Even though Hawkins wanted to get a steam battleship from the beginning, he could either buy a steam battleship directly or buy a steam engine.
But even if he had such thoughts and ambitions, he knew early on that this was impossible, although he could not understand why the Tang Dynasty refused to sell steam battleships even if they had money.
But he didn't understand, but he knew very well that it was impossible for England to obtain steam battleships from the Tang Dynasty.
This is why he continued to fund Ferroman's research and development of steam engines in China. Since he couldn't buy one, he had to build it himself.
When he came to Xu Zhenchuan, he only came with a just-in-case mentality.
What if I can buy it?
It is a pity that he was disappointed once again. In addition to his disappointment, he got a reply from Xu Zhenchuan, saying that there was no need to count on steam battleships, but ordinary sailing wooden battleships could be sold to England. Not only
Only battleships of a few hundred tons can be sold, and even battleships of thousands of tons can be discussed.
This news once again stimulated Hawkins!
Although steam battleships are very good, they are useless if they are not available no matter how good they are.
But there is a chance to get this thousand-ton battleship, and this is very important to himself and even to England as a whole.
The Tang people had advanced shipbuilding technology, which had spread throughout Europe through the Portuguese and Spanish more than ten years ago.
Most humans are a species that are good at learning, whether they are Chinese or Europeans. When the Tang Dynasty's new ships appeared, they quickly attracted the attention of Europeans and then imitated them.
Very early on, the Portuguese imitated Tang ships in Malacca, also known as the 680 merchant ships. Although the cargo capacity of this merchant ship was not as good as the Galen ship, it was a good balance of transportation, firepower and speed.
Naturally, it is not very good to be used as a pure transport ship, but it is extremely suitable to be used as an armed merchant ship.
Most of the contemporary ocean-going merchant ships are armed merchant ships, which is why Tang ships were quickly imitated by the Portuguese, Spanish and even the entire Europe.
Later, the hull structure of Datang's professional warships was gradually known to the outside world, because the Datang Navy and the Datang Western Trading Company, which also equipped warships, had large fleets and often fought against the Portuguese and pirates.
It is perfectly normal for the wreckage of several captured battleships to be captured.
Once they knew the structure of the hull of professional warships, and they had already mastered the hull structure of Tang ships, the Portuguese took the lead in building their own professional warships.
Although the details may be different, the design concept is actually the same, that is, warships only focus on combat, rather than taking care of cargo transportation as in the past.
The Portuguese took the lead in building professional warships imitating the Tang Dynasty, and then the Spanish followed suit. Then other countries in Europe, including the Ottomans and even the Safavid dynasty, began to build professional ocean-going warships one after another.
However, even a wooden sail warship has high technical requirements and requires a large number of skilled workers. If it is a ship of several hundred tons, it will be even more. But if it is a giant ship of more than a thousand tons, it will also be a professionally designed warship.
, then it would be very troublesome to build.
In contemporary times, there are actually not many countries with both technical and construction capabilities. For Spain and Portugal, two traditional maritime powers, there is no problem. However, for emerging maritime countries, such as England, there are still certain problems.
of difficulty.
If you ask the English to build a thousand-ton merchant ship, they can do it, but a merchant ship and a warship are two different things, although they are both wooden sailboats.
The warships of later generations were also made of steel, and the civilian ships were also made of steel. They all seemed to be steel ships, but the technical standards for building civilian ships and building warships were very different.
And even if they could barely build it, they wouldn't be able to get much in a short time due to the size of the shipyard and skilled workers.
At this time, if they can purchase the warships of the Tang Dynasty, it will not only allow England to have advanced thousand-ton giant ships in a short time, but they will also be able to conduct an in-depth analysis of the warships of the Tang Dynasty and then better imitate the Tang Dynasty warships.
Battleship.
In addition, there is another crucial point. The Tang Dynasty said that naval guns can also be bought together, which is also a good thing for the English.
Although the English could also build cannons, and like the Tang Dynasty, they tended to build large-caliber and long-barreled artillery, but again, the country was small and weak.
If the Tang Dynasty could export a large number of naval guns, this would be a great thing.
There are so many benefits, and Hawkins agreed on the spot. This is a good thing, a great thing.
You'd be a fool if you didn't!
But when he learned about the price offered by the Tang Dynasty, he wanted to slap Xu Zhenchuan!
How dare you ask for 60,000 yuan for a frigate that is extremely dilapidated and has patchwork sails?
Do you dare to ask for a price of 100,000 for a slightly better cruiser?
