Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 722 Ming Dynasty Shipbuilding Plan
January 18, the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty (1642), Tianjin Port.
The mist of the winter morning slowly dissipated, and the silhouette of a huge warship gradually appeared on the sea.
This battleship, named after Yu Tonghai, the founder of the Ming Dynasty Navy, was finally officially incorporated into the Ming Dynasty Navy today after more than two years of intensive construction.
"Brother, Yan Shumi, General Inukai, this battleship Yu Tonghai has a standard displacement of 1.3 tons and a full load displacement of 16,500 tons. It has three turrets, two in the front and one in the rear, and six 305mm main guns. The army named this gun Ju Si, and the navy called it Long Xiang. It is 30 times the caliber, and the barrel of a single gun weighs 32 tons. A single shell weighs 420 kilograms, and the maximum range is 10,000 meters. If the gunner is skilled in operating it properly, the main gun can fire at a maximum rate of one round every two and a half minutes.
In addition to the main guns, the ship also has six 150mm secondary guns and forty 35mm machine guns. In terms of defense, key defense measures are adopted. That is, the armor is thickened below the waterline, in the command tower, turrets, etc. In some less important places, the armor is reduced...
The ship has 90 officers and 720 sailors. The maximum speed is 15 knots. If it cruises at 10 knots, the maximum sea endurance is 60 days, which is enough for a direct voyage to America. In addition to the steam engine, the entire ship is also equipped with a generator. There are no problems with lighting and ventilation inside the ship. The brightness of the searchlight is also sufficient for nighttime sailing. During the sea trial at the end of last year, it set a record of sailing continuously for eight hours at a maximum speed of 15 knots at night..."
"Hmm... General Inukai, how is it? Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied. Of course I am very satisfied with this battleship. But when I think about such a good battleship, which has just been commissioned, being sent to America, I feel..."
"Hahaha, General Inukai, there's no need to be like this. Thanks to everyone's generous help, the shipyard has money now. In addition to the keel laying of the Cao Sanxi battleship, the construction of the Deng Zilong and Yu Dayou, which were funded by the court itself, has also begun. It's almost done. In two years at most, I will give you three more battleships."
"Uh, Your Majesty, I have an unwelcome request."
"speak."
"If I am still the commander of the Home Fleet two years from now, I will use the Deng Zilong or Yu Dayou as my flagship."
"Huh? Hahaha, you guys, fine, as you wish."
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged some words, Zhu Youdong waved back and Zhu Ciyi stood over.
"Are you really going to leave?"
"Father, I have been back from America for more than a year. I have a wife and a son. As a member of the royal family, I have completed my duties. I cannot let go of my five years of hard work in America, so I ask for your blessing. Don't worry, as long as Mr. Sun and I drive Cromwell away from the American continent, I will come back as soon as possible to report."
"...never mind. Then you can go. Well, Sun and my eldest grandson He Mo will stay in Beijing. That way, your mother and your grandmother will have company."
"Yes, I think so too."
"Okay, in that case, I will let you command this support fleet this time. Tomorrow, you will take the Yu Tonghai and the two heavy cruisers Fuguo and Guiguo south. At the Changsha Shipyard, you will receive the Zheng He and the other two heavy cruisers. Then General Inukai will assign you five more destroyers. You will lead these eleven warships to escort three divisions of the army to America. Once there, military affairs will still be led by Sun Chuanting, and you are not allowed to interfere."
"Yes, I obey your order."
"After your support fleet leaves, I will not send land forces here for three to five years, except for sending transport ships to deliver some arms. You should work hard in America and try to come back as soon as possible. As my eldest son, you should go out for training. But it's not good to stay away for too long."
When Zhu Youdong said this, Zhu Ciyi's eyes flashed with a strange color, but he quickly concealed it: "Don't worry, father. Within three to five years, I will cooperate with Mr. Sun and at least present the complete South America to you."
Zhu Ciyi went to make preparations for the voyage by himself, while Zhu Youdong, under the guidance of Zhu Youxiao, entered the chief designer's office of Binhai Shipyard.
"Hmm? Principal You, what does your office smell like? Why doesn't anyone come to clean it for you?"
"Hehe, please forgive me, my Royal Highness. Sometimes I forget the time when I'm drawing. Sometimes I don't take a shower for a week or two, and sometimes I smoke a lot every day. So the smell in this room is a bit strange. As for asking someone to clean it? My Royal Highness, there are so many drawings in this room, who dares to come and clean it for me? I don't dare to ask anyone to come in and clean it."
"Hey, you bastard. Never mind. Open the window and get some fresh air."
After the two brothers sat down, Zhu Youdong habitually tapped the table with his fingers a few times: "Just now you told me that there is a five-year shipbuilding plan. Tell me, what is your specific plan?"
"Before I report this plan to you, my brother, I would like to know how long it will take for the internal combustion engine of the Ming Dynasty to be available."
"Well, I asked Fu Shan and Zhu Kuiyou to lead a team to conduct research and development. But even if this thing is made, it will be impossible to build a gas turbine suitable for large warships within five years. At most, a small internal combustion engine can be used as a torpedo engine to make the torpedo faster."
