This is a ship whose keel ribs and hull are made of pure iron. If it is built with tougher steel, there is room for optimization of the ship's structural weight. From this perspective alone, steel ships are much superior to traditional wooden ships.
Not only that, from the perspective of the material itself, it is also an inevitable trend for steel to replace wood. Starting from the Age of Discovery in the 16th century, teak and oak have been widely used in Europe for shipbuilding for 300 years.
Over such a long period of time, all the large trees that could be found in Europe and the United States were basically cleared. By the beginning of the 19th century, countries had to go to great lengths to collect trees in order to continue building large ships.
At first, whole large trees could be used, and then smaller trees of decent quality were used to splice them together. Finally, in the 1840s, there were no longer even slightly larger qualified timbers, and they could only continue to be pieced together bit by bit with scattered wood.
.
If it weren't for the industrial revolution that made shipbuilding technology progress and improved the performance of iron auxiliary materials, the lack of suitable wood would have directly led to the inability to build large ships in Europe.
It is precisely for this reason that a ship assembled in this way will inevitably pay a heavy price in terms of structural weight. After all, the structural strength of the entire section of materials and the assembled materials are completely different. The latter must be reinforced with auxiliary materials, and the auxiliary materials
More weight is bound to be added.
Steel does not have this problem. It is inherently stronger and more flexible than wood, and as long as there are large steel mills that can produce structural components of almost any length you want, there is no risk of lack of materials.
Even the combined cost of construction and maintenance of steel ships is more economical than that of wooden ships. According to a comparative study by the British in 1848, the hull cost of the iron ship Dover was 4,816 pounds, which was only slightly less than that of the wooden ship Redneck of the same displacement.
High (4257 pounds). However, the average annual maintenance cost of an iron bow for 8 years is 58 pounds per year, while the latter is as high as 131 pounds.
This is data from the 1840s when there were very few iron-made ships. The more developed the steel industry was, the lower the construction cost of iron ships was, while wooden ships became more and more expensive.
Of course, all of this is based on the need for a developed steel industry. If you are like Russia, you should just go to sleep, let alone iron ships, wooden ships are not very good.
"Therefore, the current top priority industry is to develop the steel and metallurgical industry. Without enough and cheap enough steel, everything is empty talk. Our long-term national policy in the future should be based on steel!"
Li Xiao came to such a conclusion without any doubt, which shocked Lazarev and Bellingshausen to a point of dizziness - aren't we discussing shipbuilding? How come it has been elevated to the basis of national policy? This
Does it fit?
"Of course it's appropriate!" Li Xiao waved his hand heavily, "Steel will become more and more important. In the future, shipbuilding will require a large amount of steel. Pure steel ships require thousands of tons of steel, and our country's current annual steel production
How many ships can the production capacity produce?”
Without waiting for Lazarev and Bellingshausen to answer, he added: "There is also the railway, which will also greatly change the shape of war. It also requires a lot of steel. Even our rifles in the future, we
All the cannons need steel. Without a sufficiently developed steel industry, how can we support all this?"
Lazarev and Bellingshausen fell into deep thought. Indeed, steel is becoming more and more important. As Li Xiao said, the artillery in the past was all copper cannon, but now when they went to Britain to inspect, they found that the British
Iron cannons are being used more often.
The British iron cannon barrel wall can be thinner and lighter, but it can hold more propellant and fire heavier shells. All of this shows that steel is indeed becoming more and more important.
Lazarev asked: "Your Excellency, what do you want us to do?"
The old man's words hit the nail on the head. Li Xiao must have a purpose in telling them this, and Li Xiao's purpose is also very simple: "Sir, steel is so important. But our country has not realized this at all. There is no such thing in the country."
We have modern steel plants, but our opponents are making rapid progress and will leave us further and further behind in the future!"
"I have also spoken out about this issue, but my words were so low-key that it didn't attract any attention at all. You two have great reputations and have a lot to say. If you can speak on this issue, it will definitely attract the attention of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Navy and His Majesty..."
Lazarev and Bellingshausen both nodded. They did have a natural advantage over Li Xiao in this regard and were willing to promote this.
"We will make suggestions to His Majesty in the near future and recommend the construction of an iron factory!"
This made Li Xiao breathe a sigh of relief. He was really worried that the burden of Russia's industrialization would fall entirely on his shoulders, and he really wouldn't be able to carry it. With Lazarev and Bellingshausen helping to speak, he could get a starting point.
The effect is at least much better than him performing a one-man show by himself.
"Your Excellency, I heard that you are opposed to Grand Duke Constantine's naval innovation plan, especially his expansion of the construction of steam ships? Why is this? I can see that you are not very supportive of steam ships? Why are you opposed?"
Facing Bellingsgaojin's sudden question, Li Xiao smiled bitterly and expressed all his concerns.
"From all aspects, blindly expanding the construction of steamships is not a wise decision. Especially when our country does not meet all conditions, the ships built so recklessly will have a lot of hidden dangers, and once these hidden dangers break out
, will definitely give those who oppose steamships a lot of excuses, in that case..."
Lazarev suddenly took a breath of cold air and asked quickly: "Is Grand Duke Constantine's factory really that bad?"
Li Xiao could only say: "If you don't believe it, just go and see for yourself. With all due respect, I'm not optimistic!"
Lazarev and Bellingshausen looked at each other, and basically believed Li Xiao's words. If this was the actual situation, then Grand Duke Constantine's plan would be too deceptive, and it would make their brothers two nights away.
All the efforts to protect one's reputation for a lifetime are in ruins.
"We will investigate in the near future. If this is indeed the case, then his plan does need to be re-evaluated, and it is not appropriate to act blindly!"
At this point in the conversation, both parties were quite satisfied. If the two old men had not gone to the Winter Palace to meet the saint, they would have wanted to catch Li Xiao and talk at night. When they were leaving, Lazarev reluctantly confessed:
"Your Excellency, please compile your opinions into a book as soon as possible. I want to review them in detail. In addition, regarding the anti-rust paint test you mentioned before, we will also start to come up with the finished product as soon as possible. With the two elders of us here, there is no one in the Navy Department.
If I dare to stop you, it will be a piece of cake to find a few iron ships for comparison experiments!"