Chapter 140 River Army

Giurgiu is not a big city, but it is the outer port of Bucharest and an important border crossing. To put it bluntly, this is the bridgehead of Wallachia, and the south bank of the Danube across the river is Bulgaria. And as relations between Russia and Turkey continue to be tense, especially as the Bulgarian issue continues to heat up, the situation here is not ordinary.

Wallachia's navy, or river army, is stationed in Giurgiu, because Wallachia has no coastline, and the only outlet to the sea is actually the Danube. After Alexei became the governor of Wallachia, he built a small but sophisticated inland river fleet with the support of the Black Sea Fleet according to Li Xiao's suggestion.

This fleet includes more than ten 200-ton inland sea patrol boats and six 500-ton patrol boats. The tonnage is naturally not worth mentioning, but it is much stronger than the Turks next door on the water of the Danube, almost showing a tendency to crush.

Why did Li Xiao suggest that Alexei spend huge sums of money to build such a fleet that does not seem to be powerful?

The reason is simple. Considering the terrain of southern Wallachia and Bulgaria, the river network here is well developed and a plain. If there is not enough water power, it will be a bit troublesome.

Take the previous Russian-Turkish wars as an example. After the Russian army arrived in the surrounding area of ​​Bucharest, it was unable to succeed immediately. The main reason was that the logistics could not keep up. Moreover, the area is full of Heze and the traffic is very problematic. This is further amplified. Weaknesses of the Russian Army.

Therefore, even if the Russian army mustered their energy, they could only hit a little near Wallachia, and then they would be stuck in the mud. To solve this problem, the best way is naturally to build railways and bridges to completely improve traffic conditions.

But the problem is that this requires a lot of money, which Wallachia cannot afford at all. It's even embarrassing for Russia, and even if Russia has money, there are a lot of places in the country that need to improve traffic conditions. How could it be possible to help Wallachia build roads first?

Therefore, Li Xiao can only settle for the next best thing, build this river army, ensure the smooth waterway, and then it will be more convenient to supply the Wallachia front line from the coast of the Black Sea.

Then again, despite the small size of this river army, the technology is not backward. Except for a small number of old-style inland sailing ships inherited from Wallachia, most of them are steam ships. In terms of mobility and advanced level, it may be much stronger than the Black Sea Fleet.

Take the frigate Ploiesti, the flagship of the Wallachia Inland River Fleet, with a normal displacement of 1,000 tons, equipped with a 380-horsepower steam engine, four 48-pound guns on the upper deck, and 10 on the main deck. 32-pound gun, the maximum coal load is 300 tons, and the maximum speed is 11 knots. This level of firepower should be said to be quite good, and it has the power to fight against ordinary secondary cruisers.

Of course, the cost of this ship is quite astonishing,

A whole hundred thousand pounds is more expensive than two old second-tier battleships.

Anyway, the Ploiesti is only such a single seedling, and it took Alexei to save enough money for two years.

However, there is a reason why it is expensive. For example, when Alexei took Muravyov and Ilya on board this Wallachian or Russia's most advanced warship, they were traveling at a speed of four knots against the strong wind. When sailing, other sailboats are really slow as a snail.

The only fly in the ointment is the choking smoke and the loud noise, but these are not very big problems for those who board the steamship for the first time, because the novelty will cover up all shortcomings.

"It's great, this ship can be so fast against the wind? Isn't it faster with the wind?" Ilya showed a rare joy, and praised the magic of the Ploiesti.

Alexei also replied a little proudly: "If there is a favorable wind, I can run twelve knots!"

Maybe from the perspective of future generations, the speed of twelve knots is really as slow as a turtle crawling, but in this era, this speed is really good. A pure sail warship is probably at this speed when the wind is smooth, and once the wind direction is not suitable or the captain And if the sailor's control is not appropriate, the speed will drop immediately.

Being able to steadily maintain a speed of around ten knots in this era is already a remarkable achievement. In particular, it is even more remarkable that steamships can still sail in the absence of wind or against the wind.

"That's too fast!" Ilya sighed again.

Li Xiao and Muraviyov looked at Ilya's amazed and delighted expressions and didn't say much, because the reality is not so perfect, such as the astonishing cost of the Ploiesti, for example, the Ploiesti needs to be burned A large amount of coal produces steam, and the fragile paddle wheels on both sides of the Ploiesti, these can’t actually be elaborated, and it would be tears to say too much.

In fact, Muraviev didn't know much about steamships, but after chatting with Alexei and Li Xiao last night, he knew a lot of inside information, so he knew how to cooperate. The advantages of steamships He will definitely focus on it, but he will also try his best to avoid the shortcomings, such as the question of the cost that Ilya asked next.

"Steam ships are too powerful, why don't our Black Sea Fleet build more ships of this type?"

Ilya, this can be regarded as soul torture. The reason is actually very simple, that is, it is expensive. But it is definitely not suitable to talk about this on this occasion. This requires the help of Muraviyov. The old man immediately interjected:

"Your Majesty and the Minister of the Navy have long studied steam ships, and believe that traditional ship types are more suitable for our country's national conditions. There is no need to discuss this issue too much for the time being... Our focus should be on the impact of the Wallachia Inland River Fleet on our army. significance!"

While speaking, Muraviyov involuntarily grabbed the right to speak and asked: "How many soldiers or supplies can this inland river fleet transport at one time?"

Li Xiao immediately replied: "It can transport 5,000 fully armed soldiers or 1,000 tons of grain or other supplies at a time!"

Muraviyov immediately nodded in approval and praised: "This is very good. The poor traffic conditions in the lower reaches of the Danube River have always been an important reason for restricting our army from completely defeating the Turks. With this fleet, this shortcoming should be greatly improved. !"

Alexei and Li Xiao immediately echoed together: "That's natural, regardless of the wind direction and current, the inland river fleet can quickly send supplies or soldiers to the destination!"

Ilya glanced at the three of them subconsciously. He felt that there was something wrong with the three of them. The coordination of singing and harmony was too tacit, but for a while he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he could only stay silent for a while. continued to observe...