I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 167 A cruiser of more than [-] tons
It was March, and two huge warships were sailing in the waters near Hakodate, Hokkaido, and conducting artillery experiments. After a year of hard work, the two new main warships were finally completed and passed the test.

Ryoma Sakamoto, who was standing on the deck, shouted excitedly. The other engineers and sailors were also very excited, thinking that if there were two such warships in that naval battle, they could at least reduce their losses by half.

The weight of these two battleships is about [-] tons, and the layout and number of artillery are the same. They can be said to be twins.

This is the first ironclad ship independently developed by Japan. Although its protective capabilities are worse than those of the battleships of Western countries, its firepower is definitely not weaker than those of the other countries.

The 170mm Krupp guns of these two main battleships were enough to penetrate 218mm rear armor.

For example, the main steam warship of the Netherlands cannot withstand an ordinary shell from the main gun, and even the main ironclad ship of France cannot withstand an armored bomb.

Apart from their thin spots, these two warships have no obvious shortcomings.

After Yagyu learned that the experiments on the two warships were successful, he immediately made arrangements for the female guards and immediately arrived in Osaka to board the Keio. The Keio squadron arrived in Hakodate a week later.

Yagyu rushed to Hakodate and couldn't wait to ask: "Where is the warship? Take me to see it quickly!"

Katsu Kaishu and Sakamoto Ryoma immediately took Yagyu to the dock. Yagyu boarded the new warship, excitedly touched the main gun barrel, nodded and said: "Okay, great. With these two warships, we don't have to work day and night." Worried about French revenge.

Drive out and let me see the actual effect. This time I came over and I brought a few target ships. Let's have a real battle and see! "

The squadron brought by Yagyu included two Dutch warships. These were steam warships captured by the Japanese navy in previous naval battles and had been placed in Osaka Bay for repairs.

Even Sakamoto Ryoma didn't expect that Yagyu would be willing to take out a target ship as a target. You must know that they used a wooden sailboat for testing.

"Quick, burn coal!"

Sakamoto Ryoma immediately turned around. He was afraid that Yagyu would regret it, so he hurriedly shouted to the sailors to start the boiler.

The boilers of the two warships had been preheated long ago, and now they were started directly. The ironclad ships slowly left the dock and sailed out of the port.

Then the speed of the two ironclad ships increased to eleven knots and they quickly left the waters near the port.

Keio's squadron and several target ships followed.

More than a dozen warships sailed for more than two hours and came to a quiet sea area. Two target ships left the fleet and sailed. After planning the speed and direction, the sailors on board left in small boats.

Ryoma Sakamoto used his telescope to see the people on the target ship evacuating, and immediately said: "The people on the target ship have evacuated, aim at the sailing target ship!"

The observer immediately determines the speed and direction of the target ship.

"The distance is three thousand two! The angle is twenty degrees!"

"fire!"

"Boom boom boom..."

The two main guns at the bow and stern opened fire first, and the guns on one side immediately fired. Two huge projectiles missed the target ship, but several smaller shells hit the sailing steam warship. Black smoke billowed out, and the ship continued sailing with flickering firelight.

Less than half a minute later, the naval gun fired again.

"boom!"

A shell penetrated the boiler room, and the steam warship exploded. A huge fire broke out on the ship, and a black mushroom cloud rose. Soon the steam warship gradually stopped, and after half an hour, it was silent in the sea.

"it is good!"

Sakamoto Ryoma shouted to vent his excitement.

Yagyu on the deck was also very excited. It was indeed a new battleship that he fully supported. Moreover, the sailors on the battleship were elite navy and had participated in previous naval battles. Therefore, two salvos killed a steam warship.

"Mr. Katsu, Ryoma, you have done a great job. We will build four more warships like this, but before that, I hope you can build a main ironclad ship of more than [-] tons within two years!"

This was a plan that had been made before. Although the ironclad ship of more than 3000 tons was not up to the level of a battleship, it was enough to be used as a cruiser.

The weight of the four cruisers built afterward will be reduced and remain between [-] tons and [-] tons. Due to limited production capacity, four new cruisers are tentatively planned to be built.

Before that, Yagyu planned to go all out to build battleships, at least three battleships of more than [-] tons, and preferably a heavy battleship of nearly [-] tons.

As long as there is one [-]-ton battleship, the Japanese navy is enough to sail sideways in the East Asian waters.

However, if they want to build such a battleship, they still have many technical problems to solve. The first is iron-making technology, followed by power technology, and then artillery technology.

When it comes to iron smelting, it's not a big problem.

Today's Western countries use wrought iron, which is relatively soft, so the thickness of the armor near the waterline reaches nearly [-] millimeters, but if steel is used, the thickness can be reduced by half.

But in this era, the output of steel is small and very expensive. Just like Japan, there is almost no technology to temper steel on a large scale, and the production is almost negligible.

But fortunately, Yagyu remembered a method of making steel, which was not too technically difficult and only required a few blacksmiths to test it several times.The Su Steel method is an improved steel filling method. It was founded around the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It was more prosperous in Wuhu, Anhui, Xiangtan, Hunan and other places during the Qing Dynasty. It is also known as "Su Steel" because it is said to have been created by Jiangsu craftsmen. .

The steel produced by the Suzhou Steel method can meet the indicators of modern qualified steel. It can be said that the steel produced by the Suzhou Steel method has the advantages of stable carbon content, high purity and low impurities.

