Chapter 1902 Beyond imagination

Li Bo was personally accompanied by Ning Qi to explain, while other North Korean students naturally did not enjoy such high treatment due to their status. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still equipped them with commentators to introduce them to the situation of the New World. Of course, this group

Visitors also had many questions, especially several students who came to Haihan to learn shipbuilding technology. Many of the questions raised were difficult for even the lecturers to answer, such as how heavy the ship was and how so many steel components were connected and assembled.

Come on, why not build it with easier to work wood, etc.

Li Bo didn't care how the ship was built, because he knew very well that this kind of shipbuilding technology was not within the control of North Korea. Even if the Haihan people were willing to teach it, it would only be a dragon-slaying skill at best.

This ship looks indeed powerful, but even the Haihan people themselves no longer use it. North Korea does not have the conditions to use so much steel to build a large ship that can only be placed in the port as a totem.

The executive committee granted permission for North Korean students studying abroad to board the ship and visit the parts above the deck. This was a treatment that Li Xi had not enjoyed before. Although he had visited the large iron ship, he was not allowed to board the ship at the time, so he only stayed at the dock.

I went up to take a closer look, and today, thanks to Li Bo, I was able to actually touch the ship.

However, when the Koreans walked up the gangway to the deck, they soon discovered that there was nothing particularly amazing on it. There were no weapons or other powerful equipment as they imagined, only a few tall hangers and huge cabins on the deck.

The cover indicates that the ship is a cargo ship. But everything within reach is indeed cold steel, which is not adulterated at all.

Ning Qi introduced with emotion: "Although this ship will no longer go to sea, it carried the hopes of hundreds of us Haihan people at that time. Without this ship, there would be no Haihan today."

The country is over!"

Li Bo asked curiously: "I heard that the country where you adults were born is thousands of miles overseas. Have you ever considered returning to your homeland in the future?"

Ning Qi smiled bitterly and said: "Many people have thought about this problem, but it's too far away and we can't go back. And we left our homeland in the first place to create a new world. So far it seems to be going quite smoothly.

.At least here, we have established our own country."

Li Bo didn't have an exact idea of ​​how far away the Haihan people's homeland was, but the Haihan army could point directly to Liaodong, which was thousands of miles away, but even they thought it was too far away to return.

Thousands of miles away. Thinking about how these few hundred people and a few ships could create such a big situation in the South China Sea, it was even more unimaginable for Li Bo to imagine how powerful the country where they were originally located would be.

But since Ning Qi was unwilling to take the initiative to mention the situation in his motherland, Li Bo wisely did not pursue this topic further, but moved to another topic that he was very interested in: "Since your country can build such a

With the capabilities of large iron ships, if we could build a few more steel warships of this size, we wouldn't even need to install cannons. When fighting, we would just have to ram them all the way and no one would be able to defeat them."

Ning Qi smiled and said: "Your Majesty thinks things are too simple. The cost of building and maintaining such a large ship far exceeds that of an entire armed fleet, and it is extremely difficult to train qualified operators. Besides, we don't have any yet."

If we encounter a real opponent that can fight at sea, there is really no need for our country to spend so much trouble at this stage."

Li Bo suddenly said: "I understand, this is the truth that you don't need to use a bull's knife to kill a chicken!"

The current strength of Haihan Navy is indeed second to none in East Asia. Even several maritime colonial countries from the West have far less maritime armaments than Haihan in this area. Therefore, at this stage, even if Haihan has the ability to manufacture more

The technology of advanced warships has still chosen to maintain the status quo. The navy still uses sail warships as its main force, and only a few warships are equipped with steam power systems.

The installation of steam power systems on large warships is not entirely to further expand the performance advantages of the ships in combat. Another important reason is to train relevant technical personnel. After all, they can use and maintain large steam engines and power propulsion systems.

There are not many talents in the Haihan Army, and the military also needs to reserve technical talents in advance to prepare in advance for the actual steam ironclads to enter service in the future.

