Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 267 The Sanctions of Great Powers Are Also Opportunities (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
The shipyard in Zuowan, after several expansions, has long since become a large factory with more than [-] employees. In the autumn rain, the shipyard is still as busy as ever.

The drizzle hit the workers' hats feebly. Although it was raining in the sky, in the Nanhua Shipyard, the craftsmen were still busy. The red rivets were tossed in the air like meteors, standing on the scaffolding. After the riveter grabs the rivet with iron pliers, he stuffs it into the nail hole of the steel plate and then hits the rivet with a hammer. In the double-layer hull, the young apprentice uses his shoulders to support the wooden plug to ensure that the rivet is riveted, building a double-layer ship The hull process was similar to that of the Great Eastern, requiring a large number of young apprentices who were small enough to work in the mezzanine.

Child labor is the most common existence in this era.This is not surprising.Wearing a rubberized raincoat, Liang Mingwei stood under the canopy next to the dock, looking at the drawings and talking to the supervisors from time to time.

At this time, the ship has already shown its prototype-this is a real steel hull ship.

"The armor belt at the waterline uses two-inch full steel armor, the resistance is equivalent to 2.5 inches of iron armor, and the inner steel shell is 0.5 inches. Such a thick steel armor can only pose a threat to it... ..."

Immediately there was a discussion in the canopy.

"This money is not in vain!"

"It's worth it!"

The reason why everyone made such a discussion first is because this ship is indeed very expensive. The budget for the hull alone exceeds [-] yuan. If steam engines and naval guns are added, the price directly exceeds [-] yuan.

"It's generally a little expensive, but it's worth it. However, you have to remember that the launch time must be consistent with the schedule. The Coast Guard has been waiting for this warship."

Liang Mingwei's voice seemed a little anxious, and his tone was colder than rain.

The ship under construction is an armored gunship purchased by the coast guard. In fact, it is based on the mosquito gunship as the design model, but its tonnage is larger. It has a single mast and a single chimney, and the main gun is behind the chimney. There is a collision angle at the bow and below the waterline of the bow...you can see the shadow of the "mosquito gun boat".

According to the point of view of later generations, it can be called "offshore defense ironclad ship" or "small ironclad ship".What is the purpose of building this small ironclad ship?
Of course, it is to strengthen Nanhua's sea power, and there is another more important reason - exercise!
Accumulate shipbuilding experience by building armored ships, and train a team capable of building iron-clad ships.In fact, the development of industry is the same as fighting monsters, it is constantly upgrading, first fight small monsters, and then fight big bosses.

What is the ultimate goal?
Of course it is to build a real ironclad ship, the kind with tons of tons!

But right now, being able to build such a [-]-ton ironclad ship is also a leap forward for Nanhua's shipbuilding industry.

After exhorting a few more words with the engineers, Liang Mingwei turned to look at the officer beside him. He was wearing a white naval officer uniform with a straight collar buttoned tightly. The officer's eyes were fixed on the warship.

"According to the design idea of ​​the bow against the enemy, pay attention to the firepower in the direction of the bow. The main gun has two 254mm Krupp breech-loading steel guns at the front and rear, and a 1mm plus six-barreled rapid-fire cannon to defend against small boats. , we added two more 30mm torpedo tubes to enhance combat effectiveness..."

A little proud of his words, Liang Mingwei specially emphasized.

"Although its tonnage is not large, its firepower is very powerful. There are two 26 mm main guns with a diameter of 254 times. Each gun has 100 rounds of ammunition, the maximum elevation angle is 10 degrees, the maximum depression angle is 3 degrees, and the effective range is 8000 meters; It can penetrate 3000mm steel plates at a distance of 350 meters. Although the exposed turret has no armor, it has a good field of vision and a large range of fire. I dare say that there is no more powerful warship in South America than it.”

After thinking about it, Liang Mingwei added.

"The cannons of the Tianlong class have 20 times the barrel, and the barrel is too short. Although there are two more cannons, but...that's it, Mr. Gu, I dare say that the future will definitely be the era of this kind of ironclad ship, and now we are Also design more powerful warships."

