Chapter 1032 The Secret Weapon of the Ming Dynasty (First update, please subscribe)
At dawn, the rays of the rising sun penetrated the mist in the eastern sky and shone on the sea surface of East Australia. The calm sea surface was sparkling. The eyes of the captain of a small fishing boat were full of bloodshot, and his hands were full of burn marks from pulling the ropes. He sat on the stern of the boat, holding a pipe in his hand and smoking quietly, looking out at the sea with satisfaction.
Hank glanced at the driving area. His brother Tom was pushing the throttle forward to speed up, while another crew member was checking the fishing nets one or two meters away. They seemed to be talking about something funny. They laughed from time to time. Looking at their laughter, you don't need to guess that they must be talking about the prostitutes in the bar. This is not a good thing. People always waste money on liquor and prostitutes in the bar.
But for the sailors, what is life without liquor and prostitutes?
In fact, Hank, as the captain, was like this in the past.
But three years ago, after he bought this 100-ton trawler, he began to have new expectations for life. As the captain, he has to consider many things every day - how much fish to catch to pay off the bank loan and pay the crew's salary, and also consider the cost of repairing the ship.
"Hank, you're tired too!"
His brother called him and smiled at him.
"Go down and get some sleep!"
"Um."
Hank answered as he tapped the ashes from his pipe overboard.
"It's time to get some sleep."
The ship rose and fell slowly with the waves, and the seawater on the deck flowed everywhere. Just as Hank closed his eyes and thought for a while, he heard his brother's shout.
"Look! Look over there!"
Tom suddenly cried out, letting Hank know that he would not have to sleep now.
"What?"
He asked, shouting loudly.
"Port bow! There's something in the water. It looks like a big fish, at least twenty or thirty feet long."
"It's just a big fish..."
Despite what he said, Hank took over the steering wheel and slowly moved the boat toward the right side of the drifting object on the sea.
"This...isn't a fish?"
Looking at the things floating and sinking in the sea, Hank asked his brother to turn off the engine and then said.
"Catch it with a fishnet!"
The captain shouted to his brother and the crew,
"Be gentle! Use the net to catch it, then pull it gently..."
The intermittent whistle of the steamer mixed with the continuous sharp cries of the seagulls sounded very discordant. The two sounds intertwined together to form a symphony unique to the seaside.
It was almost dusk, but the sun was still like a ball of fire in the western sky. There was no wind, the air was stagnant and humid, and the heat was unbearable. Behind the pier was a stone-paved street facing the Port of Brisbane. Both sides of the street were brick and stone buildings built in the past 20 to 30 years. After Brisbane became the capital of Queensland in 1859, the city developed rapidly due to the development of fishing and animal husbandry.
Like all port cities, there were taverns and brothels everywhere near the port. These cheap taverns and brothels not only attracted sailors on the ship, but also some ordinary people.
As usual, Watson spent the whole afternoon in the bar. On the table in front of him was a bottle of whiskey and a glass. The glass was empty, but there was still half a bottle of whiskey left. Looking at the glass and the bottle, Watson felt a little proud. There was progress. In the past, at this time, not only the glass, but also the bottle was empty.
"...we pulled up a very mysterious thing, it was about two feet thick and twenty feet long,"
"Is it a big fish?"
"It has a propeller at the tail. Have you ever seen a fish with a propeller?"
Just as he was about to leave, the sailor's bragging at the bar counter caught Wentz's attention. As a reporter, he was keenly aware that this was news.
"Sir, can I buy you a drink?"
Wentz, who was holding a bottle of whiskey, said to the sailor who was bragging.
To the sailor who said that fish with a propeller, he was very grateful for the interest.
…
A cylindrical object nearly twenty feet long appeared in front of everyone on the bracket. Several officers in white naval uniforms stared at it with interest, and there was curiosity in their eyes.
"You mean, it's a bomb?"
Colonel Forrest looked at the strange-looking thing in front of him curiously.
After discovering this guy through newspaper reports, out of professional sensitivity, he immediately spent 1,000 pounds to buy this strange thing salvaged by the fisherman. Who would have thought that it turned out to be a bomb.
"Yes, through the previous disassembly, I found that its head was filled with sand. I speculated that it might actually be a counterweight for explosives, and in actual use, the sand should be explosives."
Phil, the ordnance officer, replied.
"But it's not an ordinary bomb, sir. Look, this is its propeller. After unscrewing this special 'cross' screw, you can see that its internal structure is extremely sophisticated..."
As Phil spoke, he pointed at the internal structure and introduced it.
"I guess this should be a gas cylinder, and this is its inflation connector. It uses compressed air to drive the propeller, pushing it to sail on the sea surface or under the sea surface. This should be a self-propelled bomb used to attack ships."
"What do you mean? A self-propelled bomb?"
Colonel Forrest stared at this strange-looking guy and asked back.
"You mean, it sails under its own power, relying on weapons that hit and explode near the waterline to attack warships?"
Colonel Forrest frowned and showed a surprised expression.
"Is there really such a weapon?"
"Of course this is just my speculation,"
Phil said.
"As for whether it is accurate, it seems that I have no way to judge, but what is certain is that this is a military weapon, and a military weapon that is unknown to us."
"If it's a military weapon, then it must have a manufacturer."
Colonel Forrest asked, staring at it.
“Do you know which country it was made in?”
"Sir, look..."
Phil said, pointing to the words engraved on the gas bottle.
"I think this is Chinese characters. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a secret weapon made by the Ming Empire!"
In the past few years, there have been all kinds of rumors about the Ming Dynasty's secret weapons. After all, in almost every war they would uncover some new weapons, and those weapons were unheard of and unseen.
Therefore, the "Secret Weapon of the Ming Dynasty" has always been a legend that has been widely circulated among the military of various countries in the world. Although no one has ever seen it, no one has ever doubted it...
Now seeing this thing they have never seen before, of course they think of the so-called "secret weapon".
"A secret weapon made by the Ming Empire? It actually exists!"
Colonel Forrest stared at the blue-green secret weapon that was nearly twenty feet long and remained silent for a while.
It is really hard to believe that the legend has suddenly become reality.
Then he turned his head back, staring at Phil with those blue eyes and said.
"In that case, let's report this matter to London. In addition, we must keep it confidential and must not let the Ming people know that we have obtained their secret weapon."
(End of this chapter)
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