The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 850 Luo Yaoguo’s conspiracy, let’s have a naval arms race!

When the British finally "hurried up" the design bidding for a new 1870-ton fast ironclad ship, it was already the summer of .
Shimen Stream in Lushan Mountain.

The mountain stream was surging, the water roared. Luo Yaoguo was standing beside a newly built stone dam, looking at the newly completed "super hydropower station" in front of him. Its power was amazing, and it could provide up to 200 kilowatts of surging electricity - that is, 200 degrees per hour, and 24 degrees if it worked 4800 hours a day.
But its significance far exceeds its power - it is the world's first hydroelectric power station that uses AC power transmission. One power station can supply electricity to the entire Lushan Town.

"Your Highness, please turn on the switch." Zhang Zhidong, who was standing nearby, pointed respectfully at a copper pull rod.

Zhang Zhidong, known as "Zhang Nanpi", lost his third place in the imperial examination, but he was admitted to the Department of Psychic Powers of the Taiping University. After graduation, he was "guaranteed to continue his studies" and did research with Faraday. Now he is a professor in the Department of Psychic Powers of the Taiping University.

The Lushan Shimenjian Hydropower Station was jointly developed by him, French experts Zinab Gram and Luo Yaoguo!

Luo Yaoguo nodded, stretched out his hand to hold the gate handle, and slowly pulled it down. Along with the click of mechanical gears, the power transmission line in the distance emitted a slight hum. A second later, a "bamboo filament lamp" hanging on a wooden pole suddenly lit up, and the dim light seemed particularly warm in the twilight.

"Success!" Zinab Gram, the red expert from France, couldn't help but cheer in French.

Zhang Zhidong walked quickly to the measuring instrument and carefully checked the parameters: "The voltage is stable at 220 volts, which fully meets the design requirements!"

Luo Yaoguo looked at the light that glowed tenaciously in the twilight, and thought to himself, "Luckily, I was able to pass physics in high school, and I didn't forget all the basic knowledge of electricity. It finally came in handy this time. It's a pity that if they go deeper into the research, I won't be able to help."

He turned to Zhang Zhidong and Gram and said, "200 kilowatts is just the beginning. Next we need to develop larger units and build more hydropower stations. At the same time." He paused, his eyes became unusually solemn, "The research and development of steam turbine generator sets must be accelerated. This is not only the key to power generation, but also the foundation of future marine steam turbines!"

Gram responded immediately, patting his chest and saying, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We are already testing a new turbine blade design. The blades made of nickel-steel alloy can withstand higher temperatures and pressures, and their efficiency is 30% higher than that of traditional steam engines."

He took out a thick notebook with various experimental data densely recorded on it: "As long as the funds are sufficient, we can set up a few more experimental groups and work together to try and error from all directions. Next year, or at the latest the year after, we will be able to manufacture the first experimental steam turbine."

When it comes to scientific research, except for a few geniuses who make breakthroughs on a flash of inspiration, in most cases it is just a matter of piling up resources and making mistakes. If the general direction can be found right, the cost of trial and error will be greatly reduced.

Because many major mistakes can be corrected directly without having to invest any more money.

And now the arms race with the British that Luo Yaoguo has provoked actually involves the issue of the "general direction". Only by finding the right direction can we lead our competitors by the nose!

Thinking of this, Luo Yaoguo smiled proudly, and then, surrounded by the crowd, he boarded the carriage back to Lushan Town.

As the sun sets, the town of Lushan is already lit up with lights - the light coming from bamboo filament bulbs powered by electricity.

The summer capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is located halfway up Mount Lushan. It has both Chinese-style gardens with flying eaves and pointed corners, and Western-style buildings with red brick pointed roofs, scattered in an orderly manner among the mountains and forests.

Luo Yaoguo's "Prime Minister's Office" is a vast Chinese-style garden, with pavilions and towers hidden among the green pines and cypresses. As soon as he stepped into the mansion, his secretary Cheng Lingnan hurriedly came up to him and handed him a briefing: "Your Majesty, this is an urgent report received this afternoon."

Luo Yaoguo took it, opened the first page, glanced at it, and raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth: "The British Admiralty has officially launched a bidding for the design of a 10000-ton high-speed ironclad ship, requiring this type of ironclad ship to have a maximum speed of more than 20 knots."

"Hahahahahaha!" Luo Yaoguo suddenly burst into laughter, and his laughter echoed in the courtyard.

Maria and Su Sanniang came over when they heard the noise, and seeing him laughing happily, they couldn't help but become curious.

"Why is your Majesty laughing?" Su Sanniang asked with a smile.

Luo Yaoguo raised the briefing in his hand and said, "The British are finally going to compete with us in building ironclad ships. These British guys are so slow in doing things. I thought they would not follow us!"

Maria frowned: "But our shipbuilding, steel, and steam engines are not as good as theirs. Can we win the shipbuilding competition?"

