Chapter 128: The Steam Barrage

There were a total of two four-wheeled carriages that went to Lingshui Wharf this time, Lu Bingyi and one of his students, Li Yunhe took one person, and the four of them took a carriage. Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin sat in one. Li Jing led a team of more than 20 people to follow in front and back. Li Yunhe said that they were willing to squeeze together, so that they could study problems together on the road, in fact, everyone in Yaogang knew that Yang Yulin had a deep affection for Zhang Zhimu, and they were afraid that it would be inconvenient for them to be in Zhang Zhimu's car. In fact, nothing has happened to Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin yet. But Yang Yulin was very happy.

Along the way, Zhang Zhimu was a little drowsy, and Yang Yulin suddenly said to Zhang Zhimu: "Brother, you lied." ”

Zhang Zhimu suddenly sobered up and asked, "What did I lie?" ”

Yang Yulin said: "I know everything, my sister-in-law has told you about us." ”

Zhang Zhimu was a little confused all of a sudden, and he didn't know what to say. It turned out that these women had already colluded, and Huang Yukun didn't say it casually that day. Of course, Zhang Zhimu was happy in his heart, he didn't have to be embarrassed to tell Huang Yukun about this matter, Huang Yukun solved this matter for himself, she is really a good wife who is hard to find in the world.

Seeing that Zhang Zhimu had been stunned, Yang Yulin asked, "Brother, didn't you hear what I said?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "I heard it." ”

"Then why do you say you don't know?" Yang Yulin was a little unhappy.

Zhang Zhimu said deliberately; "She said it, I didn't agree."

As soon as Yang Yulin heard this, her expression stiffened suddenly, and Zhang Zhimu knew that the joke was too big, so he reached out and hugged Yang Yulin's waist. Yang Yulin hid, and then she knew that Zhang Zhimu was joking, and as a result, Yang Yulin suddenly cried.

Zhang Zhimu hurriedly said: "Look at you, a big hero, you will cry." After a while, someone else came in. You thought I was bullying you. ”

Yang Yulin said: "Is there such a joke? As Yang Yulin spoke, Zhang Zhimu felt that Yang Yulin's body was a little closer to him, he knew that Yang Yulin was such a skilled woman, if she didn't agree, don't want to get a little cheap, just turned around, Zhang Zhimu didn't live upstairs. It seems that it is not possible to quarrel in the future and want to beat his wife.

Zhang Zhimu asked, "You have a very good way, how did you get Huang Yukun to agree." ”

Yang Yulin's face was a little red, and she didn't dare to look at Zhang Zhimu, and said, "It was my mother who told her, maybe because she saw me pitiful, so my sister-in-law agreed." ”

Zhang Zhimu easily hugged Yang Yulin's waist again, this time Yang Yulin struggled gently, not breaking free. In this way, Zhang Zhimu made even more inches, and put his other hand up. This time, Yang Yulin stopped doing it and said, "The gentleman doesn't do it." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Okay, then don't do it." As he spoke, he went to kiss Yang Yulin, and this time Yang Yulin didn't do it anymore.

Yang Yulin smiled and said, "I'll call people again." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Didn't you say that I have a thief's heart but not a thief's guts? I'm going to show you today if I have the guts to be a thief. ”

Yang Yulin smiled and bent down and said, "Hehe! It turns out that a big man still holds a grudge!"

This time, the relationship between Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin can be regarded as open, but Zhang Zhimu has not made more progress along the way. It made Zhang Zhimu's heart itch.

Because they were a little late when they left the kiln, it was already night when Zhang Zhimu and the others arrived at Lingshui Wharf.

Fan Chengkun didn't expect Zhang Zhimu to come suddenly, he knew that Zhang Zhimu had come back from the north, and wanted to go to Yaogang to see him and report on his work. Since there is a study class being held here, I have been unable to get out of it.

In the evening, Fan Chengkun reported his work to Zhang Zhimu.

Now Fan Chengkun has built Lingshui Wharf as Yaogang's own wharf, and built two larger wharves to berth his five warships, and four 400-stone flat-bottomed ships also have special berths. There is also a high observation deck on the pier, from which you can have a panoramic view of the entire pier. Due to the improvement of the environment of the wharf, ship merchants are also willing to load and drop off goods at Lingshui Wharf. The dock gradually became more popular and prosperous.

