1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 252 Trials
At the end of the slideway are two trestles extending parallel to the sea surface. After the test ship slides into the sea, it is between the two trestles, and the balance of its hull is maintained by several traction ropes and cables.This was done because the final artillery arrangement was hasty, and the design department was worried that the center of gravity of the ship would be unstable, so they put an extra insurance on it.However, judging from the launching process, the stability of the hull has basically met the design requirements, and there is no imbalance in the center of gravity.

After Sun Changmi and Yue Zhiyun completed the ribbon-cutting ceremony, they walked quickly onto the trestle again.What they need to accomplish today is not only cutting the ribbon, but also taking on the task of commanding the maiden voyage of the experimental ship named "Explorer" by the executive committee.Under the gaze of many eager eyes, the significance of this sea trial is no longer just a scientific research activity, but a display of external strength no less than an armed military parade.

The sailors and crew members used on the "Explorer" are all elite personnel selected in advance from hundreds of naturalized crew members. Only a few technical positions such as the captain, first mate, and navigator on the ship are filled by cross-travelers.After Captain Sun Changmi and Chief Officer Yue Zhiyun boarded the ship, the crew began to untie the cables and tow ropes fixed on the sides of the ship.

"All departments check the equipment and get ready to go!" Sun Changmi ordered loudly: "The observers will immediately report the wind, direction and sea surface conditions!"

"At present, the wind force is level [-], and the wind direction is northeast, and the channel ahead is smooth!"

"The deck inspection is completed, everything is normal!" "The lower cabin inspection is completed, everything is normal!" "The tail rudder inspection is completed..."

After the information from various departments came back, Sun Changmi ordered to raise the sails.The sailors on the deck chanted and began to push the winch vigorously, slowly raising the sail.The new sail designed by the shipyard is much lighter than the traditional Chinese hard sail because the main body is made of soft canvas. The arched bamboo and wood spokes are slightly heavier than western soft sails.However, the lifting method used by the new sail is the integrated lifting of the Chinese hard sail, which is much more convenient in operation than the Western soft sail.

"Explorer" adopts the layout of two masts at the front and rear. The foremast is slightly shorter and the mast is longer, and there is a triangular soft sail between the bow and the foremast.After the sail was slowly raised, the crew immediately adjusted the direction of the sail according to the command, so that the sail could get the maximum wind power.These crew members had previously received special training on the pre-manufactured boats, specifically learning how to use this new sail.Although the crew did not understand what the "Bernoulli effect" is, the efficiency and convenience of this new type of sail using wind power is easy to feel in practice. The crew privately called this magical new type of sail "Haihan sail" to express their recognition of this kind of sail.

The few outside guests who saw the full body of the ship for the first time were a little dazzled. They said it was a Chinese-style ship, and it used soft sails, and it used the tall mast of a Western-style sailing ship. Let’s say it is a Western-style sailing boat. The shape of the boat obviously has the flavor of Fuchuan Canton, and the way of raising and lowering the sails and steering the sails is obviously still Chinese.

"Everyone, why don't we go out to sea together?" Tao Donglai came to the guest seat to personally invite, and the two catamaran sailing boats moored on the shore had already unmoored and hoisted their sails to prepare for departure.Their task is to escort the maiden voyage of the "Discovery", and by the way, let the leaders of various departments observe the navigation capabilities of the new ship at close range from the sea, and further confirm the superiority of the ship's seaworthiness at sea.

"Okay, okay!" Zhan Gui, who is a sea merchant, was the first to stand up in a hurry. He was really curious about how this strange-looking sailboat of the Haihan people would behave on the sea.

Li Nai and Luo Shengdong, as stakeholders of Haihan, naturally would not refuse Tao Donglai's invitation.Tao Donglai saw Wei Ping who was looking at him eagerly, nodded and said, "If inspector Wei is free, then come along too!"

"Free, free!" Wei Xunjian responded again and again, happily following behind.

After the "Explorer" sailed out of the trestle of the shipyard, it first turned northeast and downwind, and circled briskly along the coastline in the harbor, which aroused cheers from the crowd on the shore.Although the vast majority of these people don't understand the amazing abilities of this new ship, today the executive committee specially gave half a day off for this purpose, and everyone can get a special extra meal. That's enough to make everyone happy.

"The current speed is nine nautical miles." Yue Zhiyun excitedly reported to the two escort ships through the walkie-talkie: "The speed is still increasing!"

The "Explorer" took the lead, followed by two escort ships, one on the left and one on the right. After the three ships made a circle in the harbor, they quickly headed for the southern outlet.When passing the Yulinjiao post, the speed of the "Explorer" was already close to ten knots, far exceeding the ordinary Fuchuan Canton Ship. If it weren't for the speed of the two catamarans themselves, they would Ordinary ships really can't keep up with the "Discovery".

Zhan Gui has been living at sea since he was a child, and he is naturally very sensitive to the speed of sailing, so he couldn't help asking Tao Donglai: "Mr. Tao, the sailing boat in front is so fast, but it has something to do with the style of sail it uses. ?”