Luo Yaoguo pointed at himself, his eyes gleaming with confidence: "I am the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! I know what kind of ship to build, what kind of ship can make the British ironclad ships that they have worked so hard to build obsolete overnight!"

The two women looked at each other, half believing and half doubting.

Luo Yaoguo laughed and said, "Didn't the 'Flying Fish' that was tested at sea last year make more than 80 British ironclad ships obsolete?" Maria and Su Sanniang were both shocked: "More than 80... all obsolete?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded: "Yes, it's outdated! The British have no idea what future battleships should look like, or what technical route they should take." He paused, a gleam in his eyes, "But I know everything!"

Admiralty Meeting House, Whitehall Street, London, England.

Gladstone, the newly elected leader of the Liberal Party, sat at the end of the long table, smiling broadly. Opposite him, Edward James Reid, the Director of Naval Shipbuilding, was reporting with a gloomy face:

"Mr. Prime Minister, it is extremely difficult to build a 20-ton fast ironclad ship! To make a 1.5-ton warship reach a speed of more than 5000 knots, it requires a power system of at least horsepower - this means three -horsepower triple expansion steam engines, plus more than a dozen boilers!"

"Oh, is this difficult?" Gladstone frowned slightly. This fast ironclad ship project was left to him by the Conservative cabinet that ran away. He was quite happy to take it over. It was a big project! There was a lot of pounds! The Conservative Party did not actually contract out the project before stepping down. It was really conservative! But now it seems that there is something wrong with this project!

Edward James Reid, the shipbuilding expert, was still complaining: "Such a large engine room is not only expensive, but also takes up precious tonnage. We have to reduce armor and firepower... But in this way, our ironclad ships may not be able to defeat the enemy with thick armor and huge cannons!!"

Gladstone frowned: "But why should we build such expensive and invincible ships?"

First Sea Lord Sydney Dalrymple-Hay said in a deep voice: "Because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom conducted a sea trial last year of an ironclad ship with a speed of over 20 knots and an estimated displacement of over 6000 tons! If we don't build a warship with the same speed, no Royal Navy warship will be able to catch up with them in the future!"

"What if we can't catch up?" Gladstone, who had just come to power, did not understand the seriousness of the matter - the more than 80 ironclad ships of the British Empire were now all out of date!
"If you can't catch up, you can't hit it!" The First Sea Lord is a professional, an admiral! He knows that if you can't catch up, you can't hit it!
"What if we can't hit him?" Gladstone asked again.

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can destroy our overseas trade!" The First Sea Lord emphasized, "Our ironclad ship can only run at a maximum speed of 14 knots, 6 knots slower than the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's fast ironclad ship. And our fastest merchant ship can only run at 17 knots, 3 knots slower than it. This means that it can attack our merchant ships at will in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and we have no way to deal with it!"

"Ah!" Gladstone was stunned. Didn't the Royal Navy have more than 80 ironclad ships? How could you have no solution when they only had one ship?

"This is not the worst." Edward James Reid said with a bitter face, "After our research, we think that this ship runs fast probably because of its powerful power!"

Experts are experts!

More horsepower = faster running!
No problem.

Gladstone nodded. "So what?"

Edward James Reid said: "We have estimated that a 6000-ton ship needs at least a 20-horsepower unit to run at 12000 knots! If this 12000-horsepower unit is a double-expansion engine, it is too big and it is difficult to fit on a 6000-ton ship. So we estimate that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must have made a breakthrough in the triple-expansion steam engine, and may have already built a practical steam turbine!"

Double expansion? Triple expansion? Steam turbine? What are these? Although Prime Minister Gladstone is a top student who graduated from Eton College, Christ Church College, Oxford University, he has no idea what this shipbuilding expert is talking about.
The First Sea Lord explained: "If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has a practical steam turbine, then we must catch up, otherwise we will lose our maritime hegemony in a few years!"

In a few years? So scary?
Gladstone stared, unable to speak for a long time, and finally sighed: "Then... let's catch up quickly! The British Empire cannot lose its sea power!"

Meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office in Lushan.

Luo Yaoguo sat in the main seat and glanced at the people in the National Defense Committee: "Have you finished the improvement plan for the Flying Fish?"

Wang Yan immediately spread out a blueprint: "Your Majesty, please look at this - 'Flying Eagle', a 10000-ton fast armored ship verification plan!"

Xu Shou added: "This time we will use three 3-horsepower horizontal triple-expansion steam engines, plus 4000 coal-fired boilers, and the expected speed can reach 12 knots!"

Luo Yaoguo stared at the blueprint and nodded slowly: "Very good. Next, we will immediately start the research and development of the 1 horsepower triple expansion steam power unit and the preliminary research of the 1.5 horsepower triple expansion steam power unit."

He raised his head, his eyes were sharp: "If our steam turbine research and development encounters a bottleneck that cannot be overcome temporarily, then we can use the 1.5 horsepower triple expansion steam power unit to defeat the British!"

(End of this chapter)