Lin Haijiang has always been very limited in his ideas for the development of the old port, and he does not necessarily have to take the route of the so-called cannon giant ships, at least it is very difficult now, because the navy is a branch of the army that needs to continue to invest huge expenses, and Lin Haijiang cannot afford to raise an oversized fleet before he has a deep foundation.

In a short period of time, he also had to find a more suitable weapon type for him and improve the ship's surname.

Compared with the steam engine with limited unit horsepower expansion, Lin Haijiang is looking for a large-scale internal combustion engine with more potential, and only with a high-horsepower internal combustion engine, a giant high-speed warship is not a dream.

Lin Haijiang remembers that in the mid-19th century, Prussian scientists perfected the theory of thermal conversion of mechanical power generated by burning gas, gasoline and diesel. This laid the foundation for the invention of the internal combustion engine. Since the advent of the piston internal combustion engine in the 60s of the 19th century, it has been a relatively complete machinery after continuous improvement and development. It has high thermal efficiency, wide range of power and speed, convenient matching, and good mobility, so it has been widely used.

However, in a simple sense, ordinary internal combustion engines can only be used for the power matching of small vehicles such as vehicles, and the internal combustion engines that can really be used for large surface ships are reciprocating piston internal combustion engines, which are generally composed of crank connecting rod mechanism, body and cylinder head, valve mechanism, oil supply system, lubrication system, cooling system, starting device, etc.

However, these components all require precision machining as the basis, even with design ideas, the precision of machining before reaching zero error equipment, large internal combustion engines can only be Lin Haijiang's luxury.

In view of the current situation that the Mawei shipyard can only produce about 200 tons of small boats, Lin Haijiang decided to design a torpedo boat, the world's first torpedo boat was the British built in 1877 Lightning, almost at the same time as the British, the Russian-built Cesme and Sinop mine boats can also be regarded as the earliest prototype torpedo boats.

The predecessor of the torpedo is a pole mine born in the early 19th century, the pole mine is fixed to the bow of the dinghy with a long pole, and the boat rushes to the enemy ship during naval battles, and the pole mine is used to hit and explode the enemy ship.

Torpedo boats have the characteristics of small size, high speed, flexible maneuverability, good concealment, and great attack power, but they have poor seaworthiness, small radius of activity, and weak self-defense capabilities. Because of its low cost, easy manufacturing and easy use, it is suitable for the composition of Lin Haijiang's current strategic and tactical thinking.

However, due to the huge structure of the steam engine and the high speed required by the torpedo boat, Lin Haijiang could only give Miller instructions to find experts in the field of internal combustion engines in Europe, and on the other hand, he asked Prussia for help, hoping that Prussia could find an expert in the internal combustion engine for him.

For aluminum alloy, Lin Haijiang only knows that the main alloying elements are copper, silicon, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and the minor alloying elements are nickel, iron, titanium, chromium, lithium, etc.

Aluminum alloy has low density, but relatively high strength, close to or more than high-quality steel, good plastic surname, can be processed into various profiles, has excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance, is widely used in industry, and the amount of use is second only to steel.

However, Lin Haijiang's understanding of aluminum alloy is only this, after consulting the smelting technicians of the old port steel plant, Lin Haijiang knew that the birth of each alloy is to be explored through long-term research, and it takes countless failures to finally determine the perfect alloy ratio.

Now Lin Haijiang has found out that he is indeed poor and white! Nothing is your own characteristic, and what you want is really blocked.

In 1864, Captain Lupius of the Austro-Hungarian Navy mounted the engine on the pole mine, and used the compressed air in the high-pressure vessel to push the engine piston to work, and drove the propeller to make the mine body in the water to attack the enemy ship. However, due to the low speed, short range, and poor control, Lupius's invention was not put into use.

