After spending a day returning to the border area, Roland felt a sore back, so he went to bed early after washing, and only recovered his spirits around noon the next day.
It seems that his special ship must be equipped with soundproof cabins and soft reclining chairs. He thought to himself that it would be better to have a spacious bed. Otherwise, sitting on the trembling hard bench and listening to the repeated roar of the steam engine would be a double torture to the mind and body.
The first thing Roland did when he walked into the office was to recruit General Manager Barov Mons and Minister of Agriculture Seni Dali. Now there is only one week left before the scheduled time of the spring offensive. The army has an iron axe. He is very relieved to be sure, so the most important thing is to do a good job of agricultural production and do a good job of spring planting.
"I have seen the seeds delivered to the past at the Changge Wharf. As long as there is Gold No. 1, the harvest there will not be any worse this year. But the border area is the key point. We are role models, proofs, yes An example of publicity for everyone!" He knocked on the table and said, "So, how is the spring ploughing done, who can tell me?"
"Your Highness, the current situation is like this," Barov said first, "Only 30% of the first batch of serfs who were promoted are willing to continue farming, and with the newly recruited serfs, the total agricultural population is now around 10,000. According to the average wheat output of the previous year, the grain produced by these 10,000 people should be able to feed 40,000 to 50,000 people." He paused, then added, "The support I said is based on the limit on the purchase of wheat by the official residents. , this number is far greater than the daily consumption of civilians in other cities, if you just ask not to starve to death, then you can add another 20,000."
"That's roughly the case, Your Highness," Seni continued, "but the above conclusions are all drawn by the Ministry of Agriculture based on the statistics of the previous year. About half of the serfs this year are mainly the new batch of gold No. 2 that will be improved by Lord Ye Ye... Seriously, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe that so many ears of wheat could grow on the straw, plus there are 2,000 people who will switch to potatoes and corn, so I can't predict the final actual yield. How many."
"As for the farming part, the farmland is currently being ploughed. According to the crop planting manual written before, the field needs to be ploughed three times repeatedly, and the fermented compost is mixed into it. This process generally takes three to four weeks, depending on the amount of soil in the field. In terms of the number of workers and the farm tools used, the serfs in the previous year basically rented iron farm tools, which should shorten the plowing time a lot.”
"As for how deep the ditch should be, and how the seeds should be planted, I have arranged for apprentices to give publicity and explanations, and teach them to sow according to the best method in the planting manual."
It can be seen that this knight who originally ran to the wolf family has put a lot of effort into farming, and he has thought about the aspects that need to be taken into account. Even Roland couldn't help but nodded.
The underdevelopment of agriculture in this era lies in the fact that it relies too much on the land itself. A piece of field is equivalent to the entire planting. In order to protect the field, it even has to be cultivated for one year and two years. The efficiency of land use is extremely low. Now that Neverwinter has controlled water conservancy irrigation, natural fertilizers, and reasonable planting methods, coupled with seeds transformed from leaves, the yield is naturally astonishingly high in the eyes of the locals. However, for Roland, more than 10,000 people out of a total population of 30,000 are engaged in planting agriculture, which is still too high. Next, if you want to reduce the agricultural population, the most effective way is to start with agricultural tools, such as making some agricultural equipment that uses animal power or mechanical power to work.
"Very good, keep the momentum going," he said with satisfaction. "In addition, the personnel dispatched to the Changge District should also make records. If they want to expand to other cities in the future, they will follow this model."
After finishing the agricultural affairs, Roland left the castle and went to the Chishui River dock accompanied by Nightingale and his guards.
The ship that Anna was in charge of construction had entered the weapon installation stage two days ago. The hull, which was coated with a gray-red two-color anti-corrosion coating, was standing quietly on the sleepers. The hull, which was the size of three concrete ships, looked very burly. Unlike the cement paddle steamer without cabins, its broadside is close to two meters, which can put the boiler and steam engine into the abdomen, and the two ribs also cancel the paddle wheel. In addition, its other feature is that it has a raised bridge in the center of the hull, which looks very eye-catching even though it is only one story high.
Of course, as a shallow water heavy gunship, the most important equipment is undoubtedly the 152mm cannon. In order to save construction time, Roland did not ask Anna to make a version of the naval gun, but removed the fortress cannon on the city wall and planned to go directly to the ship.
Now it's sitting beside the dock, awaiting the final lift.
"His Royal Highness," Anna immediately waved at Roland when she saw Roland appear, "here!"
The prince walked over with a smile, "How is it, is the construction going smoothly?"
During the week when he went to Changge District, Anna arranged all the production of the gunboat. Although she handed over the blueprints of key parts to her, it was an unprecedented project after all, and it was difficult to encounter various problems. Very normal.
"It's not very smooth," she shook her head, "the more troublesome problems are the deformation of the side of the hull, the leaking propeller, the hull tilting to one side after welding on the bridge, and the problem that the gun mount can't get stuck on the gun, but I have solved it. "
"It's all... resolved?" Roland was surprised.
"Yeah," Anna said with a bright smile, clasping her fingers, "the side deformation is caused by the thin steel plate on the side of the ship, and I added a fixed support frame to the easily deformed part; the propeller leaks because of the casing and There is always a gap in the linkage rod. I surrounded it with a water tank, so that the leaked water will not run around, and it can be pulled out by the power of the steam engine; the deflection of the bridge is caused by the asymmetry of the weight. A little modification is enough. The problem of the gun mount is the most difficult to solve. I finally found the inspiration on the revolver. First, cut a row of tooth marks on the bottom ring, and then add a hook that can be inserted between the teeth. The turret that rotates above is fixed in whichever direction you want to aim."
Roland blinked his eyes, and it took a long time to spit out a sentence, "You are a genius." Although these are not difficult problems to deal with, they are for himself who has drawn countless mechanical drawings, especially the last point. From the structure of the revolver gun to the way of fixing the gun mount, I am afraid that only Anna has this meticulous observation.
"By the way, Your Highness, does this ship have a name?"
"Not yet," he raised his eyebrows, "what's the matter?"
"Those soldiers of the First Army come to see every few days, and they are vying to carve their names on the bridge," Anna chuckled, "They said you promised that the person with the best artillery skills can Own a ship that bears his name."
"Ah... that's what happened," Roland thought of Rodney and Nelson from the artillery battalion, "but this one is not good, you must know that the name of the first warship not only represents the ship itself, but also represents the This class model." He raised the corner of his mouth, "I can't give this honor to others, so I'll call it the Roland No. 1 Roland-class ship." (..., Your support is my biggest motivation. )16-12-26 11:53:52