"Now that my brother has said that, I understand." Standing up and bowing solemnly, Zhu Youxiao said, "My brother, my five-year shipbuilding plan is divided into the following three steps. First, increase the number of shipyards. The only two shipyards in Ming Dynasty that can build 10,000-ton warships are Binhai and Changsha. But after years of operation, these two shipyards already have a large number of skilled technicians and workers. What I mean is to disperse some of these skilled workers to Zhaoqing and Funing shipyards. From now on, Changsha and Binhai shipyards will focus on building large warships and large transport ships. The low- and medium-tonnage warships will be built by Zhaoqing and Funing shipyards."
"This is professionalization, okay, I agree."
"Thank you, my Royal Brother. Now I will move on to the second step, shipbuilding. According to my estimation, once the four major shipyards begin operate effectively, as long as the raw materials and funds are available, these four shipyards can complete the construction of 80,000 tons of ships every year."
"Eighty thousand tons?" Zhu Youdong did a quick calculation in his mind and said, "That means an investment of about 42.4 million silver dollars per year?"
"It's about the same price. Do you think there are any difficulties, brother?"
"I'll tell you the truth. We can still get the money if we squeeze it out. But you also have to think that once the warships are built, the navy's military expenditure will also increase significantly...
Now, I plan to expand the Ming Dynasty's standing army divisions to 50. This is 40 million in daily expenses - if we have to fight a war, the cost will double.
The Navy, including the five Marine Divisions, currently spends about 37 million per year. If the tonnage is increased by 80,000 tons per year, then, in addition to the annual shipbuilding cost of more than 40 million, the military expenditure will increase by at least 5 million per year. "
"Your Majesty." Zhu Youxiao, who had always worshipped and admired Zhu Youdong, was unusually tough this time: "Thanks to your majesty's trust, I have served as regent for a few years. If my calculations are correct, the annual income of our Ming Dynasty should not be less than 400 million, right?"
"Last year, due to the cessation of maritime trade in Southeast Asia, the output was only 360 million. This year, with the cessation of the war and the fact that America can provide some output, the output should be 480 million."
"Then what is the problem, my brother? The combined military expenditures of the navy and the army are less than one-third of the annual revenue of the court, right?"
"Youxiao, why are you playing dirty tricks on me? You said yourself that you were a regent, how could you not know that the Ming Dynasty is a big family with a lot of income and a lot of expenditure. The civil service system of the court, their salaries plus administrative expenses, generally eat up 25% of the income. Education and medical care will also eat up 25%. That's half gone. Then there is infrastructure, which generally accounts for 15% to 20% of the court's natural disasters? In the past five or six years, which year has there been no war? Military expenditure accounts for 30% of the court's expenditure, and that is in a peaceful state. Once a war breaks out, it will double!"
"Brother, I know that the court has been in trouble in recent years. But in the next few years, apart from the war in America, won't everything else be basically peaceful? I read the court bulletin the day before yesterday, didn't it say that our court has signed an armistice agreement with the Ottoman Empire?"
"Yes, it is true. The Ottomans made a good plan and sent 20,000 Sipasis to invade Xinjiang and Mongolia with the Uzbeks and Turkmens. Humph, if all these people were annihilated by the Ming army, the conservative forces in his country would be greatly weakened. The Turkmens and Uzbeks would not be able to threaten Persia under their control. In such a situation, the Grand Vizier would probably wake up laughing in his sleep. So, after we helped him kill most of these people, what reason did he have for not signing a ceasefire agreement?"
"So, my brother, the court's revenue and expenditure should be back to balance now, right?"
"It's not that easy. Youxiao, we had India before, although we didn't collect taxes at that time. But it was a market of more than 100 million people. But what do we have now? Half of South America? Three or four million people? And there's such a wide Pacific Ocean between us? So... Well, I also know that to take back India, the navy will always be needed to take the lead. Go on, how do you arrange the 80,000 tons added every year?"
"Well, what I mean is that starting from next year, we will add two battleships every year, which is 30,000 tons. Then we will add four heavy cruisers every year, which is 20,000 tons. For the rest, we will add some destroyers, supply ships and so on. In this way, in five years, my Ming Dynasty will have ten battleships and thirty heavy cruisers... Then we will have enough strength to fight the Western pirates in the Indian Ocean!"
"..." After a long silence, Zhu Youdong nodded: "What you said makes sense. If we want to have new sources of income, we still have to rely on the navy. So, what is your third step?"
"Of course, we need to improve the repair capabilities of each port. My royal brother, our Ming Dynasty must have complete repair plants capable of repairing battleships in Hawaii, Lima, Singapore, and other places. Otherwise, if a warship is damaged, it will have to be pulled back to the mainland for repairs. This trip will delay the opportunity to fight."
"Okay..." After a longer silence, Zhu Youdong raised his head and said, "Although it is difficult, I will still find a way to get you enough money. I hope you will also work hard and give me an invincible navy in five years!"
