Nanhua needs a "Great Eastern" project of its own!
This sentence was not said by Li Xuelin, but what Zhu Xianhai said when making the decision to build a 10,000-ton ship was to use "major projects to promote the development of national science and technology." Not to mention that it is very common in China in the 21st century, even on the other side of the ocean.
There are similar examples in the United States - the "Apollo moon landing" project is an example of promoting the overall technological progress of the United States through major engineering projects.
And what about in this day and age?
In this era where the first industrial revolution and the second industrial revolution are connected, there are few examples of such key engineering projects promoting the development of national science and technology, but they are not absent.
The most well-known example is the "Great Eastern", but it was not a successful example - the shipyard closed down, the ship owner went bankrupt, and even the "Great Eastern" was sold to Nanhua at a low price.
In this sense, the "Great Eastern" was a failure, and its significance was even ignored intentionally or unintentionally for a long time.
It was not until the 20th century that anyone realized that although the "Great Eastern" was a commercial failure, technically speaking, it made the British shipbuilding industry progress for ten years, becoming far ahead of European countries, and subsequently
For nearly a hundred years, the British shipbuilding industry has been leading the rest of the world, and all this was the result of a seemingly failed business case.
It was the "Great Eastern" that enabled Britain to lead the world in shipbuilding for hundreds of years.
Li Xuelin knew this very well, because he had heard the commander-in-chief mention it more than once that he use key engineering projects to promote technological progress. Not to mention other things, there are many similar key projects in the navy.
Of course, judging from the current situation, the new artillery, high-power steam engines, and new boilers that were promoted in the past are definitely not comparable to the "Great Eastern".
"The Navy needs a "Great Eastern" project of its own!"
After taking Li Xuelin's words, Luanda said solemnly.
"Now, for us, we have only two choices, either we follow the British and learn from them step by step, forever, at least in the next twenty years, or we take advantage of this era of change and use technology to
We can make leaps in history, catch up with the British, or even surpass them technically, and make up for the numerical disadvantage through technological superiority. Now, we only have these two options."
These two choices are also the choices of many backward countries. Most of the time, those backward countries will choose to be followers rather than surpassers.
But in Ruanda's view, South China must choose to be the surpasser. Only in this way can it surpass the United Kingdom in the future.
Holding the teacup in his hand, Li Xuelin did not interrupt Luanda's conversation.
"What are our current technological advantages? The first is our triple-expansion steam engine. The British did not have a similar engine until recently, and we have been using it for many years. The second is our Krupp cannon, which has extremely high performance.
Excellent, it can be called a military weapon. The third is our steel armor. In the past, we had the best composite armor, but now we have the best nickel steel, and our boiler technology is no worse than that of the UK. Sir Li, warships are made of
What is it made of?”
This answer is very simple and anyone can answer it. Not only because Ruanda has already mentioned it, but more importantly, in the past few years, these are the key projects promoted by the Navy.
"Armor, artillery and steam engines, boilers!"
Frowning, Li Xuelin shook his head and said.
"These are just a few elements that make up it. It does not mean that you can build a combat ship with them. You also need..."
“Still needs to be integrated!”
Before he could finish speaking, Ruanda interrupted him and said,
"I'm talking about integration, integration in the true sense, bringing together all our strengths, all our technical strengths, and integrating these world-leading technologies. They have always been there, just staying there, waiting for us.
Put them together.”
Integrate!
If these technologies can be integrated into art warships, one thing that is certain is that the navy will definitely have a first-class powerful combat ship.
But building a combat ship is that simple. Can a combat ship be built just by integrating these technologies?
The battleships can be as large as seven or eight thousand tons, or as large as tens of thousands of tons. The complexity of its engineering is far beyond that of any warship built by Nanhua in the past.
After staring at Li Xuelin thoughtfully for a while, Luanda continued:
"If we can integrate them together, then we will have the most advanced combat ship in the world, Chief Li, the most advanced!"
"It is also possible that, like the "Great Eastern", it will be immature or even fail. Don't forget that we have made so many improvements to the "Great Eastern". We have replaced new propellers and engines.
and……"
Halfway through, Li Xuelin stopped talking. He already knew the answer in his heart. Since they could transform the Great Eastern, why couldn't they build it?
"Although to a certain extent, the "Great Eastern" is immature, at least the "Great Eastern" attempts to - carrying crazy grand goals - challenge engineering difficulties that are several times the top shipbuilding level at the time.
It is a brilliant and respectable attempt. And this is exactly what we need to try, Mr. Li, through this attempt, even if it fails, I think it will benefit us endlessly!"
"You mean to pay the tuition!"
Li Xuelin stared at Luanda and asked.
"As you said, a 10,000-ton combat ship costs at least nearly two million yuan. Such a large amount of money can be used as tuition. Who can afford this tuition?"
When he said this, Li Xuelin was still looking at Luanda, who was looking directly at him, staring at him unblinkingly!
"Mr. Li, the tuition is worth it. Any latecomer who wants to catch up with the leader must make new attempts and have the courage to pay the tuition. The tuition may seem expensive, but even if it fails
The benefits are endless. At least we have gained experience in failure and will also make certain technological progress. Just like the "Great Eastern", Russell's shipyard went bankrupt and Brunel's reputation was disgraced, but the entire British shipbuilding industry
But I’ve benefited a lot from it!”
Facing Chief Li's gaze, Luanda emphasized,
"But if we succeed, the navy will have the most powerful battleships in the world! At least it will have warships that can rival the British battleships. Why did our fleet not play a role in this war? Because our fleet
Too weak! Therefore, we must try this to build a strong navy!"
"You mean to build the navy by paying tuition fees?"
Looking at Luanda, Li Anlin said:
"We can definitely use this money to buy warships from the UK, and I can tell you that now we also have plans to buy combat ships from the UK. If we have this money to pay tuition, we might as well use it to buy warships. After all, even if we are doing
It will take three years to try, but the Navy can wait three or four years before considering building combat ships!"
Hearing this, the corners of Luanda's mouth drooped. He looked at Li Xuelin and muttered:
"Buy? Can we buy a powerful fleet just by buying? We need to buy warships, which is also the best way to increase our strength. However, Commander Li, in the end, we still need to build large-scale fleets by ourselves.
Warships. If we do it now, we can buy at least a few years. Isn’t this a great time to shorten the gap between us and the British?"
Staring at the puzzled Luanda, Li Xuelin laughed: This guy is indeed still very young. He may be a designer, but that's all.
"Bring out your plan!"
"What?"
"Come out with your plan. Don't you want to build a large combat ship? I happen to be going to Buenos Aires. You came at the right time. Now the navy..."
Li Xuelin laughed again.
"Thanks to other people's funding, the Navy is very rich and we are fully capable of paying the tuition!"
"However, it's not enough for you to just convince me. You also need to convince the commander-in-chief. You can't say anything! Come up with your plan. As long as you can convince the commander-in-chief, not to mention the two million tuition fees, it will be four million.
The navy can also afford the tuition!"
This chapter has been completed!