Fang Yuan actually had no choice at all, the development of history had already told the truth, fighting hard can only be cool for a while, fighting firepower is the king of future development, and it will be eliminated after all.

Fang Yuan looked at the water surface of Taihu Lake with resolute eyes and said, "Then adopt the Western method of naval warfare, add iron armor, increase the airtight cabin of the ship's cabin, add two more decks to each battleship, reach four decks, increase the displacement of each battleship to 3,500 tons, and increase the number of guns to four hundred." ”

Shi Lang's uncle and nephew, Shen Mao, and Tang Ruowang, who were experts in naval warfare, were taken aback when they heard this. The giant ship built by Fang Yuan before had already shocked them, but after all, the data on the surface was not as good as the legendary giant ship that Zheng He went to the Western Ocean.

Now Fang Yuan suddenly proposed to build a super giant ship with a displacement of 3,500 tons, at least 10,000 materials, which surpassed the giant ship that Zheng He went to the Western Ocean back then, whether it was in the Western Ocean, or the Ming Dynasty was a behemoth that had never appeared.

This whimsical warship design, everyone is speechless, because there is no way to judge the feasibility, as well as the actual combat nature of naval warfare.

Fang Yuan saw that everyone was silent, and he also knew that this crazy idea had shocked everyone. In fact, his idea was borrowed from the design of the former aircraft carrier.

The only difference is that the aircraft carrier is the take-off and landing base for carrier-based aircraft, and the carrier-based aircraft are used as attack firepower, while Fang Yuan's ironclad giant ship exists as an artillery base at sea, and the attack firepower is the four hundred guns on the battleship.

He patiently explained to Shi Lang and others the combat principle of this ironclad giant ship, which is actually a sea-based artillery position, and Shi Lang and others were still stunned when they heard it, because moving the position of 400 guns from the roadbed to the sea-based is a combat method that has never appeared in the history of naval warfare.

Shen Mao finally digested Fang Yuan's proposal and reminded, "Governor Fang, this kind of 10,000-material ironclad giant ship needs to greatly increase the airtight cabin; If you want to pile up a large amount of gunpowder and lead bullets, you also need to greatly increase the warehouse. The sailor's cabin would have to be drastically reduced to a maximum of 1,500 people. Of which the driving sailor needed 400; 400 guns, 800 professional gunners are needed. That is, on each battleship, there were only 300 sailors who were really used for deck defense. ”

Shi Lang and Shi Fu were the commanders of the sailors who were accustomed to fighting on the side, and they looked at each other when they heard that the number of sailors was so small.

Shi Fu couldn't help but remind, "Governor Fang wants to strengthen the firepower of the battleship, as well as the ironclad defense, and I support it." But everything can't be too extreme, whether it's a naval battle or a land battle, it's the sergeants who are fighting, you can't just focus on the number of artillery, the ships are strong and the guns are sharp, and ignore the defense of the battleship! The Zheng family's 800-material battleship has 400 sailors, and if the sailors of two or three such warships board the ship, no matter how strong the battleship is and the artillery is fierce, it can only be captured! ”

Shi Lang also said, "Boss, what the Zheng family is best at is to engage in broadside battles, and you must not be careless!" ”

Fang Yuan said in a deep voice, "Commander Shi, Old Five, my idea is that all the 300 sailors on each ironclad giant ship will select the most elite sailors, all-round sailors who can fight at sea, on land, on long-range attacks, and on hand, and change their names to the Marine Corps." Each person is equipped with the most advanced explosion-proof equipment, firearms, and short-range weapons. One should be treated preferentially, with a monthly salary of 10 taels of silver per month. ”

"In addition, each ironclad giant ship is an artillery carrier formation, arranging three 1,500-ton giant ships, ten large 800-ton Western fast ships, eight 400-ton Fu ships, three troop carriers, three supply ships to escort, a total of 28 warships of various types to form a battle formation. The number of sailors in each formation is 10,000 people, and the total number of sailors is not small! Whether it is an artillery battle or a broadside battle, where did the Zheng family get the opportunity to board the ship? ”

Shi Lang was shocked by his magnificent naval battle plan, and when he thought about it, although this kind of planning was incredible, it was not completely unbelievable.

Fang Yuan said, "At present, my plan is to build an artillery carrier formation every two years, if I can build three artillery carrier formations, it will be enough to rule the entire sea area east of Malacca, and I can learn from Zheng He back then, and go to the Western Ocean for a walk!" ”

Shi Lang sighed deeply and said, "Boss, my uncle and I will follow the boss's design and then study the latest naval warfare methods." ”

Fang Yuan looked directly at Tang Ruowang again and asked, "Mr. Tang, can the arsenal increase the number of shipborne guns produced per year to 400?" ”

John Tang nodded and said, "Yes, yes, but it is necessary to expand the scale of the arsenal, it is estimated that the surrounding land will be requisitioned, and the annual budget of the arsenal will be increased by 300,000 taels of silver." ”

Fang Yuan's flesh hurt a little, but the money that should be spent still had to be spent, and the budget was approved on the spot.

