The moment the shell hit and penetrated the target ship's external armor, cheers erupted from the watchtower.
Ming Dynasty's navy and army officials and representatives were all in a state of surprise.
Many officials and officers themselves do not know that their naval guns have made great progress.
The reactions of representatives and officials from various countries in Thailand and Spain were completely different.
After all, human beings' joys and sorrows are often not connected. Sometimes the joy of others is just noisy to oneself.
Naval representatives from several countries looked shocked.
Nelson and Collingwood were completely silent.
The two of them had already done a similar test on their way to Western Cape.
Nowadays, with the observation capabilities and gunnery skills of major naval powers, there is no problem using main guns to hit targets ten kilometers away.
As for the hit rate issue, you can use more main guns and stack them with multiple consecutive salvos.
But the problem is that the British Navy's main guns are not powerful enough.
At a distance of ten kilometers, it is impossible to penetrate any battleship, and the most it will leave is a dent, or even a direct ricochet.
If you want to design a warship that can engage at a distance of more than ten kilometers, you must also develop a more powerful main gun.
At this critical point, Daming took the lead again.
The Ming Dynasty had already accumulated experience in commanding a large number of artillery of the same caliber at the same time in shore artillery operations in the Mediterranean.
There is no big problem in transferring these experiences to a battleship.
At present, Ming Dynasty just has not designed the kind of full main gun battleship that it envisions...
No, not necessarily not...
Nelson suddenly realized a problem.
Since the Ming Dynasty realized that main gun engagements ten kilometers away could be achieved, it was only a matter of time before it designed and built an all-main gun battleship.
It might even have started.
In fact, Nelson's guess was correct. The construction of Ming Dynasty's conservative verification-type fully equipped main gun battleship Dreadnought had actually started for more than three months.
It should be launched by the end of this year at the earliest and next spring at the latest.
As for the British side, Nelson is still in the process of conceiving, and there is no detailed design plan yet.
Of course, there is no information about the order from the Navy Department, let alone the issue of starting construction.
From design to construction, all aspects are delayed, and it may take two or three years.
By then, Ming Dynasty's radical high-speed battleship Fearless will also be launched.
In the complex and chaotic atmosphere at the scene, the four shore guns continued to carry out two rounds of loading and fired two more salvos.
After another hit, the test came to an end.
The live-fire test cannot be fired all the time. In theory, it should stop as soon as one hit, and then go on board to observe the details before continuing.
After all, exercises and tests are not actual combat. The purpose is to obtain data on various strikes and damage.
It's not about sinking the target ship as quickly as possible.
Wang Lai took the measurement and recording personnel of the Ship Department and invited representatives and military officers from various countries to take a small boat to the sea to observe the target ship at close range.
Of course, Zhu Jingyuan still couldn't go and could only wait for news on the watchtower.
According to the investigation by the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, the two shells that hit were in the central area above the water line, and basically did not cause water intrusion.
A fire broke out in the hole in the hull, but the craftsmen emptied the target ship's fuel and ammunition before the test, so the scope of the fire was not large and it was impossible to explode.
The surveyors first extinguished the fire inside the ship, then observed the damage from the inside and outside, measured and drew images of the damage, and recorded the damage point and surrounding details.
Naval officials from various countries in Thailand and Spain also followed to observe and verify the condition of the target ships and armor.
The thickness of the armor is easy to confirm, but the quality of the armor is hard to say. It is difficult to get accurate results by just looking at it with your eyes.
Just considering Daming’s status, he shouldn’t make any fraud in a place like this.
So whether they are naval generals, court representatives from various countries, or members of the royal family, they all feel very heavy now.
The Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty, and the development of naval technology has never stopped.
After the application of the new naval gun developed by Daming this time, the technological gap between Taixi and Daming will be widened again.
In the next naval war, if nothing unexpected happens, the existing Thai-Spanish fleet is likely to be completely defeated.
This battle must either be fought quickly or the war must be stopped immediately.
Wang Lai arranged the observation and recording work, and he himself paid attention to the situations of representatives from other countries.
Wang Lai didn't know that he meant to hurt his heart, but he deliberately smiled and asked these representatives:
"Have you found any problems? If you have any objections to the armor, you can ask your battleship to fire some shots."
The generals and representatives of Prussia and several other countries instinctively shook their heads and said no.
After being silent for a few seconds, Nelson nodded seriously and said:
"Okay, we do want to try it. It's not that we don't believe in Daming's reputation. We just think this is a rare testing opportunity. We also want to try this distance strategy..."
