…
Roland watched with satisfaction as the second cement boat slid into the water amid the high voices of the territorial people.
The two cement ships seem to be simple in structure, but in fact, they have made great progress compared to the original township.
For the first time, a dense reinforced skeleton has been added to its interior, and the quality of the cement has also been improved a lot. The overall strength is more than several times higher than that of the township.
Moreover, in order to speed up the construction, Roland reserved slots and interfaces for installing the steam engine, transmission mechanism and paddle wheel when designing the hull. At that time, as long as the corresponding fixed pins are welded on these metal parts, quick splicing can be achieved. Installed like a glued model.
At the same time, the formwork has also changed from a temporary piece of masonry to an iron mold, which can not only ensure the compactness of the poured concrete and improve its own waterproof performance, but also ensure that each ship is basically the same, so as to avoid deviations when installing the power system. In order to get a complete formwork shape, he scrapped at least seven or eight test samples. Fortunately, cement is not a scarce product anymore. From grinding stone to mixing into the kiln, steam engines have replaced manual work, which is rare in border towns. Industrial items that can be mass-produced without relying on witch powers.
With sufficient materials, reliable formwork and skilled workers, the only thing limiting the output of the hull is the speed of cement hardening. However, with the accelerated reaction ability of the white paper, the cement ship that originally needed to be placed for one or two months can be launched in just one day. In other words, as long as Roland is willing, this shipyard can launch a whiteboard ship in two or three days.
If the steam engine manufacturing speed and crew training can keep up, he can have a huge transport fleet in a short period of time, so that the entire Chishui River is full of his own cement boats, and the legendary dumplings are just like this. .
That's the beauty of industry.
Now that the hull has been completed, the next job is to install the power components. These mechanical equipment are basically the same as the refitted ships of the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce. The craftsmen have already had practical experience, so he is not worried about it.
"I don't understand, why are you telling the people of this kind of thing?" Nightingale asked.
"To promote national strength." Roland smiled slightly.
"what?"
"I mean, witness the earth-shaking changes in the town." He touched his chin and said, "Before you have seen the township, you probably wouldn't have expected the stone boat to float on the water. The same is true of the people's thoughts. , after the impossible is realized, their sense of identification with the town will become higher and higher. The improvement of this mentality is all-round, and it may even evolve into that there is nothing they can’t do.”
"No... I understand too well." Nightingale's voice was a little puzzled.
"You just need to understand it as a means of propaganda." Roland laughed. In this era, the days when the nobles and the people celebrate together are only in celebrations or when major events occur, but both of these are basically related to the nobles. If it is not free to distribute porridge and water, the participation of the public is not high. And the cement boat 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 continuous miracles produced by the territory, the self-confidence and sense of identity will gradually increase. This is the so-called "big country mentality" in later generations. The prosperity of a territory will inevitably make the people of the territory. Positive changes in mentality.
…
A week later, Roland met more than 20 townspeople who had applied for the position of captain in the castle hall.
At first, when Barov reported the number of people, he was surprised. He did not expect that there are so many "high-end talents" among the refugees in the town. It was not until he checked the detailed report that he laughed dumbfounded. There are fishermen in small fishing boats, and even boatmen who make a living by ferrying. In a sense, they do have "captain" experience.
Among all the applicants, only three had experience in operating inland dhows, and one of them also claimed to have served as a commander of the merchant fleet and had been living at sea for a long time.
Roland thought for a while, and finally decided to recruit all these twenty people.
Because steamboats and sailboats belong to completely different systems and operate very differently, even experienced captains may not be able to quickly get started with steam paddle steamers. In addition, they don't know anything about sailing matters, so it is better to let them learn by themselves instead of blindly commanding.
Since we are starting from scratch, we must have the determination and courage to explore.
"I've seen all your reporting experiences," Roland swept across the group of people in the hall kneeling down on one knee, "I called you here today to let you know that you have passed the initial review, and are honored to be the No. 1 in Border Town. A group of trainee captains. Stand up."
"Yes... Your Highness," everyone stood up cautiously, looked at each other a few times, and seemed quite confused by the word trainee captain.
The prince took the initiative to explain: "Internship means that it is not an official position. Before you actually board the ship, you only have half the salary on the notice, which is ten silver wolves per month. The first two months are the study period, and you will be familiar with the new The performance, operation method and operation process of the ship. The third month is the trial run, which is used to test your mastery ability. Only after passing the qualification can you be promoted to the official captain, and the 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 said, "Dear Your Highness, who will teach us, and who will examine the eligibility for promotion?"
Roland glanced at the other party with interest. He should be the commander of the fleet who claimed to be experienced. It seemed that he was called Kakusim. If I remember correctly, he was also a relative of the police officer who had done a good job in an assassination case more than two months ago. It could be heard from the old man's tone that he didn't think there was anyone who could teach him to sail, and in fact he didn't.
"The instructors are yourselves." The prince nodded.
The remarks caused a commotion in the crowd.
"His Royal Highness, what does this... mean?" Kakusim asked in confusion.
"How much do you know about steam engines?" Roland asked rhetorically. Unsurprisingly, no one could answer, "Steamboat is such a ship in a new sense, and past experience doesn't help much, so you can only explore and summarize by yourself. Of course, I will also send a steam engine. The craftsmen of the factory help you get familiar with the machine." He paused, "and the inspection method is very simple. If you can bring a group of sailors to move the ship and complete a transportation task, you are considered qualified."
Although the rhetoric of a ten-year army and a century-old navy is an exaggeration, it also shows that the formation of the navy is not easy. If this group of personnel can master the operation method of steamships, they will surely be able to train a large number of suitable crew members for the western border in the future. When it comes to building steam-powered shallow water gunships, pulling over can come in handy.
He wondered what kind of army would eventually be formed when civilian crews and artillery joined forces? .
(.)