Wild North America 1846

Chapter 244 Paris Contract
Earl Dai Changfu was right. Earl Pan Hengchen, the chief of naval staff, came to the palace to face the saint and brought two naval development plans, both of which required a lot of military expenditure;
One is to use the navy's priority renewal rights to continue building six steam iron-clad frigates in the next three years to further improve the navy's combat effectiveness and ability to maintain sea frontiers.

The other is that after the completion of the "Fixed Sea Plan", the navy ambitiously proposed another naval ship development plan, which is the "National Township Plan."

As the name suggests, the "Suppressing the Nation Plan" is to develop a main battleship of iron armor and steam of more than 3500 tons, to suppress the country's sea and territory, and further demonstrate the role of the navy.

As a result, His Majesty approved the first plan and rejected the second.

For no other reason
The 3500-ton ironclad steam main warship developed by the "Zhen Guo Project" is expensive. It adopts the waist gun room design, equipped with four 60-pound large-caliber naval guns, and 12 20-pound caliber secondary guns. The artillery fire is quite fierce and powerful.

The cost is also gratifying, with a main battleship of steam iron armor skyrocketing to nearly 40 yuan.

This amount of money is enough to build 5 armored frigates of more than [-] tons.

The reason why the 3500-ton armored steam main battleship is so expensive is because it uses a new type of triple expansion steam engine, a new type of high-pressure boiler, and a large-caliber naval gun recently completed by Colt Weapons Company. Technology, the first ship is of course not cheap.

If more ships are built, the unit price of construction can go down a bit, about 32 to [-] for each main steam ironclad ship.

It’s not about the money. Li Cha’s key lies in the lack of motivation to develop the navy. At this stage, the kingdom is still in its first 1 years of entrepreneurship. It must cherish the current peaceful environment and vigorously develop the economy. The development of naval armaments is not an urgent need.

With this 40 yuan, Richard can add 1.5 Chinese immigrants to Paradise Island, which can generate several 10 yuan of income in that year, and implement a rolling development strategy.

In just a few years, this money can allow more than 6 Chinese to immigrate, creating more social value and enhancing the heritage of the kingdom.

Building an ironclad battleship is just a waste of money, and it also requires expensive training and daily maintenance expenses. At least 2 to 3 warships of a type will be built, so it will cost over a million dollars.

Datang Kingdom's initial investment in the two immigrant cities of Paradise Island Xin'an and Donggang, which is the focus of construction, is in the scale of one million yuan.

Different from colonization and economic construction, naval expenditure is net consumption.

At present, the Datang Kingdom has no urgent need to expand the size of its naval fleet in North America. The development of a powerful navy will only attract the attention of the British, so why bother?
Wouldn't it be nice to spend a little money of ten or twenty thousand to provoke Americans to kill each other in the Kansas Civil War, and the Datang Kingdom would move a small stool and sit by the side to watch the show?
Therefore, Richard approved the previous naval development project, rejected the "National Town Plan", and only agreed to allocate 3.5 yuan for research and exploration of ship design, and then dismissed Earl Pan Hengchen, chief of naval staff.

Today's world steam ironclad warship development trend is in the ascendant, because there is no reference, so the design of various new steam ironclad warships emerges one after another, and it is in the pioneering era.

In the world, three types of ship design trends dominate;
The first type is the European naval power dominated by the United Kingdom. Large-scale sailing battleships with a displacement of four to six thousand tons are generally covered with iron armor to enhance damage resistance.

The artillery is arranged along the ship's side, and the battleship is mainly powered by sails, supplemented by side wheels and propellers. This complex combination of power not only causes the ship's deck to be crowded and tense, but is also prone to failure and poor reliability.

The British even designed a hanging propeller. When needed, hundreds of people were used to lift the propeller from the stern of the ship into the sea, which was time-consuming and laborious and the effect was not good.

The second type is an experimental design with all kinds of strange things.

For example, the U.S. Navy is similar to the design of a submarine-style full-coverage armored ship. This kind of ship has an extremely low hull and a speed of 5 to 6 knots.

Therefore, it can only sail along the coast when the weather is calm. The main use scenario is in inland rivers with less wind and waves. It is used to compete for control of the river and vent firepower on the ground to support infantry operations.

But the problem is

The United States does not share any rivers with other countries. The only Missouri River that borders the Tang Dynasty is less than 3600 kilometers of the 800-kilometer-long river that is navigable.

