Zhu Jingyuan judged that he should have understood Emperor Shizu's instructions, and roughly understood the old emperor's mentality and what kind of misunderstanding he had entered.
However, Zhu Jingyuan would not object to the emperor building an aircraft carrier, because he could indeed start trying to build an aircraft carrier.
The first flight experiment in history was in December 1903, and the first military aircraft entered service in 1909.
The earliest aircraft carrier concept in history appeared in a book published in 1909. The first warship deck take-off experiment was in November 1910.
The world's first dreadnought ship was launched on December 3, 1906.
In other words, the attempt to build a dreadnought with all main guns and the attempt to carry aircraft on a warship actually happened in the same era.
Even the four years of slow carrier-based aircraft experiments were also caused by additional objective reasons.
Because the Wright brothers were not professional designers, just two bicycle mechanics who were interested in flying machines.
The first flight test was actually very reluctant. An aircraft that could truly fly stably would not be built until after 1905.
News of the early successful aircraft experiments was once regarded as fake news by the U.S. military.
More and more reporters took actual flight photos, and after they were published in newspapers and periodicals, public opinion slowly fermented.
Only then did the military, under the direction of the president, begin direct contact with the Wright brothers.
After the military confirmed the authenticity of the flight, discussions and attempts to use it for military purposes began.
It is normal for this whole process to waste several years, but once the aircraft is actually used by the military, the idea of installing it on a ship will appear very quickly.
Therefore, it was not that when the dreadnought was launched, the navy at that time did not think of letting aircraft onto warships, but that it did not know or believed that aircraft existed.
Now, Zhu Jingyuan himself and the craftsmen who helped make the aircraft were all public officials of the Ming Dynasty.
The aircraft experiment was repeated directly before the eyes of a large number of craftsmen, as well as the Emperor and the Minister of Works.
Therefore, the research on the military use of aircraft will begin immediately. Zhu Jingyuan, who knows a lot of mature experience, can push this process forward quickly.
At the same time, the modification and construction of warships also takes several months to more than a year, which is just enough time for military aircraft to basically mature.
In other words, on the Ming side of this world, dreadnoughts can be designed at the same time as aircraft carriers.
Of course, the main force is still dominated by dreadnoughts, and this state may last ten to twenty years.
Zhu Jingyuan looked at the excited old emperor, considered his words and responded:
"Sun Chen believes that we can start trying to design and build warships equipped with flying machines, but it is only an attempt.
"As for artillery battleships with fully equipped main guns, they should be designed immediately and built as soon as possible. They should be given a higher priority."
Upon hearing this answer, the other three people at the scene looked at Zhu Jingyuan.
The Minister of Industry and Zhu Jianyan did not quite understand, or even fully understood, what was going on with the warships equipped with aircraft.
The old emperor understood in his heart, but he did not directly veto it, but asked habitually:
"Why do you want to arrange it like this?"
Zhu Jingyuan considered the possible message from Emperor Shizu, analyzed the old emperor's current inner state, and explained in the simplest way possible:
"The reason is also very simple. The performance of the newly born aircraft is really very limited. It may be used for reconnaissance, but it is difficult to damage any enemy.
"The fully equipped main gun warship is an overall sublimation of the existing mature warships, and its deterrence and strike capabilities will be greatly improved.
"To use a human metaphor, a warship equipped with aircraft is still a gestating baby, while a warship equipped with a main gun is officially a young man.
“Warships carrying aircraft cannot become the main combat force until the aircraft can carry hundreds of kilograms of bombs and fly hundreds of kilometers back and forth.
"In the next twenty to thirty years, we still need enough large artillery warships to guard our Ming Dynasty's tens of thousands of miles of maritime territory."
After listening to these explanations, Zou Bingtai and Zhu Jianyan subconsciously imagined the role of a plane carrying hundreds of kilograms of bombs and traveling hundreds of kilometers back and forth.
What kind of fighting method is that.
The old emperor was silent for several seconds, then suddenly glanced at Zhu Jianyan, and finally turned to Zhu Jingyuan, muttering something meaningless:
"That is to say, this kind of battleship will not be truly useful until your grandson's time?"
Zhu Jingyuan didn't think too much and nodded directly and said:
"Absolutely. The engines of aircraft need to be constantly updated, and the boilers and turbine systems of battleships are also constantly upgraded and innovated.
“The same process that steam engines and trains went through from their emergence to maturity, internal combustion engines, airplanes, and new warships also have to go through it.”
The old emperor sighed softly and said with a little melancholy:
"Then my grandson can make it go as fast as possible? Grandpa probably won't live until that time..."
Zhu Jingyuan immediately felt that the old emperor was really a little discouraged now.
The old emperor went through a complete crown prince assessment and finally won the favor of the previous emperor. His ability and judgment are beyond doubt.
His mind is still very clear now, and he quickly realized that what Zhu Jingyuan said was true.
I have been looking forward to something that I have been looking forward to for thirty years, and now I finally see the light, so I am all excited.
In the end, he found that he still had to wait twenty or thirty years, and he was already sixty-five years old, so he didn't have that much time left.
After realizing this, Zhu Jingyuan felt a little uncomfortable, and he panicked and said to comfort:
“I will definitely try my best to speed up, and I hope they can be realized as soon as possible.
“Also, it may take twenty or thirty years for them to become the main force, but it does not take that many years to form a mature combat method.
“If everything goes well, in ten years at the most and five or six years at the fastest, their combat methods will be revealed intuitively.
"Moreover, we can directly build a warship of this type in the past two years. The key to realizing its role is the performance of the aircraft it carries.
“If engine technology can develop by leaps and bounds, the speed at which it will become the main force will accelerate.
"So grandpa, please don't be discouraged. You must relax your mind and work hard to live a long life. Watch them show their power on the battlefield."
The old emperor looked at Zhu Jingyuan's face, was silent for several seconds, and suddenly nodded vigorously:
"Okay, okay, okay, I will leave all future naval warship development plans to you, Jingyuan.
"As long as grandpa is still alive, he will fully support you, just go ahead and do it."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded vigorously as a matter of course:
"Thank you grandpa for your support. I will do my best to promote research and development. I will be in the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in the future. Mr. Zou will not drive me away..."
When the old emperor heard this, he suddenly laughed inexplicably:
"If the Ministry of Industry wants to drive you away, go and live in the palace opposite. I'll have someone hold the door open for you."
Zou Shangshu also laughed:
"Then I really have to find a way to drive His Highness out..."
Zhu Jianyan was also happy, but didn't say anything.
Although the distance between my home and the Ministry of Industry may be closer than the Qianqing Palace.
But why should I say it at this time to ruin the scenery?
Although the two old men were joking, letting the theoretically adult grandson live in the palace was not an ordinary sentence from the emperor.
Maybe I don't have no chance at all.
