On 15 June, Yang Peng took a large group of men and horses, pulling crossbows, steam engines, and specially made large bearings, to Wangjiawan to equip his new ship. On the beach of Wangjiawan, Yang Peng's first boat is nearing completion, and all that is left to be painted and equipped with hard sails is needed. Although this ship is smaller than the giant ships of 10,000 tons in later generations, it is already a well-deserved giant ship in this era. The ship was four stories high, and from a distance, it looked like a wooden castle standing on the seashore, and it was very imposing.

Boss Wang saw Yang Peng's team coming, and greeted him from afar. Yang Peng looked at the big ship and asked, "Boss Wang, my cannon and steam engine weigh thousands of pounds, how can I get on the ship?" Boss Wang said: "Don't worry, my lord, I have already made a dirt ramp behind the boat, and wait for my craftsman to drag and push your crossbow together, and drag the crossbow from the ramp to the boat." ”

Yang Peng nodded, and said to his craftsmen: "You go up and install bearings, paddle wheels and steam engines." Seeing his subordinates dragging the steam engine to the ship, Yang Peng asked again: "Boss Wang, where are the sailors who operate the ship generally hired?" Boss Wang said: "This boat going to sea is a forbidden business, and the boatmen are brought out from village to village." They are all taught by familiar boatmen with newcomers. If you hire it temporarily, I'm afraid you won't be able to hire it! ”

Yang Peng was stunned and asked, "What are the key positions on the ship that need veterans?" Boss Wang said: "No post on the ship is indispensable, and no one can be missing." However, if it is not good, the most important thing is to have a veteran fire leader, guide and rudder. The fire captain is the ship's boss and is responsible for the management of the whole ship. The guide surveys the channel and keeps the ship on course. Steering the rudder in the direction of the whole ship is also key. ”

Yang Peng's face was embarrassed for a while, and he secretly said where to find these shipping personnel? The boss Wang looked at Yang Peng's face and said, "The most unfortunate, please ask a new helmsman, and the adult will be the fire chief himself, but the guide is definitely wanted." If you drive around the sea without a guide, you will run aground. ”

Yang Peng asked, "Boss Wang, do you have a familiar guide?" Boss Wang was stunned and said, "I happen to know one of the old guides, but my lord, you are a novice in this boat, he may not dare to go to sea with you as a novice." ”

Yang Peng said: "I will give him a lot of money to go to sea!" Boss Wang licked his lips and said, "It's not about money, it's about life." ”

Yang Peng was stunned, and secretly said that it was really not possible for this novice to go to sea, and it seemed that he still had to find Cha Yunke to help hire an old sailor. Yang Peng asked, "How long and wide are these two ships, and how many sailors are needed?" ”

Boss Wang said: "These two ships are eleven zhang and one foot long, one zhang and nine feet wide, and have four decks. The ship is generally equipped with a fire chief, two helmsmen, and a guide. The chief manager is one person, who is in charge of the affairs of the boat and paging on behalf of the shipowner. There is one person in the direct warehouse, who is responsible for the management of weapons. Lookout Aban is a person, responsible for the upper mast lookout. The two Si Zhen are responsible for managing the ballast stone. Big wield, two wields. There is one person who is responsible for managing the compass. The main shop, the second shop is several, responsible for directing the battle. These are the officers who are in charge of the ship. In addition, there must be forty ordinary shipwrights to operate such a large ship. ”

Yang Peng nodded, took Boss Wang to climb the ladder and got on the boat, and asked, "Where do the crew sleep on the boat?" Boss Wang said, "My lord, I have never built a ship with so many cannons. Originally, the second deck was for cooking and storing water, the third deck was for sleeping, and the fourth deck was for loading. But now, my lord, you have so many cannons on the second deck, you can only store fresh water and cook in the third deck, and at the same time squeeze to sleep. If the cannon and gunpowder are properly managed, a hammock can be installed next to the cannon on the second deck. The fourth deck is still loaded. ”

Yang Peng asked again: "How many sailors can this ship hold?" Boss Wang thought for a while and said, "It depends on what course you run." If you go to sea for ten days, there is only fresh water for ten days, and there are people sleeping next to the cannons on the second deck, and this ship can carry more than 200 sailors. If you want to run long-distance routes, you will have more supplies, and there will naturally be fewer sailors who can be loaded. ”

Yang Peng nodded. Yang Peng chatted with Boss Wang there, while the ship's craftsmen installed the steam engine, bearings, and paddle wheel under the command of Zheng Kaida. After being busy for two hours, when Yang Peng's stomach was growling with hunger, he suddenly saw Zheng Kaida running over excitedly.

