1850 American Gold Tycoon

The captain and crew of the British East India Company looked at the warships gathering at Xiangshan Port, and finally left in disgrace.

This expedition was an important bargaining chip for Fillmore's re-election, so the Fillmore government attached great importance to this expedition. The warships assigned to the American East India Fleet were all in the best condition and most capable warships in the navy.

Counting Liang Yao's three warships, there were seven warships in the American expedition to Japan. Most of these seven warships were large steam ships that adopted new technologies.

These warships behind him gave Liang Yao the confidence to fire at the armed merchant ships of the British East India Company.

During this period, Britain's Royal Navy was indeed very strong, with more than 200 large warships, and a total tonnage of more than 600,000 tons.

But Britain is an empire on which the sun never sets. Precisely because Britain is an empire on which the sun never sets. This powerful fleet wants to maintain Britain's colonial hegemony all over the world. Therefore, the number of navy that Britain can deploy in the Far East is not very sufficient.

"It's so happy, so happy!"

Looking at the gray ship disappearing away, Hong Mingxiang let out a bad breath, but he still had doubts.

"Hong has heard that England is the most powerful country in the West. Is Mr. Liang not afraid of British revenge?"

"What I am attacking is not their warship. Furthermore, the British are the shrewdest and most profit-oriented. As long as I do not cause substantial damage to their interests, the British will not take it seriously." Liang Yao said calmly, "No. I thought that Hong Junmen also knew some things about Western countries."

"I heard about it from merchants in Guangzhou." Hong Mingxiang said.

"England is not only the most powerful country in the West, but also the undisputed most powerful country in the world." Liang Yao turned around and said.

"Is it stronger than our Qing Dynasty?"

Speaking of this, Hong Mingxiang was a little unconvinced, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face.

"Hahaha, this matter has been concluded ten years ago. If the Qing Dynasty was stronger than the British, why would the Cantonese people be so indifferent to the British?" Liang Yao walked into the captain's room with Hong Mingxiang.

The captain's cabin of the Roland originally belonged to Sven, but during this expedition Liang Yao personally took charge of the Roland, so it was logical that the captain's cabin of the Roland was requisitioned by Liang Yao.

Along the way, Liang Yao's office and living room were all in the captain's cabin of the Roland.

Hong Mingxiang's attention was quickly attracted by the ship models in the kitchen cabinet. These models were not Liang Yao's, but Sven's collection.

In addition to famous sailing ships such as the Victory, the Ocean, and the Formidable, there are also models of the Roland, the Brave, and the Yangwei, and even the Loach class produced and used in California. Sven also made a model to visit the Inside the glass cabinet.

"Mr. Liang, I wonder how many taels of silver you bought this boat for?"

Hong Mingxiang stared at the model of the Roland and asked Liang Yaodao.

"I originally bought the Roland from the French for 2.14 million gold francs, which is equivalent to about 270,000 taels of silver when converted into Kuping silver."

In the mid-19th century, one tael of silver could be exchanged for eight gold francs, and Liang Yao quickly completed the exchange rate conversion in his mind.

"A ship worth 270,000 taels of silver." Hong Mingxiang took a breath and shook her head, "Too expensive, too expensive."

"This is just the money to purchase the ship. The crew's salary, training, and ship maintenance all require continuous investment. Warships are gold-swallowing behemoths." Liang Yao said.

With that said, Liang Yao opened the cabinet under Sven's dissatisfied gaze, took out the loach-level model from the cabinet, and placed it on the desk.

"This ship is called Loach. It was built in my shipyard. It is nine feet long and more than two feet wide. It uses a steam engine to drive the paddle wheels on both sides. It does not need to rely on the wind to travel. It can travel very fast. More importantly, this ship is cheap. , only sold for thirty-five thousand taels of silver."

Liang Yao promoted the Loach level to Hong Mingxiang.

The Loach class, with a displacement of about 500 tons, was the first type of steam mullion ship designed and built by the California Shipyard.

The ship was originally designed as a civilian transport vessel, not a specialized warship.

The California Department of Revenue purchased ten vessels for use as anti-smuggling vessels and was quite satisfied with the performance of the Loach class.

The main tasks of the Guangdong Navy are nothing more than anti-smuggling, suppressing pirates and water bandits. The Loach class is very suitable for the Guangdong Navy.

Of course, the main reason is that it is cheap, and the Guangdong Navy may be able to afford it.

It was only a matter of time before the Qing Dynasty launched its foreign affairs and purchased ships from abroad. If the Qing Dynasty's warship market could be opened in advance, it would be easier to win large orders in the future.

What's more, the first ships purchased by the Qing Navy were not giant ships, but various types of mosquito ships with a displacement of 440 tons, 320 tons, and even 260 tons.

The Mosquito Ship, like Liang Yao's Loach class, is not a specialized warship. To put it bluntly, it is a mobile fort with a small boat carrying a cannon. It is the product of the military thinking of a weak naval country that was short of cash in the 19th century.

The performance of the Loach class is actually worse than that of the mosquito ships twenty years later, but for the current Qing Navy, the Loach class is sufficient.

A ship with a displacement of 500 tons is a small ship for naval powers like Britain and France, but for the Guangdong Navy, it can definitely be regarded as a large ship.

"Thirty-five thousand taels of silver per ship?" Hong Mingxiang's eyes lit up, as if she saw a glimmer of hope.

"If Hong Junmen likes it, after I return to California from the Japanese expedition, I will send one to Hong Junmen to use as a trial flagship." Liang Yao said, patting his chest, "I heard that Hong Junmen is from South Australia, and we are living in poverty. My neighbor, if the Guangdong Navy wants to buy ships in the future, you can come to me."

"It's so good, but the purchase of ships is probably a waste of time. The imperial court is often in arrears with military pay for our brothers, so how can we get the spare money to buy ships?" Hong Mingxiang sighed.

"Guangzhou Hongshang also has several trade routes in Nanyang and East Asia. As long as Hong Junmen is willing to let the brothers of the Guangdong Navy provide protection for Guangzhou Hongshang, I think Guangzhou Hongshang will also be willing to spend some money on the purchase of ships.

In the twenty years since Daoguang's reign, merchants in Guangzhou have gradually declined, but the skinny camels are bigger than horses, so they can still make some money. "

Liang Yao pointed out a clear path for Hong Mingxiang, and Guangzhou merchants could still get tens of thousands of taels of silver.

"I heard that Mr. Liang has a good relationship with Mr. Pan and Mr. Wu. Can you please help Mr. Hong make peace with this matter? It is naturally Hong's responsibility to protect the country and the people. It's just that the Guangdong Navy's ships are damaged. It's unbearable, Hong is also weak-minded." Hong Mingxiang couldn't help but his eyes lit up.

"When the two general merchants return from the capital, Liang will personally visit the two general merchants to talk about the matter." After speaking, Liang Yao walked out of the captain's room and looked to the south, "Has Hong Junmen heard of Xinjinshan?"

"Xinjinshan?" Hong Mingxiang thought for a moment and said, "What Mr. Liang is talking about is Xinjinshan in Nanyang. Hong has heard of it. Recently, many people from Guangdong have gone to Xinjinshan to pan for gold. But so far, he has not heard of it. There is no one who has made a fortune and returned home in fine clothes, and there has never been a person like Mr. Liang who started his career as a gold digger."