1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 272 This ship is cheap
The captain and crew of the British East India Company looked at the warships gathered in Xiangshan Port, and finally left in despair.

This expedition is an important bargaining chip for Fillmore's re-election, so the Fillmore government attaches great importance to this expedition, and the warships transferred to the American East India Fleet are all in the best condition in the navy and can be sold.

Counting Liang Yao's three warships, there are seven warships in the American expedition to Japan this time, and most of these seven warships are large steamships that have adopted new technology.

The warships behind him were the reason why Liang Yao dared to shoot at the armed merchant ships of the British East India Company.

During this period, the British Royal Navy was certainly very strong, with more than [-] large warships and a total tonnage of more than [-] tons.

But Great Britain is an empire on which the sun never sets, and precisely because Britain is an empire on which the sun never sets, this powerful fleet wants to maintain British colonial hegemony all over the world, so the number of British navy that can be deployed in the Far East is not very sufficient.

"Happy, happy!"

Looking at the British ships going away in desperation, Hong Mingxiang let out a sigh of relief, but he still had doubts.

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

"It's not their warship that I hit. Besides, the British are the smartest and the most profit-oriented. As long as I don't cause substantial damage to their interests, the British will not take it seriously." Liang Yao said lightly, " I didn't expect Hong Junmen to know something about Western countries."

"I heard it from a merchant in Guangzhou." Hong Mingxiang said.

"England is not only the number one power in the West, but also the undisputed number one country in the universe." Liang Yao turned around and said.

"Is it stronger than my Qing dynasty?"

Speaking of this, Hong Mingxiang was a little unconvinced, and his face showed displeasure.

"Hahaha, this matter has been settled ten years ago. If the Qing Dynasty was stronger than the Great Britain, why would the Cantonese be treated like birds by 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, and the captain's cabin of the Roland was naturally requisitioned by Liang Yao.

Along the way, Liang Yao's office and daily life were all in the captain's room 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 the famous sailing ships such as the Victory, the Ocean, and the Dreadful, there are also models of the Roland, the Super Brave, and the Yangwei, and even the loach class produced and used by California, Sven also made a model to visit in Inside the glass cabinet.

"Young Master Liang, I wonder how much taels of silver you bought this boat for?"

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

"I bought the Roland from the French at a price of 214 million gold francs, which is about 27 taels of silver when converted into Kuping silver."

In the middle of the 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.

"27 taels of silver for a boat." Hong Mingxiang gasped and shook his head, "It's too expensive, too expensive."

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

As he spoke, Liang Yao opened the cupboard under gentle and dissatisfied gazes, took out the loach-level model from the cupboard, and placed it on the desk.

"This boat is called Loach, and it was built by 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, and it travels very fast. More importantly, this boat is cheap. , only sells for [-] taels of silver."

Liang Yao sold the loach grade to Hong Mingxiang.

The Loach class with a displacement of about [-] tons is the first type of steam Minglun ship designed and manufactured by the California shipyard.

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

The California Taxation Bureau has purchased ten ships to be used as anti-smuggling ships, and is quite satisfied with the performance of the Loach class.

The main tasks of the Guangdong Navy are nothing more than anti-smuggling, suppression of pirates and water bandits, and 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 will be a matter of time for the Qing Dynasty to start its Westernization and purchase ships from abroad. If the Qing Dynasty's warship market can be opened up in advance, it will be easier to win large orders in the future.

What's more, the earliest ships purchased by the Qing Dynasty Navy were not huge ships, but various types of mosquito ships with a displacement of 440 tons, 320 tons, or even 260 tons.

Like Liang Yao's Loach class, the Mosquito Ship is not a specialized warship. To put it bluntly, it is a mobile fort with a small boat carrying a cannon.

The performance of the loach class is actually worse than that of the mosquito boat twenty years later, but for the current navy of the Qing Dynasty, the loach class is enough.

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

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

"If Hong Junmen likes it, after I return to California from the expedition against Japanese pirates, I will send one to Hong Junmen as a flagship for trial use." Liang Yao patted his chest and said, "I heard that Hong Junmen is from South Australia, and we are separated by a strip of water. My neighbors, if the Guangdong Navy wants to buy ships in the future, you can come to me."

"It's so good. The purchase of the ship is probably a mirror image. The imperial court often defaults on the military salaries of the brothers. How can I find spare money to buy the ship?" Hong Mingxiang sighed.

"Guangzhou merchants also have several trade routes in Nanyang and Dongyang. As long as Hong Junmen intends to let the brothers of the Guangdong Navy provide protection for Guangzhou merchants, I think Guangzhou merchants will also be willing to pay some money for the purchase of ships.

During the [-] years since Daoguang, although merchants in Guangzhou have gradually declined, the emaciated camels are bigger than horses, so they can still spend some money. "

Liang Yao pointed out a bright way for Hong Mingxiang, tens of thousands of taels of silver, the merchants in Guangzhou can still get it out.

"I heard that Mr. Liang, Mr. Pan, and Mr. Wu have a good relationship. Can you help Hong to make peace? Naturally, it is Hong's responsibility to protect the environment and the people. It's just that the Guangdong Navy's ship is broken. It's unbearable, and Hong is also powerless." Hong Mingxiang's eyes lit up involuntarily.

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

"Xin Jinshan?" Hong Mingxiang thought for a while and said, "Mr. Liang is talking about Xinjinshan in Nanyang. Hong has heard of it. Recently, many Cantonese people have gone to Xinjinshan to pan for gold. But so far, I haven't heard of it. Whoever made a fortune there and returned to his hometown, let alone someone like Mr. Liang who made his fortune by digging for gold."

(End of this chapter)