The Battleship was a typical British first-class sail battleship, although it was a ship commissioned in the early forties, and it was over twenty years old, which was not young, and was facing the challenge of ironclads, and was beginning to look a little outdated. ⊥ Top Novel, www.

But at least for the time being, this powerful warship with a displacement of 3,800 tons and 126 guns still has a very powerful deterrent power, and it maintains the dignity and glory of the British Empire around the world.

Like other famous British warships, this warship has also undergone some modern modifications with the progress of the times, but because the hull is too large and the tonnage itself is already very high, it cannot be covered with ironclad all over the body, and it has become an ironclad ship like the original Warrior.

Because according to the inspection of British engineers, if the hull is equipped with ironclad, it will change the structure of the large hull, although it increases the protection force, but weakens the tonnage arrangement in other aspects, and also makes the ironclad ship become an offshore defensive warship, and can no longer sail long distances in the wind and waves.

In addition to not adding iron armor, even if you add a steam engine, because this era is not the era of propellers, the so-called steam engine power, all refer to the paddle wheel driven by a steam engine, to be transformed, it is not a simple job, it involves all aspects of the problem.

Of course, it is not technically a matter to add paddle wheel power, it is nothing more than adding paddle wheels on both sides of the hull, so not increasing the power of paddle wheels to the Endeavor is mainly due to the problem of cost performance.

It proved that it was not cost-effective to add a paddle wheel to a large warship of the third class or more, because that would increase the burden on the hull, and in order to make the ship unsinkable, it was necessary to reduce the tonnage of other aspects, generally speaking, the number of guns was reduced, but once the large warship reduced the number of guns. Then there is no deterrent effect.

Moreover, the addition of paddle wheels can only be added on both sides, which will seriously affect the play of the side guns, and the reduction in the number of guns is equivalent to greatly reducing the firepower of the ship. Although the iron armor will increase the protection power, the increase is not obvious, and the power has not increased significantly, and in the end, the overall combat power of the guide zhì has not increased substantially, and it is completely worth the loss.

At last. British engineers came to the conclusion that it was not a good idea to add iron armor and steam engines to wooden battleships of more than 2,000 tons, which would lose the firepower advantage of a battleship of this class.

However, at the beginning, when the British discovered that the French were building the first large ironclad steam ship using the second class ship as a model, they ignored the voices of these engineers. Based on an unfinished first-class ship, a steam ironclad ship with a displacement of more than 9,000 tons was created - "Warrior"!

In order to build this Warrior, the British Empire at that time can be said to have spent a lot of manpower and material resources. Then the cost of a ship, at least three first-class ships, can be said to be a real image project more than practical significance.

Not long after the Warrior was built, it joined the Russian expeditionary fleet. The original intention was just to make a soy sauce in the past, show a sense of storage, and deter the increasingly aggressive Chinese. Who knew that it was captured by the Chinese in the Battle of Dongsha and is still on public display in the Naval Museum in the port of Shanghai, China, which has brought shame to the British Empire.

It was after that incident that the British Navy finally understood that before there was no fundamental progress in power technology, there was no way out for flashy large ironclad ships, which would make the ship become a slow-moving target, on the contrary, small and medium-sized ironclad ships with a displacement of less than two or three thousand tons, that is the real weapon, so that it can also give full play to the steam engine power of this era, and it is the most cost-effective node of paddlewheel power.

Therefore, since then, when the British Navy has renovated ships, it has only transformed some small and medium-sized ships such as fourth-class ships and fifth-class ships, and giant ships such as first-class ships and second-class ships will not have any steam power and ironclad transformation.

After the Crimean War and China's Dongsha Naval Battle, all countries realized that the era of ironclad ships had come, so they were struggling to build their own ironclad ships, but at the same time, giant ships such as second-class ships and first-class ships did not completely withdraw from the stage of history, but had a repositioning.

That is, the British thought that there was little hope for these old first-class and second-class ships to increase their speed by steam engines, but they could add more and more advanced guns to make these warships a firepower platform.

