Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the cover on the boat in the middle of the Xijiang River was finally lifted, revealing its mysterious veil in front of everyone.
When the crowd on both sides of the river saw the boat, they all cheered and made a huge noise.
It's no wonder that some people would be surprised. It's because the ship looks so strange. In the middle and rear part of the hull, there is a protruding part with a huge round wheel hanging on the hull, as if there are two water wheels for pumping water on the hull. And this is not the strangest thing. The strangest thing is that the middle part of the hull is obviously higher than that of ordinary ships. That protruding thing looks like a chimney.
"Ah, why are there two water trucks on the new ship? Are they preparing in advance how to pump out the water in the ship in case it leaks?"
"That's not right. Even if you're worried about the boat leaking, the water truck should be placed inside the boat, not hung outside!"
"And, and, look at that thing standing on the boat, it can't be a chimney, this boat is made of wood, and it is taboo to light a fire on it, so why would there be a chimney on this boat?"
"That can't be a real chimney, it probably just looks like one!"
"Strange, strange..."
"There are only a few people on this boat. Can we really leave?"
In an instant, the entire river bank was filled with such noise and discussion.
But amid the noise and discussion of the crowd, the thing that looked like a chimney on the ship that had unveiled its mystery actually began to emit smoke. Seeing the smoke coming out of the chimney of the ship, the crowd watching on both sides of the river suddenly made a louder and more lively noise.
"Ah, look, look, there's smoke coming out, it's really the chimney..."
"Oh my god!"
After smoke came out of the chimney of the ship for a while, some sharp-eyed people noticed that the two large discs on both sides of the hull, like water wheels, began to rotate twice, raising a snow-like wave on the surface of the river and making a loud rumbling sound, but they stopped in the blink of an eye, and everyone's appetite, which had just been piqued, suddenly dropped.
"Ah, what's wrong? Why isn't that thing spinning? The sound just now must have come from that ship..."
"It won't be like this, right?"
After about two or three minutes, the rumbling sound from the ship was heard again, and then in everyone's attention, the large wheels on both sides of the ship began to turn like water wheels pushed by the current, and slowly, they turned faster and faster, creating circles of waves on the surface of the river.
"It's moving, it's moving, the boat is finally moving..."
Yes, the ship that everyone was looking forward to finally started to move, and its speed was getting faster and faster. In just a moment, it surpassed the fastest ship that the onlookers could see in their lifetime. The two waterwheel-like impellers on the ship were completely surrounded by snow-white water. As the ship passed by, the stern also dragged two herringbone-shaped waves...
After a moment's silence, the crowds on both sides of the river finally burst into thunderous cheers and shouts, "It's moving, it's moving, the boat is really moving..."
I saw the ship with black smoke still coming out of its chimney, sailing downstream for more than 2,000 meters on the river, then it turned around and sailed upstream for another 2,000 meters with a rumbling sound. Its speed was much faster than those ships powered by human power and wind. Wherever the ship went, the people on the banks of the river burst into huge cheers and applause.
At this time, some smart people had already guessed that the boat must be driven by a water-fire engine, but those people were still amazed to see that the machine could propel the boat on the water like this.
The ship with black smoke coming out of its chimney kept sailing back and forth on the river, proving its reliability to everyone, and the crowd on the shore also cheered.
After the ship sailed for a while, several sails were raised on the mast. With the combined effect of the sails and the water and fire engines, the ship ran faster.
…
“Brother Li Qiang can indeed do what no one before him could do. This boat is ingeniously conceived, combining water, fire and wind power. It sails faster than ordinary boats, saves more manpower and can adapt to more rivers. Hahaha, with just a wave of your hand, you can open up another source of income for the manufacturing bureau. You really are worthy of being the great craftsman of the Han Empire…” Zhang Yourong laughed as he watched the test boat running fast on the river.
"Brother, you're joking. This thing is not complicated at all. If you wanted to make it, you would have made it long ago. I think you spent all your energy on making something that can run on land, which is much more complicated than this. So I took advantage of the situation and made a simple one..." Yan Liqiang laughed.
Yan Liqiang knew that Zhang Yourong had always wanted to make something that could run on the ground. However, although he had a steam engine, there was still a long way to go before he could make a usable car or even a bionic walking device. It required more details and technical accumulation.
In his previous life on Earth, after the invention of the steam engine, the appearance of the car was nearly eighty years later than that of the ship. This is enough to explain many problems. Zhang Yourong had previously manufactured a test vehicle in Lingshan Sect that could run on the road. However, that vehicle was not only expensive, but also not durable and inconvenient to use. It was greatly restricted in use and there was no possibility of promotion at all. So after making that thing, the master of mechanisms of Lingshan Sect was probably not satisfied and did not publicize it. He just threw that thing to a group of disciples of Qianji Hall to figure out. This time Zhang Yourong came to the northwest, ostensibly for the Lingshan Sect to open the Qiyun Courtyard in the northwest and for the Lingshan Sect to respond to Yan Liqiang's order to kill the Hu. In fact, he actually wanted to come and communicate with Yan Liqiang again. After all, in the entire Han Empire, there was only one Yan Liqiang who could discuss and study the way of mechanisms with Zhang Yourong. The other people's attainments and vision in the way of mechanisms were not on the same level as them.
"By the way, I wonder what this new type of ship should be called?" Zhong Jiacheng asked excitedly while looking at the ship in the river. After all, he was a young man, and when he saw this thing that Yan Liqiang asked the manufacturing bureau to make, Zhong Jiacheng suddenly became interested. He stared at the ship sailing in the river and could hardly take his eyes off it.
