It was mid-August in the ninth year of Taiping in the Ming Dynasty.
At the Ming Dynasty Home Fleet dock in Tianjin Wei, it seems that a "ship expo" is being held these days... because the dockside and nearby berths are filled with all kinds of old warships and civilian ships!
Oh, not all of them are old-fashioned, there are also some that look very new, such as two majestic hero ships, four "Four Heavenly King Ships" with small guns and big guns, and a brand new Nandao-class passenger ship, as well as several numbers A thousand-ton bulk carrier, a maintenance ship, two trawlers, and two minelayers also looked brand new.
Zhuge Weidao's flag was fluttering on the mast of a new but not old "Prince" class battleship.
The so-called "Prince" class is actually not a first-class warship, but a collective name for a series of warships.
These warships, known as the "Prince" class, have a standard displacement of between 10,000 tons and 12,000 tons. Their main engines use "coal furnaces" and triple-expansion steam engines, with power ranging from 6,500 to 8,000 horsepower. The speed is generally between 12 and 15 knots. As for these "Prince"-level armaments, the main guns generally have three configurations, twin 305mm caliber rack-mounted guns, twin 280mm rack-mounted guns, and twin 240mm barreled guns, all with a turret at the front and rear.
The 305mm guns, 280mm guns, and 240mm guns have all formed a series, developing from front-loaded, rear-loaded, frame-retracted, tube-retracted, ship-based, and land-based.
In addition, in addition to these three series of heavy artillery, the Ming Navy also developed four series of heavy artillery: 210 mm, 350 mm, 380 mm, and 410 mm, and they also have two branches: ship-based and land-based. Even if it is a 410 mm caliber giant gun, there are special shallow water heavy gun ships for its trial use.
It can be said that the development of the Ming Dynasty's navy was very organized and developed step by step according to the plan.
The Persian Gulf Fleet led by Zhuge Weidao this time is performing an "existence mission"...that is, showing off in the Persian Gulf and acting as a floating fort. Therefore, a total of 8 "Prince" class ones that have been relegated to the second line were stuffed.
Zhuge Weidao's flagship is the "Tang Wang", the highest grade among all the princes. This is a "new prince" with a standard displacement of 12,000 tons and a ship age of less than 6 years. He was so impressive when he first entered the water, and he even served as the flagship of the Ming Dynasty Navy!
It's a pity that shipbuilding technology has advanced rapidly these days. Not to mention the "Tang Wang" that was put into service nearly 6 years ago, even the Hongwu Emperor is no longer popular...
In addition to the 8 "Prince" ships, the Persian Gulf Fleet also has 8 old-fashioned armored cruisers... They are said to be "old-fashioned", but in fact they are not very old. They are all "old ships" that are less than 10 years old. Although the ships all look brand new and are not "old" at all, the "Jiaxun" with a standard displacement of only about 3,000 tons cannot accept its age!
The main engine horsepower of these eight "A patrols" is about 5,000 horsepower, and the maximum speed is only 15 knots and 16 knots, which cannot be compared with the Haohan class. The armor of the warship is not very good, and it cannot withstand the artillery bombardment of the new "A patrol" like the Haohan class. However, the 210mm cannons equipped with these eight "A patrols" are still useful.
After 8 battle lines and 8 armor patrols, there are of course 8 fast dome armor protected cruisers. They are all 2,300-2,500 ton ships. They are said to be fast. The fastest speed is only 18 knots or 19 knots. Not as fast as the Hero-class battleship... As for the firepower, it is mainly 155mm cannon, which is pretty usable. If they are allowed to perform the task of breaking diplomatic relations, unless they encounter Britain's cutting-edge warships, they will definitely be able to complete the task and escape unscathed.
The above 24 warships, plus the 4 King ships acquired from Japan, and 2 fast camouflage attack ships, total 30 ships. In fact, they are all relatively new ships. In addition to them, the Persian Gulf Fleet also has 8 sailing ironclads with a standard displacement of 8,000-10,000 tons! Although they can still hang sails, these eight motor-sail boats are actually not very good, and their age is only between 15 and 20 years. They are all well maintained, and the cannons have also been updated, all replaced by 155mm rapid-fire cannons.