"Lord of the City, the paddle wheel and steam engine are installed!" Yang Peng looked up and saw that the paddle wheel had indeed been installed on the side of the ship. "Turn on the steam engine and see how it works!" Yang Peng's craftsmen found firewood, filled the steam engine with water, and started the steam engine. The steam engine made a "whine" sound, and it became louder and louder, and it began to work. After a while, the power of the steam was transmitted to the paddle wheel through the gears, driving the paddle wheel to rotate.

The so-called paddle wheel is a rotating propulsion device like a Ferris wheel, which is installed on both sides of the ship. The steam engine drives the paddle wheel to rotate, and when the paddle wheel rotates, the outer edge pushes the water surface to drive the ship forward. In the early days of steamships, paddle wheels were used.

Seeing the paddle wheel spinning, the craftsmen on the shipbuilding site all stopped what they were doing and looked at the spinning paddle wheel one by one. Without relying on the wind, without the help of living creatures, the bright wheel actually turned on its own! Can the machine also exert force outward? What a long insight! The craftsmen gathered around and looked at the spinning paddle wheel, as if they wanted to see what was going on. "What's this wheel turning?" "It's called a steam engine!" "Steamed chicken?" "Steam engine!"

Boss Wang also looked at the bright wheel with his mouth open, and he didn't say anything for a long time. Although he made the paddle wheel according to Yang Peng's request, he was still a little dumbfounded to see the paddle wheel driven by the machine. For the first time, he knew that a machine could propel a ship with so much force without a living thing to pull it.

With this steam engine and paddle wheel, wouldn't it be possible to sail in any season? After a long time, Boss Wang blinked and said, "I have never heard of this steam engine and paddle wheel. Adults, I really admire it! "With this steam engine, things are very different at sea!" Although Zheng Kaida had seen the forging hammer driven by the steam engine last month, he was still very excited when he saw that the steam engine drove the paddle wheel after his own assembly, and said: "My lord, this steam engine is really a divine thing!" ”

Yang Peng smiled and used a bamboo pole to stop the rotating paddle wheel, and found that there was a lot of strength on the paddle wheel. Yang Peng clapped his hands and said, "Yes, I have a lot of strength." However, after taking a closer look at the speed of the bright wheel, Yang Peng shook his head again and said, "The speed is still a little slower." Yang Peng turned back to Zheng Kaida and said: "I'll go back and redo the two gears, and you will bring a craftsman to replace the gears the day after tomorrow!" ”

The next day, Yang Peng found the maritime merchant in Chayunke's shop. Seeing Yang Peng enter the store, Cha Yunke hurriedly knelt down and saluted, and was helped up by Yang Peng. "Mr. Cha, my ship lacks some veterans who operate ships, do you know where to hire them?"

Cha Yunke blinked his eyes and said, "Lord of the city, I do know about a dozen old shipwrights who have come ashore, and I can pay them to go to sea again. However, relying on these dozen or so old boatmen alone, there are still some risks in going to sea. There is still no head tree in charge of the ballast stone, a general who is a translator, and a big bow in charge of the sails..."

Yang Peng saw that Zha Yunke stopped talking halfway, knowing that he had a way, and said with a smile: "Zha Gongzi must have a way, if Zha Gongzi can help me get together the technicians on the ship, I, Yang Peng, will owe Zha Gongzi a favor!" Cha Yunke was overjoyed when he heard Yang Peng's words. Yang Peng is now a hot figure in the Great Song Dynasty, and the Son of Heaven obeys his requests. Yang Peng's favor, to put it mildly, can help the bureaucrats seek good and bad things, and even be promoted to the knighthood; At worst, a letter may save the life of a minister, and it is very valuable. is a thousand taels or 10,000 taels of white silver, and it is not as precious as Yang Peng's personal favor.