When the time comes, the ironclad ships of small and medium-sized tonnage will rush forward to the peak in hand-to-hand combat, and the first and second class ships will act as firepower platforms in the back, matching with each other. Moreover, large warships can also maintain colonies in various places, because for those who lag behind the colonies, ironclad ships are not needed.

It was with this in mind that the number of guns on the Fight was increased to 126, and all of them were replaced with new Armstrong cannons, making it a complete fortress of firepower.

In addition, although the ship was not fully equipped with iron armor, it added iron armor in key parts, so the protection was also improved, but correspondingly, these modifications made the ship's mobility drop again, so that the speed was only a pitiful 6 knots.

Although the speed has decreased, the overall increase in firepower has not had much impact on tactics. As for the strategic aspect, when they were usually moving, the British came up with a strange method, and they actually came up with a way to pull it.

That is to say, if you need to move long distances, you can use multiple steam ships to tow the Battle, and then separate them when the battle comes, so that when you move strategically in peacetime, you can run to a speed of 12 knots with eight steam ships, which is quite good.

All in all, although the Fight is outdated, it is still the pride of the British Empire, and its meaning has become more than a weapon, but has become the signature of the British Empire, one of the symbols of the British Empire's domination of the seas.

Therefore, the Struggle is not so much a ship as the face of the British Empire, and any attack on this ship is a provocation to the dignity of the British Empire and is absolutely unforgivable.

It is precisely because of this that this time the war was declared on the United States, Britain deliberately transferred this meaningful Battle, which was originally docked at the port of Havana, and later in order to cooperate with the four-nation talks and to give itself a long face, the ship was specially sailed to the port of New Orleans.

Not to mention, as soon as the ship sailed over. Immediately compared other ships, because even the strongest Chinese Suzhou frigate, the displacement is only more than two thousand tons, and because this is a pure steel battleship, it is much smaller in size, and it is much smaller and shorter than the three-deck Struggle.

Before the real firefight, just looking at the size and figure, the Suzhou could only be the little brother of the Struggle. Even the French sailed over with a third class of ships larger than the Suzhou, so after these fleets sailed over, their self-confidence actually skyrocketed unprecedentedly, and it was precisely because of these self-confidence that they dared to refuse the order to attack Nashville.

"Your Excellency, Commander." A young colonel ran to the captain's room and found the white-haired old man sitting in a chair smoking a pipe in the captain's room.

This old white-haired man is named Owen. Whites. Howard, with the rank of lieutenant general, as for the position. It was the captain of the battleship Mighty and the commander of this expeditionary fleet.

Although this old man is fifty-five years old, he can definitely not be regarded as young, but as a veteran naval officer, his combat experience is undoubtedly extremely rich. In addition, his personal character is very good, he rewards and punishes his subordinates clearly, and he has many real military exploits, which has won him the respect of all officers and soldiers.

As a matter of fact. Lieutenant General Howard disagreed with interference in the American Civil War, not to say that he didn't hate Americans. Rather, he thought that in the present state of affairs, the British Empire should not rush into interfering with the Americans, because it would be too uneconomical.

It was precisely because of his steadiness and prudence that the British were able to avoid many conflicts with the Americans, because before that, the British fleet had been provoked by American warships many times, and if it had not been for Howard's request for restraint, it was likely that the British would have started a war with the Americans in advance.

"Oh, it turned out to be Edward." Seeing the comer, Howard nodded.

This Edward was actually a nobleman, a viscount, and of course, the reason why he was able to become a colonel before the age of thirty was not entirely because of his noble status, but also because he married the granddaughter of Lieutenant General Howard.

That's right, Edward is General Howard's grandson-in-law, and the two are actually related, which is why he was able to become a colonel so quickly.

In the British Empire at this time, identity is still a very important weight, and it does not pay attention to avoiding suspicion, but pays attention to fathers and sons in battle, so it is normal for officers of the same army to have a relationship with each other, especially in the navy with a relatively fixed position, this kind of nepotism is even stricter.

