Due to the emergency changes in the country, the delegation led by Emperor Meiji hurriedly said goodbye, and the trip did not meet expectations.

The only consolation is

The high-level government of the Tang Empire has revealed the national policy of cautiously treating Fuso to the north of the Korean Peninsula, and there is neither agreement nor strong opposition at present, and it is still on the sidelines......

Anyway, what do you mean by saying ambiguous things and doing ambiguous things...... Go back and experience it for yourself!

Since the invasion of Ganghwa Island, the Japanese kingdom, which had tasted the sweetness, could not stop, and the policy of going north had become a consensus between the government and the opposition, and no matter who was in power, it could not be changed.

After entering 1875, the domestic and foreign situation of the Ottoman Empire, which straddled the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, deteriorated rapidly, attracting the attention of world powers, and the Tang Empire was no exception.

In view of the situation in Europe, the government of the Tang Empire successively held several heavyweight seminars to determine its policy toward Europe.

After repeated discussions

The Tang Empire decided to uphold a policy of neutrality, always paying attention to the changes in the situation in the Ottoman Empire, and looking for opportunities to expand the power of the new colonial region of Yunzhong Province to the Arabian Peninsula.

The Ottoman Empire, once feared by Europe, had declined dramatically in the second half of the 19th century, becoming a big fat sheep for the great powers to intervene.

In order to save the empire, a series of salvation campaigns and democratic reforms were carried out by far-sighted people led by Mustafa Rashid Pasha and Midhat Pasha, but the results were not obvious.

In 1875, the situation at home and abroad of the Ottoman Empire deteriorated rapidly, with a great famine in northern and central Asia Minor, financial collapse, and the shadow of foreign power intervention looming over the empire.

The reign of the Ottoman Empire was deranged Sultan Murad, whose decrees were contradictory and sometimes ridiculous, and completely incapable of dealing with the current complex situation;

Within the empire, ethnic tensions spread rapidly under the banner of democracy, and uprisings broke out in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, which soon spread to Serbia and Montenegro, two Turkish vassal states, and the situation worsened.

The Ottoman army brutally suppressed the rebellious population, but failed to control the deterioration of the situation, and its rule in the Balkans began to falter......

It had been half a year since the end of the Chinese New Year, and it was September 1875, which was the early autumn season when melons and fruits were fragrant.

The city of Salem, an important industrial city in the north

A huge warship is quietly docked on the docks of the Royal Naval Yard in Salem, the lead ship of the 11,000-ton "Duke" class ironclad ship in the process of outfitting, the Duke of Hawaii.

Not far away

It is also an improved version of the 8,600-ton "Zhenyang" class ironclad ship that is also being launched and outfitted, that is, the 9,200-ton "Zhendong" class ironclad ship, and there are a total of 4 main ironclad ships of this class, namely Zhendong, Zhennan, Zhenxi and Zhenbei.

In a huge shipyard

The "Duke" class No. 2 ship "Duke of Panama", which has now been completed by more than 46% of the construction progress, is expected to be launched in July next year, and the sea trials will be completed by the end of the year, and it will be delivered to the Royal Navy as scheduled.

The No. 3 ship "Duke of Alaska" will be docked in November to cut the first steel plate, launched and outfitted, and it is estimated that it will be in March ~ April of the following year.

Thanks to the change of imperial policy, the main fleet of the Tang Royal Navy took advantage of this trend to also develop vigorously, and with sufficient budget funds, the plan for the completion of the main fleet was about two years ahead of schedule.

The Royal Navy's main ironclad fleet, which was originally planned to take shape in 1880, was basically ready to be completed by the end of 1878, and the naval equipment reached the world-class level.

At that time

The main ironclad fleet of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire will have three 8,600-ton "Zhenyang" class ironclad ships, four 9,200-ton "Zhendong" class ironclad ships, and eight 11,200-ton "Duke" class ironclad ships, with a total of 15 first-class ironclad ships.

meanwhile

The Royal Navy also has 16 4,980-ton "Tornado" class ironclad ships, which belong to the third class ironclad sequence and are also one of the main ships of the Royal Navy.

Surrounded by his ministers, Emperor Richard, dressed in a white generalissimo uniform, came to the wide bow of the Duke of Hawaii, where he was concocting, and listened with great interest to the explanation of the ship's chief designer, Sir Mike Morat.

The wide bow position is very empty without the main gun, but the main gun position has two large steel openings and battery mounts. You can see a solid well that runs through several decks and is more than ten meters deep, as well as an armored iron plate as thick as a fist.

The front turret seat was flush with the deck, about half a man tall. At the back, a steel fort seat is as tall as two people, arranged in a stepped manner.

This is the most innovative 305 mm double-barreled main gun arrangement scheme of the "Duke" class ironclad ship, known as the "piggyback layout", which is a cutting-edge innovation in this era.

If you want to clearly understand the difference between the three main ironclad ships of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, you only need to listen to the introduction of Sir Mike Morat, the chief designer of the ship.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, Ladies and Gentlemen;

The Royal Navy's three main ironclad ships, I call them the three brothers, the most important of which is the boss "Zhenyang" steam ironclad battleship, which has many groundbreaking designs and uses the cutting-edge technology of today's world.

