...
Amidst the cheers of his subjects, Roland watched with satisfaction as the second concrete boat slid into the water.
These two concrete boats looked simple, but in fact, they were much better than the original "Little Town".
For the first time, a dense steel frame was added to its interior, and the quality of the cement had improved significantly. Its overall strength was several times higher than that of the "Little Town".
In order to speed up the construction, Roland had reserved slots and interfaces for the steam engine, transmission mechanism, and paddle wheels when designing the hull. When the time came, he only needed to weld the corresponding fixing bolts on these metal parts to achieve rapid assembly, and the installation would be like gluing a model together.
At the same time, the template had been changed from temporary masonry to an iron mold, which not only guaranteed the density of the poured concrete, but also improved its waterproof performance. It could also ensure that every boat was basically the same, so there would be no deviation when installing the power system. In order to obtain a complete template, he had scrapped at least seven or eight experimental boats. Fortunately, cement was no longer a scarce product. From grinding the stones to mixing them into the kiln, the steam engine had replaced all manual work. It could be said that this was one of the few industrial projects in Border Town that did not rely on the power of witches to produce it on a large scale.
With sufficient materials, reliable templates, and skilled workers, the only thing limiting the production of the hull was the hardening speed of the cement. However, with Paper's accelerated response, the cement boat, which originally needed to be placed for one or two months, could be launched in one day. In other words, as long as Roland wanted to, this shipyard could launch a white board boat every two or three days.
If the speed of the steam engine manufacturing and crew training could keep up, he could have a huge transport fleet in a short period of time, so that the entire Redwater River would be filled with his own cement boats. Even the legendary dumplings could not be compared to this.
This was the charm of industry.
Now that the hull was completed, the next step was to install the power components. The machinery and equipment were basically the same as the modified boats of the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce. The craftsmen already had practical experience, so he was not worried.
"I don't understand. Why do you want to tell this kind of thing to the people?" Nightingale asked.
"To promote the strength of the country." Roland smiled slightly.
"Ah?"
"I mean, to witness the earth-shaking changes in Border Town." He touched his chin and said, "Before you saw Littletown, I'm afraid you didn't expect a stone ship to float on the water. The same is true for the people. After achieving the impossible, their sense of identity with the town will become stronger and stronger. This kind of improvement in mentality is all-encompassing, and it may even evolve into the belief that there is nothing they cannot do. "
"I … don't really understand." Nightingale's voice was a little doubtful.
"Just think of it as a means of publicity," Roland said with a smile. In this era, the nobles and the people only celebrated during celebrations or major events. However, these two events were basically related to the nobles. If it was not for the free porridge, the participation of the people would not be high. The concrete boat was the result of the collective cooperation of hundreds of workers, who themselves were part of the festival.
In addition, as a member of the territory, after seeing the miracles that the territory produced continuously, their confidence and sense of identity would also gradually increase. This was the so-called "mentality of a great country" in later generations. The prosperity of a territory would inevitably cause positive changes in the mentality of its citizens.
…
A week later, Roland received more than 20 townspeople who had applied for the position of captain in the castle hall.
At first, when Barov reported the number of people, Roland was greatly surprised. He did not expect that there were so many "high-end talents" among the refugees. It was not until he read the detailed report that he was dumbfounded. There were many fishermen who operated rafts and small fishing boats, and even boatmen who made a living by ferrying. In a sense, they could indeed be considered to have the experience of being a captain.
Among all the applicants, there were only three who had the experience of operating a single-masted boat on the river. One of them even claimed that he had been a merchant fleet commander and had lived on the sea for a long time.
After thinking for a while, Roland finally decided to recruit all the people.
Because steam boats and sailboats belonged to completely different systems, they were completely different to operate. Even experienced old captains might not be able to quickly master the steam paddle boat. Besides, he knew nothing about sailing. Instead of blindly commanding them, it was better to let them understand and learn by themselves.
Since they were starting from scratch, they had to have the determination and courage to explore.
"I have already read your application." Roland swept his eyes over the group of people kneeling on one knee in the hall. "Today, I called you here to tell you that you have passed the initial examination and have gloriously become the first batch of trainee captains in Border Town. All of you stand up. "
"Yes … Your Highness." The crowd cautiously stood up and looked at each other. It seemed that they were quite confused by the term "trainee captain."
The prince took the initiative to explain: "Trainee means that you are not an official position. Before you actually board the ship, you will only receive half of the salary stated on the notice, which is ten silver royals per month. The first two months will be a learning period. You will be familiar with the performance of the new ship, the operating methods and the operation process. The third month will be a trial run to test your mastery. If you pass, you will be promoted to an official captain, and your salary will be paid in full. If you don't want to accept, you can leave now. "
No one in the group moved. After a while, an old man suddenly spoke, "Your Highness, may I ask who will teach us and who will test our qualifications for promotion?"
Roland glanced at him with interest. He was probably the fleet commander who claimed to be experienced. His name seemed to be Cacusim or something. If he remembered correctly, he was a relative of a policeman who had performed well in an assassination case two months ago. From the old man's tone, Roland could tell that he did not think that anyone could teach them how to sail a ship — in fact, there was no one.
"The teachers will be yourselves." The prince nodded.
These words caused a stir in the crowd.
"Your Highness, this … what do you mean?" Cacusim asked in confusion.
"How much do you know about the steam engine?" Roland asked. Unsurprisingly, no one could answer. "The steam ship is a new kind of ship. Past experience is not very useful, so you will have to explore and learn on your own. Of course, I will also send craftsmen from the steam engine factory to help you familiarize yourself with the machine. " He paused. "The inspection method is very simple. If you can lead a group of sailors to move the ship and complete a transportation mission, you will be considered qualified."
Although the saying "ten years of land, a hundred years of navy" was exaggerated, it also showed that it was not easy to build a navy. If this group of people could familiarize themselves with the operation of the steam ship, they would definitely be able to train a large number of suitable crew for the Western Region in the future. When it was time to build the steam-powered shallow water gunships, they would be able to be used directly.
He was very curious about what kind of army would be formed when the civilian crew and the artillerymen joined forces.
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