After the routine roll call in class, Robert looked at Lin Haijiang with an almost loving gaze, which made Lin Haijiang, who was already a little weak-hearted, embarrassed.

After Robert read out the results of the high school entrance examination, amid the indignation of the white cadets, Lin Haijiang learned from Principal Mistron. George received a short saber and the rank of First Corporal and the Order of Merit, a silver badge six or seven centimeters in diameter with the Royal Navy's twin swords and anchor, and a thin yellow line on the cuffs of the new uniform, the highest honor and rank that Dartmouth Naval School could bestow on a second-year deck foreign student.

The honor of the First Corporal almost means that after completing the entire course, the First Corporal will have a very good chance of having a red stripe mixed with gold wire on the collar and trouser line, and it will undoubtedly become a glorious Alternate Officer of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, which is the dream of most young people of this era, and at the same time, it is a great opportunity for them to get rid of their lowly birth and poverty.

However, it is different for Lin Haijiang's 'deck class', most of the students who study in this major are either rich or expensive, and after completing their so-called studies at the Dartmouth Naval School, after an interval of one or two years, they will automatically become a Royal Navy Alternate Officer, which is also the only way for them to enter the upper class.

The naval gunnery majors, the lower deck majors, the wind cable majors, the main and auxiliary sail majors, and the mechanic maintenance majors are for the poor, and most of these majors are only three weeks to six months of short training.

After class, Lin Haijiang stood by the window of the corridor under the gaze of many extremely unfriendly eyes, and looked at the Phoenix training ship moored in the harbor alone.

In his memory, he might be on board the training ship in a few days for his first voyage.

Not far away, Anna seemed to be looking here, for Anna's expectant gaze, Lin Haijiang knew that the foreign girl might have fallen in love with him and repeated the mistakes of history? No matter how good Britain is, it is not your own home! My home is on the other side of the ocean.

Lin Haijiang knew very well that the era he lived in was the intersection of sail-powered warships and ironclad steam warships, which was the dividing point of the post-secular era of sail warships.

In 1846, Major G. Cavalli of Italy made a spiral rifled cannon that fired a cone-headed cylindrical long explosive projectile. The spiral rifling rotates the projectile and stabilizes the flight, which improves the power and accuracy of the gun, and increases the range of the gun. At the same time as the appearance of rifled guns, the bolt was improved, the gun was rear-loaded, and the rate of fire was significantly increased. Major G. Cavalli's research changed the pattern of naval warfare, and the more powerful fixed-mounted blasting shells that could be fired farther and more powerful could easily tear through the battleship's handguards, and the massive wooden battleship began to be mortally threatened.

However, at this time, the ship's anti-recoil device is connected to the gun carriage through the trunnion, and the gun carriage of this kind of gun is called the 'gang mercy gun mount'. The hard-surnamed artillery mount is heavily stressed when the artillery is fired, the artillery is bulky, the mobility is poor, the aiming is destroyed when firing, the firing speed is slow, and the increase in power is limited.

The real anti-recoil recoiling device for ships was not until 1897, when the Frenchman O'Dolan manufactured a 75-mm field gun equipped with an anti-recoil device (hydrostatic gas stationary retreat and retraction), which was later copied by various countries. When the artillery with the surname of the shell is fired, due to the cushioning of the anti-recoil device, the force acting on the gun carriage is greatly reduced, the weight of the gun is reduced, the gun is not displaced when firing, and the firing speed is increased.

In 1859, the world's first ironclad ship "Glorious" was built by France, with a thickness of about 11 centimeters on the outside and ribs on the inside, with a displacement of more than 5,600 tons and 36 heavy cannons.

In Lin Haijiang's memory, according to the research of the world's authoritative academic institutions, the period from 1846 to 1865 was an era of great changes in the world's naval technology.

The main reason is that the expensive cost of ironclad warships has discouraged many countries, and the early ironclad ships did not have much absolute advantage over sail warships in terms of firepower, and sail warships can still rely on the number of guns and ships, as well as experienced sailors to offset the advantages of ironclad ships.

As long as it is a substance that exists in reality, there is a possibility of being destroyed, and before the pain of the skin, a large-scale replacement of ironclad ships cannot be done even by the Great Britain Empire at the height of its national power.

Lin Haijiang looked at the Phoenix moored in the harbor, and a group of busy sailors on the deck were cleaning the deck, putting the cables, and folding the sails! This is the most basic training subject for sailors, and whether the battleship can always occupy the T-position on the side of the ship flexibly and maneuvering, and use the side battle line to face the bow or stern of the enemy ship, the test is the sailor's ability to control the sail and the overall coordination ability of the fleet.

But Lin Haijiang knew very well that even a training ship like the Phoenix would still cost about 500,000 pounds, not to mention the ironclad ships worth millions of pounds and the 24-pound rapid-fire guns installed on them.

