Dominate the Country

Although I don't want to admit it, looking back at history, we have to say that after the 16th century, the superiority and inferiority of Eastern and Western navigation technology has been completely reversed, and Westerners have gained the upper hand.

Their shipbuilding technology has undergone a change from quantity to quality.

Although the Zheng family father and son in the late Ming Dynasty were very arrogant, and the pirates in the south seemed to be very powerful, if they were really powerful, Spain and the Netherlands would not have invaded the Wandao successively. The Netherlands even occupied Penghu for two years. Although the Ming Dynasty, which was at the end of its life, drove the Netherlands away, the subsequent Liaoluo Bay Battle also made the Dutch completely cut off the idea of ​​invading China. But this does not mean that China's navigation is really better than that of Europeans. China has been left far behind by Europe.

In the category of sailing warships, China lags far behind Europe. This is like the Industrial Revolution. The outbreak of the first industrial revolution allowed the British to dominate the world. The French at least caught up with the tail of the first industrial revolution, but what about the Germans and the Lighthouse Country? Their rise is more due to the outbreak of the second industrial revolution.

Since China has always been a pursuer of Europe on sailing warships, China has always been a laggard.

Chen Han's national strength is so strong that he has also developed a clipper ship, but Chen Ming has never thought of really fighting the British with sailing warships on the vast ocean. The risk of doing so is too great.

If Chen Ming is sure to push the British lobster soldiers to the ground and rub them on the land, then the Chinese navy can have a 50% chance of winning in the Sino-British war at sea, which is just flattering himself.

Chen Ming did not intend to completely overwhelm the Europeans in the sailing fleet. In terms of accumulation in this regard, the Europeans are too powerful and have too deep a foundation.

Steamships are still better. With hard sails and steam engines, a large number of sailors who operate sails and ropes can be reduced, and the Western soft sails can be avoided. The mast of the hard sail is erected in the form of "splicing". Although the area is not small, it is too small compared to the soft sail. To a certain extent, it can free up the firing boundaries of the bow and stern turrets.

Yes, on the new hard-sail paddle steamer, Chen Han's military/civilian ships all used a solid large shell to protect the paddle wheel. The military used thick iron plates and cork, and the civilian used thin iron plates and soft and hard wood, which covered the paddle wheel and blocked the impact of foreign objects on the paddle wheel, which had a certain effect. The firepower of the bow and stern is completely turret-type. Although the turret required for the front-loading gun is very large, like a solid small house, making the ship shape very ugly, it is enough to be powerful.

Now with the high-rise propeller of the paddle wheel, these motor sailing ships can rush to the front of the fleet unscrupulously.

Today is an era of great change. The old rules and methods have been abandoned and covered in time. Naval warfare has transitioned from sails to the new era of steam engines. Just like the transition of European shipping from rowing boats to sailing boats.

Now Chen Han is one step ahead in steamships, but Chen Ming believes that with the accumulation of Europeans in hull construction and the simple anti-leakage means of this era, perhaps in three to five years, or perhaps ten to eight years, Europeans will not be able to reach the same level as Chen Han, but they will not be too far behind.

The British are also very good at making motor sailing ships now. The French are now making self-sailing ships from small to large, just like the British, and have moved from near sea to offshore.

This time, it is really Chen Han's best opportunity.

Chen Ding glanced at Ye Guoli, who was Ye Tingyang's second son, but did not serve in the Nanyang Fleet. He was affiliated with the General Staff under the Grand Commander and was a naval staff officer. But he was different from his father. Ye Guoli pursued big ships and big guns. This time when Chen Ding went to the south for inspection, Ye Guoli was one of the accompanying personnel. On the way, he expressed the idea of ​​big iron ships to Chen Ding more than once.

The heavy armor can completely offset the power of rockets, and even solid shells cannot penetrate the solid armor.

There are many people in the navy now. They see the possibility of the navy completely getting rid of the fear of being dominated by rockets from the concept of "ironclad ships". So these people work hard to cheer for the big iron ships. Ye Guoli is a naval general and one of the key members of the big iron ship faction.

Compared with starting a war now, the big iron ship faction disagrees. They think that the naval battle can be postponed to "next year". Since various shipyards have begun to produce ironclad ships, why not wait until the ironclad ships are completely launched before settling accounts with the Europeans?

The "next year" they mentioned is completely a conceptual word. It is impossible to be next year, but only next year and next year. There are so many next years. If you want to make an ironclad ship forty years earlier, it must have a certain degree of practicality. This cannot be done in one or two years. Although the experiment of Chengtian was successful, it only opened a small crack in the wall. It will take a long time to completely pull out a big hole in the wall.

But Ye Tingyang disagreed, because he was old enough, and in a few years, he would be counting the days until retirement. At that time, Chen Han would never let him lead troops to the east coast of America. And it was precisely for this reason that Ye Tingyang could not openly say that he supported the war, because if he did, someone would accuse him of putting personal interests above public interests and being too selfish.

