.

If there is a way to increase the speed of the "Exploration-class" warship by 30%, then Xu Xinsu thinks that this advantage alone is enough to beat the pirate ship of Eighteen Zhi at sea - the speed difference is at least double, and the firepower configuration is several times worse, if this can't kill those pirate ships, Xu Xinsu feels that he should be the first to take the lead in jumping into the sea to commit suicide.

Mr. Shi ...... This is ...... Really?" Xu Xinsu even trembled a little when he asked, if this could be realized, then it would really not be so difficult to exterminate Eighteen Zhi.

Shi Diwen said: "There is no evidence, and it is probably difficult for Lord Xu to believe what I said. After I go to sea, I will let someone demonstrate it, and Lord Xu will know the truth or falsehood. ”

"Okay, well, then the old man will wait and see!" Xu Xinsu said in his heart, if he had known that there was such a magical thing on the Haihan warship, then he should really urge the preparations for the joint tour to be done as soon as possible. But this kind of good thing is probably only for the sake of looking at it on the side, and it is estimated that the Haihan people will never sell it out.

After the troops participating in the joint military exercise were assembled and boarded, Shi Diwen asked Xu Xinsu to go to the bow of the ship to announce the start of the military exercise. However, because the mission fleet did not bring a loudspeaker this time, there was no such thing as asking Xu Xinsu to make a mobilization speech. The "Xu" flag was raised on the mainmast of the "Wei Signal", and when the drummers on the pier saw it, they beat the big drum as a signal for the fleet to depart.

The warships of the Fujian Navy Division participating in the military exercise were the first to sail out of the port, and Haihan's "Wei Signal" and two "Expedition-class" warships were the main warships on this voyage, and together with the other two Ming military ships, they acted as the Chinese army, and at the rear were several supply ships of Haihan and Ming army.

A fleet of thirty ships, large and small, sailed out of the harbor, and the momentum was quite astonishing. If there were spies arranged by Shibazhi in the vicinity, it would probably be difficult not to notice this scene, but the Haihan side did not care about Shibazhi's feelings when formulating this action plan, even if they found that the momentum was not right, and waited for the news to be sent back to Penghu, and then transferred troops from Penghu to rescue, it should be a few days later, according to the plan, by that time the combined fleet had already taken Nanri Island, and it didn't matter if they hid their tracks or not. If Eighteen Zhi really dared to make a big move, then Shi Diwen would have the heart to deal with this group of pirates near Zhangzhou.

According to the exercise plan, today's itinerary is to head north to Quanzhou, and after conducting some training in maritime subjects off the coast of Quanzhou, the fleet will settle near Quanzhou Port that night, and then march in the direction of Nanri Island the next day.

Shi Diwen's voyage planned for the fleet was to start from Xiamen Island, cross the strait between Dadan Island and Little Kinmen Island, bypass from the east side of Kinmen Island, and go straight north to Quanzhou, a voyage of about 70 nautical miles. This voyage was naturally no problem for Haihan's warships, and if they sailed at full speed, they could arrive at Quanzhou Port before dinner. However, the speed of the Ming army's ships was relatively slow, and it would take at least ten hours to complete this voyage, and although it was early in the morning from Xiamen Island, it was likely that they would have to travel at night to complete this voyage.

However, this is also part of the training at sea, night navigation is a training subject that must be mastered for the fleet, and the Ming army sailors have relatively little training experience in this area, so they can take this opportunity to practice this special skill.

In fact, on the coastline from Zhangzhou Port to Quanzhou Port, the Ming army's defensive strongholds were not only in the Zhongzuo City, but also in the strongholds of Jinmen, Fuquan, and Yongningwei, but the deployed troops and defense strength were not as good as those in the Zhongzuo.

After sailing past Kinmen Island, the sea ahead is already open and the view is good. Xu Xinsu couldn't help but remind Shi Diwen that he would enable the acceleration function after going to sea as he said before. Shi Diwen knew that he had almost caught his appetite, so he ordered the engine room to start the steam engine and turn on the auxiliary propulsion device. At the same time, let the crew play a flag on the mast and notify the ship ahead to give the "Wei signal" to make way for the way.