By 1866, the British engineer Robert ? Whitehead succeeded in developing the first torpedo. The torpedo borrowed from Lupius's invention by using a compressed air engine to drive a single propeller to propel it, and the horizontal rudder plate at the tail of the torpedo was controlled by a hydraulic valve to control the depth of the torpedo. At that time, the speed of the torpedo was only 11 km/h, the range was 180-640 meters, and there was no device to control the direction of the torpedo. Because of its fish-like appearance, it is called a torpedo, but this kind of torpedo with a very low practical surname is not needed in the sea territory, and such a short range is simply suicidal for the capital ship with secondary guns.

The torpedo in the real sense of the word appeared in 1899, and the Austro-Hungarian naval cartographer Ludeger? Aubrey mounted the gyroscope on the torpedo and used it to control the torpedo directional direct course, making the world's first torpedo in a controlled direction, which greatly improved the accuracy of the torpedo's hit. In 1904, the American E. W. Briss invented the first thermodynamic torpedo to replace the compressed air engine, also known as the steam gas torpedo, which increased the speed of the torpedo to about 65 km/h and the range reached 2740 meters.

However, the size of the steam gas torpedo is too small to meet the requirements of Lin Haijiang that 2-3 pieces can seriously damage the capital ship, so the Prussian technicians organized by Lin Haijiang are constantly exploring and researching, because the power of the explosives is low, and Lin Haijiang considers that in the late stage of the pre-dreadnought era, the capital ships are equipped with anti-torpedo waterline decks, and if the warhead charge is insufficient, it is difficult to break through the heavy protection of the capital ship.

However, after the warhead was enlarged, it became a problem to ensure the depth of the torpedo into the water and the speed of the launch, so these problems formed a strange circle.

Just when Lin Haijiang was having a headache for his torpedo, Shen Tianfu, as his plenipotentiary, had already made preliminary contact with the shogunate and planned to be accompanied by Ma Jiang to attend the negotiations with the shogunate.

Fearing the attitude of Britain and the United States, the fleet was temporarily anchored in Edo Bay, and did not carry out the planned operations against the Satsuma and Choshu feudatories.

Tokugawa Ieshige, accompanied by Antō Nahito and Tokugawa Sakurako, summoned representatives of the Chinese Empire with deep friendship, and was very confused about this Chinese Empire, Tokugawa Iehiko and Tokugawa Sakurako did not know much, but they knew that this fleet came from their base in the old port of Sumatra, and that the fleet of the old port had recently defeated the English who dominated the ocean, and it was enough for them to know this.

The strength of the old port gave them a hope, that is, whether the island nation could also rise as quickly and mightily as the old port?

Li Anmin as Ma Jiang's accompaniment, Ma Jiang as Shen Tianfu's accompaniment, the appearance of the group made the shogunate who seemed cautious immediately surprised, Anten Mingren was surprised by the uniform movements of the five hundred marines, and Tokugawa Ieshige was surprised by the other party's gorgeous and capable military uniform, for the childlike Tokugawa Ieshige, such a military uniform was far more attractive than his kimono.

The officers and men of Ma Jiang and Li Anmin who have already made this trip are wearing a type of dress issued before departure, which is made of British thick tweed, which is very easy to shape, and the soft-topped large-brimmed hat looks very playful, and the white tunic with a stand-up collar has gorgeous short swords and spears on the belt, and brown calfskin boots are added to match the Prussian style military qualities of Li Anmin, Ma Jiang and others.

All of this shocked the shogunate, who had prepared for the negotiations, and the shelling a few days earlier had left nearly 10,000 people in the Satsuma and Choshu domains, and thousands of wounded in the aftermath, all of which gave him a glimpse of the power of the navy, and he was now full of thoughts about how to build such a fleet and then bomb the kennels of the Satsuma and Choshu domains to the ground.

Tokugawa Sakurako wore a kimono decorated with black and white lilies very rarely, and the saber that she never left in the past was not brought into the venue, but there was an extra sand towel on her face, which added a bit of mystery.

After the personnel on both sides sat down, Li Anmin and Ma Jiang immediately handed over their sakes, but refused to hand over the short sword, and after asking about it, Anten Mingren had to explain to Tokugawa Ieshige that this is the practice of the international navy, and the short saber represents the honor of the soldiers, not the use of weapons, and there are at least more than 100 samurai and dozens of ninjas lurking around him, so Tokugawa Iemao does not care, and he allows it to be allowed.

