After most people arrived in the Dachu Empire, they were often willing to work for a period of time because of the high salary offered by the Dachu Empire. If it was not possible, they could just leave.
It's just that it's not that easy to go to sea and go home. There are not always ships sailing. Even if there are, they may not take you with them. Even if they take you, the ticket is not a small amount.
Therefore, those who want to leave can often only work for the Chu Empire for a year and a half to earn travel expenses...
In fact, the Da Chu Empire never thought of keeping these people forever. As long as they keep what they have learned, they can leave at any time%...
What the Dachu Empire needs is the knowledge of technicians, the experience of craftsmen, and some small skills.
Recruit technicians and craftsmen through internal excavation; and recruit technicians and craftsmen through external excavation. At the same time, a group of people from the Royal Institute of Technology will also participate with some immature modern technology theories.
In this way, the design and construction of the battleships of the Dachu Empire was feasible.
——
When it came to the specific design, even though it had been decided to build an ocean-going battleship, there were still some differences.
Some people believe that since battleships are the main force in naval battles, they should pay more attention to firepower, acquire hundreds of artillery pieces, and equip them with more heavy artillery. They can use firepower to destroy any enemy warships in naval battles in order to control the sea and destroy the enemy fleet. It was blocked directly in the port.
However, some people believe that warships are built for war, and since they are for war, you must first be able to reach the battlefield or catch up with the enemy. Therefore, ocean seaworthiness and speed are more important, and firepower is secondary.
After all, if the ocean suitability is not good, you cannot go to the ocean, and you can only stay at home and fight. And this kind of battleship fighting at home is not the offshore battleship that was abandoned before.
Not to mention the speed. When you encounter an enemy on the sea, if your speed is not good, you will not be able to catch up with the enemy, and you will not be able to run away from a powerful enemy. If your speed is not good and you are not flexible enough, your steering will also be difficult. It is more difficult, so that you will be seized the upper hand and the T prefix in the naval battle.
As for protection...it's also a big debate.
The path for the development of warships in the Dachu Empire Navy is very clear. When the large-scale shipbuilding plan was finalized a few years ago, the divisions of frigates, cruisers, and battleships were already defined.
The warships of the Dachu Empire Navy are not classified simply by tonnage or the number of guns, but by their purpose.
The frigate is positioned to patrol offshore, escort, and perform low-intensity combat missions. To put it bluntly, it is just a handyman.
They are required to be able to do everything and at the same time, they are required to control costs.
The Daye-class frigate is such a warship. It has a tonnage of only 350 tons and is equipped with twenty-two artillery pieces, including twelve fourteen-pound cannons and ten nine-pound naval guns. The smaller tonnage plus the There are a lot of artillery, so the living space per person is relatively small, and the living supplies carried are also relatively small, so it will be more troublesome to let this kind of warship perform ocean missions.
Of course, it's just troublesome, but it doesn't mean you can't do it anymore.
In any case, the Daye-class frigate is a very typical Galen-type sea-going ship. It is not an offshore inland river ship type such as Guangzhou ship or sand ship. The ship type itself has the conditions for ocean navigation, but the supply will be relatively small. It's just trouble.
To put it seriously, this tonnage would have been considered a big ship more than a hundred years ago, and it could even be used to sail around the world... Columbus's ship at that time was only two to three hundred tons.
Even a few decades ago, a warship of this tonnage could serve as the main force in the fleet.
It's just that in recent decades, warships have become larger and larger, resulting in warships of this tonnage gradually being unable to become the main force in naval battles.
With the development of shipbuilding technology, ships can now be built larger and larger.
At the same time, over the past hundred years, naval guns have gradually become the most important maritime weapon, and line tactics have gradually been developed. Today, line tactics have replaced gang-hopping warfare and become the main method of naval warfare.
The combination of many factors has led to the fact that today's battleships are getting bigger and bigger. The tonnage of the main battleships is basically over a thousand tons. Even some cruisers that cooperate with the battleships often weigh as much as six or seven hundred tons. .
Nowadays, warships with more than 300 tons can only be reduced to handymen.
In the positioning of the Da Chu Empire Navy, the warships that truly carry out ocean warfare are cruisers and battleships.
Cruisers are usually used for ocean cruising and escort. During wartime, they serve as reconnaissance ships for the main fleet, providing reconnaissance and performing auxiliary combat missions.
Changxiang Chinese website
Considering the needs of ocean cruising, escort and combat, the tonnage of this kind of cruiser must be large enough. After all, the tonnage of the ship must be large enough to be able to sail in deep seas and be safer when encountering wind and waves.
At the same time, sufficient tonnage can also carry more supplies, making maritime operations more sustainable.
