Ming Zuo

Chapter 1587 The New Era of the Navy

As an emperor, Zuo Menggeng always had a strong purpose no matter where he went.

The reason why Zhoushan Islands were inspected was because a major event that could affect history happened here.

The Ministry of the Navy reported that the Zhoushan Shipyard had completed the construction of a first-class battleship and was ready to launch.

A first-class battleship is naturally an absolute national weapon, and of course it is worth Zuo Menggeng's visit.

Among all the shipyards in the empire, Zhoushan Shipyard was established the latest.

But because of this, Zhoushan Shipyard has an unparalleled advantage in accepting new technologies.

In addition, the harbor here is deep enough, the territory is vast, and the climate is pleasant, so the construction period will not be delayed due to the cold.

So the Ministry of the Navy put the construction of the first-class battleship here.

As early as when the third-tier battleship was launched, the navy had already started research on the first-tier battleship.

Because of the detailed drawings drawn by Zuo Menggeng, the research work is progressing smoothly.After eight years, the first-class battleship was finally transformed from drawings into real objects.

This is a great event, not only Zuo Menggeng, the leaders of the three major fleets including Zuo Hua, Zhang Keda, and Shang Kexi, the vice minister of the Navy Luo Shuilin, the president of the Naval Ship Academy E Honglue, and Wang Yun from the cabinet. He, Jiang Wei, and Dang Huanchun all attended the launching ceremony.

Walking into the dock, you will see a castle lying on the flat ground head-on, covered with clouds and sun, with unparalleled pressure.

Zuo Hua and others, who saw the real thing for the first time, were all swayed and excited.

Such a behemoth naturally gives people an invincible arrogance.

In particular, such a sea fortress still belongs to our side, which makes everyone smile.

On the pier, the officers and soldiers waiting to receive the new ship had already gathered together.

Everyone was in the latest and cleanest uniform, and everyone was in high spirits and spirits.

In the navy, it is naturally divided into ranks and ranks.

Working on a bigger ship brings pride and superiority.

"Your Majesty, and all the officers, we have lived up to our trust, and we can finally confess."

Fan Xianrong, the director of Zhoushan Shipyard, is obviously only 40 years old, but he looks as if he is over sixty years old.

There is no way, the construction of a first-class battleship is really a test of the capabilities of Zhoushan Shipyard.

From the factory manager down to every worker, they all put in [-]% of their energy and worked day and night for three years before finally completing the construction of this battleship.

Zuo Menggeng walked to the shore, looked up at the world's first first-class battleship, and kept comparing it with the Victory in his memory.

Overall, this first-class strategic ship has many similarities with the legendary Victory, but there are also differences.

After all, the empire's shipbuilding has opened up many new paths at the beginning of its development, so there are many unique places in the technical field.

The blueprints drawn by Zuo Menggeng only serve as more references for ship designers, and they still incorporate their own technology and understanding into them.

For example, the first-class battleship in front of me is much simpler than the Victory in terms of sailing.

This is also the consistent style of imperial sailing ships.

Just because the quality of the canvas made by the empire is far ahead, almost spanning more than 200 years of technology research and development and accumulation.

The better the quality of the canvas, the more economical it will be used in the manufacture of sails, and the number of sails will be reduced.

With fewer sails, it will be more convenient to operate and greatly reduce the occurrence of accidents.

Zuo Menggeng still remembers that when he visited the Victory, he was only inexplicably afraid of the dense ropes on it.

On the sailing ships of the Empire, the use of various devices such as winches, chains, and levers greatly reduced the number of ropes and left sufficient space on the deck.

The most intuitive change brought about by the leap from the third-tier battleship to the first-tier battleship is the number of artillery.

Three decks can bring more terrifying firepower.

Fan Xianrong stood aside, introducing with great pride.

"This battleship uses more than 7000 trees of various kinds, and [-] tons of steel, with a displacement of [-] tons. It is the largest warship in the world today."

Zuo Menggeng nodded, knowing that these statistics have already surpassed the Victory, and it will be difficult to catch up in at least a hundred years.

Only with such a warship can it be said with confidence that the Imperial Navy is the true king of the ocean.

Zuo Hua had already felt his heart itch, so he hurriedly asked about something more concerned.

"What is the protection of this battleship? How fast can it reach? How much wind can it withstand?"

This is a professional who understands which parameters are the key to affecting combat effectiveness.

Fan Xianrong didn't dare to neglect.

"For the first time, we installed iron armor below the waterline. At present, all front-loading artillery in the world has no possibility of penetration."

Just one sentence made everyone in the navy excited.

Except for the imperial army, the artillery used by countries all over the world today is still front-loaded round shells.

This kind of artillery and shells are used to hit wooden sailing ships, as long as the hull is slightly larger, the effect is not satisfactory.Now this first-class battleship is still equipped with iron armor below the waterline, which means that it is almost impossible to be sunk at all.

Fan Xianrong said again: "Under extreme conditions, the speed of this ship can reach eleven knots. Even in ordinary stormy weather, it can be safe. Of course, it is better not to take unnecessary risks."

Hearing that the new ship actually had a speed of eleven knots, everyone in the navy burst into cheers.

Common sense says that the bigger the boat, the slower it will be.

At present, the main force in the navy, the third-tier battleship, can only travel at a speed of about twelve knots.

And this first-class battleship can actually reach an average speed of about ten knots.Then it means that the overall formation will not be dragged down when fighting at sea.

Just doing this, relying on the powerful firepower of a first-class battleship, is enough to double the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Navy.

Compared with the third-tier battleships, the first-tier battleships carried an astonishing eighty guns, and the number of people on board reached 420.

The similar Victory has one hundred and two cannons, but because they are all front-mounted cannons, they are completely incomparable in terms of firepower.

The crew is 850 people, more than double that of the new ship.

The number of crew required by the new ship is only about half of that of the Victory, which means that more ammunition and supplies can be loaded.

In this way, it can sail on the sea for up to three months at a time without needing to dock for supplies.

This ability will be of great help to ocean exploration.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious time has come. Please name the new ship and complete the launching ceremony."

(End of this chapter)