Cha Yunke listened to Yang Peng's words, and then said with a smile: "City Lord, my ship will be back in a few months." I have four boats, each with a set of centaurs. I'll assign a set of men to the Grand Governor, and the city lord's ship will be operated! "With a set of people leading the way, there is no problem going to sea. The lord of the city will rely on this set of men and horses to train novices, and train the second set of men and horses before the second one is built, and there will be two boats of men! ”

Yang Peng was stunned, but he didn't expect Cha Yunke to divide the people on his boat to himself, and asked: "Zha Gongzi is really gracious, but you gave me people and horses, how can your ship go to sea?" Chayunke said, "Lord of the city, I'm fine. I asked the people of the other three boats to train novices, and I could train another set of people in this half a year. When the north wind stabilizes next year and I go to the country again, my new shipwright will be trained. Yang Peng nodded and said, "Then it's all up to Gongzi Cha to organize manpower." ”

On June 17, people knelt on both sides of the road outside the capital of the Great Liao Kingdom. On the road, the Khitan strong man slowly traveled south with a complex guard of honor, behind which were the civil and military officials of the Great Liao State, and then behind the nobles of the Great Liao State riding horses.

Xiao Tianzuo was also in this long honor guard. However, he has been a little depressed lately and has been unable to keep up his spirits. The impact of the Battle of Qingshankou on Xiao Tianzuo has not subsided so far. In the past, when Xiao Tianzuo encountered an enemy, he could often defeat it with strength, and if his strength was not good, he would divide and disintegrate with strategy, and try to do it in a roundabout way. From the first expedition at the age of sixteen to the present, Xiao Tianzuo fought in the south and the north, and did not taste defeat before the Battle of Qingshankou.

However, in Qingshankou, Xiao Tianzuo lost miserably and lost to Yang Peng's absolute strength. In front of Yang Peng's dignified strength, Xiao Tianzuo's strength seemed so small, and the so-called strategy seemed so pale. Yang Peng was like a big stone rolling down from the top of a steep mountain, unable to stop it with anything, and smashed it Xiao Tianzuo's body.

After returning to Beijing, Xiao Tianzuo has been a little silent and depressed in the past few months. It was not because of the Queen Mother's scolding, let alone because the Queen Mother demoted his prince to a general, it was really Xiao Tianzuo who was stunned by Yang Peng, and his past conceit disappeared all at once.

Every time he thought of the tragic charge of 70,000 people against that small fortress, the corpses of the Da Liao warriors in front of the fortress, and the bloody battlefield, Xiao Tianzuo felt chills all over his body. Yang Peng's upright and invulnerable strength made Xiao Tianzuo feel like his willpower was collapsing.

At that time, I was in a hurry to get out of the customs on the battlefield, and I didn't feel it. After leaving the battlefield and thinking carefully for a while, Xiao Tianzuo became more and more powerless. If he encountered Yang Peng on the battlefield again, the only thing Xiao Tianzuo could do was to turn around and run away. The Song State has such a strong general, how can the Great Liao State enter the Central Plains? If you can do your best to defend the Liao Kingdom, that's the best ending, right? The more Xiao Tianzuo thinks about it these days, the more frustrated he becomes, and he is a little weak and powerless in his gestures, and he is no longer the heroic "Morgen Daiqing" he used to be.

Behind Xiao Tianzuo was a tall golden umbrella cover, under which the Queen Mother's six carriages were walking. The Queen Mother looked at Xiao Tianzuo, who was depressed and lonely in front of her, and shook her head. This Xiao Tianzuo is too conceited and too unable to withstand setbacks. After the battle of Qingshankou, Xiao Tianzuo was depressed and no longer had the same vigor as before. Although the Empress Dowager has always been a little wary of this resourceful brother-in-law, worried that he would threaten Han Derang's arrangement to ascend the throne, the Empress Dowager also has a heart for talent and does not want to see Xiao Tianzuo depressed like this.

However, Xiao Tianzuo's heart recovered, and others couldn't help him. By the side of the Queen Mother, the eldest son of the Queen Mother, Yelu Longxu, rode a horse to follow. Although Yelu Longxu attacked the village several times in Qingshankou, the queen mother did not deal with Yelu Longxu much after returning. The queen mother used the reason that Zhang Hua was only a deputy general, and put the responsibility on Xiao Tianzuo, who was the main general. Although the generals had some complaints about such an arrangement, no one had a seizure.