In addition, the space on these eight ships is not small, and some of them have been converted into cabins for the Marine Corps. In addition to the original crew, each ship can also be equipped with an additional battalion of Marines, which is basically an amphibious landing ship.
In other words, this time, Zhuge Weidao's fleet will have 8 Marine battalions, a full 4,800 Marines! The person in charge of commanding them was a brother of Zhuge Weidao named Zhuge Weizhi. He is a colonel in his thirties, with a dark face and a short stature. He does not look like a descendant of the Zhuge family, but more like a visitor from the Pang Tong family.
The Army also sent out people this time. It sent out an infantry brigade with almost 5,000 people, each riding on 4 troop transport ships. The person commanding this infantry brigade is Major General Mu Junen, who went to Peshawar with Zhuge Weidao to broaden his horizons... He is a descendant of the Prince of Guizhou, and he is about the same age as Guan Tianpei. He previously served as an Army Staff Officer. He worked as the training director for a while. Now that he has come down to lead the troops in person, he is obviously a man with a bright future.
The relationship between Mu Junen and Zheng Guoxian seemed to be good. Colonel Zheng, who had made great achievements in Hawaii, came to see him off in person as a representative of the Army Department. At this time, he also boarded Zhuge Weidao's flagship Tang Wang and was talking to Mu Junen, Zhuge Weidao, the deputy admiral of the Persian Gulf Fleet Li Chenghui, the fleet chief of staff Chen Jian, the fleet chief staff officer Guo Xiaobao and the others in the fleet conference room. They were having a meeting with several officers from the Army's First Expeditionary Brigade!
...
Zhuge Weidao is wearing a white navy uniform today, which is clean and spotless. He is sitting at the head of a long conference table, looking at the navy in white and the navy in green uniforms sitting on both sides. The army...the atmosphere is still very good.
"According to the combat order No. 102 issued by the Ministry of the Navy and the Naval Staff, this fleet will carry out a top-secret overseas mission this time!" The person who was speaking was Chief Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Guo Xiaobao. He was holding an open folder in his hand. Inside the folder are the combat orders jointly issued by the Navy Department and the Naval Staff Department!
This is a battle, not an exercise!
The Ming court was obviously ready for a full-scale war with Britain!
Of course, being prepared does not mean that a fight will begin immediately, but since the fleet is going to cross the Strait of Malacca, it must be ready to fire at any time.
Guo Xiaobao paused and then said: "There are six key tasks for Operation No. 102. The first is that the fleet will pass through the Strait of Malacca in a state of special combat readiness... For this reason, the fleet must be ready to open fire first! The second is to capture control of the Persian Gulf, and establish a mine blockade in the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf to retain access; third, carry out landing operations in the Persian Gulf to seize pirate beaches, Ras Hayimah, Qeshm Road and other strategies The fourth is to use the Persian Gulf as a stronghold to carry out diplomatic-breaking training missions that can be transferred to actual combat at any time; the fifth is to take all means to prevent other countries' fleets from entering the Persian Gulf; the sixth is to select a location in the Persian Gulf to build a fleet home port after taking control of the Persian Gulf. and land bases, forts and other facilities.”
After Guo Xiaobao read out the order jointly issued by the Navy Department and the Naval Staff Department, Zhuge Weidao spoke seriously: "Gentlemen, given the current international situation, the possibility that we will launch the first shot of the world war cannot be ruled out. All of you. Everyone on the fleet must be mentally prepared for war at any time!
Because our fleet is likely to use the Persian Gulf as a stronghold to carry out presence missions and break-up missions, and will be unable to contact the homeland in the rear for a long time. Therefore, in this operation, officers above the school level will be allowed to carry one female passenger... In addition, the Navy Department has allocated a relatively comfortable South Island-class passenger ship to us for the family's use. If necessary, an application should be made within 24 hours, and personnel must board the ship within 72 hours.
Finally, I ordered that starting from August 18th, the entire fleet will be ready for first-level combat... around the 20th, the entire fleet will set sail! "