"I think we should just call it a steamship!" Yan Liqiang said. Calling the steam engine a water-fire engine seemed a bit awkward to him. This time he would not come up with some weird names to make things difficult for himself.
Zhong Jiacheng was slightly stunned, and after thinking for two seconds, he laughed, "Yes, yes, the blades on both sides of the hull are just enough to drive the ship. The name given by Lord Yan is quite appropriate. Once this ship comes out, I'm afraid that all the rivers, lakes and seas of the Han Empire will be like this. It's probably impossible for other ships to run faster than this one!"
"That may not be the case!" Looking at the possible successor of the Northwest Zhong family, Yan Liqiang smiled, "In the future, there will definitely be ships that run faster and more steadily than this one. The sails on that ship are just a transition. Sooner or later, those big ships running in the rivers and seas will no longer need sails. Engines will be enough!"
"Ah, is there really a faster ship than this?" Zhong Jiacheng said with some doubt.
"Yes, there will be not only such ships, but also ships made of steel in the future!" Yan Liqiang said very affirmatively.
Zhong Jiacheng laughed all of a sudden, and many people around him also laughed, "Steel is much heavier than water. In this world, how can a ship made of steel float on the water? If a ship like that is built, it will sink as soon as it is put on the water, right? Hahaha, I get it, the governor must be joking with me..."
Among all the people, only Zhang Yourong did not laugh. He looked at Yan Liqiang in shock, "Brother Yan, have you studied it to this extent? Have you discovered the secret?"
After hearing Zhang Yourong's words, the smiles of those who were still laughing disappeared in an instant. Everyone looked at this world's number one master of mechanisms in bewilderment. From the tone of this master, could it be possible that the iron ship could really be built
"Haha, brother, have you tried to make something?" Yan Liqiang asked with a smile.
Zhang Yourong nodded, "I have made several small models, not only using steel, but also gold, silver, copper, lead and other materials. I have tried them all. Some of the models can float on water. I found that things that can float on water are not necessarily lighter than water, but I haven't figured out the principle yet!"
Yan Liqiang blinked his eyes. "Have you ever thought that all water surfaces are flat? When a boat is placed in the water, it has to push the water away. What is the relationship between the weight of the pushed water and the weight and buoyancy of the boat itself?"
Zhang Yourong was suddenly shocked, his eyes were stunned, and he just muttered to himself, repeating Yan Liqiang's words, "The weight of the displaced water... the weight of the displaced water... the weight of the displaced water... and the buoyancy of the ship's weight... this relationship... why didn't I think of it... why didn't I think of it... Brother, you must have understood the principle of building an iron ship..."
"Big ones float, small ones sink. This is the same for everything, but it has nothing to do with the density of the material of the ship!" Yan Liqiang smiled.
Zhang Yourong was stunned for a moment, then he almost jumped up on the boat, shouting with excitement, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is, I understand, I understand, that's the truth, as long as you understand this truth, you can actually build any gold ship, silver ship, earthen ship, or stone ship, hahahaha..."
The onlookers were all confused and didn't understand what the two people were saying, but looking at Zhang Yourong's expression and words, everyone understood that Yan Liqiang's words just now had awakened the world's number one master of mechanisms and made him understand the secret of building an iron ship. The conversation between the two was so high-energy that to others, it was like listening to those peerless masters discussing problems in their cultivation in a riddle. Even if others listened, they were confused and didn't know what the two sides were talking about.
But even so, the eyes of everyone on the ship looking at Yan Liqiang suddenly changed. There was probably no other person in the world who could teach the world's number one master of mechanical engineering the secret of building an iron ship.
Just as everyone on the boat was secretly amazed, a voice suddenly sounded from far away on the shore, "Is that the person on the boat in the river, Zhang, the leader of the Thousand Machines Hall of the Lingshan Sect?"
When everyone heard it, they all looked towards the direction where the voice came from, and saw several figures standing by the window on the upper floor of a restaurant on the shore a hundred meters away, looking at this place. The one who spoke was an old man with extraordinary aura and burning eyes.
Yan Liqiang's eyes flashed across the old man's body, and then fell on the face of a beautiful woman next to the old man. A brilliant smile suddenly appeared on her face, and she said loudly, "Are Sister Mo and Ming Wangzong's friends here? If you don't mind, you can come to the boat to have a chat..."
Seeing that Yan Liqiang had provoked him at first sight, Mo Ziye smiled at Yan Liqiang.
"Hahaha..." Feng Qinghe laughed, "Zi Ye, let's go..." As he spoke, Feng Qinghe flew up from the restaurant like a big bird, stepped on the treetops by the river, and then walked directly on the waves, rushing towards the building ship...
Mo Ziye's light work skills have not reached this level yet, but she also has a way. Mo Ziye jumped down from the restaurant, stepped on the treetop, and threw out a teacup with her hand. The rotating teacup fell on the water, sank slightly at first, and then floated up suddenly. When it just floated up, Mo Ziye flew over like a swallow, put one foot on the teacup, and leaped up again. When she was about to fall, she threw out another cup. In this way, Mo Ziye used the cup to gain leverage on the water surface, and followed Elder Feng Qinghe to quickly rush to the side of the ship.
The people and onlookers who were gathered by the river started to shout again when they saw such a scene. They were extremely excited. Most people had only heard about this kind of top expert walking on the waves before, but they didn’t expect to see it with their own eyes today. Although Mo Ziye’s steps were a little slower, her movements were still graceful and elegant. Moreover, Mo Ziye’s long skirt was fluttering, and she was beautiful. When she was crossing the river, she looked like a fairy by the river, which made many people on the shore exclaim...
(End of this chapter)