How did the European plague come about? In fact, when Italian sailors went to West Asia to transport goods, they were brought on board by Asian rats mixed into the ship and introduced to Europe.

The Europeans had never seen the plague at that time, so naturally there was no resistance to it. Then, tens of millions of people were exterminated. It's like the American Indians never saw smallpox, and the millions of Tylenol people on the island of Haiti were wiped out by smallpox......

Why did rats survive on Italian merchant ships? It's not that the ancients didn't pay attention to hygiene. Especially in medieval Europeans, that's called a dirty. They don't shower, they like to defecate in the open, the city is stinky, and the boat is no better.

Because of the lack of hygiene, the ship is naturally very dirty and messy, and it is not surprising that rats are mixed in. Especially in the dim bilge, where there is no light, the rats are hiding in the corner, and it is very difficult to find.

From the very beginning, Marin paid great attention to the hygiene of the ship, and the army and the warship repeatedly issued five orders, requiring internal sanitation and inspection and evaluation.

In addition, Marin was the first person in Europe to advocate cat ownership in this era. In addition to the black cat, which is considered a hoodoo by people, Marin encourages people in the North Sea to keep cats and mice.

And on the ship, Marin requires that each ship have a cat to catch mice. After all, some rats are easy to follow the cargo into the ship, and it is not possible to avoid it by doing a good job of internal hygiene. Therefore, having a cat on board is an important means of dealing with mice.

In addition, every ship in the North Sea Kingdom will be equipped with a small "V" shaped trawl, the kind with a winch. The trawl can catch hundreds of pounds of fish at a time, improving the food for sailors and raising cats.

As a result, the ocean-going ships of the North Sea countries are never short of food, only fresh water and vitamin C......

……

As for the ship's firepower, Marin looked down, and the lower artillery deck was dominated by 32-pounder Cullen naval guns. Although the caliber of this artillery is large, the barrel is short and the total weight is small.

Although the range is not far, if the 32-pound iron ball is smashed, at the level of the warships of other European countries in this era, it will not be able to eat and walk around.

And there's a big benefit to the short tube and light weight, and that's fast reloading!

The short barrel makes it relatively easy for the gunner to reload. And light weight, easy to move, easy to reset. In this way, the rate of fire is much more convenient than that of those long guns with large weights.

According to gunner tests, the average reload time of an 18-pounder Hongyi cannon is about 2 minutes. The Karen guns, on the other hand, only took half the time to reload......

The only problem is that large-caliber artillery consumes gunpowder too hard. The Beihai Kingdom can now afford to build cannons, but it can't shoot gunpowder......

Fortunately, Marin is now buying more Egyptian slaves and camels to send to Chile to expand the production and transportation of saltpeter mines there. As long as the saltpeter production over there increases, these Karen guns will be able to bombard enemy ships to their heart's content......

……

After visiting the entire battleship, it was Marin's turn to determine the type of battleship.

Marin asked for detailed data, the whole ship had a displacement of 1,000 tons, a double-deck gun, and 50 guns, which was very much in line with the standards of the 4th class of British sail warships in the 18th century.

The British fourth-class ship has a capacity of 350 people, but the Long Island shipyard in New York has given a relatively compact staffing of 320 people. Marin thought about it, but agreed to the New York shipyard's suggestion. Because, he's short of sailors now......

A fourth-class ship costs 320 people, and 20 ships need 6,400 sailors! And now the 30 500-ton warships of the Beihai State are equipped with 5400 sailors. Plus the hundreds of 250-class armed merchant ships with thousands of sailors...... Marin suddenly felt that there were too few sailors in the North Sea Country......

At this point, his desire to annex England became even more urgent. Because, there are enough sailors in England. Unlike the Germans, who relied mainly on the Frisians, Germany's only seafaring race (the Dutch were not counted).

Fortunately, Marin is now tricking the Dutch nobles into playing enclosure and sheep breeding. Perhaps, it will not be long before a large number of Dutch, who have lost their land, will have to accept their own recruitment to serve as sailors for themselves.

Today, there are two main types of ships in the North Sea Kingdom - the 500-ton "Hoffman" class warships and the 250-ton "250" class armed merchant ships. Among them, the nomenclature of the 250-class armed merchant ships is very sloppy. Of course, it is also a transitional model and is not taken seriously.

And this thousand-ton warship, obviously, is very important. In Marin's plan, it will build the first batch of 20 ships and become the main warship of the Beihai Navy.

With 20 1,000-ton capital warships and 30 500-ton "Hoffman" class capital warships, the combination of these 50 super warships can basically defeat any European country. Provided that there is enough ammunition...... But with the expansion of Chilean saltpeter production, the day is not far off when these warships will be able to fire their guns with their hands and feet......

You know, this is a battleship covered with stainless steel sheets and steel plates! Even the British in the 18th century could not reach this level. At most, the British only covered the battleship with copper under the waterline. Moreover, only the main battleship has this treatment. Ordinary battleships, all bare-kare under the waterline......

Because the performance is too powerful, Marin feels that this kind of battleship should be invincible. However, if it is named "invincible", it is too hateful and does not fit Marin's low-key character.

After thinking about it, Marin decided to name the battleship "Dreadnought-class" battleship, or "Dreadnought" for short......

This name can be regarded as a copycat of the main giant artillery battleship during the First World War. In World War I, the dreadnought was actually the invincible capital warship. Other types of warships can only bow down in front of the dreadnought's huge cannons and new armor.

It can be said that the dreadnought was synonymous with invincibility at sea at that time.

And what about such a thousand-ton warship of the North Sea State? Although the technical level and combat effectiveness are far inferior to the dreadnoughts of the First World War. However, in this technologically backward era, this kind of warship, covered with stainless steel plates and large-caliber heavy artillery, can indeed be regarded as invincible at sea. Using the title of "dreadnought" does not insult this prestigious name.

After all, the protection of this type of battleship with stainless steel plates on the side is comparable to that of a dreadnought at one stop with new armor......

And the Karen guns on the battleship ...... Well, in this era, it is also equivalent to the deterrent power of more than 300 mm caliber main guns on dreadnoughts. After all, the Karen naval guns were only used to hit wooden ships. And the giant main gun of more than 300 mm hit the opponent's composite steel armor......

Moreover, the title of "dreadnought" is also a little more modest than "invincible" and "victorious". Be fearless, just be bold and brave. And "invincible", "victorious" or something, the name is too arrogant, and it is easy to be beaten by the crowd......

……

Therefore, this new 1,000-ton battleship covered with stainless steel iron sheets and steel plates was happily named "Dreadnought" class battleship by Marin. But in fact, the size of this kind of warship is equivalent to that of a fourth-class British ship in the 18th century. The only thing that is stronger than a fourth-tier ship is probably stainless steel armor......