Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2318 Fengshan () Reviewing the Dongchang

Therefore, even though Gao Youshi had no plan to let the emperor visit the battleship, he only wanted to invite the emperor to see the prosperity of the largest port in the north so that he could have a more intuitive understanding of maritime trade. However, since things have come to this point, he could only agree to it - the emperor will visit the Dongchang battleship tomorrow and learn about the maritime tactics and the development of Ming Dynasty artillery technology by reviewing live ammunition shooting.

The words after the word "and" are the reasons the emperor found for himself. The meaning is nothing more than to show his attitude to the accompanying civil and military officials: I am not visiting Dongchang for war or pleasure, I want to learn about the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense and the development of related industries and technologies. As the saying goes, "the most important affairs of the country are sacrifice and war", so these are all serious matters, you should be honest and stop looking for trouble.

In fact, the emperor was right to say so. Gao Youshi felt that although Zhu Yijun certainly had selfish motives, the reason itself was reasonable, so after a little hesitation, he really agreed. Then he immediately ordered Nguyen Phuc Yuan, the naval secretary, to immediately contact the shipyard and the Dongchang to prepare for the emperor's inspection overnight and accept the inspection tomorrow.

It must be said that this is a difficult task. The Dongchang was here for maintenance, and now Gao Youshi has asked them to accept the emperor's inspection tomorrow without even asking about the deadline. It is conceivable that the shipyard and all the crew members of the Dongchang will be busy tonight.

Nguyen Phuc Yuan was so anxious that he trotted all the way. After leaving the welcoming hall, he didn't even take a carriage. He took a few people on horseback and went to the shipyard to look for someone.

The situation at the shipyard is fine. The factory director said that the maintenance work has been basically completed, with only a waterproof coating in the bottom internal cabin that has not been finished. However, it will not affect the drill tomorrow, and we can continue working after the drill.

The problem with the crew is relatively bigger, because according to the regulations of the Jinghua Two Oceans Fleet, although the crew is not allowed to leave the port area within 20 miles during the maintenance of the ship, they are allowed to move freely in the port area instead of staying in the barracks.

Captain Gao Shengyi of the Dongchang had a lot to do. After receiving the order from Nguyen Phuc Yuan, he quickly assigned personnel. On the one hand, he gathered the crew members in the camp for a lecture and arranged for them to prepare for the emperor's inspection tomorrow. On the other hand, he sent people to Tianjin to find people and asked them to gather all the crew members of the Dongchang and report to the camp tonight.

This is not easy, because the seamen in Jinghua have a good income, and only about half of them stay in the camp during their stay in Hong Kong. These people are usually "honest people" who do not go out to travel mostly in order to save money for their families.

The other half are different. Many of them are the kind of guys who can feed the whole family with one person's food. These wasteful people seem to have a great time when they arrive in Hong Kong, and they bring money to spend lavishly in the port area.

Seafarers are mostly young men, and the older ones are usually in their thirties, full of energy. They often drift on the sea for several months, so when they get ashore, why don't they vent their energy? What's more, they are relatively rich.

In fact, ports in various places are often extremely prosperous, and this group of people is also one of the main sources of consumption. And relatively speaking, because of the Neo-Confucianism and many traditional Chinese customs, these seafarers in the Ming Dynasty were much more restrained and self-disciplined than Western seafarers of the same period. Western seafarers were full of scum, and nine out of ten were shot, and there might be some fish that slipped through the net.

The Dongchang began looking for people in the afternoon, and the crew was finally assembled at nightfall. After Gao Shengyi's roll call, all 580 people on the ship were present, except for a dozen guys who were too drunk to stand, and three unlucky guys who were slightly injured.

Gao Shengyi couldn't care less about these things now. He asked people to bring dozens of buckets of spring water which was still very cool and poured it over the heads of a dozen drunkards, letting them experience what it meant to sober up physically.