At the same time, in order to achieve higher speed, the hull is built to be more slender, with a larger aspect ratio.
The large aspect ratio, in turn, can carry more artillery.
Taken together, this results in the Xiangyang-class cruiser and the Songjiang-class cruiser currently under construction.
The Dachu Empire is currently quite satisfied with these three new warships that have been put into service.
The cheap and large number of Daye-class frigates can effectively maintain the size of the navy, cultivate more experienced sailors, and at the same time compliment the empire's long maritime territory.
The Xiangyang-class cruiser and its improved Songjiang-class cruiser, these two battlecruisers are actually very similar, can also effectively perform ocean cruising and escort missions, and will cooperate with battleships and enemy fleets in line battles in the future.
However, there was still some debate within the Da Chu Empire Navy about what to do with the planned main force of the naval battle, that is, the battleship.
When the Great Chu Empire's navy first designed battleships, it was when the Great Chu Empire controlled the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, the Great Chu Empire set off a great wave of naval construction.
The target at that time was to fight against Zheng Zhilong's troops.
Therefore, the Naval Ship Administration Department at that time considered more powerful firepower and thicker protection.
But shipbuilding is often a trade-off, and you can’t have everything.
After all, funds are limited, and shipbuilding technology is also limited. It is impossible for you to have unrestrained firepower, protection, seaworthiness and speed.
While ensuring firepower and protection, certain sacrifices must be made in other aspects, such as seaworthiness, living space, endurance and even speed.
To put it simply, what the Navy wanted to build at that time was a main battleship that could operate and operate in offshore waters, which was kind of like an offshore battleship.
But before the design was completed, Zheng Zhilong's troops surrendered.
As a result, the Zheng family fleet, the biggest imaginary enemy of the Chu Empire Navy, became one of our own overnight... Then the Ship Administration Department of the Chu Empire Navy fell into confusion...
They don't know what kind of battleship they should design. Should they continue the previous design and build an offshore battleship, or change the design and build a true ocean-going battleship.
In the end, His Majesty the Emperor Luo Zhixue personally set the tone: the navy is an offensive service, and the construction and development of the navy must be based on proactive offense and keeping the enemy out of the country.
In short, as the Imperial Navy, you cannot just wait for the enemy to come to your doorstep, and then fight a defensive battle with the enemy in your own offshore waters.
The navy must take the initiative to kill any enemy ships, including fleets, that dare to leave the port, block the enemy navy in the port to prevent the enemy fleet from running out and threaten our own transport ships, bombard the enemy's port to attack the enemy, and cover the army's landing on the enemy's territory. .
What kind of defensive navy exists, such as fleets? This kind of fleet may be very suitable for those small and medium-sized countries, because their national strength is limited, and it is naturally feasible to build a navy based on self-protection and limited counterattack capabilities.
But what kind of country was the Chu Empire?
This is a country whose annual fiscal revenue is tens of millions of taels, and its annual military expenditure alone is comparable to that of the entire Europe. If you ask it to build a regional defensive navy, that's nonsense!
The navy is shameless, but he, Luo Zhixue, is still shameless.
Therefore, as the core combat power of the navy, battleships are designated as ocean-going battleships.
As a result, the original design was overturned and re-designed. In this process, many European ships were also referenced. Foreigners also spent a lot of money to purchase two large Galenic armed merchant ships as a reference. At the same time, they also spent a high price to mine A group of foreigners or indigenous Nanyang craftsmen and various people with scientific knowledge came.
Foreigners also make money when they come over, but the Chu Empire is not short of money, especially when hiring various craftsmen, they just spend money directly.
Under such a fierce silver bullet offensive, no barbarian craftsman could resist.
Until now, the Chu Empire has actually been recruiting various craftsmen, especially craftsmen in shipbuilding and guns. The prices offered are extremely high. Not only are the craftsmen high wages, but they also provide quite generous introduction fees... …
Well, in recent years, many merchant ships operating in the Asia-Pacific-Indian waters often bring some craftsmen with them through various illegal or legal means when they go to trade with the Chu Empire to earn money from the Chu Empire. Referral fee.
At the end of last year, there was an armed English merchant who was so bold that he took a small broken ship and more than a hundred desperadoes and walked east from India. He looted several coastal strongholds controlled by the Portuguese. In addition to plundering property, , and also packaged and shipped a group of craftsmen and those who were literate and skilled, including missionaries and low-level nobles, to the Great Chu Empire.
Made a serious profit.
Of course, after these people arrive in the Chu Empire, as long as they are not too stubborn, their basic treatment will not be bad.
After all, the Chu Empire banned slaves and human trafficking was illegal.
