1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 782 Technology Iteration

Dong Yanyun rushed to the pier of Magong Port anxiously, and was relieved when he saw that the Haihan people had already prepared the boat.Just now Li Dou said that the businessmen from Guangdong had already arrived in Taiwan, he was really worried that the Haihan people would play other tricks.

"Mr. Dong, I am Yang Yun from the Penghu Office of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce. I will accompany you on this trip to Taiwan Island." A young man in a gray uniform came forward and greeted Dong Yanyun. .

"Thank you!" Dong Yanyun didn't dare to neglect, and immediately replied.However, under his observation, he could see that this young man should only be a naturalized citizen—the Haihan people were surrounded by armed guards anytime and anywhere, but this young man was waiting alone on the pier, obviously his identity was not so important.But he also knew that the naturalized civilian cadres who were qualified to wear Haihan-style blouses were generally not too low in rank, so he still needed to show a respectful attitude.

Yang Yun saw that Dong Yanyun's entourage was still carrying a few boxes of luggage, so he asked a few boatmen to get off the boat to help carry the boxes on board.At this time, many migrant workers were still carrying goods on the ship, and it was obvious that they should be supplies to Taiwan Island.Dong Yanyun saw that the boat was an "exploration class" sailboat, so he asked Yang Yun, "Brother Yang, is this going on a boat from the militia navy?"

"This is not a navy ship, but an official ship of the Ministry of Commerce." Yang Yun pointed to the inconspicuous dark blue copper coin logo on the side of the bow: "Mr. Dong, please take a look."

This sign was mostly covered by another sailboat next to it, and Dong Yanyun did not notice it at first.However, he was still puzzled: "But why do merchant ships have gun ports like warships?"

Dong Yanyun immediately recognized this ship as a warship because of the highly recognizable row of gun ports on the side of the ship, which can be seen from a long distance, but cover more than half of the bow of the ship The blue money mark of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce is much more conspicuous.

Yang Yun explained: "This ship was originally built for the militia army, but for some reasons before launching, the military was inconvenient to accept this ship, so it was transferred to the Ministry of Commerce for use as an official ship."

Dong Yanyun didn't know, so he nodded, thinking that if you don't want it, you can sell it to us!Dozens more will not be too much!Of course, he wouldn't be so stupid as to ask why the militia military didn't accept the ship. Obviously, it was impossible to get a real answer from the other party.

In fact, the reason why the Haihan military did not accept this ship is also very simple, because the Ministry of Industry has produced an improved version of the "Power III" marine steam engine in the middle of this year, and this type of steam engine also includes Applicable to the sub-models of "Exploration Class" and "Expedition Class", which means that non-capital ships in the naval fleet can also get performance improvements, and in the future, new ships with hybrid propulsion can gradually replace the existing pure wind propulsion sailing warship.

Of course, it is impossible to completely transform the existing ships of the Navy, because this not only involves huge costs, but also arranges for the rotation of dozens of "Exploration-class" and "Expedition-class" warships. It is also very troublesome to go back to Victory Port for renovation.Every ship had to be disembowelled in dry dock, and the installation of the steam power system was tantamount to a major overhaul, consuming a lot of time, manpower and money.

Although Wang Tom and other admirals hope to have a steam ironclad fleet that dominates the world as soon as possible, they also know that there is no rush to climb the technology tree.Although the design drawings of various steam engines and ironclad ships are available in stock in the large database, the speed of improvement in industrial manufacturing capabilities has not kept up with the ambitions of the military.Moreover, the navy's annual military budget is limited, and it is unlikely that existing ships will be remodeled in a short period of time. What's more, the cost of remodeling is extremely high, and the cost performance is actually not high.

The military chiefs think that instead of changing the old ships, it is better to wait for new equipment when the new ships are built, and the old ships will be converted to civilian use in batches after the retirement age, or repaired, repainted, and then sold at a discount To allies like Annan and Daming.As for the seventy-seven-eight new ships that have been built on the berth, because they are built according to the military standards of the Haihan Militia, there is a certain technical gap with the monkey version for export, and they are currently not suitable for direct export.Anyway, there are not many, the military decided to reluctantly part with it, and directly transferred it to the department in need at a cost price.