Moreover, the Missouri River is a seasonal river with very large changes in water volume. When the ice and snow melt at the turn of spring and summer, the upstream water is extremely fierce.The mighty rushing down, turning the vast area in the middle and lower reaches into a swamp country.

The hydrological situation is complicated and the water is fierce. Not to mention the American ironclad steam warships with poor routes, even ordinary ships dare not pass through, so they can only stay in the port honestly.

In autumn and winter, the water potential is getting smaller, and the American ironclad steam battleship with a deep draft will run aground if it is not done well.

The third type is the simplified design represented by Datang Kingdom. Its outstanding feature is to abandon sails and side wheels, and use propellers as the only ship power.

During the long-term practice of transoceanic immigration, the shipbuilding industry of Datang Kingdom gradually blazed its own path and won a place in the marine steam turbine industry.

The marine steam turbine power produced by Datang Kingdom is famous for its high coal-burning efficiency and good reliability of high-pressure steam boilers, and through the improvement of horizontal steam turbines, a new type of steam ship power represented by triple-expansion steam turbines has been formed. , among the advanced ranks in the world.

The Ship Power Laboratory of the University of California has gathered many experts and scholars from European countries and the Datang Kingdom. It is one of the world's high-level ship power R&D laboratories and has a high reputation in the industry.

Datang Kingdom Royal United Shipping Company, Pacific Shipping Company, Royal Charity Fund, Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom Government and a series of enterprises and government agencies have allocated large sums of money to this key laboratory for many years in a row to support ship power research technology.

With the accumulation of a large amount of research and development funds, the Marine Power Laboratory of the University of California has achieved a series of advanced achievements that have attracted worldwide attention, such as marine triple-expansion steam turbines, high-pressure boilers, 6-horsepower, 12-horsepower diesel engines, and 245-horsepower steam locomotives. , have formed the fist products on the market.

Regardless of the level of science and technology in the age of mythical steam, even the most technologically advanced marine triple-expansion steam turbine, its design principles can be seen at a glance, and there are no secrets.

The key lies in the stress structure of power design, combustion and output efficiency, load bearing and optimization of mechanical structure, durability and economy, and a reasonable balance must be achieved.

Neither should excessive consumption of coal in order to squeeze more power, but also generate more power per ton of coal, so that the power of the steam turbine is stronger, and it can carry more cargo and sail for a longer distance.

Achieving a reasonable balance between power and fuel consumption is the core of an advanced marine triple-expansion steam turbine.

No matter how big the ship is, the coal it can carry is limited.

The steamships of the Datang Kingdom generally carry a heavy oil tank, which is used appropriately during navigation to increase the combustion efficiency of coal and squeeze out more sailing power. It is a representative of the advanced ship power today.

Ships of the British Royal Navy generally did not adopt this design, because Britain did not have a reliable supply of heavy oil, and the Royal Navy steam ships located in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean could not import heavy oil from the Datang Kingdom for thousands of miles, which was unrealistic.

Heavy oil is very viscous, so it must be heated by steam pipes during loading and unloading. Special transport ships and vehicles are used. The heavy oil tanks of ships must be specially designed near high-temperature boilers, so that they can be used conveniently with the help of the heat of the furnace.

None of these conditions exist in the UK.

This is the benefit of Datang Kingdom relying on local resources. When the ship is built, it has a special heavy oil tank, which is designed near the high-temperature boiler.

As a major country in the petrochemical industry, Datang Kingdom’s ports along the coast of California have facilities for storing heavy oil. There are convenient steam heating pipelines, which can not only refuel heavy oil, but also coal can be refueled at nearby coal terminals. The use of ships is very convenient.

In the field of ocean shipping and shipbuilding, Datang Kingdom is closely following the UK. Although it cannot be compared with the UK in terms of shipbuilding volume and shipyard scale, its technical level is not inferior.

Nov. 1855, 12

Count Esterház arrives in St. Petersburg with an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary demanding that the Russian Empire accept an armistice.

Otherwise, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would join the Allied Forces and it would be war against the Russian Empire.

In this way

All the top 4 powers in the world are on the stage. Britain, France, and Austria-Hungary have formed a united front. Together with the Tang Kingdom and the Sardinian Kingdom, the two underlings, they will jointly deal with the isolated Tsarist Russian Empire.

after many years
European public opinion generally believes that this is the key to the tsarist Russian Empire’s decision to cease the war. While Russia is mourning the ruthless betrayal of its former allies and brothers, the situation on the battlefield is gone, and it has been unable to reject the ultimatum of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In January 1856, Sir Colrington succeeded Sir Simpson as the new Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.It is a pity that the timing of his appointment was not coincidental. The Russian Tsar Alexander II had agreed to peace talks, and the opportunity to continue expanding the war no longer existed.

