The shipyard located in Zuowan has long been a large-scale factory with more than 10,000 employees after several expansions. In the autumn rain, the shipyard was still as busy as ever.
The drizzle was weakly hitting the workers' bamboo hats. Although it was raining in the sky, in the Nanhua Shipyard, the craftsmen were still busy. The red rivets were tossed in the air like shooting stars. Those standing on the scaffolding
After the riveter grabs the rivet in the air with iron pliers, he inserts it into the nail hole of the steel plate and then hits the rivet with a hammer. In the double-layer hull, the young apprentice holds the wooden plug with his shoulder to ensure that the rivet is riveted, building a double-layer ship.
The process of building the hull is similar to that of the Great Eastern, requiring a large number of young apprentices who are small enough to work on the mezzanine.
Child labor is the most common occurrence in this era. There is nothing unusual about this. Liang Mingwei, wearing a rubberized raincoat, stood under the awning next to the dock, looking at the drawings and talking to the supervisors from time to time.
At this time, the ship had already taken shape - it was a real steel-hulled ship.
"The armored belt at the waterline is made of two-inch full steel armor. Its resistance is equivalent to 2.5 inches of iron armor. The inner steel shell is 0.5 inches. With such thick steel armor, only British Albanian rifled heavy artillery can pose a threat to it...
…”
There was a burst of discussion in the awning immediately.
"This money is not wasted!"
“It’s worth it!”
The reason why people are making such comments is because this ship is indeed very expensive. The budget for the hull alone is more than 150,000 yuan. If the steam engine and naval guns are included, the price directly exceeds 200,000 yuan.
"It's a bit expensive, but it's worth it. However, you have to remember that the launch time must be consistent with the schedule. The Coast Guard has been waiting for this warship."
Liang Mingwei's voice seemed a little urgent, and his tone was colder than rain.
The ship under construction is an iron-armored gunboat purchased by the Coast Guard. In fact, it is based on the mosquito gun ship, but its tonnage is larger, with a single mast and a single chimney. The mast is behind the chimney and the main gun is behind the chimney.
On the bow of the ship, there is a collision angle under the waterline...you can see the shadow of the "mosquito cannon ship".
According to the views of later generations, it can be called "offshore defense ironclad ship" or "small ironclad ship". What is the purpose of building this small ironclad ship?
Of course it is to strengthen Nanhua's maritime power, but there is also a more important reason - exercise!
Accumulate shipbuilding experience by building armored ships and train a team capable of building armored ships. In fact, the development of industry is the same as fighting monsters. It means constant upgrading. First fight small monsters and then big bosses.
What is the ultimate goal?
Of course, it is to build a real ironclad ship, the kind of 10,000 tons!
But right now, being able to build such a 1,400-ton ironclad ship is a leap forward for Nanhua's shipbuilding industry.
After exhorting a few more words to the engineers, Liang Mingwei turned to look at the officer beside him. He was wearing a white naval officer's uniform, with the discipline button fastened on his straight collar. The officer's eyes were fixed on the warship.
"In accordance with the design idea of the bow against the enemy, emphasis is placed on firepower in the direction of the bow. The main gun has a 254 mm Krug breech steel cannon at the front and rear, and a 30 mm Canadian six-barrel rapid-fire machine gun to defend the small boat.
, we added two more 400mm torpedo tubes to enhance combat effectiveness..."
Liang Mingwei emphasized a little proudly in his words.
"Despite its small tonnage, its firepower is very powerful, with two 26-fold 254mm main guns. Each gun has 100 rounds of ammunition, a maximum elevation angle of 10 degrees, a maximum depression angle of 3 degrees, and an effective range of 8,000 meters;
It can penetrate 350 mm steel plates at a distance of 3,000 meters. Although the exposed turret has no armor, it has a good view and a large shooting range. I dare say that there is no more powerful warship in the entire South America."
After thinking for a while, Liang Mingwei added.
