Liu Ziguang was not sitting on the beach just to watch the soldiers play volleyball. He put on his sunglasses again and cast his gaze to the sea in the distance. On the sea was a forest of masts and chimneys. Wisps of black smoke rose.
The boiler is running, and looking up, there is a shocking dark cloud.
The brilliance of the sun was blocked by this dark cloud, and only the dazzling light came out from some gaps, which further highlighted the evil of this industrial dark cloud. It is called a dark cloud because there are really no words to describe such a huge, evil, full of
A sky city with original industrial beauty!
This is the hard work of Liu Ziguang and the crystallization of the wisdom of all the technical staff of the Ministry of Industry and the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Ming Dynasty. It also integrates various technologies from the Liguo Iron Works, Jiangnan Shipyard, Qishuyan Machinery Factory, and Wuchang Shipyard. In order to develop this thing, Addison
He gave up his high position as Minister of the Ministry of Industry and worked hard in the work shed. He did not go home as an adult and could not even see his wife. It took a large number of excellent technicians and operators two years and a lot of manpower and material resources to complete the project.
To make this monster, hundreds of thousands of drawings were drawn. The corresponding metal smelting and manufacturing processes have also developed greatly. The amount of money spent on this thing is simply countless.
This is an airship, but it is not an ordinary cigar-shaped airship, but a city in the sky composed of a row of giant airships! Five hundred-foot-long rigid airships are put together and covered with a fairing that conforms to aerodynamic principles.
, above the fairing is a flat ground with a radius of 100 feet, which can take off a powered parafoil. At the rear are six high-horsepower propellers. When you need to turn left, you can activate the two rightmost propellers. When you need to turn right, you can activate the two propellers.
Activate the two on the far left. When you need to move forward at full speed, all six can be operated together. The operation method is similar to that of a tracked armored vehicle. There is also a horizontally rotating propeller like a helicopter rotor on the upper part to provide auxiliary lift. This is after the buoyancy of the airship is lost.
will be put into operation.
As for the issue of lifting, the Sky City has never considered coming down since it ascended to the sky. This is a symbol of the technology and force of the Ming Dynasty, and also a symbol of mankind’s occupation of the sky. It only needs to be continuously replenished with food, weapons, and special gases from the ground to last for a long time.
It hovers in the air, showing its breathtaking beauty to the world.
The interior of the Sky City is the crew cabin and the weapons bay. Because it is too large and inflexible to fly, the main weapons are powered parafoils and small airships loaded with bombs. This means that the true identity of the Sky City is a
A space carrier, of course, there are other weapons, a large number of bomb racks, small-caliber artillery cannons all over the lower part of the Sky City, and the black blunderbuss barrels stick out, looking ferocious and sinister.
The airship's engine is a state-of-the-art refined kerosene internal combustion engine with eighteen cylinders, flexible operation, strong power, and low pollution. Just to produce refined kerosene, Liu Ziguang spent 100,000 taels of silver to build a petrochemical plant in Dongying.
The factory catalyzes, desulfurizes and refines the kerosene into clear, highly efficient refined kerosene, which has a much higher calorific value than alcohol and is currently the most advanced fuel.
The most consumed material in the entire Sky City is high-strength aluminum. Although aluminum is a metal element with a large content in the earth's crust, its refining is very problematic. A long time ago, Addison used fire refining methods to refine copper from copper according to records in ancient books.
Copper-rich aluminum is extracted from aluminum minerals, and then the copper in it is replaced to extract high-purity aluminum. However, this method can only be used for laboratory production. If it is refined on a large scale, the cost is higher than gold. And it is pure
The strength of aluminum is very low, and it has no other function except for being used as conductors. Later, it was discovered that aluminum alloys doped with other metals are lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and strong, and are especially suitable for use in aircraft.
So the Academy of Sciences invested in large-scale aluminum alloy smelting work. After countless failures, they finally invented a method: melt cryolite and pure sodium together to obtain aluminum and sodium oxide, and the aluminum particles were gathered to make aluminum blocks.
Although the cost of this method is slightly reduced, it is still not high enough that ordinary people can afford. The cryolite used needs to be transported from Yunnan, which is thousands of miles away, and the pure sodium also needs to be refined in a specialized factory. The calculated price per kilogram of aluminum is equal to 30
Two silver coins!
