Chapter 1868 Study Abroad Arrangements

Xi Island is located on the west side of the Datong River estuary. The island covers an area of ​​about ten square kilometers. Some fishermen originally lived on the island. However, during the war with the Qing Dynasty earlier, in order to ensure that the military information of the Datong River base would not be leaked, the entire island was

The fishermen and fishing boats near Haikou were forcibly relocated to the south of the Datong River. After the war, Haihan began the construction of iron mines and salt fields on the north and south sides of the seaport, so so far it is still a military restricted area and is not allowed.

Civilians settled on the island.

After the Haihan fleet escorting Li Bo and his party sailed out of the Datong River, they took Xi Island as the first stop for training. Considering that the Li brothers probably did not know much about maritime warfare, Wang Tom did not arrange navigation skills.

Instead of showing off, they directly showed off their special skills and had the fleet battle formation bombard a steep coast, in order to demonstrate the fleet's firepower output intensity, which is the best in East Asia.

Even if they knew in advance that the Haihan battleship was famous for its ferocious firepower, it was another thing to experience the scene of firing on the ship in person. The Li brothers looked at the debris flying on the coastal cliffs after being bombarded by cannonballs.

The same thought came to mind: What if the one confronting Haihan on the other side was not the coast of Xidao, but the North Korean Navy?

The main warships of the Korean Navy are turtle ships and wooden house ships, which are combined with small combat ships such as sword ships and fierce ships to form a naval fleet. However, no matter what kind of warships they are, they have never faced the sea on the battlefield in the past.

Against an opponent like the Han Navy, this kind of artillery strike intensity was something that the Korean warships had never considered from the beginning of its design. Although they did not want to admit it, the Lee brothers also understood that the wooden structure of the Korean warships was facing

I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to survive even one round of artillery fire with this intensity.

Seeing such a bombardment scene, it is not difficult for the Li brothers to imagine why the allied fleet's advance into the Yalu River prevented the Qing army from crossing the river despite having an absolute strength advantage for a long time. To withstand such a situation

Forcibly crossing the Yalu River with artillery fire was tantamount to seeking death, and the Qing army must have had a big headache from this.

Of course, if North Korea is also equipped with advanced warships provided by Haihan in the future, the combat effectiveness of the navy will naturally be comprehensively improved. Even if it cannot reach the level of the Haihan fleet, it can at least deal with enemies of the Qing's level at sea.

It should be out of the question.

Wang Tom wasted no time in explaining the basic tactics of the Haihan Navy to them: "Generally speaking, after encountering an enemy at sea, we will first adjust the fleet formation to seize the upper hand, and then launch a broadside attack on the enemy ship.

Bombardment. The effective range of our naval guns is more than twice as far as that of all opponents in this area. It can attack enemy ships while ensuring its own safety. In addition, I believe you have also noticed that our warships are faster than ordinary sailing ships.

This allows us to enter the combat position and leave the battlefield faster, leaving less reaction time for the enemy."

Wang Tom spoke calmly, but the listeners were deeply disturbed. Not only were there many cannons and they could shoot far, not only were the ships big but they also ran fast. They already had all the advantages in fighting at sea. Who else could fight across the sea?

An opponent like the Han fleet?

Li Shu sighed: "With the strength of your country's navy, it can indeed dominate the world! Fortunately, our country has become an ally with your country. Otherwise, the thought of such an enemy fleet at sea that may appear at our doorstep at any time would really make us sleepy.

Uneasy!"

Wang Tom smiled and said: "Speaking of allies, every spring and summer, our country organizes various allies to hold large-scale military exercises in the South China Sea. The parties that sent troops to North Korea this time are regulars, so they can

Achieve seamless connection with our army and perfect cooperation on the battlefield. I hope your country can also participate in the future and send troops to the South China Sea to promote your country's national prestige!"

The forces that sent troops to North Korea to aid the war this time, including the Fujian Navy, were all from the south. This also gave Li Bo and others more imagination and expectations for the multinational joint military exercises mentioned by Wang Tom.

Of course, to do this, they must first have a decent naval force.