As for the three injured, Gao Shengyi asked about it and found out that they were fighting with another group of foreign businessmen for the girl and were unwilling to give in. The situation developed into pushing and shoving and the three were injured. Fortunately, the port security team arrived quickly and pulled the two sides apart and reconciled, so the problem was not serious.

As an aside, the port security team was formed by Jinghua and other large businesses, and is considered a kind of security maintenance personnel with some autonomy. The government offices at all levels in Tianjin are very open to this... well, they can't help but be open to it, because more than half of the areas in Tianjin Port are private ports, of which Jinghua accounts for more than 60%.

The government offices at all levels in Tianjin really had no say about Jinghua and the private port areas that were bought and invested by nobles and high-ranking officials and had legal authorization from the court. As long as there were no major incidents such as loss of life or serious injuries or disability, they generally could only ignore it. Of course, there was no need to intervene.

This situation is like the vast countryside. In the final analysis, it is actually self-governing by the local elders and gentry, and the government generally has no control over it. This cannot be compared with later generations.

Without going into details about the busyness of the shipyard and the Dongchang, Gao Youshi also called the factory director and Gao Shengyi over to ask questions, because the emperor later said that he wanted to watch live ammunition shooting. Even though Gao Youshi explained that it was difficult to arrange shooting on a warship, the emperor was very determined this time and must watch it. Gao Youshi had no choice but to push the work down one level at a time and assign it to the shipyard and Gao Shengyi, letting them figure it out on their own.

Fortunately, Gao Youshi always understood that if you want people to do things, you have to pay them, so he directly wrote them an "unlimited check" - you make the arrangements first, and don't worry about how much money it costs, he will reimburse you all afterwards.

After all these operations, the busy night finally passed, and it was time for the emperor to inspect the Dongchang.

The next morning, the sun shone through the mist and shimmered on the sea surface of Tianjin Port. The Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun, accompanied by the cabinet chief Gao Youshi, set out on the road to the battleship Dongchang. This giant ship is not only the pride of Beijing, but also a shining pearl in the Beiyang Fleet. When Gao Youshi led the army to aid Korea a few years ago, it served as the flagship of the fleet to suppress the Japanese.

As a Jinghua-class battleship, Dongchang had a total tonnage of 2000 tons (4000 tons). Its huge body looked particularly majestic in the harbor. Although there were various large and small ships around it, none of them could compete with it.

The hull of this ship is made of multiple layers of thick oak planks, and the outer layer is covered with copper to reduce friction and increase speed. It can also resist some attacks other than artillery, such as arrows.

The bow of the ship was raised high, and in line with the custom of this era, there was a dragon head carved in front of it. Of course, it was definitely not a complete dragon head, but if you look closely, you can still tell that it is exactly the same as the dragon head sitting on Gao Fusi's python robe. The two dragon eyes were inlaid with countless dazzling gems, shining brightly in the sun - don't get me wrong, they were actually countless broken glass, a clever way of recycling waste.

Zhu Yijun stood on the dock and looked from afar. The Dongchang looked like a floating castle, majestic and spectacular. As they approached, the emperor's eyes were attracted by the ship's weapons. The Dongchang was equipped with more than 88 guns of various types, distributed on three decks. Each deck had gun ports, and the guns could move in and out freely for firing. At this moment, the huge black muzzles seemed to be emitting silent pressure.

"Your Majesty, Dongchang is Jinghua's second-class battleship and one of the most powerful warships in the world today." Gao Youshi proudly introduced: "Its total tonnage reaches 2000 tons, which is roughly equivalent to the 4000 materials mentioned in the past. The cost is as high as taels of silver. It is a real sea monster and also a gold-eating monster."

Zhu Yijun nodded. He was surprised by the size and cost of the warship and asked, "350,000 taels... why is it so expensive? Is it because the huge wood required is difficult to transport, or is the shipbuilding process too complicated?"