Although the importance of nepotism, but at this time the British aristocracy attached great importance to reputation, self-discipline is very strong, so the malignant impact on combat effectiveness is not large, but more benign influence, so whether there is nepotism or not is not the decisive factor in determining the combat effectiveness of an army, the key depends on the country's traditions.

The same aristocracy, the British and Prussian aristocracy were more restrained, very self-disciplined and dignified, while the French, Spanish and Italian aristocracy were more extravagant and strict, which also led the upper class rulers of different countries to adopt different methods in dealing with the aristocracy.

For example, England and Prussia were mainly encouraged, while France and Russia were mainly restrictive to the aristocracy. Although things cannot be generalized, the overall environment is roughly like this.

"What's the matter, it's so late, is there something to do with me?" Howard asked with a smile.

"That's right, I just came back from the Chinese night market, so I specially brought you something." After Edward finished speaking, he took out a backpack from his back and a can from the backpack.

"Oh?" Seeing this, Howard's eyes lit up, he immediately got up from his chair, walked to the Colonel Edward in a few steps, took the can, looked at it carefully, and weighed it, "Is this the Tsingtao beer of the Chinese?" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, it is the Tsingtao beer of the Chinese!" Edward nodded, "Except for the Chinese's Tsingtao beer, I don't think there will be any other beer that will use this luxurious packaging." You know, this kind of thing called cans is made of pure aluminum, but this kind of packaging is more expensive than gold. ”

The reason why Edward said this is because the packaging of these canned beers is made of aluminum, and the new can rings are very technical, and other countries have not yet issued imitations, so they have become the signature packaging of Tsingtao Beer.

In fact, since aluminum products were still a luxury item in this era, beer was packaged in aluminum. It has undoubtedly become synonymous with luxury, and Lee Yong-gil imports these aluminum cans directly from Hyundai and sells them directly.

Of course, the beer Li Yongji bought was not sprayed with any trademark patterns, so these cans were all silvery-white on the surface, and they didn't even spray the factory date and expiration date, just in case, showing their feet here.

Although there is no trademark attached. But when Li Yongji went to take, he still used the name of Tsingtao Beer, because he imported Tsingtao beer in modern society.

In fact, he has long imported a full set of beer production lines, and now the Shanghai area of the Chinese Empire is able to produce modern and refreshing beers, as for the name, it is called Shanghai Beer, which is also a very popular and very expensive famous wine.

Merely. Due to technical limitations and other reasons, the Shanghai beer produced in the Chinese Empire was in glass bottles, while beer in cans. At present, there is only one way to import from modern times, and there is no other way.

The material is expensive, the quantity is scarce, and the taste is unique. These reasons add up to make Tsingtao beer a luxury, so much so that many people buy Tsingtao beer. It is not used to drink at all, but to be offered and placed in a conspicuous place in the home as an ornament.

Therefore, nowadays, Tsingtao beer in the form of cans is more noble than Moutai in the 80s of the Red Dynasty, and it is not so much a drink as a precious decoration.

Of course, the people who use this can of Tsingtao beer as decoration are generally middle-class, and real aristocrats like Howard and Edward are still proud to drink it.

"That's good." Howard, who had taken the can of beer, looked left and right, and touched it carefully, "If I'm not mistaken, this can of beer costs twenty pounds, right?" ”

"That's the price in London." Edward smiled, "I got this from a middle ** official, his asking price was only 30 Chinese dollars, and after negotiating the price, 25 Chinese yuan was sold, which was twice as cheap as the price in London." ”

The Chinese dollar is the legal tender issued after the establishment of the Chinese Empire, which is essentially a currency with silver coins and paper money in parallel. In order to hedge gold, this Chinese dollar is pegged to gold, whether it is paper money or silver coins, one Chinese yuan can be directly exchanged for huàn 3 grams of gold.