Pure aluminum was mixed with copper, zinc and other metals to create a high-strength aluminum alloy, which replaced the original bamboo inside the airship. Although the weight did not increase much, the strength was greatly increased. After receiving the report, Liu Ziguang decided to embark on an aluminum alloy project.
No matter the cost! The project must be carried out even if the iron is sold. The metal materials of the entire city in the sky are almost all aluminum alloys. No less than ten thousand jins are used, and the combined silver is three million taels! It is said that this city is made of silver.
Not an exaggeration.
In addition to a large amount of aluminum alloy, a lot of Nanyang rubber, silk coated with tung oil and a large number of leather products are also used. The weapons are all made of fine steel. There are wired telephones between each cabin, and the wires are different from ordinary ones.
Pure silver wires with the best signal are used. Less important parts, such as handrails and railings, are made of carefully selected bamboo in order to reduce weight and save costs.
The crew members of Sky City are carefully selected. Firstly, they must be proficient in flying or other professional technicians. Secondly, they must have strong psychological quality, be cautious and careful, and they must not be used carelessly. And thirdly, they must be absolutely loyal to Liu Ziguang.
The uniforms of the crew are made of poplin, which is fire-resistant and wear-resistant. Different jobs have different colors. The anti-collision wicker helmets on their heads indicate their military ranks. They all have solid gold Sky City emblems on their chests, indicating their noble status.
identity.
Almost all the money Liu Ziguang has earned over the years has been invested in Sky City and its supporting construction. Without the nationalization of shipping companies in various places, the success of China Merchants Bureau, the huge profits of Merlin Canned Food Factory, and Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, where would they be?
You have the money to build such a magnificent thing.
The City in the Sky was not completed until recently. Liu Ziguang did not want this military secret to be exposed prematurely, so he asked them to bring several main components to Beidaihe for assembly. Only on the sea can there be enough space to assemble this big thing.
, everything is prefabricated, just snap together, six airships are merged together, the aluminum alloy frame is laid on the outside, and then covered with skin and fairing, the connections between the internal cabins, the communication lines
The laying is very simple, and then there is the crew stationing, the debugging of the weapon system, and the beautification of the outer shell.
The painting of the outer skin was completed by two hundred painters. These craftsmen sat in hanging baskets and painted sea water and auspicious clouds on the fairing of the Sky City one stroke at a time. Originally, according to their wishes, they also had to paint
The Four Heavenly Kings, the Eighteen Arhats, and preferably one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, etc. Liu Ziguang doesn’t think so. He thinks it’s better to be more abstract and give people more room for imagination.
There is no human habitation for dozens of miles around Beidaihe. The Manchu Qing Dynasty issued a sea lock order, prohibiting people from entering the Mingzhan area, and the Red Shirt Army also did not allow idlers to enter the Beidaihe area to prevent the secrets from being leaked. Of course, such a large project must not be known to others.
Impossible, at least we can't hide it from our soldiers. These resting soldiers have been watching them work on the beach for several days. The initial shock has gradually faded, but when the Sky City rises from the sea
, they were shocked again. They dropped the volleyball and stood stupidly on the beach, each with their mouths wide open and saliva flowing down drop by drop.
It is said that not only them, but also Liu Ziguang was stunned by the devil he summoned. It was so spectacular! There are no words to describe the psychological pressure this city in the sky exerts on people. At that moment, Liu Ziguang understood this
In fact, the fortress does not need to install any weapon system at all. As long as it appears in the sky, everyone will be impressed, shocked, and defeated by the amazing power displayed by God. They will even forget hatred and war. At that moment, they
Just tiny humans and humble reptiles.
The sun sets in the west, and the sunset glows like blood. On the Bohai Sea outside Beidaihe, the silent fleet and the silent city in the sky reflect each other in the distance, forming an incredible picture. Everyone who sees this scene can't help but think: This is power.
Ah, unparalleled power, strong cities, high walls, mighty armies, all can only tremble and surrender under its rule. I don’t know who was the first, maybe everyone did it in unison, many people raised their heads and stared at the sky.
Cheng, raised his right hand to his forehead. This is a simplified military salute within the Red Shirt Army. The kneeling ceremony is not required when wearing armor or other work clothes.
Liu Ziguang suddenly felt a pain in his finger. It turned out that the cigarette had been burned out unknowingly. He threw away the cigarette butt and solemnly raised his right hand to salute to the City in the Sky, saluting to the thousands of technicians and industrial workers of the Ming Dynasty.
A tribute to the wisdom and labor of the Chinese nation.