Chen Ding smiled. He was very aware of the contradiction between father and son Ye Tingyang and Ye Guoli: "No rush, no rush. There will be big iron ships. With Chen Han's national strength, a hundred big iron ships can also But in order to make the large iron ship more suitable for military use, it must be built slowly. Moreover, there is still a shortage of technicians to manufacture large iron ships and the construction of warships is in line with each other.”

"It's impossible to have a big iron ship without repairmen." It takes time for the latter to formally form an army and form combat effectiveness, and now. "The situation waits for no one. The Europeans are provoking the dignity of our empire. They must be knocked to the ground with a slap and let them truly taste defeat. Only then will these barbarians not dare to challenge the majesty of the empire again and again. "

Ye Guoli did not expect to hear such decisive words from the prince. He looked stunned for a moment, and then felt very sad.

"What His Highness the Crown Prince said is true. This European barbarian is like a wolf on the prairie. If you don't beat him hard, it will only make them think that the empire is weak, and then they will get more aggressive and provoke them again. It is time to slap them completely and knock them out."

"Of course, this battle is also a test for the Central Committee on steam ships. If they can't even defeat the sail warships, there will be no future." Chen Ding is not a time traveler like his father. Chen Ming can fight against steam ships. The ship reported with a hundred, a thousand confidence, because history has proved the magnificence of steamships. But Chen Ding and the others do not have such strong confidence.

"If you don't want to sit in the General Staff Office, you can also be transferred to the Expeditionary Fleet. In a few years, a group of veterans will retire in the navy, and the center needs to promote a group of 'young men'. As for you, in You have served in the navy for many years, and you have sufficient qualifications and prestige. You are the "young man" that the Governor-General values. If you are sent to the Expeditionary Fleet for training, the Governor-General will agree. "

Ye Tingyang felt a little excited. Chen Ding's words were clearly saying that the expedition fleet was certain. Moreover, Chen Ding even praised Ye Guoli in the end. To be honest, if you want to be promoted in the Navy, joining the Governor's Office is certainly a good way. But if you want to maintain your reputation, maintain the lintel of the Ye family, and sail a ship in the fleet, this is the real path.

Ye Guoli has been in the Dudu's Mansion for three and a half years. In comparison, he would rather serve in the naval combat force than socialize with people from all walks of life in the Dudu's Mansion.

"Of course I want to command the large iron ship formation to fight." Ye Guoli was shocked and secretly made a decision in his heart.

The next day, Chen Ding stood on a huge first-class sailing battleship and watched several motor sailing ships passing by the sailing battleship at speeds exceeding first-class speed. He patted the side of the battleship with his palms. The hard teak wood was very strong, but no matter how strong the wood was, it couldn't compare to steel.

A 75mm hex cannon can easily penetrate oak and teak 'armor' one foot behind at a distance of 1,000 meters.

[The Victory is a first-class sailing battleship and a representative of the pinnacle of wooden sailing ships. The thickness of the ship's side is 40cm. This thickness is enough to withstand an 18-pounder gun at normal ranges. But the real "lethal power" of solid bullets is not that the shell penetrates the side of the ship, but that the wooden thorns and fragments flying everywhere after the shell hits the side of the ship, the cabin, the ship's wall, and the deck will ruthlessly take away your life. ! 】

But how much does a 75mm hex shell weigh?

You must know that even the 45mm hexagonal cannon shells weigh less than 4 pounds, and the 75mm hexagonal cannon shells definitely weigh more than 20 pounds.

In terms of penetration, the smoothbore cannon is simply not comparable to the hexagonal cannon. The side of the Victory can withstand the bombardment of the 18-pounder gun at a certain distance, but even if the hexagonal gun widens the distance to 1,000 meters away, the 75-pound gun can easily penetrate the Victory.

But what about when the 75 gun faces cork-lined iron armor?

Facing the armor three inches behind, let alone the 75mm gun, even the 120mm hexagonal gun with the largest caliber today cannot penetrate it from 1,000 meters away.

"It's just a pity for these big guys..." Chen Ding knew very well how much money and effort Chen Han had spent on these huge sailing battleships, but they turned into a pile of junk.

Although a first-class sailing battleship has a displacement of close to 3,000 tons, if an ironclad ship is really built and a thousand-ton ironclad battles a first-class sailing battleship, who will win and who will lose, Chen Ding will definitely beat the latter.

This first-class sailing battleship is the Han Wudi. The two Western-style first-class sailing battleships Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi will join the expedition fleet, plus the Tang Taizong and Han Guangwu, as well as the Ming Chengzu owned by the American fleet itself. and Song Taizu. In this expedition fleet, there are as many as six first-class sailing battleships alone.

These things are lagging behind anyway, so let’s let them ‘die well’. Otherwise, if we build a hugely expensive sailing battleship one after another, but there is no real battle in our 'lifetime', we will die in peace.