From astonishment to anticipation, and then to doubt, Mu Sheng's mood can be described as twists and turns.

From the very beginning when he saw this steel fortress floating on the water, Mu Sheng's mood was shocked, and he was shocked beyond measure.

Later, when he saw that the ship had no mast and no sails, but Zhu Zhan said that he wanted to try it, the shock in his heart had turned to shock.

But as time passed, Mu Sheng's mood slowly turned into doubt.

Because since Zhu Zhan Yan gave the order, the ship had not made any movement for a long time, but Zhu Zhan Yan was not in a hurry, nor was he angry.

Time consumes patience, but because Zhu Zhan Yan was also present, Mu Sheng also had to wait patiently, just when the consternation and expectation in his heart were almost consumed, a sound that could almost be deafening sounded, making Mu Sheng turn his head sharply.

That ship, that steel ship, that steel ship that Mu Sheng no longer has any sense of expectation...... Moved.

Under Mu Sheng's shocked gaze, the ship moved slowly, and slowly sailed out of the dock, heading towards the sea.

What Mu Sheng didn't know was that the steamship had a flaw compared with today's mainstream wooden sailing ships, that is, the steam engine needed a long time to warm up.

The larger the ship, the larger the steam engine and the longer it will take to warm up.

The ship in front of them was still because Zhu Zhanqi knew that Zhu Zhanqi would arrive at Xiangzhou Mansion today, so he sent someone over to warm it up in advance, otherwise it would take nearly an hour to warm up the steam engine that had completely cooled down.

As the ship slowly sailed out of the dock, getting farther and farther away from everyone, and the sound caused by the steam engine became smaller and smaller, Zhu Zhanyan spoke again.

"What were the results of the previous trial?"

"Not bad." Zhu Zhanqi took a step forward and said while standing behind his brother.

"On the first voyage, because of my lack of experience, I had a little less fuel to prepare, so I stopped at sea, and it took a lot of effort to tow it back."

"Fortunately, the captain (crew) is still experienced, and the previous training is also appropriate, so he will return early, otherwise I don't know where to drift with the current."

"The final result is to go around the coast, the specific distance is not easy to calculate, but it is estimated that it is about fifty miles, and there are no problems."

"That's fine." Zhu Zhanyan nodded slightly, his expression was very satisfied.

"It's good to have this result for the first time in the water, but don't relax."

As he spoke, Zhu Zhanyan turned to look at his younger brother with a serious face.

"You also know that it's still far from the goal I set for you, so I still can't relax."

"Also, when I go back, I will ask the War Bureau and the Ordnance Bureau to make a batch of special guns, which will be specially equipped on this kind of ship, and you will see and make adjustments when the time comes."

"No problem." Zhu Zhanqi also nodded with a serious face.

Beside him, Mu Sheng, who had recovered from his astonishment, stared blankly at the conversation between the two brothers, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Mu Sheng didn't know what to say about the appearance of this kind of sea fortress, in his opinion, this kind of sea fortress was invincible in naval battles, even if it couldn't beat others, just hit it directly.

How can a wooden ship be opposed to an iron ship? What's more, this iron ship also has a mysterious power, which allows it to move without wind and sails, and can move in this almost closed dock.

But what Mu Sheng didn't know was that the steamship in front of him was just a half-finished product for Zhu Zhanyan's requirements.

It took five years and more than 150,000 people to get such a steamship.

Most of the ship is made of steel, and a small part of the interior is made of wood, but the proportion is very small, and the welding of iron plates alone gave Zhu Zhanqi a headache for three whole years.

In the end, it was Zhu Zhanyan who gave a solution: spent a huge amount of money, sent more people, built such a dock, and directly used forging welding combined with molten iron welding, which made this sea fortress built.

However, even then, the ship is still incomplete.

This ship is about the same size as the grain ships in the treasure fleet, and its functions so far are not much different from those of grain ships, which are all transportation.

That is, there is no armament on it.

However, Zhu Zhanyan didn't care, this ship was an experimental object, and the layout of the internal hull, the position of weapons and equipment, and even the position of the steam engine would be adjusted.

The most important thing is the beginning, this head is opened, and the rest is easy to say.

"Alright, let's go back first." Looking at the steamship that had begun to return in the direction of the dock door, Zhu Zhanyan nodded with satisfaction.

In fact, don't look at the fact that this ship has already been launched, but it is still very early before the advent of the kind of steam fleet that Zhu Zhanyan had in mind, because the manufacture of this steam ship is more difficult than the treasure ship, and it is more than a little more expensive.

At least in the next three years, it is basically impossible to see the steamship fleet, and even if you want to see it in three years, it will require a lot of manpower and material resources.

However, at that time, Daming should not be short of manpower and material resources.

As the steamer returned to the dock, Zhu Zhanyan and the three of them also boarded the carriage and returned to the palace of King Wu along the way they came.

This time, when Zhu Kang put on a black cotton towel for Mu Sheng, Mu Sheng finally came back to his senses and understood why Zhu Zhanqi wanted people to do this.

This kind of subversive cognition is indeed not known to others.

Unlike Mu Sheng, the Zhu Zhanqi brothers did not share the car as they came, but became the same car.

"This time is different from the last time, I can't give you indefinite time, because last time we didn't do this ship at all, but now that we have experience, you have to complete the adjustment and finishing work of the steamship within a year."

"When I get back to Suncheon, I'll have people bring new weapons, this year...... Before the Chinese New Year next year, you have to make sure that the ship is ready to sail and can be used for combat. ”

"No problem." knew that his brother didn't give him a lot of time, but Zhu Zhanqi still agreed very firmly.

Because, Zhu Zhanqi also knows the importance of this steamship.

With a steamship, it means that Daming has broken through the limitations of the climate, and ocean voyages no longer need to wait for ocean currents and wind directions, but can set off anytime and anywhere.

At present, the Ming flag is almost planted in most of the Eurasian continent, and it is good to say that the Asian coast is enough to meet the round-trip of the Ming Dynasty, but not on the European side.

Zhu Zhanyan thought very simply, that is, to completely control and stabilize the place that was defeated before through a steamship, so that there would be no situation where the front foot attacked and the back foot was restored.

But Zhu Zhanqi is different.

In Zhu Zhanqi's view, this steamship is the guarantee that their King Wu line will really take off, and even ......

An opportunity for his brother to ascend to the throne!

One...... I won't let the world talk about the opportunity.

(End of chapter)