"Is this the new ship?"
On the newly built dock on the West Coast, Caesar landed with Red Flame, frowning as he looked at the sea. There was a strange-looking ship sailing.
The ship's shape was strange because of the exposed wheel-like paddles installed on both sides of the ship. Part of the paddles were submerged in the sea, while the other part was exposed above the sea surface. At this time, the sails were retracted, and the two paddles were used to provide the ship with the power to move forward.
This was not something that Caesar had made, nor was it a product of the newly established shipbuilding department. It was a ship that already existed in Airadia.
A paddle steamer.
The people in charge of the shipbuilding department were a boar-man and a human. At this time, the human supervisor was wiping cold sweat, facing the sudden landing of the Black Dragon Lord, who could not tell whether it was happy or angry. He lowered his head and trembled.
After waiting for a while, the boar-man supervisor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is a ship imported from the central Triangle Bay, driven by primitive manpower and magical power."
After the boar-man spoke, the human supervisor felt that the pressure had decreased a lot, and he dared to say, "… After reverse research and development, we decided to use a single power source, remove the transmission system on the ship, connect the steam furnace power shaft directly to the paddle wheel, and change the intake through several duplex intake pipes to control the power and the ship's speed.
But … "
Caesar glanced at the man, "But what?"
"But this structure will make the ship sluggish, and in a stormy environment, because the paddles are above the surface of the water, the ship will not be stable."
The human supervisor lowered his head even more. He did not dare to face the Black Dragon Emperor directly, but he also did not dare to not explain the problem, and did not dare to fool the Evil Dragon Lord with vague words, because he knew very well that no matter how he avoided it, the ship would eventually be used for experiments. If the problem was discovered by then, he might not even be able to keep his life.
The Northlanders knew very well that their Evil Dragon Lord was different from the ordinary Pentashade Dragons. The Black Dragon was completely different from those arrogant and careless Pentashade Dragons. Some problems could not be hidden from Emperor Caesar.
Since he had already spoken, he decided to explain the problem clearly, "In addition, the paddles are easy to damage, and it is not convenient to dock at the dock. It is easy to collide with the ships on both sides."
"And …"
The human snuck a glance at the boar-man beside him and said with some deliberation, "If the paddle wheel is attacked, or if it is entangled by aquatic plants or other objects, there is a possibility that the paddle wheel will lose its power."
"Where's the propeller boat I told you about?" Caesar frowned.
If he simply replaced the magic core with a steam furnace without any improvements, not only would the paddle steamer not become better, it would also lose its advantage of magic conduction and become even worse.
The wild boar-man manager stepped forward and said, "It's still under research. The various technologies of using steam furnaces as power are not mature yet. There are still many problems that need to be solved. The steam furnaces often have problems, and their efficiency is not high. Sometimes, they even lose power directly. If we apply it to the propellers you mentioned, we still need to continue testing.
Your Majesty, we still need time. "
The wild boar-men were not very good at talking, but Caesar would not be dissatisfied like the other dragons. On the contrary, he valued this clan very much. The wild boar-men's honest nature was a trait that many monsters lacked.
Caesar turned his neck and looked at the steamer sailing on the sea. Just as the wild boar-man and the human manager said, the ship after the change of power was not stable. While they were talking, the ship slowly came to a stop. The paddles on both sides were no longer moving. It seemed that there was a problem with the power.
"The shipping department has just been established. This is only the beginning stage. Your progress is not slow."
Caesar looked at the manager who was embarrassed because the ship had stopped moving. "But I hope you can speed up. This is the most important thing."
"You need money, people, and convenience. The court will support you. The Red Lotus Goblin's weapon research facility and the Manticore's material laboratory are not as rich as your resources."
The Black Dragon's attitude and tone did not sound like that of an evil dragon. Instead, he sounded like a real monarch. "You don't need to worry about the power source. The spellcaster team is further optimizing the steam furnaces. The finished product will replace the existing steam furnaces. What you need to do is to optimize the adaptation system and the ship."
After saying that, Caesar turned his head slightly and stared at the ship on the sea with his vertical eye. In just a moment, the ship seemed to have been hit by a heavy hammer. Many parts of the hull had collapsed, and it was shaking uncontrollably. It seemed like it was about to sink.
"Is this a ship for fishermen?"
Caesar stopped using his psionic power. "It's too weak to carry my soldiers."
"Since you guys aren't capable enough, let's brainstorm a little more. In a moment, the Royal Court will release a message to the outside world, soliciting talents and ideas from both within and outside the country. We'll also provide rewards, and the minimum reward for shipbuilders who can create better ships will be 10,000 gold."
Other than the Wild Boar people who did not have any reaction, the eyes of the humans present turned red. Ten thousand gold was nothing to the empire, but it was an exaggeration to an individual. If they did not squander it recklessly, this amount of money would ensure that they would not have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.
Furthermore, the Blackwing Empire's strict laws and high-pressure control provided a considerable degree of security. People could peacefully enjoy the life brought about by money, and did not need to be cautious and constantly worry about danger. This also indirectly increased the temptation of this bounty.
The reason why Caesar began to make gunpowder, steam furnaces, and shipbuilding was not for fun. Although he had not seen the most cutting-edge magical products of the current era, such as the floating fortress and the war golem, he expected that it was not something that an ordinary army could deal with. Even if the Blackwing Clan had completed the radiation transformation, he was afraid that they would be helpless in the face of such a magical army.
Caesar remembered that a few years ago, the deep sea countries in the south had tried to land on Airadia. Those sea creatures were not weaker than the monsters on the land, and they were even stronger. However, they were beaten into smelly fish and rotten shrimp by The Rising Sun City. They could not hold on for more than a week before they fled back to the sea.
Caesar did not take the initiative to provoke the behemoth in the south, but in case he had to face the empire in the future, he did not want to end up in the same situation. He still needed the necessary strength, otherwise he would become a persimmon that had no right to speak and could be pinched by others.
Now, these were only the beginning. Mechanical Golems, Orc Armored Tanks, Gray Centaur Rocket Launchers, Self-Exploding Dire Wolves, Demon Hounds, Propeller Flying Dragons … These were what Caesar really wanted, and also the path that a mixed empire should take. Relying on magical power alone, with the talent of these monsters in the Black Dragon's clan, they could not play.