Chapter 235 Let’s go, I’ll grab oil for Ming Dynasty! (Please subscribe, please collect)

In mid-August of the ninth year of Taiping in the Ming Dynasty.

At the Ming Dynasty Home Fleet dock in Tianjin Wei, it seems that a "ship expo" is being held these days. Because the dock and nearby berths are filled with all kinds of old warships and civilian ships!

Oh, not all of them are old-fashioned, there are also some that look very new, such as two majestic hero ships, four "Four Heavenly King Ships" with small cannons, and a brand-new Nandao-class passenger ship, as well as several numbers

There is a thousand-ton bulk carrier, a maintenance ship, two trawlers, and two minelayers that all look brand new.

Zhuge Weidao's flag was fluttering on the mast of a new but not old "Prince" class battleship.

The so-called "Prince" class is actually not a first-class warship, but a collective name for a series of warships.

These warships, known as the "Prince" class, have a standard displacement of between 10,000 tons and 12,000 tons. Their main engines use "coal furnaces" and triple-expansion steam engines, with power ranging from 6,500 to 8,000 horsepower.

The speed is generally between 12 and 15 knots. As for the armament of these "Prince" class, the main guns generally have three configurations, twin 305 mm caliber mounted guns, twin 280 mm mounted guns, and twin 240 mm caliber guns.

Millimeter tube retractable cannons, each with a turret at the front and rear.

The 305mm guns, 280mm guns, and 240mm guns have all formed a series, developing from front-loaded, rear-loaded, frame-retracted, tube-retracted, ship-based, and land-based.

In addition, in addition to these three series of heavy artillery, the Ming Navy also developed four series of heavy artillery: 210 mm, 350 mm, 380 mm, and 410 mm, and they also have two branches: ship-based and land-based. Even if

There are also special shallow-water heavy gunships for trial use of the 410 mm caliber giant gun.

It can be said that the development of the Ming Dynasty's navy was very methodical and was developed step by step according to the plan.

As for the Persian Gulf Fleet led by Zhuge Weidao this time, because it was performing an "existence mission", that is, to show off in the Persian Gulf and act as a floating fort, it was filled with a total of 8 "relegated to the second line".

"Prince" level.

Zhuge Weidao's flagship is the "Tang Wang", the highest grade among all the princes. This is a "new prince" with a standard displacement of 12,000 tons and a ship age of less than 6 years. It was very impressive when it was first launched.

, and also served as the general flagship of the Ming Navy!

It's a pity that shipbuilding technology has advanced by leaps and bounds these days. Not to mention the "Tang Wang" that was put into service nearly 6 years ago, even the Hongwu Emperor is no longer popular.

In addition to the 8 "Prince" ships, the Persian Gulf Fleet also has 8 old-fashioned armored cruisers. They are said to be "old-fashioned", but in fact they are not very old. They are all "old ships" less than 10 years old. Although the ships look like

It's brand new and "not old" at all, but the "Jiaxun" with a standard displacement of only about 3,000 tons cannot accept its old age!

The main engine horsepower of these eight "A patrols" is about 5,000 horsepower, and the maximum speed is only 15 knots and 16 knots, which cannot be compared with the Haohan class. The armor of the warships is also not very good, and they cannot withstand the cutting-edge such as the Haohan class."

The artillery bombardment of the "A Patrol". However, the 210mm cannons equipped with these eight "A Patrol" guns are still useful.

After 8 battle lines and 8 armor patrols, there are of course 8 fast dome armor protected cruisers. They are all 2300-2500 ton ships. They are said to be fast. The fastest speed is only 18 knots and 19 knots. Not yet.

As for the firepower of the Hero-class battleships, their main firepower is 155mm guns, which are quite usable. If they are allowed to perform the task of breaking an enemy ship, unless they encounter Britain's cutting-edge ships, they will definitely be able to complete the task and escape unscathed.

The above 24 warships, plus the 4 King warships acquired from Japan, and 2 fast camouflage attack ships, a total of 30 ships, are actually relatively new ships. In addition to them, the Persian Gulf Fleet also has 8

These are motor-sailed ironclads with a standard displacement of 8,000-10,000 tons! Although they can still hoist sails, these eight motor-sailed ironclads are actually not very good, and are only between 15 and 20 years old. They are all well maintained.

