Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 814 Trials
Once again, Emperor Chongzhen took the eunuch Bingbi, the supervisor of ceremonies, the ministers of the cabinet, the six ministers, and all the instructors and students from the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, as well as the Imperial Military Academy, to Tianjin by train.

In addition, there are the future princess Catherine and Anders, the plenipotentiary representative of the King of Portugal.

The reason for such a big fanfare is of course because there is something important.

The place Emperor Chongzhen took them to was not at Tianjin Port, but at the newly built Tianjin Shipyard a little way away.

Near this shipyard, the military has long been under martial law.A crowd of people and others followed the emperor into the shipyard.

Catherine, who was following behind, was very curious. Seeing that the crowd was whispering because they arrived at the shipyard, she hurriedly asked Anders, "What is it doing? Why is it so grand?"

I have lived in Daming for more than a year. When Catherine came here, she was 13 years old, which happens to be the age at which she can learn things the fastest. In addition, she is smart. Not only can she speak the official dialect of Ming Dynasty, but she is also very familiar with the customs of Daming. Eighty-eight, even tasted all the famous dishes in the capital.

Yesterday, she was notified by Anders.Looking at this posture, she understood that the Ming Emperor was a very busy man, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty were also very busy. If there was no particularly important matter, they would definitely not gather at the shipyard.

Of course, Catherine also knew that since she came to the shipyard, she must have come to see the new ship.But what she wondered was, what new ship could cause such a stir?
After hearing her question, Anders whispered, "You only pay attention to Ming's clothes and delicacies, and don't care about political affairs! This is the shipyard run by His Royal Highness, and I heard that the king of the sea has been built!"

Hearing this, Catherine couldn't help pouting, and said a little unhappy: "Didn't you tell me to obey the customs of the East? I already knew that women from the East are not allowed to engage in politics, so why should I care about politics? "

After she finished speaking, her thoughts jumped quickly, and she remembered what Anders said, and she couldn't help asking immediately: "What king of the sea? Is it a giant sea battleship?"

Before Catherine came to the East, Britain built the largest warship in Europe within one year in [-], the famous "Sovereign of the Sea".

The ship has three decks and is equipped with 102-104 guns.There are 11 anchors, each weighing 2 tons.There were more than 800 sailors, the largest shell weighed 60 pounds, and a salvo of shells weighed one ton.

Just seeing such a warship is enough to shock people, so this ship is called "Sea King".

At this moment, when Catherine heard about the king of the sea, she immediately thought of this British warship.

But Anders shook his head after hearing this, and said, "Even if it's a huge warship at sea, even the British King of the Seas, it can't be called the King of the Seas! I guess it should be something else!"

After hearing this, Catherine was about to ask again when she suddenly saw something out of the corner of her eye, so she stopped asking. She quickly looked over and saw a large chimney coming with smoke on the sea in the distance.

"Steam engine?" she said as soon as she saw it, "It's a steam engine ship!"

Steam engine ships are no longer a rarity. At least on the Beijing Grand Canal, there are paddle wheels driven by steam engines.At the beginning, Catherine felt it was very new and she ran over to watch it countless times.Therefore, when I saw the iconic chimney, I immediately understood it.

After she finished speaking, she looked at the Ming Emperor and his future husband standing in front of her. They were pointing at the approaching steam engine and saying something. It seemed that they were quite excited.

So, Catherine turned to Anders and asked: "Isn't it just to see the steam engine ship? This... this can be regarded as the king of the sea?"

From the visual inspection, this steam engine ship is not big!
Anders didn't answer her right away, but turned his head to look at the Emperor Daming, then frowned slightly, and then turned back to carefully look at the steam engine ship approaching in the distance.

After a while, he suddenly said, "Could it be because the whole boat is covered with iron sheets?"

The reason for saying this is because Anders saw that the steam engine ship reflected the metallic luster under the sunlight.

Battleships wrapped in iron sheets are relatively rare, but they can be figured out.At this level, it wouldn't attract the emperor of Ming Dynasty to bring senior civil and military officials to inspect it, right?

After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt something strange, and hurriedly added: "Her Royal Highness, have you noticed that the speed of this warship seems to be relatively fast under the combined action of the power driven by the steam engine and the sails!"

Catherine was reminded, looked at it carefully for a while, then nodded and said: "It's just a little faster. That's nothing, right? Moreover, this battleship is not big, and it must not be equipped with many artillery. How much combat power can it have?" Just like this, can you be called the King of the Sea?"

