Before dawn on the fourth day of the first lunar month of AD, hundreds of warships in the Zhoushan military port sounded their sirens.
Under the command of Chen Huacheng, the naval commander of the Ming Dynasty's military governor's office, the entire fleet was divided into several fleets and sailed out of the military port to the scheduled sea area for review.
All those invited to participate in the ship review also got up early at this time and gathered at the dock to prepare for departure.
The fleet to be reviewed will be prepared in advance, and the fleet to be reviewed can arrive slightly later.
Emperor Zhu Jingyuan also got up early. At seven o'clock in the morning, accompanied and escorted by Guan Tianpei, he arrived at the dock of the military port.
Yang Yuchun, the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Military Governor's Office, Zhu Jianxun, the Governor-General, and Chen Hua, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, were the leaders of the Chinese Military Governor's Office and naval generals.
The Ming Dynasty nobles, officials, generals, craftsmen, scholars, as well as representatives from various countries in Europe and America were present.
They had all arrived at the dock and were evenly divided into three parts, waiting for Zhu Jingyuan's arrival.
After Zhu Jingyuan arrived at the scene, he accepted the worship of all the generals and courtiers, greeted the guests, and then began to board the ship.
All the princes of the Ming Dynasty, all the nine ministers, officials, shopkeepers, and craftsmen of the same level.
The monarchs of the Ming vassal states, the royal families and prime ministers of the Thai and Western countries, and the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces.
They will ride on the same warship as Ming Emperor Zhu Jingyuan to participate in the ship review.
Other personnel at the scene will take two other cruisers separately and follow Zhu Jingyuan's ship.
Yang Yuchun, Zhu Jianxun, and Chen Huacheng are the commanders-in-chief of the fleet review and will set off on board the fleet being reviewed.
Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Guan Tianpei and Minister of Ordnance Wang Lai will specially accompany Zhu Jingyuan.
The two of them wanted to directly introduce to Zhu Jingyuan the situation of the reviewing ship and the fleet being reviewed.
In fact, it is also about introducing these situations to others around you.
At 7:30 in the morning, all personnel boarded the prepared battleship.
The reviewing fleet, which had already completed the boiler preheating, blew its whistle and set sail to leave the berth on the dock.
Zhu Jingyuan and the people around him are currently the most powerful and prestigious people in the world who control the entire world.
As the fleet sailed toward the target sea area for the ship review, it also began to observe and appreciate the situation of the ship on which it was riding.
Zhu Jingyuan didn't pay much attention to the design and construction of warships in the past few years.
Although I knew there was such a ship through reports, I never had the opportunity to see it in person.
Now that I am the emperor, I may not have the chance to see it with my own eyes in the future.
So now Zhu Jingyuan is standing on the front deck of the battleship, looking up at the two huge turrets and artillery next to him, feeling quite novel and emotional.
Li Rui, the Secretary of the Ministry of Ordnance, also took the initiative to step forward very conscientiously and briefly introduced the situation of the battleship to Zhu Jingyuan and others around him:
"Your Majesty, the battleship we are currently on is called Henan. It was commissioned in the early 15th year of Ankang.
"The Henan has a full load displacement of 84,000 tons, a maximum hull length of 290 meters, a maximum hull width of 40 meters, and a maximum draft of 12 meters.
“The maximum output power of the power system is 280,000 shaft horsepower, and the maximum design speed is 32 knots.
“The maximum range at a speed of 15 knots is 16,000 nautical miles, which is approximately 30,000 kilometers.
“The maximum range at a speed of twenty knots is nine thousand nautical miles, which is approximately sixteen thousand kilometers.
“It is equipped with three triple main turrets, adopting a layout of two in front and one in back.
"A total of nine main guns are equipped, each with a caliber of 480 mm and a magnification of 50.
“The thickness of the main armor belt remains the same as that of the previous 60,000-ton warship, still 420 millimeters, and is arranged at an angle of 20 degrees.
“The length and height of the armor belt have been increased, especially the armor height has been increased to six meters.
"What's more important is that the thickness of the horizontal armor in the core area of the ship has been increased from 200 millimeters to 240 millimeters.
“The thickness and size of the secondary armor in other areas have also been optimized and improved to varying degrees.
“The overall defense effect of the new warship is more complete and comprehensive than that of the 60,000-ton warship.
Zhu Jingyuan listened to these data, looked at the weapons and equipment on the deck in front of him, and nodded slightly from time to time.
There is no doubt that this is the most powerful battleship in the world today.
Putting it into Zhu Jingyuan's previous life, it was also the most powerful battleship actually built.
