The two battleships and four cruisers parked at Xintianfu Pier allowed Huangzhuang's managers, officers, soldiers, workers, and ordinary people to visit intermittently for eight days.
After the battleship maintenance was completed, Zhu Jingyuan brought Charles and Charlotte, as well as representatives from Britain and France, to visit.
For Ciel and Charlotte, the main thing is natural novelty and expectation.
Diplomatic and political personnel such as Grenville, Monroe, and Talleyrand were in a state of alertness.
When the car they were riding in approached the pier, they stretched their necks and poked their heads out through the windows from time to time.
When the car entered the dock area and arrived at the docking area of the battleship, they were even more focused and focused.
As the distance quickly shortened, the silhouette of a huge battleship appearing above the dock also gave them a big shock.
"My God, these two ships are so big..."
"The length of this hull...I estimated that it may be 70% longer than the 16,000-ton Formidable class!"
"Even if we compare the reputation level of the test ship with all large-caliber main guns, it is at least 50% longer!"
"If the length increases so much, how terrifying will the tonnage be?"
"At least 40,000 tons, or even 50,000 tons..."
"There are still two such huge warships here, which shows that they are already mass-produced models..."
"Why is this happening? How could the Ming Dynasty build such a huge warship!"
"This is completely unreasonable!"
"Your Excellency Nelson was prepared to use quality over quantity, so he planned a battleship with a displacement of 30,000 tons.
"Now it seems that even if this kind of super battleship is built, it can only be regarded as a second-class battleship..."
Officials from both Britain and France, especially the British, including the United States, were surprised by the two ships.
They were still immersed in shock and disbelief until the car came to a stop under the battleship.
Their tonnage estimates exceeded the battleship's actual tonnage because they were based on traditional battleship hulls.
The ratio of length to width of a traditional battleship hull is smaller, and the overall battleship will be fatter.
The ratio of length to width of Zhu Jingyuan's new battleship has been enlarged, making the overall hull more slender.
If the length of the two shapes of warships is the same, the traditional warship will definitely be wider and the tonnage will be larger than the new warship.
Diplomats from Britain and France simply looked at the length of the battleship from the side and could not directly see the width.
Estimating the tonnage of the new battleship based on the lines of traditional battleships, we came to the terrifying conclusion that it might be 50,000 tons.
Everyone's initial impression of these two ships was that they were extremely huge.
It wasn't until they arrived below the battleship and were about to board the ship that they realized another situation.
The shapes of these two ships are also completely different from traditional battleships.
Charles followed Zhu Jingyuan, raised his head and looked at the main gun on the huge hull, and said quite unexpectedly:
"These are all... triple-mounted main guns..."
Zhu Jingyuan said of course:
"Yes, in order to increase the firepower density and reduce the length of the hull occupied by the main gun, a triple main gun is used.
“With three triple turrets, there are already nine large-caliber artillery pieces.
"If it is a twin turret, there are only eight guns in four turrets, but the weight of the turret may exceed that of three triple turrets."
Charles does have a basic understanding of the navy:
"That should be quite difficult. Can we in France do it?"
Zhu Jingyuan said quite directly:
"You can explore accordingly, but for your new warship design, it is recommended to continue to use twin-mounted turrets."
Charlotte was a little disappointed at the moment, but he immediately felt that this was a natural situation.
At the same time, Talleyrand, the foreign minister, could see even more things.
“This kind of warship with a displacement of at least 40,000 tons is only equipped with three turrets.
“Triple turrets are specially designed to reduce the number of turrets and the volume they occupy.
“The more hull tonnage and space must be used for defense and speed.
"Then the armor defense level and speed of this ship must far exceed that of traditional battleships."
Given a certain level of technology, the design of a capital ship must make a trade-off between attack, defense, and speed.
The 40,000-ton ship has nine 360mm main guns, which is obviously not an option to maximize firepower.
So it definitely strengthens the other two.
Talleyrand was testing Zhu Jingyuan, hoping to get more key information.
Grenville, Monroe, Jefferson and other British representatives, after hearing Talleyrand's words, they all cheered up and looked at Zhu Jingyuan.
Of course, Zhu Jingyuan would not answer directly, but said with a noncommittal smile:
"We have worked hard to find a balance that is as reasonable as possible between firepower, armor, and speed."
Having said this is like saying nothing.
The so-called "balance" is very subjective, and different people have different understandings of balance.
The balance understood by Zhu Jingyuan, a man with the experience of later generations, is actually very extreme in the eyes of people of this era.
People of this era would never imagine that Zhu Jingyuan would directly increase the speed to thirty knots.
Zhu Jingyuan felt that the speed of thirty knots was already the result of balance.
If the speed is extremely enhanced, it should be increased to more than thirty-two knots, so that the battleship can chase the cruiser.