Is this me being a traitor?
Although this price not only comes with the hull, but also comes with naval guns, sails and other facilities, as well as some propellant and ammunition, and even some matchlocks, swords and other light weapons. England only needs to send a few hundred sailors aboard.
As long as the sailors are good enough, the ship can be pulled out for combat immediately.
But it’s also shockingly expensive!
For example, a cruiser costs one hundred thousand Tang Yuan!
And what is the concept of one hundred thousand Tang Yuan?
Of course Hawkins didn't know it before, but now, he knows it very well!
According to the currency laws of the Tang Dynasty, one Tang Yuan is equivalent to 6.2 grams of pure gold. This 100,000 yuan is equivalent to 0.62 tons of pure gold!
The frigates and cruisers are so expensive. Needless to say, those battleships that have not yet been quoted must be even more expensive.
As a result, when he asked about the price of the battleship, it was true!
The Datang Navy pulled out a 1,000-ton wooden battleship parked in the South African port on the spot and said that if you need it, we can dismantle the steam engine immediately and sell it to you, with all the sails and guns included.
Well, no howitzer shells!
As for the price, it’s definitely not expensive, only 250,000 yuan per unit!
Hearing this, Hawkins almost vomited blood!
Two hundred and fifty thousand!
Why don't you go and grab it!
Hawkins didn't know what these Tang people were thinking, and the price was a bit outrageous.
Judging from the current market conditions in Europe, such a professional warship with a standard displacement of 1,400 tons, including the hull and naval guns, actually costs about 250,000 to 600,000 Tang Yuan. The price varies in different countries.
There is a difference, but the difference will not be too big, at most it will fluctuate within 10,000 to 20,000.
However, this is the price of a new ship, not the price of an old ship.
But these Tang Dynasty ships are old ships, and the price offered is the same as the price of new ships!
Look at that battleship. It is at least twelve or thirteen years old. I still want to sell it as a new ship. Do you think I, Hawkins, are stupid?
The price offered by the Tang Dynasty Navy is naturally not arbitrary. First of all, the price of warships is inherently expensive. Usually the wood used in warships is far superior to that of civilian ships. The cost of building a ship is much more expensive than ordinary ships.
cut.
Secondly, it also comes with a large number of sails, naval guns and other supporting facilities, which are very valuable.
A 1,400-ton Galen merchant ship can actually be built with a saving of 1,120,000 yuan, but a 1,400-ton wooden sail warship will cost at least 250,000 yuan.
.
Compared with civilian ships, warships have always been expensive, and are becoming more expensive as technology advances.
Now Datang is building a 2,800-ton Shanxi-class battleship at a cost of more than 600,000 yuan, and a 1,600-ton Hangzhou-class cruiser costs more than 400,000 yuan.
Moreover, the warships of the Tang Dynasty were all standard warships. They were built to very high standards and used the best wood, so they were inevitably expensive.
Well, actually these are all nonsense!
Hawkins is right, the Tang Navy regards England as its enemy!
When these old sailing wooden battleships were built, a 4-500-ton frigate only cost 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, and an 800-ton cruiser only cost 11,120,000 yuan. Battleships cost more and cost more.
Around 250,000 to 600,000.
Nowadays, when Datang sells old ships, the cost of the old ships is directly applied!
As for why you dare to charge such an expensive price!
This is naturally because the English have no choice at all. If it wants to outsource warships, who else can sell them to it besides Datang?
Spanish? Portuguese?
Do not make jokes!
Even if they build it themselves, the price is almost the same, let alone whether they can build such an excellent wooden sail warship. Even if they can build it, they will have to wait many years before they can build it, and then they have to train.
I don’t know how many years it will take to accumulate ships, form a combat capability and challenge the Atlantic hegemony of the Spanish and Portuguese.
But now, the Tang Navy has given them an opportunity to accelerate this timetable!
As long as you spend money, you can have a complete fleet in minutes, a fleet that can challenge the hegemony of Spain and Portugal!
So from this perspective, Datang’s warships are actually not expensive at all!
In the arms trade, prices are never calculated based on costs or the like, but rather based on various external factors.
Moreover, it is an exclusive global supply. Apart from purchasing it from Datang, it is basically impossible for England to obtain it from other external channels. Product monopoly is only one of them, and what is more important is.
This time what Datang sold to England was not a pure warship, but an opportunity for England to challenge Atlantic hegemony!
When all these things are combined, it’s normal for the price to be high!
Then would Hawkins buy such an expensive battleship?