From tonnage to speed, from gun caliber and magnification to bomb-to-weight ratio, it exceeds all battleships that have ever existed.
There are also some more in-depth data, technologies that are beyond the times and the technical level of other countries.
Zhu Jingyuan had seen these things from reports.
The first is that all new warships are equipped with the latest radio detection systems.
Although the research on over-the-horizon detectors has not yet yielded results, the traditional detection system is already quite mature.
The detection distance of traditional detection systems is limited by the curvature of the earth's surface. The higher the observation point, the farther it can be seen.
With the help of the towering mast of the 80,000-ton warship, the Henan's radio detection equipment can observe small warships within a range of fifty kilometers around it.
If the target is a large battleship, the opponent's mast can even be found at a distance of 70 kilometers.
Then came the transistor computers and accompanying command systems.
It can realize automatic linkage of target observation, ballistic calculation, test firing and calibration system.
After the detection system observes the enemy ship, it can allow the gun barrel to automatically track the enemy ship, automatically complete ballistic calculations, and automatically and continuously track and calibrate fire.
It can achieve continuous shooting while traveling and turning, and basically maintain the accuracy of stationary shooting.
With these traditions, the combat methods of Ming Dynasty's new battleships are completely different from those of historical battleships from World War II and before.
It has been possible to abandon the historical combat method of standing battles and enter into mobile and even twisting battles similar to later warship games.
At the same time, it also realizes unified and coordinated operations of secondary guns and anti-aircraft guns, as well as unmanned remote control operations.
There is already a 40 mm caliber fully automatic anti-aircraft gun.
At the same time, the battleship itself has reserved a large amount of missile installation space.
It's just that it's not actually installed yet.
Even excluding the missiles that have not yet been installed, this battleship's technical advantage over the battleships of World War II has already opened up an era.
Zhu Jingyuan thought of these situations and subconsciously looked at the Taixi man on the right.
Of course they didn't know about these inherent technological upgrades, but they seemed to be equally shocked now.
Because even if these inherent technologies are not taken into account, the ship itself as a battleship can already crush the entire field.
Almost all heads of state, including the naval admirals headed by Nelson, were stunned for a long time when they looked at the 480mm cannon on the bow of the ship.
In the real traditional naval battle battlefield, there is no restraint and balance of ship types similar to those in later games.
Bigger ships mean stronger ones.
There are more powerful artillery, stronger defenses, and more sustained firepower.
With more abundant reserve buoyancy and crew space, it is a more stable artillery shooting and combat platform.
It can be configured with more comprehensive combat functions to meet almost all combat needs.
Battleships can also do anti-submarine escort work, and their efficiency will be much better than cruisers and destroyers, but the cost is too high.
Small ships face large ships alone and have basically no ability to resist.
This long-standing reality has shaped the general perception of relevant people throughout society.
This makes them naturally fearful of larger warships and larger-caliber artillery.
This is the deterrence that the battleship itself can provide, and it is also the most simple, crude and intuitive deterrent effect.
However, considering the actual combat efficiency, Zhu Jianyan had already stopped the construction of 80,000-ton battleships when he was in power.
Naval personnel from various countries in Europe and the West learned from the Ming Dynasty Navy that there were eight 80,000-ton "battleships" in the Ming Dynasty's shipyard.
This sentence itself is certainly good, because they are talking about an 80,000-ton "battleship", not a "battleship."
There are only two 80,000-ton battleships in the shipyard, and no more battleships will be built after they are completed.
The 84,000-ton battleship known as the Henan type is the last and ultimate battleship in this world.
In addition, the other six 80,000-ton warships are actually aircraft carriers.
The preliminary design of a larger 100,000-ton battleship has been completed, but the permission to start construction has never been obtained.
Even the construction of smaller battleships has been stopped.
The number of Ming battleships will stop at its current size.
That is, four 80,000-ton ships, eight 60,000-ton ships, and sixteen 40,000-ton ships.
Currently, the main ships in the shipyard, except for two unfinished battleships, are all aircraft carriers.
Six 80,000-ton aircraft carriers and 40,000-ton amphibious assault ships.
There is no need to talk about this private matter of Ming Dynasty's own.
When Zhu Jingyuan thought of this, an imperceptible smile slowly appeared on his face.
I hope the Thai people can follow the direction they intentionally misled.
Zhu Jingyuan walked slowly and slowly around the deck of the Henan with a group of people.
Zhu Jingyuan took a rough look at the gestures on the entire battleship deck.
Li Rui also introduced a lot of details about the equipment.
Including the weight of the main gun shells, the rate of fire of the secondary guns and anti-aircraft guns, the armor thickness of the gun mantlet and command tower, etc.
