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"Otherwise, the purchase of warships from Western powers is the proposition of Li Hongzhang and other Han officials, and the Manchu court is not necessarily willing to pull out huge sums of money to support the purchase of troops, so it is believed that the idea of purchasing warships led by Li Hongzhang and other Han officials may be recognized by the Manchu court, but the development of the navy will inevitably be restricted, and it will be difficult to get the full support of the state like the navy of the Eastern Ying State."

The Manchu government's performance in the two Opium Wars not only made the Netherlands and Belgium and other small Western countries despise it, but also Japan and Korea as a result.

In 1869, a natural disaster occurred in Korea, and a large number of Korean people fled across the Tumen River to Yanji, Hunchun, Dunhua, Helong, Wangqing, Antu and other places.

In the face of North Korea's ambitions, the Qing government merely erected a boundary marker on the border and did not impose any punishment on North Korea.

Korea is a small country with a small population, although it has the ambition to expand its territory but does not have the strength to match the ambition, and Japan after the Fall War, the country is unified, and at the same time, after ten years of reform and reform, Japan in 1878 has a certain strength for foreign expansion, Huang Yurun is aware of Japan's development in recent years, so he asserts that the Japanese Navy is the great enemy of the Manchu Navy.

"Since Mr. Huang attaches great importance to the Dongying Navy, what does Mr. think will compare the naval strength of the Han Kingdom with that of Dongying after the country receives three ironclad ships?"

Before Wang Zhengyi emigrated to South America, he was just an ordinary person with some martial arts, and it was difficult to distinguish the true strength of the Manchu Qing and Japan, so he turned to another question.

"The tonnage of the main ships of the domestic navy is lower than that of the Dongying Navy, but in terms of comprehensive combat capabilities, the Han Navy and the Dongying Navy should be of equal strength."

Before 1870, by ordering two ironclad ships from Britain and three ironclad ships captured from Brazil, the Han navy was higher than Japan in the tonnage of the main warships at that time, but after losing two ironclad ships in the naval battle with Brazil, the main ironclad ships of the Han navy dropped to three, while Japan continued to purchase new ironclad ships during the Meiji Restoration, and gradually surpassed the Han in the tonnage of the main ironclad ships.

At the end of 1875, Japan ordered three new ironclad ships from Britain, and then Han Guo once again launched the ship purchase plan, and issued an order for the construction of two ironclad ships to the French Mediterranean shipyard. Although the Han State newly ordered two ironclad ships, due to the financial pressure of transporting immigrants, the tonnage of the main ships of the Han Navy was still surpassed by Japan.

The conversation between Huang Yurun and Wang Zhengyi soon ended due to their different perspectives, and in the coastal port of Xinjing in the Han Kingdom, a brand-new ironclad ship was sailing out of the dock.

"The ironclad ship is 64 meters long, 9.75 meters wide, 4.57 meters draft, 1,350 tons of displacement, powered by four three-stage expansion steam engines, with two-shaft propulsion, 2,600 horsepower, 15-16 knots, and a cruising range of 5,000 nautical miles/8 knots.

The normal coal load of the coal bunker is 250 tons, and the maximum coal load is 300 tons,......"

A blonde and blue-eyed foreigner gushed in front of Li Mingyuan.

"Your Excellency Falman, I believe in my own vision and your ability, but now is the time for the ironclad ship to leave the factory, and your Excellency's introduction to the performance of the ironclad ship will be discussed later."

"Your Highness, believe me, I won't disappoint you again this time."

The blonde foreigner resisted the urge to continue the introduction, and earnestly assured.

"Well, now we can get started." Nodding his head, he commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness." Falman saluted Li Mingyuan respectfully, and then turned around and commanded the technical shipwrights above the ironclad to inspect the ironclad ship.

"Boiler No. 1 is running normally, and boiler No. 2 is running normally...... The left shipyard is sealed normally, the main gun is turned normally, and the ammunition is reloaded normally......"

The technical shipwright reported the performance inspection results of the ironclad ship one by one, and listening to Li Mingyuan's ears, it made him a little nervous.

The sixties of the nineteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century was a period of exploring the performance of ironclads, during which many new technologies for the construction of ironclads appeared, of which only a small number of technologies were proven to be reasonable in the process of building warships, and most of the remaining technologies were either dismembered as scrap or sold to other countries as export warships, and finally eliminated along with those defective warships.

As a shipyard mechanic of this era, the Frenchman Darman improved a new type of marine steam engine, the three-stage expansion steam engine, and was lucky to get the favor of a big benefactor.

Two months after the patent application for the three-stage expansion steam engine, a South American company bought Darman's patent at a high price and invited Darman to South America to build ironclads using three-stage expansion steam engine technology.

Out of his interest in improving his technology, of course, it is not excluded that the remuneration offered by the other party is attractive enough, Darman used his connections to recruit more than 40 technical shipwrights from several French shipyards who were willing to follow him to South America to try their luck, arrived in Han on a merchant ship, and then began to work for Li Mingyuan.

