Although Haojing's four-year Northern Expedition failed to recapture any key areas in Liaodong, the new emperor was still satisfied with the nearly 88,000 dead and low casualties on his side.
Except for those who were seriously injured and needed to go to the capital for treatment, most of the more than 400,000 Japanese soldiers returned directly from the same route and did not travel to the capital.
Only a small number of daimyo, generals, and samurai were lucky enough to have the money to eat, drink, and have fun in the capital, and then return to their hometowns with a bunch of novel goods.
It is not impossible for Ashikaru to buy similar products. Jeju Island has become a huge transfer station and stores have also been opened. As long as you have money in your pocket, you can buy your favorite products there.
Although it is slightly more expensive than buying it in the capital, it saves the time of traveling back and forth. Moreover, Jeju Island is different from the capital, and the Japanese army can drink, have fun, and roll around on it without any problem.
This is a little benefit to Zheng Zhilong, allowing Zhenhai Gong to make some profit difference and subsidize the cost of mobilizing a large number of merchant ships to transport troops.
People who understand the rules can naturally come to the capital and enjoy a high-quality shopping experience. A certain new emperor is also willing to send people to receive these mid-to-high-end customers.
After landing in Tianjin, a certain new emperor made a special trip to the shipyard to take a close look at the completed cruiser "Zhiyuan".
That's right, call it "Zhiyuan" instead of using the reign names of other Ming emperors.
The main reason is that a certain new emperor is worried that it will become a "submarine" after launching into the water, and he is really unsure about the current ironclad ship construction technology.
Bo Jue and a group of engineers and blacksmiths from the Academy of Sciences have been stationed at the Tianjin Shipyard for the past three years, working hard to build this unprecedented warship.
After three years and three months of construction, the "Zhiyuan" has recently been completed and can be directly launched into the water for sea trials. This is already the fastest construction speed.
The warship has not installed any weapons. The main purpose is to check the specific condition of the hull first to see if water will enter during the sea trial, and then enter the weapons installation and debugging stage.
If the sea trial turns into a "submarine", then the ship's weapons may have to be fed to the fishes. Rather than that, it is better to prepare for a rainy day and save some money.
A certain new emperor came to the Tianjin Shipyard to participate in the launching and sea trial ceremony of the "Zhiyuan", and he had to personally participate in the ribbon-cutting event.
Since it was built in secret, the activities were naturally kept to a very small scale. Apart from the necessary personnel of the Academy of Sciences, only the first and second assistants of the cabinet, Wang Jiayan, the Minister of War, and Li Shiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, knew about the matter.
The only person who cut the ribbon with a certain new emperor at the Tianjin Shipyard was Song Yingxing, the president of the Academy of Sciences. The vice president, Xiong Renlin, still worked at home in the capital.
I hope it doesn’t sink!
This is a certain new emperor's only request for this armored ship!
"Zhiyuan" is the first generation of ironclads. It is not only a milestone, but also has a profound impact on the construction of the next generation of ironclads.
The second-generation successor "Laiyuan" has completed the drawing design stage. If the "Zhiyuan" succeeds in its sea trial and enters the batch construction stage, the construction of the "Laiyuan" can begin.
The upgrade route of a certain new emperor is the 2,300-ton "Zhiyuan", the 2,900-ton "Laiyuan", the 4,200-ton "Yoshino", the 7,300-ton "Dingyuan" and finally It is the 11,000-ton armored cruiser "Bismarck".
This is the first phase of the construction plan, totaling five levels of warships, and is intended to take fifteen to twenty years to complete.
From the current point of view, the first three levels of warships have smaller displacements, lower difficulty, and are relatively easy to build. The last two levels will depend on the shipbuilding capabilities of the Ming Academy of Sciences.
Once the construction of the 10,000-ton "Bismarck" armored cruiser is completed, Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding capabilities will surely improve by leaps and bounds.
Even the smallest armored ship in front of me made Zheng Zhilong, the Duke of Zhenhai in the Ming Dynasty, so hungry.
A certain new emperor did not intend to let him take advantage of it first, for fear that the Zhenhai Duke's ship would sink...
Since the boilers and steam engines were all brand new, the workers had never done similar work on a battleship before.
In addition, the displacement of this ironclad ship was quite high, so it took a full hour to move its bulky body out of the dock.
It took five hours to run around the sea. After repeated testing, the average speed reached nine knots, the maximum speed could reach 10.5 knots, and it could reach more than eight knots under headwind conditions.
In fact, in terms of speed, the "Zhiyuan" is not much different from the Western Galen ship, but the important thing is that it does not need sails, and the hull is driven entirely by propellers.