Due to this gold-pegged nature, coupled with the fact that it is difficult to imitate, Hua Yuan quickly became the darling of the international currency market. At the current exchange rate, 1 pound can be exchanged for 2.5 Chinese dollars, so 25 Chinese dollars, which is equivalent to 10 pounds, is indeed twice as cheap as the market price of 20 pounds in London.

"Hey, even if that's the case, it's a bit expensive." Howard touched the surface of the can with affection, "But it's really worth it for their expensive packaging." But speaking of which, it is really strange that the Chinese actually use this expensive Alimeni (aluminum) as the packaging of beer, I am afraid that except for the Chinese, I can't think of anyone else who would be so extravagant. ”

"No way, who makes the Chinese rich." Edward shrugged his shoulders, "But then again, this beer does taste good, much better than French and Prussian beers, it doesn't taste sour at all, and there are a lot of bubbles, more than champagne bubbles, and it's the most refreshing to drink when it's hot." ”

Speaking of this, Edward took out a can from his cloth backpack, opened it with a bang, and then drank a few sips directly at the mouth of the can, and then exhaled a big breath: "Comfortable, Your Excellency, you should also give it a try." ”

"You." Seeing Edward do this in front of him, Howard just shook his head and didn't say anything.

Indeed, Edward's expression was not like a traditional English gentleman, but rather like those inferior Americans.

However, this can't be blamed on him, after all, before this, Edward had been working in the place where Canada and the United States met, and he was often in contact with Americans, and because of his personality, Edward had always been incompatible with the traditional British aristocratic demeanor.

In fact, not only the attitude of drinking, but also other aspects, Edward is not at all like the traditional British, but his somewhat frivolous approach has a unique flavor and is very popular with women, so he is an eye-catching person wherever he goes, otherwise, Howard's granddaughter would not have taken a fancy to him in the first place. And it's not good to be fascinated by him.

Of course, if Edward only pleases women, Howard will definitely not like him, entirely because this guy also has a high war literacy, whether it is shooting, fencing or cannon shooting, he is better than the average person, and he also has all the talents of a captain, such as reading charts and so on.

At the same time, his somewhat frivolous practices were very popular with lower-ranking officers and soldiers. In many cases, as long as he appears, and then says a few words casually, he can greatly improve his morale.

All in all, from Howard's point of view, Edward is a rare naval talent in all other aspects, if it weren't for the fact that he was too young, only twenty-seven years old, and some people above didn't like his style very much. Otherwise, he would have become the captain of a third-class battleship.

"I'm old, and I can't compare with you young people." Howard shook his head, then took the can in his hand and walked straight to the only desk in the captain's room.

to the desk and before and after. Howard took out a glass wrapped in velvet cloth from a drawer, and it seemed that all he knew was that it was a goblet for drinking red wine.

After removing the goblet, Howard smiled. Slowly put the quilt on the table, and then gently opened the tab of the can, before the wine came out. I quickly poured it into a glass.

No sooner had the drink been poured into the goblet than the sizzling bubbles rang out, and a layer of white bubbles came out, so that Howard had to stop when he was only halfway poured, because if he continued to pour the beer, the foam would overflow.

"Your Excellency, Honorable Commander." Edward raised his eyebrows, and suddenly said to him seriously, "Actually, what I want to say is that beer is not drunk like this, and even if it is not drunk like me, the cup you use is not right." Obviously, your cup is a goblet, not a beer-drinking goblet. ”

"Beak? You mean the bad quality mug in the bar. Howard smiled, "Alright, young man, don't tell me this. This bottle is more expensive than a flat of Bordeaux wine, so why can't I drink it from a wine glass? Alright, so be it, stop playing around with your little cleverness. ”

Speaking of this, Howard took a sip slowly, smashed his mouth, and then wiped his mouth with an elegant handkerchief: "Well, don't say, this Tsingtao beer of the Chinese tastes good, it is indeed a little different, and there is no sour taste." ”