Now the Fen River has been frozen, and several boats are frozen in the river at the wharf. Now the personnel have gone ashore and train on shore every day. They also responded to the call of the kiln gang, and all the officers and men took part in cultural study, and those officers of the former official army also set up their own training classes for these naval officers to train special personnel for various posts. Since the navy is a highly skilled branch of the army, Fan Chengkun personally took the lead in participating in the study, and the entire fleet formed an atmosphere of learning.

Early the next morning, Fan Chengkun let Zhang Zhimu and others to their newly built naval command center, as soon as they entered the command center hall, a large map hanging on the wall attracted Zhang Zhimu's attention, Zhang Zhimu asked Fan Chengkun: "This is what you did yourself?" ”

Fan Chengkun said: "Yes, Mr. Zhang." This was drawn by the naval officers who came from the smelter and discussed with everyone from memory. With this rough map, we have a lot of numbers in mind, and we can slowly add more details in the future. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Great, this picture is drawn from the Fen River, to the Yellow River, the Huai River, the canal to the Yangtze River, and from the Yellow River to Weishui, from the Huai River to the estuary. ”

Fan Chengkun said: "The most important thing is that the officer has marked out the dangerous points and the precautions needed for sailing. Now, if the water is big, we dare to go directly to Sanmenxia. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Okay. It seems that you have done a lot of work. ”

After Zhang Zhimu and the others and Fan Chengkun's officers were seated at a large conference table, Zhang Zhimu said: "I want to tell you a good news, we are here to put wings on your ship, to install steam engines for your warship to do surveying and mapping. What do you think? ”

Fan Chengkun asked happily: "Could it be that what Mr. Zhang said about using steam to drive the boat to walk is true?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Of course it's true. We're here to measure the size of the ship. When the steam engine is successfully installed, your warship will not care about the direction of the wind, and when the time comes, you will be able to gallop on the rivers at will. ”

Fan Chengkun said: "Great. I didn't expect this to be true. By that time, our ships will be invincible. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "With these two warships, we still can't fight the world, we will build a shipyard at Lingshui Wharf next year, we will build several large steel-hulled ships, and then we will install larger caliber cannons on the ships, so that the guns will aim more accurately and hit farther." Then it will be invincible. ”

Zhang Zhimu's words listened to the officers and soldiers who followed Fan Chengkun one by one.

Facing the naval officers and soldiers sitting on both sides of the conference table, Zhang Zhimu introduced the process of going north, to killing the tiger's mouth, then to Datong and Zhangjiakou, standing on the Mongolian cavalry, robbing the baggage of the Qing army, and extinguishing the white and red flags. All the credit was given to the brothers in the army, and we were a little unconvinced. ”

Seeing everyone's high morale, Zhang Zhimu was very happy, he said: "The brothers are a navy, and the navy is a very technical army. Our water army has just been established, and it is still in the learning stage. You have already heard that we are going to renovate our warships this time, and when these two warships are all changed to steam-powered, there is still a lot to learn. Because at that time our boats went faster and farther, and more knowledge was needed to be able to steer. So don't worry, you will play a greater role in the future, and others cannot replace the role. When that day comes, with your navy, any place that can be navigated by ship will be our sphere of influence, and where our artillery can get it, it will be up to us to decide, and it will depend on your navy. ”

Zhang Zhimu's words were exchanged for a round of warm applause from these officers and soldiers.

After meeting with these officers and soldiers, Zhang Zhimu gave great appreciation to Fan Chengkun's excellent performance. This is also a great encouragement for Fan Chengkun, making him feel that this period of work day and night is worth it. These officers who worked with Fan Chengkun were also very happy, and their efforts were directly praised by Mr. Zhang, making them feel that their efforts were not in vain. And more confident in the future of their own fleet.

Leaving the conference room, Fan Chengkun, Mu Yi and other officers have been accompanying Zhang Zhimu and others to measure the size of these warships, because these warships are all from the Ming army, they are all warships of the same level, so the size is not too much. Zhang Zhimu looked at it, each ship can use a model of steam engine, but the length of the shaft that drives the propeller should be determined according to the different times of each ship.

