The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 646 Ah, Navy! (Please subscribe, please vote)
At the Wusongkou Naval Port in Shanghai, the whistle of the "Suzhou" pierced the tranquility of the river.

Luo Yaoguo stood by the railing, the hem of his newly ironed navy wool coat lifted by the river breeze, revealing the sword on the scabbard at his waist with the words "God the Father protects you" engraved on it.

Three steps behind him, Wang Yan, the newly appointed admiral of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Navy's South China Sea Fleet, was scanning the river with a monocular telescope, taking in the bodies of seven wooden-hulled ships with "powerful guns but weak ships" - they were "Shanghai" class light cruisers that the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau had rushed out overtime, with words such as "Changzhou", "Wuxi" and "Zhenjiang" painted in white on the black hulls.

The so-called "Shanghai" class is actually a replica of the British "Dare" class light cruiser. The hull adopts a wooden hull and iron rib structure. In an era when picric acid shells have been used in naval battles, the wooden hull protection is just a psychological comfort!

The displacement of the "Shanghai" class is slightly larger than that of the original "Guogan" class, with a standard displacement of 1200 tons and a full-load displacement of 1430 tons. It is equipped with 4 coal-fired boilers and a single-shaft horizontal single-expansion steam engine (produced by a joint venture between Shanghai Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and the British Stetson Company). The maximum speed is 1 knots when using pure steam power, and can reach 9 knots with the assistance of sails. The coal bunker of the "Shanghai" class can hold 12 tons of coal, and the endurance is up to 300 nautical miles/2000 knots.

“上海”级的火力算不上威猛，主武器配备了上海江南制造局出品的24磅（148mm）前装线膛炮20门——左右舷双层甲板各10门，有效射程2200米。但考虑到太平天国是最早将苦味酸装进炮弹做成开花弹的国家，10门24磅线膛炮的齐射是相当够用了。

In addition, the "Shanghai" class was equipped with a rotating turret at the bow and stern, each equipped with a 1-pound rifled gun or an Armstrong breech-loading gun - the Armstrong breech-loading gun installed on the "Shanghai" class was "evenly distributed" from the 12 Armstrong breech-loading guns given to Yang Xiuqing by Queen Victoria. A total of 1 guns were "evenly distributed", 20 of which were used as samples in the Jiangnan Arsenal, and 10 were installed on the bows of 2 Shanghai-class ships as "secret weapons".

“Raise the flag!”

As the copper whistle sounded on the Suzhou's mast, the fleet lined up on the starboard side suddenly erupted with a thunderous echo. The coal smoke from 27 chimneys condensed into an iron-gray cloud column at the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River. The red and blue Taiping Heavenly Kingdom naval flag and the bright yellow round dragon flag rose one after another, and the fluttering sound and the roar of the steam engine intertwined into a thrilling war song.

"May God bless us!" Luo Yaoguo suddenly drew his sword, with the tip of the sword pointing straight to the sky.

In an instant, the naval officers and soldiers lined up on the deck raised their right arms in unison, and the new copper-buttoned armbands formed a golden river in the sun. Looking from the bridge of the Suzhou, the temporary sailors on 500 armed steam merchant ships (displacement of 1000- tons) were awkwardly straightening their backs. Their faded coarse cloth shirts formed a sharp contrast with the dark blue woolen uniforms of the regular army, but they were integrated under the same Taiping Heavenly Kingdom flag.

When the melody of "Be a Good Man" burst out from the flagship deck, the entire Wusongkou was shaking. The black barrels of the 234 guns swayed slowly with the ups and downs of the river. The waterproof canvas of all the -pound long guns was removed by the sailors, revealing the newly cast inscription "Carrying out Justice on Behalf of Heaven" on the guns. Luo Yaoguo raised his sword and slowly slashed along the fleet formation. Wherever the blade pointed, a roar like thunder exploded:
"Kill all the Tartars!"

"Protect my kingdom!"

"May God bless you, my Father!"

"boom!"

At this moment, the roar of the test gun came from the direction of the Jiangnan Arsenal. A 64-foot-high water column exploded on the river six miles away, startling the circling water birds and causing them to flee in all directions. Luo Yaoguo and Wang Yan smiled at each other - this was the salute they had specially arranged, and the twelve newly cast -pound coastal defense heavy guns made a loud noise for the first time.

At the same time, a steam yacht flying the Union Jack had already docked on the opposite side of the Wusongkou Fort.

Nathaniel Rothschild stood on the deck of the "Goddess" with a cup of Ceylon black tea in his hand, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the twenty or so "black ships" on the river - eight "Karma" class ships that could barely be called cruisers were lined up pitifully in the middle of the river, and seventeen armed steam merchant ships with a displacement of only 500-1000 tons were crookedly squeezed in the anchorage, and the paint words on the sides of the ships, such as "Shunchang", "Fu'ning", "Da Sanyuan", etc., were so mottled that they could not be seen clearly.

"Puchi. They actually painted gun ports on the armed merchant ship." Old Sassoon raised his monocular telescope and looked at the two 24-pound guns on the deck of the "Mazu Baoyou" and the scary gun ports painted on the side of the ship. He couldn't help laughing, "Except for the painted gun ports, this poor thing only has two 2-pound guns, which is totally not worth mentioning!"

Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded on the river. Black smoke was belched out from the chimneys of the eight Guogan-class cruisers at the same time, and a scarlet flag was raised on the mast of the lead ship, Changzhou. It was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" flag!
The sailors lined up on the deck all raised the Brown Bess rifles that had been eliminated by the army, and their brand new sailor uniforms fluttered in the river breeze!
"Their morale is still good. Much better than the last time they fought with Britain." Chaton put down the telescope, turned to Van Persie, the representative of the Dutch East India Bank, and smiled, "But at sea, their morale is worthless. Naval battles are always a confrontation between ships and artillery! Now your Seven Provinces Alliance also has picric acid shells. That's 68 pounds of picric acid. One shot can blow up a Daring class ship, right?" The big boss of the Dutch East India Bank who once served in the Dutch Navy showed a proud smile: "Of course, if it weren't for equipping our warships with picric acid shells, how could we agree to a one-year ceasefire?"

It was noon when the review ended. When the thirty-eight captains entered the Suzhou on its newly painted teak deck, the cabin was filled with the pungent smell of tung oil and gun maintenance oil. Luo Yaoguo took off his sword and placed it horizontally on the desk, his eyes sweeping over these dark or pale faces - among them were top students of the Shanghai Naval Academy who were taught by British and French naval officers, old Taiping soldiers who fought on Dongting Lake, and even captains from the Guangdong Green Camp Navy.

"Eight years ago, when our king raised the flag of rebellion in Jintian Village, did you ever think of being able to speak on a steam cruiser?" Luo Yaoguo suddenly spoke, tapping the porthole with his knuckles. Outside the window, more than 20 steam warships and armed merchant ships were forming a team and preparing to set sail.

Zhang Bao, the young captain of the Changzhou, suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, when I followed you to Shanghai, we had to avoid the shabby old boats of the Qing Dynasty on the river, but we still managed to take Shanghai!"

There was suppressed laughter in the cabin.

Luo Yaoguo raised his hand to signal silence: "But now the Dutch steam cruisers are a hundred times more powerful than the broken ships of the Qing Dynasty. Their flagships, the Seven Provinces Alliance and the Hector, have a standard displacement of nearly 2000 tons and are equipped with sixteen -pound rifled cannons each."

The laughter stopped abruptly. A gasp was heard from the corner.

"Are you scared?" Wang Yan suddenly stood up and slammed the table. The revolver on his waist hit the corner of the table with a crisp sound. "Last year in the South China Sea, our armed merchant ships beat the Dutch East India Fleet into a panic!"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Ding Xianda stood up with a smug look on his face. "No matter how big the Dutch red-haired ship is, it can't withstand our picric acid shells. At worst, we can trade our lives for their ships!"

This sentence was like pouring a bucket of cold water on boiling oil. The cabin was in an uproar. Several captains from the Naval Academy excitedly gestured at the armor-piercing effect of the new shells, while the captains who were old pirates on the armed merchant ship shouted that they wanted to play boarding battle. Luo Yaoguo let the noise surge until a certain moment when he suddenly swung his fist and slammed it heavily on the table.

"Well said!" Luo Yaoguo shouted, "In the Battle of Karimata, the picric acid shells fired by the Xianda's 'Lan Fang' sank a 'Batavia' class ship and severely damaged another one! What does this show? It shows that the rules of the game in naval warfare have changed. Now is an era where guns are powerful but ships are weak. As long as we are not afraid of sacrifice and dare to approach the enemy and use our 24-pound guns to fire picric acid shells, we can 'exchange ships' with the Dutch! Our 'Shanghai' class can't withstand the picric acid shells fired by the 68-pound guns, but their big ships can't withstand our 24 pounds of picric acid either. What's more, we have 8 70mm Armstrong breech-loading guns, which are our secret weapons!"

He suddenly pointed to the Nanyang sea map on the wall. "Their warships will burn thousands of tons of coal on the way from Rotterdam to Batavia. We are waiting for them at home. If we destroy a cruiser, they will not be able to replace it in a year! And in the dock of our Jiangnan Arsenal, the second batch of ten 'Shanghai' class ships are already under construction. So don't be afraid of sinking the ship. As long as we can exchange for a Dutch ship, it will be a credit!"

The sea breeze suddenly poured into the cabin, making the sea chart rustle. Wang Yan unfolded the military order from the Prime Minister's Office at the right time. The scarlet ink looked like wet blood: "In compliance with the order of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, anyone who sinks an enemy ship in this battle, regardless of whether the ship is sunk in battle or not, will be rewarded with 5,000 silver dollars; anyone who captures an enemy ship will be promoted three ranks; anyone who retreats in battle." He deliberately dragged out the tone and made a cutting gesture with his thumb at his throat.

"I am willing to sign a military order!" Zhang Bao was the first to put his handprint. When it was the turn of a captain who was a pirate from the Guangdong Tiandihui, this dark-skinned man with a big beard suddenly grinned and said, "Your Highness, if I can exchange for a large ship, can you give me a Jianghai-class ship?"

Amid the laughter, Luo Yaoguo nodded solemnly: "Not only will I give you the reward, I will personally ask for a title for you!"

Retired British Navy Lieutenant Colonel White was doing math in the living room of the Goddess: "Eight cruisers each with twenty 24-pound muzzle-loading guns, and seventeen armed ships with an average of three guns. The total number of small-caliber guns is only ." He drew the formation of the Dutch fleet on the tablecloth with a fountain pen. "The firepower projected by the Hector alone in one salvo is equivalent to that of five Courageous-class ships."

At this time, a series of whistles suddenly sounded on the river. 25 small steam-powered sailing ships with a displacement of only 500-1200 tons had formed two columns and sailed out of Wusongkou.
Rothschild smiled and raised his glass: "Cheers to the 30% drop in Far Eastern raw silk futures, and the doubling of grain futures. Cheers to the collapse of the stocks and bonds of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Everyone raised their glasses together, and amidst laughter, they watched the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Nanyang Fleet disappear into the vast Yangtze River estuary.
(End of this chapter)