To put it bluntly

This class of ships is at the forefront of the development trend of naval technology in the world, and many of its design concepts are being used by naval powers such as Britain and France, and have achieved exemplary works.

Among the steam ironclad battleships "Zhenyang", we were the first to be equipped with two Colt 305 mm twin main guns, one in the bow and one in the stern.

This Colt 305mm twin main naval gun, which represents the most cutting-edge technology of the world's naval firepower, uses a motor-driven hydraulic reloading device to achieve a rate of fire of three minutes.

Moreover, the Colt 305 mm double main ship gun adopts a self-returning gun mount, and after the main gun is fired, under the action of huge recoil, the main gun mount retreats as a whole to offset the impact force.

The entire main gun mount is located at the lower end of the slope inclined 17 degrees upward, and after the shell is fired back, it will return to the center according to inertia and prepare for the next round of shelling, which is called the self-centering gun mount.

The technology has specific applications on the British "Inflecher" and the German "Saxony", which has just been put into construction.

I can proudly say that

The "Zhenyang" steam ironclad battleship is a first-class ironclad ship designed and built by the Tang Empire itself with advanced performance and mature technology, and its level ranks among the top in the world.

The 9,200-ton "Zhendong" class ironclad ship can be regarded as a long-range version of the "Zhenyang" class, with the same main gun configuration, the same power configuration, and similar navigation and combat performance.

Most of the increased tonnage was used for coal storage bunkers and two oil-fired boilers, which were mainly used to enhance the ability of ocean-going cruising and to improve the living conditions of the officers and men on board the ship to a certain extent.

The 11,200-ton "Duke" class ironclad ship can be regarded as the basic version of the enhanced firepower type.

Colt 305 mm twin breech-fired main guns, one in the bow and one in the stern of the first two types of warships, a total of four 305 mm guns.

However, on the "Duke" class ironclad ships, an innovative hunchback design is adopted, with two in the bow and one in the stern, with a total of six 305 mm guns.

The two main guns in the bow of the ship are in a stepped layout with low front and high back, much like the appearance of an old man carrying a child, so it is also called a "hunchback" layout.

The biggest advantage of the "hunchback" layout is that it has a compact structure, and the front and rear two main turrets have a wide firing range, which does not affect each other, and can maximize the advantage of firepower.

This novel ship layout is the first to be adopted by the "Duke" class ironclad ships of the Tang Empire, which is the first of its kind in the layout of naval ships in the world, and is of pioneering significance.

Besides

The "Duke" class ironclad ship adopts 4 horizontal three-cylinder reciprocating steam engines manufactured by Chang'an Heavy Industry and 16 circular coal-fired and oil-fired dual-purpose boilers with a power of 15,500 horsepower.

It can push huge warships to cruise at a speed of 12.5~13 knots, and the maximum speed reaches 18.5, which is faster than the first two ironclad ships, with more firepower and stronger protection, which is worthy of being the pinnacle of the ship industry of the Tang Empire. ”

The wonderful introduction of Sir Mike Morat, the chief designer, won a round of applause from the crowd.

Emperor Richard deliberately climbed onto the huge cannon mount two people high, and looked at the fortified shaft more than ten meters deep, in which the thick cables, steel wire cables and electrical equipment were densely packed, all the way to the ammunition depot in the bottom cabin.

In the 70s of the 19th century

The technology of the advanced naval guns of the Tang Empire is at the same world-leading level as that of the United Kingdom, and the 305 mm caliber main guns on the ironclad ships are extremely powerful and advanced.

Germany and France are developing their own 305-mm guns, and it is said that Germany's Krupp Industries is the first to develop a prototype gun, which will soon be equipped on the new "Saxony" ironclad ship.

If so

Then the German Royal Navy is the third fleet equipped with such a large-caliber advanced main gun after the Royal Navy of Britain and the Tang Dynasty, which means that it is among the world's first-class level.

Under the condition that all conditions are met, the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire has no reason to tie its hands and feet, and now is the golden period for the development of the Royal Navy's strength.

Emperor Richard was very serious when listening to the report, and even went deep into the engine room to check the power arrangement of this class of ironclad ships and asked a lot of questions.

If it weren't for Sir Mike Morat, the chief designer of the ship, who followed the explanation all the way and elaborated on the design concept of the ship. It is estimated that the group of officers and officers of the Royal Navy are all sweating.

In the end

His Majesty the Emperor also personally inquired about the design of the ironclad castle adopted by the "Duke" class ironclad ship.

The length of the ironclad fort of this class ship is 63.8 meters, from the superstructure to the broadside waterline and below, with a thickness of 335~405 mm Harvey bulletproof steel armor belt, the entire warship except the head and tail part of the hull tightly wrapped, the warship ammunition depot, power department and other key parts are in the ironclad protection.

Such an ironclad layout is enough to cope with the most intense artillery fire.

Such a high-end warship costs a lot of money, in the case of a one-time order of 8 ships, the cost of a single ship reaches 2.85 million Tang Yuan, and the investment in the development plan of the entire Duke-class ironclad ship reaches 38 million Tang Yuan.

In addition to the cost of the ship's purchase, there are also expenses for technical improvements to the main suppliers, equipment purchases at the Royal Naval Shipyard in Salem, staff training and other expenses.

Therefore, the development of the navy is really a gold-swallowing beast!

(End of chapter)