"This iron guy is so beautiful!"

Arms dealer Haulmer Bess was heartily amazed by the fact that in front of him was a freshly launched ironclad ship.

The black-robed ironclad slid down a longitudinal oiled slipway into the water, setting off huge waves, then swaying a few times under buoyancy and inertia, and finally floating steadily on the water.

All the management, engineering and technical personnel who watched and the workers involved in the construction cheered enthusiastically.

This is the third 1,000-ton warship launched by Kang's Shipyard since it officially built an ironclad ship in accordance with the Navy's order.

The first of these ships has been outfitted, with power, rigging, rudder, anchorage and internal facilities all installed, and has undergone two sea trials.

Due to space constraints, the need to install the all-important 2 sets of steam power systems on the ground floor, and the supporting storage space, and in order to pursue speed and navigation stability, it only has two decks and only 40 guns.

It weighs much heavier than a wooden sailing ship of the same size, but it can still reach speeds of up to 10 knots when powered by sails alone, and up to 15 knots downwind when driven at full speed with a steam engine.

An excellent wooden sailboat can run at a speed of more than 10 knots when downwind, but the wooden hull has to withstand a severe test, and when subjected to force, the hull swaying, heaving, and slapping of large waves will cause the wooden structure to deform. It also had to return to the dock after an ocean voyage for overhauls, replacing deformed and decaying wooden structures, and even replacing keels, which would inevitably break the muscles and bones, and the service life could not be compared with that of an all-iron ironclad ship.

The low strength of timber compared to cast iron meant that larger timber had to be used to increase the carrying capacity of a sailboat, and there were fewer and fewer natural giant timbers, and the larger the timber, the greater its weight. In addition, compared with cast iron components, wood connections are relatively difficult, and the hull cannot be built too long, which makes the sailing stability much worse.

Therefore, with wooden galleons, ironclads have many advantages.

The ironclad ship of Kang's Shipbuilding Company was also equipped with artillery, of which 10 24-pounder guns were installed on the left and right chords, and 10 12-pounder light guns were installed on the left and right chords on the upper floor, for a total of 40 guns.

They primarily fire grapeshot, which is an enhanced version of the shotgun that is far more useful against fishmen and sharks than solid shells.

Theoretically, the warship is ready for service, and a team of naval officers and sailors are conducting relevant training on board.

But its actual combat effectiveness still needs to be tested in the upcoming battle, which is of great importance to Kang's shipbuilding, even more important than building it.

The second ship has already been half outfitted, and due to the accumulation of experience in the construction of the Rena and the two officially built warships, plus the addition of a large number of manpower and equipment, the construction of the third ship has been accelerated a lot, and it is also the smoothest construction.

After the construction of this third ship, Kang's Shipbuilding Company paused for a moment to look back at the actual use of these three ironclad ships, so as to make targeted modifications.

These three ironclad ships with a displacement of 1,000 tons, named Shark-class battleships by Sean, as the name suggests, they are not large, but fast and fierce.

Looking at these iron guys, it is impossible for the bass boss not to envy that.

Sean can be described as his nobleman. Sean's tips catapulted him from a small arms dealer to a first-class arms dealer, but his arms company mainly produced bass rifled rifles, and in this industry, he had more and more competitors, and the bass gradually lost its first-mover advantage.

On the contrary, the gunpowder company he cooperated with the University of Poitou was even more prosperous, and the production of high-intensity safety explosives was in short supply, and now it is widely used in the civilian market. This made the boss of the bass more aware of how important the technical advantage is.

Beth's main business was still done in the Holy City, where his main factories and business relationships were located, which forced him to be stationed in the Holy City.

It wasn't until he read in the newspaper that the Navy was going to place an order with the Kang's Shipbuilding Company and that the first three ironclads would be built, that Bess hurried to Poitou.

However, he was still one step late, Kang's Shipbuilding Company had already completed the registration of shares, and although he had deep pockets and waved checks in an attempt to buy shares in the hands of those minority shareholders, it was meaningless - those who could buy Kang's Shipbuilding Company shares rarely made the difference in his price.

But as soon as Sean saw the bass boss, he instinctively wanted to scrape some money out of him.

Therefore, Sean is going to name his first Shark-class ironclad ship "Bass", just like the Bass Type 1831 rifled rifle.

"My dear friend, how much do you think this naming is worth?" asked Sean.

"One hundred thousand?" Bess bidd.

"This is the first all-ironclad warship in history, and the first warship in history to be equipped with a steam-powered and screw propulsion system. Sean said.

"110,000, no, 150,000!" Bess reclaimed.