Wang Lai nodded noncommittally:
"If you want to test it, then do it. You can't break it down anyway. We'll start after we finish recording the data..."
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Nelson and several admirals were a little aggrieved, but there was no way to refute.
According to past tests, our own naval guns cannot penetrate the 300mm new armor at a distance of more than ten kilometers.
The craftsmen of the Ship Department were busy for more than an hour, collecting important information generated by the bombardment test, and evacuated the target ship at 11 am.
Then use the tugboat to adjust the angle of the target ship so that the side of the hull that the Daming shore gun has attacked faces the two British battleships that have just entered the scene.
If it is a normal test, after one side has been penetrated, the target ship should now be changed and the British ship should be allowed to hit the other side of the hull.
Let both sides of the target ship be shot evenly and the cabins on both sides be filled with water evenly. This can maintain the balance of the ship and slow down the sinking speed.
Now it is to avoid the suspicion of the British and prevent them from suspecting that different armor is installed on both sides of the hull.
So Wang Lai asked the British to continue fighting the same side that Ming Dynasty had fought.
The British couldn't penetrate it anyway.
The British battleship and target ship stopped again at a relative distance of twelve kilometers, and the staff evacuated the scene.
Under Nelson's command, the crew of the British battleship first measured the distance to the target ship, estimated the parameters required for shooting, and then fired a test round.
Observe the position of the water column caused by the shell falling into the water, continue to adjust the shooting parameters, and enter the firing calibration process.
After three more salvos, the impact point of the shells completely covered the target ship, forming a straddle fire.
The next step is to continue bombarding repeatedly, pile up the number of shells, and wait for hits.
This was originally the normal procedure during naval battles.
Daming had prepared the data in advance, so he could fire his cannon directly across the target and hit the target directly in two rounds.
But now the British are continuing multiple rounds of "strokes" at sea, which makes the non-naval Thai and Western representatives present extremely anxious.
In this particularly depressing atmosphere, the British fired three more salvos, and finally one shell hit the target ship.
A rather huge fireball immediately rose from the outside of the target ship.
The scene immediately erupted into cheers, this time from the Taixi representatives.
None of the Ming Dynasty's military representatives had any reaction. The court representatives were a little unhappy, but they didn't show it.
Zhu Jingyuan and the naval officers saw clearly with telescopes.
The shell did not penetrate the target ship, but exploded when it fell outside the armor, so the fireball was so obvious.
If it breaks down, the flames will burst out inside the hull and it will not be so conspicuous.
After a few seconds, the explosion of fire quickly disappeared, and the side of the target ship was revealed again.
The target ship did not suffer any serious damage, but there was a scorched black spot on the unpainted external armor.
The cheers at the scene just now also quickly subsided.
"It really can't be penetrated..."
"This is how to do ah!"
"We can only replace it with a larger caliber main gun."
"You have to use heavier shells and pack more propellant."
Amid the chaotic discussion in a lowered voice, Nelson commanded the battleship to fire three more salvos.
The British battleship scored another hit, but it still failed to penetrate the armor of the target ship, and there was another group of black on the bright armor plate.
On the same side main armor, there were two large holes made by Ming Dynasty artillery shells, and two groups of black ash shot by the British.
This image looks a little cynical.
Representatives from various countries in Thailand and Spain looked silent.
Nelson shook his head helplessly, commanded the battleship to leave the scene, and came back to tell Zhu Jingyuan and Wang Lai that there was no need to continue testing.
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, stood up with a smile, and looked in the direction of the Taixi representatives:
"Everyone, do you know what we are showing today?"
Whether it was military representatives from various countries in Europe and the West, or representatives from their courts and royal families, they all raised their heads and looked at Zhu Jingyuan.
Everyone's subconscious fantasy is that Zhu Jingyuan wants to unlock the secret of their ability to penetrate 300 mm armor at a distance of 12 kilometers.
As a result, what Zhu Jingyuan said next was:
"This is our Ming Dynasty's sincerity for world peace."
The mood of representatives from various countries in Europe and the West took a turn for the worse, turning into shock and speechlessness. They felt that Zhu Jingyuan was mocking them.
There was also a burst of suppressed laughter among the Ming Dynasty representatives.
Zhu Jingyuan cleared his throat and said loudly and passionately:
"What? Can you all understand such simple logic?
"Our Ming Dynasty has developed new artillery, and the strike capability of naval guns has been greatly improved.
