On the ship, the black smoke coming out of the chimney became thicker and thicker.
Blown by the sea breeze, a trail was drawn in the air.
The speed of the ironclad ship was still increasing, but by this time Emperor Jing and all the officials had completely calmed down.
Strolling leisurely on the deck, looking at the scenery from different angles with interest.
Although there is no scenery to speak of, everyone just likes to watch it.
Except for Li Yu and Fang Chenyu who were running wildly on the deck.
Fang Zhengyi was too lazy to take care of the two kids. They were already in their teens and no matter how stupid they were, they would not fall off the boat.
After watching for a while, Emperor Jing sighed with emotion and turned his head and said, "Zhengyi, accompany me to the power room to take a look. The steam engine is really a magical thing. I want to see how it works."
Fang Zheng nodded, then led Emperor Jing and the Crown Prince to the power room again.
As soon as the door of the power room was opened, a wave of heat rushed out.
Emperor Jing couldn't help but take a step back.
However, Li Yuanzhao rushed in first with great interest to study the technical details.
He was very familiar with this kind of environment. The room where the steam engine was developed was always so stuffy.
The soldiers who were working inside had stopped adding coal and were standing by the boiler with their backs to the door, observing the situation as the machine rumbled.
When the emperor entered the room, Tang San was the first to react. He picked up a shovel and frantically added coal.
Xiao Yan took a quick glance and immediately took action, poking his companion beside him.
"Zhang Xiaofan, add more coal!"
"Why add more? I added according to the standard. Is the coal too densely packed? Is the fire not strong enough? How about poking it with a fire poker first?"
"Why are you so honest! His Majesty is here..."
Tang San was at the side, leaning over and saying sinisterly: "It's okay if you don't add, you already have a way to die."
There was a lot of noise in the room, and Emperor Jing and others didn't hear the three people's chattering.
After watching for a while, Emperor Jing asked, "Zhengyi, can the coal on this ship support a voyage to Feika?"
Fang Zhengyi shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't work. According to the test data reported earlier, it normally needs to refuel at least twice. But if we put aside the economic issues, we can equip this ship with a supply ship under special circumstances, which should be able to support it to sail to Feka in one go."
"Well, how much does this ship cost?"
“Not counting the hold and weapons, the cost of the ship is about 100,000 taels of silver, which is more than ten times more expensive than a normal fully equipped sailing warship. But as long as Dajing has five such ships as the main force of the fleet, our Dajing Navy will be able to lead the world.
"Moreover, the cost will definitely be reduced in the future. I believe that the Dajing Navy will phase out wooden ships sooner or later, and this new type of ironclad ship will surely become the mainstream."
Fang Zheng felt a little regretful as he spoke. This boat was really too expensive.
Putting aside the shortage of talent, the cost of maintenance is also sky-high. Science and technology have been born prematurely and are seriously biased, so it is always difficult to guarantee that there will be major flaws in some aspects.
If all of Dajing were to be equipped with such warships today, the budget of the Ministry of War would probably be eaten up by the Navy alone.
Just as he was thinking this, Emperor Jing showed a sweet smile on his face.
Haha, just one hundred thousand taels, it’s so cheap.
It doesn’t hurt to build dozens of them first!
"By the way, does this first ironclad ship have a name?"
"When I first started the project, I already had an informal name...why don't you give it a new one, Your Majesty?"
"Tell me first, what was the informal name before?" Emperor Jing asked curiously.
Fang Zhengyi said in a sonorous and powerful voice, "Once this ship is launched, all the heroes will surely surrender, so I named it the Wide Area Silence."
"Hmm....It's a good name, let's go with this one."
As he spoke, Emperor Jing's forehead was already slightly sweaty.
Fang Zheng said upon seeing this: "Your Majesty, it's too hot here. Why don't we go up to the deck? My colleagues must be hungry after being here for so long. There are a lot of meals specially made for the navy on board. Why not take this opportunity to try some."
"Our kitchen here is quite interesting too. We use the waste heat from the power room to heat the food."
Emperor Jing smiled and said, "Okay, the Dajing fleet has been out to sea for so long, and I have not tasted the taste of the navy's military rations. Let's go."
Fang Zheng quickly directed his men to move a few tables and chairs to the deck.
Several large pots of rice were steamed, and various canned foods were placed on plates and served one by one after being heated.
Canned food has been invented since the first sea voyage. Although there are always rumors that canned food is made from garbage scraps, it has always been widely praised by the military and grassroots soldiers.
After so many years of iteration, the product categories have become quite rich.
Not only are the foods delicious, but the remaining cans can also be sold directly to foreigners at high prices to earn some extra money.
On the deck, the ministers and officials were enjoying the beautiful scenery around them and eating canned food.
I feel very happy.
Fang Zhengyi was pulled to another table and asked questions. Minister of War Feng Jie asked, "My Lord, the canned food for our army is supplied by Taoyuan County. There are rumors that you use leftovers in the cans. I didn't dare to ask before, but today we are clear about it. Is this true or false?"
"Lies! Absolute lies! There are always people in the market spreading rumors about my industry. Don't believe them. Everyone should be able to see my character over the years, so I don't need to explain it any further, right?"
"I think you still need to explain why there is pig liver in this can of braised pork?"
Fang Zheng took a closer look and saw that there was indeed a piece of pig liver on the plate. He picked up the chopsticks and quickly took it away and put it into his mouth: "It's pork, lean meat."
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