Compared with the harvest of fishing companies, the harvest of the navy can be said to be a great blessing.
"Commander, this is the map we surveyed."
The map was so big that it covered a five-meter-long table.
There are so many things marked on it that you even need a magnifying glass to see clearly.
This is a nautical chart of the entire south of Shandong and along the Yellow Sea to Songjiang Prefecture. It was completed by the Surveying and Mapping Department of the General Staff.
Among all the functional departments of the New Army, the Surveying and Mapping Department of the General Staff is the largest, with a total of 875 people.
When marching and fighting, the map is definitely the most important tool.
Many times, a precise map can determine the outcome.
Although there are maps in this era, there are many even top-secret maps. But obviously, the maps of this era did not satisfy Zuo Mengeng.
Therefore, starting from the Houying era, Zuo Menggeng paid great attention to the acquisition and drawing of maps.
The first batch of surveying and mapping personnel were basically taught by him step by step.
Their level of surveying and mapping is definitely an unsurpassable ceiling in this world.
Every time the New Army went to a place or fought a battle, the surveying and mapping staff and scouts accompanying the army would draw maps of the local terrain and landforms, which would become part of the map library reserve.
Among the New Army’s map libraries, Shandong’s map is the most comprehensive and detailed.
After all, the New Army has taken control of most of the area and achieved complete penetration.
The Yellow Sea, with this naval voyage, became the second area controlled by the new army.
Zuo Mengeng lay on the map, looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but sigh.
Fortunately, we have always insisted on field surveying and mapping, and have not been superstitious about map information from later generations. Otherwise, there might be some trouble in the future.
It was also through the maps drawn by the Surveying and Mapping Department that Zuo Mengeng gained a deep understanding of the saying "The world has changed forever."
In just a few hundred years, the terrain along the Yellow Sea has changed dramatically.
For example, Xiangshui, Binhai, Sheyang, Dafeng, Qidong and other places in later generations are all soaked in sea water now.
Funing, Yancheng, and Dongtai are all coastal towns.
In later generations, it was more than 160 miles from Funing to the sea.
It can be said that with this chart, warships and merchant ships will have guidance in the future and can sail unimpeded in this sea area.
"We not only sailed along the coast, but also sent small teams deep into the open sea. As a result, it was as clean as a mirror, with nothing there."
E Hong briefly described the sailing situation, but Zuo Mengeng discovered his blind spot.
"You didn't find any other merchant ships or Zheng Zhilong's warships?"
Everyone shook their heads, saying they didn't see anything.
Zuo Mengeng was puzzled by this result.
In fact, this is his misunderstanding.
It is said in the history books of later generations that the entire ocean of East Asia was Zheng Zhilong's territory. Any ship that wants to sail and trade here must be supervised by the Zheng family.
This is true, but in fact it is mainly concentrated in the East China Sea and South China Sea, centered on Taiwan.
On the contrary, the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea areas do not belong to Zheng Zhilong's sphere of influence.
In other words, this area does not belong to anyone's sphere of influence.
Because this area is very barren and unprofitable, naturally no one is willing to control it.
Most of the ships passing through this area are going to North Korea for trade.
How many can there be?
Moreover, these ships have already been collected by the Zheng family in the East China Sea. Naturally, there is no need for the Zheng family to go to the desolate Yellow Sea to collect them again.
E Honglue and others went all the way south, and the farthest they reached was north of Chongming Island. They did not really set foot in Songjiang Mansion, so they did not arouse any reaction from the Zheng family.
In fact, as long as you go further south and reach the sea area of Zhoushan, you will be within sight of the Zheng family.
Zuo Mengeng didn't understand the inside story. While he was amazed, he was also keenly aware that there seemed to be a lot to be gained from this lack of power.
First of all, since the Zheng family does not care about the Yellow Sea, it will be much more convenient for ships from Shandong to connect with Songjiang Prefecture.
And the vast sea area here can completely become a training ground for the navy.
In a short period of time, as long as the navy does not go south, there will be no conflict with Zheng Zhilong, and it can expand arbitrarily northward.
"The other fleet led by General Zhang is heading north. I don't know where they sailed to yet. I believe their harvest must be very rich."
This time the navy sent out actually two fleets.
One group, led by E Honglue, sailed south and detected the route of Songjiang Prefecture.
The other branch, led by Zhang Keda, sailed north, bypassing the Jiaodong Peninsula and entering the North Yellow Sea.
The second gain from the navy’s trip is about naval guns.
"Dean Sun, I have to tell you sadly that our current warships cannot withstand your naval guns at all. You see, our ship almost perished in the sea."
During this trip, naval guns newly developed by Sun Yuanhua and others were installed on several main ships for testing.
The result was very unsatisfactory.
After actual inspection, I found that things were a bit big.
"The recoil of this kind of naval gun is so powerful that no matter how thick the wooden ship plank is, it cannot withstand it."
E Hong pointed at the broken wooden board slightly, his expression still scared.
Although the construction of the Fuchuan is different from that of European warships, the issue of sturdiness is also taken into consideration, so it is strong and heavy enough.
Unexpectedly, when the new naval gun fired, the wood was broken.
"The thickness and hardness of this kind of ship plate are almost the same as those of Europa's warships. In other words, if new naval guns are installed on our new warships, the consequences will not be much better than this."
"The blocking rope didn't work either. We fired a cannon and the rope broke. If the gunner hadn't ducked quickly, he would have received the urn at home."
Although he was joking, Yi Dedong, the leader of the naval gun test team, still had lingering fears.
The artillery on the battleship will be fixed to the bulkhead with two ropes in order to prevent it from sliding backwards and causing chaos after firing.
When firing, if the artillery retreats, it will be pulled back by these two ropes.
E Honglue, Yi Dedong and others thought of the strong recoil of the new naval gun, and deliberately thickened the rope. However, it was useless, as it was still torn apart by the huge recoil of the artillery.
Sun Yuanhua squatted next to the artillery, feeling faintly broken.
When I first came here, I thought this task was simple. But only today did he realize that he seemed to have fallen into a pit.
Just this one artillery piece almost sank the ship. If it were like what Zuo Menggen said, a ship was loaded with forty or fifty artillery pieces...
Well, he couldn't imagine it anymore.
Regarding these issues, Zuo Mengeng is also a bit troublesome.
The only thing he could think of was the rope problem.
"Since hemp rope doesn't work, then use steel ropes. Contact the steel factory and ask them to cast the steel ropes. Will the steel ropes still be broken?"
This idea brightened the eyes of everyone in the Navy and made them less frustrated.
What is unexpected is that his idea of a steel cable actually opened up everyone's thinking.
Yi Dedong tried to suggest: "When we tested the artillery, we found that the reason why the recoil of the artillery can cause damage to the deck is that most of the recoil of the artillery is directed sideways and downwards. Is there any way to change the direction of the recoil of the artillery? ? By moving it parallel and backward, wouldn’t it cause so much damage to the deck?”
Zuo Mengeng looked carefully.
He found that the gun mounts of the naval guns developed by Sun Yuanhua and others were basically the same as those of European naval guns of this era.
The barrel is placed on a wooden frame with four wooden wheels at the front and rear.
Doing so would have greatly reduced the recoil of the artillery. However, the collodion explosive used in the new naval guns is too powerful and is not enough to offset more.
"Can we lay an extra layer of steel plate on the deck below the gun emplacement?"
Zuo Mengeng thought of a way.
