Daming 1805

Chapter 135 Cannon is the sincerity of peace.

The moment the shell hit and penetrated the external armor of the target ship, cheers erupted from the watchtower.

The navy and army officials and representatives of Ming Dynasty were all in a state of surprise and surprise.

Many officials and officers themselves do not know that their naval guns have made great progress.

The reactions of representatives and officials of the Thai and Western countries were quite different.

After all, the joys and sorrows of human beings are often not connected, and sometimes the joys of others are just noises to themselves.

The naval representatives of several countries were full of astonishment.

Nelson and Collingwood were completely silent.

The two of them had already done a similar test on the way to the Western Cape.

With the observation capabilities and gunnery of a major naval power, it is no problem to use the main gun to hit a target ten kilometers away.

As for the hit rate, you can use more main guns and use multiple consecutive rounds of salvos to pile up.

But the problem is that the main guns of the British Navy are not powerful enough.

At a distance of ten kilometers, it can't penetrate any battleship at all, and if it hits, it will leave a dent at most, or even ricochet directly.

If one wants to design a battleship that engages at a distance of more than ten kilometers, a more powerful main gun must be developed at the same time.

At this critical point, Daming took the lead again.

Daming had already accumulated experience in commanding a large number of artillery of the same caliber at the same time in coastal artillery operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

There is no big problem in transferring these experiences to battleships.

Daming just didn't design the kind of full main gun battleship he envisioned...

No, not necessarily without...

Nelson suddenly realized a problem.

Now that Ming has realized that the main gun battles ten kilometers away can be achieved, it is only a matter of time before designing and building a battleship with full main guns.

It might even have started.

In fact, Nelson's guess was correct. Daming's conservatively verified full-armor battleship Intrepid has actually started construction for more than three months.

It should be launched by the end of this year at the earliest, and next spring at the latest.

As for the British side, Nelson is still in the process of conceiving, and there is no detailed design plan yet.

Of course, the order from the Ministry of the Navy is completely unknown, let alone the issue of starting construction.

From design to construction, there will be delays in every link, and it may take two or three years.

At that time, Ming's radical high-speed battleship Intrepid should also be launched.

In the complicated and chaotic atmosphere at the scene, the four coastal artillery continued to carry out two rounds of loading and fired two salvos.

After another hit, the test came to an end for now.

The live ammunition test cannot be played all the time. In theory, it should stop as soon as a shot is hit, and then go on board to observe the detailed situation before continuing.

After all, exercises and tests are not actual combat, the purpose is to obtain various strike and destruction data.

It is not to sink the target ship with the fastest speed.

Wang Lai took the survey and record personnel of the Naval Department, and called the representatives and military officers of various countries to take a small boat to the sea to observe the target ship at close range.

Of course, Zhu Jingyuan couldn't go there, so he could only wait for news on the watchtower.

According to the survey of the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, the two hit shells hit the central area above the waterline, basically causing no water ingress.

A fire broke out in the hole in the hull, but the craftsmen emptied the fuel and ammunition of the target ship before the test, so the scope of the fire was not large, and it was impossible for a martyrdom to explode.

The surveyors first put out the fire inside the ship, then observed the damage from inside and outside, measured and drew images of the damage, and recorded the details of the damage point and its surroundings.

Naval officials from various countries in Thailand and Western countries also followed to observe and verify the situation of the target ship and armor.

The thickness of the armor is easy to confirm, but the quality of the armor is difficult to say, and it is difficult to get accurate results by simply looking at it with the eyes.

Just considering Daming's status, it should not be faked in this kind of place,

Therefore, whether it is an admiral, a representative of the imperial court of various countries, or a member of the royal family, the mood is very heavy now.

Daming is still the same Daming, and the development of naval technology has never stopped.

After the application of the new naval gun developed by Daming this time, the technical gap between Taixi and Daming will be widened again.

In the next naval battle, if nothing else happens, the existing Taixi fleet is likely to be completely defeated.

This battle must be resolved quickly, or the war should be stopped immediately.

Wang Lai arranged the observation and recording work, and he himself paid attention to the situation of representatives from other countries.

Wang Lai didn't know it was intentional, so he deliberately asked these representatives with a smile:

"Did you find any problems? If you have any objections to the armor, you can ask your capital ship to fire a few shots."

The generals and representatives of Prussia and several other countries instinctively shook their heads and said no.

