When Zhu Jingyuan arrived in Nanjing, the visiting fleet of the Ming Navy also arrived in France.

Two 60,000-ton battleships, four 40,000-ton battleships, plus a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier.

In this way, seven capital ships, as well as twelve cruisers of 16,000 tons, stopped together at the French military port of Le Havre.

The number of new capital ships in this fleet is more than the number of new capital ships that France has built so far.

The purpose of the fleet's trip to Ctesy was not just to participate in the parade where Louis Charles was crowned as Louis XVII.

Instead, after a lapse of six years, he came to Thailand and Spain again for a "friendly visit".

Louis XVII's parade, with the participation of several ships, will be discussed with the French side to see the needs of Charles himself.

Most likely, only one or two will be arranged.

Compared with six years ago, the size of Daming's visiting fleet has swelled again.

Not only two 60,000-ton super battleships were added, but also a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier.

The succession of the new king of France, although far less than the succession of the Ming Emperor, is also a very important thing in the world.

At the end of last year, the 65-year-old Huang Yue retired with the rank of Zhengyipin Dazong and was additionally awarded the title of earl.

Fifty-three-year-old Shen Fu, after ten years in the position of Honglu Siqing, was finally promoted to Zongbo from the first grade, taking over all Huang Yue's original positions, in charge of all cultural and diplomatic affairs.

Shen Fu, as a representative of the Ming court, arrived in France with Niu Jian, Zhu Jingyuan's personal representative, on a visiting fleet.

The arrival of this fleet in France caused a huge sensation both officially and civilly.

First of all, the scale is too large, the size of a single ship and the size of the fleet are unprecedented.

Then there is the special relationship between the two countries, when Charles is about to be crowned, the Ming arranged such a fleet to participate, which could not be clearer, this is absolute support.

From the royal family to the aristocracy, from the proprietors of manufacturers to the middle class, as well as ordinary people who pay a little attention to international relations and the military, they all feel that their country is valued enough and feel very honored.

The non-governmental newspapers have long reported the relevant news, and in the past few days, people who have had the opportunity to come over have come to the vicinity of the pier to watch.

The fleets of other countries participating in the parade also arrived in France one after another in the past two days.

Most of the countries have arranged for a battleship to come over, and some are not the latest battleships.

Compared with the two, it seems that the fleet of the Ming Dynasty is even more exaggerated.

The picture of a total of nineteen huge warships on the Ming side sailing into the docks of Le Havre, France, and when they docked in the docks and harbors in turn, caused bursts of cheers from time to time.

Of course, the reporters of the main newspapers in France and the Tessie countries did not miss this rare opportunity, and seized the time to find a good angle and position, and took a large number of photos and videos.

The film technology invented by Zhu Jingyuan has now been spread in major countries around the world.

The French, who already had a special relationship with the Ming Dynasty, were the fastest learners.

The entire port of Le Havre is surrounded by a sea of activity.

King Louis XVI of France and his wife, as well as Crown Prince Charles, his wife and children, who are about to be crowned, also brought the main nobles and officials of France to the interior of the military port to greet and visit.

The family of the French king and the crown prince can also be ranked in this world.

Coupled with Zhu Jingyuan's special relationship, they were more valued by Ming officials than ordinary Taixi kings and crown princes.

Shen Fu, the representative of the Ming court, and Niu Jian, the personal representative of Zhu Jingyuan, came out of the cabin together and received the French king and his wife and the family of Crown Prince Charles.

The two took them aboard the flagship battleship Huguang and toured the battleship's deck facilities and main cabins.

At the position of the reduction gear set in the core engine room, Louis XVI looked at the huge mechanical structure composed of the large gears in front of him, and couldn't help but admire from the bottom of his heart:

"This ...... This huge battleship made of machinery is nothing short of art!

"The huge and powerful body, the complex and intricate structure, this is really fascinating!"

Louis XVI may have lived in later generations as a technoman......

Charles also looked carefully at the surrounding mechanical structures, and asked some questions from time to time:

"What was the power output of the power system of the battleship Huguang? What is the level of power density of the entire powertrain? And what is the maximum speed of this battleship? Can you reveal it? ”

Niu Jian did not hide this kind of issue, and directly and clearly told Charles the specific data:

"The design power of the power system is 200,000 horsepower, the power density is 50 horsepower per ton, and the design maximum speed is 32 knots."

French officials, including the Charles, who were concerned about and understood the process of technical research and construction of warships, were all taken aback when they heard these three data, and then they all had obvious doubts.

The crowd whispered.

"Fifty horsepower per ton! O my God! ”

"The power system of our capital ship barely achieves thirty horsepower per ton!"

"This is a battleship power system, not a cruiser, can this kind of power density really be achieved? Is it really okay? ”

"Daming's craftsmanship level is far beyond ours, of course, it can achieve this kind of power density, and it can also maintain safety."

"The point is, a 60,000-ton warship with a speed of 32 knots, this is really terrifying!"

"This speed can catch up with many cruisers......"

"No, unless the wind is calm, most cruisers claiming to be over thirty-three knots will not be able to catch up with her."

