After leaving Xiangyang, Zhang Wei came to a steamer on the bank of the river.

This steamer is different from ordinary ships, there are no huge engines on both sides for propulsion, and the shell is coated with a layer of white paint, which shines brightly in the sunlight, which looks particularly powerful and really eye-catching.

No, it was just a half-hour later, and out of nowhere, many people came out of nowhere, gathered around the steamer to watch.

Zhang Wei felt a little proud, walked to the front of the ship, and shouted: "The rank can be accommodated, don't delay my trip, is it okay?"

At this time, the soldiers on the ship also made a move, lowering a wooden ladder from the side of the ship.

Everyone was shocked, and they all stared at Zhang Wei, thinking, "Who is this guy?

Before, they didn't dare to get close to the soldiers on this ship because they were afraid of the soldiers, but now they were naturally shocked when they saw Zhang Wei behaving like this.

"Don't you know? This is Zhang Wei, the governor of Junzhou. ”

A voice came from the crowd.

After hearing this, everyone understood, and thought: "It turned out to be Zhang Wei of Junzhou? No wonder he has such strength." "In this Xiangyang, there are only a handful of people who can have this steamer, it is nothing more than Lu Wende, Lu Wenhuan and others, but they are all high, every time they travel, they are not grand, and everyone can know it, just like Zhang Wei, it is rare to be as ordinary and low-key.

Walking on the wooden ladder to the boat, Zhang Wei stood on the bow of the boat, bowed to everyone, and said: "I'm sorry everyone, I'm going to leave here, please come back later." ”

"Whew!"

Thick black smoke rose into the sky, and the entire steamer slowly drove away from the dock.

The crowd was even more amazed: "There is no oars and a paddle wheel?

The boat travels by oars and paddle wheels, which is common in the eyes of everyone, but the steamers in front of them do not have oars and paddle wheels, and they can still walk like flying, which is really surprising.

Enjoying everyone's admiration, Zhang Wei is also quite proud: "It seems that it is useful to bring this 'Huang Hao' here today." ”

That's right, this Huang Hao steamship was built by the Danjiang shipyard, the tonnage is not large, only 100 tons, and the weapons on the ship are not very strong, only two 80 mm caliber medium capsule guns, but the advantage is that it is built with the latest manufacturing technology, not only the whole body is made of steel, but also the first to use the propeller propulsion method, leaving behind the paddle wheel that is usually easy to destroy.

Purely in terms of technology, it can be said that it is the top level in the world.

At this time, driven by the huge power of the steam turbine, this Huang Hao left the dock and began to turn around, preparing to leave the place.

"Zhang Zhizhou, Zhang Zhizhou, I wonder if you can stop?"

From the shore, a neutral voice was heard.

Zhang Wei followed the sound and saw the two people in the distance running towards Huang Hao, one of them was tall and burly, and the other was short and fat, like a winter melon, although the appearance was very different, but the appearance of the two was also very similar, they should be brothers.

Zhang Wei raised his hand to stop the helmsman, and immediately raised his voice: "Who are you, what are you looking for me today?"

The tall man opened his mouth and said, "My name is Zhang Shun, this is my brother, and his name is Zhang Gui." Because I heard that Zhang Zhizhou was here, I immediately rushed here. Speaking of this, he became a little nervous, and some blush appeared on his face: "I didn't expect Zhang Zhizhou to really meet our brother!"

"It turned out to be the two brothers Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui?" Zhang Wei asked, "In that case, why are you two looking for me?"

"This, the two of us came here in the hope that Zhang Zhizhou could accept us and let us join the Huaxia Army. Zhang Shun took a deep breath and said suddenly. Zhang Gui next to him also begged: "That's right, we have always wanted to enter the Huaxia Army, but unfortunately we are Song people, so the Huaxia Army will not accept it at all, so we have no choice but to come, hoping that Zhang Zhizhou can help a little!"

Zhang Wei was slightly surprised, and opened his mouth to ask: "Is this the case? In that case, then why don't you join the hands of the Chongguo Gong? The Chongguo Gong is a pillar of the imperial court, if it were under him, it should not bury your talent." ”

He is only the governor of Junzhou, and the leader of the Junzhou garrison is someone else, including troop arrangements, food collection, and weapons transportation, and he can't interfere.