After a few seconds of silence, Nelson nodded seriously and said:

"Okay, we really want to try it. It's not that we don't believe in Da Ming's reputation. We just think this is a rare opportunity to test. We also want to try this kind of distance tactics..."

Wang Lai nodded noncommittal:
"If you want to test it, then test it. Anyway, you can't penetrate it. We will start after we record the data..."

Nelson and several admirals were a little bit aggrieved, but there was no way to refute them.

According to the tests done in the past, at a distance of more than ten kilometers, his naval guns really couldn't penetrate the new [-]mm armor.

The craftsmen of the Naval Department worked hard for more than an hour, collected the important information generated by the shelling test, and did not evacuate the target ship until eleven in the morning.

Then use the tugboat to adjust the angle of the target ship, so that the side of the hull that Daming's shore artillery has attacked faces the two British battleships that have just entered the field.

If it is a normal test, after one side is penetrated, it is time to change the side of the target ship and let the British ship hit the other side of the hull.

Let both sides of the target ship be shot evenly, and the cabins on both sides be evenly flooded, so as to maintain the balance of the ship and delay the sinking speed.

Now it is to avoid the suspicion of the British, to prevent them from suspecting that the sides of the hull are equipped with different armor.

So Wang Lai let the British continue to fight the same side that Ming had fought.

Anyway, the British can't beat it.

The British capital ship and target ship stopped again at a relative distance of twelve kilometers, and the staff evacuated the scene.

Under Nelson's command, the crew of the British capital ship first measured the distance to the target ship, estimated the parameters required for shooting, and then tested a round.

Observe the position of the water column aroused by the shells falling into the water, continue to adjust the shooting parameters, and enter the calibration link.

After another three rounds of salvo, the landing point of the shells completely covered the target ship, forming a straddle shot.

The next step is to continue to repeatedly bombard, pile up the number of shells, and wait for the hit.

This would have been the normal procedure for naval engagements.

Daming prepared the data in advance, so he was able to fire the cannon and straddle directly, and it hit directly in two rounds.

But now the British continued to "stroke" for many rounds at sea, which made the non-navy representatives of the West and West on the scene extremely anxious.

In this extremely depressing atmosphere, the British fired three more salvos, and finally one shell hit the target ship.

A rather huge fireball immediately rose from the outside of the target ship.

Immediately there was a burst of cheers, this time from the Tessie representatives.

The military representatives of Ming Dynasty didn't react at all, and the court representatives were a little upset, but they didn't show it.

But Zhu Jingyuan and the naval officers saw clearly through binoculars.

The shell didn't penetrate the target ship, it exploded when it fell outside the armor, so the fireball was so obvious.

If it is penetrated, the flames will erupt inside the hull, and it will not be so conspicuous.

After a few seconds, the explosive fireball quickly disappeared, and the side of the target ship was revealed again.

The target ship didn't suffer any serious damage, but there was a scorched black spot on the unpainted external armor.

The cheers at the scene just now quickly subsided.

"I really can't break through..."

"This is how to do ah!"

"We can only change to a larger caliber main gun."

"Heavier shells with more propellant."

Amidst the chaotic discussions that lowered their voices, Nelson commanded the battleship to fire three more salvos.

The British battleship scored another hit, but it still failed to penetrate the armor of the target ship, and there was another cloud of black on the shiny armor plate.

On the same main side armor, there are two large holes made by Ming's shells, and two groups of black ash made by the British.

This picture looks a little bit ironic.

The representatives of the Thai and Western countries looked silent.

Nelson shook his head helplessly, commanded the capital ship to leave the scene, and came back to tell Zhu Jingyuan and Wang Lai that there was no need to continue the test.

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, stood up with a smile, and looked in the direction of the Taixi representatives:

"Everyone, do you know what we are showing today?"

Whether it was the military representatives from various countries in Thailand and the West, or their court and royal family representatives, they all suddenly looked up at Zhu Jingyuan.

Everyone subconsciously imagined that Zhu Jingyuan wanted to unlock the secret of their ability to penetrate [-]mm armor at twelve kilometers.

As a result, what Zhu Jingyuan said next was:
"This is our Ming Dynasty's sincerity towards world peace."

The moods of the representatives of the Thai and Western countries took a turn for the worse, and they turned into astonishment and speechlessness, feeling that Zhu Jingyuan was mocking himself.

There was also a burst of suppressed laughter among the representatives of Daming.

Zhu Jingyuan cleared his throat, and said loudly with passion:
"Why? Can everyone understand such a simple logic?