"We can choose to silently produce new naval guns and quietly refit the existing fleet on a large scale.
“Then continue fighting with your fleet, and wait until the next big sea battle to catch you off guard.
“But we didn’t do that, we showed it to you directly.
"Let you know that we have this new weapon, and you will not be able to defeat us in the next war.
“Wouldn’t it be possible to avoid war by preventing you from being impulsive because of ignorance?
“Wouldn’t this avoid a large number of casualties among soldiers and civilians?
“Isn’t this the sincerity of peace?”
Representatives from various countries in Thailand and Spain were completely speechless.
I've never seen anyone put a threat in such a nice tone.
The key is that there is absolutely no problem with this logic.
This kind of straightforward threat can really make you dare not act rashly.
Until we find a way to crack it, or at least master the method of mutual destruction, it will be impossible to fight the Ming Navy again.
At this time, Zhu Jianfeng also spoke:
"Jingyuan, if you want to talk to me, you should first change the cannons of the fleet and fight with these Western barbarians first.
“Send their fleet to the bottom of the sea to raise coral, and they will know who has the toughest fist.
"These Xiyi people have always only recognized their fists. It's useless for you to reason with them."
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said nothing.
The corners of the mouths of the representatives from the Thai and Western countries twitched slightly, but they did not say anything.
They all realized again that this was the difference in style between the two Ming princes.
Zhu Jingyuan used his strength to reason and presented facts to make himself obey.
Although Zhu Jingyuan makes people feel powerless, at least it is much more comfortable than facing Zhu Jianfeng.
In fact, during the early contacts, the representatives of the Thai and Western countries already felt that Zhu Jingyuan regarded them as civilized people.
Zhu Jianfeng is completely different. He completely regards himself as trash and wishes to have them all cremated, so much so that he can even say that he will leave no one behind.
His Royal Highness, Zhu Jianfeng, just made fist gestures to himself.
It seems that he is more like a Thai, or maybe he understands the Thais better.
From now on, you should try your best to deal with Zhu Jingyuan and try not to let Zhu Jianfeng get involved.
The test of the new naval gun was successfully concluded. Representatives from various countries returned to their residences and immediately began a new round of discussions and connections.
The Portuguese went to the Spanish first.
These two countries, which were not on good terms, came together.
Because the two sides are in similar situations and face similar threats, and there is no direct conflict for the time being.
Prince José of Portugal said directly:
"I don't think we can follow the British 'one road all the way'.
“Among the four maritime colonial countries in Europe, the British homeland is the safest, so the British are the toughest against the Ming Dynasty.
"But if we can't, Ming Dynasty will definitely attack westward with all its strength in North Mexico, eventually occupy Morocco in the northwest corner of Africa, and then cross the sea to attack our homeland.
"Today we have all seen how terrifying the power of Ming's new naval guns is.
“Once this kind of naval gun is replaced on existing capital ships, our fleet will be completely unable to resist, and we will be completely defeated on the sea.
“After the complete defeat of the Navy, we will all be left with nothing.
"The Ming Dynasty can easily seize our colonies as long as it blocks the sea outside our homeland, or even lands on our homeland.
“We originally thought that in the next twenty years, the gap in weapons and equipment between us and Ming Dynasty would be smaller, or even negligible.
"But now it's probably getting bigger, so we can't go on like this."
Prince Fernando of Spain asked:
"Then what should we do now? Change our stance again and accept Ming's request? Sign a permanent peace treaty?
"Didn't the British say that Ming's target must be the entire Yinzhou..."
Prince José of Portugal interrupted the other party directly:
“That’s what the British said!
"The Ming Dynasty also hopes to get the continent east of the Urals!
“But before the Lucians ‘sought death’, Ming had never laid a hand on Lucia.
"After we signed the armistice agreement with Ming Dynasty and before we joined the anti-Ming Dynasty alliance and declared war on Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty never took action against us."
Prince Fernando of Spain looked at his Prime Minister Manuel:
“If we can’t trust the UK, how can we trust the Ming Dynasty?”
Manuel nodded slightly and sighed:
"If we put aside British Prime Minister Peter's speech full of fan power, we really have no reason to doubt the commitment given by Ming Dynasty.
"We have all signed an armistice agreement with Ming Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty's attitude towards complying with the agreement is completely worthy of our trust."
Fernando still has doubts:
“However, although we haven’t officially signed the contract yet, but we just changed our minds temporarily, will Daming raise the price again?
