Chapter 782 Technology Iteration
Dong Yanyun rushed to the Magong Port Pier in a hurry and felt relieved when he saw that the Haihan people had indeed prepared the boat. Just now I heard Li Dou say that businessmen from Guangdong have arrived in Taiwan Island first. He was really worried about what other tricks the Haihan people might try.
"Mr. Dong, this is Yang Yun from the Penghu Office of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce. I will accompany you on this inspection trip to Taiwan Island." A young man in gray uniform came forward and greeted Dong Yanyun proactively. .
"Thank you!" Dong Yanyun did not dare to neglect and immediately returned the greeting. However, from his observation, he could tell that this young man should only be a naturalized citizen - the Haihan people were always surrounded by armed guards, but this young man was waiting alone on the pier. Obviously, his identity was not So important. But he also knew that the level of naturalized civilian cadres who were qualified to wear Haihan-style short-breasted shirts was generally not too low, so he still needed to show a respectful attitude.
When Yang Yun saw that Dong Yanyun's entourage was carrying several boxes of luggage, he immediately asked several boatmen to get off the ship to help carry the boxes onto the ship. At this time, many migrant workers were still carrying goods to the ship. It was obvious that they were supplies sent to Taiwan Island. When Dong Yanyun saw that the ship was an "Exploration Class" sailboat, he asked Yang Yun: "Brother Yang, are you taking a boat from the Militia Navy?"
"This is not a navy ship, it is an official ship of the Ministry of Commerce." Yang Yun pointed to the dark blue copper coin mark on the side of the bow and side, which was not too conspicuous: "Mr. Dong, please take a look."
This sign was mostly covered by another sailboat next to it, so Dong Yanyun did not notice it at first. However, he still had doubts: "Why do merchant ships have gun windows like warships?"
Dong Yanyun immediately recognized this ship as a warship because of the highly recognizable row of gun windows on the side of the ship. These can be seen from a long distance, but they cover more than half of the bow. The blue money mark of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce is much more conspicuous.
Yang Yun explained: "This ship was originally built for the militia army. However, due to some reasons before it was launched, it was not convenient for the military to receive the ship, so it was transferred to the Ministry of Commerce for use as an official ship."
Dong Yanyun nodded without knowing why, thinking that if you don’t want it, you can sell it to us! A few dozen more wouldn’t be too much! Of course, he would not be stupid enough to ask why the militia military did not accept the ship. It was obviously impossible to get the real answer from the other party.
In fact, the reason why the Haihan military did not take over this ship is very simple. It is because the Ministry of Industry has produced an improved version of the "Power III" marine steam engine in the middle of this year, and this type of steam engine also includes Applicable to the sub-models of "Exploration Class" and "Expedition Class", this means that non-capital ships in the naval fleet can also receive performance improvements. In the future, new ships with hybrid propulsion can gradually replace the existing pure wind propulsion sailing warship.
Of course, it is impossible to comprehensively transform the existing ships of the Navy, because this not only involves huge expenses, but also arranges for the rotation of dozens of "Exploration-class" and "Exploration-class" warships. It is also very troublesome to return to Victory Port for modification. Every ship must be disemboweled in dry dock. Installing a steam power system is tantamount to a major overhaul, which consumes a lot of time, manpower and money.
Although Wang Tom and other naval generals hope to have a world-leading steam armored fleet as soon as possible, they also know that climbing the technology tree cannot be rushed. Although the design drawings of various steam engines and armored ships are available in large databases, the improvement rate of industrial manufacturing capabilities has not kept pace with the military's ambitions. Moreover, the navy's annual military budget is limited, and it is unlikely that existing ships will be transformed in a short period of time. What's more, the cost of transformation is extremely high, and the price/performance ratio is not high.
When the military leaders figured it out, instead of modifying the old ships, it would be better to wait for new ships to be built and directly install new equipment. When the old ships reach the end of their retirement years, they would be converted to civilian use in batches, or they could be repaired and repainted, and then sold at a discount. To allies like Annan and Daming. As for the number of new ships that have been built on the slipway, because they are built according to the military standards of the Haihan Militia, there is a certain technical gap with the monkey version models sold for export, and they are currently not suitable for direct export. There were not many of them anyway, so the military decided to bear the pain and transfer them directly to the departments in need at cost price.