"All of these reasons apply." Gao Youshi explained and added, "In addition, the ship's armament is also included in the cost. This ship is not only equipped with 88 cannons of various types, but also comes with a number of projectiles of different types and functions, a number of gunpowder, various other fire prevention facilities, spare sails, etc. In short, all of these things have to be calculated."

"I see." Zhu Yijun thought that since the ship was so huge and carried so many weapons and spare parts, it would be difficult to lower the price. After a pause, he asked, "Speaking of weapons, Rixin, how are the weapons of this ship?"

"Your Majesty, please look." Gao Youshi pointed to the bottom deck. "The bottom deck is equipped with 32 heavy artillery pieces with the largest caliber and the longest range. These artillery pieces are mainly used for long-range bombardment against large enemy warships. The middle deck has 40 medium-caliber artillery pieces, which are suitable for medium-range firefights. The top deck is equipped with 16 light artillery pieces with a fast firing rate, which are suitable for close-range rapid shooting."

Zhu Yijun wondered, "Why are the heavy artillery placed on the lower level and the light artillery placed on the upper level? If the heavy artillery is placed on the upper level, shouldn't it be able to fire farther?"

"This layout is based on tactical and technical considerations, involving many aspects such as ship stability, artillery effectiveness, and the load-bearing capacity of the ship structure." Gao Youshi said, waving to the shipyard director Xu Zhongyi and asking him to explain to the emperor.

Xu Zhongyi and Gao Fushi were of similar age and graduated from the Ship Department of the Beijing Artisan School. After meeting the emperor, he explained: "Your Majesty, as Dong... Yuanfu said, there are three main reasons why the heavy artillery is on the lower level. The first is the stability of the ship: when the ship is sailing on the sea, it will be affected by the waves. The lower placement of heavy artillery can increase the stability of the ship and reduce the swaying caused by the waves; the second is the effectiveness of the artillery: heavy artillery usually has a large recoil and range. Placing it on the lower level can better utilize the weight and structure of the ship to absorb the recoil and improve the shooting accuracy;

The third is structural load-bearing: the ship’s structural strength is sufficient to support the weight of heavy artillery, and the lower level can serve as the ship’s main defense area to protect critical firepower output.”

"So that's how it is. Then why is the light artillery on top?" Zhu Yijun asked.

  Xu Zhongyi replied: "There are three main reasons why the light guns are on the upper deck: First, flexibility: light guns are relatively light, and the upper deck is convenient for rapid movement and adjustment of shooting angles, which is suitable for pursuit and interception missions;

The second is the wide field of vision: the upper deck provides a better field of vision, which helps to observe the dynamics of enemy ships and adjust the firepower deployment in time;

The third is defensive considerations: light artillery on the upper deck can provide close range, high-altitude suppression strikes on smaller ships when necessary. For example, pirate ships usually do not have giant ships, but are mostly smaller ships. High-altitude suppression can not only put psychological pressure on them, but also make it easier to flexibly adjust the shooting angle. "

"Good, good, very thoughtful!" The emperor appreciated the layout and praised, "Such a design can indeed bring out the greatest firepower advantage. In addition, your explanation is also very good... Chen Ju, give him a flying fish suit later."

The emperor probably knew that Xu Zhongyi, as the captain of the Jinghua Tianjin Shipyard, should not be short of money, so he simply gave him a robe instead of silver. Feiyufu is a relatively common type of robe, but this prevalence usually refers to officials and eunuchs. It is rare to give robes directly to civilians, so this reward is really a good thing.

Xu Zhongyi thanked him with great surprise. Zhu Yijun smiled and waved his hand, continuing to discuss other situations with Gao Youshi.

Gao Youshi then briefed the emperor on the ship's crew. "The Dongchang has a crew of 580 people, including the captain, gunners, sailors, flag signalers, sight operators and other professionals. They have all been rigorously trained and can ensure the efficient operation of the ship in all situations."

