Chapter 498 Roland Gunboat

After spending a day returning to the border area, Roland felt a soreness in his back. He went to bed early after washing up and only regained his energy around noon the next day.

It seems that his special ship must have a soundproof cabin and soft lounge chairs. He thought to himself that it would be best to have a spacious bed. Otherwise, sitting on the constantly shaking hard bench and listening to the repeated roar of the steam engine would be a double torture for the mind and body.

When he walked into the office, the first thing Roland did was to recruit General Manager Barov Mons and Minister of Agriculture Seny Daly. Now there is only the last week left before the scheduled time for the spring offensive. The army has an iron axe. He was quite reassured by the certainty, so the most important thing was to grasp the agricultural production and do a good job in spring planting. After all, only by having food in hand can he not panic.

"I have seen the seeds being transported at Changge Pier. As long as there is Golden One, the harvest there this year will not be much worse. But the border area is the focus. We are the example, the proof, and the An example to publicize for everyone to see!" He knocked on the table and said, "So, who can tell me how the spring plowing work has been completed?"

“Your Highness, the current situation is like this,” Barov said first. “Only 30% of the first batch of promoted serfs are willing to continue farming. With the newly recruited serfs, the total agricultural population is now about 10,000. According to the average wheat production last year, the grain produced by these 10,000 people should be able to feed 40,000 to 50,000 people." He paused and added, "The feeding I am talking about is calculated based on the wheat purchase limit for official residents. , this amount is far greater than the daily consumption of civilians in other cities. If you just want not to starve to death, you can add another 20,000."

"That's roughly it, Your Highness," Seni continued, "But the above conclusion is based on the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture from the previous year. This year, about half of the serfs - mainly the new batch of serfs will use the gold improved by Lord Ye. No. 2... To be honest, if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that so many ears of wheat could grow on the wheat stalks. In addition, there are still two thousand people who will switch to potatoes and corn, so I can't predict the final outcome. What is the actual output?”

"As for the farming part, the farmland is currently being plowed. According to the previously prepared crop planting manual, the field needs to be plowed three times and the fermented compost mixed into it. This process usually takes three to four weeks, depending on the land. The number of workers and farm tools used there are basically all the serfs rented iron farm tools last year, which should shorten the plowing time a lot."

"As for how deep the trench should be dug and how well the seeds should be spread, I have arranged for apprentices to conduct publicity and explanations and teach them to sow seeds according to the best methods in the planting manual."

It can be seen that this knight, who was originally from the Benlang family, has put a lot of effort into farming and has thought clearly about the aspects that need to be taken into consideration. Even Roland couldn't help but nod.

The reason why agriculture is underdeveloped in this era is that it relies too much on the land itself. One field is equivalent to all the planting. In order to protect the field, you even have to farm for one year and take two years off. The efficiency of land use is extremely low. Now that Neverwinter City has controllable water irrigation, natural fertilizers and reasonable planting methods, coupled with leaf-modified seeds, the yield is naturally astonishingly high in the eyes of the locals. However, for Roland, more than 10,000 people out of a total population of 30,000 are engaged in farming, which is still too high a proportion. Next, if you want to reduce the agricultural population, the most effective way is to start with agricultural tools, such as manufacturing agricultural equipment that uses animal power or mechanical power.

"Very good, let's keep the momentum going," he said with satisfaction. "In addition, the personnel sent to Changge District should also keep good records. If we want to promote it to other cities in the future, we will follow this model."

After handling the agricultural affairs, Roland left the castle and went to the Chishui River dock accompanied by Nightingale and his personal guards.

The ship, which Anna was responsible for construction, had entered the weapons installation stage two days ago. The hull coated with gray and red anti-corrosion coating stood quietly on the sleepers. The hull, which was the size of three cement ships, looked very burly. Different from the cement paddle steamers without cabins, its sides are nearly two meters, which can fit all the boilers and steam engines into the belly, and the paddle wheels are also eliminated from the two ribs. In addition, another feature of it is that it has a raised bridge in the center of the hull. Although it is only one story high, it still looks very eye-catching.

Of course, as a shallow water heavy gunship, the most important equipment is undoubtedly the 152 mm cannon. In order to save construction time, Roland did not let Anna make a separate naval gun version. Instead, he removed the fortress cannon from the city wall and planned to put it directly on the ship.

Now, it is sitting next to the dock, awaiting final lifting.

"Your Highness," Anna immediately waved to him when she saw Roland appearing, "Here!"

The prince smiled and walked over, "How is it? Is the construction process going well?"

During the week he went to Changge District, Anna took charge of all the production of the gunboat. Although the drawings of key parts were handed over to her, after all, this was an unprecedentedly large project, and it was difficult to encounter various problems. Very normal.

"It wasn't very smooth," she shook her head. "The more troublesome problems include deformation of the side of the hull, leakage from the propeller, tilting of the hull to one side after the bridge was welded, and the inability of the gun mount to catch the gun, but I have solved them all. "

"All...resolved?" Roland said in surprise.

"Yes," Anna said with a bright smile, clasping her fingers, "the side deformation is due to the thin steel plate on the ship's side. I installed fixed supports on the easily deformed parts; the propeller leakage is due to the casing and There is always a gap in the linkage rod, so I surrounded it with a water tank so that the leaked water would not run around and could be pumped out with the power of the steam engine. The deflection of the bridge was due to the asymmetry of the weight. Just make a few modifications. The problem with the gun mount is the most difficult to solve. I finally found the inspiration on the revolver gun - first cut a row of tooth marks on the bottom ring, and then add a hook that can be inserted between the teeth. The upper rotating gun mount can be fixed in any direction you want to aim."

Roland blinked, and it took him a long time to utter a sentence, "You are really a genius." Although these are not difficult problems to deal with, for him who has drawn countless mechanical drawings, especially the last point, he can From the structure of the revolver to the way the gun mount is fixed, Anna is probably the only one who has such meticulous observation.

"By the way, Your Highness, does this ship have a name?"

"Not yet," he raised his eyebrows, "What's wrong?"

"Those First Army soldiers come over every few days to see them, and they are also vying to have their names engraved on the bridge," Anna chuckled. "They said you promised that the person with the best gunnery skills can To have a ship named after himself.”

"Ah... that's what happened," Roland thought of Rodney and Nelson from the artillery battalion, "But this one can't do it. You must know that the name of the first warship not only represents the ship itself, but also represents This level of model." He raised the corner of his mouth, "I can't give this honor to anyone else, so I'll just call it the Roland - the number one Roland class ship." (To be continued.)