Zhang Wei would not let himself be taboo because of the two people in front of him.

"Alas. It's also a nice thing to say. What Lu Wende looks like, we don't know, although it is indeed a meritorious service to our Xiangyang, he has also committed crimes such as framing Gao Gao, Xiang Shibi, Cao Shixiong and others in the past. If he is under the command of this person, he is afraid that he will be framed and die before he has made any achievements. What's more, he has always been cronyistic, and unless he is his relative, he will not be reused at all. Why do you think I'm going to join him?" replied Zhang Shun earnestly.

Zhang Wei laughed, surprised by the other party's honesty: "Ha." You're just fine, but this is Xiangyang, aren't you afraid?"

"I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid! But what I'm even more afraid of is that my homeland is occupied by thieves, and the villagers are killed by thieves, especially that Meng Yuan will go south anytime and anywhere, and I can't sit still and wait for death. Isn't it?" replied Zhang Shun with considerable certainty.

Zhang Wei was slightly surprised, and asked again: "Oh? I don't see it, how can you be sure that Meng Yuan will come back?"

"Huh. Meng Yuan started by fighting, and he didn't produce himself, so how could he last long? The reason why he didn't act before was because he suffered heavy losses in the last war, so he had no choice but to give up. But now, more than ten years have passed, and of course they should be ready to see, just waiting for us to relax and then go south, there is no doubt about it. Zhang Shun wanted to reply in the affirmative.

"Oh, it seems, you do have some skills. Zhang Wei was also surprised when he heard it.

He also relied on the prediction of many people in Chang'an to come to this conclusion, but the person in front of him only relied on a little bit of intelligence to determine Meng Yuan's action, which shows that the other party is not a straw bag.

"In that case, then you two will get on board. ”

Nodding, Zhang Wei beckoned to the two.

That Zhang Shun was ecstatic, immediately took Zhang Gui's hand, ran towards the steamer, and after a while, he came to the edge of the dock.

At this moment, the steam wheel has already used two or three feet, and if it were an ordinary person, it would only be carried into the water and wet itself. ＼

But the two did not stop the action, but jumped directly from the pier, and did not hear the sound of "plopping" diving, only relying on their own light skills, suspended above the lake.

"Huh. is such a strong cultivator, it seems that this time it is worth the trip. Zhang Wei was also surprised when he saw it.

Because he was busy with official duties, his cultivation had been stagnant, how could he perform such a light skill that was enough to move on the lake?

Based on this scene alone, Zhang Wei had the urge to include the two under his command.

Of course, this matter also needs to be agreed by the Junzhou Defense Envoy Kang Lu, otherwise the two of them will not be able to become the Huaxia Army.

Just as he was thinking, Zhang Shun had already come to the side of the warship, only to see that he only stepped lightly on the surface of the lake, and his figure suddenly rose more than three feet, and then landed on the warship, followed by Zhang Gui also landed on the warship.

"In the next Zhang Shun/Zhang Gui, I met Zhang Zhizhou here. ”

Qi Qi bowed his head, Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui both gave Zhang Wei the highest respect.

Zhang Wei also hurriedly bowed and replied: "This matter has not been done yet, how can I bear such a big gift? And I am the same as you, my surname is Zhang." Maybe 500 years ago, we were still a family, so why be so polite, let's find a place to do it first. ”

At this moment, the Huang Hao steamer also adjusted its direction, and under a high-pitched whistle, it rushed towards the distance like an arrow from a string.

Zhang Shun was not ready, he almost fell off the steamer, and when he saw that there was a railing next to him to stabilize his body, he immediately reached out and grabbed it, stabilized his body, and then got into the cabin, found a seat and sat down.

"Your ships are so fast!"

Zhang Shun looked at Zhang Wei, and his heart was also full of doubts: "This battleship runs so fast, isn't it afraid of scattering?"

At this moment, the steam turbine above Huang Hao was emitting a roar like a tiger, making the entire battleship run at an almost speeding speed, which was faster than any warship, which really made Zhang Shun curious, how did the Huaxia Army do it?