"Our Ming Dynasty has developed new artillery, and the strike capability of naval naval artillery has been greatly improved.

"We can choose to silently produce new naval guns, and silently refit the existing fleet on a large scale.

"Then continue to fight with your fleet, and wait until the next sea battle, and you will be caught off guard.

"But we didn't do that, we just showed it to you.

"Let you know that we have this new type of weapon, and you will not be able to defeat us in the next war.

"Let you not be impulsive because of ignorance, so won't war be avoided?
"Wouldn't that have prevented massive casualties of soldiers and civilians?
"Isn't this the sincerity of peace?"

The representatives of the Thai and Western countries were completely speechless.

I've never seen someone put threats so nicely.

The point is that this logic is not problematic at all.

This kind of straightforward threat can really make him dare not act rashly.

Until the solution is found, at least until the method of mutual destruction is mastered, it is impossible to fight the Ming Navy again.

At this time, Zhu Jianfeng also followed suit:

"Jingyuan, if you want to talk about me, you should change the guns for the fleet first, and fight these Xiyi first.

"Send their fleet to the bottom of the sea to raise corals, and they'll know who's got a hard fist.

"The Xiyi gang have always only recognized fists, it's useless for you to reason with them."

Zhu Jingyuan smiled and didn't speak.

The corners of the mouths of the representatives of the Thai and Western countries twitched slightly, but they didn't say anything.

They all realized again that this was the difference in style between the two princes of Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jingyuan was using his strength to reason, presenting the facts to make himself obey.

Although Zhu Jingyuan would make people feel powerless, at least he was much more comfortable than facing Zhu Jianfeng.

In fact, during the early contacts, the representatives of the Thai and Western countries had already felt that Zhu Jingyuan regarded them as civilized people.

Zhu Jianfeng was completely different. He completely regarded himself as rubbish, and wished to be cremated completely, so that he could say that he wanted to keep the land and leave no one behind.

His Royal Highness Zhu Jianfeng just made a fist gesture at himself.

It seems that he is more like a Thai-Western person, and he may also understand the Thai-Western people better.

In the future, try to deal with Zhu Jingyuan as much as possible, and try not to let this Zhu Jianfeng get involved.

The test of the new naval gun was successfully concluded, and the representatives of various countries returned to their residences, and a new round of discussions and series began immediately.

The Portuguese first went to the Spaniards.

These two countries with poor relations have come together.

Because the situation of the two sides is similar, the threats they face are also similar, and there is no direct conflict for the time being.

Prince Jose of Portugal said directly:

"I don't think we can go 'one way to the dark' with the British anymore.

"Among the four maritime colonial countries in Europe, the homeland of the British is the safest, so the British are the toughest towards Ming.

"But we can't, Ming will definitely attack westward in North Mexico with all its strength, and eventually occupy Morocco in the northwest corner of Africa, and then attack our mainland across the sea.

"Today we all saw how terrifying the power of Daming's new naval gun is.

"Once this kind of naval gun is replaced on the existing capital ship, our fleet will be completely irresistible, and we will be defeated on the sea.

"After the Navy's total defeat, we'll all have nothing.

"Da Ming can easily seize our colonies as long as they block our mainland's outer seas, and don't even need to specifically land on our mainland.

"We originally thought that in the next 20 years, the gap in weaponry between us and Ming Dynasty would be even smaller, or even negligible.

"But now it's probably getting bigger, so we can't go on like this."

Prince Fernando of Spain asked back:

"Then what should we do now? Change our position again and accept Da Ming's request? Sign a permanent peace treaty?

"Didn't the British say that Daming's goal must be the entire Yinzhou..."

Prince Jose of Portugal interrupted the other party directly:
"That's what the British say!

"Da Ming also hopes to get the continent east of the Urals!
"But before Lucia's 'death', Da Ming never took action against Lucia.

"After we signed the armistice agreement with Ming Dynasty, before joining the Anti-Ming Alliance and declaring war on Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty never did anything to us."

Prince Fernando of Spain looked at his Prime Minister Manuel:
"We can't trust Britain, can we trust Daming?"

Manuel nodded slightly and sighed:
"If you put aside the provocative speech of British Prime Minister Pitt, we really have no reason to doubt the promise made by Ming.

"We have all signed an armistice agreement with Daming, and Daming's attitude of abiding by the agreement is completely worthy of our trust."

