"Speed of 21 knots, standard displacement of more than 30,000 tons, eight 18-inch cannons..." Emperor William knew the navy, not only naval warfare, but also shipbuilding. It was really a pity to hear the indicators put forward by George Yilu, "We should have given up competing with Ming Dynasty for speed long ago. Their industrial technology is already ahead.
Moreover, the basis of steam turbines is power generation equipment. Daming has built and is building more than ten times more power plants than we do. It is simply impossible for us to surpass Daming in terms of steam turbines! "
This is the scale advantage of industrialization!
For the same product, the greater the quantity produced, the lower the production cost will inevitably be, because fixed inputs such as R&D costs will not increase as more units are sold.
When R&D investment is fixed, the more products are sold, the lower the R&D cost of each product stand will be. The funds invested in R&D will generate higher benefits!
Moreover, the greater the market demand for a certain type of product, the easier it is to support more manufacturers. If there are more manufacturers, it will be easier to "roll", roll manufacturing, roll technology, roll research and development, roll cost, in the end, it will inevitably be more, faster, better and cheaper!
The Ming Empire, its vassal states, and Japan, which has recently been integrated into the Ming Dynasty's economic circle, are undoubtedly the largest single market in the world!
Therefore, for any industrial project in which Ming Dynasty occupies a leading position, others can only follow and eat dust. It is almost impossible to catch up...unless Ming Dynasty does not want to play anymore.
The steam turbine is a project that Ming Dynasty is currently taking the lead in, and it is still very exciting. There are more than ten steam turbine companies across the country, and each of them has new products to promote. Among them, there are four or five companies that specialize in marine steam turbines, and each one has its own unique skills!
How does the British Empire compare with others?
There are just over 20 million people in the UK, and with the white skins from the Indian Empire, Canada, Australia and other places, the number of people is 30 million, and the market is less than one-tenth of others... So it is impossible to be in the steam industry Turbine technology equals that of the Ming Dynasty.
If the power of the steam turbine cannot keep up with others, then the battleship has a "heart disease". How can it compete with others in speed?
Therefore, Nelson and George Elliot's ideas are completely correct. If they can't compete with each other, they might as well not compete at all. They can go directly to large-tonnage battleships with slow speed, heavy armor, and heavy firepower, and they still have a chance of winning!
At this time, Marquis Nelson said to Emperor William in an unusually sure tone: "Your Majesty, the standard 25,000-ton and 30,000-ton battleships will be the key to reversing our decline... Among them, the 30,000-ton heavy battleships are more It’s a top priority!”
Emperor William nodded and thought about the order: "The 25,000-ton battleship must start construction immediately, and the 30,000-ton battleship should also complete the design as soon as possible, and then start construction as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty," George Elliot reminded, "Currently our main engine factory cannot guarantee that we can complete a 45,000-horsepower steam turbine within 18 months. I am afraid that the 30,000-ton battleship will not have a main engine available by then. "
Emperor William looked at Marquis Nelson.
"If you can't finish 45,000 horsepower, just make 40,000 horsepower," Marquis Nelson said. "If that doesn't work, use a steam engine. We already have a 30,000-horsepower steam engine... It can be used even if it is installed. At most, the speed is slower. And the speed of the ship is not entirely determined by the power of the main engine. You can also optimize the hull and use a smaller-horsepower main engine to push the large-tonnage ship to a reasonably acceptable speed."
Not to mention, there was such a design in another timeline. The American Colorado-class used a 28,900-horsepower main engine to allow the 32,500-ton standard ship to run at a "high speed" of 21 knots!
Marquis Nelson waved his fist, "In short, we must come up with a 30,000-ton heavy battleship before the Ming Dynasty! And this kind of heavy battleship will be our last chance to win!
I estimate that after 24 months, the Ming Empire must already have 25,000-ton fast battleships, and they must have a large advantage in the number of new battleships. If we want to win, we must build bigger and stronger battleships! "
After hearing this, Emperor William couldn't help but frown and said: "Twenty-four months...before we have 30,000-ton battleships, what should we do to defend the British Empire and the Indian Empire? "
This question is more difficult!
Because according to the situation previously known by the British government, the relatively "weak" time window for the Ming Dynasty's navy would be closed around the end of 1831. After this, the Ming Navy will have a large number of cutting-edge battleships!
And now it is already the beginning of 1831... Moreover, the Ming Empire's navy was also very strong during its "weak" period. Once their "weak" period is over, won't Great Britain be doomed?
Just when Nelson and George Elliot fell into silence, Charles Elliot lost no time in speaking: "Your Majesty, the Emperor has just received a telegram from Dammasi Fortress. Viscount Beresford said that 100,000 Indian Imperial Army troops will Under his leadership, we will fight to the last man standing!
The Viscount also said that they will buy our glorious British Empire at least 12 months of precious time! "
"Oh, really?" Emperor William was doubtful, reached for the telegraph newspaper, and read it himself.
After looking at it for a while, he finally showed a relieved expression. He raised his head, smiled and said to Marquis Nelson: "Marquis, it seems that we have won 12 months... because Viscount Beresford has entered the state, and he is comprehensively reorganizing the army. He has also organized a white supervising team to Every Indian who escapes from the Johor defense lines will be shot."
"This is indeed good news!" Marquis Nelson said with a smile, "This is how we should treat those Indians who are greedy for life and afraid of death!"
"But we still have 12 months to go." George Elliot reminded in a low voice.
"Marquis, what can you do?" Emperor William asked Nelson.
"There is a way." Marquis Nelson thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, we must open a second battlefield to distract the Ming army's attention and their powerful troops!"
"The second battlefield is..."
"Australia and New Zealand!" Marquis Nelson said, "As far as I know, that rich and open continent that the Ming Empire has always coveted!
As early as the era of King Zhuge Wuzhong, they had sent an expedition team to Australia... but this huge expedition team was missing forever due to unknown reasons.
Because of this loss, the Ming Empire gave up its attempt to invade Australia. This gave up for more than 100 years! "
Exploring the sea always involves risks and losses, sometimes quite a lot.
And this was not the only expedition team that was lost in the expedition hosted by King Zhuge Wuzhong that year...
Marquis Nelson said in a heavy tone: "But today, they have a battleship that is not afraid of wind and waves!
So they will definitely pounce on that continent...and we should also send a fleet to Australia, a break-up fleet! "
"Send a break-up fleet?" Emperor Wilhelm asked. "Do we now have warships capable of taking on that kind of responsibility?"
"There will be one soon!" George Elliot took the question, "Your Majesty the Emperor, we will soon have six 12,000-ton Cressy-class armored cruisers... According to the original design, they will have 21 knots. Rated maximum speed. With forced ventilation turned on, the speed is expected to exceed 23 knots.
Since the hulls of this class of armored cruisers are still under construction, we can modify the design and equip them with more powerful power systems.
In this way, in the next 12 months, we will get a powerful enough armored cruiser. "
"Okay, that's good." Emperor William let out a long breath, and within 12 months, he was supported by the indifferent Asan. In 12 months, new armored cruisers will go to Australia to fight guerrillas. It seems that the British Empire will not be over yet.