Nov. 1856, 1

Tsar Alexander II accepted Austria-Hungary's ultimatum and agreed to peace talks.

On February 2, the Paris Peace Conference was held.

Britain, France, Tang, Ottoman, Sardinia and Russia participated in the peace conference, and Austria also participated in the peace conference because it proposed the "Vienna Four Points" plan.
The Tsarist Russian Empire wanted the Kingdom of Prussia to attend in order to gain its support and avoid being sieged by wolves in the peace talks, but Britain opposed it on the grounds that the Kingdom of Prussia did not participate in the war.

In the end, the opinions of the British had the overwhelming upper hand, and Tsarist Russian negotiators had to face the countries on the same front, like a lioness caught in the bite of an African hyena, conducting difficult negotiations.

In fact

Tsarist Russia is not without sympathizers and supporters. The French Emperor Napoleon III did not want Britain to weaken Russia too much, which would put France under greater pressure and face the chaos in Europe alone.

Therefore, at the Paris Peace Conference, France, as the host, gave Russia strong support many times.

The Tang Kingdom also has an ambiguous attitude on this issue. Li Cha also does not want Britain to be too strong in Europe. With Tsarist Russia who can touch Britain's sensitive nerves at the front at any time, the British can calm down more or less and focus more on In Europe, not North America.

Therefore, on appropriate issues, the Tang Kingdom assisted France and supported the reasonable demands of Tsarist Russia in disguise.

For example, on the issue of the Crimea peninsula;
Britain asked Tsarist Russia to cede the Crimea Peninsula, but Tsarist Russia firmly opposed it. France and Tang Dynasty tacitly supported the position of the Russian representative, which forced the tough British negotiator to back down.

The peace talks that took place in Paris became the central issue that focused the attention of the world in 1856, and it was also the center of the Tang Kingdom's first appearance on the international stage, participating in the formulation of the international order as the winner.

This undoubtedly pushed up the international status of the Tang Empire, and its status as a third-rate power has been generally recognized by the international community.

At the Paris Peace Conference, after intense bargaining, the countries finally reached an agreement.

On March 3, the "Paris Peace Treaty" was signed. The main clauses are as follows;
First, the great powers jointly guaranteed the "independence and integrity" of the Ottoman Empire.

Second, the Ottoman Empire pledged to improve the conditions of its people regardless of race or creed.

Third, Russia regained the occupied territories of the Crimea Peninsula, ceded the mouth of the Danube and southern Bessarabia to Moldavia, returned Kars in the Caucasus to the Ottoman Empire, and gave up the right to protect the Orthodox Church in the Ottoman Empire.

Fourth, the suzerainty of Serbia, Wallachia, and Moldavia still belongs to the Ottoman Empire, and Russia must not interfere, and the powers will jointly guarantee it.

Fifth, the neutralization of the Black Sea, prohibiting warships from various countries from passing through the two straits, and prohibiting Russia from establishing or maintaining arsenals along the Black Sea coast.

Sixth, freedom of navigation on the Danube.

In the terms of the "Paris Agreement", Russia was forced to accept harsh conditions and lost many of the rights and interests it had gained through the Russo-Turkish War for nearly 200 years. chicken.

The peace treaty prohibited the Tsarist Empire from owning fleets and naval bases in the Black Sea, and prohibited the Tsarist Empire from setting up defenses on the Aran Islands in the Baltic Sea. This enabled the implementation of the Great Firewall planned by the United Kingdom and the realization of its strategic goal of encircling the Tsarist Empire.

at the same time
The Tsarist Russian Empire needs to cede southern Bessarabia to the Ottoman Empire and return the Kars Fortress, and recognize that the powers will collectively protect the three principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia under the suzerainty of the Sudan.

The Paris Peace Conference was an unprecedented fiasco for the Tsarist Russian Empire. After the westward strategy hit its head, the Tsarist Russian Empire, which was greedy for land, could only turn around and look east.

from this period

The Tsarist Russian Empire has frequently acted in Central Asia, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and the three eastern provinces. Through various despicable means such as threats and oppression, in the next ten years, no soldiers have been used, and various imposed inequalities have been adopted. The border treaty seized more than 150 million square kilometers of territory from the corrupt Manchu Qing Dynasty.

All of this is for later.

(End of this chapter)