Chapter 283 Hydrogen Balloon Delivery

On the third day after autumn, the Margaery Chamber of Commerce arrived at the pier of Border Town as promised.

This time, the caravan returned to its former size, with ten sailing boats lined up in a single file and docked firmly at the side of the trestle bridge.

"His Royal Highness, we meet again," Crescent Bay businessman Jia Moore bowed and said, "I heard from Ms. Margaery that the first steamship has been remodeled?"

"That's true," Roland said with a smile, "but in order to ensure the quality of the product, it still needs three or four days of sea trials to test the reliability of the power system."

"It's really exciting," Marlan clapped his hands. "It will take so many days for the fleet to unload, and we can definitely wait here. May I ask your Highness, can I board the steamship for a visit during the trial voyage?"

"Of course, it is a brand-new ship after all, completely different from previous sailing ships, and I still have to introduce you how to operate it. But according to the plan, these are the contents of tomorrow." Roland gestured to follow me , "The most important thing now is to relax your tired body. You haven't had lunch yet, have you? I've already prepared a sumptuous banquet in the castle's living room."

"Every time I come to your place, I will have a good meal to enjoy," Margaery covered her mouth with a smile, "I'm really hungry now—those wheat cakes and jerky are as hard as stones, it's hard to eat pharynx."

In this era, there is no reliable fresh-keeping technology, so most of the dry food is really dry and hard, which reminds Roland of canned food. After the development of light industry, the manufacture of various delicious and convenient food cans is definitely the best choice for long-distance travel and seafaring merchants.

...

When the banquet was over, Hogg patted his belly with satisfaction, "This bowl of mushroom soup almost made me swallow my tongue, I seem to taste the taste of Haizhen, stewed chicken and pork bone at the same time, yours The court cook is truly a master."

"I prefer the dessert served at the end of the meal, it's called ice cream... right?" said Margery, "I guess it's made of milk and honey, and then frozen into ice crystals with saltpeter. "

"We need to add some butter and egg whites, otherwise we can't make it so soft," Roland added, "I don't know how much saltpeter is available this time?"

"There is still only one ship," the businesswoman shook her head. "The Alchemist Association is still buying saltpeter. The former Prime Minister even sent patrols to help them search for the goods from the nitrate factory. A group of guys with the reputation of sages bought it with There is no difference between robbers, this ship of saltpeter was still brought from Chishui City."

"So most of the goods shipped this month are washing stones?"

"That's right." Hogg drank the white wine in the glass and filled it up for himself again, "Although the quantity may be a bit too much, I remembered what you said last time, get as much as possible. In addition to washing stones, there are also high-quality iron and lead ingots. Recently, apart from yours, few towns need these things," he sighed, "the mining business is getting worse and worse."

This is the impact of the civil war, Roland thought to himself, the purchasing power of various places is gradually declining, if it continues for another two or three years, it will basically be the rhythm of rising food prices and starvation everywhere.

"By the way, what happened in the western region recently?" Margaery asked suddenly.

"What's wrong?"

"On the way to the small town, the fleet encountered a lot of... well," she paused for a moment, as if she was considering her words, "a lot of floating corpses. They were dressed in tatters, just floating on both sides of the river. .In addition to the dead bodies, there are some broken boards and ropes on the water, as if a ship has sunk on the rocks. But there are no rocks in the inland river, so I think..."

"Hmph, that's Timothy's fleet that invaded the Western Territory." Roland pretended to be indignant, and briefly described the battle a week ago. "They have already received their due punishment."

In order to avoid blocking the waterway and spreading the disease, after cleaning the battlefield, he transferred Anna and Lily from the small town. One was responsible for burning the damaged boats, and the other was responsible for purifying the river water. And the floating corpses that Margaery saw should be those who had drifted away along the river before the battle ended.

"I see," the businesswoman smiled. "Looks like Timothy is hitting a wall on both sides."

"Both sides?"

"There is also Garcia in Port of Clearwater——the latest news I got is that the unknown looters who attacked the eastern city before were Garcia's subordinates. After the Black Sail Fleet ransacked Haifeng County and Jinsui City, they did not return. Harbor, but all the way north along the coastline, no one knows where she ended up."

"Go north..." Roland asked in surprise, "Has she left Graycastle?"

"It looks like this at the moment. Timothy's men ran away in Clearwater Port, which is now an empty city." Margaery stated, "Because there are many rats among the people he brought, so this It's not a secret in the Black Street. No matter what, you are the only thorn in his side now, and the attacks on the western border may become more and more frequent in the future."

"If you also want to leave Graycastle, Crescent Moon Bay welcomes you at any time," Marlan said.

"That's right," Gamol patted his chest, "The small island there is enough to hold ten border towns, and we are willing to provide it to you and your people for free."

But to hand over the technology of steam engines and paddle ships, right? Roland rolled his eyes in his heart. Even if Graycastle couldn't stay any longer, Tilly Wimbledon should be the first person he chose to defect to. But on the surface, he just smiled, "Yes, if there is such a day, I will consider it."

"By the way," he then looked at Margaery, "I have successfully made two of the scouting balloons you ordered last time."

"So fast?" the latter said in surprise, "Can you take me to see it?"

"Of course, come with me." Roland stood up and said.

...

In the backyard of the castle expansion, there is a fully inflated hydrogen balloon.

Its airbag is in the shape of a drop, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a top diameter of five meters. It is completely made according to the size of the test object, and can carry an adult man into the air. The airbags and ropes are painted with sky camouflage, and with the observer's camouflage clothing, it can minimize the degree of recognition.

"It doesn't seem to be the same as the balloon we took last time?" Margaery carefully looked at the new product.

"Because it can be used without a witch," Roland cleared his throat, and began to introduce how to use the scouting balloon. "There is an active valve at the end of the balloon, which can be filled with gas—it is precisely because of this alchemy gas. Among them, it can make it fly. The method of inflation is very simple, just connect the matching hose to the air storage tank, and then unscrew the valves at both ends.” After speaking, he demonstrated the operation process of deflation and inflation in public .

"How many gas tanks does it take to fill a scout balloon?" Margery quickly grasped the point.

"Five bottles or six bottles..." This question made Roland a little embarrassed, "It will not exceed seven bottles at most." The main reason is that the concentration of dilute sulfuric acid used to generate hydrogen in the bottle is difficult to control, and the sulfuric acid is distilled and purified to 98%. It would be a waste of precious manpower in the laboratory to dilute it with water, so we had to settle for it.

"This alchemy gas is very expensive, right?"

"That's true. It's difficult to preserve, and it's full of dangers... I mean, if it's accidentally handled," Roland coughed twice, "so the gas tank can only be stored for one year, and it must not be knocked, disassembled or burned, otherwise Unforeseen and serious consequences may occur." He paused, "Although the price is a bit expensive, don't worry, the first batch of air storage tanks will be provided by Border Town for free when scouting balloons when purchasing for the first time, and you can also get an extra gift A sky camouflage scout suit."

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