Four days later, the caravan raised its sails and left the dock.
Theo and a hundred soldiers of the First Army set off for King's City.
During these days, Roland and Margaery reached an agreement. Theo could withdraw any amount of Golden Dragon from her shop, which would be deducted from the sale price of the steam engine. In addition, Roland also needed to pay an additional 1% interest.
This time, the other side brought almost twice as much saltpeter and ore ingots as the last time, but with the deposit for the transformation of the two river boats, Roland still received more than 2,200 Golden Dragon. This was almost an unimaginable number during the Months of the Demons. Even if he sold the ore for a month, he would only earn 300 Golden Dragon.
After the caravan left, it was time for Maggie to temporarily leave Border Town.
According to the agreement with Ashes, she would go to the Fjord Islands and bring news about the Western Region.
Roland specially wrote a long letter to her. In addition to expressing the attitude of mutual cooperation, he also hoped that the 5th Princess could send some auxiliary witches to assist him. In the letter, he didn't use the identity of the brother, but rather the identity of the Lord of Border Town, the Western Region Governor. Although the possibility of the other side agreeing was very small, he still had to try. Anyway, writing a few more words wouldn't take much effort.
The place of farewell was in the castle's backyard, where all the witches were present.
Nightingale gave her a small bag of dried fish slices; Lightning gave her a bag of pepper powder.
The other witches reluctantly stroked her feathers and hugged her to say goodbye. It was as if they were parting forever.
"Don't worry, coo!" She raised her head and said, "I'll be back soon, coo!"
"What if Tilly doesn't let you come back?" Lightning said worriedly.
"Coo …" The pigeon shrunk her neck and thought for a moment, then shook her tail feathers, "Then I'll secretly fly back, coo!"
"That's a promise," the little girl promised seriously, "If you come back, I'll personally catch a bunch of birds and roast them for you to eat. Also, the beehive we found last time, we'll wait for you to come back and dig it out together. "
"Coo!" She nodded repeatedly. "That's a promise, coo!"
What else could he say? Roland sighed with emotion. It had only been a month, and Maggie had been completely swayed to his side. Well done, Lightning!
"Then, goodbye everyone, goo!" Maggie spread her strong wings and ran on the ground for a while before slowly flying up. After circling twice, she gradually disappeared into the southeast.
"She'll be able to arrive safely, right?" Roland looked at her slow movements and couldn't help but worry for her.
"No problem," Lightning said without hesitation. Then she tilted her head and said, "I think …?"
After sending off Maggie, Roland quickly threw himself into his daily work.
This time, he wanted to draw a complete set of design plans for the two ships left behind by the Crescent Moon Bay Caravan to be rebuilt, and they would also become the world's first batch of steam-powered paddle steamers.
Since it used a single power source, there was no need for a gearbox, and the steam engine power shaft was directly connected to the paddle wheel. Multiple air pipes were used to control the intake of air, thus controlling the speed of the ship. When you want to slow down or stop the ship, you only need to close the intake pipe and let the excess steam escape from the exhaust port. At this time, the furnace was still burning, so it was very easy to speed up again.
The principle wasn't difficult, so Roland quickly drew a rough model. If you want to get an accurate production plan, you have to go to the site to measure the specific size.
At this time, Anna came into the office holding a book.
"What's wrong?" He put down the quill and couldn't help but smile.
"I finished reading this book," she put the book on the desk, it was the book "Theoretical Basis of Natural Science".
Roland's smile suddenly froze on his face, this is too exaggerated, in just a few months, she finished reading high school level mathematics and physics? He didn't ask if she understood, because if Anna finished reading, it meant that she completely understood, otherwise she would definitely read it again and again, or ask him.
"These drawings you drew, do you want to use the steam engine to replace the sail to power the ship?" Anna's attention was quickly attracted by the sketch on the table, "But …"
"But what?"
"Aren't these two wheels similar to paddles? When they turn, they can produce thrust, but half of them are exposed, which is equivalent to wasting some of the power. Why don't you bury them all in the water? "
"…" Roland was stunned, he didn't know what to say. People born with knowledge can't exist, in other words, she made the above judgment based on this instant impression? He suddenly became interested, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Anna thought for a while, picked up the quill, and began to draw on the paper.
Roland supported his chin with his hand and watched with great interest as she drew seriously. Her bangs, which had slipped out of the hairpin, swayed back and forth with her movements, and her slender eyelashes fluttered from time to time. Her white cheeks revealed a natural blush. Although he could only see the side of her face from this angle, under the light, the outline from the bridge of her nose to her chin and neck formed a perfect and soft curve.
"Do you want to eat fish?" Nightingale came over and put her hand between the two.
"Yes," Anna nodded, and took the snack that the latter handed to her, "Thank you."
Roland, whose vision was blocked, coughed twice, and had to shift his gaze back to the drawings on the table.
At first, Anna tried to completely bury the wheel in the water, but this would make it difficult to see the position of the wheel when the ship docked, and it would be easy for it to hit the pier or the pier.
After that, she placed the paddle wheel at the stern of the ship. This was also a common practice, but the transmission setup was much more complicated. After all, the heavy steam engine was not suitable to be placed at the end of the hull. As a result, the transmission shaft and the gearbox occupied a considerable part of the hull.
When Roland saw the new drawings she drew, he couldn't help but be amazed at her sharp thinking ability.
The sketch that Anna was thinking about was infinitely close to the arrangement of a single-shaft propeller. The steam engine was set at the bottom of the hull, the transmission shaft extended from the bottom of the hull below the waterline, and the end was connected to four square blades, which looked a bit like a windmill.
"I don't know if this will work," she said hesitantly, "It is reasonable to say that as long as the paddles maintain an angle, it can produce a horizontal force, but I reduced the wheel, and only four paddles may not be able to move the hull."
"Of course it can, just a little modification will be enough." Roland took the quill from Anna's hand and drew the original shape of the propeller, "Compared to the windmill shape, this shape of the paddles is more suitable for rotation in the water. Your idea is completely correct, but the requirement of the contract is to transform it into a paddle steamer, so we will still follow the first method. This has nothing to do with technology, but a business strategy. "He paused," I'm going to test the hull data now, do you want to come with me? "
Anna blinked her pair of blue eyes, "Yes!"
After mastering the theory, the best way to learn was to verify it in practice.
…
"Nightingale?"
When Anna followed the Prince to the door, she saw that Nightingale was still looking at the drawings on the table, so she couldn't help but ask.
"Ah, you go first, I'll be right there."
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