Sword of Dawn

Page 239

The young people who were registered didn't know what this number meant, but the registrars working on the pier knew that this code meant: suspected deserter from the Holy Spirit Plains, suggested a second review.

The registrar raised his head, looked at the still long queue in the passage, and guessed how many deserters from the Holy Spirit Plain would be mixed among these people.

There have been more and more of them since the messy civil war reached a stalemate.

The situation on the eastern front of the Holy Spirit Plain is said to be very anxious. Both the Kingdom Army and the Eastern Border Army have fallen into an embarrassing situation where neither can win quickly. The war also caused more and more deserters to appear.

For the aristocratic army that lacks effective management measures and the soldiers' enthusiasm and loyalty are not high, desertion is almost as common as wind and rain.

That young man was probably a soldier of the Kingdom Army, so he didn't dare to flee to the east. At the same time, he might be a believer in a god other than the God of Light, so he didn't dare to flee to the north of the plain. The situation in the north is very difficult-but between the west and the south, the south, which is obviously closer and has a favorable immigration policy, is a better choice for these deserters.

The registrar shook his head, and Cecil didn't mind where these deserters came from—whether deserters from the old-style noble army or refugees who lost their homes and land and left their homes, they were all valuable labor for Cecil. Although the registrar himself is not a high-ranking government official, he has also received training. He knows that everyone who comes from the north of Rock Fortress is no different to the Principality: they are all unqualified anyway, and they all need to be educated.

Similar things happen not only at this one registration exit, but throughout the pier square, at the end of the 28 registration passages, each registrar has some registration cards in his hand to mark special immigrants—deserters from the Plain of the Holy Spirit, The alien believers expelled by the Church of the Holy Light are suspected to be spies sent by the northern nobles...Since the situation in Cecil has initially stabilized and the Principality has been recognized by the royal family, the southern border has once again opened the channel to absorb the population, and the huge number of immigrants who have poured into the southern border There are all kinds of people in the team.

In a sense, the Cecil Territory grew up relying on "refugees". For Cecil's government affairs office, dealing with these immigrants can almost be regarded as their basic business requirement.

The red-haired young man who left the registration channel carefully held his "registration card" and walked on the road to meet the next "Master Registrar". In this huge and strange city, he was confused and uneasy, but more More novelty and excitement.

This is Cecil, or part of Cecil.

But it was completely different from what he had imagined, and it was also completely different from what he had heard.

The aristocratic lords in the north say that Cecil is a barbaric, desolate, cruel place where order has collapsed. They say that the aristocratic system in the south has disappeared, and a man who climbed out of the coffin destroyed all order with brutal war ; they say that in this land there is no order, no authority, and that lowly serfs and noble knights can walk on the same road; A militaristic principality...

But what the red-haired young man sees here are only wide and tidy streets, tall and magnificent buildings, upright and friendly "adults", and an unbelievably prosperous pier square-if this is the barbaric, cruel and orderly place described by the nobleman The scorched earth that collapsed, so are those noble lords themselves living in a dung pit that is more terrible than the scorched earth?

Looking around the square as far as she could see, Sara felt that the nobles had only one thing to say: Here, indeed, everyone is walking on the same path.

The road is so wide that everyone can walk.

It would be great if the few fellow villagers who escaped together chose the same path as me... Unfortunately, they all went to the north because they believed in the God of Holy Light.

The red-haired young man walked forward slowly, observing every new thing here as if his eyes were not enough.

There are indeed too many new things here, so many that people are at a loss, and so many that people are at a loss.

There are neat lamp posts on both sides of the wide road, but the lamp posts are not oil lamps, but magic crystals; there is a strange metal tower standing on the open space in the distance, and a large piece of metal is floating on the top of the tower. crystals; there are workers building something at the end of the line of sight, with every tool and machine they have never seen or heard...

"Sam, you can't believe where I'm at..."