In fact, there are only a few departments in Haihan that can use sailing ships. Except for the military, other ships are basically concentrated under the names of the Ministry of Shipping, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Agriculture.First of all, the Ministry of Agriculture is unlikely to spend a lot of money to purchase military ships. Although the military has already calculated the price according to the shipbuilding cost, the technical specifications and shipbuilding standards of warships are quite different from those of civilian ships. It is worthless to say that the same price can almost build two civilian fishing boats of the same model and tonnage.

Secondly, the Ministry of Shipping will definitely not take over this pot. This ship was originally built by a shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping, but the Navy's embarrassment is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Shipping, and it is not obligated to take over the pot for the Navy. Okay, the converted cost can only be calculated as the cost of materials. If this is the case, the military will definitely not be happy. After all, the prepaid expenses they paid to the shipyard are not just the cost of materials.

In the end, Tom Wang found Schneider and persuaded him to take over two "Expedition-class" warships and one "Explorer-class" warship that had begun to install sails on the berth.Schneider was unwilling to waste more money at the beginning, because the Ministry of Commerce originally had an order for the same type of commercial ship at the shipyard, and the cost was lower in comparison, so it would cost more to take over the ship from the military. money.

However, Wang Tom persuaded him later, because the shape of this ship is exactly the same as the military model equipped by the militia, which is very confusing. It can be used to transport important people and materials when necessary, and even provide the fleet of the Ministry of Commerce. convoy".Moreover, the military can get a few old training guns from the military base in Sanya and install them on the ship to make it more presentable.If necessary, even a few retired artillerymen can be recruited to serve as sailors on the ship-these additional services do not require additional fees from the Ministry of Commerce.

Schneider made sense when he thought about it. Although the merchant ships of the Ministry of Commerce also deployed some armed personnel and accompanying weapons, they were not deterrent in appearance. When there were important personnel and material delivery tasks, they often had to rely on the military. ship.And this kind of borrowing is not in vain. Whether it is taking a ride or asking it to escort, the Ministry of Commerce will have to pay the corresponding expenses to the military.Once or twice may not be much, but eight out of ten times is quite impressive, not to mention that the military ships are not always on call, and the Ministry of Commerce has to take care of the military's schedule most of the time.Instead of doing this for a long time, it is better to get a few ships that are standard military ships and specialize in performing special tasks.

Of course, if these ships are to be converted into civilian ships, it is impossible to meet the military's standards in terms of weaponry, equipment and staffing, and even close connections. At best, they are armed for self-defense. But for the Ministry of Commerce, this However, these measures can indeed effectively reduce the dependence on the military. As for the cost, for the wealthy Ministry of Commerce, there is only a business worth doing, and the price has never been the real determining factor.

Three months after Schneider made the decision to buy the ship, among the official ships dispatched by the Ministry of Commerce to Penghu, there was such a special ship that was basically identical in shape to the Haihan warship, and Dong Yanyun, who represented the Fujian government, was also the same This is the first time that the ship carried non-Haihan personnel.

Qian Tiandun and Li Dou arranged for Dong Yanyun to take the ship assigned by Haihan instead of his own, to some extent to limit Dong Yanyun's activity area near Kaohsiung Port, and to show off their own strength by the way.After all, it is indeed not something that any country can do to turn a brand new warship into civilian use.

Dong Yanyun had also been on a civilian version of the "Explorer" sailing boat before, but this was his first time riding on a military model, and he couldn't help being a little excited after boarding the boat.However, the second deck that was originally used to arrange the artillery has been changed into a cabin. Yang Yun took Dong Yanyun into the separate cabin, and Dong Yanyun discovered that the gun porthole had been changed into the lighting porthole of the cabin.There is only a single bed and a small table next to the bed in the small cabin. After putting Dong Yanyun's luggage on the floor, there is basically no room for movement in the cabin.There is no gorgeous interior in the cabin, but judging from the rosewood used for the furniture, the clean white cotton bedding on the bed, and a four-inch round glass mirror fixed on the bulkhead, the layout of the cabin is neat and tidy. With unobtrusive luxury.

