......

Amid the high cries of the lords, Roland watched with satisfaction as the second cement ship also slipped into the water. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

These two cement ships seem to be simple in construction, but in fact they have come a long way from the original Town.

For the first time, a dense steel skeleton has been added to its interior, and the quality of cement has also been improved a lot, and the overall strength is more than several times higher than that of the town number.

And in order to speed up the construction, Roland designed the hull with slots and interfaces for the installation of steam engines, transmission mechanisms and paddle wheels, and when the time came, as long as the corresponding fixed bolts were welded on these metal parts, they could be quickly spliced and installed as if they were glued models.

At the same time, the formwork has also been changed from temporary masonry to iron mold, which can not only ensure the compactness of the poured concrete, improve its own waterproof performance, but also make each ship basically the same, so as to avoid deviations when installing the power system. In order to obtain the complete formwork shape, he scrapped at least seven or eight test ships - fortunately, cement is no longer a scarce product, from grinding stone to mixing into the kiln, the steam engine has replaced human work, which is one of the few industrial projects in the border town that can be mass-produced without relying on the power of witches.

With sufficient materials, reliable formwork and skilled workers, the only thing that can be constrained by the hull yield is the hardening rate of cement. However, under the accelerated response ability of the white paper, the cement ship that originally needed to be placed for a month or two can be launched in just one day, in other words, as long as Roland is willing, this shipyard can completely do two or three days to go to the water with a tabula rasa.

If the speed of steam engine manufacturing and crew training could keep up, he could have a large fleet of transport ships in a short period of time, and the entire Chishui River would be filled with his own cement boats, and the legendary dumplings were no more than that.

That's the beauty of industry.

Now that the hull is complete, the next step is to install the power components, and these mechanical equipment and the modified boats of the String Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce are basically the same, and the craftsmen already have practical experience, so he is not worried about this.

"I don't understand, why do you tell the people about such a thing?" asked Nightingale.

"In order to promote national strength. Roland smiled slightly.

"Huh?"

"I mean, to see the town change so dramatically. He touched his chin and said, "Before you saw the Town, I am afraid you would not have expected the stone boat to float on the water." The same is true of the perception of the people, who feel more and more identified with the town when the impossible is achieved - and this mentality is all-encompassing, and may even evolve into nothing they can't do. ”

"It's not...... Too clear. The nightingale's voice was a little confused.

"You just have to think of it as a propaganda tool. Roland laughed. In this era, the nobles and the people only celebrated when celebrations or major events occurred, but these two were basically related to the aristocracy, and if it was not for the free distribution of porridge and water, the participation of the people was not high. The cement boat, on the other hand, is the result of the collective collaboration of hundreds of workers, who themselves are part of the festival.

In addition, as a member of the territory, after seeing the miracles that the territory continues to produce, self-confidence and sense of identity will gradually improve, which is the so-called "great country mentality" in later generations.

......

A week later, Roland met with more than twenty townspeople in the castle hall who had applied for the captaincy.

At first, Barov was surprised that there were so many "high-end talents" among the refugees in the town, and it was only when he read the detailed report that he smiled dumbly at the number of recruits who operated rafts and small fishing boats, and even boatmen who made a living as ferrymen. In a sense, they do have a "captain" experience.

Of all the applicants, only three had experience in river dhows, and one of them claimed to have commanded a merchant fleet and spent long hours at sea.

Roland thought about it for a while, and finally decided to recruit all the more than twenty people.

Because steamships and sailboats belong to completely different systems, and the operation is completely different, even experienced captains may not be able to quickly get started with steam paddle steamers. In addition, they don't know anything about sailing, so instead of blindly commanding, it is better for them to understand and learn by themselves.

Since you are starting from scratch, you must have the determination and courage to explore.

"I've already seen all the experiences you declared," Roland swept over the group of people kneeling down on one knee in the hall, "I summoned you here today to inform you that you have passed the preliminary examination and are honored to become the first batch of trainee captains in Frontier Town. Stand up. ”

"Yes...... Your Highness," the group cautiously stood up and looked at each other a few times, looking rather confused by the term trainee captain.

The prince took the initiative to explain: "An internship means that there is no informal position, and before you actually board the ship, you will only have half the salary on the notice, which is ten silver wolves per month. The first two months are a learning period where you will become familiar with the performance, operation methods and operational processes of the new vessel. The third month is a trial run, which is used to test your mastery ability, and only after passing can you be promoted to full captain, and your salary will be paid in full. If you don't want to accept it, you can leave now. ”

No one in the team moved, and after a while, an old man suddenly spoke, "Your Highness, who will teach us, and who will examine the qualifications for promotion?"

Roland glanced at the other man with interest, he must have been the self-proclaimed experienced fleet commander, who seemed to be called Kakusim. If I remember correctly, he was a relative of a police officer who had distinguished himself in an assassination more than two months earlier. The old man could tell from his tone that he did not think that anyone could teach him to sail - in fact, he did not.

"The teacher is yourselves. The prince nodded.

The remark caused a commotion in the crowd.

"Your Highness, this ...... What does that mean?" asked Kakusim, puzzled.

"What do you know about steam engines?" Roland asked rhetorically. Not surprisingly, no one could answer, "The steamship is such a new sense of the ship, and the experience of the past does not play much role, so it is up to you to explore and summarize it yourself." Of course, I will also send craftsmen from the steam engine factory to help you get acquainted with the machine. He paused, "And the way of the expedition is very simple, and if you can take a group of sailors to get the ship moving and complete a transport task, you can be considered qualified." ”

Although the rhetoric of a 10-year army and a 100-year navy is an exaggeration, it also shows that it is not easy to form a navy. If this group of personnel can master the operation of steamships, they will definitely be able to train a large number of suitable crews for the western territory in the future. When steam-powered shallow gunboats are built, pulling them over will come in handy.

He was curious, what kind of navy would be formed in the end when civilian crews and artillery were engaged?

. (To be continued.) )