Due to the importance of the negotiations, after the two sides were ready, Tokugawa Ieshige expressed his heartfelt thanks to Shen Tianfu and others after the two sides were ready, and he expressed his willingness to offer gifts and so on.

Shen Tianfu smiled and nodded silently, Li Anmin also knew that he was his little Jiujiu, after all, whoever was blocked by seven ironclad ships at his door would not be comfortable, especially these ironclad ships were also equipped with powerful artillery, unlike Lin Haijiang, who had personal pain from later generations, Li Anmin did not hate Yue himself as much as Lin Haijiang, he didn't understand why the Metropolitan Governor had to say that he was killed quickly?

However, he was a soldier, and he was a Prussian-trained naval staff officer, so even from the perspective of carrying out orders, he would faithfully carry out Lin Haijiang's orders, and as a soldier, he enjoyed the sense of conquest that came with being a victor.

After Shen Tianfu waited for the translation of this side, he nodded to Li Anmin and Ma Jiang, so he directly said in words: "Your Excellency the Honorable General, and the rank, I only offer the highest respect to the shogunate on behalf of the Governor of Lin Haijiang this time, and we have not only brought the battleships of the Third Fleet, but also brought sincere friendship. ”

Shen Tianfu's words made Tokugawa Ieshige, Anten Minghito, and Tokugawa Sakurako slightly stunned, the third fleet? The implication is that there are at least two fleets of the same size, or even surpass, on the Old Port?

Shen Tianfu saw that the previous research had a deterrent effect, so he said very seriously: "The two feudal domains of Satsuma and Changzhou killed my legitimate merchants and swallowed up my tens of millions of silver. With the support of the Americans and the British, the two feudal domains of Choshu were actively preparing for an uprising to overthrow the shogunate, so our Governor Hayashi Haijiang decided to give the shogunate full support in terms of weapons and military affairs, and reached a bilateral agreement of understanding and cooperation with the shogunate. ”

Shen Tianfu's words made the three of them stunned again, Tokugawa Sakurako's face changed, and he was just about to speak, but An Teng Mingren coughed, and in government affairs, Tokugawa Sakurako asked himself not as experienced as An Teng Mingren, so he temporarily suppressed the urge to question the other party.

In less than three years, Fushou paste and heroin almost poisoned the entire book, and a large amount of silver and gold passed in the book, this damn Fushou paste was disguised as medicine, and it was too late for people to see through its evil mask, and the low-class warriors and people were worse off than dead, and there were people everywhere who went bankrupt because of heroin and taking Fushou cream, and sold their children and daughters.

Moreover, it is said that the two feudal domains of Satsuma and Changzhou have confiscated a total of only more than 2 million taels of silver, so how can it be said that tens of millions of taels are said? If it was to respect the shogunate, why did the ironclad ship anchor in Edo Bay? And the muzzle of the gun is pointed in the direction of the city? There are too many questions for Anteng.

However, he had rich experience in government affairs and smiled slightly: "You are too modest, Lord Shen Tianfu, you Chinese have an ancient saying that you have nothing to do and are courteous or stealing, and the conditions you give are too generous, so generous that we dare not accept it, we are really ashamed!" If you accept your kindness and do nothing, it is difficult to say. ”

Shen Tianfu listened to An Teng Mingren's words and knew that this old fox was drawing a circle with himself, and he didn't want to promise anything if he wanted help? And also hinted that he had bad intentions, so Shen Tianfu decided to wake up An Teng Mingren, Shen Tianfu very leisurely lit a cigar for himself, looked at An Teng Mingren in the blue smoke and said as if chatting about homely things: "The Dutch changed a governor a while ago, and somehow suddenly had a hard time with our Metropolitan Governor, and the Metropolitan Governor had to send troops to destroy them, and now the remnants of the Dutch have returned from Hong Kong, and they may be difficult to come to this sea area in Southeast Asia!" ”

The Netherlands was annihilated and expelled by the forces of the Old Port? The three of them, Nahito Anto, Tokugawa Ieshige, and Tokugawa Sakurako, quickly exchanged the latest information that shocked them, because the shogunate had been struggling to deal with the Satsuma and Choshu domains recently, and lacked the necessary attention to the information from the outside world, which led to such a major negligence.