The queen mother also had no choice, he wanted to let Yelu Longxu ascend the throne behind him, so he could only do this. Yelu Longxu was not punished, but he was still full of ambition these days, and he was not discouraged and disappointed at all because of the defeat at Qingshankou. At this time, he looked at the gorgeous guard of honor in front and behind, and couldn't help asking: "Queen Mother, this matter of inspecting the recruits of the Xijun Banner, just call the recruits to the front of the palace to review it, why send so many Baylor Haohao to see the Xijun Banner?" ”

The Empress Dowager looked at her son and said earnestly: "Yelu Longxu, do you know the situation in my Daliao now? Yelu Longxu was stunned and said, "After entering the Song Kingdom and plundering Cangzhou,. Now there are only more than 250,000 left in the real Great Liao Kingdom, and its prestige is damaged. The Empress Dowager nodded, and then asked, "How did I succeed in Daliao?" ”

Yelu Longxu was stunned, thought for a while and said, "Riding and shooting is a thing!" The Empress Dowager shook her head and said: "Riding and shooting is the end, you only see the power of riding and shooting, just like the depressed and lost Xiao Tianzuo." After a pause, the Empress Dowager said: "Between the rise of my Great Liao Kingdom and the white mountains and black waters, the power of control is fundamental. Because we were able to control the subordinates and handle everything properly, we were able to make the subordinates work together to exert force externally, so we became powerful and unified the various ministries of Daliao. Because we can control the Khitan tribes, we can conquer the Song Dynasty and Korea externally. ”

"Without me Da Liao, before the Khitan, the Khitan was not a fisherman Orion who anyone could bully? If it weren't for the ability of my Liao country, would the Khitan have today's majesty? "Now that our Great Liao Kingdom has lost more than 10,000 Khitan soldiers, many generals feel that they are unable to fight again, which is the conclusion reached by sacrificing the basics. As long as my ability to control the Great Liao is still there, even if these bannermen die more than 10,000 times, we will still be the Great Liao Kingdom. ”

Yelu Longxu thought for a moment, raised his head and said, "With this power of control, we can control the people of the Xi tribe?" Take over the world of the Han people? The Empress Dowager looked at Yelu Longxu with satisfaction, nodded and said: "Exactly, over the years, I have painstakingly recruited the generals of the Creek, plundered the population of the Song Kingdom, and set up hundreds of officials in imitation of the Song system, just to spread the control of my Great Liao to the Song people. In time, even if my Da Liao no longer rides and shoots, and governs the Han with Han, I can make the Song army frightened and let the Song people bring their families to attach them! ”

Yelu Longxu thought for a moment, but did not speak. The Empress Dowager said: "This time I entered the customs and plundered more than 100,000 Han people, which is an opportunity. I organized the Han army into two new Han military camps and managed them properly. As long as we control it properly, these Han people will be our help in the future. ”

"Riding and shooting is just the appearance, and the ability to control is the foundation of my Great Liao Kingdom. Personally inspecting the drills of these Han soldiers reflects the importance that our Great Liao State attaches to the surrender of people, and it is also a means to control them. Hearing his father's abstract and careful teachings, Yelu Longxu nodded as if he didn't understand.

The honor guard of the brigade slowly advanced, passed through the endless blacksmith shop outside the capital city, and came to the yamen of the Han military camp. The more than 100,000 Han people who entered the customs and looted this time were incorporated into the Han military camp by the empress dowager. Therefore, the Han army expanded again, from two battalions to four battalions, and most of the Han people who were plundered were incorporated into the thousand troops of the two Khitans.

The Empress Dowager's six-horse carriage stopped beside the two kneeling Han officials, and the two Han officials led hundreds of Han generals to knock on the ground with their heads and shout loudly: "Slave knock to see the Queen Mother!" "Long live the emperor, long live, long live!"

On June 25, Yang Peng's first ship was built. Yang Peng named the first ship Tianjing. Boss Wang used smooth cedar wood as guide rails, and led more than 200 shipwrights to push the big ship together, pushing the Tianjing to the shore little by little. That day, the Jing moved along the guide rail to the shore little by little, and finally fell into the deep water on the shore with a "boom", splashing huge waves, shaking a few times to calm down.