This means that a large amount of deck space is freed up to install various weapons, especially the launch of the "Harpoon" anti-ship missile, and there is no need to lower the sails, which is very convenient.
The absence of a jib on the bow allows the installation of turrets on the front deck, giving the ironclad the ability to attack forward, which is rare for sail warships that mainly fire from the side.
A certain new emperor was very satisfied with the success of the sea trial. After the sea trial, he took Zheng Zhilong on board the battleship to check the specific situation.
After discovering that there was indeed no water, he was very happy and decided to hold a celebration banquet to thank all the staff involved in the construction, including many master blacksmiths.
Each table has a chicken, a duck, a large pot of braised pork, and countless seafood dishes, but there are only a few vegetarian dishes.
This is mainly because the workers are working very hard. Since the new emperor is hosting a banquet, these men who do hard work must be replenished, and they must not be stingy.
There was enough wine, and the staple food was braised noodles, but no dumplings, which meant everything went smoothly. A certain new emperor even specially issued an edict that everyone must eat until they are full.
There are ten people sitting at a table, and there are sixteen meat dishes and six vegetarian dishes, and the dishes are very large, and they are all served on large iron plates, which can definitely feed the workers.
Rather than having a drink and conviviality with the new emperor who had returned from a great victory to celebrate the successful trial of the armored ship, the people who came to dine were naturally very honored and extremely happy.
After receiving the edict, everyone no longer had any scruples and feasted one after another, but they had to try their best to take advantage of the new emperor...
A certain new emperor's table was filled with important officials from the Academy of Sciences and local Tianjin officials, including Tianjin's chief military officer Ma Xu.
The drinks on the table were brought by a certain new emperor when he went on an expedition, and the dishes were prepared by the royal chefs. The quality was naturally incomparable with other tables.
The new emperor's requirements for this meal and drink are very simple. He can talk about the beautiful women. The only thing is that no one is allowed to arbitrarily enter an armored ship, let alone mention it to other people, including relatives, friends, and fellow villagers.
Once the leaker is verified, he will be sent to the barren Far North, and he will never come back in his lifetime. King Chong Zhu Youzhen is short of manpower to open up wasteland!
After the sea trials are completed, the next step is to start mass construction.
Prior to this, four shipyards have been completed, and another four will be completed within the year.
In order to build these eight docks, a certain new emperor spent a lot of money, which was comparable to building a city.
The dock is not a slipway, but has a roof. The construction process inside is completely invisible to the outside world.
Due to technology monopoly, a certain new emperor predicts that ironclad ships of the same class as the "Zhiyuan" will become a hot product.
This means that the construction cycle of this class of warships will last for a long time, and it is estimated that it will not be shorter than twenty or thirty years.
Therefore, it is necessary to build a dock in advance, and it can also undertake the task of returning to the factory for repairs later.
Currently, there is only one place in the entire Ming Dynasty, and even in other countries around the world, that can build and repair ironclad ships, and the number of shipyards must not be too small.
Because Zheng Zhilong had paid a total of eight million taels of silver to a certain new emperor twice before as an advance payment for the ironclad ship.
A certain new emperor was about to reciprocate the favor, promising that four of the eight battleships of the same class built in the first batch would be owned by Zhenhai Gong.
The construction cost of the "Zhiyuan" was also revealed at this time. The hull part cost more than 860,000 taels of silver.
Including weapons and ammunition, including twelve bronze cannons and sixteen anti-ship missiles, the total cost will soar to 950,000 taels of silver.
After mass construction, the cost will be reduced, but the unit price sold to Zheng Zhilong will make up for the previous investment, and the price is not high, only one million taels of silver.
It seems like a lot, but when Zheng Zhilong built a plywood boat imitating the Galen warship in his hometown in Fujian, it cost more than 100,000 taels of silver.
The price of an ironclad ship is nine times that of a wooden battleship. In comparison, it is actually not high.
What's more, the ironclad ship still has room for upgrade. The rear deck can carry airships or aircraft in the future, and be equipped with a more powerful power system.
Sail warships are incomparable. Their appearance is determined when they are launched into the water. At most, they can be equipped with some weapons. They can also be covered with a layer of iron before launching anti-ship missiles.
The most important thing is that the replacement of sailing battleships by ironclad ships is an inevitable trend in history.
Zheng Zhilong used to only make assumptions based on models, but after seeing the real thing, he became convinced of it.
Wooden battleships are powerful, how can they defeat steel battleships?
Such a large steel battleship can actually float on the sea. No one will believe it unless they see it with their own eyes.
This is the magic of a certain new emperor. If others don't understand the secret, they won't be able to build similar warships.