Shen Tianfu was not in a hurry, but handed over a package of treaty documents on cooperation matters and said: "You first look at the terms of cooperation, and then the next negotiation venue can be set on the Zhiyuan ship." ”

Before leaving, Ma Jiang pulled Li Anmin's sleeve and said, "Didn't you say that there are no beautiful women?" Today's girl looks good! You have to be a princess or something to participate in the meeting, right? I'll just look at this. ”

Li Anmin smiled and said, "You! Let the Metropolitan Governor know what you think about every day, and you kid will be finished! ”

Ma Jiang didn't care and said: "It's not okay to be a big wife, it's always okay to be a concubine and serve people, right?" said that she was small, poor, and unpopular, so she was a princess! Then when the concubine serves people, she has a lot of face, wait for your Lao Li to go to my house, let her wash your feet, enjoy? And the ass is warped enough, so it's good to give birth to! ”

Li Anmin glanced at Ma Jiang, who was dreaming in vain, and said coldly: "That woman looks like a practitioner at first glance, do you remember the guard before the Metropolitan Governor?" Who would dare to provoke that kind of woman easily? Even the Metropolitan Governor has to find a reason to take care of it, that is to sit in the powder magazine and smoke, and play with his life! ”

If Tokugawa Sakurako knew that the senior officers of the two opposing sides were talking about her, I am afraid that she would have turned her face a long time ago, and the three interpreters on both sides of the side were very smart and silent at the moment, and the trouble came from here This sentence came from, not to mention that Tokugawa Sakurako had long been the master of the murderous reputation.

After Shen Tianfu and his entourage left, Anto Minghito and Tokugawa Sakurako immediately studied the details of the terms of the so-called treaty, and the other party did not give them enough time to think about it, or was it the shocking news of the defeat of the Dutch that made them forget how to refuse?

Anten Mingren opened the details of the treaty, Anten Mingren can be said to be more and more careful, carefully looking at the details of the cooperation terms of this treaty almost did not have any disadvantages to the shogunate, the other party almost provided start-up funds to build industrial supporting factories, docks, shipyards, etc., and also borrowed a large number of weapons, sent military instructors to help it train the army, and sold a large number of warships to the shogunate, and also helped the shogunate establish the basic system in terms of customs, but asked the shogunate to punish the main responsible persons of the Satsuma and Choshu feudal domains after the victory, It also officially began to calculate the documents confirming that the 17 islands of the Ryukyu and Guam were the existing territories of the Chinese Empire since ancient times, and granted consular jurisdiction to citizens holding passports of the Chinese Empire.

Anto Mingren handed the copy to Tokugawa Sakurako and sighed: "It's complicated and simple, it will definitely be beneficial to us in the short term, but in the long run, they will become the shogunate of the Tokugawa shogunate!" ”

Tokugawa Ieshige was fiddling with a few pistols and two scary-looking Gatling hand-cranked machine guns given by the other party, and was very confused by the shogunate of the Tokugawa shogunate that Ato Nahito said, so he asked, "Lord Aten, what does the shogunate of the Tokugawa shogunate mean?" Are they going to encroach on us? ”

Tokugawa Sakurako sighed slightly and said, "If this clause continues, their power will penetrate into every part of us, even into our bones, and the consequences are too terrible!" ”

An Teng Mingren played with the Buddha beads in his hand and said deeply: "This depends on how we take advantage of the situation, the Chinese are greedy and discordant, and lack the spirit of unity and cooperation, so we can gradually divide them, so that their influence, infiltration, and control over us are minimized!" ”

"As long as you are human, you will have weaknesses!" An Teng Mingren smiled meaningfully.

(To be continued)