When Liang Mingwei introduced it, Gu Jingran just looked at the warship blankly, and then said to himself.

"As long as you can build it, the guard will definitely purchase it. You should have heard that our contract to purchase warships in the UK has been frozen by the British..."

The freeze of the contract means that it is impossible for the guard to purchase warships from the UK. In this case, the shipyard in Nanhua seems to be their only choice.

"What? Frozen?"

Liang Mingwei really hadn't heard of it.As an engineer he paid little attention to these things.There's nothing like building a boat.

But in the blink of an eye, he secretly felt a little happy in his heart.For the shipyard, this is definitely a good thing.After all, in terms of shipbuilding technology, the current Nanhua Shipyard is definitely not as good as the UK.Under this premise, the Coast Guard is definitely more willing to buy British warships, even if it costs a little more.

After all, quality comes first.

But now that the British have frozen the contract, it means that for the Coast Guard, Nanhua Shipyard has become their only choice.

This is a great thing!

Of course, even if he was secretly happy in his heart, he would not show it, but said in a doubtful tone.

"How is this going?"

"What else could be going on? Isn't it because of Chile? The British side asked us to explain our actions in Chile and even asked us to withdraw our troops,"

With a cold smile, Gu Jingran said,
"Those gringos just let us withdraw our troops with one lip. They don't care about the treaty we signed with Chile. Since we have a treaty, why should we withdraw? Therefore, the British will use the method of freezing the contract to force us to make a decision. Concession, withdrawal from Chile."

The so-called frozen contract is actually the last bargaining chip of the British.In addition, they have one option left, and that is to use force.

They thought that this would make Nanhua succumb, but they must have miscalculated, at least for Zhu Xianhai, he would never succumb to this kind of pressure.

Others won't give in either.In many cases, pressure is motivation!The arrogance of the British became the driving force for Nanhua to develop itself.

Staring at the warship whose hull was about to be completed in the dock, Gu Jingran's gaze narrowed slightly.

"So, what the garrison means is that no matter what, we will support you to build this warship. After it is built, we will go to sea for sea trials, shoot targets, and use this to prove to the British that they want to get our necks stuck. ...Don't think about it! This is just the beginning, and we will definitely purchase more warships in the future."

Gu Ranran's words made Liang Mingwei's heart surge for a while, and what made him feel emotional was definitely not because of his words of contention, but because he saw an opportunity, saw an opportunity.

Not only the opportunity for Nanhua Shipyard, but also for him personally.

He nodded repeatedly.

"So that's the case, then we have to hurry up..."

"time!"

Gu Jingran said.

"The most important thing now is time. The diplomatic protests of the British have just begun. Who knows what they will do next? Our two "Dragon Class" ships are currently in Valparaiso, Chile. There is no such thing as Nanhua." What kind of sea power, if the British intervene, then we can only shore artillery!"

Fortunately, Nanhua's coastal defense forts are still relatively strong, and they will never be passively beaten. They can even guarantee that they can teach any enemy who invades at sea a profound lesson. arrived.

What they need are warships, and what they need are battleships that can fight against the tens of thousands of British warships.

Maybe they looked down on this little guy carrying a 10-inch cannon in the past, but right now they really have no better choice than this ship.

Whether it is due to helplessness or to stimulate the development of Nanhua Shipyard, purchasing domestic warships has become the only choice at the moment.

Staring at the workers in the dock, Liang Mingwei thought for a while and said.

"Well, I have an idea, maybe I can try it!"

"any solution?"

Gu Jingran asked in surprise.

"Additional night shift. If the lights on Suzaku Street can be brought over, the workers will be divided into two shifts and work day and night. I can at least shorten the construction period by half. If everything goes well, I can start the water within a month. But the lights ..."

Before he finished speaking, Gu Jingran said.

"Let me figure out a solution for the electric light, you quickly recruit workers to see if you can meet the construction deadline!",
(End of this chapter)