Tao Donglai nodded and said: "There is indeed a certain relationship, but it is not the whole reason. In the process of building this ship, we adopted many new technologies that Ming Dynasty did not have, in order to achieve the kind of ship you see now. Effect."

The words "a new technology that the Ming Dynasty did not have" undoubtedly stabbed the hearts of these Ming people, but they could not deny Tao Donglai's statement, because even the sails they saw in front of them were Indeed, it has never appeared in Daming territory.And the speed displayed by this ship is indeed something that the Daming sea ship cannot easily achieve.

"This ship... I'm afraid it has exceeded the upper limit of [-] materials?" Zhan Gui's eyes are also poisonous. The actual size of the animal is more than what the Haihan people said.

Tao Donglai didn't answer his question directly this time, but just smiled and said: "Maybe it's a bit more, but not much. Boss Zhan, who has been on the sea for a long time, should also know that there are a lot of civilian ships now, in fact, more than four hundred. .”

Four hundred materials is the upper limit of tonnage stipulated by Ming Dynasty for private sea-going ships, and the displacement is generally around 150 to 180 tons, but there are also many ships with a displacement of 200 tons.Among the second-hand ships bought by Crossing Group in the early stage, several of them obviously exceeded the upper limit of 200 materials. According to the estimation of the Ministry of Shipping, the displacement of the largest ship has exceeded [-] tons, and it is still a majestic price of [-] tons. The material has been registered with the government—it’s nothing more than spending a few more registration fees, adding more seafood and making two trips before returning.

In the current period, the tonnage regulation of [-] materials for civilian ships has actually existed in name only, and the relevant departments of Ming Dynasty are not strict in monitoring it.Of course, if any guy who doesn't know what to do really builds a boat bigger than the navy's Dafu boat, he is asking for trouble.

At the beginning of the design, the "Explorer" was indeed designed according to the size of 300 materials or [-] tons of displacement, but the problems encountered in the design process and the new requirements put forward by various departments also prompted the development of this ship. The tonnage is getting bigger and bigger.For example, the use of fine steel hollow masts and the arrangement of more than a dozen cannons on the second deck require that the entire ship must be further strengthened in the hull structure, and the direct consequence of this strengthening is the increase in displacement.So when the keel was laid, the design displacement of the entire ship had actually exceeded [-] tons.

From the appearance alone, it is really not much bigger than an ordinary sea-going ship of [-] materials, at least a half-assed person like Li Nai can't see any flaws.But professionals like Zhan Gui and Luo Shengdong naturally saw the tricks in the data claimed by the Haihan people.Even if Luo Shengdong could see it, he would definitely pretend to be confused in this kind of public place, and would not say anything.But Zhan Gui had not been dealing with the Haihan people for a long time, and he didn't have as many scruples as Luo Shengdong had in his heart, so he asked directly.Although Tao Donglai's answer was somewhat vague, it undoubtedly confirmed his guess.

Of course, the Ministry of Shipping will not be satisfied with the tonnage of "Explorer". Although the trial voyage of this ship has just begun, the shipbuilding plan of the Ministry of Shipping has been listed until next year, and a 500-ton cargo ship with a larger displacement has also entered the design stage. .However, it is obviously not convenient for such a large cargo ship to sail to the commercial port of the mainland. After all, this head is too conspicuous. Considering the actual situation, the construction of a sailing ship with the tonnage of "Explorer" will not stop at this point.After being perfected after the trial period, cargo ships of this tonnage level will be used as the main transportation capacity of the Transit Group for the sea routes in the mainland area in the next few years.

Of course, the follow-up shipbuilding time will not be longer than the first half of the year like the "Discovery". After finalization, ships of this tonnage level will enter the stage of mass production.The Ministry of Shipping believes that as long as manpower and shipbuilding materials can be adequately supplied, the construction time of such a ship is expected to be shortened from the current nearly seven months to three months. It is not a big problem to have one or even three sea-going ships of this tonnage. In terms of construction speed, they can definitely surpass Daming's counterparts by a lot.

But even so, the executive committee will not be satisfied with the speed of new ship construction at Shengli Port Shipyard—this kind of small ship with hundreds of tons should only be used for short-distance offshore in the future Haihan Republic, and there are not many ships. How can a displacement of a thousand tons be engaged in ocean transportation, and how can it crush the artillery fleet of Westerners?We must know that the "Sea King" warship built during the period of King Charles I of England in 1637 had a displacement of 1500 tons and was equipped with as many as 104 cannons, including 18 heavy cannons weighing more than 60 pounds. 60-pound heavy artillery!And the main firepower output on the "Explorer" only relies on ten small-caliber 6-pound guns on both sides, which is simply a beggar's outfit compared with the opponent.

Don't think that there will be no chance of confrontation between this kind of gunboat that has not appeared in history and the crossing group. In fact, the "Sea King" participated in several naval battles after it was launched, and was not destroyed by the French navy until the new century came. Its service period is long enough to last until the day when it meets the warships of the Transit Group at sea.

