At the southern port of Xinjing, three newly painted ironclad ships docked at the front of the port, followed by wooden warships and gunboats.
The Navy's inauguration ceremony was held as scheduled. Li Mingyuan wore a special navy white dress and walked on horseback among a group of senior officers.
The open space on the shore of the port was filled with soldiers. Twenty-five hundred naval officers and soldiers were arranged in five neat square formations, with 500 people per queue. Under the leadership of a group of young naval officers, they were eagerly waiting for the time when the navy would be established.
"Tap tap tap." More than a dozen guard soldiers rode into the naval camp on tall horses. Chen Sen, Feng Guoan and other naval officers immediately stood up straight with their chests raised and their eyes at the entrance of the camp.
The escort officers and soldiers who first walked into the naval camp were divided into two lines, replacing the naval soldiers on duty at the door. They rode on horseback to guard both sides of the gate. More than 300 guard officers and soldiers were stationed in the camp for defense in an orderly manner. Then, senior military and political officials from Rio Grande do Sul headed by Li Mingyuan
Start entering the camp.
A group of officers marched to the central area of the military camp. Chen Sen and others waiting aside neatly saluted and expressed their welcome to Li Mingyuan, the naval commander.
There is an extreme lack of naval talents in the Chinese army. The highest rank of promoted naval officers such as Chen Sen is only lieutenant colonel. As a technical branch of the navy, the command position cannot be held by ordinary young officers. Therefore, after careful consideration, Li Mingyuan
He personally served as the commander of the navy, taking charge of both the army and the navy.
Although Li Mingyuan attended the founding ceremony of the Navy as the commander of the Navy this time, his military rank does not belong to the naval system.
Under the current military rank system of the navy and army, the highest military rank awarded to generals is major general. As the monarch of Rio Grande do Sul and the commander-in-chief of the two armies, Li Mingyuan's military rank is marshal tailor-made for him.
The rank of marshal in service is up to general. The rank of marshal is reserved for the monarch. In practical terms, it is more like an honorary title.
Chen Sen and others performed military salutes, walked quickly to Li Mingyuan, and said respectfully: "All naval officers and soldiers are here, waiting for the commander's review!"
"Let's begin!" Li Mingyuan returned a military salute and said.
The order was issued, and the well-prepared naval soldiers immediately began armed drills.
The three ironclad ships docked at the port started their power units, and dense black steam and smoke emerged from the chimneys. The combat flag was raised on the Chaoyang watchtower. The three ironclad ships quickly put into combat formation and rushed towards the exercise target on the sea surface of the port.
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The target ship was an abandoned sailing warship. The sails on the warship were all unfolded. After the exercise command was given, the soldiers near the abandoned warship immediately untied the reins of the fixed ship. The warship was driven by the wind on the sea and sailed towards the downwind sea.
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On the Chaoyang, the Prussian officer Hans, who was in charge of the exercise, stood in the command room with a telescope and loudly ordered: "Full left rudder, two cars into two, target the enemy ship on the left!"
"Full left rudder, two cars into two, target enemy ship on the left!"
The helmsman repeated the order loudly and operated the rudder at the same time to correct the course of the ironclad.
Chaoyang's two vehicles were all powered on, their corner speed accelerated, and they were getting closer and closer to the target warship ahead.
"Target enemy warship, distance 1200, 20 to the right, load one shot, calibrate the gun one shot,"
"Target enemy warship, distance 1200, 20 to the right, load one shot, calibrate the gun one shot."
The sailors on duty relayed the order, and the main gunners on both sides of the battleship quickly loaded the shells.
"Ready, request for orders!"
"put!"
"Fire!" the gunner pulled the gun bolt, a loud "bang" sounded on the sea surface, and the cannonball landed in the water not far from the abandoned warship.
"Target enemy ship in front, distance 1130, 20 to the right, load one round, fire seven rounds, prepare!"
Hans corrected the position of the abandoned warship and issued orders loudly.
Urgent combat orders echoed on the Chaoyang, and dozens of gunners quickly loaded cannonballs. After the cannonballs were loaded, Hans gave an order, and the abandoned warship broke into two pieces under a salvo of artillery fire and quickly sank into the water.
The Navy's first exercise was an overall success. Within half an hour, all six exercise ships were sunk, and two of them were sunk by the Chaoyang.