This steelmaking technology is already a mature technology in Kyoto's ironmaking plants. Workers at the ironmaking plants are already very familiar with the Suzhou Steel Method. For example, the steelmaking volume last year was [-] tons. Although this amount is very small, But this is enough for Japan's own needs.

Now that Japan is building large-scale warships, the demand for steel is increasing. Yagyu plans to increase the number of iron smelting plants to ensure that steel production reaches more than [-] tons this year.

Naturally, Katsu Kaishu would not refuse Yagyu's plan. He had been planning a large naval plan. In the plan, the Japanese Navy would have at least [-] naval ships of various types and a naval strength of approximately [-].

This plan has been submitted to Yagyu for review. He revised the plan. The construction of the navy must be done step by step. Therefore, he prepared a naval school at the beginning of the reform. Now the first batch of [-] naval cadets has been studying for three years. You can graduate and enlist at any time.

As for battleships, his plan is to have at least ten battleships, plus about ten cruisers, about twenty torpedo destroyers, more than fifty torpedo boats, and about eighty other auxiliary ships, for a total of about 170 ships.

This plan will take at least ten years to complete.

Fortunately, Japan now has this period of peaceful development.

Katsu Kaishu knew Yagyu's naval plan. He stepped forward and asked: "Prime Minister, the brown gunpowder solution you provided has passed the test. It is much more powerful than black powder. We need to build artillery with longer barrels."

This matter happened to be on Yagyu's mind, and he happened to hope that this first ironclad battleship would use new artillery.

Yagyu replied: "Master Tokugawa who is traveling to Europe has received news. Princess Mary's marriage has been decided. In half a month, she will leave for Europe to pick up the envoys from the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Prussian envoys to Japan. Mary The princess will marry His Majesty the Emperor in Kyoto.

Just in time, I plan to dispatch these two warships to Prussia. I will use brown gunpowder to exchange breech-loading artillery technology with Prussia. "

Sheng Haizhou said with some worry: "Prime Minister, I feel it is inappropriate. If the layout of the new battleship is copied from the Western countries, it will only make them easier."

Yagyu shook his head and said: "Don't be afraid. Compared with the warships of the Western countries, our warships are too small and have few artillery. The other side will only think that our warships are too weak. Those in power in the Western countries are afraid that it will be difficult to reverse them in a short time. Inherent naval impression."

The emergence of a new thing takes a certain amount of time to accept, especially countries such as Britain and France. Their thinking is somewhat rigid. If Japan's new warship appears and kills a British and French main battleship, Britain and France will learn immediately. change yourself.

In short, without actual combat experience, countries such as Britain and France may look down on Japanese technology.

Moreover, Yagyu couldn't hide this matter for too long. The new warship would eventually go to sea for training, and it was inevitable that he would not be seen by others entering and leaving the training port.

And the more concealed it is, the more it will attract the attention of Britain, France and other countries as well as domestic conservative forces.

Sometimes they don't need to understand the actual function of this thing. They just need to see how much you value this thing, and they will naturally choose the appropriate treatment method.

Because of this, Yagyu also did the opposite.

Yagyu and Katsu Kaishu discussed some details and costs of the new ironclad ship. After they finished talking, the fleet had returned.

Yagyu looked at everyone and said loudly: "You have worked hard in this cold north for a year, and all your efforts have been in vain. You sacrificed for the country, and the government will remember it.

In order to express the gratitude of the Emperor and the government, the cabinet has approved the reward of a sum of money to you! "

In fact, workers don’t know much about patriotism, but when you talk about money, they will definitely be patriotic.

They build ships in this icy and snowy environment, and their monthly salary is only 120 yen, which is [-] yen more than those of ordinary workers.

As for the reward handed down by Yagyu, everyone was awarded three months' salary. A general worker was 360 yen. This large amount of money was actually less than half of the cost of the warship.

Yagyu looked at the smiling engineers and workers, and waved to silence them.

His expression became serious, he took out the imperial edict and said: "The newly built warships will follow me south to Osaka. His Majesty the Emperor will personally award the names of the two new ships."

The soldiers on the warship immediately shouted excitedly that it was named by the emperor himself. For them, this was an honor.

This matter was arranged by Yagyu. Since the two new warships were to participate in escorting the wedding mission, they naturally had a special status. Emperor Meiji personally named them this name, which was enough to let the other party know that Japan valued this matter.

At that time, he will have to arrange some reporters to publicize the matter.

Although the two warships were named by Emperor Meiji himself, Yagyu actually provided the names for Meiji to choose, but one of the names has been fixed, and that is Shikamaru.

He planned to use the Shikamaru as a spirit and example for the Japanese Navy, so that naval officers could have the spirit of self-sacrifice and dedication at critical moments like the Shikamaru.

In particular, the country's appearance is changing rapidly. He is worried that the people will not be able to accept this change for a while, which will lead to confusion and degradation. Therefore, he must vigorously support such positive examples to inspire people.

This kind of thing is not only in the military, but also for ordinary people. It establishes a direction for everyone to work hard and strive for.

Although he said he wanted to establish a positive image, he did not want to develop into a bushido spirit. This spirit was purely brainwashing and fanatical, more like a cult slogan. What Yagyu wanted to establish was an upright spirit of a great nation.

(End of this chapter)