In fact, there are only a few departments within Haihan that can use sailboats. Except for the military, other ships are basically concentrated under the names of the Ministry of Shipping, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Agriculture. First of all, it is unlikely that the Ministry of Agriculture will spend a large amount of money to purchase military ships. Although the military has priced based on shipbuilding costs, since the technical specifications and shipbuilding standards of warships are quite different from civilian ships, this price difference is very important to the Ministry of Agriculture. It's not worth it. You can almost build two civilian fishing boats of the same model and tonnage for the same price.
Secondly, the Ministry of Shipping will definitely not take the blame. This ship was originally built by a shipyard affiliated to the Ministry of Shipping. However, the Navy's predicament is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Shipping, and it has no obligation to take over the blame for the Navy - it has to. Okay, the converted cost probably only counts the cost of materials. The military would definitely not be happy if it were calculated this way. After all, the prepaid fees they pay to the shipyard are not just the cost of materials.
Finally, Tom Wang found Schneider and persuaded him to take over the two "exploration-class" and one "exploration-class" warships that had begun to install sail ropes on the slipway. Schneider was not willing to spend more money at first, because the Ministry of Commerce originally had an order for the same type of commercial ship from the shipyard, and the cost was much lower in comparison. It would cost a lot more to pick up the ship from the military. money.
However, Wang Tom persuaded him later, because the appearance of this kind of ship is exactly the same as the military type equipped by the militia, which is very deceptive. If necessary, it can be used to transport important people and supplies, and even provide " convoy". Moreover, the military can get some old training guns from the military base in Sanya and install them on the ship to make it more camouflaged. If necessary, several retired artillerymen can even be recruited to serve as sailors on the ship - these additional services do not require additional fees from the Department of Commerce.
Schneider made sense when he thought about it. Although the merchant ships of the Ministry of Commerce also deployed some armed personnel and on-board weapons, they did not have a deterrent appearance. When there were important personnel and material transportation tasks, they often had to rely on the military. of ships. And this kind of borrowing is not in vain. Whether it is a free ride or an escort, the Ministry of Commerce will pay the military corresponding expenses. Once or twice may not be much, but eight times out of ten is quite impressive, not to mention that military ships are not always on call, and most of the time the Ministry of Commerce has to take care of the military's schedule. Instead of doing this for a long time, it would be better to get a few military-standard ships to perform special tasks. Of course, if these ships are to be converted into civilian ships, it is impossible for these ships to meet military standards in terms of weaponry, equipment and personnel, or even come close. At best, they are self-defense armed. But for the Ministry of Commerce, this This measure can indeed effectively reduce dependence on the military. As for expenses, for the wealthy Ministry of Commerce, there are only transactions worth doing, and price has never been the real deciding factor.
Three months after Schneider made the decision to buy the ship, among the official ships stationed in Penghu by the Ministry of Commerce, there was a special ship that was basically the same shape as the Haihan warship, and Dong Yanyun, who represented the Fujian official, was also like this The ship carried non-Haihan personnel for the first time.
Qian Tiandun and Li Dou arranged for Dong Yanyun to take the ship assigned by Haihan instead of his own ship. This was partly to limit Dong Yanyun's activity area near Kaohsiung Port and to show off his own strength. After all, being able to convert brand-new warships for civilian use is indeed not something that just any country can do.
Dong Yanyun has ridden on a civilian version of the "Exploration Class" sailboat before, but this was his first time on a military model, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited after getting on the boat. However, the second deck originally used to arrange the artillery has been changed into a cabin. Yang Yun took Dong Yanyun into the independent cabin. Only then did Dong Yanyun realize that the gun window had been changed into a lighting porthole for the cabin. There was only a single bed and a small table next to the bed in the small cabin. After putting down Dong Yanyun's luggage on the floor, there was basically no room for movement in the cabin. There is no gorgeous interior in the cabin, but judging from the rosewood used to make the furniture, the clean white cotton bedding on the bed, and the four-inch glass round mirror fixed on the bulkhead, the cabin is neatly arranged. With an unobtrusive luxury.
