The expedition has been decided, and there is no need to say more.

Kuang Yu, the former secretary of the military department, threw Cao Nai aside and ran to visit the ironclad ship by himself.

I've long heard that ironclad ships are made of fine iron, and it's really incredible that such a big guy can float in the water and drive up and run.

He is almost seventy years old this year, and his body is still very strong, and he is very interested in these new weapons and equipment.

Although he had made a lot of preparations in advance, and had fantasized about what the ironclad ship would look like, when he actually came to the port and saw the behemoth in front of him, the visual impact and spiritual shock could not be described in words.

The length of the ship is forty-eight zhang, and the width is seven zhang five.

This size is slightly smaller than Zheng He's flagship when he went to the West, but it is only narrower in width, and the length is even a little more.

The difference between the two is that Zheng He's treasure ship is a cargo ship, with a wide body and a flat bottom, and a huge space, just like a big house, which can accommodate many people and carry a lot of cargo.

The ironclad ship is a warship, with a long body and a pointed bottom, which can sail extremely fast, and it is a steel hull, like a mobile fortress on the sea.

Of course, although it is a body of steel, it is only a combination of wood and steel.

The keel of the bottom of the ship is made of stainless steel, and the hull is made of fine cedar and pine, which is dried for ten months and then wrapped in iron armor outside the wood.

】

This is not to save money, the construction of this ship has already used the manpower and material resources of the whole country, and silver is not a problem.

The main reason is the lack of power of the steam engine.

If the entire hull is made of steel, its weight is too huge, even if the four cylinders are fully opened, there is no guarantee of movement, let alone endurance.

The use of wood as a lining and steel as a shell was enough to resist artillery fire in this era, and it also played a shock-absorbing role, even if two ships collided, it could ensure that the damage was minimized.

Look at the thickened armor on the bow of the ship, it is like a sharp chisel, if it is an ordinary ship, I am afraid that it will be smashed directly......

Kwong Yu couldn't help but be amazed, and then came to the various cabins.

As soon as I walked to the fuel tank, a choking smell of soot greeted me, accompanied by the loud noise of the steam engine, even if you don't get seasick, you will never feel good.

Later, he visited the guns in the bilge and even dined with the soldiers.

The food is still good, but the environment here is really not good.

The noise is loud, the smell is heavy, some enclosed spaces are not well ventilated, and they exude musty smells, in short, the ironclad ship that looks brilliant is behind the silent efforts of thousands of people.

Kwong Yu felt deeply, returned to the shore, and immediately asked to face the saint.

Zhu Qizhen was studying the nautical chart, and said without raising his head: "The Qing family went to visit the ironclad ship?" ”

"Back to the emperor, the old minister was deeply touched when he saw the ironclad ship!"

"Oh?"

Only then did Zhu Qizhen raise his head, smile, and ask, "How do you feel?" ”

"It's great!"

Kuang Yu was still immersed in shock, and said with emotion: "The old minister is fortunate to see this ship, and he will die without regrets!" ”

"I'll ask you how you feel, why are you still alive and dead?"

"Old minister...... Excited, Your Majesty, this ship is really, really ......"

Seeing Kuang Yu's incoherent appearance, Zhu Qizhen had no choice but to say: "Let's talk about the battle route, what does the Qing family think about this battle?" ”

"Combat Line ......"

Kuang Yu calmed down his excitement, stepped forward, and looked at Yutu.

The route along the map, the main ports, including the situation of each small island, whether there is water and other information have been marked on the map.

At this time, it reflects the importance of Peng Qing's trip to the West, and a lot of the information on this map has been verified by him personally.

On the route, one of the most eye-catching symbols is an island at the southern tip of Linyi Prefecture.

Kwong Yu looked carefully, and the word Falklands was written on it.

"Your Majesty, what's so special about this island?"

"This is a base for the Eastern Roman Navy."

Zhu Qizhen nodded on the map and said: "This island is located between the True Wax Kingdom and the Zhancheng State, and its ownership has always been disputed. I am a bright and gentle Quartet, just an island, and I didn't want to compete with the real wax country, but I didn't expect that I was taken advantage of by those foreign devils. ”

Kuang Yu looked left and right on the picture, and seemed to be able to understand it, but he couldn't understand it.

Because he really doesn't know how to sail......

Zhu Qizhen didn't plan to count on him, on this map, in addition to the hydrological data that Peng Qing had investigated, there was also the enemy situation detected by Jinyiwei.

Since the day of the resumption of the West, Jinyiwei has set up a thousand Western households, and the yamen is located in Fuzhou.

Later, it was upgraded to the Xiyang Town Government Division, and the Yamen of the Town Government Division was also moved to Linyi, where it went deep into the South Seas, and there were many merchant ships around it, so it was very convenient to explore the news.

According to intelligence, after the defeat of the Eastern Romans, one of the queens fled from the mainland with a navy and came to the East.

The exact location of their base camp is unknown, but there are already a number of strongholds to the west of the Falklands.

The Eastern Romans obviously hoped to make a comeback, relying on the strong ships and guns in their hands, and constantly developing and strengthening their own power, invading the small countries in the South Seas, taking men as slaves, building houses, and building bases, while women were humiliated and miserable at will.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had been open to the sea for more than two years, and some Han people began to go abroad and develop overseas, but they were plundered and brutalized by these foreign devils.

Not only did they occupy land, kill and enslave the local natives and Han people, but they also built a large number of ports, which meant that they would take the whole of Nanyang for themselves.

When Kuang Yu heard this, his two eyebrows rose upside down, and he scolded: "Your Majesty, you said earlier, if the old minister knew that these foreign devils were acting like this, he would never dissuade them, and he would definitely support the expedition with all his might!" ”

Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "All this information is the latest to go, and I just learned about it. ”

"The devil raised by the son of a bitch, stealing the blueprints of our ironclad ship, and killing my Ming people, is simply lawless!"

After Kuang Yu finished scolding, he seemed to feel puzzled, and said: "Your Majesty, it is better to give an edict to the Nanyang countries, let them go out together and kill these foreign devils!" ”

"That's not necessary, Nanyang is a small country, and the national strength is weak, so letting them join the battle will only drag us back."

"Your Majesty, what are the tactics of this expedition?"

"Tactics are ......"

Zhu Qizhen paused and said slowly: "Drive the boat over, the cannon will bombard the damn!" ”

Kuang was stunned for a moment and asked, "Gone?" ”

Zhu Qizhen nodded: "It's gone." ”

Kuang Yu pondered for a moment, and then said, "Okay, just fuck it!" ”