Wild North America 1846

(The previous one was blocked and is being modified)

From the perspective of the navy's preference, the 1950-ton design is preferred. The ship has a larger displacement and better seaworthiness. Although it cannot go deep into the open ocean, it can adapt to the requirements of mid- and near-shore patrols and operations.

Judging from the operational requirements of the Ministry of the Navy, this type of ironclad frigate can almost meet more than 70% of naval combat missions. After all, the vast majority of battles occur in mid- and offshore areas.

Large-scale naval main battleships that carry out ocean blockades and cross-sea operations need to be considered in the long term because the current technological maturity and equipment demand are not strong and the cost is high.

The armaments development plan put forward by the Ministry of Navy is called the "Consolidation of the Sea Plan". It plans to develop and equip 12 1950-ton iron-clad frigates in 4 to 5 years, and reserves the right to give priority to the subsequent four ships.

Richard carefully examined the "Guhai Plan", then stood up and walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked out from here.

It's a sunny day in the Bay Area, with clear skies and clear clouds.

The bright sunshine in November spreads, and the nearby sea, undulating mountains and distant city buildings are clearly presented in front of you. The cool sea breeze blows towards your face, refreshing your spirit.

The Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty was a regional power in the Pacific Rim and the only country in the region that had started the process of industrialization. It shouldered the historical responsibility of turning the Pacific region into a small pond for Chinese people and would surely develop into a maritime power in the future.

But that will be 15 or 20 years later. With the current national strength, economic scale and population of the Tang Kingdom, it does not have the ability to participate in the competition among the world's maritime powers. It needs to hide its capabilities and bide its time for the future.

The Ministry of the Navy's preference is very clear. It hopes to develop a 1,950-ton ironclad frigate, which is indeed more in line with the actual needs of the Tang Kingdom, will help enhance the naval combat effectiveness, and will help meet the challenges of the U.S. Navy.

But the problem is not that simple. After all, the threat from the United States lies on one side of the Atlantic Ocean. The American state of Tijuana is just an enclave isolated on all sides, with a sparse population and a weak economic foundation. It has not developed yet.

The Tang Kingdom's naval development plan could not hide from the keen sense of the British. The development of such large iron-clad frigates and such a large number may arouse the sensitive nerves of the British.

History is like countless reincarnations. Standing at the forefront of the trend of the times in the mid-19th century, Richard could understand the tyranny of the British more deeply than ordinary people, far more than the Americans of later generations.

I'll beat you up if you don't agree with me, no discussion.

Looking at the experience of France, which is also regarded as the world's maritime power and a veteran colonizer, and had its sphere of influence invaded and deprived of after decades of operation in Egypt, it is clear that you must not mess with the British.

late 18th century

When Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Egypt, he planned to build a canal to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, comprehensively expand the scale of the French colonial expedition, and realize his dream of conquering the world.

Unfortunately, due to the incorrect survey results of the French, the sea level of the Red Sea was calculated to be higher than that of the Mediterranean Sea, which meant that it was impossible to build a canal without locks. Subsequently, Napoleon gave up the plan and left Egypt in a confrontation with British forces.

After the defeat of Napoleon, France rebuilt the French Second Colonial Empire. Because its colonies in the Americas were lost to the British, France focused on developing toward the East, especially the Middle East including Egypt.

Since 1798, the French colonists have maintained absolute influence over Egypt. After the French repeatedly proposed the construction plan of the Suez Canal, they finally aroused the British sensitivities.

Ignoring the French colonial status in the Middle East, Britain launched two consecutive wars to colonize Egypt.

In November 1840, Egypt was defeated and was forced to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement. From then on, it became a semi-colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom. However, France did not dare to give a shit about this and could only choose strategic cooperation led by the United Kingdom.

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Under the eyes of the British, in 1854, Viscount Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul in Egypt, obtained a charter from Pasha Said, the governor of Egypt in the Ottoman Empire, to establish a company to dig the Suez Canal.

The project was planned to start in 1859 and would last 8 to 10 years.

The initial plan was to dig a small canal from the delta along the Toomela River and a Southern Branch (now called Helwa Suez) canal. The two canals together were called the Sweetwater Canal and connected to Suez.

The second phase of the project is to build a northern section of the Abasiya Canal to Port Said. This canal can provide drinking water to arid areas and connect the above-mentioned canals to form the Suez Canal that runs through the entire line.

The canal is open to all ships around the world, and the land operation lease period is 99 years, with priority renewal rights.

Now it seems

If Egypt were not under the absolute control of the British, the French would not be able to make any big waves, and the Suez Canal, which they cherished so much, would not be able to build it.

At this stage

The British were already dissatisfied with the slow-moving Datang Kingdom. In the brutal Crimean War, sparsely populated Australia suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and the Canadian and South African regiments each suffered thousands of casualties. The Tang Kingdom

One of the division's troops has not arrived yet. What is your attitude?

It is really difficult to fool the British. Sir Henry John Temple, as a hard-liner against the Tang Dynasty, has always put great pressure on Richard from the forces he represents.

Taking it all into consideration

Richard decided to abandon the 1,950-ton plan and adopt the plan to develop a 1,500-ton ironclad frigate, sending a moderate signal to the British.

