In the high-pitched cheers of the people, Roland watched with satisfaction as the second cement ship slid into the water.

These two cement ships, seemingly simple in construction, were actually a significant improvement compared to the initial Town.

For the first time, a dense steel rebar framework was added to its interior, and the quality of the cement was also greatly improved, making the overall strength several times higher than that of the Town.

Moreover, in order to speed up the construction, Roland reserved slots and interfaces for installing steam engines, transmission mechanisms, and paddle wheels when designing the hull. At that time, as long as corresponding fixing pins were welded to these metal parts, they could be quickly spliced together, and the installation would be like gluing a model.

At the same time, the template was changed from temporary cobbled bricks to iron molds, which can not only ensure the density of the poured concrete and improve its own waterproof performance, but also make each ship basically the same, so as to avoid deviations when installing the power system. In order to get a complete template shape, he scrapped at least seven prototypes—fortunately, cement is no longer a scarce product. From grinding stone to mixing into the kiln, steam engines have replaced manual labor, which can be said to be a rare industrial project in Border Town that does not rely on the power of witches to produce on a large scale.

With sufficient materials, reliable templates, and skilled workers, the only thing that limits the output of the hull is the hardening speed of the cement. However, with the acceleration reaction ability of Bai Zhi, the cement ship that originally needed to be placed for one or two months can be launched in only one day. In other words, as long as Roland is willing, this shipyard can completely launch a blank ship every two or three days.

If the manufacturing speed of steam engines and the training of crew members can keep up, he can have a huge transport fleet in a short time, and the entire Clearwater River will be densely packed with his own cement ships. The legendary "dumpling making" is nothing more than that.

This is the charm of industry.

Now that the hull is complete, the next step is to install the power components. These mechanical equipment are basically the same as the modified ships of the Crescent Moon Chamber of Commerce, and the craftsmen have had practical experience, so he is not worried about this.

"I don't understand, why do you want to tell the people about this kind of thing?" Nightingale asked.

"To promote national strength," Roland smiled slightly.

"Huh?"

"I mean, witness the earth-shaking changes in the town." He stroked his chin and said, "Before you saw the Town, you probably wouldn't have expected that a stone ship could float on the water. The people think the same way. After realizing the impossible, their sense of identity with the town will become higher and higher—this kind of improvement in mentality is all-round, and may even evolve into the belief that there is nothing they can't do."

"Not...too clear," Nightingale's voice was a little confused.

"You can understand it as a kind of propaganda method," Roland laughed. In this era, the days when nobles celebrate with the people are only during festivals or major events, but both of these are basically related to the nobles. If it weren't for the free distribution of porridge, the participation of the people would not be high. And the cement ship is the result of the collective collaboration of hundreds of workers, and they themselves are part of this festival.

In addition, as a member of the territory, seeing the miracles constantly produced by the territory, self-confidence and identity will gradually increase, which is what is called the "great power mentality" in later generations. The prosperity of a territory will inevitably cause positive changes in the mentality of the people.

...

A week later, Roland received more than twenty townspeople who had applied for the position of captain in the castle hall.

At first, when Barov reported the number of people, he was greatly surprised. He didn't expect that there were so many "high-end talents" among the refugees sheltered by the town. It was not until he looked at the detailed report that he smiled dumbly—among this group of applicants, there were many fishermen who operated rafts and small fishing boats, and even boatmen who made a living by ferrying. In a sense, they can indeed be regarded as having "captain" experience.

Among all the applicants, only three had experience in operating inland single-masted sailboats, one of whom claimed to have served as a commander of a merchant fleet and had spent a long time at sea.

Roland thought for a while, and finally decided to recruit all these twenty-odd people.

Because steamships and sailing ships belong to completely different systems, and the operation is completely different, even an experienced old captain may not be able to quickly get started with a steam paddle wheeler. In addition, he knows nothing about sailing matters, so it is better to let them figure it out and learn on their own than to give blind commands.

Since they are starting from scratch, they must have the determination and courage to explore.

"I have read the experiences you declared," Roland swept over the group of people kneeling on one knee in the hall, "Today I have gathered you here to inform you that you have passed the initial review and have gloriously become the first batch of trainee captains in Border Town. Stand up."

"Yes... Your Highness," everyone got up cautiously, looking at each other a few times, seemingly quite confused about the word "trainee captain."

The prince took the initiative to explain: "Internship means that it is not a formal position. Before actually boarding the ship, you only have half the salary on the notice, which is ten Silverwulfs per month. The first two months are the learning period. You will be familiar with the performance, operation methods, and operation process of the new ships. The third month is a trial run, which is used to assess your mastery ability. Only after passing the test can you be promoted to a formal captain, and the salary will be paid in full. Those who are unwilling to accept it can leave now."

No one in the team moved. After a while, an old man suddenly spoke, "Your Highness, may I ask who will teach us, and who will assess the qualification for promotion?"

Roland looked at the other party with interest. He should be the fleet commander who claimed to be experienced, and his name seemed to be Kakusimu. If he remembered correctly, he was also a relative of the police officer who performed well in an assassination case more than two months ago. From the old man's tone, it can be heard that he does not think that anyone can teach him how to drive a boat—in fact, there is indeed no one.

"The teachers are yourselves." The prince nodded.

These words caused a commotion in the crowd.

"Your Highness, what...does that mean?" Kakusimu asked puzzled.

"How much do you know about steam engines?" Roland asked rhetorically. Unsurprisingly, no one could answer, "A steamship is such a ship with a completely new meaning. Past experience is not very useful, so you can only rely on yourselves to explore and summarize. Of course, I will also send workers from the steam engine factory to help you familiarize yourselves with the machines." He paused, "And the assessment method is very simple. Being able to lead a group of sailors to make the ship move and complete a transportation mission is considered qualified."

The saying "Ten years for the army, a hundred years for the navy" is an exaggeration, but it also shows the difficulty of forming a navy. If this group of people can skillfully master the operation of steamships, they will definitely be able to cultivate a large number of suitable crew members for the Western Region in the future. When steam-powered shallow-water gunboats are built, they can be pulled over and directly put into use.

He was very curious about what kind of navy would eventually be formed when civilian crew members and artillerymen were combined.