Yang Yun brought Dong Yanyun to the side of the porthole and concealed to him the method of opening and closing the outer cover of the porthole.There is a mechanism on the bulkhead, pull it up, the cover will rise, and pull it down, the cover will go down, very flexible and convenient.Seeing this, Dong Yanyun reached out to explore the window, only to find that it was actually a layer of transparent glass.

"The porthole is only for lighting. The window is sealed and cannot be opened. As for ventilation, there is an indoor vent. If Mr. Dong feels stuffy on the way, he can go to the deck to breathe at any time." Yang Yun quickly explained to him.

Dong Yanyun nodded in response, admiring the arrangement of the Haihan people.Although the interior of the boat he was on was far more luxurious than the cabin in front of him, these details were indeed inferior to the ingenuity of the Haihan people.

"Mr. Dong take a short rest. After the cargo on the pier is loaded, the ship will set off immediately and will arrive at the destination before sunset today. If you need anything, you can find me in the cockpit on the deck. Your two attendants, We have arranged it in the ordinary cabin at the stern." Yang Yungong cupped his hands and left.What he was responsible for was not only taking care of Dong Yanyun, but also a batch of supplies shipped from Penghu to Kaohsiung Port, as well as a dozen construction craftsmen who went to the local area on the same boat.

Dong Yanyun sat in the cabin for a while, and felt the ship began to shake slightly. Looking out from the porthole, it turned out that the ship was slowly leaving the shore.The cabin seemed sealed, but it wasn't stuffy. Dong Yanyun looked around but couldn't find where the vent in the cabin was.

After a while, Dong Yanyun felt that staying in the cabin was really boring, and wanted to call his followers over, but the cabin was really narrow, and the three adults were a bit crowded standing in it, so it must be very cramped to stay in the cabin.So he decided to go around the deck, and after opening the door, he noticed that there seemed to be exactly the same cabins on both sides of the passage from the deck. At a glance, there should be about ten cabins in total, except for his cabin. , the doors of the other cabins are all closed, and I don't know if there are any occupants.

The cabins on the second deck are all remodeled from the original gun emplacements. Originally, five artillery pieces were deployed on the starboard and starboard sides, and one artillery emplacement was reserved on both sides to continue deploying the artillery, but it is completely indistinguishable from the outside. , it will only be activated when it is really necessary to use force.

When Dong Yanyun went up to the deck, he saw that there was already a vast ocean around him, and he could faintly see the outline of Penghu on the sea level in the direction of the stern, and it was about ten miles away from the port.Dong Yanyun noticed that Yang Yun was standing at the bow of the ship, holding a small instrument to observe the sea level in the distance.Dong Yanyun also knows this thing. The Haihan people call it the "sextant". It is said that it can quickly determine their position and course in the vast sea, but its principle is kept secret. Among the naturalized people, Only full-time navigators on Haihan Navy and a few merchant ships will master this technique.

Dong Yanyun didn't know that this kind of instrument that relies on optical principles for navigation and positioning was originally invented by the British a hundred years later, and it was miniaturized after continuous improvement by skilled craftsmen at the end of the 18th century. The arrival made this nautical instrument put into practical use at least a century earlier than in history.Any sailor with sailing experience will understand how useful this instrument is, and Dong Yanyun is no exception. It is impossible to say that he is not envious of this treasure.But the problem is that Haihan doesn't sell this thing at all, and how to use it has always been an unsolved mystery. Even if Dong Yanyun has a good brain, it is difficult to understand the principle of its use just by looking at the operation.

Dong Yanyun also knew that this thing was a taboo for Haihan people, so he didn't rush to lean over it. It wasn't until Yang Yun finished the operation and put the sextant back into the box for someone to take it back to the cabin, he walked slowly over to strike up a conversation: "Brother Yang Since he knows how to use this sextant, he must be the direct disciple of the heads of Hai Han."

Yang Yun said with a smile: "It's just my luck that I was selected by the chief to do this job. The skills I have learned are just a drop in the bucket of the chiefs. It is far from qualified to say that the disciples are passed on personally."

Dong Yanyun said: "Brother Yang, you are welcome! This old man has been with Haihan for several years, and there are only one or two navigators who know how to use the sextant in a fleet. Everyone who can do this job He is capable!"

(End of this chapter)