After the cement boat was placed in the nursery for a week, it was finally time to put it into the water to dry.
The workers who had been summoned were stunned. When the prince ordered the bathtub to be pushed into the water, everyone doubted whether they had heard wrong.
However, Roland's order was indeed so.
He temporarily dismantled the shed, and then dug a slope at the bottom of the cement boat, leading straight to the river.This part had to be done very carefully, because the tensile and seismic resistance of cement products was extremely poor. A few cracks were a small matter, but if it hit the ground, it would be tantamount to nothing.
Rolling logs were put on, and ropes were tied to control the speed of sliding. When everything was ready, the workers wrapped the wrist-thick hemp rope around the newly laid stake and pulled it into a straight line.With a command, they slowly loosened the rope, and the bottom of the boat slid on the rolling logs, making a harsh friction sound.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Roland saw the cement boat gradually fall into the river. The whole boat was about half a meter deep, and the wall of the boat was still about a meter above the water. The workers were surprised to see that this thing, which was heavier than a stone, did not sink into the river, but floated on the water like Leaf.
"Quickly, wrap the rope around the stake a few more times, and then tie it tightly!" Roland commanded. The hemp rope tied to the hull could not be untied, otherwise the cement boat would float south with the river.
Although Nightingale did not appear, her incredulous tone had revealed her shock. "Why can it float?"
"Uh … In short, its average density is lower than that of water, so it can float on the water," Roland replied after thinking for a moment. "As for whether it is iron or cement, it has little to do with it. In fact, when you see the sailboat, you should understand that such a big boat is much heavier than a stone. "
The voice did not sound again, and he guessed that Nightingale had fallen into deep thought. Even if it was Anna, she might not be able to react immediately.Roland smiled and continued to instruct the workers to carry out the next step of the work.
It would take a long time to dry the clothes. When it started snowing heavily, the work had to stop. Only when the snow was light could they rush to work for a while. The main content of the assembly was to lay the deck. Pieces of planks with bevels were installed on the ship. There were many short wooden stakes in the gap between the deck and the bottom of the ship as support. Although it was a waste of space, considering the main purpose of the cement ship, they did not care so much.
Then came the embalming treatment. The carpenters knew exactly what to do. First, they brushed a layer of pungent oil on the deck. After the oil had solidified, they repeatedly applied several layers of red paint. When everything on the deck was completed, the installation of the superstructure began.
As for the so-called upper part, it was just a wooden shed between two masts, used to store cannons and ammunition. When it rained, the crew would also have a place to shelter from the rain. There was also a platform at the top of the wooden shed that could accommodate one person. It was obviously prepared for Vendy. As long as she stood on the roof, the range of her ability could cover both the top and bottom of the sail.
The rudder at the stern was made of pig iron, which was slightly troublesome to install. It was necessary to put the tiller through a hole in the water so that it was exposed to the deck. Then the iron ring was put on the deck and the buckle was welded. The buckle was a right-angled triangle iron plate, the long side was welded to the tiller, and the short side could be freely rotated in the reserved slot of the iron ring.
The welding work was naturally done by Anna. She was also shocked and puzzled by the stone bathtub that could float on the water, so she asked the same question as Nightingale.
Roland repeated the answer and saw Anna squatting on the side and thinking.
Well... universal education has a long way to go.
*****
On the other side, Van'er was hesitating about whether to join the artillery team or the gun team.
Everything started from the order three days ago.
His Royal Highness decided to transfer the outstanding members of the first and second militia team to form a new team. Van'er was very happy to hear his name was included. But when Iron Axe asked him if he wanted to join the artillery team or the gun team, he was confused. He knew that the gun could deal with the demonic beasts on the city wall, and its penetrating power was much stronger than the crossbow. At present, only Iron Axe, the Chief Knight, and several hunters could use such a fierce weapon. Van'er should have joined the gun team without hesitation, but he just asked, "What is a cannon?"
When he learned that it was a gun that was magnified ten times, and its power was a hundred times stronger, he fell into a dilemma.
Obviously, the more powerful the weapon, the more it proved that His Royal Highness valued him. Joining the artillery team seemed to be a better choice than the flintlock team, but carrying a perfectly straight flintlock on his back, walking through the streets of the town, attracting everyone's attention, this was the scene he had always dreamed of. Although the cannon was powerful, after magnifying ten times, he certainly couldn't carry it, right?
Until the last day of the deadline, he gritted his teeth and chose the artillery team. The last straw that broke the camel's back was the monthly salary of 5 silver royals higher than that of the gun team.
Then the rigorous training began.
A cannon needed five people to operate. Jop, Cat's Claw, Nelson, and Rodney were assigned to the same group with Van'er.Because Van'er had served as the vice captain of the lancer team, he was appointed as the gunner.
Compared to the gun, it was more than ten times more troublesome to operate! For more than a month, he had secretly observed the process of Iron Axe operating the gun, and he thought he was already familiar with it. But just changing the firing state from the moving state to the firing state required a set of complicated operations.
Stopping the horse, pulling out the pin, pulling up the buckle, moving the gun carriage, pushing it to the firing point, and putting down the support, all these procedures required five people to cooperate. For example, when pulling up the buckle, the other people had to immediately push the gun, so that the buckle and the tractor separated, and the four wheels became two wheels, and then the support could be put down. During the conversion period, they had to cooperate skillfully, otherwise it would be difficult to remove the heavy gun carriage from the tractor.
After getting into position, it was time to load the ammunition and prepare to fire.This part was very similar to the gun, but cleaning the barrel required two brushes to take turns to stab it. The gunpowder was also packed, and could be directly put into the barrel. The ignition method was ignited by the gunpowder wire. It seemed that it would be difficult to display its power when it rained, Van'er thought.
Fortunately, most of the time the gunner only needed to instruct the others on what to do, so he didn't have to spend too much energy.