The three-stage expansion steam engine is a relatively mature technology, and after obtaining Darman's patent from his intelligence agent Ma, Li Mingyuan appointed a French company to take the ownership of the patent from Darman's hands in the name of the Han Xinjing Shipyard, and at the same time reached an agreement to hire Darmang to build warships in the Han Kingdom.

After the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, in order to end the German occupation of French territory, the French government paid five billion francs in compensation to Germany.

The value of 5 billion francs is equal to more than 700 million French silver, which is much higher than the indemnity paid by the Qing government to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War.

In order to alleviate the pressure on the domestic economy, the French government accelerated its colonial expansion in Asia, Africa and other places after the Franco-Prussian War, and on the other hand, temporarily relaxed the control of foreign capital and allowed foreign capital to enter France.

"Your Highness, do you think the foreign devil will succeed this time?"

While the performance monitoring of the ironclad ship was underway, Li Han, who served as the commander of the First Fleet of the Han Navy, asked.

"Darman has improved four times and this time it should be successful."

Li Mingyuan stared at the ironclad ship and replied.

"The foreign devil has failed four times, and if it fails again, this iron armor will be scrapped.

Your Highness, if this test fails again, do you think you will suspend the shipbuilding plan and buy an ironclad ship directly from the UK? ”

The first small ironclad ship built by the Xinjing Shipyard of the Han Kingdom not only cost more than that of Britain and France, but also failed to pass the four factory inspections, so in Li Han's eyes, it is not cost-effective to build a self-built warship, and it is not as convenient and affordable as buying warships directly from Western countries.

"It is expedient to buy warships from Western countries, and only if the country can build warships on its own, can the country's maritime security be guaranteed, Li Han, you are the commander of the First Fleet, don't just pay attention to the gains and losses of one or two small ironclad ships, and learn to consider the problem from the long-term development of the navy."

Li Mingyuan looked at Darmang, who was oozing a trace of sweat on his forehead, paused for a while, and then said, "Darmang made great efforts in the construction of ironclad ships, and the main reason for the unqualified performance of ironclad ships is that the Chinese ships that build warships are not skilled, and when they hone them a few more times, the effect will be much better." ”

"Your Highness, why do you say that this iron lump is so difficult to build, Xinjing Shipyard and Xinghe Shipyard employ hundreds of foreign mechanics, and we have also sent more than 200 shipwrights to the shipyards of Germany, France, and Britain to learn shipbuilding technology, how can we not even build a small ironclad ship after so many years of busy work, I really don't understand why foreigners can build an ironclad ship like a hill."

"The technology of building ironclad ships is not so easy to learn, foreigners have twenty or thirty years of experience in building ironclad ships, and it will take them one or two years to build a medium-sized ironclad ship now, and the Han Kingdom has just learned to build ironclad ships for seven or eight years, and now it is good to be able to build seven or eight hundred tons of gunboats."

Li Mingyuan saw that about two-thirds of the technical inspection steps of the ironclad ship had been carried out, and his confidence gradually regained in his heart.

"Ironclad technology is developing rapidly, as long as the country continues to increase support for shipyards, it won't be long before the navy can drive all ironclad ships built by domestic shipyards." ”

"Your Highness is taught." Li Han replied in a low voice, not daring to complain anymore, and then followed Li Mingyuan intently to watch the inspection process of the ironclad ship.

“…… The armor thickness is 0.27, the horsepower is 2600, the speed is 15 knots, and the performance of the ironclad ship is up to standard! ”

Half an hour later, the last test was completed, and Darman ran to Li Mingyuan excitedly, and said excitedly, "Your Highness, it's a success!" The three-stage expansion steam engine is running well, and all the performance of the ironclad ship is up to standard! ”

"Good, good!" Li Mingyuan said two sentences in a row.

After being happy, he immediately asked the other party, "When will the construction of the second small ironclad ship with a displacement of 1,350 tons start?" ”

"A month later, the first ironclad ship will be delivered to the Navy for sea trials, and a second ironclad ship of the same class can be built!"

"Your efforts will be rewarded handsomely, and later I will have people hand over the reward money to you according to the agreement, and in the next six months, I hope that your Excellency can fulfill the last item of the agreement and arrange the handover of the Xinjing Shipyard."

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will do my job."

Darman bent down and saluted Li Mingyuan, suppressing his excitement.

"Yes, I have a lot of confidence in your character."

Li Mingyuan nodded, looked at the look on the other party's face that couldn't contain his joy, and planned to make the last effort to keep the other party and said, "Your Excellency, do you consider staying in the Han Kingdom for two more years, I will give Your Excellency better treatment." ”

"I have gained considerable wealth and a meaningful life with Your Highness, and now that the mechanics of the Xinjing Shipyard have mastered the skills of building small ironclads, they can replace me, and I want to return to France and start a happy life with the wealth that His Highness has bounished."

"I respect Your Excellency's choice, if Your Excellency changes your mind and wants to stay in Hanguo, you can report it to the principal of Xinjing Shipyard at any time, and he will report the situation to me."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness, if I need money, I will consider returning to Han to work for Your Highness again."