The representative works are the "Super Cruiser" Iowa and the "Large Cruiser" Alaska.
At the same time, even in the armor itself, Zhu Jingyuan's balance is different from others.
Zhu Jingyuan wants to divide the armor into two parts: side vertical main armor and deck horizontal armor.
In Zhu Jingyuan's eyes, the latter is actually more important.
The weight of the horizontal armor of the Fearless and the Invincible exceeds the weight of the vertical armor.
Now that Talleyrand, Grenville, and Monroe heard these words, their inner analysis and judgment were far different from Zhu Jingyuan's.
They could not imagine what a ship with less than 30 knots would look like, and they had no concept of horizontal armor of more than 100 millimeters.
"The speed may exceed twenty-three knots, or even reach twenty-five knots. Lord Nelson's ideal battleship speed is about twenty-five knots..."
"The thickness of the main armor should be 360 mm. Even if our battleships use 360 mm main guns, they may still be unable to penetrate at a distance of ten kilometers..."
"According to our country's technical level, it is definitely impossible to obtain the same level of indicators at similar tonnage, and we can only continue to give up one or two."
"Even if the speed is extremely enhanced, it will be difficult to exceed 25 knots, and it is even less likely to form a speed advantage over 25 knots.
"Strengthening armor and firepower is the best choice..."
Differences in cognition and judgment will directly lead to differences in combat ideas.
The strategies and tactics they used to create a "balanced" battleship in their own minds may not have any effect when faced with an actual balanced battleship, and may even have the opposite effect.
Under the guidance of the naval etiquette officer on board, Zhu Jingyuan boarded the warship with representatives from Britain and France.
After arriving on the deck, the representatives of the British and French courts subconsciously observed and estimated the width of the deck.
They quickly determined that the ship was narrower than expected.
The aspect ratio must be over seven!
The aspect ratio of traditional battleships is usually in the range of six points, or even less than six.
Usually only cruisers pursuing high speed will have such a large aspect ratio.
Therefore, they were all sure that the speed of this ship should be twenty-five knots.
At the same time, the tonnage of the battleships was also revised and placed in the early 40,000 tons, which is very close to the real tonnage.
After estimating the width, aspect ratio, and tonnage, they began to observe the facilities on the deck.
They once again discovered differences from traditional battleships.
Secondary gun.
This ship's secondary guns are all turret-shaped.
Only the 40 mm caliber gun remained an open structure.
Except for the 160mm secondary gun, it can be seen that it has a very large elevation range.
In order to deal with possible air threats, the high-speed capital ship designed by Zhu Jingyuan had a large number of anti-aircraft guns from the beginning.
Except for the 160mm secondary gun, the other small and medium-caliber artillery are actually anti-aircraft guns.
The number of anti-aircraft guns far exceeds that of normal battleships in the early days of the dreadnought.
Even more than most warships designed and built during the interwar period.
However, because the air defense command system is still being explored and upgraded, there is still a big gap between the air defense capabilities of British and American warships during World War II.
The number of anti-aircraft guns has not yet reached its limit.
But the current state of small and medium-caliber artillery is enough for the current representatives of Britain and France to detect abnormalities.
The little girl Charlotte noticed the difference and said in surprise:
"Many small and medium-sized artillery pieces..."
Zhu Jingyuan heard the exclamation and deliberately misled him with a smile:
“The tonnage of the hull is already large enough, and there is enough space to install enough artillery pieces.
“The number of secondary guns on this ship already exceeds the number of a 15,000-ton cruiser.
"The firepower is equivalent to a battleship with a cruiser, and maybe two destroyers."
Zhu Jingyuan felt that these people should not be able to imagine the concept of aircraft swarm attacks during World War II.
It is unimaginable how great the pressure on naval air defense operations will be in naval battles in the future.
Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously tried to mislead them, asking them to treat the secondary artillery as a pure secondary artillery.
As Zhu Jingyuan spoke, he led them forward and came to the main gun on the front deck of the battleship.
Grenville looked up at the artillery on the turret and briefly estimated the proportions of the artillery:
“The caliber of the artillery should be three hundred and sixty millimeters, and the length of the barrel must be more than forty-five times the caliber.
"It may have reached fifty times the diameter..."
Several other people also nodded and came to similar conclusions.
After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan also directly gave a definite response:
"It's a 360mm main gun with a caliber of 50 times. These guys have quite a lot of experience..."
Several diplomats received accurate data, but their expressions became a little ugly.
The barrel-to-barrel ratio of an artillery piece, also known as its diameter, is a parameter that directly reflects the level of artillery manufacturing technology.
The larger the magnification, the farther the range, the more precise the impact point, and the more difficult it is to manufacture.
