Chapter 3048
The seemingly simple work of inventorying and loading materials took five days. During this process, Wang Anbang also truly felt the complexity of military operations for the first time - war does not just exist on the battlefield and on the firing line, but starts from the preparation stage.
A large amount of materials need to be prepared before the war, because once the war starts, many materials with long production cycles will not have time to replenish. The special situation of the North American colonies, which relied heavily on domestic supplies, required careful planning before the war began, and the preparation quantity and use plan of each kind of material were formulated.
Of course, Wang Anbang continues to spare no effort in fighting for himself the opportunity to play these days, but the results are not ideal. The efforts he made to persuade his mother when he returned home did not have the effect he expected at all.
Seeing that the time for Wang Anguo's departure was approaching, Wang Anbang was even more anxious, worried that he would miss this opportunity.
Finally, the day came for the troops to set off. Wang Anguo got up early. After packing up and coming out, he saw Wang Anbang fully armed and holding his horse, waiting at the gate.
Wang Anguo smiled and said: "Are you planning to run away from home?"
Wang Anbang said seriously: "Brother, I have obtained permission from my parents to accompany you on the mission."
Wang Anguo looked at him in disbelief and said, "How did you convince your mother to agree?"
Wang Anbang said: "I knelt in the courtyard all night. She wouldn't let me out, so I kept kneeling. In the end, she couldn't defeat me."
Wang Anguo couldn't help but sigh after hearing this, and for a moment he didn't know how to evaluate his methods. This is more accurately described as coercion than persuasion.
At this time, Wang Tom also came out with the mother of their two brothers. Wang Anbang's mother looked even more worried, obviously very worried about her son's trip.
However, Tom Wang's expression remained as usual. He just gave a few brief instructions and then waved his hand for the brothers to set off.
The two brothers knelt down and kowtowed to their parents, then got up and mounted their horses to leave.
When Wang Tom saw the two women looking at his son's back and crying silently, he could only comfort him with gentle words: "Sooner or later, the children of my Wang family will go to the battlefield. I am very satisfied with their courage. The troops brought by An Guo If you have strong troops and strong horses, you won’t suffer any losses even if you fight. Don’t worry too much.”
Even so, the mother was worried after her son traveled thousands of miles. She knew that the child would be at risk, and the guarantee from Wang Tom couldn't help but seem a bit weak. After all, it was not so easy to let the two mothers relax.
However, Wang Anbang had no such awareness at this time. For him, finally achieving his goal after many days of hard work was a huge victory against his parents' authority.
When the two brothers arrived at the military port, the troops for the expedition had already assembled on the dock. After Wang Anguo confirmed the situation with the commanders of each army, he ordered the troops to board the ship and prepare to set off.
Wang Tom specially allocated a majestic-class battleship, the Wei Zhi, as the flagship of the fleet heading south.
The naval force in the North American Colonial Zone currently only has two majesty-class warships, and they are both old ships that have been in service for a long time. Repairs and maintenance are not too easy, so they are not dispatched frequently.
This time, allocating one ship to Wang Anguo to show off was a considerable investment. However, this majesty-class warship will not be stationed at the southern port, because the local port facilities are simple and it is not possible to provide daily maintenance for the time being. It can only return to Jinshan Port immediately after completing its mission.
Wang Anbang had only boarded a ship to visit the Majesty-class battleship before, but this was his first time sailing on such a battleship, and he was very excited after boarding the ship. When Wang Anguo saw this, he smiled and said: "Why do you seem to have seen an incredible treasure on your own boat!"
"This ship can't go out to sea twice a year. It's a rare opportunity!" Wang Anbang stroked the hull and exclaimed: "Look at the steering wheel, it's already patinated!"
The captain next to him was also an old subordinate of Wang Tom. Hearing this, he responded: "Master Anbang, this steering wheel is older than you, so it must be too old!"
Although it was all a joke, Wang Anguo had special feelings after hearing it.
Jinshan Port has now built a shipyard, which mainly provides shipbuilding and maintenance services to the local garrison. However, due to limited technical capabilities, it is still relatively difficult to build even smaller exploration-class warships, and the construction period is much longer than that of domestic shipyards.
As for main warships such as the Majesty class, the construction project must be led by senior engineers with relevant experience, and this is what Jinshan Port Shipyard lacks.
So far, the only person in the shipyard who can truly be called an "expert" is Tom Wang. But given his status and responsibilities, it was obviously impossible for him to leave the work at hand and work as a full-time engineer in a shipyard.
Having said that, if he could really build Majesty-class battleships by himself, Tom Wang would no longer have to treat these two old battleships that go to sea a handful of times a year as treasures.
Old times are old, but the combat effectiveness of the Majestic-class battleships in this era cannot be underestimated. It still has significant performance advantages against the Western sail warships of the same era.
Moreover, many of the equipment on the ship can be upgraded and transformed in the future, so that the overall combat effectiveness can continue to be steadily improved.
For example, the artillery, sail ropes and other equipment on the Wei Zhi have been upgraded and modified at least once. Although the combat effectiveness may not be as good as the Majestic-class C-3 improved model that was launched after 1648, it is at least stronger than the earliest batch of original models.
But in order to get rid of this passive situation, improving the technical strength of shipyards is the only solution. But it is indeed extremely difficult to achieve this. Just bringing in technical personnel from China will face various difficulties.
Those truly capable naval architects would be happy to go to any shipyard in the country. In comparison, the North American colonial areas did not have any advantages at all. On the contrary, the location was too remote and the disadvantages such as inconvenient living were easily eliminated. People are advised to retreat.
"Brother, let's go to the second deck to see the naval guns!" Wang Anbang didn't know what his brother was feeling at this time, so he pulled Wang Anguo to look elsewhere.
Wang Anguo said sternly: "Before setting off, you told your father that you would strictly observe military discipline when you were outside, and you forgot about it so quickly?"
Wang Anbang immediately stopped and stopped smiling, not daring to smile playfully again. This is not the first time he has gone out on a mission with the army. Naturally, he knows that the first priority in the army is military discipline. However, this mission is extraordinary, and it is a chance that he has finally fought for to participate. For a moment, he was a little too excited. Forgot his identity at this time.
After the personnel and materials of each ship were boarded, the information was quickly summarized on the Weizhi through the staff at the dock. At this time, the self-inspection of various departments of the Weizhi had also ended, and Wang Anguo ordered the anchor to be raised and the sails to be raised. Other ships in the fleet followed the Weizhi and set off one after another from the shore, heading towards the Kinmen Strait on the north side of the military port.
(End of chapter)