Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 601 Extremely Low Probability Event
Just as Zhu Youdong gradually straightened out the old empire of Ming Dynasty and had the ability to actively launch foreign wars. In the port of Bilbao in Europe, King Philip of Spain also welcomed the gift that the Asturias Laboratory was about to "give" to him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honor to invite the President of the European Union, King of Castile and Aragon, King of Portugal, Count of Barcelona, Master of the Americas, His Majesty Philip, to come out to lay the keel of the most powerful warship in Europe, the Prince of Asturias, and cut the ribbon!"
This is the largest slipway in the Bilbao shipyard. On December 5, 1631, the keel of a giant ship was laid here: the brand new battleship Prince of Asturias, which has a displacement of 15,000 tons according to the design drawings , is equipped with six 305mm main guns, and has a 280mm armor plate for key parts and a minimum of 65mm armor plate for common parts. It has four steam turbines and a theoretical maximum speed of more than 20 knots. It is an epoch-making, super-giant ship.
There is no doubt that the designer dared to make such a design on the drawing, which of course means that European technology has made major breakthroughs in recent years.
In terms of electricity, after the voltaic battery was invented and the principle of electromagnetic induction was mastered, Europe's electricity developed very quickly. As far as today is concerned, although the host's words just now seemed unclear, being able to amplify a person's voice so much can only mean one thing: Spain has mastered the original electron tube production technology.
Moreover, in order to design a ship so large, there must be generators - and in terms of materials science, there must also be heat-resistant insulating plastics to ensure the safe operation of the circuits.
This is of course the result of the deepening alliance between Europe and the Ottoman Empire in recent years.
Led by the host and amidst the continuous and enthusiastic cheers from the princes and nobles below, Philip walked from the backstage to the microphone in the front stage.
"Everyone, today we have laid the keel of a groundbreaking warship. I assure you that after it is completed, it will be the most powerful and invincible warship in human history! With his help, we will be able to advance the Lord's cause to the world in this era!"
“Praise the Lord!”
"Long live His Majesty the King!"
"Here, let us pay high tribute to the scientists of the Asturias Laboratory. It is their unremitting efforts that have solved countless technical problems, allowing us to dare to design such an invincible warship. At the same time, let us also pay tribute to the technicians and craftsmen of the shipyard. In the next three years, it will take your meticulousness and diligence to turn the scientists' drawings into reality!"
"All scientific achievements are inseparable from your guidance, Your Majesty!"
"We will do our best to build this battleship according to your majesty's request!"
The atmosphere on the scene became more and more heated, and it reached its climax when Philip pulled the curtain on the podium and showed everyone a battleship model with a scale of 1:700.
…
"Your Majesty, this warship is magnificent just by looking at the blueprint. I am looking forward to the day when it is actually built and launched."
"Hahaha, my Prime Minister, it will only take two or three years, you will see it soon."
On the train back to Madrid, after a brief chat with Philip, Osvalles realized that His Majesty the King was absent-minded at the moment, so he tactfully took his leave and left the entire carriage to Philip alone.
After the carriage became completely quiet, Philip stared at the scenery rapidly receding outside the window for a while and sighed softly.
The price paid to draw this giant ship on the blueprint was extremely high.
More than three years ago, after learning that Osman had taken out PET, Philip first bluffed, saying that he had a complete set of electrical research results and wanted to exchange them with you for the production method of plastics. Then he threatened war: the profit of plastics is so huge, if you Osman dare to take it all for yourself, I will start a war again regardless of the consequences.
Through a combination of soft and hard tactics, Iprahin, who had just experienced a war and was in urgent need of recuperation, was forced to accept Philip's proposal of technology exchange and invisible alliance.
However, Spain at that time had only developed a voltaic battery. When it came to technology exchange, Philip was ridiculed by Ibrahim: With such little achievement, you want to exchange my PET? Isn't this just a free-for-all?
Of course, Ibrahim also knew that because he started too late, Istanbul University was only built not long ago. So Osman's technology tree at this time was actually supported by him alone: this would definitely not work in the future development. In addition, Osman had changed the national policy from westward to eastward. So, after mocking Philip, Ibrahim did not mean to give up the alliance: You ca n't . Let's do this, package all the research results of your Asturias laboratory in the past 20 years and send them to me. Especially the basic mathematics, physics, and chemistry textbooks.