For the stability of the ship, the lower the center of gravity, the better. So after looking at the ship, Zhang Zhimu decided that the boiler and steam engine should be placed in the middle bilge of the ship, and the second deck should be partially opened and then reinforced. Taking into account the need for ventilation and exhaust, the upper deck should also be opened with a large opening. Because in addition to the smoke from the chimney, the soot emitted during the boiler burning process will also be in the boiler room, so exhaust ventilation is also a very important problem.

In addition, the cab had to be redesigned to be easy to operate and have a better view.

Since the entire warship was made of wood, and the hull at the stern that fixed the propeller drive shaft was also made of wood, in order to strengthen this part of the strength, Zhang Zhimu discussed with Li Yunhe and Lu Bingyi, and the rear of the entire ship was clamped on both sides of the wood with two large steel plates, and then riveted to death. In this way, it is drilled out to fix the bushing position of the propeller shaft.

After Lu Bingyi's students and Li Yunhe carefully surveyed and mapped the size of the entire ship, Li Yunhe said to Zhang Zhimu: "Mr. Zhang, I have a number in my heart now. ”

Zhang Zhimu reminded uneasily: "The place where the coal is put and the place where the water is released must be designed, and it is necessary to ensure that the coal and water are convenient for slag discharge." ”

Li Yunhe said: "Don't worry, you will think about it." ”

Fan Chengkun asked: "You have installed such a big stove to boil water, can you warm it in winter like the heating of the kiln?" ”

Li Yunhe said: "That's no problem. I'll also design a hot water shower on board so you can take a hot shower on board. ”

Zhang Zhimu suddenly thought that he could also make a steam-driven compressor, so that there could be a large refrigerator on board.

These big ships have been measured, Zhang Zhimu said: "Those four hundred stone ships also have to be measured, I think you can use your current successful steam engine to drive them." ”

Li Yunhe said: "The boat is also on the steam engine? ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Why don't you go on a small boat, you can enter the canal, all the way to the Yangtze River." Besides, a small boat of 400 stones, one on a steam engine, can drag many small boats forward, and their role should not be underestimated at that time. In the future, it will all refer to them to the kiln. ”

After listening to Zhang Zhimu's words, Li Yunhe and the others measured the size of the boat again. Li Yunhe said: "The current steam engine can be installed on a ship of 400 stones without much change. However, such a ship is too long, and if the boiler is placed in the middle of the ship, it will be too far from the tail section. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "This kind of ship is long and shallow, and our boilers and steam engines are discharged back and forth, and the boilers are moved to the front, and the steam engines can be moved back a little. Advance the position of the coal and water tanks a little further, and try to balance the ship front and rear. The boiler may be half of the deck. However, this ventilation effect is good.

After measuring the boat, Zhang Zhimu and Lu Bingyi led everyone to the shore of the Xiaoling River to the mouth of the Fen River. Seeing that the estuary is very wide, Lu Bingyi said: "It is suitable for building several docks, the place is open, and the water flow is stable. Next year, our shipyard will be built here. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Okay. At that time, this shipyard Commander Fan will be in charge, and we will be far away from here. Of course, we'll arrange the personnel. You can't be involved in too much energy and let you be in charge, because there must be a person in charge of everything here. In the next step, a better inn will be built here. In particular, we should pay attention to buying more land in the surrounding area in advance, because as soon as we start construction, it will soon prosper and there will be more people, and then the land will be worth a lot of money. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "It is not possible to build a barrage here, it is too wide here, and there is a river bed that is very narrow two miles up from here. Let's check it out! ”

Obviously, Lu Bingyi has already inspected this place. Zhang Zhimu and his entourage walked two miles upstream along the riverbank.

Sure enough, as Lu Bingyi said, the widest part of the riverbank here is 50 meters wide, and there are many stones exposed on both sides of the river. It turned out that this was a small mountain pass, and the water flow was from the mountain pass.

