When Thunder raised his inner question, Roland couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
It had to be said that this explorer was indeed good at seeing the essence of the problem – according to the standards of the manual era, the price of any large industrial product could be regarded as an astronomical figure, but he certainly wouldn't charge based on the blacksmith's forging costs, otherwise it would be too hurtful.
In fact, if it hadn't been for the construction of a large number of steelmaking equipment in Neverwinter after the success of the converter experiment, it would not have been possible to simultaneously promote the two major projects of steel sea ships and rail trains in a short period of time. The steel plant, detached from the witches, had now entered a stage of benign development, from taking iron from the blast furnace area and charcoal from the coking tower, to the steel being produced and simply made into ingots, the entire process had achieved de-militarization of mules and horses.
In the vast factory area, in addition to various workers, the rest were all auxiliary machines driven by steam engines, and the tumbling water vapor often mixed with floating dust, forming the unique environment of the North Slope Mountain – Gray Mist. If one stood high in the city and looked up towards the Direwolf Mountains, one could see a cloud of "gray clouds" obscuring the mountainside.
And under the full-load operation of the steel plant, the daily output of steel was higher than the annual output of a city in the past, which was the foundation of all industrial projects in Neverwinter. On this basis, everything would undergo qualitative changes, but few people could truly understand the meaning behind it.
"The price can be discussed later, but I guarantee it will be much less than the lowest price you imagined," Roland smiled slightly, "because that is not the point. I said that opening up new sea areas is of great significance to all mankind, and as the King of Graycastle, I am naturally willing to contribute to this."
Thunder was moved and said, "Your vision is admirable... Few people are willing to spend money on things they can't see, even in the Fjords, the Chamber of Commerce prefers new sea routes that can bring profits. Although you cannot personally take risks, this idea has surpassed many explorers."
So you thought everything I said in the Old Kings City before was just empty talk? Roland thought disapprovingly in his heart, in terms of understanding the yuwàng of this world, I am afraid that no one can compare to me. After all, it may be related to the source of the Battle of Divine Will and the secrets hidden behind the scenes.
"Speaking of this, let's go and take a look at the ship first." He smiled and changed the subject, "Since you are here, I will take you on a tour from start to finish."
"That would be great, Your Majesty!" Thunder grinned in response.
……
Since there was no existing data for reference, this steel sea ship could be said to be a collection of classic ship types, or it could be said to be a hodgepodge – its front half was similar to an ironclad ship, with a sloping bow and a ram below the waterline; the middle section widened rapidly to obtain as much stability as possible in high sea conditions; the stern was flat, similar to modern ships, with a total tonnage of about two thousand five hundred tons.
Roland had also considered adding some black technology to improve its performance, such as a bulbous bow and fin stabilizers, but the former needed to be designed separately according to the ship type and speed, and the latter needed a complex mechanical linkage structure to adjust the angle. Considering the construction period, reliability and other factors, he finally gave up these choices that were far beyond the era.
However, this did not mean that it was an enlarged version of the Roland Shallow Water Heavy Gunboat. Just its power core – a steam turbine assembled by Anna herself – was something that Thunder and others could not understand. In addition, the hand-cranked telephone was used for the first time for cabin communication, and several lines connected the command post, engine room and lookout tower. Compared to the sound transmission tube, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't, the captain could clearly hear the reports from each unit even when the sea was noisy.
And it is worth mentioning that these hand-cranked telephones are equipped with the magic-powered mini-version of the Dawn, which is enough to support an ultra-long exploration.
"This is simply... incredible," Thunder exclaimed after visiting the entire ship, standing on the bright and clean tower-style bridge. "I even think it's not a sea ship, but a mobile sea fortress."
The title has changed, Roland chuckled a few times, "How is it, didn't disappoint you?"
"No, Your Majesty, you think too highly of me," the explorer made no secret of his satisfaction, "She is the most wonderful ship I have ever seen in my life, and has exceeded my expectations in every way. I now feel that with her, crossing the entire Vortex Sea is not a problem."
"Don't rush to conclusions," he waved his hand, "To be honest, I don't know anything about shipbuilding, so it can only be regarded as a complex machine, not a real sea ship. What level it can reach depends on the sea trials that follow. Including speed, stability, number of crew members, food storage and other data, you need to provide. If all goes well, after the Evil Moon this year, you can set off for the Shadow Sea."
"Don't... know anything?" Thunder smacked his lips and said, "If the group of old craftsmen in the Fjords knew about your statement, they would definitely jump into the sea with hatred. Speaking of which, if you don't know anything about shipbuilding, you can build such an amazing steel ship, then what do you know?"
"You will know the answer to this question tomorrow," Roland said mysteriously, "But before that, you should enjoy tonight's welcome banquet."
*******************
After nightfall, the hall of the castle was brightly lit.
Stable and soft glowing stones replaced the candles, and round tables covered with white cloths replaced the old long wooden tables; glass cups filled with wine formed a champagne tower, and the musicians also played the violin - since the treasury of the City Hall had become increasingly full, not only had the decoration of the castle been completely renewed, but even the banquet format had become increasingly closer to the style of the Kings City. And most of those invited were high-level officials from Neverwinter and its allies, and the Witch Union, which was always present at meetings, was no exception.
"Is that person standing next to His Majesty an explorer from your hometown?" Lorgar looked at the other person with interest, then turned to Lightning and asked, "Aren't you going to chat with him?"
"His name is Sand Flying Bird, right?" The little girl shrugged and sent a piece of grilled mushroom into the mouth of the pigeon on her head, "A name I've never heard of, he must be an unknown person, there's nothing to talk about. You don't know, there are countless explorers in the Fjords, but most of them are just captains who have run remote routes once or twice, and have never even seen hurricanes and big waves." She paused, "Speaking of which, why hasn't Mystery Moon come yet? Didn't she say she wanted to challenge our exploration team?"
"But the person who can be received by the Chief should not be an ordinary person," like me... Lorgar wagged her tail, "Maybe he has heard news about your father?"
After joining the Neverwinter Exploration Team for a while, she also had a better understanding of the past of her two companions.
"Agree goo!" Maggie chimed in, "Ask always no wrong goo!"
Lightning curled her lips indifferently, "Since you all say so, then I'll go say hello."