Anders was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and quickly explained: "I added the title of King of the Sea. It probably means that the battleship will be more powerful!"

After hearing this, Catherine said "oh", then looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she whispered to Anders: "Actually, our Portuguese warships are not bad. Don't say anything else, just the ones at sea. Combat strength, if the number of fleets is the same, I believe we are stronger in Europe!"

After hearing this, Anders quickly looked around, and then responded to Catherine in a low voice: "Your Royal Highness, you are going to marry the emperor. According to the Eastern saying, marrying a chicken follows the chicken, marrying a dog follows the dog, um... That's probably what it means! If you still think that you are not from the Ming Dynasty, life will be very difficult! His Royal Highness the King asked you to marry far away from the East. If you know that you are not living well, you will blame yourself."

After hearing this, Catherine opened her mouth, but in the end she said nothing. She turned to look at her future man, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

In any case, she has only been in Daming for a little more than a year, and it is a bit reluctant to say that she has completely forgotten about Europe and replaced herself as a Daming person.After all, the appearance is really different, isn't it!
While they were chatting, the steam engine ship got a little closer, began to lower its sails and slow down, and slowly stopped towards the shipyard.

At this time, Anders saw it more clearly, and couldn't help but said in surprise: "Why does this battleship only have two cannons?"

Obviously, this battleship only has artillery at the bow and stern, but there are no gun positions on both sides of the ship.What role can such two guns play in naval battles?
He was thinking that Emperor Chongzhen had already boarded the steamship under the guidance of the prince and others.The soldiers of the Ming army and the craftsmen in charge of the ship had already stood on the deck to welcome them.

Stepping into the deck, Emperor Chongzhen stomped on it hard, and listening to the sound, he said with a smile: "Not bad, how about the protection ability?"

"Returning to father, this warship is made of iron except for a very small part of it." The prince heard this and said excitedly, "After two improvements, the balance and protection of this warship have improved. Only in this respect can the requirements be met. I dare to guarantee that if we encounter a Western battleship head-on, we will be able to catch the enemy by surprise!"

Building a steel battleship is not that easy. Even though Ming Dynasty has accumulated rich shipbuilding experience, this is the first time for a steel battleship.Therefore, starting from the wooden ships covered with iron sheets, they have been trying to build steel battleships. Even at this time, they are not yet able to build a battleship made entirely of steel.

And building a ship is extremely expensive.If it weren't for the fact that Daming is now rich and the treasury is rich, it really wouldn't be able to withstand years of trials.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard what he said, he nodded and said, "I also want to know the shortcomings after the actual voyage!"

After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at the captain, and told him, "You answer me!"

"According to the order!" After hearing this, the captain quickly agreed, and then replied: "When driven by an old steam engine, the speed of the warship was not very fast. Later, it was replaced with an improved steam engine, and the speed was much faster. Even if The speed is not slow when the sails are down. The only disadvantage is that even if the ship stores as much coal as possible, it still cannot last long at sea. Therefore, the ship still needs to rely on wind power."

Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew that the improved steam engine he mentioned actually used rubber seals instead of silk seals, which increased air tightness and higher efficiency.As for the source of the rubber, it was proposed to the Portuguese for the first time, and it was brought here when Portugal sent their princess over this time.

Now in Nanyang, large-scale planting has begun.It is expected that in the near future, such an improved steam engine will replace all the current mainstream steam engines once.

At this time, listening to the captain's introduction, Emperor Chongzhen probably understood that steel warships driven by steam engines did not yet have the ability to be mass-produced and equipped with the navy.

First, steam power still needs to be improved;

Secondly, the steel warships that can be built today are still a bit small. When the craftsmen of Ming Dynasty mature and can build large steel warships, then the famous battleships can come out in the future.

If a battleship driven by steam and made of steel is really built, then Ming will be invincible at sea, instead of relying on a numerical advantage as it is now.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was still not satisfied with the battleship, but Zheng Zhilong, who entered the naval armament school of the battleship, was excitedly groping around, as if the battleship was his or something!
For this warship, he knew that there were three major killers.

First, the body is made of steel, which makes it extremely protective;
Second, it is driven by steam power and can sail against the wind;
The third is that the artillery is a rifled artillery, which has an extremely long range and high accuracy.

(End of this chapter)