The red-haired young man muttered the names of his friends from the same country in a low voice. He walked more and more slowly on the passage, his attention was almost completely attracted by those strange magic devices that could not be seen. Be sure to run around those devices and take a closer look.

His slowness finally aroused the dissatisfaction of the people behind him, and someone behind him slapped hard: "Hey! Hurry up! You are in the way!"

The red-haired youth hurriedly apologized, and then stepped forward to move forward, but just as he was about to leave, a light and shadow suddenly appeared from not far away and a sound sounded at the same time made him stand still in shock.

In the center of the pier square, on a platform slightly above the ground, a large magic device was suddenly activated, and a huge holographic image immediately appeared above the magic device. The sound of the music - it sounds like a flute and a lyre mixed.

All the Cecils on the pier looked very indifferent. They were not surprised at all, but looked at the "Illusion Magic" who suddenly appeared on the square with a happy and expectant expression. However, including the red-haired youth The new immigrants in the city were shocked by this scene, and some people even exclaimed in the aisle of the queue—the red-haired young man almost screamed himself, but he just opened his mouth and kept his mouth shut. After a while in a slightly funny posture, he saw a beautiful lady appearing in the magical illusion, and heard the other party's voice:

"Everyone in front of the magic terminal, good afternoon, I am your old friend, Ms. Witch...

"In today's witch time, I would like to introduce to you an exciting magical creation...

"...In 10 minutes, the Principality's most cutting-edge magical warship 'Pioneer' will undergo a water entry ceremony. It will be the Principality's new pride. The powerful Pioneer will become the sword and shield to protect every citizen... …

"...Minister Rebecca believes that the technology of the new type of magical warship will greatly promote the progress of the principality's shipbuilding technology, and it will serve the civilian field...

"Now, let's turn to the sidelines, my colleagues are ready at the dock..."

Chapter 0557

Both sides of the Baishui River are crowded with people.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on the high ground on both sides of the river, watching the movement on the river with curiosity, excitement and a sense of tension, whether they are local residents, new immigrants who have just settled here, or passing through here , Coinciding with this event, no one is not curious about what the magical creation to be displayed today looks like - it is said that it is a ship, a ship driven by magical power, some people who know more about the battle of Rock Fortress Some people still remember that the Rock Fortress was breached by two "magic battleships", and those two magic battleships are said to be only half-finished products...

Undoubtedly, what will appear on the Baishui River today is definitely the largest creation that Cecil has shown to the public since the opening of the magic industry.

Beside the river bank, several businessmen from the northern region were having a lively conversation, and some people had undisguised expectations in their voices: "Tell me, how much cargo can the new ship pull at one time?"

Someone beside him immediately laughed: "Didn't you listen to the program? That's a battleship..."

"You really have no vision!" The first businessman who spoke immediately retorted, "It's been so long, and you still don't understand the style of the lord? The technology on the battleship must also be used by the people, and just now the Marquis Rebecca Also said..."

"That's true. It is said that Kodd at Carroll's side has already bought a magic truck..."

Behind the merchants, an old man who looked hunched over couldn't help shaking his head: "I don't think there is anything special about that boat. The boat is nothing more than a big wooden tub floating on the water..."

A young man next to him suddenly laughed: "Father Kaur, you said back then that a car is nothing more than a wooden plank supported by several wheels!!"

The old man who was ridiculed suddenly blew his beard and stared: "What do you know, old man! I have never built a car, old man, but I have built a boat for half my life! What kind of boat have I never seen?"

The young man looked at the bearded and staring old man, and was about to say something more, but suddenly a loud noise from the river interrupted everyone's conversation.

It was a siren that was loud, thick, and full of momentum, and even made the heart tighten.

In the mist, a hazy figure appeared on the river to the east, and a second siren sounded from the depths of the thin mist.

After a brief silence, the people on both sides of the eastern bank let out loud cheers and screams, and then the sound of screams and cheers spread along the banks of the Baishui River all the way here.

The eyes of the people on the river bank widened. They didn't know what kind of creation it was, so that it would cause such a big reaction from people, but they quickly saw it clearly—it was a giant ship made of steel. things.