Fang Yuan asked Shen Maodao, the director of the shipyard, "Director Shen, can the shipyard build an artillery carrier in a year?" How much does it cost? ”

Shen Mao said embarrassedly, "Governor Fang, the cost still needs to be estimated, in fact, I have two bigger worries. One of them is this kind of ironclad ship, and I don't know if the wooden keel can withstand such a lot of pressure, and whether it will fall apart in the face of wind and waves. ”

Fang Yuan Zhengrong said, "If there are any difficulties in technical materials, we can come down and negotiate." Since Zheng He was able to build a giant ship of more than 2,000 tons when he went to the West, it is not impossible for us to build a 3,500-ton one, and there is still a problem? ”

Fang Yuan is not bragging, you can buy strong sticky and glue on the almighty Taobao, as well as various shock and pressure reduction materials, since Zheng He was able to build 2,000 tons back then, and now the large-scale use of modern materials to assist in building ships will not fail to reach the technical level of 3,500 tons.

Shen Mao continued, "The draft of the Wanliu ironclad ship is extremely deep, and the waterway leading from Taihu Lake to the Yangtze River is too shallow, so it is estimated that the giant warship will not be able to pass through Wanliu, and it is necessary to build a shipyard in the waters near the river and the sea. ”

Fang Yuan was silent when he heard this, this question raised by Shen Mao was a really tricky question, and it was very timely. If the completed ironclad ship can't get out of the Taihu Lake waterway and enter the Yangtze River, it will really be stupid.

However, it is too long to wait for another shipyard to be built, and it will take at least another year to start the assembly of ironclad ships.

Fang Yuan suddenly had an idea, in fact, there was a ready-made shipyard in Nanzhili, which was circulated in the "Longjiang Shipyard Chronicles", which is said to have produced Zheng He's Western treasure ships in that year.

This Longjiang shipyard is outside Nanjing, west of the Yangtze River, east of the Qinhuai River, is the south of the Yangtze River, is also the largest shipyard in the Ming Dynasty except for the Taihu Shipyard. If this shipyard can be robbed, then the construction of the ironclad ship can start immediately.

Fang Yuan couldn't help but applaud this idea, and suddenly laughed, "Since there is no ready-made shipyard, let's go and borrow the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing, the giant ship produced by the Taihu Base, and then assemble it into an ironclad ship at the Longjiang Shipyard, and finally hand it over to the naval army led by Shi." In this way, with a two-pronged approach, two ironclad giants can be assembled every year, and it will not affect the construction of other medium-sized warships, right? ”

Longjiang Shipyard is the lifeblood of Nanjing Navy, and Nanjing City does not belong to Fang Yuan's territory, but what he said was as easy as going home, and everyone was silent.

Jing Jie asked, "Does the boss want to send troops to capture Nanjing City?" ”

Fang Yuan said with a smile, "The capture of Nanjing City is too sensitive, and it will attract the attention of all forces. Moreover, there is a set of administrative teams in Nanjing City, and all kinds of forces are complicated and complicated to solve, so what is the use of occupying them? We only need Longjiang Shipyard, not Nanjing City, I want to laugh when I think of Old Man Shi blowing his beard and glaring, but he is helpless, haha! ”

Jing Jie smiled and said, "Then I will immediately send troops to attack the Longjiang Shipyard." ”

Fang Yuan shook his hand and said, "After all, Nanjing is the center of the south of the Yangtze River, so we should still salute first and then soldier." Third child, in the name of the military, you invited Old Man Shi to come to the Taihu base to talk about leasing the Longjiang Shipyard. If the old man doesn't know the current affairs, it's not too late for us to send troops to take it again. ”

"Also, the third child, occupied Zhejiang, and transferred 20,000 Xuanjia troops to the south, how many bases are there in Taihu Lake now?"

Jing Jie said, "There are 18,000 cavalry battalions, 30,000 infantry battalions, and about 10,000 other battalions. ”

Fang Yuan said lightly, "The Xuanjia Army wants to expand its army to 100,000, and then go and recruit some homeless people!" ”

Jing Jie was embarrassed and said, "Boss, now that there is a court in Henan, Li Zicheng is in Anmin, and Jiangxi is Zuo Liangyu's territory. ”

Fang Yuan sighed lightly, so the imperial court's implementation of this strategy of a feudal town greatly compressed Fang Yuan's living space. Previously, Fang Yuan proposed to order the vassal kings of various places to appease the displaced people, but no one was willing to take over, and the displaced people were transported to the jurisdiction by boat. Now that warlords are everywhere, all of them have to protect their own territory, where will this kind of population loss be tolerated?

Fang Yuan thought for a while and said, "Didn't Fengyang, Anqing, and Luzhou just go through the war?" Go there to recruit points. Also, Qi Jiguang's Qi family army was recruited from Yiwu, Zhejiang, and we also went to Yiwu, Zhejiang to recruit some. ”

It is imperative to expand armaments, and Jing Jie knows that it is not easy, but he still gives up his orders.