Changfeng Thousands of Miles End Han Song

Chapter 759 Sea Hegemony
The vast sea is rippling, even the lookouts standing at the top of the fleet can't see the end of the sea.

The huge fleet sailed out of Lingdingyang and continued southward. Being in the open and boundless sea, I only felt the endless majesty and vastness. In an instant, the narrowness, crowding and noise of the city were thrown out of the sky.

The sea is so boundless, and human beings are so small.Even the current fleet carrying tens of thousands of troops heading south is like a few snow-white feathers floating lightly and leisurely on the surface of the golden sea.It is so insignificant compared with the thick water surface.

The turquoise sea surface is like a curtain that will shine brightly. The sea water fluctuates and layers of waves roll, as if the curtain is slowly undulating.As soon as the sun shines, the eyes are full of gold.

The sailors on the ship will not appreciate the so-called sea and sky scenery, perhaps because they are used to seeing it, but only notice the direction of departure, the rocks under the ship and the changes in the weather.Fang Tianding, Wang Yin, Fang Jie and the others will go to watch and appreciate it. Seeing the connection between the blue and the distant sky, it is like a slowly rising blue continent, shining with the luster of ancient prehistoric glazed tiles, expanding the boundless and infinite space .

With the monsoon, the fleet arrived in Zengmu Island from Guangzhou in less than a month.As a military base of the Nanyang Navy at the southernmost tip of the South China Sea, this place is actually a great benefit.First of all, Zengmu Island is not small, and its land is as wide as a county in the Central Plains.Secondly, the terrain here is flat, the temperature is high throughout the year, there is a lot of rainfall, and the vegetation is lush, so it is natural to want to develop agriculture.The third is that there are no typhoons raging here.This is very rare.The southeast coast suffers from typhoons every year. Although Zengmu Island is in the middle of the sea, it is located in the equatorial windless zone, and there is no typhoon, so the natural environment is relatively safe.The last is its location advantage. It is 1200 miles away from Temasek in the south, 800 miles away from Zengmu Shoal in the east, about 4000 miles away from the mainland in the north, and 400 miles away from Longshe Island in Borneo in the east. It is also very close to the Malay Peninsula.As the secondary port of Temasek Nanyang Navy's home port, it is very necessary and reliable.

Because today's naval warships are not modern ships, a powerful navy not only has a large number of surface warships, but also needs a wharf port where they can dock for supplies and rest.From Temasek to mainland China, Zengmu Island is a strategic point that cannot be avoided.

Small islands are dotted in the north and south of Zengmu Island, and several small sailing boats travel to and from each island.The great island of Zengmu in later generations is called Natuna Island, but it is only the main island of the Natuna Islands, and there are more than 200 fragmentary islands around it, all different in size.

However, no matter how small the island is, there may be coconut trees growing here. Zengmu Dadao has long been ordered by the country, and has been going all out to stockpile various materials in the past two months.From dried sea fish to coconuts, the sailors stationed on Zengmu Island and the Chinese on the island emptied the small islands like ants moving house.

Many small islands have lush coconut groves, white sandy beaches, blue sea and blue sky, which are as beautiful as pictures.However, after being raided by sailors and residents, an unconcealable sense of vicissitudes hit his face.

And at the same time that Fang La's army arrived at the big island of Zengmu, gunboats of the Qi army also gathered.Although most of them are sea shark and sea jelly-class gunboats, they are still invincible.

Fang Tianding and others looked sideways at a unique sailboat among the gunboats.It was a soft sailing boat somewhat similar to Tianfang's triangular sailing boat, and its slender hull was completely different from the oriental Fuchuan.A three-masted sailing vessel that uses a combination of square sails (soft sails) and jib sails.It was the big cake that Emperor Lu had drawn for the naval generals a long time ago.

After all, the jade flag pole is a jade flag pole. After racking my brains and having the dhow craftsman and drawings provided by Lu Jiala, I produced the blueprints for the new sailboat on paper last winter.And after hard work in the first half of this year, in June, the experimental ship Donghai was officially launched.

This is a world-leading flat-sail sailing ship. Emperor Lu does not know whether the specific level of this "Donghai" can compare with the sailing ships of any era in the West, but it is really completely different from Fu Chuan.

First, the handling of the soft sail is completely different from that of the hard sail.

Chinese sails are generally woven with thin bamboo strips or cattail grass leaves. The advantages of hard sails are that they have high overall efficiency, are easy to operate, can rotate around the mast, and can fully utilize the wind from all directions, which is the so-called "wind from all directions". Compared with hard sails and soft sails per unit area, the use of wind power by hard sails is much greater than that of soft sails.However, the disadvantage of hard sails is that they are too heavy. The bigger the ship, the heavier the sail. Some big ships are even "impossible to move without hundreds of people". A big problem.However, this problem has always restricted the further development of China's shipbuilding industry throughout history. The sail area of ​​Chinese hard sailboats is much smaller than that of Western ships with soft sails.

