Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 138 Miss Paris

Although Li Fushou is a major shareholder of Hongshan Shipyard, he cannot forcefully lower the price, because the shipyard still has dozens of large and small shareholders, including white investors and Hongmen gangsters, to the backbone of the court. Move the whole body.

  "How about the current fishing boat order?" Li Fushou asked.

Mr. Fox shrugged, obviously not paying attention to this business, and replied; "At present we have more than a dozen orders for medium-sized fishing vessels, but we have to arrange production for the second half of the year. Our manpower is very tight. Wait. Only after a new batch of riveters are trained."

   "Oh, who made the order?"

"Mr. Lord, these orders are mainly whites of British descent, and at least 7 of them were ranchers. After all, the British have a long tradition of fishing and sailing. There are three fishing boats ordered by the Chinese, and two of them are actually Large offshore fishing boats, I guess they must have made a fortune in the gold rush, otherwise they cannot have so much money." Mr. Fox said here, pointing to the front proudly and introducing; "Please look ahead, honorable Lord Lord , This is the beautiful seagull we carefully crafted, she is really beautiful."

  Following the direction of Fox’s finger, it is a separate factory building separated by a tall stone wall area, located in a remote part of the shipyard.

  There are several guards armed with guns at the door to protect them, and other people are not allowed to enter.

Shown in front of Li Fushou are two seagull patrol ships built at the same time. The main body has been 90% completed. It has a beautiful and smooth light gray hull. The sharpened bow shows the most distinctive feature of this patrol ship. A light high-speed ship.

  From the sharpened rear of the bow, the bow line expands sharply, and it has an obvious floating shape. This is an extremely important design.

  It is used to overcome the severe wave phenomenon caused by squally winds and waves in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean when the ship is traveling at high speed, which has a downward pressure and homeopathic spreading effect on the wave, and ensures the normal operation of the main open bow of the ship.

  This is an optimized design based on the British Royal Navy’s rich ocean navigation experience, which is very rigorous and reasonable.

  The entire hull is in a spindle shape, wide in front and narrow in the back, as smooth as a fish swimming, with vivid and extremely beautiful lines. It uses two new reciprocating steam engines to provide surging power and a cruising range of 2700 nautical miles.

  Beautiful design often means superior performance. This type of repeatedly polished seagull patrol ship gives people a stunning feeling when it debuts.

  Li Fushou stared at the two patrol ships under construction on the slipway for a long time, and his thoughts were tumbling and surging. This is exactly the treasure he hoped to get, and he liked it from the first sight.

  Warships are different from ordinary freighters. They are displayed in front of the world in a cold and violent image. The high black hole muzzle is the best tool for declaring power.

  With it, the Red River Valley private armed forces have fangs and sharp teeth.

  Uh...Strictly speaking, it cannot be said that it should be Queensland's independent coastal defense force.

To suppress bandits and pirates, combat illegal smuggling and smuggling (it looks like Red River Valley is the largest organizer of smuggling), maintain the tranquility and order of ocean shipping channels, and effectively protect Queensland’s own interests, which is to protect the interests of Red River Valley.

  Currently, the greatest threat to the Red River Valley ocean shipping is the Spanish pirates entrenched in the Luzon Islands, which seriously threatens the safety of the route to the Far East and threatens the fundamental interests of the Red River Valley-immigration.

The rampant Spanish pirates in the Luzon Islands, especially frequent activities in the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea, forced the United Shipping Company and other merchant ships in the nineteenth century to bypass the route of the eastern end of Luzon Island, which is more turbulent. It is safe for navigation. Very unfavorable.

  Many immigrants lost their lives in the stormy seas of the South Pacific because they were not used to the rough sea environment and severe seasickness and vomiting.

  This blood debt must be recorded on rampant Spanish pirates.

  To count on the proud Royal Navy of the British Empire to wipe out the pirates is completely lucky, only God knows.

Since the Malacca encounter at the beginning of last year, the Royal Navy dispatched a fleet in India to dispatch a small fast fleet from Calcutta, led by the heavy cruiser "Routo", with the light iron-clad cruiser "Pyrénées" The "Mark Bridges" and two coal ships came to Singapore Port, which belongs to the Straits Settlements, to be stationed for a month and a half.