Chaoyang and Dawn were slightly damaged in the Battle of Joinvia and returned to fleet service after a month and a half of repairs. The other ironclad was a seriously damaged battleship captured in the Paraguay War. After two months of repairs by Prussian mechanics, it was restored to service in more than ten years.
It was listed in the Navy list a few days ago and was named Victory by Li Mingyuan.
The main force of the navy to be established includes three ironclad ships, Chaoyang, Dawn, and Victory, ten wooden warships of more than 1,500 tons, and fifteen gunboats. As well as supporting twenty-five troop carriers, supply ships, and patrols
Boat,
There were hundreds of large and small ships captured by the Chinese troops. In addition to the above-mentioned ships that were retained as the main warships of the navy,
The Caribbean Fleet and the Inland River Fleet were divided into a total of more than 70 ships, 90 ships with a tonnage of more than 500 tons after performing transportation tasks, and more than 50 ocean-going ships purchased from other countries, once again making up 150 ships.
At a certain scale, the Rio Grande do Sul Ocean Shipping Company was established, which was mainly responsible for transporting Chinese immigrants. At the same time, when the empty ships sailed, they carried goods produced in South America and sold them to merchants in the Nanyang region, who then served as middlemen to sell them to other regions.
When the Chinese navy was at its strongest, it had more than 150 large and small ships. After the army was reorganized, the main fleet only had less than 40 ships left.
Steam power is widely used in the navigation industry, and gasoline-powered electric motors will also develop rapidly in the next few decades. The role of wooden warships is getting smaller and smaller, so Li Mingyuan went against all objections and converted most of the wooden warships into
Battleships eliminated naval forces.
The eliminated wooden warships were not directly used for immigrant transportation. Instead, they were first renovated at a civilian shipyard near Xinjing Port and installed steam engines as power systems to increase the ship's sailing speed.
The naval fleet exercise consisting mainly of three ironclad ships was completed. Hans and some naval officers and soldiers disembarked one after another and reported the exercise to Li Mingyuan.
Hans stayed in Rio Grande do Sul as an instructor for the Chinese troops after Colonel West returned to the country. Two months ago, the Prussian experts and officer corps arrived in Rio Grande do Sul and brought news from the country. The Prussian government allowed the officer corps to operate privately.
The Chinese army was responsible for their treatment. Prussia allowed officers of the officer corps to join the Chinese army because Li Mingyuan sent people to negotiate with them. Most of the more than 200 Prussian officers were lieutenant-level officers, and only a few of them led the team.
A Prussian staff officer and the newly promoted Hans have the rank of major. Although the officers of the officer corps are not high in rank, the formal military education they received in the Prussian army is urgently needed by the Chinese army. In order to make them sincerely serve the Chinese army, Li Mingyuan
Not only does it provide generous military pay, but it also encourages them to join the National Defense Forces and provides them with good housing and additional military subsidies.
With Li Mingyuan using money and various conditions to win over, three-quarters of the officers' corps members agreed to join the Chinese army as private individuals, and Hans was among them.
Li Mingyuan first affirmed Hans's achievements in person, then took a letter of appointment from the guard and said sternly: "Major Hans, in view of your outstanding performance during the training and command of the naval force, I serve as Commander of the Rio Grande do Sul Navy.
Your status will grant you the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Rio Grande do Sul Navy and the position of Commander of the Second Fleet."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hans solemnly accepted the appointment letter with the traditional prudent character of Prussian soldiers. At the same time, Li Mingyuan took out a pair of lieutenant colonel epaulets to replace the major epaulets on Hans' shoulders.
After issuing the letter of appointment to Hans, Li Mingyuan successively appointed Chen Sen, Feng Guoan and other naval officers to new positions. Chen Sen was promoted to a rank of lieutenant colonel and was responsible for commanding the First Fleet with Chaoyang and Dawn as the main force.
, while Hans was in charge of the Second Fleet consisting of the Victory and some wooden battleships, and Feng Guoan officially served as the commander of the Marine Corps with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
After the awarding ceremony was completed, Li Mingyuan personally announced the establishment of the Rio Grande do Sul Navy. From this day on, the National Defense Forces officially had the combat capabilities of the navy and the army, taking a key step in the development and growth of the Chinese in South America.