Robert stood in the flower gallery not far from Lin Haijiang and looked at this student from the East, it can be said that Lin Haijiang's unique Qing people's politeness and politeness, as well as the tireless spirit of learning moved him, especially Lin Haijiang's authentic English, but there are still a large number of people in the Royal Navy who have great prejudices against Orientals, otherwise he believes that Lin Haijiang will become a very outstanding Royal Navy officer and serve the British Empire.

Because he found in Lin Haijiang a spirit of perseverance, perseverance, and perseverance, which is the driving force behind the continuous development and growth of the Royal Navy.

In Robert's view, the empire's colonies are getting bigger and bigger, and the income brought by the East to the empire is also increasing year by year, on the contrary, the empire's military strength has been stretched and unusable, which is extremely dangerous for a colonial empire that pins the country's main source of income on colonies distributed around the world, but unfortunately even the empress in Congress has not been able to notice this.

The aristocracy was concerned about how they would enjoy each day after they came out! Their shotguns are even much more advanced than the standard weapons that the army is equipped with.

Using the Orientals to dominate the Orientals and serving the British Empire with local forces, Britain needs reliable friends, whenever I think of this, Robert is always a little gloomy, his title of Earl of Bingweiburg can only be used at banquets.

Robert was surprised to find that Lin Haijiang was holding a copy of the Dutchman Wichmann's history in his hand? So he wondered: "How can you be interested in this history?" It's a very nasty country. ”

Lin Haijiang raised the book in his hand and smiled slightly: "We have an old saying in China, if you want to destroy your country, you must first understand its history!" ”

Although Lin Haijiang said it very easily, Robert listened to it very heavily, and he even smelled a smell of blood that didn't exist?

After saying goodbye to Robert, Lin Haijiang walked to the Phoenix training ship moored at the dock, the crew on the dock were humming 'beautiful cloth skirts' in unison, and a very young Royal Navy major was standing on the dock in his gorgeous uniform, watching with great interest as the sailors were trying to wipe the oak deck and red pear handrails that had been wiped so smooth that they were almost impossible to stand on.

Lin Haijiang knows very well that the so-called cleaning is not so much a kind of tempering of the will of sailors and grassroots non-commissioned officers and officers, and it is also the cooperation of the overall coordination surname, and only through repeated cooperation can a sail warship achieve and maintain its standard combat effectiveness.

Whether a battleship can maintain standard combat effectiveness is the key point that determines its fate in naval warfare, when fighting a single ship, the captain is responsible for the tactical command, the deck officer and the sail officer and the gun captain are the key to determining the combat effectiveness, it is very helpless that these people are all concentrated on the first deck, once they encounter the scattering of the opponent's grapeshot projectiles, such as the Phoenix, which should be equipped with seventy-five twelve-pound to twenty-four pound guns, but in fact it is only equipped with thirty-six twelve-pound guns. The lack of crew and artillery meant that the Phoenix was not as effective as a plundering ship.

When the young Royal Navy Lieutenant discovered Lin Haijiang, Lin Haijiang walked a few steps quickly, saluted with a military salute, and then took off his hat and nodded slightly.

The young Royal Navy Major's gaze stayed on the silver First Corporal Medal of Honor on Lin Haijiang's chest, and then, the young Royal Navy Major gently dusted his chest with his gloves, and then said: "I am Edward of the Fifth Combat Team of the Second Fleet of the Royal Navy. Lord Aven, my First Corporal, Mr. ”

Lin Haijiang also noticed Edward at this time. A First Corporal's Medal of Honor on Evan Arm's chest that looked the same as his own, and the young major didn't seem to have any other medals to show off other than a royal family name, which proved that this Mr. Edward was probably a rookie as well.

Although he thought so in his heart, Lin Haijiang didn't dare to say so, he smiled knowingly and said with a slight smile: "Dear sir, the eagle that spreads its wings and soars in the blue sky also has wings that are not yet full, and where there is the ocean and the sun, there will be the fleet of the British Empire, and your future is limitless!" You're destined to be like Howard and Drake. ”

Edward. Ai Wen listened to Lin Haijiang's praise, and the last sentence frowned slightly?

Lin Haijiang has not yet realized that although Howard and Drake commanded the British fleet to defeat the Spanish Armada, Howard and Drake are not big names in Britain at all, they are just marginal figures in high society, for various reasons, most of their descendants are unknown, which is the biggest taboo in high society.

But Edward. Ai Wen had a good impression of this fair-skinned Qing man who spoke pure English without nasal dialects, so he pointed to the Phoenix and said, "Tomorrow I will be the first mate of this ship, and I will not hesitate to protect the jewel in the crown of the Empress!" My First Corporal, I am sure that you will be my right-hand man. ”

"Thank you, distinguished sir, for what you wish!" Lin Haijiang smiled slightly.

Like Edward. Lin Haijiang, a person like Ai Wen, has seen too much in his previous life and in this life, young, hot-blooded, aggressive, adventurous, and eager to fight! But such a chief was not good news for an ordinary sailor's subordinate who was only paying half a pound and three shillings and four pence a month.

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