Seeing this scene, the entire Wangjiawan people cheered. The boatmen swam on board and rowed the Tianjing to the edge of the small pier in Wangjiawan with long oars. Yang Peng climbed onto the boat with Chayunke's men and horses and a hundred sailors. The sailors that Yang Peng brought on board this time were veterans who could swim selected from the selection regiment. There is no royal law at sea, and other ships may plunder each other at any time, depending on who is stronger.

If Yang Peng wants to make money from the maritime trade, he must use the best force to protect his ships. The veterans of the Xuanfeng Regiment have rich combat experience, so they are naturally the first choice for Yang Peng to take on the ship. Yang Peng got on the boat, stood on the roof of the tail tower and shouted: "Turn on the steam engine!" The ship's chief ran down the tail tower and passed Yang Peng's order to the craftsman who managed the steam engine. When the craftsmen heard the order, they turned over the coal and burned it under the steam engine. The fire was getting stronger and stronger, and the steam engine made a loud noise, and it started little by little.

The paddle wheel gradually turned, and the paddles slapped on the surface of the sea, creating bursts of waves. Driven by the paddle wheel, the ship headed towards the deep sea little by little. Yang Peng's steam engine steamship was successful. The sailors on board cheered in unison, and the shouts shook the sky. The Tianjing drove faster and faster, heading out to the open sea. The ship's guide ran out, threw a piece of wood from the bow of the boat, and then ran after the chip, counting the time it took for the piece to reach the stern. After a while, he was a little shocked and speechless, and was stunned for a long time before shouting loudly to the crew: "You can run sixty miles in an hour." ”

When the old shipwright on the ship heard the guide's words, he was even more dumbfounded, this can run sixty miles and an hour without oars or sails, relying on two machines, which is really incredible. You must know that the wooden sailing ships of this era ran very slowly, and even if it was downwind, it would take more than ten days to set off from Cangzhou to Hirado in Wakoku at the earliest. According to the speed of this steam engine ship, wouldn't it be possible to reach the Wa Kingdom in six or seven days, and make a round trip once in half a month? This ship can run without sails, so wouldn't it be able to travel back and forth to the country dozens of times a year?

Not to mention that the ship running fast brings an improvement in safety, and when encountering pirates, just run at full speed, the sailboat will definitely not be able to catch up with this steam engine steamer. Everyone looked at Yang Peng in awe and admired the city lord's miraculous invention. Yang Peng saw that everyone was looking at him with round eyes, smiled, waved his hand and said, "The crossbowman is in place!" "More than seventy crossbowmen ran into the second deck and began to wield crossbows. The Tianjing has a cannon at the bow and stern, and nine crossbows on each side, making a total of 20 crossbows. One heavy crossbow is paired with eight crossbowmen, and seventy-two crossbowmen are required to operate a nine-door strong crossbow on one side.

Eighteen crossbows were loaded with thick bows and arrows. The crossbow commander adjusted the elevation angle and angle of the crossbow, aiming at a small dilapidated fishing boat five hundred meters away from the Tianjing. The broken fishing boat was used by Yang Peng to make it a target. A new flintlock fire-lit crossbow with the crossbow leader holding on to a rope ready to fire.

"Launch!" In a deafening roar, the nine-door heavy crossbow on the port side opened fire. On the bumpy sea, the cannon rises and falls with the ship, and the hit rate is relatively low. Ninety long arrows flew past, but not a single arrow hit the fishing boat.

The shipwrights who came to Chayunke's support had never seen such a large crossbow, and they all lay on the side of the ship to watch the salvo of the crossbow, they were startled by the roar of the crossbow shooting, but at this time, seeing that none of them hit the fishing boat, they shook their heads and sighed again. The Tianjing turned around, changed the nine-door heavy crossbow on the starboard side, and opened fire. More than seventy crossbowmen switched to the starboard crossbows. The crossbows fired one after the other, and this time a long arrow struck the boat, shattering its entire sail.

There was a burst of cheers on the deck of the ship. The hit rate of naval guns at sea was relatively low. However, this is also because the target of the fishing vessel is too small, and if the target is a merchant ship of several hundred tons, the hit rate will be much higher. Yang Peng waved his hand and said, "Buy a few more scrapped fishing boats, and the crossbowmen will practice firing cannons!" Practice until you get 1 out of 10 shots! ”

If you want to know what happens next, let's see the next breakdown.