Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 543: 5,000-ton Ironclad Ship
“Ding~Ding~”
A long and powerful whistle sounded, and in the late autumn fog of Tianjin Port in October, the Songjiang ironclad ship, the newest ship of the Ming Empire with a standard displacement of up to 5,000 tons, officially set sail.
"Everyone, welcome to the wedding of my second brother, His Royal Highness Prince Lai of Ming Dynasty. As the master of ceremonies, I would like to wish the two newlyweds a long and happy marriage and a son soon!"
At that time, weddings in the Ming Dynasty still followed Zhou Li, and the process was very complicated. Zhu Youdong showed full respect for these, and even his own wedding was conducted in accordance with this complete set of etiquette.
But he was a time traveler after all, so when Zhu Youxiao came up with the unique idea of holding the wedding on his own labor of love: the Ming Dynasty's newest 5,000-ton ironclad ship, he gave his utmost support.
Such behavior naturally displeased many learned people, led by the Minister of Rites Zhang Yicheng. However, the Ming Dynasty was not the Qing Dynasty of later times. Generally speaking, the culture of the Ming Dynasty was still quite open and inclusive. In addition, the emperor's majesty has been growing in recent years, and his words are basically final. Therefore, in the end, this unique wedding was held as scheduled.
After the brief wedding ceremony, waiters came forward and set up a buffet on the front deck of the Songjiang. Although the spectators were a little uncomfortable at first, under the guidance of the young eunuchs taught in advance by Zhu Youdong, they quickly raised their glasses and began to taste the various delicacies or chat with each other.
"Master You, are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
"Excellent, excellent, thank you so much, brother. Speaking of which, brother, this buffet is very interesting. The format is casual, and everyone can communicate freely with each other. The atmosphere is also very relaxed. It is much better than everyone sitting upright at their seats to eat."
"Haha, Principal You, China is a country of etiquette. Etiquette is the specific form of expressing etiquette. As long as etiquette exists, etiquette is everywhere. Therefore, buffets have their merits, and formal meals also have their merits. Different forms should be used in different occasions. Don't neglect either one."
"Yes, I will remember your teachings. Brother, how about I take you to see this new ship?"
"Of course. I've only been out of Beijing once in all these years. Hosting your wedding is one thing, and seeing the new national treasure of the Ming Dynasty is another."
This ironclad ship named Songjiang has a standard displacement of 5,000 tons. It uses two steam turbines as power and is equipped with eight coal-fired boilers, which can provide the ship with 7,200 horsepower. With such power and a displacement of 5,000 tons, the ship's maximum speed reaches 16 knots: this speed finally exceeds the maximum speed of most sailing warships of this era. And when Zhu Youxiao designed this warship, he also completely abandoned the mast of the sail. The entire warship looks very coordinated in appearance, with a bit of the flavor of the ironclad ships in the late 19th century in the historical plane - in this 17th century, this is a sense of science fiction.
In terms of weapons and equipment, there are three twin-mounted turrets installed, two in the front and one in the rear, with a total of six 150mm main guns, 35 times the caliber. Thanks to the latest achievements of the Fangshan Gunpowder Laboratory in recent years, the maximum range of the Songjiang's main gun has reached 8,000 meters.
The secondary guns were twelve 75mm rapid-fire guns, which were the favorites of the Ming navy and army. In addition, there were twenty air-cooled 35mm machine guns newly developed by Fangshan after receiving the material formula handed over by Yipulaxin. It can be said that this warship was armed to the teeth.
In terms of defense, the armor above the waterline is 300mm, and below the waterline is 280mm. The three main gun turrets have 280mm of armor, and the command tower has 230mm of armor.
However, with a standard displacement of only 5,000 tons, and with so many weapons installed on this ship, and such thick armor installed, especially after cramming in two powerful steam turbines, the redundancy of the entire ship is very little.
After walking around with Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youdong found the following question: "Youxiao, how much coal can the Songjiang carry?"
"Well, brother is really amazing. He saw the biggest shortcoming of this warship at a glance. Brother, the coal carrying capacity of this warship is indeed too little compared to its power. The three coal bunkers can only carry 500 tons of coal in total."
"I don't know much about the calculation of thermal efficiency ratio, so just tell me, how far can this little bit of coal support it to run?"
"At an economic speed of 10 knots, the range is 3,200 nautical miles. At maximum speed, the range is less than 2,000 nautical miles."
"Hmm..." Standing on the midship deck, Zhu Youdong tapped the railing with his fingers and calculated, "That is to say, if we use the maximum speed, this ship can barely reach Hainan Island from Tianjin Port. If we always use the economic speed, we can barely reach the Philippines?"
"That's about it."
"This endurance is not good enough."
"Brother, that's true. But I'm also in a dilemma. I carefully analyzed the post-war summary of our army's Battle of Manila, and then I kept thinking that if our navy's naval guns could extend their firepower ten kilometers inland, then after our army gained control of the sea, the enemy's coastal ports would also be under our control. So, I installed six 150mm main guns.