It is larger than any inland wooden boat I have seen before, more majestic and majestic than any warship. The giant beast made of steel has both rigid texture and elegant arc. It is on the Baishui River. Riding the wind and waves, but you can't see the sails and paddles for a ride. The only thing on the whole ship that reminds people of "sails" is the "wings" on both sides of the hull, but the wings are made of pieces. It is composed of neat metal blades, lined with shimmering runes and magic lines, obviously not the direct source of power for the ship to move forward—this ship without sails and paddles is driven by the power of some kind of magical machine. Going forward, the bright sun shines on its metal shell and deck, which is amazing and full of courage.

Sharp-eyed people saw the strange two decks of the ship—the middle of the ship was higher than the surroundings. On the top of this raised structure was the upper deck with many strange equipment, and between the upper and lower decks, the entire raised The structure is covered by a shimmering energy shield. Soldiers in light armor stand neatly near the side of the ship. Behind the soldiers are daunting forts and shield generation towers...

It was not a ship at all, it was a heavily armed steel fortress sailing on the water.

By the river bank, the businessmen who were eagerly discussing before were stunned, and the young people who were laughing and playing were speechless for a while. An old man who had built boats for half his life and had seen all kinds of boats muttered to himself in astonishment: "This kind of ship... I've never seen it before... Is this really a ship?!"

Inside the bridge of the cutting-edge magical battleship "Pioneer", all the technicians and government officials who had participated in the engineering project stood behind the wide viewing window, watching the rolling waves of the Baishui River on the ship with excitement. The sides of the ship kept retreating, and the surging magic power transmitted from the power ridge was injected into the lower deck of the ship, driving the three engine units in the mechanical cabin to run continuously, and the deep and powerful roar was like the heartbeat of this giant beast , everyone has to marvel at this miracle of magical engineering.

At the front end of the bridge, Gawain held the railing behind the window with both hands and stared at the river in the distance. After a long time, he turned his head, nodded to Miss Siren beside him and said, "Your contribution is the greatest. The boat was even bigger than I could have imagined."

"I just provided some technical guidance. To be honest, the hard work of engineers and magicians is the key to the birth of this ship," Tire said modestly, with the tip of her tail swaying in the air , it is obvious that Miss Kraken is also in a very good mood at the moment, "Your magic technology is not mature, and many foundations are very weak, but fortunately... the difficulties have been overcome."

A high-level magician reported from the side: "We have installed two large magic crystal rail guns on the bow and tail of the ship, which can be used to strike targets within 22 kilometers. Two rainbow light generators have an effective irradiation distance of fifteen kilometers. After optimizing the structure of the power ridge, all the forts can fire at the same time without affecting the engine...

"In addition, in accordance with your order, we have installed an additional magic energy obelisk at the rear of the bridge, which can provide magic net coverage around the ship to ensure that future fleet members can communicate with each other, while the energy system is affected Damaged small ships can also recharge around this ship...

"Miss Till helped us solve the problems of sailing stability and center of gravity shift..."

Gao Wen listened carefully to the technical staff's report, and while relieved in his heart, he also lamented that it was indeed the right decision to use Hongguang technology to lure Tier into the technical team.

Kraken's technology has been ahead of mankind for countless years. Even if it is declining now, even if some fields are incomplete, and even if the technical routes are not common, it will still greatly promote and improve Cecil's shipbuilding technology. Many human technicians need to study individual In the eyes of Kraken, the technical difficulties of the moon are often not difficult problems at all-Tier has been busy in the shipyard from last year to this year, and more than half of the time is actually not solving technical difficulties, but looking for ways for human beings to realize their goals. There is a way to integrate technology and siren knowledge. As long as the connection is successful, the problem will be solved.