During   , I went out to sea only once, for a total of 6 days, and spent the rest of the time on the shore to eat, drink, and enjoy.

  Then this small fleet continued to go to Hong Kong, still staying in the port most of the time, occasionally sending out light iron-clad cruisers to patrol the sea, even if the mission was completed.

The four-month suppression of bandits came to an end. According to the Royal Navy’s report, Southeast Asia’s waters were calm and commerce was prosperous. Rampant pirate forces in the region flee thousands of miles under the deterrence of the Royal Navy. It is no longer enough to deal with problems. Errands.

  It is so beautiful to count on the Royal Navy of the British Empire to do its best for Australia or Queensland, or to serve for a rancher of some local wealth?

  The beautifully-shaped Seagull-class patrol ship on the slipway will be a maritime armed force that the Red River Valley can indeed master and rely on, making the enemy fearful.

  Li Fushou excitedly walked to the side of the slipway and carefully observed every detail of the seagull patrol ship. Mr. Fox saw that the Queensland Lord attaches great importance to this type of ship, and accompanied him to explain carefully;

  "Lord Lord;

Please take a look at this beautiful little baby. This is a masterpiece that embodies the rich design experience of British ship experts. The hull of 1,660 feet in length condenses the most advanced fluid mechanics design in the world. It can achieve better results with lower power. High speed.

  Two newest reciprocating steam engines are connected in series on the main drive shaft. They are connected and separated by a mechanical transfer case. During long patrols, one engine can be used to maintain low speed and economical operation.

  When necessary, two engines provide power at the same time, allowing this beautiful little guy to fly on the sea and chase the fastest cruise ship.

  This type of patrol ship is also equipped with two American Cargill 1.2-liter purple oil engines, each connected to a high-power pump to deal with any potential marine fire hazards.

  Look at this German-made 239mm retreat main gun. This is a powerful guy with a longer barrel. It can strike the enemy at a longer distance, has a straighter trajectory and higher shooting accuracy.

  There is a high-precision sliding rail seat under the gun body, which will automatically return to the position after each launch of the main gun. The rate of fire can reach two rounds per minute. You will love it. "

  Li Fushou stretched out his hand and stroked the 239mm thick barrel of the main gun. The tentacles were cold and hard. This big guy with the cold steel color all over his body was clearly a violent war machine.

  Able to follow Li Fushou’s baton, pouring violent artillery fire on the enemy, causing serious damage to the enemy.

  Say one thousand, Taoism ten thousand.

  This expensive toy with a cost of 46,000 pounds is designed to carry this 239mm main gun. The other four Belgian 70mm secondary guns and torpedo tubes are all embellished. In real naval battles, the main gun must be used for power.

  The only regret is that it is limited by the technology of the current era. The retreating main gun has too many slots. After each launch, it will be pushed away from the gun position by huge recoil. The so-called slide is better than nothing.

  After each launch, the firing yuan must be recalculated. This places extremely high demands on the artillery commander, and it is best that a young mathematician can do the job.

  When was the 75 artillery called Miss France invented?

  Li Fushou can’t remember the exact time. It seems that it should be more than ten years away. As the world’s first revolutionary elastic body rapid-fire gun, it can pour out a large amount of artillery in the shortest time, accurate and deadly.

  French 75mm rapid-fire gun equipped with a retreating machine, which can fire 15 shells per minute, and can reach 30 rounds in the extreme state, which is like a Gatling multi-barreled heavy machine gun.

  "This main gun is indeed of good quality, but it is not without improvement." Li Fushou patted the cold barrel with regret.

  He is not an expert in weapon design, and he does not understand the principles. Naturally, it is impossible for the revolutionary artillery of Miss France to come out in advance.

   "Improvements?" Mr. Fox looked at the well-crafted artillery, and asked in a puzzled manner; "Excuse me, Lord, I don't quite understand what you mean?"

   "I mean every time the main gun on the patrol ship is fired, it will be pushed away from the gun position by recoil. This is a regrettable defect. Can you find a way to eliminate this defect?" Li Fushou said thoughtfully.

"Oh, my God, it's impossible." Fox's head shook like a rattle, and his heart was completely speechless to the less-knowledgeable Lord Earl; "My lord, the whole world is using this artillery, and the Royal Navy is leaning on it. It has conquered the world’s oceans and is powerful enough."

