Kai Fu Han

Chapter 555: True Ironclad Ship
The inventor Wu Chengye named this new connection method "riveting", giving the character "卯" a gold edge.

The invention of "riveting" solved many problems that required the connection of iron products.

"This is our new generation of iron-clad ships." Deng Zhou led Liu Xinqi into a shipyard and pointed to a huge steel warship in the shipyard.

"This ironclad warship is different from the previous ironclad warships. The previous ironclad warships had a wooden hull with a layer of iron plate armor on the outside. But this ironclad warship is made of iron from the inside out."

The new ironclad ship has been clearly stated in the previous report of the shipyard, and the initial construction approval was still signed by Liu Xinqi.

However, seeing it in writing and seeing it with your own eyes are two completely different concepts.

Even though later generations have seen 10,000+ tons of aircraft carriers and hundreds of thousands of tons of cruise ships in various movies and TV dramas, it was the first time for Liu Xinqi, who had lived in two generations, to see such a huge iron box with his own eyes.

The development of ironclad ships in later generations was gradual. Due to the slow development of steam engine power, the first ironclad ships still needed to sail to fill the lack of steam engine power. The steam engine could only drive the wheeled blades on both sides of the hull, so it was called a ship.

The name "ship" also comes from this. Even though it later had propellers, it was still called a ship.

Xinghanmeng steam engines developed rapidly. There were soldiers manufacturing precision devices and various machine tools inspired by Liu Xinqi's ideas. Finally, the power of steam engines developed by leaps and bounds.

Coupled with the propeller directly mounted on the horse, from the beginning when the steam engine came on board, it had surpassed the power provided by the sail.

"You see, this is the angle of attack. It is forged from pure steel and connected to the keel of the ironclad ship. It is very strong. To deal with wooden warships, as long as they collide head-on, they will be able to crush them."

Deng Zhou led Liu Xinqi into the hull of the ship and pointed to a huge structure slightly protruding from the bow.

Seeing this structure, Liu Xinqi took back his thoughts of letting go.

"Ever tried it?"

"Not yet, this ship has not been launched yet." Deng Zhou introduced. "It has been tested with a model before, and it can indeed float on the water, and the model ironclad ship does have a crushing effect on wooden ships of the same size."

This ironclad ship is about the same size as a mountain-class battleship.

The length of the ship is seventeen feet, the widest point is six feet, and the length from the bottom to the top of the highest deck building is seven feet. Since the weight of the iron ship itself is too high, the maximum load capacity is only nine thousand stones.

"How many people can this ship carry?" Liu Xinqi asked.

"This ship is a pure warship. It can be said that it has no ability to carry cargo at all." Deng Zhou said: "Since there is no sail, the power depends entirely on the steam engine, so it needs to carry a lot of coal with the ship, plus all the various equipment on the ship. weapons, the optimal number of combatants is 600."

"How long can the ship sail with a staff of 600 people and a full load of supplies?" Liu Xinqi asked again.

"It can sail for half a month. The biggest limitation is coal burning." Deng Zhou replied, and then added: "However, since the power of this ship is a steam engine, there is basically no need to consider the wind direction, so the ship's speed is affected by the wind direction. It’s very small. Although it can only last half a month, its maximum cruising range can reach [-] miles in a day, and it can sail more than [-] miles with a full supply.”

Being able to sail thousands of miles means that without relying on external supplies, the combat radius has reached five thousand miles.

The forces currently accessible to the Xinghan Alliance are all within the combat range of a fully replenished armored ship.

"Have you decided on a name for this ship?" Liu Xinqi asked.

The previous mountain-class battleships were always called ironclads after they were equipped with external iron plate armor.

Now that a "real armored ship" is born that is truly made of iron from the inside out, it cannot be called by the same name.

"We haven't decided yet. The craftsmen and R&D staff have thought of some names, but they don't feel very interesting." Deng Zhou replied.It is unknown whether Liu Xinqi’s answer is true or not.

There might be a suitable name, but Deng Zhou wanted to keep the chance of naming it to himself.

Sure enough, then I heard Deng Zhou say: "Leader, why don't you give me a name? Your erudition is unparalleled in the Xinghan League, so I think you have the most suitable name."

"First, tell me what names you have prepared?" Liu Xinqi did not answer directly, but asked instead.

"There are dragon ships, Xuanwu battleships, iron-bone battleships, rock battleships, etc., and there are also some weird names, so I won't show my shame." Deng Zhou replied.

These names... are very suitable for today's times.

"How did this dragon boat come about?" Liu Xinqi asked curiously.

Xuanwu is a water beast among the four mythical beasts. The iron bone means that the keel of the ship is made of iron. The rock means that the battleship has high defense. This dragon ship?

"In the deified legend, the Dragon Master is responsible for moving clouds and making rain. He is the master of wind and rain. The name Dragon Boat means that with this boat, our Xinghan Alliance will be able to be the master of this ocean in the future."

Even though the science and technology of future generations is so advanced, we dare not say that we are the masters of the ocean. This is too big a statement.

"An armored ship of this level is called a dragon ship. If a larger warship is built in the future, what should it be called?" Liu Xinqi joked.

Xinghan League's shipbuilding industry will definitely not stop at this ironclad ship with a load of only nine thousand stones.

"The person who said this name must not have thought so much." Deng Zhou replied: "Seeing this ship is already shocking enough. How can ordinary people imagine that a larger ship will be built."

"This ship uses tens of thousands of stones of fine iron, and the total cost is more than 10 taels of silver, which is not much worse than using silver to build a ship."

The larger the tonnage, the higher the cost per ton, which is inevitable.

"Since this ship means that our Xinghan League dominates this ocean, we will definitely need to patrol and guard this 'own' ocean frequently in the future. In this case, let's call it a cruiser." Liu Xinqi took the name for future generations. come over.

"Cruiser?" It sounds ordinary at first, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that it is very suitable.

"Yes, cruisers. From now on, warships with a carrying capacity of more than [-] dan and less than [-] dan can be called cruisers. As for the ship's name..." Liu Xinqi stopped and thought.

The previous county level, state level, and finally the mountain level have already raised their heads a little too high.

If Kyushu is named after it, what should the tenth cruiser be called?
"Let's call it 'Bohai'."

"Cruiser Bohai, a good name." Deng Zhou praised.

"If we build it later, we can call it the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the West Sea, the North Sea, etc. Wherever our conquests at sea go, the name will matter." Liu Xin said.

"I understand, but this kind of cruiser is very slow to build. The construction of the Bohai has basically used up the fine steel and zinc reserves. The next one is estimated to be a year later." Deng Zhou named a person who built an ironclad ship. Difficulties.

"Take your time, the Twin Cities of Wa Kingdom will be built soon, and the production of zinc will definitely increase by then."

(End of this chapter)