Chapter 243: Strong Ship and Guns! If There Is No Strong Ship, Why Don't You Just Say a Hammer?
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In the twelfth year of Yongle's reign, it was spring in February.
The climate is gradually getting warmer and is not as cold as before.
Zhu Gaoxu got some free time and planned to inspect the Royal Manufacturing Bureau, so he specially brought Zheng He's trio with him.
Seeing that the weather is getting warmer, the Ming Dynasty Navy will officially go to sea to expedition to Japan.
Destructive weapons such as firearms and artillery should naturally be equipped.
However, Zhu Gaoxu clearly remembered that when he inspected Zheng He's fleet last time, he learned that most of the Ming warships used mortise and tenon structures, even the most critical keel!
This is a bit ridiculous!
As soon as the cannon was fired, the enemy fleet did not respond, but his own warship was shattered by the recoil. Who could the naval officers look for to reason with on the vast sea?
Zhu Gaoxu also asked this question on the way, hoping that Zheng He could give him a satisfactory answer.
Zheng He frowned and did not rush to answer the question, but fell into deep thought.
The warships of the Ming Dynasty were nothing more than two systems: the flat-bottomed sand boat and the sharp-bottomed fuchuan.
The former is suitable for offshore or inland rivers, and the latter is mainly used for long-sea navigation. Other sea-going ships with various names are nothing more than improved variants of these two ships.
The treasure ships used by Zheng He in his voyages to the West were Fu Chuan as the main warship because it was more suitable for long voyages.
However, whether it is a sand boat or a lucky boat, they all use a tenon and tenon structure, which is somewhat similar to the rectangular wooden boxes assembled one after another.
Moreover, the sails used by both ships are heavy sails, mostly made of bamboo woven mats.
This resulted in the warship's hull being insufficiently strong and completely unable to withstand the recoil when the artillery was fired!
If according to the idea of His Highness the King of Han, artillery was installed on both sides of the Fu Ship, I am afraid that once multiple guns are fired, the entire ship may be completely capsized, and smaller ships may even be directly shaken apart!
Thinking of this, Zheng He could only bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, how about installing the cannon on the bow or stern of the ship? This can greatly reduce the impact of the recoil of the cannon..."
Zhu Gaoxu: "???"
What?
What did you say?
Put the cannon on the bow and stern of the ship?
The enemy and our forces encounter each other on the sea. Before you can turn the bow and stern of the ship to aim, the artillery on both sides will blast you to pieces!
When Zhu Gaoxu heard what he said, he couldn't laugh or cry for a moment, and ordered in a cold voice: "I don't care what method you use, now that China's traditional sailboat manufacturing technology and navigation capabilities have reached their peak, can't they still solve such a small problem? "
"I only give you one month to find a way to put the artillery on the ship for me, and then set off to exterminate the water bandits and expedition to the Japanese country. Otherwise, you can go there alone with swords, guns and clubs. If you die, don't blame me. Come and collect the bodies for you!”
Zheng He's trio: "!!!"
Your uncle!
Is this what you are saying?
Zhu Gaoxu glanced at them angrily, feeling very unhappy.
The development of Chinese shipbuilding technology and navigation capabilities has reached its peak. The Invincible Fleet led by Zheng He once demonstrated its prowess in the oceans, and its prestige reached as far as the coast of Africa!
However, since then, due to the suspension of Big Fat Pang's voyages to the West, it has fallen into long-term stagnation or even regression. By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it had been far behind European countries.
Western sea-going ships began to outperform Chinese sea-going ships in aspects such as rig configuration, upwind sailing performance, and hull sturdiness.
More importantly, Europeans began to equip ships with a large number of artillery, thus starting the great era of plunder and colonization!
As a result, non-contact artillery attacks gradually replaced traditional boarding battles, which created a huge gap between the naval combat capabilities of Western ships and ships from other regions.
The Ming Dynasty originally had an invincible navy, but it stagnated because of its complacency. As a result, in the naval battles between the Ming Navy and the Western colonists in the middle and late Ming Dynasties, although the Ming Navy relied on the numerical superiority of its soldiers to repel them, these were all Take human life to fill it!
Not to mention the heavy losses, we have never achieved any decisive and brilliant results!
In the final analysis, it is because the Ming Dynasty Navy has always maintained the combat method of boarding battle, which still uses cold weapons as the mainstay, supplemented by firearms such as fire blunderbuss!
What Zhu Gaoxu has to do now is to reverse their stupid concept!
"A strong ship and a sharp cannon. A strong ship and a sharp cannon. Now the cannons are sharp, but what about your ship?"
"I warned you last time to stop producing flashy ships like Fu Chuan and focus on producing practical warships that can carry artillery. It seems that you three guys have turned a deaf ear to my words!"
Hearing this, Zheng He and the other three were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
Wang Jinghong hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. We have been following your orders. I will go to Longjiang Shipyard tomorrow to inspect the progress..."
"Go now. We can't build a strong ship that can carry artillery. You three idiots don't even want to go to sea. Go to Longjiang Shipyard to work!"
Zheng He trio: "???"
Oh my god!
Are you no longer a human being?
When nothing happens, call people "virtuous officials and loyal people"!
Now when something goes wrong, it's just "three idiots"...
Zheng He and the other three looked at each other and could only rush to the Longjiang Shipyard honestly.
It doesn't matter whether they are dignified or not, they just feel that they haven't been around the shipyard for a long time.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the backs of the three people, then sighed, and took Nie Xing to the first bureau of the Royal Manufacturing Bureau.
As soon as Liu Bian and Song Zhong saw His Highness the King of Han, they immediately called on all the craftsmen to put down their work and knelt down in the courtyard of the Arms Bureau.
"The King of Han is a thousand years old!"
Although the salutes of these craftsmen appear to be crooked and nondescript, UU Reading www. uukanshu.net But Zhu Gaoxu felt their sincerity.
"Okay, go back to work. You don't want to save money to get a wife, do you?"
Upon hearing this, the craftsmen immediately dispersed, and the yard was filled with a happy atmosphere.
Liu Bian and Song Zhong are now the two chief stewards of the Royal Manufacturing Bureau. They are directly responsible to His Highness the King of Han. They can barely be regarded as officials of the imperial court.
But neither of them looked like officials at all. One had a gray face, and the other had black hands. It was obvious that he was still making weapons just now.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu's heart warmed up, but he didn't show off, but asked with a smile: "How are you, Old Liu Tou, Old Song Tou? Are you married to a wife?"
Hearing this, Liu Bian nodded sheepishly, while Song Zhong rubbed his hands and laughed.
"Okay, that's all good. You have a wife, and someone will pass on the family line to you. This craft can be passed down!"
"Also, you two, don't be too patronizing to yourselves. If you have the opportunity, you can make more connections. There are so many single brothers in both games."
"Hey, the prince taught you a lesson." Liu Bian flattered him without leaving any trace, "Nowadays, we craftsmen are all well fed and clothed. This is enough. In the past, this was It’s a life lived by gods!”
"Yes, Your Majesty, we are already very satisfied and don't dare to ask for anything too extravagantly..."
"Is this just a little bit of potential?" Zhu Gaoxu rolled his eyes at the two of them, his eyes becoming deeper.
"Having enough food and clothing, this is the most basic life. I plan to let the children of skilled craftsmen become officials in the future. How can you do it if you don't have any expectations?"
Two people: "!!!"
hiss……
Children of craftsmen!
Enter the court and become an official!
Is this really possible?
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