The eight million taels of silver that Zheng Zhilong has paid can purchase eight ironclad ships, which are expected to be delivered to this large customer within seven years.
The specific names of these eight warships were Shenzi. A certain new emperor awarded the naming rights to Zheng Zhilong. As long as they did not violate the taboos of the royal family and the court, they could be named whatever they wanted.
A certain new emperor built eight ships for the Ming Dynasty Navy. Currently, the Tianjin Navy and the Denglai Navy can each get four ships.
For the time being, the pressure of coastal defense has been borne by Zhenhai Gong. The two naval forces of the imperial court are not under much pressure and can mainly train the crews.
Tianjin Navy Commander-in-Chief Su Guansheng and Denglai Navy Commander-in-Chief Mao Yuanyi are naturally very satisfied with this distribution plan.
The iron-armored ship was an object that the two of them had not even dared to think about before. Even though Su Guan had led his troops to be stationed in Tianjin all his life, he did not know about the iron-armored ship.
Since the establishment of this giant shipyard, outsiders have been unable to inquire about the situation inside due to the factory guards patrolling here around the clock.
Since the wages of working here are extremely high, and the cost of leaking secrets is extremely high, shipbuilders and engineers are naturally tight-lipped.
Now that the "Zhiyuan" is on trial voyage, it is impossible for such a big thing to run wildly on the sea without being discovered by people with ulterior motives.
In order to pay back the money as soon as possible, a certain new emperor just let nature take its course and published the matter in the newspaper and announced it to the public to boost the morale of Jun Min.
After the Marquis of Turenne learned of this, he was the first to come to the door, hoping to know the attitude of the new emperor.
After winning the land war, France has become the most powerful country in Europe. Its land expansion has come to an end, and it can now focus on overseas.
After thinking about this, the Marquis of Turenne felt that it was necessary for the French Navy to purchase ironclad ships. Whether it was used as an experimental ship or participated in military operations, it would benefit from it.
For the French allies who had sent troops to help him, a certain new emperor would not deliberately embarrass them in public or private matters.
Without transferring the construction technology, each ship costs five million taels of silver, with a minimum order of four ships, and half of the total amount of silver needs to be paid in advance as an advance payment. The account period is four years. After the balance is settled at maturity, the ship can be taken over directly.
The price is indeed very high. The cost of one armored ship is equal to fifteen of the top giant warships in Europe, such as the ship of Charlie whose head was beheaded.
The Marquis of Turenne was also embarrassed by the price and conditions, but after all, it gave his country access to the most advanced weapons in the world. He was unwilling to give up easily, so he immediately sent a letter to Paris.
Before the launch of the "Laiyuan", a certain new emperor was in no hurry to sell the "Zhiyuan".
No matter who wants to sell it, it is available all over the world.
Whether you can buy it or not depends on your mood!
Not related to each other, you just want to throw money away, but you don’t have the skills to do so!
However, the new emperor is not saying that his conditions are dead. Before the emperor is killed, the French army and German mercenaries still have room to use.
He will continue to accept these two groups of people according to the market price. The German mercenary prisoners will be converted into one hundred silver coins per person, and ten thousand people can be exchanged for one million taels of silver.
Fifty thousand people could be exchanged for an armored ship. A certain new emperor believed that Mazarin would be tempted.
The Battle of Qianshan showed that the French and German armies were much more capable of fighting than the Ming and Japanese armies.
Even when being besieged by braided heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, it still created a high battle loss ratio.
Spending the same money, a certain new emperor would naturally be willing to hire these two groups of people to fight for him, at least the money would not be wasted.
Four armored ships were bought for 20 million taels of silver. Even if three were given away, the cost could be earned from the remaining one.
Even if Mazarin sends 100,000 troops, a certain new emperor will not lose money. Instead, he can earn the military salary to support these 100,000 troops from the two battleships sold!
A certain new emperor believed that Mazarin would do this in all likelihood, because the Marquis of Turenne would definitely give him a brief summary of the Battle of Thousand Mountains.
When the casualties of the French and German troops were not too great and they received effective medical treatment after the war, Mazarin would choose a less expensive way to obtain the ironclad.
By paying 100,000 people in advance, you can enjoy the benefits of ordering four ironclad ships without spending a penny, and you will receive 10 million taels of silver after four years.
For Mazarin and the French navy, this was the most ideal result that could be achieved.
If a certain new emperor has another 100,000 French and German troops in his hands, he will be very sure to capture Liaoyang and even threaten Shenyang.
This Northern Expedition is just a matter of exploring the road and stepping on the plate. If Mazarin can transport the troops as soon as possible, a certain new emperor can immediately launch the second Northern Expedition.