"Yes, the greater the tonnage of the warship, the more stable the speed, and the greater the ability to cope with bad weather and sea conditions."

"After the wind and waves in the North Sea rise, it would be good for the cruiser to run twenty knots, but the battleship can continue to run thirty knots."

"So in the case of wind and waves, let alone cruisers, even the latest destroyers, which claim to be thirty-five knots, cannot outrun the ...... of battleships that are only thirty knots in name."

"Wait, I have a question, how do you achieve a speed of 32 knots with a displacement of 200,000 horsepower and 60,000 tons?"

"On the other side, according to our calculations, our 40,000-ton battleship needs 150,000 horsepower to run to 30 knots, more than 190,000 horsepower to run to 32 knots, and at least 230,000 horsepower to run 32 knots with 60,000 tons......"

"So yes...... Daming's hull underwater linear design is more excellent? Is it possible to reduce resistance? ”

"The shape of the Ming ship's hull is indeed different from ours, but you can't see it underwater......"

When these people talked about it later, Charles didn't go outside to ask Niu Jian:

"Mr. Niu, how did Daming let a 60,000-ton ship run to 32 knots with 200,000 horsepower?"

Niu Jian said with a smile:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can actually observe the shape of the Ming ship, whether it is the bow or stern or the bottom, it is not the same as the traditional warship, and there is a special drag reduction design.

"But how to reduce it, this can be regarded as a state military secret, so even if it is the relationship between His Royal Highness the Prince of Great Food and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I can't tell you directly.

"We can only say that His Highness can arrange for French technicians to use more brains in drag reduction design and pay more attention to the latest research trends in fluid dynamics.

"As long as you are willing to work hard, you should be able to reduce the power demand of more than 10,000 horsepower through linear design."

After hearing this, Charles nodded very gratefully:

"Thank you Mr. Niu for reminding me, and thank you for my dear friend's advice......"

A group of people took a tour of the cabin and came out of the battleship's hold again.

Charles stood on the deck of the Huguang and subconsciously looked at the other battleship next door, the Zhenhai aircraft carrier.

Daming drove the official version of the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier he built to France.

The new battleship of 60,000 tons, of course, gives a shocking feeling, but this is within the range that everyone can understand.

With the technical support of the Ming Dynasty, the countries of Taixi have built a batch of 40,000-ton high-speed battleships in the past few years.

As a result, they understood that if they obtained the production technology of a higher level of steel and other related industries, and scaled up on the basis of the existing 40,000-ton battleship, they would be able to obtain a relatively reasonable design of a 60,000-ton or even larger battleship.

This kind of thing that is essentially faster engines, larger guns, and thicker armor stacks together, the cutting-edge high-speed battleship is not completely subversive compared to the traditional battleship.

As for aircraft carriers, it's completely different, and now the countries of Tessie are groping for how to build them.

No one had ever built it before.

Daming has not provided any public reference samples before.

With the signing of the Europa Naval Treaty, the definition of an aircraft carrier was clarified.

In the following three years and eight months, the countries of Tessie and Spain have successively tried to build a number of aircraft carriers.

At this stage, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty participated in the whole process of the design of the new warship, and most of the new warships of the Taixi country were provided by the Ming Dynasty.

So what Taixi's batch of warships are like, Daming's side is clear.

Regarding this latest batch of aircraft carriers, Zhu Jingyuan and Daming's craftsmen's views are "each with its own characteristics".

Some countries are seriously inexperienced, do not have any accumulation in related fields, and the Ming Dynasty does not provide direct help, so the ships built are more taken for granted.

The most basic situation was to remove the aft or foredeck of the original cruiser and pave half of the flight deck.

In a strange situation, all the main guns were removed, but the chimney was continued to be placed in the middle of the hull, and two decks were laid in front and behind the chimney.

Slightly better, a deck was laid in the middle of the hull, with smoke vents placed behind the hull.

A better case is to have the chimney on the middle side, but some on the left and some on the right.

There are also those where the chimney is completely downturned and bent downward, and when they run, they spew smoke towards the sea.

The aircraft carrier designs of these countries can only be regarded as experimental explorations, and they are all used to accumulate design experience.

The best situation is the design of Britain, France and Spain.

Compared with other countries, these three countries have actually completed the first phase of transformation exploration design.

In addition, all three countries have relatively mature naval systems, as well as experienced naval generals and engineers.

After the signing of the naval treaty, the design of the new aircraft carrier is already a formal design aimed at aircraft carriers.

Therefore, compared with the work of other countries, the new aircraft carrier of the Three Kingdoms is close to the design of the Ming Dynasty in the eyes of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty.

There is a fully direct deck, as well as an upward chimney located on the middle side of the deck, which rises above the deck.

These two points are very simple to say, but they are actually the most basic design of a typical aircraft carrier in the propeller era.

After these two points are confirmed, the subsequent design updates can be regarded as supplements and adjustments in details.

Correspondingly, Daming's aircraft carrier can also be pulled out and directly seen by the Taixi people.