"The Tianlong-class cannons have 20 times the barrel, and the barrel is too short. Although there are two more cannons, but... that's it. Commander Gu, I dare say that the future will definitely be the era of this kind of ironclad ship, and now we are in the era of
Also design more powerful warships.”
When Liang Mingwei introduced it, Gu Jingran just looked at the warship expressionlessly, and then said to himself.
"As long as you can build it, the garrison will definitely purchase it. You should have heard that our contract to purchase warships in the UK has been frozen by the British..."
The contract freeze means that the garrison can no longer purchase warships from the UK. In this case, Nanhua's shipyard seems to have become their only option.
"What? Frozen?"
Liang Mingwei really hasn't heard of it. As an engineer, he rarely pays attention to these things. There is nothing more important than shipbuilding.
But in an instant, he felt secretly happy. For the shipyard, this is definitely a good thing. After all, in terms of shipbuilding technology, the current Nanhua Shipyard is definitely not as good as the British. Under this premise, the Coast Guard
I would definitely be more willing to buy British warships, even if it costs a little more.
After all, quality comes first.
But now the British have frozen the contract, which means that for the Coast Guard, Nanhua Shipyard has become their only choice.
This is a great thing!
Of course, even if he was secretly happy in his heart, he would not show it, but said it in a doubtful tone.
"How is this going?"
"What else could be going on? It's just because of Chile. The British side asked us to explain our actions in Chile and even asked us to withdraw our troops,"
With a cold smile, Gu Jingran said,
"Those gringos opened their lips and asked us to withdraw our troops, regardless of the treaty we signed with Chile. Since we have a treaty, why should we withdraw? Therefore, the British will use the method of freezing the contract to force us to make a decision
Give in and withdraw from Chile.”
The so-called frozen contract is actually the British's last bargaining chip. In addition, they have one option left, which is to use force.
They thought that this would make Nanhua succumb, but they must have made a wrong calculation. At least for Zhu Xianhai, he would never succumb to such pressure.
Others will not give in. In many cases, pressure is also motivation! The arrogance of the British became the motivation for Nanhua to develop itself.
Staring at the warship that was about to be completed in the dock, Gu Jingran's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So, what the garrison means is that no matter what, we will support you in building this warship. After it is built, we will go to sea for sea trials and target practice, and then use this to prove to the British that they want to choke us...
...Don’t even think about it! This is just the beginning, we will definitely purchase more warships in the future.”
Gu Ranran's words made Liang Mingwei's heart surge. What made him excited was definitely not because of these words to argue with, but because he saw opportunities. He saw opportunities.
It was not only an opportunity for Nanhua Shipyard, but also an opportunity for him personally.
He nodded repeatedly and said.
"So that's it, then we have to hurry up..."
"time!"
Gu Jingran said.
"The most important thing now is time. The British diplomatic protest has just begun. Who knows what they will do next? Our two "Tianlong-class" ships are currently in Valparaiso, Chile, and there are none here in South China."
What kind of maritime power, if the British intervene, then we will have no choice but to use shore artillery!"
Fortunately, Nanhua's coastal defense fort is quite powerful and will never be passively beaten. It can even guarantee that it can teach any invading enemy at sea a profound lesson. However, this situation of having no defense at sea is definitely not what the security force wants to see.
Arrived.
What they need are warships, and they need combat ships that can fight the tens of thousands of British warships.
Maybe in the past they looked down on this little guy carrying a 10-inch cannon, but now they really have no better choice besides this ship.
Whether out of desperation or to stimulate the development of Nanhua Shipyard, purchasing domestically produced warships has now become the only option.
Staring at the workers in the dock, Liang Mingwei thought for a while and said.
"Well, I have an idea, maybe I can try it!"
"any solution?"
Gu Jingran asked with some surprise.
"If I can work the night shift to bring over the electric lights on Zhuque Street, the workers will be divided into two shifts and work non-stop day and night. I can at least shorten the construction period by half. If everything goes well, the water can be launched within a month, but the electric lights
…”
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Jingran said.
"I'll figure out a way to light up the lights. You quickly dispatch workers and see if we can meet the construction deadline!",
This chapter has been completed!