Of course, in fact, the Haihan Navy already has a quasi-ironclad ship, the Black Shark, in secret service and has participated in several combat operations. However, due to various objective reasons, the Black Shark has not continued to build follow-up ships. Currently, it is only

As a special training ship of the Navy, it is used to adjust marine power engines, test new shipborne weapons and train combat personnel. However, the Black Shark is not the same thing as the steel warship Li Shu imagined.

.

But Li Bo's understanding can be regarded as a mistake. Haihan's current business is too big and the expansion speed is too fast. Military expenditures have risen to the point where they have to be controlled. Although the replacement of advanced equipment will help further improve the combat effectiveness of the troops,

But as far as the current international situation is concerned, there is indeed no need for the Haihan Army to rush into investing huge sums of money in upgrading weapons and equipment.

After actually arriving on the ship, everyone discovered that the impact was not as severe as the one seen from a distance. Mottled rust could be seen in many places on the deck. The traces of erosion by seawater and wind after being docked at the beach for many years were very clear. And the most important thing is that

The thing is that this thing is big, but it can only be parked at the dock, and its majestic appearance on the sea can only be imagined, which makes people feel a little discouraged.

Although this ship has a very special commemorative significance for the country of Haihan, to the foreign guests visiting the ship, it is more like a rusty historical relic. As a foreigner, it is actually difficult to understand this.

The ship has special significance to the Haihan ruling class. They only know that it is the largest item among the many items that the Haihan people brought from their homeland, nothing more.

Among this group of visitors, the only one who really understood the significance of this ship was probably Li Shu. Under Ning Qi's accompanying explanation, he realized that the existence of this ship reflected Haihan's transcendence of the times.

Shipbuilding technology, and because of the huge combat effectiveness advantage of the maritime armed fleet, Haihan does not seem to intend to use these advanced technologies at this stage. This means that Haihan will still be in its navy for a long time to come.

Play the role of maritime overlord within the scope of activities within reach.

Of course, this can be considered good news for North Korea, because it means that Haihan will be able to continue to serve as North Korea's maritime protector without having to worry about other countries launching aggression against itself from the sea.

The technology for building large iron ships is indeed very advanced, but Li Bo would not choose it as a subject for his study abroad. So after visiting the ship and getting off the ship, when Ning Qi asked him what he thought after the visit, Li Bo said bluntly

My own thoughts: "Your country's shipbuilding skills are indeed great, but building such a large iron ship is beyond the scope of what our country can imitate. I can only be a spectator."

After leaving the port, Ning Qi took the group of Koreans to the Victory Port Railway Station. There is no doubt that the large iron ship parked at the port, unable to move, is definitely not as visually impactful as the train running on the railway.

Seeing the long train roaring from a distance, blowing out white smoke, and feeling the ground beneath his feet shaking slightly, Li Bo finally understood why everyone who had been to Sanya would mention trains as a special form of transportation.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard for him to believe that there was such a strange existence in the world. The Haihan people's whimsical ideas were far beyond his imagination, and they could actually create such a steel beast.

"Your Majesty, please!" Seeing Li Bo's obviously distracted expression, Ning Qi knew that this visit had achieved excellent results. Like those foreign dignitaries who saw the train for the first time in the past, Li Bo was in this kind of situation.

In the face of industrial miracles, it is inevitable to be a little embarrassed.

Li Shu came back to his senses and slowly approached the locomotive with Ning Qi. He found that the top and bottom of the locomotive were indeed made of fine iron. He couldn't help but sigh at Haihan's iron-smelting ability - using fine iron to build cars and pave roads.

How many resources do you need to consume to do this?

This is probably a strong country! Li Bo could only sigh again. Of course, he quickly noticed that there were several carriages carrying goods and people behind the locomotive. It seemed that the legendary train could pull tens of thousands of kilograms of load.

It's not a boast, it's the truth.

Since they had gone to the port to visit the large iron ship, they had already missed the train bound for Tiandu in the morning. The train they saw at the Shengli Port Railway Station left Tiandu, passed through Shengli Port, and finally arrived at Sanya Port.

