The first thousand and thirty-six chapters open the era of great navigation
"Before this, the highest power record of a steam engine was twelve horsepower!"
Naturally, Shi Huanren would not say that the previous records for the highest power of steam engines were all produced by a single-boiler steam engine, but their steam engine was said to be one, but in fact it was two units pieced together.
This is the latest low-pressure steam engine modification plan proposed by the Royal Institute of Technology!
When there was no breakthrough in materials, and although the high-pressure steam engine had been designed a long time ago, it could not be built, the Royal Institute of Technology also took great pains to increase the power of the existing low-pressure steam engine!
They began to spend a lot of time on various designs and came up with a separate refrigerator. With this change, they expected to increase the power of the existing steam engine by more than three times. In addition, they also made many other improvements.
Its biggest purpose is to increase the power of the low-pressure steam engine while maintaining stability and improving fuel utilization.
In addition to these improvements, they also tried to combine multiple steam engines and use multiple steam boilers to increase the power of a single steam engine system. They also made shipboard improvements to see if they could be used in
For use on board ships.
They also asked Zhaoqing Machinery Company to build a test machine. Later, when they heard that the Navy was in urgent need of one that could be used on the 680 merchant ship, they simply conducted several simple tests on the test machine and found that there were no major problems.
Okay, just move it directly to the monthly number.
Of course, they had not made any guarantees before. Just because the preliminary test was successful does not mean that the actual use will be smooth. At the same time, they also said that even this latest steam engine has only 35 horsepower. If you want
It is very difficult to push the modified 700-ton Yueji, and the speed will be very, very slow.
But the Navy doesn’t care!
This Yueji is not going to fight, and there is no requirement for maneuverability. The reason why they need a steam engine is purely to prevent the Yueji from entering the depths of the Pacific. After entering the windless zone, when the sails cannot play a role, they can let the Yueji
Have a backup power.
Even if it's slower, as long as you can walk, that's enough.
Furthermore, the Navy has long been interested in steam engines and has wanted to equip them with them. Now they heard that the Royal Institute of Technology has developed a steam engine with barely 30 horsepower. They also want to actually test it. If possible,
If used, they will move these steam engines directly to battleships in the future.
It doesn’t matter if it’s slow. It’s very troublesome to use and expensive. These are not problems, as long as you use them!
The Navy's requirements for steam engines have always been very low, as long as they can be used!
Yueji, this navy's armed transport ship, was converted into an exploration ship and became the first navy ship to be officially equipped with a steam engine!
As for whether it is easy to use or not, you have to take a look and decide!
However, in order to fit this huge steam engine and carry coal, the Rose also sacrificed a lot of space, but in Su Jiade's view, it was all worth it. He already had plans for other supplies.
, when he arrives in Ryukyu, he will bring two more merchant ships, loaded with supplies, to be used as supply ships.
At the same time, he has also carried out the greatest reduction in personnel. Marines are not required at all, only sailors. If there is a need to fight on land, the sailors will directly fill the role.
However, he estimated that such a situation would not happen, because he had no intention of fighting people on land. He was just exploring routes, not establishing colonies, and did not need to have too many interactions with the locals.
The expedition led by Su Jiade has not just one ship, but three ships scheduled. The Yueji is the main ship, and on the Ryukyu side, two supply ships of the Tang Dynasty Navy are expected to join it!
By then, the expedition team composed of these three ships will sail all the way east, heading towards the depths of the Pacific Ocean. As for what will happen and what will be encountered on the subsequent journey, no one can predict it.
While Su Jiade was leading the Yueji sailing, another merchant ship was also being refitted. This ship was the Jinyuan, which belonged to the Datang Western Company!
However, this ship no longer belongs to Datang Western Company, because this ship has been requisitioned for more than a year. As compensation, the Navy directly gave Datang Western Company a new 680 merchant ship!
Today, this merchant ship directly belongs to the Tang Dynasty Navy, but it does not belong to any squadron. Instead, it directly belongs to the Datang Navy Headquarters, just like the Yueji and several other exploration ships.
According to the Navy's plan, the subsequent route exploration in the South China Sea and the Americas will be undertaken by the Navy. As for the route exploration in the Indian Ocean, Africa, and Europe, the Datang Western Company will continue to be responsible.
The Jinyuan is now moored in Wusong Port. Navy officials and technicians from Jiangnan Shipyard, Zhaoqing Machinery Company, and Royal Institute of Technology are making preliminary modifications to the Jinyuan.