Zhu Yijun was satisfied with Gao Youshi's introduction. He was interested in every detail of the warship. "Rixin, you really know everything. This warship has given me a deeper understanding of Jinghua's shipbuilding technology."

Gao Youshi bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty is too kind. I only have some general understanding. When it comes to specific manufacturing technology, I don't really understand it."

"That's enough." Zhu Yijun laughed and said, "By the way, I remember that Chen Lin also built warships before he aided Korea, but it seems that there were no warships this expensive?"

"Yes, Chen Lin built mainly traditional large ships at that time, which were much cheaper than Jinghua's battleships, cruisers and other warships."

Zhu Yijun pondered and said, "Why? I mean, why doesn't he build such a huge ship?"

Gao Youshi said: "First, we don't have enough money, and second, we don't have enough time."

"I still remember that there was not enough money. It is true that at that time, the navy and the land were fighting at the same time, and the money that could be allocated to warships was quite limited. I can understand that he chose cheaper ships." Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "But you said there was not enough time. What do you mean? How long does it take to build a 'second-class battleship' like this?"

Gao Youshi smiled and said, "It depends on the preliminary preparations. If all the preliminary preparations have been completed in advance, including blueprint design, material storage, craftsman concentration, advance production and reservation of artillery, etc., then building a second-class battleship will only take about eight months at the fastest.

However, if these conditions are not met in advance, any one of them will become a shackle on the construction time. Assuming that money is not a problem, it will take about three years for a second-class battleship to be designed, prepared, built and launched. And this is not the end. The training of the crew also takes time, and it usually takes one or two years to form combat effectiveness. "

Zhu Yijun suddenly understood what he said. At that time, the court almost made a temporary decision to build warships to launch an attack from the sea to cooperate with the land battle. No matter how much time was given, it was not enough for Chen Lin to temporarily arrange to build battleships and go to war. No wonder Gao Youshi said that even if he gave the money, there was not enough time.

The two continued to visit the Dongchang and discussed various aspects of the warship. Zhu Yijun was full of interest in every detail of the ship, and he even went down to the lower deck to observe the gunners' usual operating space.

Finally, Zhu Yijun finished watching the "static display" he wanted to see, and turned to Gao Youshi and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to watch the bombardment? Has Rixin arranged it?"

"Your Majesty, the shipyard and all the crew members of the Dongchang have been busy for almost the entire night and have finally completed all preparations. We can arrange a live-fire shooting for Your Majesty today so that you can see with your own eyes the true power of the Dongchang." Gao Yousi replied.

Zhu Yijun was overjoyed and said, "Great, great! Thank you for your hard work, and the shipyard and crew members... When will it start?"

Gao Fusi nodded and smiled, "Your Majesty, please go back to the shore with me first. I have arranged a suitable viewing platform." He turned to the captain of the Dongchang, Gao Shengyi, and said, "Gao Shengyi, are the three target ships ready?"

Gao Shengyi stood at attention and answered: "Yes, the three target ships are ready."

"Very good, you will command the live-fire shooting next." Gao Youshi ordered, then turned to Zhu Yijun and said, "Your Majesty, please."

Zhu Yijun was a little unhappy and said, "Can't I watch it on this warship?"

Gao Fusi refused sternly, "No, because the cannon salvo will make a loud noise. If you don't have relevant experience, you may even damage your eardrum... er, I mean it may cause deafness. For the sake of the emperor's health, live ammunition bombardment can only be watched from the observation deck."

Zhu Yijun was greatly disappointed, but since Gao Youshi said that it might cause deafness, he really couldn't refuse, so he had to agree to go back to the shore. However, he was still a little worried, and asked as he walked: "Can you see clearly on the shore?"

Gao Fusi said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? With a telescope, you can definitely see it clearly."

  Zhu Yijun had no choice but to get off the boat with Gao Youshi and go to the observation deck with a group of accompanying officials and several eunuchs.
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