Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 343 Preparations before sailing again ([-])

The shape of the two ships "Daohai" and "Fubo" is roughly the same as the previous two paddle steamers, but the size has been slightly enlarged, reaching a full load of 1150 tons.These two ships still use the "Popeye-1 Modified" marine steam engine with an output of 48.3 horsepower, and their speed reaches about 5.5-6 knots without using sails, and the performance is quite satisfactory.

I heard that the Second Machinery Factory improved the cylinder seal design on the basis of the original "Popeye-1 Modified" marine steam engine, and used a higher-precision boring machine to process the inner wall of the cylinder, making the latest "Popeye-2 basic" marine steam engine The output power of the steam engine suddenly increased by about 30%, reaching 62.8 horsepower.However, this kind of steam engine is still undergoing the final intense debugging, and the two ships did not catch up when they were built, so they continued to use the old steam engine with 48.3 horsepower produced before.

"The current new round of eastward movement is mainly promoted by the Ministry of the Navy." Sang Kai picked up a porcelain cup from the coffee table next to him, drank a sip of tea, and continued to show off the gossip he had inquired about to Li Yi: "Commissioner Wang If you want to strengthen the influence of the navy, then heading east directly to the coast of Daming is naturally the best shortcut. Once the Executive Committee really makes up its mind to organize a large-scale fleet to sail directly to the coast of Daming, then several domestic shipyards will It is bound to start to build a variety of special ships including transport ships, battleships, steamships, etc., then the influence of the navy will naturally increase."

"This matter is good or bad, but is there no one to mess it up? Is Lu Lu's black charcoal head so talkative?" Li Yi reached out and took an orange handed by his daughter Zexin, and kissed her hard on the face. After finishing his mouth, he said: "The army and we are not of the same mind. The first thing they think about all day is how to expand the influence of the army, and the second thing is how to weaken the influence of the navy. These guys advocate more Bringing in Europeans to reduce the government's huge financial expenditure on immigration, hehe, but it's a pity, it's ridiculous that they haven't had a unified opinion among themselves for so many years."

"Of course Peng Zhicheng disagrees!" Sang Kai also took an orange handed over by Li Zexin with a smile, and then said with a twitch of his mouth: "This guy is advocating the expansion of the army in China, bringing in a large number of European and Indian immigrants, and actively preparing to go west. The strategy in the inland area. At first, he really won a lot of supporters. However, after Commissioner Xiao from the Ministry of Communications joined our camp, the call for eastward movement gradually gained the upper hand. The Ministry of Communications is also very beneficial, so he has no reason not to support it. In the end, some members of the Imperial Han faction under Peng Zhicheng also made a fuss, and wrote a petition requesting eastward advancement, and the executive committee set the tone. Haha, Heitantou This time it was a big embarrassment, Minister Wang's clever tricks not only brought in foreign aid from the Ministry of Communications, but even instigated some army officers."

"How can Minister Wang have such a strong energy? The main reason is that the eastward movement is the general trend and the people's aspirations. Those army officers of the Imperial Han faction also supported us for their own ideals or interests. It’s just a single mind.” Li Yi said disapprovingly, “After all, everyone and the people of the Ming Dynasty have a certain affinity, and many people still prefer to introduce more people from the Ming Dynasty. At least when our generation was still on stage, this policy There won't be much change."

"That's true." Sang Kai nodded, and then said: "Although the details of this eastward operation are still under discussion, it is certain that the scale will not be small. The South China Sea Transportation Company just launched a few days ago They bought two flute-shaped transport ships, and now they have a total of ten such ships. Moreover, except for one of the seven berths of the two shipyards that is building a frigate gunboat, the other six are starting to build flute-shaped ships. Transport ship. This kind of ship is made of wood from the New China region. It only needs a small number of sailors to start, and it has a large cargo capacity. The Ministry of Communications likes it from top to bottom. The wood is ready-made and does not need to be imported. , we only need to pay some salaries and equipment maintenance fees, basically no cost. The only thing we need to worry about is the number of sailors, which is the biggest reason for restricting the number of our transport ships and warships."

Naturally, not all ten transport ships will be allocated to the Eastward Expansion Project. The increasingly prosperous local economy requires a large amount of transport tonnage. Therefore, it is their conscience to discover that two transport ships can be squeezed out to participate in this plan. up.Two transport ships plus four motor sailing ships, this is already the size of six ships; maybe the Admiralty will send one or two more warships to join the escort, so the scale will be even larger.