A moment later, Xu Xinsu, who was in the cockpit, heard a low noise from inside the hull, and soon even the plank under his feet began to shake. Xu Xinsu was shocked and said, "What happened here?"

Shi Diwen comforted: "Lord Xu, don't be afraid, this is just a normal phenomenon after our device is activated, let's go out and have a look." ”

Xu Xinsu followed Shi Diwen out of the cabin in shock, and saw at a glance that the iron chimney in the stern of the ship was constantly emitting gray smoke. Shi Diwen took him to the stern of the boat, pointed to the sea and said, "Lord Xu, please see!"

Xu Xinsu looked down when he heard this, and saw the waves splashing on the sea surface at the stern of the boat, as if something was writhing desperately underwater, pushing the huge ship forward.

"It's true!" Of course, Xu Xinsu knew that it was not a water monster pushing the boat underneath, but what Shi Diwen said was working. And this device is also very obvious for the speed of the ship, Xu Xinsu found that this ship is surpassing other ships at an unimaginable speed, and even the other two "expedition-class" warships with a similar appearance to this ship have gradually distanced themselves.

"With the speed of this ship, it is unlikely that any other ship at sea will be able to catch up with it. Of course, it will be extremely difficult for any adversary to encircle or intercept it at sea. Shi Diwen proudly boasted to Xu Xinsu.

As one of the manufacturers of marine steam engines, Shi Diwen is still quite satisfied with his work, although there is still a lot of room for improvement of this steam engine, but in terms of the existing conditions of this time and space, this is already the most amazing power propulsion device that human beings can build at present. You must know that more than 100 years later, in 1769, the French inventor Joffrey was the first to install a steam engine on a ship, and it was also driven by a set of wooden oars as a propulsion device. In 1802, the Englishman William Siamington used Watt's improved steam engine to build the first steam-powered paddle steamer, the Charlotte Dundas, but this test was not recognized by the world and was strangled in the cradle by the tugboat owners for some ridiculous reasons. It was not until 1807 that the steamer "Claremont" built by the American Robert Fulton was recognized as the world's first steam-powered ship to be put into commercial navigation. The first warship to use steam propulsion technology was the USS Demologos, an American battleship built in the early 19th century.

As for the propeller replacing the paddle wheel as the thruster, it was not until the British took the lead in the mid-19th century. But after the time-travelers came to this plane, they advanced this timeline by more than two hundred years, and even the Fujian shipwrights could hardly understand what the purpose of that strange thing was when they saw the propeller hidden under the water. In other words, there is no need for Haihan to keep this secret at all, because with the level of science and technology in this era, there will be no second company that can replicate the black technology that Haihan has mastered.

The Ming army's naval divisions also had steamers, but they were assisted by manpower. The paddle steamer is not a new thing in China, and the battleship designed by Li Gao in the Tang Dynasty has a record in the "Old Tang Book" that "carrying two wheels to sail on it, flying the wind and waves, and flying like a sail seat", seven or eight centuries earlier than in the West. The largest paddle steamer in the Southern Song Dynasty was twenty or thirty zhang long, with a draft of about one zhang, and could carry more than 1,000 people. However, these various paddle ships are based on manpower, which is not the same as the steam-powered propulsion device that Xu Xinsu saw on the "Wei Signal".

Xu Xinsu didn't know how many weird things he had seen in his life, but he had never been so excited as he was today, and even his face turned red: "With such a sharp weapon, it is easy to cross the sea!"

Shi Diwen smiled and said nothing, the steam propulsion system is powerful, but it is not as exaggerated as Xu Xinsu said. Not only will it be limited by the supply of fuel and fresh water, but also its stable operation is also a great problem, at this stage it can only be used as auxiliary power, and it is not realistic to rely entirely on steam power to propulsion, and because the power of the existing steam engine is small, the propulsion effect is far less than that of wind power. Of course, these shortcomings and hidden dangers, Shi Diwen will definitely not take the initiative to inform Xu Xinsu.