The original traditional battleships used 300 mm caliber artillery. At the beginning of the World War, the Ming Dynasty used 45 caliber guns. The major naval countries in Europe and the West basically used 40 caliber guns from the beginning.
By the end of the World War, they had basically caught up with the Ming Dynasty in terms of diameter.
In fact, the reason is that Ming Dynasty did not continue to update the 300 mm caliber artillery.
At that time, the focus of research had shifted to the 360 mm caliber.
Fifty times the diameter was achieved on a caliber of 360 mm.
The subsequent 420mm artillery was also developed directly based on the 50x caliber.
Nowadays, the major naval countries in Europe and the West are basically able to produce 360 mm caliber artillery pieces.
But the magnification is not very good-looking. Forty-five magnifications are a bit difficult, let alone fifty magnifications.
The most important thing is that when talking about He, Zhu Jingyuan showed off Daming's new artillery shells.
A cannon with a caliber of 300 millimeters and a caliber of 45 times can penetrate the armor of existing battleships at a distance of twelve kilometers.
Now the caliber has been upgraded to 360 mm, and the magnification has been increased to 50.
How many millimeters of armor can it penetrate at a distance of twelve kilometers?
If the defense against such artillery is the standard for my new battleship, how thick the armor will be?
Diplomatic and political figures such as Grenville, Monroe, and Talleyrand followed Zhu Jingyuan to see the Ming Dynasty's new warships. They originally came to inquire and confirm information.
I had certain expectations in my mind that Ming's new battleship should have considerable advantages.
But no one imagined that the specifications of these new warships would be so exaggerated.
It has a volume of 40,000 tons, a speed of 25 knots, 360 mm of armor, and a 360 mm main gun.
Ming Dynasty's battleships can indeed be designed in this way, and this design is obviously more "balanced".
But Zhu Jingyuan reduced the armor thickness to 300 millimeters and increased the speed to 30 knots.
Now these parameters they have made up in their minds make it look like a monster to them.
A monster that crushes existing battleships in all aspects.
What's even more painful is that even if they allocate enough funds to build the same 40,000-ton warship, they cannot build a warship of this level due to the gap in technical level.
Perhaps only with a tonnage of 50,000 tons, or even larger, can such a 40,000-ton warship be suppressed.
In their opinion, the construction cost of a 40,000-ton warship was already too high to accept.
If they have warships of 50,000 tons or even larger, they cannot build a few of them with all their strength.
The problem is that Ming Dynasty should also be able to build bigger ones and more ships.
Now there are two of these 40,000-ton all-purpose warships on site.
This means mass production…
Talleyrand, Grenville, Monroe and others were not very good at confirming the news.
But Ciel had few worries.
While following Zhu Jingyuan around, I thought of this question and asked it directly:
"My dear friend, how many super battleships of this level are the Ming Dynasty planning to build?"
Grenville, Talleyrand, Monroe, Jefferson and others immediately pricked up their ears and listened.
Zhu Jingyuan did not hide anything from them and directly stated the general construction plan:
“There are currently eight warships of this tonnage in the dock, and construction of at least four will begin every year.
“Gradually replace all battleships and armored cruisers.
"At least 32 ships will be built at one go, and then more will be added depending on the situation."
Zhu Jingyuan was talking about "battleships of this tonnage" rather than "battleships of this kind".
Zhu Jingyuan put together the number of 40,000-ton battleships and aircraft carriers.
This is of course not a lie. The actual effect of a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier is actually stronger than that of a 40,000-ton battleship.
The reason why Zhu Jingyuan is saying this is because the shipbuilding plan is also a part of deterrence.
In the eyes of junior officers, only shells that can be fired directly are useful.
In the eyes of naval generals, only warships that can attack at any time are useful.
From the perspective of diplomats, the warships in the dock are useful.
In the eyes of politicians, the planned battleships were also useful.
When Zhu Jingyuan said these words, Charles opened his mouth wide.
Talleyrand, Grenville, Monroe and others froze.
Replace all old battleships and armored cruisers with battleships of this level.
The creation of more than 30 monster ships of this kind completely overturned their cognition once again.
The most terrifying thing is that after a rough calculation in their minds, they found that Ming was indeed capable of doing this.
Thirty-two ships are definitely not the limit of the current Ming Dynasty.
If Ming Dynasty completely liberalized its financial and industrial capabilities, there would not be much pressure to double this number.
The Ming Dynasty can definitely afford sixty-four battleships.
At the same time, even if the entire Taixi continent merged into one, it would not be able to support more than 60 warships of the same level.
If calculated according to the national strength before the World War, countries like Britain, France and Spain might be able to maintain a dozen ships, Prussia and Lucia might be able to maintain seven or eight ships, and other countries could maintain three or four ships.
After the World War, the colonies of Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands shrank significantly, and it was impossible to recover fiscal revenue.
