Chapter 181 This Ship Is Expensive

At this moment, Mark finally understood why the ancient population went up so easily.

Winter is boring. In order to pass the time, Mark continued to read with the [Eye of Knowledge] and used purified ectoplasm to strengthen his soul from time to time. The rest of the time he spent either playing cards with his subordinates or trying various unorthodox combinations. .

Time flew by, and it came to the end of January without anything major happening.

At the Chkalov Shipyard, the bearded director and chief designer Ivanov introduced various improvements.

"Your Excellency Destiny, we have not only improved the conventional power system, but also converted it into a dual power system combining a diesel engine and a gas turbine to adapt to the cold polar climate."

This world does not yet have the steam turbines commonly used in Earth's aircraft carriers. This is already the best engine available today.

You know, it turns out that the Caribbean cannot run very fast just relying on its own engine.

Mark also needs to consider various factors, such as if Buttis pulling the boat is killed by the enemy, the boat can still run on its own.

Ivanov continued: “The most important thing is that we made a center of gravity offset system for this beautiful ship. When encountering ice, by changing the center of gravity of the ship, the bow can be continuously raised, and then The weight of the ship crushes the ice, and coupled with the high-heat ice-melting system installed on the bow, the ship can break through two meters of ice as long as it has enough spiritual power."

This is an exaggeration.

Sure enough, science is not enough, so metaphysics comes in handy.

Mark nodded: "It seems that my money was well spent."

Ivanov smiled: "Every penny of your money is spent wisely."

What about changing to a stronger bow, changing the center of gravity of the ship to be movable, and changing the engine? These are the overall modifications.

During the visit, Mark was surprised to find that the ship had been further modified in many subtle ways. For example, it turns out that cruise ships are all about comfort. After all, the tonnage of the ship is here. On the premise of not sailing in particularly stormy sea areas, not many facilities for fixing objects on the ship were considered.

This time, not to mention the luxurious suite where he and his followers lived, even the small rooms where the crew and waiters lived had many humane furniture modifications.

For example, there are many more brackets for fixing objects, such as dark opaque bed curtains, and there are a lot of handrails on corridors and stairs to facilitate fixing the body.

This doesn't necessarily cost a lot of money, it definitely embodies the unique thought of a skilled craftsman.

"Are all the craftsmen of the Mechanicus so ingenious?" Mark couldn't help but ask this great craftsman.

Ivanov took off his hat and saluted him: "This is the instruction of Her Highness Anastasia."

Mark was stunned for a moment: "Okay, thank her for me. I accept her favor."

It’s not a big deal, but it’s definitely a favor.

"Your Highness will be pleased to hear that."

Originally, when a newly renovated boat was built, most people would happily take it for a spin.

As a time traveler, Mark knows very well how strong the smell of the newly renovated cabin is.

People in this era do not have the common sense to prevent formaldehyde. This does not mean that a certain time traveler does not have it.

In addition, it was the middle of winter in January, so Mark ordered the ship to open all windows for ventilation and planned to set off again in February.

Just when Mark was about to leave, he was a little surprised to see a section of the ship's hull exposed in the dock next door.

"That ship..."

"That was the tragedy of Austin." Ivanov sighed deeply: "The emperor changed his mind. That treasure cannot be launched in the name of an imperial warship."

Ivanov's infinitely emotional voice touched Mark's nerves.

He explained intermittently.

The Bill Empire has always been a land-based country. Although it has always dreamed of becoming a maritime power, it unfortunately woke up too quickly. Thirty years ago, it had a fight with the Victoria Empire.

The Bill Empire gathered the strength of the whole country and never defeated a single fleet in Victoria.

After this, the previous emperor became depressed.

Originally, Bill had great momentum to turn south and expand territory. Unfortunately, this emperor seemed to be possessed by a demon. He suddenly overturned the policy of fighting for sea power and returned to the "glorious and invincible land hegemony".

Now, a bunch of warships are half-finished and placed here.

"This was originally the light cruiser Vatutin, with a displacement of 12,000 tons. The ship itself has been equipped with engines and turbine units and can sail. Unfortunately, the turret and other weapon systems cannot be counted on."

Hundreds of years of sea power is not just a boast. For a small country, the construction of a warship requires the full strength of the country. Even for a large empire, the cost of building a cruiser can easily arm two thousand-man divisions, and the maintenance cost can support three divisions.

Ivanov took Mark to visit the half-built warship.

The quality of the ship itself was fine, but there were big holes where the turrets were supposed to be installed, which looked weird.

"How about it? Are you interested?"

"A bit, but not much. I don't know what to do with this ship."

Of course, Ivanov knew how rare it was for wealthy people like Mark, so he lost no time in promoting it: "You can use it to pretend to be a escort ship!"

"Pfft!" Mark burst out laughing: "You know it's 'pretending'. If I take it with me, will I ever enter a neutral port again?"

When a small country sees a big cruise ship, it may receive Mark with all its might.

What about a warship that can destroy a country in one ship?

For example, in a small country like the Federal Republic of Lisa, there may not be a single ship bigger than this one in the entire navy.

Said to be a light cruiser, this ship is about 180 meters long like the Caribbean, but at first glance it looks like a standard warship!

Mark waved his hands and was about to give up.

Rosalin pulled his sleeve: "Mark, you forgot, you can't take a mortal on a spiritual voyage."

During the Battle of Bolivar, he also unloaded his mortal waiters and crew, then sailed to Lake Bolivar in the spirit world, destroying the resistance of the rebels.

Mark slapped his forehead: "Okay, how much does this thing cost?"

Ivanov hesitated and held up two fingers.

Mark bared his teeth: "Warships are expensive. Twenty million lite dollars, right? OK, I want it. Help me change it into a supply support ship. It will be good if it has a certain ability to protect itself. I will ask someone to bring five hundred dollars first." I'll give you ten thousand and tens of thousands of coupons, and you can help me rebuild it later."

"good……"

A cold wind blew by, and the old designer was disheveled in the wind.

A group of boatmen came up and asked all at once: "Boss, how about it? Is Kaizi willing to buy a warship to play with?"

"Buy...buy." Ivanov trembled.

"How much? One million? No, at least 800,000. The emperor has defaulted on our shipping fees, so let's use this thing as payment. Let's get some of our hard-earned money back."

"No... twenty million."

Everyone almost suspected that they were hearing hallucinations.

Due to the long-term failure to receive any orders, the official shipbuilding industry of the Bill Empire has actually been divided into a number of small businesses. Among them, the Austin Shipyard is considered the largest. Moreover, these shipyards are now fighting among themselves, and not long ago they were competing for an order for a light frigate. Construction of the frigate started two years ago, but has been halted due to lack of follow-up funds.

Moreover, the displacement of this frigate is only about 1,600 tons.

Even such an order can cause several shipbuilding companies in the Bill Empire to fight to the death. It can be seen to what extent the empire's shipbuilding companies are in distress. I think back then, the Austin Shipyard built battleships of about 20,000 tons. As a result, the emperor quickly turned around and ended up in the current situation.

A huge order of 20 million was placed, and everyone was stunned.