These data far exceed their counterparts in the West, demonstrating the strength of Ming's craftsmanship.
These detailed data once again shocked everyone on another level.
After visiting the deck, Zhu Jingyuan entered the cabin, walked around the most important cabin, and finally went to his lounge.
According to Zhu Jingyuan's early plans and suggestions, all of Ming's new high-speed battleships, except for the earliest ones, were adjusted to meet fleet command needs.
Most battleships have very complete fleet combat command rooms and corresponding supporting facilities.
Inside the core armor box, there is a space specifically reserved for the Grand Fleet command personnel.
The standards of living, living and working facilities are very high.
When this kind of warship is not responsible for fleet command, it sometimes serves as a ship for the emperor and core members of the royal family.
These spaces can directly become temporary royal living areas by adding some royal logos.
As the emperor, when Zhu Jingyuan came to visit the battleship, he stayed directly in the room of the admiral of the fleet as a matter of course.
Zhu Jingyuan took everyone on a tour. The spatial scale and facility standards inside the warship made the naval generals from various countries in Europe and the West marvel in admiration.
Although the facilities in Daming's cabin are not "luxury", the overall level of the facilities is very high.
In particular, the standard of living facilities for the lower-level soldiers is not at the same level as that of the Thai and Western battleships.
All soldiers have individual beds, and all beds are fixed beds.
There are no hammocks that can be tied anywhere, as is common on Thai and Western naval ships, and there are no "hot bunks" where multiple soldiers take turns sleeping.
Relatively independent soldier dormitories were also designed, with only eight people in each dormitory. There is also a broadcasting system in the dormitory.
Ordinary Thai and Western sailors who do not have fixed beds do not need to consider the issue of fixed dormitories at all.
In the Thai Navy, even senior soldiers such as pilots can only live in a group dormitory.
Not to mention, the Ming Dynasty's battleships also had clean and spacious soldiers' mess halls with seemingly rich canteen meals.
There are even various entertainment and construction facilities, as well as a teahouse and shop open to the crew.
So much so, they even saw a bank.
Whether it is the various weapon functional cabins or the cabins where soldiers live and live, they are all tidy and clean.
Most areas have air conditioning facilities...
These modern navy-style designs and functional plans have stunned most Thais.
The Ming Navy's treatment is good, there are many and fixed spaces for soldiers on board, and there are various military facilities that are beyond ordinary people's understanding.
Most of them are due to Zhu Jingyuan's guiding ideology.
Since Zhu Jingyuan began to preside over the design and construction of the Ming Dynasty warships, he has always adhered to the concept of slightly increasing the displacement within a relatively reasonable range.
With a larger displacement, more space can be given to the crew and more living facilities can be equipped.
These facilities also directly reference the battleships of later generations.
The modern aircraft carrier of later generations is a small modern city, which basically has everything found in regular towns.
Although the traditional Thai-Spanish navy is a "high-level service" compared to the army, the internal strata are very obvious.
Living facilities for officers can be very high-end.
The Richelieu has an armored cabin dedicated to storing red wine, the Iowa has a dedicated single bathtub, and the Hood has a dedicated church.
Not to mention the cabins prepared for the royal family on the Vanguard.
But the conditions of their ordinary soldiers are very simple, with hammocks and hot bunks being the most basic conditions.
A large number of sailors sleep directly in the cabins where they work.
Sleep wherever there is room.
Zhu Jingyuan brought the standards and direction of future generations. The officers' rooms were not much more upscale than those on the Thai and Western ships, but the facilities were more optimized.
But this has greatly narrowed the gap between officers and ordinary soldiers.
After visiting several cabins, George IV could not help but whisper to Nelson next to him:
"The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are treated so well. Are all the navy of the Ming Dynasty aristocratic? Can the warships operated by these noble soldiers have combat effectiveness?"
Nelson's expression was a little strange:
"Of course not all naval soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are children of nobles. There may be children of nobles among them, but their treatment seems to be the same...
"As for combat effectiveness...it depends on how you define combat effectiveness.
"If we talk about the courage and courage to fight on the ocean, the soldiers of Ming Dynasty should not lack it. They are more proud than our soldiers.
“Pride is something that is very important to a Marine.
“If we talk about tolerance to poor living environment and living conditions, then the soldiers of the Ming Navy may be much worse than us.
"Because they really don't need to have that ability anymore..."
British Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson said with emotion:
"Actually, the people of Ming Dynasty...the same goes for the workers of Ming Dynasty. Of course, they are more confident and proud than our people and workers.
“They should and already cannot afford to live and work by our national standards.
"But they don't need to bear it..."