Charles and the relevant officials involved in the research and design of the aircraft carrier in France, when they saw the aircraft carrier of the Ming Dynasty, they knew that they had taken the right path before.

The current navies of the Taixi countries have formed a certain blind obedience, as long as they do something similar to the Ming Dynasty, then they must be doing the right thing.

If it's different from Daming's, it's probably a problem.

Even if it may be very reasonable in principle, it will be repeatedly questioned by people related to the country or those who do not want to be closed.

The French couldn't see the Ming aircraft carrier before, so they were not very confident in their own aircraft carrier design groping.

Da Ming now drove the aircraft carrier over, for the French, it was like after the exam, after the answer, he found that he was not sure of the important question correctly answered.

Xia Ertong also rejoiced in his heart that he had almost misunderstood his best friend's hint at the beginning, thinking that the smaller the aircraft carrier, the better.

Fortunately, according to the reaction of the British, it was understood.

Now it seems that Da Ming's point of view is indeed that the aircraft carrier is not very important, but he also thinks that she is very useful.

The fleet that is now visiting Taixi, this combination of six battleships and a large aircraft carrier is obviously the most reasonable use of aircraft carriers that Da Ming has explored.

According to the calculations of the French admirals, the addition of an aircraft carrier to the battleship formation would make the fleet nearly twice as effective.

The reconnaissance capabilities of one aircraft carrier, more than two full-fledged avant-garde reconnaissance fleets.

But at the same time, Charles and the officers of the French navy, as well as the craftsmen, were also full of admiration.

Daming's aircraft carrier is too big......

It is a whole circle larger than the aircraft carrier designed and built by itself.

Charles looked at the deck of the aircraft carrier not far away, and finally couldn't help but ask Niu Jian about her situation:

"This is the aircraft carrier officially built by Daming! She looked as big as this 60,000-ton battleship!

"Can you tell us about her tonnage, speed, and aircraft capacity?"

Da Ming generally doesn't refuse this kind of question, so it's natural for Charles to ask too.

Niu Jian knew that this kind of question could be answered, so he also introduced it very happily:

"Aircraft carriers do not have the armor of battleships, and the draft will be shallower than that of battleships.

"So looking at this aircraft carrier, which is as big as a 60,000-ton battleship, the full load displacement is actually 40,000 tons.

"The power system has a power of 160,000 shafts and a maximum speed of 32 knots.

"It can carry up to 100 aircraft of various types, and the number of aircraft with high efficiency is about 80.

"These eighty aircraft are enough to provide reconnaissance and cover missions for this battleship formation.

"If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really interested, we can go directly to this Zhenhai aircraft carrier to visit......"

After hearing this, Charles couldn't help but admire and said:

"Forty thousand tons! This is already a third larger than the aircraft carriers of the Tessie countries......

"Thirty-two knots is also faster than our carriers at most thirty knots.

"There are also a hundred Ming planes......

"We may have to come up with two aircraft carriers to achieve the effect of this one aircraft carrier.

"In this way, we have to achieve the same goal, and spend more resources and money and manpower than Daming.

"The quasi-limit on the tonnage of aircraft carriers of up to 28,000 tons that we have stipulated in the naval treaty is very unreasonable......

"This is the so-called cost trap of medium ships, right?"

When Niu Jian heard these words, he immediately smiled and comforted:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not need to be annoyed, although the unit construction cost of the battleship is indeed the larger the total tonnage, the more cost-effective it is, but the design of the battleship is definitely not the bigger the better.

"Our Royal Highness the Prince said on the issue of the tonnage of the warship that the tonnage of the warship should be as small as possible on the premise of achieving the design goal.

"If France does not aim at the Ming Dynasty, why should it design a new warship according to the specifications of the Ming Dynasty?

"Two 28,000-ton aircraft carriers will definitely cost more than a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier.

"It is also possible that these two aircraft carriers will form a fleet and fight against a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier.

"But the biggest advantage of the two aircraft carriers is that they have 'two', and they can do two jobs.

"You can send one to Mexico and the other to Canada.

"A 40,000-ton aircraft carrier can't do that.

"The situation of Daming is not the same as that of France, and a more reasonable choice for Daming may not be reasonable for France.

"The construction of the navy should be based on its own situation and needs, rather than ignoring all the actual conditions and pursuing cost performance alone.

"Otherwise, we should not build cruisers and needs, just battleships with the lowest unit cost.

"Does the crown prince think that's the truth?"

After hearing this, Charles nodded slowly:

"That's true, the French Navy does not need to confront the Ming Navy, and it does not need to pursue excessively high single-ship combat capabilities.

"We should find a way to achieve France's actual operational needs at a lower cost.

"Thanks to Mr. Niu's reminder, I almost fell into a misunderstanding again......"

Niu Jian hurriedly smiled and said modestly:

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't need to be polite, this is all the logic that I have learned from our side for a long time.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to thank you, or should you thank us directly, His Royal Highness Prince Daishi......"

Charles also smiled and nodded:

"I'll write to my best friend again...... I really want to see him again, but unfortunately after becoming a king, I don't have a chance......"

(End of chapter)