Lucia and Ottoman were also directly dismembered, and Austria, Italy, and Prussia also suffered losses.
Now two-thirds of the world's land has fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty.
All countries in Europe and the West account for the remaining one-third.
The countries in Europe and the West had to work together and be aggressive in order to keep pace with the Ming Dynasty in terms of naval scale.
The key is that even if the scales are comparable, there will still be a gap in quality.
In short, it is utter despair.
However, Charles and Charlotte, the two future kings, did not feel any pressure or discomfort about this matter.
The two of them already instinctively sided with Zhu Jingyuan.
They were just shocked by Ming's power, but no longer felt threatened.
You may even feel proud of it.
Charles subconsciously grabbed Zhu Jingyuan's arm:
"Build thirty-two! Does the Ming Dynasty need so many super battleships?"
Zhu Jingyuan looked at Talleyrand, Monroe, Jefferson, Grenville and others with a smile:
"Of course it is needed. I currently have a preliminary plan, which can be called the principle of reciprocity.
“The Ming Dynasty will only build as many battleships as the total number of battleships built by the West.
"Let the number of battleships of the Ming Dynasty be balanced with the total number of battleships of the ten countries in the West."
Charlotte didn't know what to say at that moment:
"Is this... equality so right?"
Talleyrand and others were completely speechless.
There is nothing to express an opinion about.
Historically, the British Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the world before World War I and followed the "Two Powers Principle".
As the world's largest navy, the size of the navy is larger than that of the second and third largest navy combined.
Now the Ming Dynasty's principle of reciprocity has taken it one step further.
More than all subsequent navies combined.
The U.S. Navy after World War II was almost this size.
This is not a difficult problem for the current Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Jingyuan took the representatives from Britain and France around on the deck and then walked into the cabin.
After visiting the main cabin, we came to the officers' mess inside the battleship.
Today everyone attended a simple lunch directly on the ship.
Zhu Jingyuan sat on the main seat, and two royal family members, Charles and Charlotte, sat on the left and right sides.
The atmosphere at the scene seemed quite pleasant, and the officers on the ship were very happy.
The representatives of Britain and France could only force themselves to smile.
Charles was really happy. After drinking a few glasses of wine, he looked around with emotion:
"My dear friend, I remember you said that you asked this fleet to escort me back to France.
“The nobles and wealthy businessmen in the country will definitely be shocked.
"After seeing these battleships, they should have no idea of being an enemy of Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Jingyuan took a sip of wine and said:
"Yes, this should be good for your plan. You can take the French nobles on board to visit.
“Keep the people you want to deal with away from their lairs and away from their main guard force.
"On the way back after visiting the battleship, it's a good time to get started."
When Charles heard Zhu Jingyuan's suggestion, he immediately nodded very seriously:
"Thank you for the suggestion, my dear friend. I think this is a good plan and I will arrange it this way.
"Then, my dear friend, can you accompany me back?"
Zhu Jingyuan shook his head directly:
"My answer is no, my grandfather does not allow me to leave the Ming Dynasty.
"You should be able to understand that I have actually offended many people, especially the Thai people.
"There should be many people who want to get rid of me quickly.
"If there is a chance, even if it means risking death or even starting a war, you will find a way to do something to me.
“Rather, if there was a chance to start a war, they might be happy to do it.
"Looking at it from the other side, Daming has no ill intentions towards you, so you are even safer here than in Paris.
"You should also pay attention to yourself. After this plan is implemented, many people's attitudes towards you will also change.
“When you return, be sure to bring security with you at all times to minimize direct contact with large crowds.
"If you are free in the future, you can come to my place for vacation again..."
Charles was a little regretful, but he also understood the facts Zhu Jingyuan said:
"Thank you dear friend for the reminder. I will pay attention to it. I will come back to see you when I have time..."
Zhu Jingyuan and Charles were chatting, and Charlotte next to him was a little anxious:
"Your Highness, I also want to come to Xintianfu again. I will spend the winter here again next winter and see you again..."
After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan smiled and asked directly:
"I may not be in Xintianfu tomorrow winter. Do you want to come to Xintianfu to spend the winter?"
Charlotte was surprised:
"Ah...why...where are you going?"
Zhu Jingyuan was noncommittal:
“You should all know the practical training of the Ming Dynasty princes and emperors’ grandchildren.
“I am currently undergoing political training, but it’s just a little bit special.
“So at two years’ time, I had to move.
"I will let you know when I go to a new place."
Charles and Charlotte immediately agreed:
"You must inform me."
"Never forget."
Today it is still 6,000 words per chapter. I asked in the author group and it seems that the model of one chapter per day is very popular now. Readers can just wait for an update every day. Authors also have the opportunity to increase the average subscription number. I will see if I can do it. A fine product...