Zhang Zhimu said: "This is a natural site for building a dam. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "I measured the height of the mountain here and the mountain in the distance, and then measured the height of the kiln and the top of this mountain, and came to the conclusion that the difference between here and the kiln is no more than 10 meters. So we can build a dam of fifteen to twenty meters here. The most advantageous thing is that the riverbed here is very low due to perennial erosion, and there is no need to build dams on both banks. In some places in the river, where there are stones and other obstacles, we just blow it up with **. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Lu found that no, both sides of the river here are loess, but the bottom of the river is exposed with stones. This shows that during the flood season, the water flow of the Xiaoling River is very fast, and the sediment is not deposited. But if we build a dam and the flow slows down, it will be like the Yellow River, and sediment will be deposited. ”

Zhang Zhimu knew the lesson of the Sanmenxia Dam in his previous life, and he finally repaired it, but it was soon blocked by sediment. Zhang Zhimu also visited the Xiaolangdi Reservoir Dam, where very advanced flood and sediment discharge technology is used, and the sediment discharge hole is specially designed.

Lu Bingyi said: "This is a problem, if it is not solved, it will soon be buried in sediment." The riverbed will also be raised. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "The opening of our lock is ten meters wide enough, because it is impossible for too big a ship to come in, so we can build two floodgates on both sides of the lock, and the location of the floodgates is at the bottom of the dam." Usually we control the low flow rate or no flow, so that the sediment does not flow, once the water is released, the flow will be accelerated, so that the sediment in the river can not be stored, especially during the flood season, speed up the flood discharge and sand washing. Even if this is not enough, after the sediment comes out of the dam, it cannot be silted up behind the dam, and a flood channel must be built behind the flood outlet, the flood channel should not be too wide, and the flow rate should be maintained, and the sediment should be sent to the Fen River, and the Fen River water will take away the sediment. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "What Mr. Zhang said is too good. Then he turned back to the people around him and said, "As you can see, the mouth of the Xiaoling River is very wide, because of the accumulation of sediment in the Xiaoling River, the river channel widens when the water is shallow. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "In this case, our project volume will be very large. Behind the dam all the way to the Fen River, we have to dig three two-mile channels, two flood channels, and a main channel for locks. ”

Li Yunhe also saw the doorway, and said: "These three channels must be on the north shore and give up the berths on the south bank." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Yunhe is right, the two miles on the south bank will be a prime location in the future, and it will be a berth." ”

Fan Chengkun said: "No wonder Mr. Lu came over and almost bought the land on both sides of the river, and asked him why he bought so much land, but he didn't say anything." I see! ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Lu is a fine person, if he doesn't let him say it, he will never say it." Don't go back too early, just know for yourselves. ”

Since I came back from a circle, it was late, so I had to stay at Lingshui Pier for another night, and then go back early the next morning.

Zhang Zhimu's trip made a big plan for the next development of Lingshui Wharf. This made the officers and soldiers here excited. Not only can they eat mutton and drink mutton soup every day, but they are also very spiritually fulfilled, and they are looking forward to the beginning of spring next year. They knew that Lingshui Wharf would be a big construction site at that time, and there would be crowds of people everywhere. Lingshui Pier is about to have a drastic change.

Because they were worried about their family affairs, Zhang Zhimu and the others said goodbye to Fan Chengkun and the others early and rushed back. Zhang Zhimu was still very happy along the way, and Yang Yulin didn't have to be so restrained in the car, the most important thing was that several major things had been implemented, and he could let go of his hands and do a big job when he went back.

When Zhang Zhimu and their team reached almost noon, a team of people ran in front of them, and Li Jing immediately led people to meet them, and the bullets on the musket were ignited and twisted, and they were on high alert. The horse team on the opposite side obviously also discovered Zhang Zhimu's team, and shouted while running, but Li Jing didn't hear what the other party shouted.

When the other party ran in, Li Jing saw that it was the person who stayed in the kiln gang and guarded Zhang Zhimu's small building. It turned out that Li Jing knew that now Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He were going to Tongguan with a group of people, and as soon as he and Zhang Zhimu left, only a few hundred people sent by Liu Yun stood guard in various parts of the kiln gang, and the other large troops, in order not to attract attention, all lived in the camp in front of the cave. He was not at ease, so he left part of his people in the kiln gang and guarded Zhang Zhimu's home. Because of the lesson from the last time, Li Jing knew that the most important target of Yaogang was Zhang Zhimu's family. Li Jing thought to herself, this time they came over, there must be something big going on in the kiln.