"Currently, the live broadcast of the launch of the Pioneer has been broadcast throughout the country, and the synchronous newspaper will also publish it tomorrow," said Hetty, "According to your plan, the ship will continue to sail westward. First stop at Tanzanian Port for half a day to perform mechanical inspections, then turn to the northwest, passing through the Hosman border, the Luan area, and the Carroll area, and finally stay at the Rock Fortress for three days to conduct a thorough inspection and test. Turn back."

"Very good," Gawain nodded slightly, and looked at the middle-aged knight standing beside the captain's seat not far away, "Byron, I've worked hard for you these days."

Byron, who has become the temporary captain of the "Pioneer", smiled brightly and responded loudly: "Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down!!"

Philip, who was standing not far away with a bad face, couldn't help but shook his head: "Get excited, without grace."

Byron heard the muttering from his old partner, and glanced at Philip: "You are sour, who made you not have the talent to be a captain..."

Philip straightened his body and looked straight: "As a knight, I'm more interested in charging forward on solid ground."

Byron shook his head and muttered in a low voice, "Didn't you just vomit as soon as you got on the boat? There's nothing wrong with admitting it... now your face is as white as paper."

Gao Wen noticed the conversation between the two, but he just shook his head with a smile and didn't say much.

Philip, who has always been young, steady and steady, actually got a little seasick. This was something he hadn't expected before, but correspondingly, Byron was very adaptable to his new role, which was a good sign.

People cannot be trapped on land forever, especially Cecil's army. With the continuous development of new shipbuilding technology, Gawain must make up for the shortcoming of "water surface power", which is common to all human countries.Long before the Pioneer was built, he made a plan to build a navy—of course, for the Principality of Cecil at this stage, the so-called navy is more aptly described as an inland navy, but this is at least the foundation— —As for the original sailors, he could only build them from scratch.

He still remembered the so-called "fleet" formed by the coalition of nobles last year. He remembered those mobs who wore armor, couldn't swim, and didn't understand water warfare. Most of them were annihilated by artillery fire on board. In an era when disasters were blocked and surface combat was ignored, even if he took over the aristocratic heritage of the entire southern border, he could not find a few well-qualified people to train as sailors, so he could only learn from fishermen and sailors on cargo ships in the west. After recruiting a group of "talented people" and training with sampans, fishing boats, and cargo ships for more than half a year, it is considered that there is a group of soldiers who can barely serve on the ship, and most of these soldiers are standing on this cutting-edge ship at this moment. On the magic warship.

Byron is the captain of the ship and the commander of the sailors. In the past six months, besides continuing to be in charge of part of the army affairs, he has also been responsible for the training of the new sailors.

This middle-aged knight was not an expert in water warfare, but there were no water warfare experts in the southern border at this time. At least, Byron had commanded a semi-finished magical warship, used it to attack the Rock Fortress, and even served as a mercenary. He was the only candidate that Gao Wen could find due to his rich experience in various combat environments during the period.

After all, it cannot be done in one step, which is the case in most fields of construction from scratch.

Under the command of Knight Byron, the newborn Cecil "sailors" will complete their final training on this ship-these sailors trained with sampans and fishing boats will first come into contact with real magic warships, In front of them are no longer models and theoretical materials, but real steel machinery and control mechanisms. They will learn how to control a ship driven by magic energy machinery, learn how to deal with various problems on the water, and This boat will sail along the Baishui River during the half-month-long training. Its sailing will be watched by countless citizens by the river bank, published in newspapers, and broadcast live on Monet. It is a training, but also a demonstration and deterrence——

Although the order in the southern border has initially stabilized, it is not completely peaceful. The remnants of the old nobles and the remnants of the church army are still partly entrenched in the mountains and forests in the west and north. These lawless people who have fallen into bandits are now doing Knight Philip has been organizing the elimination of these bandits, but it has not been completely eliminated yet.

Gao Wen knew that those most stubborn and naive remnants were still fantasizing about the sudden collapse of Cecil's rule and the restoration of the old system, while some had already adapted to the life of robbers and enjoyed the days of lawlessness—the new cutting edge The magic warship is for them to see.