Although the current number of warships in the North Korean Navy is not small, its equipment level cannot be compared with that of Haihan, even with the allies who sent troops this time. And whether it is a wooden house ship or a turtle ship,

They are not suitable for ocean navigation. Going to the South China Sea thousands of miles away is really a risky operation. The most ideal situation is, of course, to send it after the North Korean Navy has installed Haihan-style warships.

Participate in this politically charged event.

Li Pu secretly kept this matter in mind, and planned to report the matter to his father immediately after returning to Seoul, and speed up the construction of the shipyard. Otherwise, in a few years, the relationship between North Korea and other allies of Haihan would

The gap in combat effectiveness will become wider and wider. By then, the performance of other people's warships will be much higher. What will North Korea use to promote its national prestige and compete with others?

After pouring hundreds of artillery shells onto the coast of Xi Island, the fleet slowly left the sea area and continued southward. Tom Wang's show off did not end there. When the guests on the ship had no equipment, he ordered

Turning on the steam power plant on the ship allowed the North Koreans to experience the feeling of rapid progress on the sea.

"I believe that you have a more intuitive understanding of what I said earlier about entering combat positions and leaving the battlefield faster. Please believe me, this is far from the fastest speed of this ship. But even so,

There is no sailing ship that can run faster than it on the sea within a radius of thousands of miles." Wang Tom pointed to the direction of the bow and said: "If this ship can keep moving at full speed, then we can even

You can reach Seoul in one day.”

This magical performance once again aroused the curiosity of the two princes. Under their strong request, Wang Tom agreed to let them go down to the cabin to visit the heart of the ship's steam power system.

Half an hour later, everyone returned to the deck in disgrace. No matter how particular a person was, it was impossible to stay clean in the soot-heavy boiler room. Everyone had an extra layer of soot on their faces. Fortunately, Wang

Tom had already ordered people to prepare hot water. At that moment, everyone ignored their restraint and squatted in a row on the deck to wash their faces and wipe their hands. The scene was so funny.

However, the North Koreans were not joking at this time. What they saw in the cabin just now completely exceeded their understanding and shocked them very strongly. Even Kim Sang-hyun, who had been on the Majesty-class battleship, was also shocked.

He had never entered a ship's cabin where boilers and steam units were housed. Today was the first time he saw the true face of the steam propulsion system.

The fact that a huge warship can sail at such a speed on the sea is beyond the common sense of North Korean visitors, and the large mechanical device in the cabin that relies on burning coal to obtain power makes them even more excited.

They were at a loss. Where did this power come from and how it was transmitted to the water to push the ship forward? Even if they scratched their scalps, they still couldn't figure it out. Although they looked in the cabin for a long time against the choking soot,

But still have no clue.

"General Wang, can you explain to us the device we just saw?" Finally, it was Li Bo who took the initiative to ask the question.

"Of course." Wang Tom responded: "As you can see, the principle of this device is to use the heat energy generated by coal combustion and convert it into kinetic energy through the mechanical structure..."

They could understand every word that Tom Wang said, but the meaning when connected together was completely like a sacred book. Thermal energy, kinetic energy, and mechanical structure were concepts that they had never been exposed to before. As for this kind of

The operating principle of the device is even more difficult to understand.

Li Shuqiang braced himself and listened for a while, but he couldn't get the point at all. He turned to look at the other people, whose expressions were the same as his, with the word "confused" written on their faces.

Upon seeing this, Tom Wang deliberately stopped and asked: "Can you understand my explanation?"

Li Shuqiang smiled and said: "I'm sorry for my stupidity, but I really can't understand General Wang's explanation."

Wang Tom waved his hand and said: "This is not the prince's problem, it is because the principle of this device involves extremely profound knowledge. The prince has never learned relevant knowledge before, so of course he will not understand my explanation."

Li Bo asked: "I wonder if this relevant knowledge can be learned in your country?"

Wang Tom was waiting for him to ask this question. He nodded calmly and said: "The prince is still smart and knows how to solve the problem by tracing the source... Yes, all relevant knowledge can be learned from our country. But I still have to emphasize it.