Nowadays

The world's maritime powers, mainly Britain and France, generally use a hybrid fleet of sail and steam power, and some are covered with armor by sail warships to achieve stronger combat performance.

A small number of people have begun to test the waters of iron-clad warships. Several types of iron-clad warship plans have been launched successively and are under construction or undergoing sea trials.

These traditional European maritime powers have a very heavy historical burden. The British Royal Navy is equipped with hundreds of sailing warships. It is impossible to throw them away just as easily. Some ships seem to be turned around in a disaster.

But we must not underestimate the British because of this. As the first fully industrialized country in the world today to start the steam revolution for more than a hundred years, its strong industrial capabilities make it difficult for any country to match.

more than 10 years ago

The peak of the development of the British steel industry reached an annual output of 4.6 million tons of steel. Although it has shrunk by nearly half, it will recover very quickly as long as there is market demand.

Britain's shipbuilding capabilities are equally strong, and are unique in the world in terms of scale and technical level. The emergence of the 10,000-ton cargo ships "Great Western" and "Great Eastern" is the most vivid example.

What do you think of Britain?

It is right to treat it as the United States, which was at its peak during World War II. Once its profound industrial capabilities are activated, powerful warships will appear like dumplings, and its ability to storm troops is extremely strong.

England still has nearly a hundred years of national destiny, and the Tang Kingdom cannot afford to fight against the odds.

In line with the general policy of keeping a low profile and biding time, Richard is considering that the Tang Kingdom needs its own "Monroe Policy";

That is to say, America is the America of Americans. The Tang Kingdom focuses on America and does not pursue global maritime hegemony or confrontation, thereby sending a clear policy signal to Britain and avoiding miscalculation.

In the "Consolidating the Sea Plan", a plan was drawn up to build 12 new 1,500-ton iron-clad frigates, but Richard cut off half of it with a stroke of a pen, leaving only the plan to build 6 ships within three years.

The first ship of this type of 1,500-ton ironclad frigate is the "Hanfeng", so it is also called the "Hanfeng" class ironclad frigate. Its technical level is undoubtedly first-class in the world.

The "Cold Wind" class ironclad frigate is still designed by the famous British ship designer Sir Owen Jessrob. He is now the director and professor of the Department of Ship Design at the University of California. While enjoying a high salary, he is also a member of the upper class of Chang'an City.

An influential member of Zhongzhuo.

Compared with the fierce competition in the UK, Sir Owen Jessrob enjoys his status as a leading figure in the field of ship design in the Tang Kingdom, and almost no one can compete with him.

The "Hanfeng" class ironclad frigate designed by him is indeed of a very high standard. It completely abandons the mast auxiliary power, making the ship's surface layout more concise and allowing for the installation of large-area cabins.

The "Hanfeng" class ironclad frigates continue to use a large floating bow. This bow design has good wave suppression effect and good seaworthiness. Its bow is open and can place two 30-pound main guns side by side, which can be used with the ship.

The two 30-pound main guns at the stern echo each other and have powerful omnidirectional artillery coverage capabilities.

The "Cold Wind" class ironclad frigate is a standard British broadside gunboat. It has a gun deck along both sides of the ship's side, equipped with 18 12-pound Colt breech guns, 9 on one side.

Thus

When facing the enemy on the broadside, the "Cold Wind" class ironclad frigate can exert powerful firepower of four 30-pound main guns and nine 12-pound secondary guns. With the powerful power of Colt's new breech-loading gun, it has the ability to leapfrog

The ability to defeat sailing battleships.

When faced with attacks from the U.S. Navy's traditional old-fashioned muzzle-loading artillery, the weak armor of the Cold Wind class ironclad frigates can also provide good protection.

The U.S. Navy's old-fashioned cast-iron shells have weak damage capabilities and are unable to deliver a fatal blow to the Harvey steel armor that was ahead of its time, tearing large gaps in the ship's hull.

Due to Richard's early intervention, the protection capabilities of ships in today's world have reached the level of the original historical timeline at the end of the 19th century. The old-fashioned artillery of the U.S. Navy faces such strong steel armor as old cowhide. Although it only has a thin layer, it is still

Very difficult to tear apart.

On the other hand, the artillery equipped on the "Cold Wind" class ironclad frigates and the new artillery shells developed by Colt Arms Company have reached the world's leading level today, and their ability to damage US warships cannot be underestimated.

The new type of artillery shell uses a trigger fuse. The shell is filled with several pounds or even ten pounds of black powder. It is ignited by mercury fulminate. When it hits an enemy ship, it will explode. The splashing shell fragments will produce greater destructive power.

An epoch-making product.

On the Crimean Front

The British, French and Austro-Hungarian armies had enough of the Russian army's new artillery shells, so they urgently ordered tens of thousands of trigger-fuse shells and more than 3,000 artillery pieces, which made the Colt Arms Company a huge fortune.

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Fortunately, the Tsarist Russian army's new artillery shells were limited, and they were gone after hundreds of thousands of rounds were fired.

Tsarist Russia had only more than 820 artillery pieces, but it was not enough to change the course of the entire Crimean War. Although it cost tens of thousands of military casualties, the British, French and Ottoman forces would not easily admit defeat, and the war situation remained stalemate.

Judging from the current war situation, the Russian army has reached the end of its defense in Crimea, and it is difficult to make a comeback against the wind.