  "I am not referring to the power of the artillery, but I regret this method of re-targeting after a shot. It is better to have a way to innovate it." Li Fushou explained.

Mr. Fox widened his eyes and looked at Li Fushou, and suddenly couldn't help but smile; "Please forgive my gaffe, Lord Lord, the structure of today’s artillery is a tradition that has been used for hundreds of years. It’s concise and effective, and it doesn’t even exist. There is room for improvement. I am very interested in your whimsical ideas. Please don't mention them in front of others. This...this is really ridiculous."

   "Uh... alright."

  Li Fushou understands the British stubbornly adhere to the traditional habit, it is a group of granite heads, it is difficult to accept new things.

  The two did not pay attention. In the cabin not far behind them, a young German engineer from Horvaz Shipyard Grezka fell into deep thought after hearing their words...

  In the slightly remote place of Hongshan Shipyard, in the shipyard workshop under strict safety protection, many technical experts from the German Horvatz Naval Shipyard are working and imparting skills with the technical backbone of the shipyard.

  Li Fushou was satisfied with the rigorous attitude of the German experts, but the dissatisfaction was that the construction speed was too slow.

Counting from returning to the Red River Valley in early August 1879, to April 1880, for almost 8 months, the first batch of two seagull-type patrol ships were still on the berth, and 120 Horvatz shipyards returned with the same technology. Experts and hundreds of technical backbones in the shipyard are all working hard for this, and it is expected that it will take at least two months to launch the outfitting.

  Li Fushou said; “It has been a long time since a 12,000-ton battleship has been built in the UK. This is a patrol ship of more than 900 tons, and it takes too long.”

"Dear Lord, Hongshan Shipyard has digested advanced warship construction technology, and has made rapid progress. I will try to explain the difference for you." Mr. Fox also scratched his head and explained to a shipbuilding layman that he could only use as much as possible. Simple and plain language;

  "A civilian shipyard, even if it can build 10,000-ton-class ocean freighters, dare not say that it has the ability to build warships, because the technical standards and requirements between the two are completely different, and the gap is too big to imagine.

  Take the riveters as an example: all the riveters who can come here to participate in the construction will be retrained by experts from the Horvatz Shipyard, and they will be able to work only after they are qualified.

  The construction technology and complexity of warships are far from comparable to civilian ships.

Tucked into this small hull is 7.2 miles of steam pipes, hundreds of gate valves, four large and small steam engines, gearboxes and shafting, as well as ammunition storage, personnel accommodation and navigation command. It is no different from doing a dojo in a snail shell, and it is very difficult to achieve.

  To this day, we can proudly say that we have the ability to produce 1,000-ton warships. This is a very remarkable technological advancement. "

  Li Fushou sensitively heard what he meant, and asked; "You mean that with such a great effort, only a thousand-ton warship can be built, no matter how big it is, right?"

"In principle, this is the case, Mr. Lord." Mr. Fox explained his scalp when he saw the boss upset; "But after digesting the 1,000-ton warship construction technology, Hongshan Shipyard will not be so difficult to build larger warships. High, after all, there is some foundation.

  The Germans did not have the ability to build top-tier armored battleships all at once. They also learned through decades of technical exploration, learned through the technical mysteries of related aspects, solved many technical problems, and gradually possessed a comprehensive ability to build armored battleships.

  Hongshan Shipyard has just been involved in this field and is still very immature. It takes time to train its own experts and high-level technicians. This takes time. "

   Li Fushou was speechless, and asked after a while; “It won’t take so long to continue construction below, right?”

   "Of course, through the construction of these two patrol ships, we have exercised our team and technology, and the subsequent batches of construction will become more and more skilled, and the time will be greatly shortened."

Liu Fushou's face finally showed relief again; "That's good, that's good. The Spanish pirates on the Far East route are extremely rampant. We need powerful weapons to fight against this group of murderous bandits. The seagull patrol ship must quickly form a scale. ."

   "Please rest assured, Hongshan Shipyard must devote more energy to provide sophisticated equipment for the Coast Guard." Mr. Fox's chest slammed, and he now has the confidence to make such a guarantee.

As long as the patrol ship of more than 900 tons has mastered the construction technology, the main body can be built in 3 to 4 months, and another one or two months of outfitting time will form a steady stream of production capacity.

  (End of this chapter)