Another point is the force of the hard sail on the mast. The height of the mast should not be too high, otherwise the strength of the mast will be affected.Therefore, the masts of Chinese sailboats are much lower than those of Western sailboats. The masts of square sailboats are composed of 3 or 2 independent masts through mast towers. The masts are towering, and some even reach 3/4 of the captain. Wing sails, the area of ​​the sails that can be hung will far exceed that of Chinese sailboats, so the advantage in speed is also obviously better than that of China.And if it weren't for these two points that limit the practicability of hard sails, soft sails would have no advantage over it.

It can only be said that the Chinese are too advanced, and the technology does not match the times.Otherwise, look at later generations, except for those sailboats built for commemoration, modern sailboats have long been dominated by hard sails—hard sails that are made of all modern materials such as aluminum alloys and are completely computer-controlled.

Lu Qian felt that this matter was similar to the watertight compartment.The latter is also too advanced. Although it makes Chinese ships far safer than Western ships, it also makes Chinese sea-going ships rarely use ribs. The strength of the hull is supported by the partitions of watertight compartments. Therefore, Chinese ships The performance of ships in terms of sinking resistance is far superior to that of the West.But it is precisely because of the extensive use of watertight cabin technology on Chinese ships that the strength of the hull in the lateral direction is not enough, and it cannot bear the recoil when a large number of artillery is fired.Moreover, the hull structures of Fuchuan and Guangzhou Ship cannot be applied to the western all-through artillery deck at all.

Today's Qi Army navy gunboats still don't feel uncomfortable. This is because the shipboard guns are still very light. Only three catties and five catties cannons weigh more?No matter how unsuitable Fuchuan is, it's not that such a small cannon can't handle it.

It's just that the artillery that weighs ten catties is really not suitable to be placed on the Fuchuan.Facts have proved this point.

This is also the biggest reason why the East China Sea was completed and launched quickly after finalizing the drawings, because even Emperor Lu paid special attention to this matter.

During the Battle of Jinzhou last year, Fu Chuan told Lu Qian the bleak truth with the bloody reality. Only then did Emperor Lu realize that his previous thoughts were a bit too optimistic.He also thought that Fuchuan + artillery could make China dominate the sea for hundreds of years, but the reality is a cup.

Fuchuan, which is not suitable for carrying artillery weighing more than ten catties, can be said to have very limited potential.From a five-pound cannon to an eight-pound cannon, and then to a ten-pound cannon, the Fuchuan-type gunboat has reached its peak. This reality hurts Emperor Lu too much.

If so, painting cakes is no longer a simple painting cakes, but what Emperor Lu must ask for.That kind of warship with a slender hull, dexterity and high speed, and a gun deck with as many as one, two, and three floors that runs through the front and rear must be built.Because this is the guarantee of China's maritime hegemony before the steam civilization comes.

With such a sailing warship, China's hegemony over the ocean will be unshakable.

The East China Sea is not big, with a load of [-] tons and not enough, and it will be a small boat with a displacement of [-] tons in later generations.But it is equipped with eight ten-pound cannons and eight twelve-pound cannons, and there are eight small tiger squat cannons outside. The firepower is so powerful that the Fuchuan-type Hailong boat does not have it.The speed is extremely fast, and the U-turn is flexible and light.It's just troublesome to operate. It's not that the Qi army sent a group of sailors to practice on the dhow before. Even if the Donghai was launched, no one could start it.

If you use the operation of a Chinese-style sailboat to play a Western-style sailboat, you will really capsize.

Meng Kang has completed a major task and can go home and lie down comfortably.

If there is one, there will be two. In the future, the experimental ships can be built one after another. If there are too many, you can always check for omissions and fill in the gaps, so that the upgrade of the new sailboat will be more perfect.Naturally, this requires a long process.

Emperor Lu is not in a hurry, nor is the navy, because they are sure that the Fuchuan gunboat can still dominate the ocean for a long time.

When more and more artillery appear in the Qi Army's navy and army, this weapon must not be kept secret.Even the gunpowder is like this.If too many people know this secret, then the secret is no longer a secret.

But this process takes a hundred and eighty years, doesn’t it?Now is not the information age of the 80st century, and the spread of news is far less rapid than that of later generations.

Ruan Xiaoqi got off the East China Sea, as a living Yan Luo who was fearless, Ruan Xiaoqi was quite obsessed with the East China Sea.Because he has never seen a warship as fast as the Donghai, especially when the wind is down, the speed of the Donghai can throw the Fuchuan three blocks away.

The fault is not that this sailing warship is an experimental ship, and the ownership belongs to the Ship Department, so he wants to use this ship as his own.

Fang Tianding looked at the Donghai from a distance, and a flash of amazement and longing flashed in his eyes.This kind of warship with fast speed and strong firepower is absolutely the best weapon to dominate the ocean, but unfortunately he knows that it is impossible for Lu Qi to give them this kind of ship.

Just like that cannon, you won't see one in the arms trade between Lu Qi and Fang Lajun.

Fang La has asked people to recruit blacksmiths and coppersmiths to secretly manufacture cannons. They haven't seen cannons before. The shape is very simple, just a thick iron pipe sealed at one end and filled with gunpowder.This is very simple and clear to say. Any craftsman who has cast a big bell can theoretically make a cannon.But the reality is very touching...

"Everything has to be done a little bit more."

Fang Tianding believed that Emperor Lu's cannon was also a result of a little bit of experimentation, if the latter can do it, so can they.

(End of this chapter)