Sure enough, before the centaurs could stand firm and catch their breath, they shouted: "Oh no, the kiln gang has been attacked!" ”

Li Jing was startled when she heard this, and Tima ran to Zhang Zhimu's car and knocked on the window. Zhang Zhimu opened the glass window, and before he could ask, Li Jing said eagerly: "Oh no, the kiln gang has been attacked." ”

When Zhang Zhimu heard this, his brain was shook, but he quickly calmed down and asked, "What's the matter, speak slowly." ”

Li Jing called the messenger over, and the messenger gave a general explanation of the kiln gang.

It turned out that last night, Yaogang was attacked by more than 2,000 cavalry, several places were on fire, there were hundreds of casualties, and the wife and children were fine. Now that the situation is under control, Liu Yun is leading people to hunt down the attackers.

Zhang Zhimu said: "Accelerate forward and return to the kiln." ”

The attacker was also sent by Li Zicheng. Last time, the left general Liu Zongmin sent his guard captain Tian Fang to carry out the mission of assassinating Zhang Zhimu. But as soon as they went out, they were not heard from. Later, when the personnel of the Lingshui Wharf Intelligence Department were questioned, they said that these people had quietly left the Lingshui Wharf and had not been heard from again. I asked everywhere and there was no news.

Later, King Chuang came over and asked General Zuo Liu Zongmin: "Zongmin, Tian Fang should have news." ”

Liu Zongmin said: "I don't have any faith now, but don't worry, this guy belongs to a cat and has nine lives." He is extremely smart, and his martial arts are not comparable to many people. It's hard to find someone who wants his life. This person must be in trouble, this Zhang Zhimu is a difficult master to deal with, and Tian Fang will not give up if he does not complete the task. Maybe they were hiding there, staring at this Zhang Zhimu. ”

Li Zicheng sighed and said, "God bless Brother Tian Fang." There are fewer and fewer of our old brothers. ”

Liu Zongmin smiled and said, "Haha! The famous King Chuang, what's wrong today? How many times have you crawled in the pile of dead people? It's not like you today. ”

But another month passed, when Li Zicheng mentioned Tian Fang's matter to Liu Zongmin again, neither of them could laugh, they knew that Tian Fang must be more than lucky. This sent a chill down the hearts of both of them. Because Tian Fang's more than 20 people are all people with extremely high martial arts, these people are the masters who dare to break through thousands of troops, how could they disappear silently. Some are too photogenic.

Li Zicheng said: "The affairs of these people, let people go and investigate quickly, and don't do anything else before they find out." ”

Liu Zongmin also lost his previous arrogance and said, "Okay, I must find out about Brother Tian Fang." Otherwise we are also sorry for this good brother. ”

All of Li Zicheng's intelligence agencies mobilized to find out the cause of the disappearance of this small team. But it was as if the team had evaporated from the world, and there was no information about them. This caused a great psychological shock to all those who knew about this operation.

Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, and the military advisor Niu Jinxing discussed this matter, saying that a businessman has repeatedly ruined my big things, and if this hidden danger is not removed, it will be a trouble.

Li Zicheng said: "We still have to find a way to get rid of this Zhang Zhimu." Do you two have any good ideas? ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Our main force now is to deal with the Ming army in Shaanxi, and it is impossible to send a large group of men and horses to Shanxi. But there are too few people to do this, and Tian Fang can't do it, and it's even more impossible for others to do it. ”

Liu Zongmin looked fierce and irritable, but he was also a scheming person. He said, "It would be nice if the river would freeze after a while." We can send a squad of cavalry to make a quick surprise attack on the kiln. Not now, Shanxi and Shaanxi are separated by the Yellow River and the Fen River, not to mention that we can't get in, and we can't run out after being discovered. It's better to wait, the river is frozen, and we are free to enter and exit. ”

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