Witnessing all the magic in Fanjiazhuang along the way, Zhu Youjian left Fanjiazhuang through the east gate.
After riding for one hundred and twenty miles on a spacious concrete road, the emperor, disguised as a governor, arrived at Dagu Port in Tianjin.
Dagu Port is full of cargo ships and fishing boats from all over the world. The goods are piled on the pier like hills, and there are people everywhere. Of course, the steamer docked at the best berth is Li Zhi's steamer.
In order to match Zhu Youjian's private visit in disguise, Li Zhi did not wear the royal guard of honor. Instead, he dressed up as the governor of Shandong and stood on the dock waiting. Seeing the emperor's team coming, Li Zhi quickly walked up to greet him, held his hands in his arms and sang:
"My minister Li Zhi has met the Holy Emperor!"
Zhu Youjian stepped forward quickly, helped Li Zhi, who was bowing, and said with a smile: "I love you without any courtesy!"
Looking at Li Zhi's face, Zhu Youjian said with a smile: "When I traveled to Fanjiazhuang today, I realized how good Aiqing is in governance. I am deeply moved! If all the local officials in the world are like county kings, I will have peace of mind!"
Li Zhi smiled and asked: "Will the Emperor board the ship directly to the north today, or will he rest for a day at Dagu Port?"
Wang Chengen raised his hand and said, "It has been a very hard journey, Your Majesty. How about we find a decent residence in Dagu Port to rest for a day?"
Zhu Youjian did not answer Li Zhi's words, but looked at the busy dock behind Li Zhi and asked: "Is this big ship without sails the prince's steamer?"
Li Zhi looked behind him and replied: "The seven ships without cannons are Zheng Chenggong's guano ships and belong to Zheng Chenggong's shipping company. The other dozens of gunboats, including those ironclads, all belong to me."
Zhu Youjian looked confused when he heard words such as "Zheng Chenggong" and "guano".
Wang Dehua, the eunuch of Dongchang who was standing aside, raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, Zheng Chenggong is the son of Zheng Zhilong. He is now working under the command of the prince to transport guano. The guano is transported from an overseas island and is a good fertilizer.
"
"It turns out to be a fertilizer"
Zhu Youjian nodded.
The Emperor of Heaven saw new things everywhere today, and although the journey was bumpy, he was not tired at all. He really had never seen a steamship before, and asked, "Your Majesty, if we get on the ship directly today, which ship will we take?"
"
Li Zhi pointed at the largest ironclad ship on the pier and said: "If the Holy Emperor takes a boat to go north, a fleet of twelve ironclad ships will be dispatched to escort him. Of course, the Holy Emperor will be riding the flagship of the fleet, the ironclad ship 'Tianjin'."
Zhu Youjian looked at the hill-like Tianjin on the pier, laughed, and said: "Okay, no rest, let's get on the ship today!"
Under the protection of Dongchang Fanzi, Zhu Youjian stepped on the ladder and boarded the Tianjin.
When he walked to the Tianjin and took a look, Zhu Youjian's face was full of doubts.
"Is this ship made of iron?"
Li Zhi cupped his hands and replied: "The Holy Spirit clearly shows that the backbone of the ship is made of wood and is covered with a layer of iron armor."
Governor Zhu You thought for a while and asked: "With such thick armor, will the ship not sink?"
Li Zhi replied: "As long as the displacement of the ship is large enough and the buoyancy is high enough, even if it is made entirely of iron, it will not sink. This iron-clad ship is a large ship made of five thousand materials. It has enough buoyancy and can cut waves even if it is equipped with iron armor!"
Zhu Youjian thought for a while, with a look of doubt on his face. But seeing the ship floating on the pier and indeed not sinking, Zhu Youjian had to believe Li Zhi.
Wang Chengen looked at the iron-clad ship, his face turned pale, and he suddenly knelt on the ground with a plop and said: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is tied to Sheji. This ship is too weird. You really can't sit on it! If this big iron-shelled ship sank in the sea,
, where will the Ming Dynasty go?"
Wang Dehua and others looked at the iron-clad ship and felt that it was too dangerous. They all knelt down and shouted: "Your Majesty, think twice!"
Suddenly a large number of people knelt on the deck of the ship.
Zhu Youjian looked at the eunuchs and guards on the ground, with a trace of hesitation on his face.
However, these eunuchs had "never seen the world" like himself. At this time, Zhu Youjian believed in Li Zhi more technically. He turned around and asked Li Zhi: "Your Majesty, can this ship survive the waves?"
Li Zhi replied: "Your Majesty, this ship is more stable and faster than ordinary sailing ships. Even if it encounters a hurricane, it can retreat calmly and is not afraid of waves. When I conquered Japan, I used this ship to knock over countless Japanese houses.
Ship! The fleet of twelve ironclad ships is unsinkable and there is absolutely no risk."
Zhu Youjian thought for a while and said: "If you say this, I have no doubts! Then let's set sail!"
Li Zhi gave an order, and the steam engine of the ironclad ship was started. A heavy whistle sounded from the chimney of the Tianjin. The propeller stirred in the sea water, pushing the heavy steel hull forward little by little, and slowly sailed out of the dock.
The windless operation of the steamer shocked a boatload of visitors from the capital.
Zhu Youjian stood on the poop, looking at the windless automatic Tianjin and the eleven windless automatic escort iron ships behind him, with his eyes wide open.
I understand that Zhu Youjian had been emperor for more than 20 years and had accumulated a formidable imperial dignity. At this time, he was also shocked by Li Zhi's armored ship.
This iron ship can really cut through the waves!
Moreover, the boat was moving very fast, faster and faster, and in the end it was much faster than the horses walking in small steps. Zhu Youjian's eyes widened, watching the Dagu Port behind him getting smaller and smaller, and he felt in his heart
It was an indescribable shock.
In fact, Zhu Youjian's performance was pretty good. Wang Chengen and Wang Dehua beside him were already pale with shock, dumbfounded and speechless.
In this age of wooden sailing ships, steam turbine ironclads were really too advanced.
Eleven ironclad ships set up a defensive formation to protect the Tianjin from all sides. A group of seagulls were flying and making noisy on the poop of the Tianjin, combined with the sparkling blue sea in all directions, which made Zhu You, who had lived in the palace for a long time since childhood,
It's like falling into a dream, I am so sad that I am speechless
It only took one day and one night for a fleet of twelve armored ships to arrive in Jinzhou.
The speed of the armored ship surprised Zhu Youjian. You must know that the land distance between Jinzhou and Tianjin is a thousand miles. The so-called thousand-mile horse in the world means that horses can travel a thousand miles in a day, but that is just a myth. And Li Zhi's
An iron ship can really travel a thousand miles in a day and night.
Li Zhi's iron ship refreshed Emperor Zhu Youjian's geographical views. Zhu Youjian secretly said that if he went south to the south of the Yangtze River in the future, it would be much faster to take a boat to Tianjin than to go south by car.
If such a fleet is used to transport troops, how fast can the troops and horses be deployed? Zhu Youjian began to understand why Li Zhi was able to sweep across Korea and Japan.
However, Zhu Youjian's newly reshaped geographical view was soon impacted by the railway at the dock in Jinzhou.
Li Zhi pointed to the two rails on the railway foundation and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, if it is wheel speed, the speed of this railway will be far faster than that of a ship."