But, according to what you said, the standard of defense of an ironclad ship is to be able to withstand the shells fired by its own main guns. Therefore, the armor is also thick. And then..."
"Well, I'm not blaming you. Um, is there any possibility that the tonnage of our ironclad ships can continue to increase?"
"Well, brother, the tonnage can be increased, but it will cause a lot of trouble. For example, the 200mm naval gun on the Fangshan side has not yet been finalized, and there is no clue about the new type of armor that is lighter but has higher protection. Of course, what brother just meant was that the tonnage limits the amount of coal carried, making the endurance insufficient. But this also has problems. The ship is too large, and the ventilation and lighting inside the hull, especially the ventilation, is really a headache."
Hey! After all, they are professionals. Zhu Youdong, the time traveler, didn't find this problem after a round of rotation: due to the lack of electrification, a 5,000-ton ship like the Songjiang still uses oil lamps to illuminate the interior of its hull! And without electrification, there is no searchlight, which makes it almost impossible for ironclad ships to fight at night - the combat distance of sailing warships is only a few hundred meters, so they can still fight at night.
At the same time, since electrification was not achieved, in order to promote internal ventilation, Zhu Youxiao had to arrange two small steam engines on board to power the exhaust fans. However, the volume of a steam engine, no matter how small, is extremely large compared to an internal combustion engine or a generator. This further occupied the already limited tonnage of the ship.
Well, speaking of which, I have handed over the electromagnetic induction project to Fangshan for many years, but why is there no result yet? When should I go to Fangshan again to take a look?
"Okay, Colonel You, according to what you said, it seems that our ironclad ships cannot continue to increase their tonnage for the time being until new results are achieved in Fangshan."
"Brother, that's right. I think the current Songjiang is already the limit of the current technological level. In the manufacture of subsequent ships of the same level, the most we can do is cut off some secondary guns, weaken the armor of some non-critical parts, and keep the tonnage in the coal depot. But this kind of adjustment is also extremely limited."
"Do you have any other solutions?"
"Yes, brother." Zhu Youxiao pulled Zhu Youdong to the other side of the Songjiang ship and pointed his finger at a slipway in the harbor: "I discovered the problem of Songjiang's insufficient endurance on the slipway last year. So, I started the design and manufacture of the ironclad transport ship last year. Now, on the slipway you see is the first ironclad transport ship of our Ming Dynasty. The designed displacement is 3,500 tons, there is no weapon, and almost no armor. Except for the engine, almost all the tonnage is given to the cargo hold. This ship is expected to have a maximum speed of 12 knots and can carry 1,200 tons of coal and 200 tons of grain."
"It's rare that you're so thoughtful. Very good."
Patting Zhu Youxiao on the shoulder, Zhu Youdong said, "I came here this time to tell you something very important."
"Brother, please give me your instructions."
"Since our father passed away, I returned to Beijing to serve as regent. It has been thirteen years now. In the past thirteen years, except for conquering Siam and Japan, and visiting Tianjin a few times, I have basically been trapped in Beijing. I will make some major changes to the government next. Before making these changes, if I don't visit the court in person, but only listen to the reports of the ministers, I will still feel a little uneasy."
"Brother, are you going to travel around the world?"
"Well, that's about what I mean. So, I'll have to trouble you to go back to Beijing and serve as regent for a while."
"Well, brother, my nephew Ci Yan is not young anymore. Prime Minister Wen and Second Minister Yuan are all capable ministers..."
"Nonsense! Do you think everyone is like your elder brother, who can be in charge of Nanjing at the age of six? The only thing Ci Yan can do now is to study hard. It's too early to do anything else."
"Brother, Yan'er is getting older, and I, your second uncle, am always in the position of regent..."
You are my prime minister. According to the system settings, my own son is not as trustworthy as you!
"Don't think too much!" He patted Zhu Youxiao's shoulder with more strength and said, "Relax, do you know why all the other princes in the country have been divided up , but I have kept you brothers in the country? On the one hand, I need your help. On the other hand, the existing navigation technology is not mature yet, so even if there is a better fief, I can't give it to you."
"Brother, are you talking about Australia, which you mentioned before?"
"Yes, that piece of land is no smaller than the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Are you satisfied with it if I divide it among the five of you brothers? It's just that due to the ocean currents and wind direction, sail-powered ships can't find that place unless they are lucky. But now it's different. With steam-powered ironclad ships and special ironclad transport ships, we can overcome the influence of ocean currents and wind direction and sail directly to Australia. How about it, Youxiao, your fiefdom in the future is determined, what are you afraid of?"
"...Okay, then I will agree to return to serve as regent. I only hope that you can return to the capital as soon as possible."
"Hahaha, just do it calmly. And as you said, before there are any new scientific research results in Fangshan, you won't have much to do in the shipyard in the past two years. When you return to Beijing, you should have a good time with your princess and have a good relationship with her!"
