The process of evolving from a sailing wooden battleship to a pure steel battleship does not happen overnight. Any country with a heavy military power will be very cautious. Only people like Xiao Letian who draw on pure white paper dare to build an ironclad ship as soon as they get started. navy. Want to read a book
War is not a child's play, and arms race is a nightmare for any country. Even as powerful as the United Kingdom, it is cautious about adjusting its naval strategy and dare not act rashly.
The money needed is too much. If all the powerful British Royal Navy were replaced by ironclads, how much would it cost? How powerful are the domestic opposition forces we have to face? These are issues that politicians must consider.
Wooden sailing battleships can theoretically be used for two to three hundred years if properly maintained. For example, the USS Constitution has been in service since the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. It is still an honorary battleship of the US Navy in service until the 21st century, with a count of 400 years. For many years, this battleship can still sail on the sea.
Steel battleships are not so lucky. No matter how meticulous your paint maintenance work is, the decay process of steel is irreversible, so it is a miracle that a steel battleship can have a lifespan of a hundred years.
The price-performance ratio is too poor. Politicians are essentially businessmen, and any decision they make must consider cost and output. It's like replacing preloaded Mini bullets with fixed-loading bullets, and replacing front-loading guns with breech-loading rifles. However, European countries have not yet completed the overall elimination and installation. Want to read a book Want a book
what is the reason? Are they all blind and unable to see the bravery of the Prussian soldiers in the Austro-Prussian War? Are they turning a blind eye to the excellent performance of the Mauser rifle? The answer is of course no. The core consideration of politicians is money.
How much does it cost to carry out a large-scale reloading of rifles across Europe? Running a country is the same as running a family. Can it be done without careful calculation? Will a ten-year change put the same pressure on the national finances as a one-year change? In addition, will there be resistance from those high-ranking officials and dignitaries who benefit from old-fashioned equipment? These are issues that politicians must consider.
Why is war the driving force behind human technological progress? This sentence is really true. Only when the war starts, and only when the enemy's bayonet reaches your heart, can people let go of their selfishness and pettyness, and drain the country's power and climb the technology tree in order to survive. Bar.
In peacetime, do you dare to raise troops and upgrade military industry? Grandma! If all the money is gone, will the people’s tables be missing a piece of bread? Will the capitalists hold one less banquet? The country's financial resources are limited, and if the military industry takes away the lion's share, the people's quality of life will inevitably drop a lot.
People are selfish and live a good life. As soon as you, a politician, come to power, you want us to eat less two pieces of bread and one sausage? If I don't fight you to the death, it won't be over. I will scold you to death. Book
But during the war, the people's complaints were completely suppressed. In order to survive and not be bullied by the enemy, let alone eat less bread and sausages, even if he drank bean soup every day, he had to donate his last copper plate to nation.
Take a look, why is war the driving force behind scientific and technological progress? Because war brings fear, fear can greatly gather national power, and national power can promote the progress and popularization of science and technology.
Countries in Europe are like this now. They are slowly replacing their army's rifles. Old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifles are being dumped ship after ship to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. Then the accounting personnel in various ministries are carefully counting every copper plate, and then one by one Regiment, division and corps slowly changed their uniforms.
Because the monarchs of all European countries, with the exception of Prussia, believed that there would be no more major wars. Even the conflict between France and Prussia was considered by European countries to be a farce with big thunder and small rain.
Are the Prussians crazy? We just finished the Austro-Prussian War, and it’s only been a few years, and we want to start a full-scale national war with France? Please, stop joking. We believe there are a few minor conflicts on the border, but a national war? Haha, let me laugh for a while
It is this absolute trust in peace that has caused the current lax war preparations in the European continent. Only one Prussia is working hard. This is also an important decisive factor in Prussia's miracles in history.
Even if you change to a rifle, you will encounter a lot of resistance, but what about changing to an ironclad? How much does it cost? How much resistance will it encounter? Politicians must consider these issues, and this is the huge difference between politicians and military strategists.
Molière was laughing wildly. Yes, he was laughing wildly. He was not crazy, but had an epiphany like an old monk coming out of samadhi. Before he gave up command of the battleship, all the batons on the battlefield were handed over to Major General Bruce, while he took the Another weapon came out, which was the camera and writing pad.
Two adjutants, one on the ship and one on the stern, were operating two cameras to record the appearance of the Zhiyuan from different angles, while Molière personally climbed onto the tall mainmast and huddled with the lookouts. Start writing with the pencil in your hand.
Photography technology in this era was not yet very mature, and still life shots were a bit blurry, let alone moving war scenes. Therefore, photos were always an auxiliary, and the most reliable thing was the pencils in the hands of these painters.
Amidst the roar of the cannon, Molière's pencil was writing on the white paper, and he kept mumbling about underestimation. The watchman next to him was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that the commander actually had this ability. .
"The mysterious Chinese iron-clad ship has a double-mounted main gun and a single-gun stern caliber. The visual caliber is between 18o mm and 2oo mm. The guns are arranged on the central axis, which can easily cover a 36o-degree shooting angle."
"As long as the battleship is positioned properly, the three large-caliber main guns can form a concentrated fire in any direction. The explosions of each salvo are earth-shattering. It is conceivable that when the three coastal defense roadbed artillery that should be placed on the harbor turret are moved What a spectacular sight it is to fire a volley from an armored battleship."
"Chinese iron-clad battleships are between 75 and 80 meters in length and 12 to 30 meters in width. They are long and can sail quickly without any sails. The two masts on the battleship are just to provide an observation platform for lookouts. There is a thick chimney in the center of the battleship."
Molière murmured to himself as he painted. He used his professional knowledge to analyze all the data of the Zhiyuan. He had made up his mind. The Glory and the Piety could be sacrificed, but he and these data must not be sacrificed. They must be Escape before the battle is over.
"As long as this information can reach Europe, what if I lose four battleships? I don't care, I don't care about anything. Battleships can be sacrificed, and these thousands of soldiers can be sacrificed, but my life and this information cannot be sacrificed. Absolutely not. !”
"Every set of data from this naval battle must be sent to Europe, and these slaps must be slapped on the dignity of all Europeans. Only in this way! Only in this way can those politicians make up their minds to upgrade their weapons."
"If not, I'm afraid the whole of Europe will become a sheep under the whip of Prussia and China. I, Molière, must expose the evil plan of Xiao Letian!"
