The next morning, Yang Fan was woken up by a knock on the door.
He got up from the bed and covered the ladies with quilts. Put on clothes and walked out.
Xu Xiu said softly: "Sir, Su Yanjiao has arrived. We will anchor here and berth for half an hour. Do you want to go to the deck to take a look?"
Yang Fan nodded and walked onto the deck.
Although it was already late autumn at this time, the sea was already cold. However, Suyan Reef is located one hundred and fifty nautical miles east of Chongming Island. The latitude is further south than Jeju Island, and it is still very warm here.
In the distance, six cruisers patrolled the perimeter and were on alert. The Royal Clippers anchored off Sue Rock.
Yang Fan looked carefully and saw that there was a large reef about four meters underwater. This rock remains hidden from the water at low tide.
But this reef is very important and is located at the center of the waters between China, Japan and South Korea.
Suyan Reef is oval in shape as a whole, with a length of about 1,800 meters from north to south, a width of about 1,400 meters from east to west, and an area of about 2 square kilometers. The average water depth in the surrounding waters of the reef is 50 meters, and the total height of the reef is 45 meters. The south and east sides of the main hill are steep, while the north and west sides are relatively gently sloping.
"We'll arrange for people to build a lighthouse and a small dock here later. Send people to guard it. This is where the shipping route passes. And it's located in the middle of the southern exit of the Yellow Sea, which has certain strategic value." Yang Fan said to those waiting here. Captain Lin Yuan said.
Lin Yuan quickly took out his notebook and recorded it.
After seeing this reef, the fleet turned around and sailed toward Jeju Island in the northeast.
At noon, the fleet had entered the western pier of Wuling Base on Jeju Island. The Jeju Island base fired salutes from the east and west forts.
Cao Wei, commander of the Jeju Island base, Ming Yan, general manager of the shipyard, and captains of each fleet were all at the dock to greet them.
Chen Zuwang was transferred to the Vladivostok base and served as commander of the Sea of Japan Fleet.
The Japanese Sea Fleet currently only has early-built clippers of less than 1,000 tons and some fuchuans. They are mainly responsible for maritime transportation and protecting the Vladivostok colony.
In order to receive Yang Fan and his party, the Wuling base specially hardened a ground with cement and installed wooden villas on it. This kind of villa is an American and Canadian style pure wood assembled villa introduced by Yang Fan from modern times.
There is no shortage of wood in this era, as long as there are mature design drawings. It is very convenient to make wooden components.
This kind of wooden house can be built and moved into in a day or two as long as the wooden components are prepared in advance.
Donkey Dan and Mo Zuo each brought a cavalry battalion and set up tents around them.
At present, the Navy has not yet established a unified command organization. In fact, every ship is under the direct command of Yang Fan. The navy's current main warships are divided into two types. One is an 800-ton offshore patrol ship. Responsible for offshore patrols, anti-smuggling, and suppression of pirates, etc. In fact, he is doing the work of the Coast Guard.
The other is a 1,500-ton cruiser. This type of warship has been finalized and is being built in large quantities. This type of ship is a clipper ship with three main masts and one fore mast. Mixed sail rig. That is to say, there are both horizontal sails and longitudinal sails. .net
In terms of power, it is equipped with two triple-expansion steam engines. Total 850 horsepower. It can burn coal, kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil and other fuels. In order to save fresh water, the steam engine is also designed with a condenser. Such a tank can be filled with fresh water for five thousand nautical miles.
Seawater cannot be used by steam engines. Too many salts and calcium and magnesium ions in it will form scale and block water pipes.
The navy now has a certain scale, and Yang Fan plans to send cruisers to gradually eliminate the Western colonial forces in Southeast Asia.
During this process, captains with outstanding performance will be promoted to detachment captains. A fleet generally consists of three cruisers, three patrol ships, a supply ship, and a troop transport ship.
So far, Yang Fan has 12 Beitang-class cruisers. Because these ships were developed and designed at Beitangkou Shipyard, they were named Beitang class.
At two o'clock in the afternoon that day, the ship review officially began.
The Royal Clipper is anchored in the anchorage. A row of seats was arranged on the side of the boat. Yang Fan sat in the middle, and the ladies
Sit on either side. Other navy and army officials stationed on Jeju Island stood behind.
With the sound of a cannon. The ship review officially begins.
Twelve cruisers, eleven offshore patrol ships, and seven early-built clippers passed the Royal Clipper in sequence. Accept Yang Fan's review.
The sides of the warship passing by were filled with officers and soldiers in uniform. They saluted Yang Fan. Yang Fan stood up and saluted the warship passing ahead.
Huangshan, Taishan, Qinling, Wuyishan, Nanling... cruisers passed one after another.
These cruisers are clipper ships equipped with a gun deck and low freeboard. In order to reduce wind resistance, this kind of ship is relatively low, so it can only have one gun deck.
There are eighteen gun windows on each side of the gun deck, equipped with a total of thirty-six 203 muzzleloader main guns.
When maroon gunpowder is used as the propellant, the cannonball uses a 50-pound solid iron ball shell. The range is two thousand meters.
However, thanks to the development of technology, it is now possible to use pointed cylindrical projectiles. This kind of shell is heavier, has more charges, and is a blooming shell. There are also incendiary bombs with added white phosphorus, white sugar, aluminum powder, and magnesium powder.
Use pointed cylindrical projectiles with warheads weighing forty kilograms. Load fertilizer and explosives. There are bomb fuses and time fuses. The range can reach four thousand meters.
According to intelligence, the current navies of European countries in Southeast Asia are not strong. Their armies at various colonial ports generally only numbered one to two thousand, or even only a few hundred. The navy is mainly armed merchant ships, with few regular main warships.
Yang Fan looked at the powerful battleship in front of him. It already has the strength to drive European countries out of Southeast Asia. If the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait of Batavia were blocked. The colonists can basically be excluded from Southeast Asia. As for the Spanish galleons from Argentina and Peru. All it takes is a fleet stationed in Batavia to block it.
Xiao Niangpi, Lin Yueru and others were excited as they watched the huge battleships sailing in front of them. They didn't expect that in just over two years, the master had quietly developed such a large fleet.
Lin Yueru was thinking about the master's purpose in building such a fleet.
At present, after Longqing failed to open the sea, trade on the southeast coast basically relies on smuggling. Yuegang in Fujian is the largest smuggling port. Silk from Jiangnan, porcelain from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, and tea from the southeast were all shipped from here.
Could it be that the master is interested in the smuggling business.
With such a maritime force, the Yang family can indeed challenge the water overlords on the southeast coast. At present, the largest force in Fujian, Nicholas I, has more than 30,000 people and more than 1,000 ships. However, although the number of his ships was large, it was still not enough in front of the Yang family's navy.
