The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 372

Zheng Chenggong hurriedly bowed and said: "Master, my subordinates have trained [-] sailors in recent months. There are also more than [-] helmsmen, fire chiefs, and officers of all levels trained by the Fujing Naval Academy."

The fire chief he mentioned is the navigator, who needs to master the "astrology", that is, the technology of determining latitude and longitude by astronomy. It is a very rare high-level technical talent, but now it can be "produced" in batches in the Naval Academy.

Zhu Linmei nodded in satisfaction when she heard the words, and thought to herself that it was indeed the right decision to let Zheng Chenggong, a genius in naval warfare, support the navy. In such a short period of time, the navy's airs have been supported.

According to the calculation that a 200-ton Galenic warship requires nearly 300 officers and sailors, and a [-]-ton Galenic warship requires more than [-] men, the current navy has nearly [-] soldiers, enough to control fifteen or sixteen warships. .

That is to say, for quite a long period of time in the future, as long as the shipyard builds new warships, it will be able to form combat power almost immediately.

He roughly estimated in his mind that the Daming Navy currently has two [-]-ton Galen warships, and a [-]-ton large-scale ship built by Nan'an Shipyard not long ago.

Two Galen warships of [-] tons and [-] tons on the berth of Yongbeili will be launched in the near future. Counting all these, the navy will have four large Galen ships and one Dafu ship.

Although the number of large warships is small, these four Galen ships alone can be equipped with more than 100 cannons. At the same time, the artillery positions are concentrated, and the firepower is extremely powerful.

Coupled with the thirty or so small blessing boats, sentinel boats, and arson boats in front of us, a small but sophisticated fleet has basically taken shape and is ready to participate in the battle.

On the way to Mawei, he read the information of the Jianlu Navy.On the surface, the Qing army had nearly 400 warships on the Qiantang River, but the main force of them were ten Fuchuan of more than [-] tons and nine rushing boats of less than [-] tons, and the artillery equipment was no more than [-] tons. Door.

Moreover, there are only more than ten twelve-pound heavy guns, and the rest are small six-pound guns.As for the other more than 100 small boats, they basically have no ability to carry artillery.

In other words, under the condition that the quality of the sailors is close and the commanders do not make mistakes, Zhu Linmi believes that the Daming navy will definitely be able to completely abuse the Qing army's fleet on the Qiantang River.

You know, among the more than 100 cannons of the Daming Navy, nearly [-]% are heavy cannons over [-] pounds, and there are ten [-]-pound cannons among them!But there were only thirty six-pound guns.The overall firepower is several times that of the Jianlu Navy.

In addition, due to the structural characteristics of the Galen ship, a relatively thick hull and a large number of transverse ribs are required.A gun under nine pounds cannot penetrate a seven-inch thick beech wood hull unless it shoots within ten feet.

Even a twelve-pounder can hardly do effective damage if the shell hits exactly where the ship's ribs are.

Fuchuan and boats use a watertight cabin structure, and the hull cannot be made very thick due to the weight limit of the hull.Usually at a distance of four hundred paces, a six-pounder can penetrate its hull.

Of course, due to the existence of watertight cabins, they are also very difficult to sink.But as long as important personnel in the ship, such as the captain and helmsman, are shot by shells, or the mainsail, rudder, and bow are shot, the entire ship will basically lose its combat effectiveness.

Zhu Linmi then looked at Zheng Chenggong, and said seriously: "Damu, when the two new warships in Yongbeili are completed, I want to send you to lead the navy to deal with Jianlu's warships on the Qiantang River. You can be sure to win the battle." Of?"

Zheng Chenggong knew the strength of the Qing army on the Qiantang River, and he cupped his hands and said: "Now our navy is strong and cannon sharp, and we can defeat the enemy with the battle line tactics taught by your lord!" The level of training under his command appears to be very confident.

When Zhu Linmi heard the words "Zhouqiang Paorui", she couldn't help smiling, then nodded and said: "Okay! Then I will congratulate the big wooden flag on the victory!

"As long as Qiantang is back under the control of the Ming army, the deployment of the captives in Zhejiang will be disrupted. In my northward strategy, this is an extremely important step, and it will all depend on the navy."

A group of navy generals immediately shouted: "I will live up to your expectations!"

Zheng Chenggong seemed to have thought of something, and said: "My lord, the Jianlu Navy on the Qiantang River is easy to deal with, but if the captives lose Qiantang, they will definitely transfer Zheng Ni's warship to Zhejiang."

When he said this, he couldn't help but look worried, "As far as my subordinates know, there are five or six hundred warships brought by Zheng Ni to captives. Among them, there are nearly forty big boats and big blessing boats. There are more than fifty lucky boats and bird boats, and more than fifty boats and small lucky boats.

"Although our navy's warships are powerful, they are too few in number. Once they come into contact with them, they are likely to fall into a tight siege..."

No matter how strong your warship is, if you are besieged by a large number of enemy ships and lose your mobility, you will not be able to escape being burned by an arson ship or the enemy jumping from the gang to seize the ship.

However, Zhu Linmi had a plan for this, and immediately smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about it. Right now, Jianlu doesn't know that my navy has been completed, and Zheng Zhilong's warships are all near Shandong.

When Dailu found that the momentum was wrong and moved south, the battle of Qiantang should have ended.

We can't challenge Zheng Zhilong for the time being, but we must find a way to lead him by the nose. "

He immediately retreated to the left and right, and told Zheng Chenggong in a low voice: "Although there are many captive ships, their speed is not as fast as mine, and there are many of them that must be rescued. After you defeat the Qing army navy on the Qiantang River, I will transfer Luo Mingshou's troops." The sea ships help defend Qiantang, and you lead the navy like this..."

Zheng Chenggong nodded frequently when he heard the words, "My lord really has a clever plan, and my subordinates bow down!"

Zhu Linming continued: "I have ordered the shipyard to build more warships. There is another [-]-ton warship in Yongbeili that will be launched in the middle of next month. In addition to the other ships on the slipway, at most two months later, the ship will be launched." The number of main warships of the division can be nearly doubled again.

"At that time, let's find another chance to deal with Zheng Zhilong!"

Zheng Chenggong was also delighted, but then said: "By the way, my lord, there is one more thing that is a hidden danger."

"Oh? You said."

"Our navy's main battleships are very strong, but the small boats are commercial ships purchased from the people. They add some cannons to serve as combat ships. In addition, the number is small, so it is very easy for the enemy's arsonist ships to find gaps."

"That's a problem." Zhu Linmei frowned and nodded.It's just that the shipyard is currently building large ships. Although he asked Guan Xiangyun to go to a private shipyard to customize small boats, he definitely can't count on them in a short time.

Who has ready-made light warships there?Suddenly his eyes lit up, he smiled at Zheng Chenggong and said, "Leave this matter to me. Before you arrive at Qiantang, there will be a dedicated warship to send it to you. You just need to be ready to pick up the sailors."

"Yes!"

Zhu Linmei suddenly thought of a question, and asked Zheng Chenggong: "What are the names of these warships of the Navy, especially these two [-]-ton warships?"

"My lord, right now they are temporarily called Battleship A and Battleship B. The rest are named after the characters 'Shao' and 'Huo' in sequence, such as 'Shaoyi', 'Shaoji', and 'Huoyi'. , 'Fire Two'."

Zhu Linmi frowned slightly, thinking that this was too hasty, but it is normal for the navy to not deal with these details in time.

(End of this chapter)