"Huh?" Edward suddenly discovered a new world, "Commander, you just said that...... You've never drunk this before? ”

"I'm not as rich as your family." Howard gave Edward a blank look, "My salary is not luxurious enough to drink this kind of wine freely. ”

"Then how can you be so skilled at opening such buttons?" Edward raised the can ring in his hand, "Looking at the skillful Cheng Dù you just opened, I thought you drank this often." ”

"When I attended the meeting of the Joint Command some time ago, every time there was a meeting or after a meeting, the Chinese would provide this kind of thing." Howard pointed to the cans, "But those cans aren't filled with beer, they're filled with juice, juice of all flavors. But they call that kind of juice with a sparkle a can, and it lives up to its name. ”

"Can soda?" Hearing this term, Edward raised his eyebrows, "I've also drunk this thing, and it tastes really good." Unfortunately, there are very few of them on the market, and I haven't been able to drink them a few times...... By the way, Your Excellency, at the next meeting, can you ask if this thing is for sale, and can you let me buy some back? ”

"Okay, next time I have a chance, I can help you ask." Howard nodded with a smile, and then said with emotion, "Well, speaking of which, the Chinese really have a lot of good things, and the amount of thought they spend on eating and drinking is indeed not comparable to us." Originally, I thought that such a country would not have any chance, who knew that they were so powerful even in war, hey, how to say, did God really start favoring the Chinese? ”

"Hmph, if you want me to see, it's only temporary, and it's good or bad." Edward shrugged, "As far as I know, the reason why China has changed so much is entirely because of their emperor, and their emperor is said to be nothing more than a puppet in front of the stage called the Human Innovation Alliance. Therefore, the current changes in China seem to be surprising, but it is difficult to predict what the final result will be, and sooner or later it will become a vassal of others. ”

"That's not very clever for you." Howard shook his head, "No matter what, it is a fact that China is now a recognized power, and they are also developing very well, and in time, sooner or later they will become a real power." ”

"That's what makes it scary." "I've been to China before, and I think I have more say in China than a lot of people. In my eyes, China used to be a backward and ignorant country, not much better than India, but it has changed so much in such a short period of time, and it is still aggressive to come out and fight for colonies......

IMHO, what we are doing now is actually wrong, we should not unite with the Chinese, on the contrary, we should regard the Chinese as the biggest enemy, we must unite all forces to strangle this demon in advance, otherwise, really give them time to develop, and when they develop to the point that we can't deal with him, it will be too late. ”

"You ......"

As soon as Howard said the word you, he suddenly heard a deafening explosion, and the floor beneath him began to shake violently, so that Howard and Edward couldn't even stand on their feet, and fell to the ground.

At the first time, Edward reacted: "Not good! We were attacked! ”

"That's right." Howard nodded, "I just don't know......"

Before he could finish speaking, another powerful explosion sounded, and this time, the force seemed to be even greater, so that Howard and Edward, who had just stood up, fell again.

When they finally regained their footing, the two of them found that the entire ground had begun to tilt, and at this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and then the door of the captain's room was forcefully pushed open from the outside, and an officer with a sweaty face slapped in.

"Oh no, Your Excellency Commander, the Fight has been attacked suddenly, and now it is damaged, in order to prevent accidents, please ......"

"Wait a minute." Howard frowned and interrupted him, "Sudden attack? What kind of attack was it? ”

"The explosion came directly from underwater, it seems to be an underwater bomb, and we have sent people into the water to investigate the situation." The officer hesitated, "Anyway, what is the reason for later, the current situation is urgent, please abandon the ship immediately!" ”

"Is this really the case?" Howard asked sternly.

"Yes, Your Excellency." The officer nodded, "Although the damage has not yet been fully understood, judging from the current sinking speed of this ship, I am afraid that the water leakage caused by the explosion is very serious, or it will not be long, I am afraid it will be ......."

"Understood." Howard nodded, "Then listen to you, and abandon the ship quickly." (To be continued......) R527