After all, with the wooden warships of the past, they could not reach such speeds.

Even if it is equipped with a steam turbine and a paddle wheel, it will disintegrate due to the huge pressure due to the material of the wood, which is not uncommon in the past, so Zhang Shun has this doubt.

"Of course I'm afraid. But that's still affordable, so you don't have to worry. Zhang Wei smiled, his expression was quite flat.

When he first came to Xiangyang, he took this Huang Hao, and of course he knew Huang Hao's ability.

"Can I continue to increase my speed?"

Zhang Shun was puzzled, his eyes swept the entire cabin thoughtfully, and only then did he notice the strangeness of the hull, and immediately flicked his finger at the hull.

"Knock knock!"

Hearing this voice, Zhang Shun's eyes immediately widened, this sound was too crisp, not the same as wood, and immediately turned his head to look at Zhang Wei, and asked, "Your ship is made of steel?"

"That's right. It's made of steel. Zhang Wei nodded and acknowledged.

Zhang Shun complained: "No wonder it can reach such a speed, it turns out that it is made of steel?" Compared with the wood, the steel is far above it in terms of strength and toughness, and it can naturally withstand a stronger impact.

"It's just the white thing painted on the steel, what is it?" Zhang Shun fumbled with the white paint on the outside of the hull and asked again.

Zhang Wei replied: "This is a newly discovered white lacquer, which is a mixture of a substance extracted from coal and vegetable oil. You also know that if you put steel in water, it can easily corrode. So we came up with this paint and applied it to the shell to keep the water from corrosion. ”

"I see? But how the hell did you do it? It's really unbelievable. ”

Zhang Shun couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes, and looked at the warship with complicated eyes.

The pure white paint, the steel hull, and the advanced power were enough to make anyone marvel, and the concentration of these technologies to shape such a warship really surprised him, and he thought that he was in a dream.

"Where there's a will, there's a way. It's just years of accumulation, it's not a big deal. Zhang Wei smiled reservedly, his heart full of pride.

Since the beginning of the construction of the railway, the entire Guannai began to slide in an unpredictable direction, and in order to meet Xiao Feng's plan to connect the entire Guannai with the railway, they built many steel factories in Chang'an, and also gathered a large number of laborers in the deep mountains, mining the coal and iron ore hidden deep underground, and then smelting it into steel, and forging it into rails and trains.

As a result, Chang'an swelled rapidly, transforming into a megacity with a population of more than two million, and its urban area far exceeded that of any previous dynasty.

As a result, these workers working in Chang'an have all kinds of exchanges, exchanging their skills and knowledge with each other, and new ideas burst out every moment.

And the Huang Hao steamer he is riding on now is a product of this system.

Zhang Gui couldn't bear it either, and asked directly: "Really, but why won't this ship sink? After all, this is made of steel, and steel is so heavy, how did you do it?"

In his common sense, he couldn't imagine why this heavy steel was suspended on the water.

After all, in the past, the steel was directly submerged in the water, and it could never be suspended.

"Well, of course, it has its own principles, if you are interested, when you arrive in Junzhou, you can go to the shipyard to have a look, and you will naturally understand what is going on," Zhang Wei replied.

Zhang Shun pondered and said, "Is this the case? It seems that you have long known that Meng Yuan will go south, so you have already prepared?"

"That's right. Otherwise, how can we expel the Tatars and restore China?" Zhang Wei replied with a smile, full of confidence in his heart.

In order to fight against the Xiangyang Navy, he built a shipyard in Junzhou, but because the Danjiang River basin is far less than the Yangtze River, the tonnage of the ships manufactured is not large, at most ten zhang long, hundreds of tons, and it is obvious that relying on this kind of warship alone cannot defeat the Xiangyang Navy, so he explored other methods and directly used the latest technology to manufacture warships.

After several years of research and development, this Huang Haolai was finally made.

Not to mention anything else, relying on the sturdy hull, Huang Hao's speed reached twenty knots, which was more than double that of ordinary warships, and because it was made of steel, its defensive power also exceeded that of wooden warships.

These are the preparations of the Huaxia Army for the upcoming war.