The focus of the modification is to install a steam engine to serve as backup power. In addition, the cabin and sails also need to be modified!
The goal of the changes is to have better survivability with this ship!
On an expedition ship, staying alive is the most important thing!
Therefore, some of the ship's redundant facilities will be taken away. Even the artillery, only two five-pound cannons are left as the most basic self-defense firepower.
At the same time, the ship's control has also been modified to ensure that fewer people can operate the ship!
In fact, using the 680 merchant ship as an expedition ship is actually not very qualified. Because of its good maneuverability and high speed, it is of little use for exploration. An expedition ship requires a larger cargo capacity and fewer manpower to control it.
, in this way, more supplies can be carried, so that the people on the ship can support it longer.
As an exploration ship, it is not uncommon for it to be unable to see land for several months. It is possible that it may even be unable to see land for half a year.
How to survive in this situation is the biggest problem!
With the successful return of the Jinyuan, driven by Li Xuan, a new round of route exploration for the Tang Dynasty will begin. If the route exploration goes smoothly, the Tang Dynasty will also enter the Age of Great Navigation.
And through the huge profits brought by the Age of Discovery, it fed back the development of domestic industry and commerce, thereby completely completing the industrial revolution!
When Li Xuan in China was preparing to launch a new round of route exploration, Ying Zihua, one of the first explorers, was in distant Africa thinking about what to do next!
After an extremely arduous voyage, his fleet finally successfully crossed the western Indian Ocean and then arrived at the eastern coast of Africa. However, after arriving at the eastern coast of Africa, his fleet had to pause because his fleet had to stop.
On the one hand, various supplies are about to be exhausted and need to be replenished. On the other hand, the mast of one of the ships in his fleet was broken, causing a significant decrease in speed and making navigation difficult. They need to find it as soon as possible.
A place to supply and maintain ships.
At this time, they were probably located in the eastern coastal area of Ethiopia. Going south, they reached Mogadishu, which was a port controlled by the Portuguese. Then all the way south from Mogadishu, basically everything had the facilities to anchor.
The ports that maintained large merchant ships were all under Portuguese control. Even if they bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, many of the ports they encountered were trading posts and supply ports belonging to the Portuguese.
Other countries can't get in at all. Spain is such an awesome empire that the sun never sets. They have to avoid the Portuguese in this sea area!
Otherwise, why the Spaniards stubbornly wanted to establish colonies in Africa, India, and East Asia in recent years was not because they were forced by Portugal.
Today, the routes from Europe to East Asia are almost completely monopolized by Portugal!
This also makes many countries have opinions about the Portuguese. This is the case with the Tang Dynasty, and the same is true with Spain. Otherwise, why would the Tang Dynasty be like seeing its own nephew whenever Spain comes to Nanyang?
, excitedly went up to protect him.
Then the two companies happily signed various business cooperation agreements.
It’s not because they have a common enemy like the Portuguese.
It is a pity that the current strength of the Spaniards is still a little bit behind, and the route they opened from Europe to Asia has never been successful!
So the Datang Dynasty simply took matters into its own hands and established the Datang Western Company to open up European routes!
After discussing with a group of staff under his command, Ying Zihua decided to suspend the southward journey first. After all, given the current state of their fleet, it was too dangerous to go south. If they encountered the Portuguese fleet, people would die!
Today's Portuguese, no matter whether you are the fleet of the Tang Dynasty or the Spanish fleet, as long as you dare to pass by the coast of Africa, no matter whether you are going to Europe or East Asia, if you are encountered by them, you will be sunk.
!
Otherwise, they could have monopolized the route from Europe to East Asia for so long only by relying on naval guns!
Therefore, Ying Zihua decided not to go south, but to go north to the Gulf of Aden, to the Arab ports, to supply supplies first, and then to get in touch with the Ottoman Empire and establish diplomatic relations.
After all, the ultimate goal of Ying Zihua, or Datang Western Company, is to completely open up European routes, but going to Europe is also for business, and coming to the Gulf of Aden to find people from the Ottoman Empire is also for business.
Moreover, the Ottomans controlled the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt, and they were engaged in the business of second-tier traders. They transported a large amount of Eastern goods transported by merchant ships into the Mediterranean through land transport, and then sold them to European countries. In the process, they made a lot of money.
Big.
Furthermore, in the past two years, Ottoman merchant ships have also traveled across the oceans and arrived on the coast of Datang for trade. To be more serious, the people of the two countries are old friends.
Therefore, Ying Zihua decided not to go south first, but to go north to discuss business with the Ottoman people.