Yang Yun took Dong Yanyun to the porthole and concealed from him how to open and close the porthole cover. There is a mechanism on the bulkhead. If you pull it upward, the cover will rise. If you pull it downward, the cover will be lowered. It is very flexible and convenient. Seeing this, Dong Yanyun reached out to explore the window, only to find that it was actually a layer of transparent glass.
"This porthole is only for lighting. The windows are sealed and cannot be opened. As for ventilation, there are indoor vents. If Mr. Dong feels stuffy during the journey, he can always go to the deck for some fresh air." Yang Yun quickly explained to him.
Dong Yanyun nodded in agreement, admiring the Haihan people's arrangement. Although the interior of the ship he was traveling on was far more luxurious than the cabin in front of him, these details were indeed incomparable to the ingenuity of the Haihan people.
"Mr. Dong, take a rest. After the cargo on the dock is loaded, the ship will set off immediately. It will arrive at its destination before sunset today. If anything happens, you can find me in the cockpit on the deck. Your two followers, We arranged an ordinary cabin at the stern of the ship." Yang Yungong handed over and left. He is responsible not only for taking care of Dong Yanyun, but also for transporting a batch of supplies from Penghu to Kaohsiung Port, as well as a dozen construction craftsmen who went to the local area on the same ship.
Dong Yanyun sat in the cabin for a while and felt the hull of the ship begin to shake slightly. Looking out the porthole, sure enough, the ship was slowly leaving the shore. The cabin seemed sealed, but it was indeed not stuffy. Dong Yanyun searched around but could not see where the vent in the cabin was.
After a while, Dong Yanyun felt that staying in the cabin was really boring, and wanted to call his entourage over, but the cabin was really narrow, and it was a bit crowded for three adults standing in it. It must be very cramped to stay in the cabin. So he decided to go for a walk on the deck. After opening the door, he noticed that there seemed to be identical cabins on both sides of the passage coming down from the deck. At a glance, there should be about ten cabins in total, but apart from his cabin , the doors of the other cabins are all closed, and it is not known whether they are occupied or not.
The cabins on the second deck were all transformed from the original gun positions. There were originally five artillery deployments on the left and right sides. One gun position was also reserved on both sides for the deployment of artillery. However, they are exactly the same from the outside and cannot be distinguished. , will only be used when force is really needed.
Dong Yanyun went up to the deck and saw that there was already a vast ocean around him. The outline of Penghu on the sea level could be faintly seen towards the stern of the ship. It was about ten miles away from the port. Dong Yanyun noticed Yang Yun standing on the bow of the ship, holding a small instrument to observe the sea level in the distance. Dong Yanyun is familiar with this thing. Haihan people call it "Sextant". It is said that it can quickly determine one's position and heading in the vast sea. However, its principle is kept secret. Among the naturalized people, Only full-time navigators on the Haihan Navy and a few merchant ships can master this technology.
Dong Yanyun didn't know that this instrument, which relies on optical principles for navigation and positioning, was actually invented by the British a hundred years later. It was not until the end of the 18th century that it was miniaturized after continuous improvement by skilled craftsmen, and the Haihan people's The arrival brought this kind of navigation instrument into practical use at least more than a century earlier than in history. Any sailor with sailing experience will understand how useful this instrument is, and Dong Yanyun is no exception. It is impossible to say that he is not greedy for this treasure. But the problem is that Haihan does not sell this thing at all, and its use has always been an unsolved mystery. Even if Dong Yanyun is smart, it is difficult to understand its usage just by looking at the operation.
Dong Yanyun also knew that this thing was a taboo for the Haihan people, so he was not in a hurry to get close to it. It was not until Yang Yun completed the operation and put the sextant back in the box for someone to take it back to the cabin that he slowly walked over and chatted up: "Brother Yang Since he knows how to use this sextant, he must be a direct disciple of the leaders of Haihan.”
Yang Yun smiled and said: "I'm just lucky enough to be chosen by the chief to do this job. The skills I have learned are just a drop in the bucket of the chiefs. It is said that a direct disciple is far from qualified."
Dong Yanyun said: "Brother Yang, you are so polite! I have been dating Haihan for several years. This navigator who knows how to use a sextant is only one or two people in a fleet. Anyone who can do this job can He is a capable person!”
(End of chapter)