However, how so many sailing ships sailed to the Far East is really a headache. They had better choose a way to cross the equator during the southern hemisphere winter, because there are still some southeast winds that can be used at that time.And the voyage in the equatorial windless zone has to be carefully considered, that is, how to use the ocean currents to cross there at the fastest speed, which requires careful consideration by the staff of the Ministry of the Navy.Otherwise, these transport ships can only sail to Gushan Port to deliver some supplies there.As for the transportation to Heishui Port, it is estimated that it can only be done by motor sailboats, because they can ignore ocean currents and wind directions.

"No matter what, at least the section to Gushan Port is unimpeded." Li Yi concluded, "Actually, I don't expect these transport ships to transport all these materials to Heishui Port. This is unrealistic, because not only It’s not easy to go there, and it’s troublesome to come back. It has to go through the Strait of Malacca. So, as long as they can smoothly transport all kinds of goods to Gushan Port and set up a large cargo storage center in Gushan Port, I will I am satisfied. The rest is up to the executive committee to build steamships, as long as the steamship fleet forms a certain scale, then everything will be fine."

San Kai also nodded, and then he seemed to think of something again, and asked: "Have you ever thought about competing for the position of captain of the Blackwater Pioneering Team? I heard that there is an Australian Pioneering Team or a Blackwater Pioneering Team or something like that." There are currently many competitors for the position, if you fight for it, you probably have a good chance of winning."

"This group of people are messing around!" Li Yi was a little unhappy, "Why are they setting up pioneering teams everywhere? Do they want to develop Australia? What are they doing? Australia currently has what we need? No! In my opinion, no matter what Whether it is Gushan Port, Jinshan Port or Heishui Port, there is no need to make great efforts to develop them. They just need to do their duty as transit bases. Everything else should be local! If such a position is really set up, Then the guy who took office must do a lot of work for his own consideration, which will inevitably involve our energy and divide our strength. Forget it, I am not interested in fighting for this stupid position!"

Sang Kai sighed in disappointment, but still said with some unwillingness to give up: "If you don't fight, it will probably fall into the hands of the army. Recently, in order to move eastward, the Ministry of the Army seems to have begun to mobilize the formation of the 102nd company of the army, and In the future, it is very likely that an artillery company will be equipped locally, and the throne of the leader of the pioneering team will most likely fall on the heads of the chief officers of these two companies. A squadron of Eight Banners warriors, and then recruit some local people, estimated to be up to 2000 troops. With these [-] people, given the current weak national strength of Ming and North Korea, we should be able to move in and out quickly, and plunder some people. It’s too much trouble, and it’s all for nothing.”

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "If you don't fight, you don't fight. I became the captain of the pioneering team, and I have to stay there for a long time. What should I do at home? Do I take my wife and children? Even if I am willing, the executive committee is willing." Use your brains, South Africa and New China are okay, but Ming Dynasty is definitely a sensitive area, any time traveler who goes to take office near there will be strictly censored, and family members must not be with him. Just watch, that pioneer The selection of the captain of the team will definitely change frequently, and no one will do it for a long time."

San Kai nodded if he realized something.When they were about to say something more, the two women over there were already calling them to have a picnic.Li Yi and Sang Kai immediately stopped the conversation consciously, got up and walked over.

The picnic is very rich, including delicious bighorn goat meat on the east coast, fresh and tender La Plata veal meat, South African yellow beef, Xinhua Hump beef, duck lake's specialty wild duck, deep-sea cod, and Lake Rocha The well-known prawns, as well as green vegetables and delicious fruits.There are also two bottles of Xiangshan dry red and two bottles of Hezhong Daqu on the tablecloth laid flat on the ground, as well as some expensive imported French wines.

This is a typical spring picnic of the upper class on the east coast. The common people can only eat some cheap local potatoes and South African sorghum on weekdays, and buy some fish, shrimp and seafood every now and then.As for the meat, except for the cheapest La Plata beef, you have to think about it before you decide to buy some and try it at home.

Several servants were busy on the sidelines, and the orderlies of Li Yi and Sang Kai brought chairs for everyone.In the late spring, the sky beside Luocha Lake was cloudy, and there was a gentle breeze blowing from the rippling blue waves of the lake. It seemed that there were traces of distant singing in the wind. It was the fishermen in Luocha Lake singing ditties.The men, women and children who are having a picnic under the sky burst into cheerful laughter from time to time. The hostesses are in neat uniforms, the hostesses look elegant, and the faces of the excited children are flushed, like a beautiful picture scroll.

(End of this chapter)