Of course Philip knew what Iprahin was going to do with these things, but for the technical difficulty of PET, he had no choice but to accept it.
However, once the exchange of technology begins, the sparks of ideas are unstoppable. After exchanging scientific and technological achievements, Europe and Austria both found new inspiration for their own research directions in each other's research.
In 1630, the first steam-driven generator in Europe was born. Although its power generation efficiency was extremely low, it could generate electricity continuously. It was precisely because of this technology that the Asturias laboratory dared to start the blueprint of the giant ship: the parameters on the blueprint required that the generator efficiency be increased by at least 15% in the three years of shipbuilding. Therefore, if this giant ship is really built, whether it can achieve the power on the blueprint depends on the development of supporting science in these three years.
Also in 1630, the electric light bulb with tungsten filament was born in Spain. This is certainly a great invention, but for Philip, when he got the electric light bulb, he found that he had made a big mistake!
As a historian, Philip is the typical person who knows a little bit about everything but is not proficient in anything. So, when Galileo and others were asked to use tungsten filaments as filaments, he just directly proposed it because tungsten filament bulbs were the most widely used in later generations. But when the real thing came out, he remembered: it's broken! As for tungsten ore, 67% of the world's proven reserves in the 21st century are in China!
The remaining 33% is mostly in barren places like Siberia and Canada. Although Portugal also has some reserves, this amount may be enough for now, but it is far from enough to promote electrification.
There is also a small amount of reserves in Bolivia. But Bolivia? Philip shook his head when he thought of it.
It's a plateau, so mining is difficult and transporting tungsten out is even more difficult. If we really treat it as the main tungsten ore base, the price of tungsten will probably skyrocket!
Moreover! The situation in South America has become increasingly troublesome.
That shameless Chinese time traveler, did he really think that I, a historian, knew nothing? Although I mainly studied Western history, in terms of history, I have heard of the names of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong who tore the entire Ming Dynasty to pieces - and you, a fellow, actually put these two hungry wolves in my rear area?
Now, the "anti-bandit" war in South America has been going on for many years. Although the former mercenaries from Europe were sent over, their guerrilla warfare strength has surpassed the regular army stationed in South America, and they have successfully killed Gao Yingxiang, Wang Ziyi and others. However, the arrival of these soldiers has made the already tense relationship between the white people and the natives in South America even worse.
Now, more and more Indians are beginning to support the rebels. Li Zicheng in Mexico and Zhang Xianzhong in Argentina are said to have more than 50,000 or 60,000 troops under their command. The two giant bandits, one in the south and one in the north, have made a mess of the fertile lands of Central and South America! In the past, America could provide at least 12 million double-pillar taxes to the mainland every year, but in this fiscal year, it has dropped to 6 million: if it drops further, the money received from America will not be enough to support the garrisons there. By then, America will have changed from a financial cash cow to a financial bottomless pit!
Hey, rubbing his forehead, Philip barely dispelled the disgust he felt towards Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong: Although taxes in the Americas are constantly decreasing, fortunately, Europe's integration in recent years has been very effective: a universal conscription system has been established, and the European allies, who have received weapons exports from Spain and upgraded military equipment, have also been able to establish and expand colonies in Africa very smoothly. According to Osvalles' calculations, Spain can currently suck more than 20 million silver coins from its allies every year through the European Union, but the allies are still not dissatisfied with the alliance: This means that they have sucked more in Africa!
At present, thanks to the application and listing of PET, in the most recent fiscal year, the fiscal revenue of the Spanish government alone exceeded 200 million. The entire European Union combined is likely to exceed 300 million.
With such fiscal revenue, more than 13 million reserve troops, and an absolutely leading technology tree, Spain actually has the strength to launch a global war.
Wait another three to five years. In the next few years, we need to continue to strengthen the internal coordination of the European Union. And while there are no major wars in Europe, we should be prepared to lose money in the short term and send more than 100,000 main forces to America to kill those two devils who are causing trouble everywhere!
By this calculation, in three to five years, when the Asturias battleship is launched and has formed combat effectiveness, and when the Suez Canal is opened, I will personally lead the army to the expedition to India!
"Hiss~" Philip, who was daydreaming, suddenly felt a heat on his back: What's going on? The system started up again? It doesn't make sense. The four of us who are still alive have already reached the summit.
"Notice, notice, an extremely low probability event has occurred. A traverser has been killed by the natives of this plane. The system rules will be slightly adjusted."