“They have already asked us for the entire Nanyinzhou, the entire Antilles, and the entire Texas area. What else will they ask for next?
"As for Portugal, their request was already for the entire Brazil. Will they ask you for the Mexican colony in the future?"
Manuel looked depressed and said in a heavy tone:
"Just ask. I'll go talk to Shen Shaoqing."
Fernando stopped the Prime Minister:
"Wait a minute, even if Ming's conditions remain unchanged and we hand over all the colonies they require, how will we contact the remaining Mexican colonies in the future?"
Manuel said subconsciously:
"The Ming Dynasty never stopped the British from going to Tianzhu in peacetime."
Fernando asked directly:
"Mr. Prime Minister, you yourself said that it was a matter of peacetime and would not be allowed after the outbreak of war."
Manuel was a little surprised:
"Your Highness, are you still thinking about fighting the Ming Dynasty?
"This war was a mistake.
“If Spain did not join the anti-Ming alliance, we would still retain most of the colonies in Nanyinzhou.
“The Antilles can also keep some of it.
"We should not have boarded the British pirate ship."
Fernando said of course:
“Even if it is a permanent peace treaty, it is to prepare for war with greater peace of mind.
"The British are disgusting, but they are right.
"We Europeans will definitely have another battle with the Ming Empire.
"We Europeans cannot perish forever."
Manuel looked sad and had to give his Highness an idea:
“That’s it, let’s take reference from the Lucians and strive to make the Greater Andres Islands an independent country.
"Your Highness's younger brother will be the monarch of the country, but the country will completely adopt the Ming system and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
“Such a vassal state should be able to remain neutral when war breaks out between us and the Ming Dynasty again.
“We even had a chance to win it over.”
Fernando's eyes lit up:
"Okay, let's do it."
"Then I'll go ask."
Manuel nodded helplessly and agreed, knowing that this condition was impossible, but it could give himself and His Royal Highness a step up.
Even in the prince's own heart, the thought that "Europa cannot sink forever" may be just an excuse.
The Portuguese prince also had the same idea. Regardless of whether this strategy could succeed, he could at least ask.
Finally, Portugal's Foreign Minister Rodriguez and Spain's Prime Minister Manuel went to visit Shen Fu, the young minister of Honglu Temple in the Ming Dynasty.
Shen Fu was busy for a while before he came out to see them. After hearing their intentions, he replied expressionlessly:
“According to my wishes, I couldn’t let you go so easily.
"But His Highness the Food King has given instructions. If you can sincerely repent, we can still sign a permanent peace treaty.
"The conditions required by Ming Dynasty are still the same as those proposed by His Highness.
"The entire Southern Yinzhou, the entire Antilles, the entire Texas region, and the California Peninsula."
Rodriguez and Manuel both breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Manuel, as a representative, explained the thoughts of the two princes.
After hearing this, Shen Fu just smiled:
"Do you also miss Lucia? Can Spain tear apart the entire Mexico and become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty?"
Manuel's expression froze:
"this……"
Shen Fu shook his head and waved his hands and said:
"If you can't, stop thinking about it and go back quickly. Will you report it to your king?"
Rodriguez and Manuel didn't waste any more words. They immediately got up and left, going back to report to their prince.
After being torn apart from reality by Zhu Jianfeng and shocked by Ming's new naval cannon, the two men's psychological expectations have now been lowered.
If we can sign a permanent peace treaty with the original conditions, it is considered a success, and we don't think much about anything else.
Manuel proposed to his own prince the idea of establishing a territory on the ceded colony, which was originally a step for the prince to accept reality.
The two never expected to succeed.
In fact, if it were before today, Zhu Jingyuan might have given them an island or a city.
But Zhu Jianfeng gave him the direction. If he really couldn't give in to these Xiyi people at all, he would have to beat them up.
If they were given an island and a city today, they might be thinking in their hearts that Ming Dynasty was indeed bluffing...
If you really don't give anything, the other party may be at peace.
And this is indeed the case.
After the representatives of Spain and Portugal returned to their residences, they informed their respective princes of the situation.
Prince José of Portugal sighed and complained for a while before accepting his fate.
Prince Fernando of Spain yelled a few words angrily, and finally had no choice but to accept the reality.
Then the representatives of the two countries began to get busy and write reports to the kings in the rear again.
The country's position must change again, and the king must be made to recognize the reality and not engage in any colonial alliance with the British.
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