There is no doubt that the gun mounts of cutting-edge magical warships are shining with the brilliance of art, and art has always been used to influence people's hearts.

Chapter 0558 Civilian Direction

Amidst the cheers and admiration of tens of thousands of citizens on both sides of the strait, the cutting-edge magic warship made of steel blew its whistle. It slowly sailed across the river and entered a full-power sailing state after crossing the gate on the north bank.

The reports of the controllers sounded in the bridge: "The condition of the base layer of the magic net is normal!" "Steady attitude, power group - forward three!"

On both sides of the magical battleship, wing-like devices composed of a large number of long and narrow metal plates and mechanical devices slowly unfolded. The shining magic shield rose first, covering all possible weak points on the ship, and the three The dense runes and magic lines on the surface of the "wings" complement the shimmer of the shield.This wing-like structure is one of the most important structures on the magic warship—and possibly on all kinds of super large magic vehicles in the future. Released to the outside of the magic mechanism in time, only by opening these wings can the magic warship run at full power.

Amidst the roar of the three sets of magic engines, the speed of the warship gradually increased, and it began to sail in the direction of Tanzan Town.

On the river bank, someone shouted first, and gradually, the shouts became one voice:

"Bon voyage!!" "Bon voyage!!" "Long live Cecil!!"

Standing on the high ground on the south bank, Godwin Orlando pressed the shooting button of the magic energy terminal with his own hands. Then he lowered his head and wrote down his feelings for a while in the shorthand notebook:

"...The water fortress made of steel inspired everyone's spirits. People stood on the river bank regardless of their background, cheered excitedly, and blessed this voyage—the lord once said that the Cecilians would be built. Pride, now that pride has begun to build - a powerful industrial artifact, and an industrial artifact created by 'us', enough to make every citizen proud..."

The still slightly chilly spring breeze blew from the river, making this old scholar from Wangdu tighten his clothes. Then he raised his head and looked at the misty north bank. His eyes seemed to cross the river and the river. The plain, crossing the mountains in the south, has reached the northern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, and arrived at his hometown in San Sunil...

When will such a ship be able to navigate the vast rivers of the Holy Spirit Plain?

A student noticed the old scholar's trance, and couldn't help asking: "Teacher? What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing, people are getting old...it's easy to be distracted."

……

The Pioneer will continue to sail, and its engine group and control mechanism will undergo actual testing in the next few hours of the voyage. It will not stop temporarily until it reaches Tanzania Town—in fact, it should be renamed Tanzania New City. down.

At that time, the technicians will start to check the working condition of the engine and the state of the power ridge. Gao Wen and others will disembark at the port of Tanzania, and then return to Cecil City in a magic vehicle. Some sailors on standby in Tanzania New City will Boarding will take place in rotation, and after that, the Pioneer will continue to set sail to complete its next half-month cruise.

——With the speed of this ship, it certainly won't take that long to make a tour, but in order to show the effect, the ship is definitely not moving at full speed, and it also needs to stop many times in the middle for necessary mechanical inspections and adjustments.

Gawain left the front platform of the bridge, and in the rest area at the back of the bridge, he called Knight Byron.

"How do you feel about the ship?" he asked with a smile.

"Exciting, very exciting," Byron said with a bright smile on his face. "I've never been in contact with such a powerful thing in my life—the previous Aurora and Morning Star are far behind it."

"Actually, I was worried at the beginning. I was worried that you would not be happy to let a knight like you who fought on land go to become the commander of the navy." He was also quite straightforward when talking to the other party, "I guess most traditional nobles will think this is a kind of downgrade and suppression - after all, no one has paid attention to the battle on the water."

Byron spread his hands: "Let them say this to the six naval guns. I don't believe that anyone can stand upright after seeing a water fortress more than 100 meters long, full of steel, six heavy guns, and two layers of shields. Whispering your neck and saying it doesn't work—if there was one, I'd serve him wine and food, take a bath and change clothes, pay my respects, and stuff it into a railgun and fire it."