Okay, and the artillery has also been updated, all replaced by 155mm rapid-fire cannons.

In addition, the space on these eight ships is not small, and some of them have been converted into cabins for the Marine Corps. In addition to the original crew, each ship can also accommodate an additional battalion of Marines. Basically,

It's an amphibious landing ship.

In other words, this time, Zhuge Weidao's fleet will have 8 marine battalions, a total of 4,800 marines! The person in charge of commanding them is a brother of Zhuge Weidao, named Zhuge Weizhi.

He is a colonel in his thirties, with a dark face and a short stature. He does not look like a descendant of the Zhuge family, but more like a visitor from the Pang Tong family.

The Army also sent out people this time. It sent out an infantry brigade, with almost 5,000 people, riding on 4 troop transport ships. The person who commanded this infantry brigade was Mu Junen, who had gone to Peshawar with Zhuge Weidao to broaden his horizons.

Major General. He is a descendant of the Prince of Guizhou. He is about the same age as Guan Tianpei. He served as the training director of the Army Staff Department for a while. Now that he has come to lead the troops himself, he is obviously a man with a bright future.

The relationship between Mu Junen and Zheng Guoxian seems to be good. Colonel Zheng, who made great achievements in Hawaii, came to see him off in person as a representative of the Army Department. At this time, he also boarded Zhuge Weidao's

The flagship Tangwang is in the fleet conference room with Mu Junen, Zhuge Weidao, as well as the deputy admiral of the Persian Gulf Fleet Li Chenghui, the fleet chief of staff Chen Jian, the fleet chief staff officer Guo Xiaobao and several others, as well as several members of the Army's First Expeditionary Brigade

The officers are having a meeting together!

Zhuge Weidao is wearing a white navy uniform today, which is clean and spotless. He is sitting at the head of a long conference table, looking at the navy in white and the navy in green uniforms sitting on both sides.

Army. The atmosphere is quite good.

"According to the combat order No. 102 issued by the Ministry of the Navy and the Naval Staff, our fleet will carry out a top-secret overseas mission this time!" The person who was speaking was Chief Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Guo Xiaobao. He was holding an open folder in his hand.

Inside the folder is the combat order jointly issued by the Navy Department and the Naval Staff Department!

This is a battle, not an exercise!

The Ming court was obviously ready for a full-scale war with Britain!

Of course, being prepared does not mean that a fight will begin immediately, but since the fleet is going to cross the Strait of Malacca, it must be ready to fire at any time.

Guo Xiaobao paused and then said: "There are six key tasks for Operation No. 102. The first is that the fleet will pass through the Strait of Malacca in a state of special combat readiness. For this reason, the fleet must be ready to open fire first! The second is to seize control of the Persian Gulf.

, and establish a mine blockade in the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf to preserve access; the third is to carry out landing operations in the Persian Gulf to seize strategic key points such as pirate beaches, Ras Al Khaimah, and Qeshm Road; the fourth is to use

The Persian Gulf is used as a stronghold to carry out diplomatic-breaking training missions that can be transferred to actual combat at any time; the fifth is to take all means to prevent other countries' fleets from entering the Persian Gulf; the sixth is to select sites in the Persian Gulf to build fleet home ports and land bases after controlling the Persian Gulf.

Forts and other facilities.”

After Guo Xiaobao read out the order jointly issued by the Navy Ministry and the Naval Staff, Zhuge Weidao spoke seriously: "Gentlemen, given the current international situation, the possibility that we will launch the first shot of the world war cannot be ruled out.

Everyone on the fleet must be mentally prepared for war at any time!

Since our fleet is likely to use the Persian Gulf as a base to carry out presence missions and break-up missions, and will be unable to contact the rear mainland for a long time. Therefore, in this operation, officers above the school level will be allowed to bring one female dependent. In addition, the Navy Ministry has

A relatively comfortable South Island-class passenger ship will be assigned to us for family use. If necessary, an application should be made within 24 hours, and personnel must board the ship within 72 hours.

Finally, I ordered that starting from August 18th, the entire fleet will be ready for first-level combat. Around the 20th, the entire fleet will set sail!"
Chapter completed!