"It will be officially delivered to the Navy in the near future, and I believe it will create a miracle in the history of naval warfare in the world. From the moment it set sail, people will know about it, and even His Majesty the Emperor will definitely pay attention to its departure. Including His Majesty the Emperor, people will surely wonder why it is called the 'Beth' ironclad. ”

When Bess heard this, although he was extremely moved, he reacted: "Then I should negotiate with the navy, according to convention, shouldn't the naming right of a ship be in its possession?"

"I'm sorry, but as part of the construction contract, the naming rights are in the hands of Kang's Shipbuilding. The price is that we provide complete after-sales service free of charge, including meticulous and thoughtful training for sailors. Sean laughed, "After all, this is different from the previous warships, although it is still mainly powered by sails. ”

Bess said helplessly: "Viscount, you can make a price." ”

"The first ironclad ship, in fact, its main weapon was a giant crossbow with a winch, but I still installed forty guns on it, and although the former was more agile and cheaper, the bitter experience of the Navy showed that artillery still provided long-range striking power, especially when using grapeshot. If the Bess Machinery Company is willing to supply the other two with forty guns each, the name of the first battleship will belong to you. Sean said.

"Huh. Beth's small eyes rolled, "I'm guessing you're overspending on the construction of your battleship." ”

"It's a trade secret. Mr. Bess, but I can honestly tell you that we will soon be able to balance the budget. Sean said, "You can imagine that Kang's Shipbuilding Company is built from scratch, even if it only builds a ship, it must have a full set of equipment and workers to operate it, and the cost is of course high." ”

"I can totally understand that. Bess nodded in agreement, "Your ironclad ships are all genuine. ”

"So, what does Mr. Beth think of my proposal?" asked Sean.

His explanation is not entirely correct, and the current order for the first batch of three ironclad ships must be a loss for Kang's shipbuilding. If the Navy is satisfied, after the completion of the follow-up order, it will be a great thing to be able to let Kang's Shipbuilding recover all the investment in the early stage.

Sean is more future-oriented, provided that the Navy's order allows all potential customers to see the advantages of the steam sailer.

"If your steel company can give me a stake in the future and make me the fourth or fifth largest shareholder, I can provide all the guns for your other two ironclads. "I don't expect to be a top three shareholder because I can't afford it." You know, I've missed your shipbuilding company, and I don't want to miss your steel company again. ”

"80 in total?" Sean asked, "that's several times more than what you just offered." ”

"That's right. Bess confirmed, "Viscount, I want to invest in your future, and it's mine. ”

"Deal!" Sean smiled, "Mr. Bass, you have a lot of vision. ”

For Sean, the steel company, which has just started trial operation, will definitely raise funds in the future, and as long as Beth can afford to pay for it, he will certainly not object. Bringing in a northern rich man is extremely beneficial to Sean.

For Bes, Sean always makes him pay willingly, which is a very unpleasant feeling. But Bess knew that if Sean ascended to the top and shouted that he needed money, the bankers in Poitou would rush up and grab the check.

In fact, Bes's arms career has reached a plateau.

The army's needs are also limited, because of financial difficulties, the army can come up with limited funds to update weapons every year, and he has to compete with competitors for orders, after all, he is not the only one who produces rifled rifles.

To this end, the Bess Mechanics Company began manufacturing artillery in early 1832, and Sean's first Shark-class ironclad battleship was equipped with the guns manufactured by the Bess Company. However, compared to the rifles produced by Bess Machinery, the guns made by the company have a mediocre response and are not better than those of other companies, but for Sean these guns are enough to deal with the fish monster.

It was precisely because of this that Sean thought of "squeezing" a little from the bass boss.

A week later, the USS Bess ironclad was officially delivered to the Navy.

The delivery was not hyped up with much fanfare, and only attracted the attention of some Poittu elites who paid attention to Kang's shipbuilding, after all, they were all shareholders.

Marshal Moko rode lightly, and he rushed from Pumao Harbor to Poitu to attend the delivery ceremony.

"Your Excellency, it's tough, isn't it?" said Sean.

"Looks good. My sailors told me that this iron guy gave them so much confidence that they even dared to sail them on a rampage on the sea. Marshal Moko said.

"That's right, for the first time, your sailor sailed out of the harbor on the Bass, and even crashed into a cargo ship moored in the harbor, and it itself was unscathed. Sean said.

"It's just more complicated to operate, because the steam engine requires a specialized technician to serve it. What kind of sailor is he a man with this skill?" said Marshal Moko.

Sean saw this as a bargain, because the cost was beyond expectations, and it didn't even include artillery, and Sean was tantamount to giving the Navy a batch of artillery for nothing on top of the original loss.

"But Your Excellency needs a victory, the Navy needs a victory, and the Empire needs a victory. Sean said.

"yes, I'm looking forward to it. Marshal Moko said.