Fernando still has doubts:
"However, although we haven't officially signed a contract yet, but we just changed our minds temporarily, will Daming raise the price again?
"They have already asked us for the entire Southern Yinzhou, the entire Antilles, and the entire Texas region, so what else will they ask for?
"For Portugal, their request was already the whole of Brazil before. Will they ask you for the Mexican colony in the future?"

Manuel had a distressed expression and said in a heavy tone:
"Go and ask and you'll know. I'll go talk to Shen Shaoqing."

Fernando stopped the Prime Minister:
"Wait a minute, even if Ming's conditions remain the same and we hand over all the colonies they requested, how will we communicate with the remaining Mexican colonies in the future?"

Manuel said subconsciously:
"Da Ming never prevented the British from going to Tianzhu in peacetime."

Fernando asked directly:

"Mr. Prime Minister, you have also said that it is a matter of peaceful times, and it is impossible to allow it after the outbreak of war."

Manuel was a little surprised:

"Does Your Highness still want to fight Daming?
"This war was a mistake.

"If Spain does not join the anti-Ming alliance, we will still retain most of the colonies in Nanyinzhou.

"The Antilles can also keep a part.

"We shouldn't have boarded the British pirate ship."

Fernando said of course:

"Even if it is a permanent peace treaty, it is to prepare for war with more peace of mind.

"The British are disgusting, but they're right.

"We Europeans and the Ming Empire will definitely have another battle.

"We Europas cannot perish forever."

Manuel looked sad, and had to give his Highness an idea:

"That's it, we refer to the Lucians and strive to make the Greater Andres Islands an independent country.

"His Royal Highness' younger brother will be the country's monarch, but the country completely adopts the Ming system and is loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

"This kind of vassal state should be able to remain neutral when war breaks out again between us and Ming Dynasty.

"We even had a chance to win it over."

Fernando's eyes lit up:
"Okay, let's do that."

"Then I'll ask."

Manuel nodded helplessly and agreed, knowing that such a condition was impossible, but he could give himself and His Royal Highness a step forward.

Even, in the prince's own heart, the idea that "Europa cannot sink forever" may be just an excuse.

The Prince of Portugal had the same idea, whether this strategy would succeed or not, he could at least ask.

In the end, Rodriguez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, and Manuel, Prime Minister of Spain, went to visit Shen Fu, Shaoqing of Honglu Temple of Ming Dynasty.

Shen Fu worked for a while before coming out to meet them, and after hearing what they had said about their visit, he replied blankly:
"According to what I mean, I couldn't let you off so easily.

"But His Royal Highness the King of Food has already given instructions, if you can sincerely repent, we can still sign a permanent peace treaty.

"The conditions requested by Daming are still the same as those proposed by His Highness back then.

"The entire Southern Yinzhou, the entire Antilles, the entire Texas region, and the California peninsula."

Both Rodriguez and Manuel were relieved.

Then Manuel, as a representative, explained the thoughts of the two princes.

Shen Fu just smiled after hearing this:

"You also want Lucia? Can you Spain take the whole of Mexico and make it a vassal state of Ming Dynasty?"

Manuel's expression froze:

"This one……"

Shen Fu shook his head and waved his hands, saying:
"If you can't, stop thinking about it, go back quickly, and report to your king?"

Rodriguez and Manuel stopped talking nonsense, and immediately got up to leave, and went back to report to their prince.

After being torn apart from reality by Zhu Jianfeng, and shocked by Daming's new naval guns, the psychological expectations of the two have now been lowered.

Being able to use the original conditions and sign a permanent peace treaty is considered a success, and there is no need to think about anything else.

Manuel proposed to his prince that the idea of ​​establishing a territory on the ceded colony was originally a step for the prince to accept reality.

The two never expected to succeed.

In fact, Zhu Jingyuan might have given them an island or a city before today.

But Zhu Jianfeng gave the direction, and he really couldn't back down to this group of Xiyi, so he had to beat him head and face.

Given them an island and a city today, they might be thinking in their hearts that Daming is still bluffing...

If you really don't give anything, the other party may be safe.

And that's exactly what happened.

After the representatives of Spain and Portugal returned to their residences, they reported the situation to their respective princes.

Prince José of Portugal sighed and complained for a while before resigning himself to his fate.

Prince Fernando of Spain yelled angrily, but in the end he could only accept the reality.

Then the representatives of the two countries began to get busy, writing reports to the kings in the rear again.

The country's position must be changed again, and the king must be made to recognize the reality and stop making any colonial alliance with the British.

(End of this chapter)