Obviously, Byron, who was born as a mercenary, seldom thought about the issue of "whether it is honor to sit on a ship and fight a war". What he valued was that the ship was capable of fighting, very capable of fighting - and that was enough.

But then again, Byron can think so simply and directly, but Gawain can't just think about the issue of "warships can fight".

He raised his head, looked at several control platforms not far away, and the "mechanical soldiers" busy between the platforms, listening to the faint mechanical roar coming from the lower cabin, what he thought in his heart was It is how much derivative value this ship can bring.

The Pioneer is just the beginning. It is a technological aggregate that has been piled up after the fusion of Cecil's most cutting-edge magic technology and Kraken technology. The value of this aggregate is not only to create a A powerful warship lies in every technological achievement gained in the process of building this warship.

For the current Principality of Cecil, the Pioneer can be said to be "parameter overflow".

As an inland warship, its various values ​​far exceed the category of inland warships, and also exceed the current military needs of Cecil, from firepower to armor to power. It can be said that the Pioneer is in On the basis of ensuring the ability to navigate inland rivers, all advanced technologies have been piled up regardless of cost. If it is used as a finalized production warship, this technology accumulation can be described as waste.

But this is exactly the meaning of building an "experimental ship". The process of building the Pioneer itself is equivalent to trying all the currently feasible technologies, and these technologies can be used in the future after a certain downgrading or modification. Other fields, especially civil fields.

According to the plan, after the ship goes offline, the relevant technology accumulation will immediately enter the application and expansion stage.

First of all, the mature power technology will be applied to the Aurora and the Morning Star—the two semi-finished magical warships will not be dismantled just because the cutting-edge ships are offline. Based on the principle of making the best use of everything, Gao Wen decided to complete their transformation and reconstruction, and put them into the Cecil fleet after installing the engine group and new outer armor.

Subsequently, all civilian ships under the Cecil Shipyard and the ship management department will also enter the transformation stage. The old cargo ships can be modified as soon as they can be modified, and they will be gradually scrapped and rebuilt if they cannot be modified. After being downgraded, it can be used to build large-capacity, high-speed civilian cargo ships, thereby greatly improving the material transportation capacity in the southern border and relieving the transportation pressure faced by various parts of the Principality during the large-scale construction period.

At the same time, the pioneer's highly integrated power ridge, magic wing, and shipboard shield technology can also be used on roadbed bunkers, large vehicles, engineering facilities, and other types of warships.

He called Hetty and talked about his plans, and after hearing that the transportation problem was expected to be alleviated, Hetty, who had been worrying about this matter for a long time, was relieved: "This would be great... If you put The power technology on the Pioneer is used on civilian ships, at least in areas covered by rivers, and more than half of the transportation problems can be solved.”

But then she frowned: "But in this way, the new mechanical boats will soon monopolize the river transportation, and those traditional boat owners should go bankrupt quickly... Most of them can't afford to buy a magic boat." Guided mechanical ship..."

Gawain looked at Heidi with some surprise.

"What's wrong?" Hetty didn't know why, so she touched her face, "Is there something on my face?"

Butler Cecil was confused. She clearly remembered that she didn't wear smoky makeup today... Could it be that she forgot to take off the makeup she put on yesterday to cheat a half-day vacation?

Gao Wen didn't know what this eldest granddaughter was muttering in his heart. He just suddenly thought of the beginning, and Hetty's bewilderment after hearing the concept of "labor reward" system and "personnel management" at that time.

At that time, Hetty didn't know the life of common people at all. Although she had some honest and compassionate thoughts, she was still a noble girl who never left the castle and manor and only relied on fantasy to conceive the suffering of the people. At that time She doesn't even know why the common people can only eat two meals a day, and why the common people pick up the food scraps thrown out of the castle...

Today, she has been able to think about what to do when the ship owners go bankrupt for the first time - although a large part of this is due to the nature of the work of the government affairs department, it is also enough to explain the change in her way of thinking.