Most of the trains that left Tiandu in the morning were filled with various goods, but there were not too many people on this train.

"Master Ning, building such a car and building such a special road must cost a lot of money, right?" Li Bo asked tentatively.

Ning Qi smiled and said: "The cost is not only huge, but even with our country's financial and material resources, only two railways have been built so far, with a total mileage of just over a hundred miles. What the prince sees now is one of them. This one

The railway runs through the busiest area of ​​Sanya, not only transporting thousands of people every day, but also responsible for more than half of the local freight volume."

Li Bo asked: "Since the investment is so huge, why not build ordinary roads and use horse-drawn carriages to transport people and goods?"

Ning Qi explained: "Firstly, the quantity of the goods we have to transport is huge, and secondly, the carriage is inconvenient to load and unload. Prince, please see, the second carriage of this train is filled with logs harvested from the deep mountains inland. The destination is

At the Victory Port Shipyard, in order to make the components of the ship, these logs must be transported as intact as possible to ensure the size of the components. Ordinary horse-drawn carriages cannot transport them from the mountains dozens of miles away."

Li Pu looked at the thick logs leaning against the carriage. They were all about three feet in diameter and more than three feet in length. One log might weigh two to three thousand kilograms. This size and weight are indeed not what ordinary carriages can carry.

Pulled.

Ning Qi pointed to a large pile of coal on the platform: "Every day, tens of thousands of kilograms of coal are transported from the Victory Port Terminal to the inland Tiandu Industrial Zone. If we completely rely on horse-drawn carriages to pull one truck after another, it will really

It is time-consuming, labor-intensive and inefficient. But if you load it by train, you only need two trips in the morning and one in the evening."

Li Bo was slightly surprised when he heard this number. He didn't know what secrets were hidden in the interior of Sanya, which actually required so much coal consumption. But what Ning Qi said did make sense. The carriage's loading capacity was limited.

If there are too many goods that need to be transported on this line every day, it may not be as efficient as this train that can pull tens of thousands of kilograms of weight at a time.

Ning Qi finally pointed to the people on the platform who were getting on and off the train: "Compared to horse carriages, the cost of train travel is actually much lower. Only people who need to travel back and forth along this train line every day can afford the expense. Living in Sanya City

, the place where you work every day is dozens of miles away, this kind of lifestyle is only found in our country."

Regarding train commuting, Ning Qi is actually a bit bragging about it. Although this mode of transportation is indeed better than ordinary carriages and horses, and the cost is relatively low, not all people can easily afford it, and it is not what he described.

So convenient. The two commuter trains in the morning and evening still take a lot of time to travel back and forth on the road. If the locomotive breaks down, it will delay even more time. Many people who work in Tiandu Industrial Zone have spent a lot of time in recent years.

Gradually move to a settlement closer to your workplace to save yourself these troubles.

Of course, overall, there is no doubt that this transportation artery has played a role in promoting the development of Sanya, especially the transportation of materials. At this stage, there is no other more effective way to replace the existence of freight trains.

Even from the non-professional perspective of an outsider like Li Bo, it is not difficult to understand the special role that trains can play in logistics. Of course, considering the large amount of materials required to build this project, Li Bo is very

He has the self-knowledge to realize that this is not a project that his country can imitate - at least until the iron smelting industry develops rapidly, North Korea is unlikely to embark on this kind of infrastructure project.

Because there was a large amount of cargo to be unloaded here, the train stopped at Victory Port for a relatively long time. This group of Koreans had sufficient time to observe the true appearance of the Haihan Train at close range. Compared with

The big motionless iron ship that we saw before, this train and the railway that it rides on are obviously more topical. The North Korean students talked about it while watching and made various guesses about the operating principle of this train.

Their clothes are obviously different from the popular double-breasted jackets in Haihan. The local people can tell that these people are foreigners at a glance. Some people who saw the excitement in Victory Square yesterday have already recognized their identities. North Korea is currently

People are studying the train, and local people are watching the Koreans, which is a strange sight.
Chapter completed!