At this time, these related knowledge are extremely advanced and cannot be learned in a year and a half. How much you can learn ultimately depends on your individual talent."

Tom Wang’s subtext is that if you want to learn, you can study abroad in Haihan. We will teach you but not learn. Of course, if you are smart enough and diligent, you may still be able to learn these advanced technologies in a few years.

Li Pu was naturally very moved when he heard such remarks. He had no time to think about whether he could learn it or not. Instead, Haihan had opened up such a learning opportunity. If he missed it or gave up on his own initiative, it would be a waste. No matter if it was him.

Whether he goes to study abroad in person or sends others there, he believes that North Korea must seize this opportunity.

But in fact, steam engine technology is still an advanced technology with a very high level of confidentiality in Haihan. All personnel who have access to steam engines are under the supervision of the security department. Even Haihan nationals who want to learn related technologies may not be able to obtain permission.

I think Danzhou Qiongxi Academy originally wanted to offer courses related to steam engines, but it has never been able to get official approval. As for foreigners coming to Haihan to study abroad and learn about steam engines, no one has set a precedent so far.

Although North Korea is the ally that Haihan is currently trying to win over, it is still impossible for Haihan to easily teach special technologies like steam engines that have a huge impact on social productivity and epoch-making significance. Therefore, Wang Tom did not

The plan is to let North Koreans learn this technology. As for whether North Korea will send a prince to Haihan to learn steam engines for this purpose in the future, that doesn’t matter. Anyway, from primary school mathematics to metallurgical manufacturing, learn it level by level.

, is enough to drag it on for more than ten years. If you use any means in the middle to let it give up on its own, or transfer its interest to other aspects, there will always be a solution.

Although the theoretical maximum speed of the Majestic-class battleship can indeed sail from the mouth of the Datong River to Seoul in one day, in fact, the steam power system on the ship has no possibility of continuing to work for such a long time, and Wang Tom is reluctant to use more than a dozen

Hours of mechanical loss were exchanged for the effect of showing off strength in front of the Koreans. Therefore, only after two hours of sailing using steam power, Wang Tom ordered to turn off the power system and still use wind power to drive the warship forward.

However, despite this, the fleet was still moving very fast, and it had arrived at Ganghwa Island at the mouth of the Han River at sunset. The fleet did not enter the Han River overnight, but rested near Ganghwa Island for a night before sailing early the next morning.

Enter the Han River and head towards Seoul upstream.

Perhaps the two princes were too shocked during this trip. After they returned to Gyeongbokgung Palace, North Korea quickly made instructions and arrangements for studying abroad.

The selection of overseas students is divided into three parts. First, the military overseas students are of great concern to both the government and the public. Finally, the results of the competition between the New Army students were personally supervised by the two princes, plus the "selected" personnel from within the Bingcao Yamen.

A total of 18 people were selected to study abroad in Haihan. After reading the list, Wang Tom confirmed that Andao Shi and others he had communicated with in advance were all on the list. How to operate this group of people in the future depends on Sanya.

It's arranged.

In addition to military personnel, North Korea also selected a group of craftsmen who went to Haihan to learn skills. Among them were not only craftsmen who learned weapons manufacturing and shipbuilding, but also smelting, salt making, agricultural technology, weaving, wine making, sugar making, and pressing.

oil and other projects. After these people return to China after completing their studies, they will become technical backbones in their respective fields.

The third category of personnel is literati who have undertaken the mission of cultural exchanges. Ten Korean scholars jointly selected by the Li Cao and Li Cao yamen will go to Sanya and Danzhou respectively to compete with cultural and educational institutions and folk literati in Haihan.

A limited-time cultural exchange. They don't have any very specific tasks. The main purpose is to see the development of Haihan in culture and education. If there are more advanced systems or practices, they can move back to North Korea and imitate them.

The first two categories of personnel must pay corresponding fees to Haihan. Only the third category of literati has it relatively easy. North Korea only needs to be responsible for their living expenses during their stay in Haihan, and there is no need to pay additional fees to Haihan. Of course.

, all personnel’s travel expenses between North Korea and Haihan are free of charge, and personal safety is also protected by Haihan.
Chapter completed!