Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1754 Going to the East
"There are three steamships on this voyage, Dongfang, Huo Qubing, and General Fubo. These steamships have been in service for a long time, and most of them need to return to the local Imperial Shipyard for overhaul, especially Dongfang and General Fubo. Possibly the steam power system needs to be replaced."

Before the fleet specially escorted the envoys from various countries to the capital, Sun Xu, the commander of the Fourth Fleet, was conducting a final inspection.

He has to make sure that the ship is sailing correctly and that its supplies are complete.

According to the order sent by the capital, the two ironclad steamships "General Fubo" and "Huo Qubing" of the Fourth Fleet were ordered to return to the Imperial Shipyard in Dalian for overhaul.

The General Fubo was the earliest steam ironclad ship in service. It went to war during the First Mediterranean War. At this time, it was facing the same problem of steam engine and hull aging as the "Vostok".

"I heard that the Imperial Shipyard has provided more steamships for the Zhili Fleet, the Nanyang Fleet, and the Beiyang Fleet. Our number of steamships has not increased after adding the Huo Qubing. This time we returned to the mainland, we We should apply to the Ministry of the Navy to add and send at least 4 new steamships to our Fourth Fleet, so that the number of steam ironclad ships in our Fourth Fleet will increase to 6, so that it is possible to suppress the Netherlands and Spain. Now the Netherlands The Germans and Spanish ships are active again, I wonder if we let the General Fubo and Huo Qubing return to the mainland for overhaul, will the Spaniards and the Dutch take the opportunity to reoccupy the English Channel?" Zheng Zhibao asked.

"The English will help us contend with them during this period, and the Royal Fleet is enough to match them. Moreover, a naval battle for one or two years will not determine the outcome, and we will make a comeback at that time." Sun Xu didn't care.

In the war of the era of sailing battleships, without the cooperation of a strong army, it is difficult to wipe out the Royal Navy and forcefully cross the English Channel within a year.

And due to the emergence of submarine cables, the East can dispatch its fleet to the Atlantic Ocean within a year.

In Chu Yun's view, one year is a long time, but it is not too long when considering the years and decades of wars in the 17th century.

"In addition to the two steam ironclad ships General Fubo and Huo Qubing, there are also three sailing warships participating in the escort. Five warships plus some armed merchant ships from Western companies should be enough to escort ships. No European kingdom dare Take the initiative to attack ships of this size. Every kingdom has princes and nobles in the fleet, and any kingdom that dares to attack such a fleet will be enmity with our host, China, and the participating European countries."

"As for the pirates in the Arabian Sea, it is estimated that one steam ironclad ship is enough for them, not to mention the combination of two steam ironclad ships and three sail warships."

After discussion, the people of the Fourth Fleet left most of the sailing warships and only brought three sailing warships back in order to prevent Spain and the Netherlands from aggressively counterattacking after the steam ironclad ships returned to their homeland.

After the Fourth Fleet dispatched enough escort forces, the Royal Fleet only sent one sailing warship with special significance to accompany it, and that was the Crown Prince dispatched during the first mission to China. Sophia's father was her A ship built by his brother Charles I.

Dauphin was badly damaged by a ram by a Turkish galleon during the First Mediterranean War.The style of the Dauphin is somewhat backward compared with the newly built sailing ships, but as Sophia's memory of her brother Charles I, she did not decommission it. The Dauphin returned to the shipyard and was reorganized into the Royal Fleet after overhaul.

"All materials have been prepared, and the tinplate cans produced by the factory have been shipped in full."

"Some merchant ships are also preparing to return to the mainland with us, so that we can use our warships to save the cost of using armed merchant ships for escort."

"Everyone, get ready to board the ship and set sail."

After carefully checking that there was no problem with the supplies of the Orient passenger ship, the captain of the Orient notified the envoys of various countries who were temporarily staying in London to board the ship.

Those who are eligible to take the Oriental passenger ship to participate in the World Expo are the most prominent group of envoys from all countries.

"This kind of ship, it seems that my useless body can still last a long voyage." Grand Vizier Koprulu of the Ottoman Empire seemed to be quite satisfied with the stable guest room.

Representatives from Venice and Genoa also boarded the Orient for the first time, and very few of them were qualified to set foot on the Orient.

King Joao IV of Portugal, Astra, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and others were also assigned to cabins on the Vostok.

"Your Majesty, the guest rooms prepared by the Orient for you, the little prince and the little princess are of the highest standard, and there is also a dedicated maid's room."

Unlike other guests who needed to be entertained, the captain of the Dongfang was more enthusiastic towards Sofia and her party, and her room was naturally the best passenger ship on the Dongfang.

"There are four kings or queens on this fleet, as well as several princes, princesses, princes, dukes, prime ministers, and bishops. The scale is probably rare in a hundred years."

Someone on board the Oriental passenger liner silently counted the number of people on board, and found that the identities of their members were unimaginable.

If such a large steamship had an accident on the way, maybe the entire European continent would be rewritten.

This does not include the envoys of the Persian Empire and the Kingdom of Bengal that will be added halfway.

"This is flying chess, horse tags, and Go. If you are interested, you can also use it for entertainment during the voyage." The captain feared that the group of princes and nobles would be bored halfway, and provided some entertainment items.

The mighty fleet headed to the Oriental capital to participate in the World Expo set off.

The escort ships included General Fubo, Huo Qubing, Crown Prince and three other sailing warships.

The Orient steamer became the core of the fleet, and behind it were dozens of galleons from various kingdoms. Some of them were nobles, some were businessmen, and more were servants and guards.

In addition, some Chinese merchant ships doing business in the West took this opportunity to return to the mainland normally under protection.

At this time, the Suez Canal was still in full swing, and more than 10 Egyptian laborers participated in the excavation of the Suez Canal. However, the huge engineering volume of the Suez Canal was not even half completed, which meant that the fleet still needed to take risks through the dangerous Cape of Storms, To be able to reach the capital.

"The capital is electrified, and the diplomatic missions of various countries have already set off for the capital. Please prepare to provide supplies in the Strait of Hormuz, India, Malacca, Guangzhou and other places." The ambassador of the Ministry of Rites in the main embassy of the western embassy left in the fleet The City of London then sent a telegram to the capital.

(End of this chapter)