This kind of heavy-fire gunboat is still an elusive goal of the Transmigration Group at present, and it is also a stumbling block for the Transmigration Group to compete for maritime supremacy in the future. If they want to defeat such an opponent, there is not much time left for the Transmigration Group to develop, after all The time required to build a large ship with a real displacement of thousands of tons, especially a warship, is often surprisingly long. For example, this "Sea King" warship took as long as one year and ten years from laying the keel to launching. months.Even if the large-scale sea-going ship that the Crossing Group will build in the future can shorten the construction period and have more sophisticated artillery equipment, it is not an easy task to catch up with and surpass the strength of its contemporary competitors in a few years. easy thing.

After the "Discovery" sailed out of the harbor, the wind on the sea has been significantly improved compared to before, and the cooperation of the commander and crew members on the ship has gradually become more proficient. Heading south.And the scientific research personnel of the Ministry of Shipping on the ship were not idle. In addition to constantly observing the wind direction, wind force, sea surface conditions and speed, they also had to monitor in real time whether there were any changes in the hull structure, especially the reinforcement around the steel mast. This is an important part that affects the balance of the entire hull.In addition, whether the operation process on the ship is smooth, and what links are worthy of improvement during the voyage process are also the focus of scientific research personnel.

Compared with traditional Chinese sailboats, "Explorer" requires much fewer deck crews than Chinese sailboats of the same tonnage due to its lighter sails and convenient operation. A third of the number of gunners.And due to the use of the steering wheel system operated by the poop on the rear deck, the captain can conduct real-time command and operation of the ship, and the operating efficiency is much higher than that of a Chinese-style sailboat.

After traveling southward for about 10 minutes, the "Explorer" turned eastward according to the scheduled itinerary and sailed towards Yalong Bay.After approaching the two small islands at the eastern end of Yalong Bay, Sun Changmi ordered the artillery on the second deck to get ready to shoot.For this sea trial mission, the military and police department did not hesitate to send more than 30 naturalized artillerymen who had just graduated a few days ago to the ship.

The "Discovery" was designed as a maritime defense force, and its firepower strike capability at sea is also an important performance indicator.Although it is only equipped with a few small-caliber artillery, it is already considered a very powerful gunboat in East Asia.Of course, whether the design indicators can be achieved must be tested through practice.

Due to the structural problems of the traditional Chinese sailboat, the ship board cannot withstand the recoil force of the large artillery. As a result, it is impossible to equip a large number of artillery on the ship.In order to equip the artillery on the ship, the "Explorer" has made a lot of structural improvements, and used many steel structural parts to strengthen the hull to withstand the recoil when the artillery fires. The firepower installation part of the ship was completed only after the mechanical system retreated the gun mount.

The two ships behind saw the "Discovery" slowly slowing down and entering the waterway between the two small islands in the east and west, so they also slowed down, keeping a distance of [-] meters away.Just when Zhan Gui and the others didn't understand what they meant, they saw the side windows of the "Explorer" in front of them open one after another, protruding from the black muzzles of the guns.

"It's coming, it's finally coming..." Luo Shengdong, the only one who knew the mystery, turned pale and said to himself in his heart.He visited almost the whole process of the ship's construction. Of course, he knew the big killer hidden behind these portholes early on, and the Haihan people installed so many cannons on the ship, obviously not for the sake of showing off.

"Prepare on the port side, fire as soon as you enter the range!" Sun Changmi's order was quickly transmitted to the second deck through the microphone on the poop. One time calibration and aiming.

"Fire!" Following the commander's order, the gunners of the five guns on the port side pulled the ignition ropes in turn, and the huge roar sounded continuously at an interval of 0 seconds, and the smoke and dust caused by the burning propellant immediately filled the air. In the cabin on the second deck.

The reason why they don't fire at the same time is also to minimize the negative effect of the shock caused by the recoil of the artillery on the load-bearing ship's plate and hull structure.Even in the era when the multi-turret religion dominated naval battles in later generations, there was still a small gap in the firing time of multiple main guns on the same turret, and it was also due to the same reason.

Zhan Gui was about to ask Tao Donglai when he heard the continuous roar of artillery fire.Rao had heard the cannons fired several times in Victory Port these days, but this was the first time he felt the power of the cannons at such a close distance, and his legs softened and he fell to the deck.

Five shells roared through the air and landed on a small island less than 300 meters away from the port side.This sea trial did not set up obvious targets on the island in advance, because the people in the military and police department also knew that these gunners trained on land would have to re-train at sea, even if they set a target. It is also difficult for them to hit the target, and doing so will definitely damage their self-confidence-anyway, the main purpose of this sea trial is to test the hull's ability to withstand artillery fire, not the accuracy of sea shooting.

After three rounds of live ammunition firing on the port side, the "Discovery" turned and approached the small island on the right, and the five artillery guns on the starboard side conducted close-in shooting.Then the "Discovery" adjusted its direction so that the two 12-pound guns on the bow and stern also fired a few rounds each.

After seeing the hedgehog-like all-round firepower display, several guests on the catamaran at the back turned pale like Luo Shengdong, and were speechless for a while.

(End of this chapter)