Struggle in Russia

[Temporary truce? 】

This suggestion is definitely not within the scope of Grand Duke Constantine's consideration, because even if it is a temporary truce, his side will suffer a complete defeat. In all the salons, all the balls and theater boxes all over St. Petersburg tonight there will be gossip about the inquiry.

Among these news, Li Xiao is definitely the one who shines brightly, and he is likely to become a clown who is ridiculed.

Grand Duke Constantine's self-esteem could not accept such an "insult", especially watching Li Xiao stepping on his head to accept the cheers, just thinking about it could drive him crazy.

"I will never..."

Grand Duke Konstantin just started, and his confidants persuaded again: "Your Excellency, that Grand Duke Andrei Konstantinovich is much more difficult than we expected, and we must find more powerful and professional people to make it Hold him... If we continue today, I'm afraid we will suffer a crushing defeat, and there will be no chance of a comeback at that time!"

Grand Duke Constantine finally stopped talking, and the hope of a comeback was his last straw. For this tiny hope, he can only forcefully suppress his dissatisfaction, announce a halftime break, and choose another day to fight again.

With a coaxing sound, the auditorium was filled with derisive laughter again. This laughter made Grand Duke Constantine almost vomit blood. He could only give Li Xiao a resentful look, and then quickly retreated and ran away.

Surrounded by the cheering crowd, Li Xiao's friends immediately surrounded him. Tolstoy gave him the warmest hug without saying a word, and almost forced Li Xiao to kiss him. This brat was so excited that he almost became Li Xiao's fanboy, wishing he could catch Li Xiao and have a long talk for three days and three nights.

Fortunately, there was Alexei, who took away the "disgraceful" brat, because Lazarev and Bellingshausen wanted to discuss business with Li Xiao, and they couldn't be delayed by the brat.

So under Tolstoy's longing eyes, Li Xiao almost ran away and boarded the carriage of the two veterans. Just now, he was also frightened by the bear with green eyes.

"Thank you both for your support. Without you, I'm afraid I wouldn't have passed the test so easily today."

As soon as Li Xiao came up, he expressed his sincere thanks. Indeed, without these two veterans today, the environment for interrogation would be even worse. By then, all the onlookers would be enemies with malicious intentions against him. He would not have a single supporter, nor would there be a fair and reasonable environment for interrogation. And all of this was fought for him by the two old generals withstood the pressure, which was really not easy.

But neither Bellingshausen nor Lazarev cared much,

Bellingshausen waved his hand indifferently and said: "Your Excellency, you are too famous. We didn't do anything, but just watched a good show. I really didn't expect you to defeat the opponent by yourself, beautiful!"

Lazarev also praised: "Yes, Your Excellency, your performance in this inquiry is a hundred times more effective than our traveling around to do the work of persuasion. You let everyone see the iron-hulled ships and Steam power is promising, it is not some wild and uninhibited fantasy, let alone some alchemical magic that cannot stand scrutiny..."

The 19th century was not only an era of great technological development, but also an era of grotesques. Science and metaphysics were popular, and all kinds of true and false knowledge were everywhere, which often made people laugh and cry.

Just like iron ships, there are many metaphysicians who falsify them. Many people like Ye Luofei refused to change with the idea that the iron must not survive, and they used their voice and influence to lead a large number of people astray. It is really sad that bad money drives out good money.

"General, I didn't do anything. I just clarified the facts that have already been proven. Your work is ten thousand times better than mine. Without your continuous publicity and appeal, without your promotion, the situation would be even worse , and I am afraid that my remarks will be taken as demons to confuse the public, and then I will be directly sent to the stake and burned to death, and it is impossible to sit here safely."

Lazarev and Bellingshausen laughed and said:

"We don't need to flatter each other, Your Excellency, as you said, the situation is still grim. The old-fashionedness of the Admiralty is not so easy to persuade, we must make persistent efforts to pursue the victory!"

Li Xiao agrees with this. It is definitely beneficial to popularize science. The backward Russia really needs such a fresh wind, even if it can only blow away a little dust.

After chatting for a while, Lazarev suddenly asked: "Your Excellency, after listening to your speech today, I would like to ask, is the problem that plagued iron-built ships has been solved, and iron-built ships will become the mainstream in the future?"

Li Xiao replied seriously: "General, I think it is a historical trend and inevitable that iron-built ships will become the mainstream. There are too many advantages of iron-built ships...but it cannot be said that all problems have been solved right now!"

Lazarev was surprised: "There are still problems? Isn't the navigation problem solved?"

Li Xiao said: "The navigation problem has been solved, but the solution is not so perfect. There are still flaws in the actual application. It needs to continuously accumulate data as a correction, and professional personnel are needed to use it well. And these are still lacking in our country... ..."

Lazarev was silent, but he also knew that Li Xiao was right. Russia was too backward and lacked professional and technical personnel.

Li Xiao said again: "Actually, apart from the navigation problem, Ye Luofei has not mentioned the more important problem today!"

Lazarev was surprised: "There are bigger problems? How is it possible?"

Li Xiao smiled wryly: "Yes, that's the problem of anti-rust. As you know, iron products are too easy to rust, especially in high-salt and humid environments, the rust will be very fast!"

"If no intervention is taken, an iron ship will corrode and damage very quickly, and it can turn it into a pile of scrap iron in ten years!"

Lazarev was stunned. You must know that iron ships are about 20% more expensive than traditional wooden ships. If steam engines are added, it is not surprising that the cost is 50% more expensive than wooden ships. Such an expensive ship only has a lifespan of ten years, no one can bear it!

"Is there no way?" Lazarev asked worriedly.

"Yes!" Li Xiao nodded and said, "Strengthening maintenance and regular rust removal are the solution to the symptoms but not the root cause. But in the long run, the development of new materials that are more corrosion-resistant, and the spraying of paint or coatings with better anti-rust performance are the best solutions." solution."

Lazarev's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked excitedly: "Is there such a new material and new paint? Your Excellency, please tell me quickly, this is great!!"