Dong Shuheng’s trip to Luanzhou was still very fruitful.
The production of diesel engines means that China is once again one step ahead in the second industrial revolution.
The development of industry must be carried out step by step, and we cannot aim too high.
Dong Shuheng knows that when ordering technology trees, it is not only important to pay attention to scientific and technological innovation, but also the study of basic theories is particularly important.
The study of basic theories cannot be separated from education.
With the increase of academies, the teachers of some old academies have gradually matured, and a large amount of basic theoretical knowledge has been introduced from abroad.
After Huaxia absorbed this knowledge, it integrated it into its own knowledge system. Its own basic theoretical research is also developing steadily.
In fact, Huaxia has accumulated a lot of theories, especially in mathematics, and has many works. But now it is necessary to integrate with international standards, and some concepts and definitions need to be renamed and the system needs to be reorganized.
In addition to talents imported from abroad, the academies under Dong Shuheng also successfully transformed a group of local literati.
These people originally had many attainments in their respective fields. After integrating imported basic theoretical knowledge, these people successfully transformed and became leaders in various fields.
In addition, it is coordinated with practical research in various laboratories.
Dong Shuheng’s technology tree can be described as flourishing.
Of course, the Renaissance Army's long-term investment in technology is also very important.
Conducting research is a very expensive thing, not just an ordinary expense, but a waste of money.
That is to say, people like Dong Shuheng are willing to invest a lot of money in scientific research. Most countries today still do not understand that technology is productivity.
Nowadays, many scientists in Europe are no longer engaged in research, but many are still struggling to put food on the table. They are rushing in front of the doors of nobles or capitalists, using their own research ideas to persuade these people to invest in or fund their own research.
But those emerging capitalists are more concerned about expanding production capacity, reducing costs and finding markets.
And those feudal nobles were even more unwilling to invest in scientific research. They were more conservative than capitalists.
In addition, the current European scientific research system itself is not very standardized, and many people even pretend to be scientists to defraud funds, which leaves many scientists with no one to invest in their scientific research.
Moreover, many schools in the West are private and do not have a stable source of teaching funding, so they do not invest in the scientific research of these scholars.
Dong Shuheng's chemistry master, Scheinby, was poached to China because he went bankrupt in scientific research and was heavily in debt.
There are many other European scientific researchers who were also recruited by Dong Shuheng in this way. Moreover, after these people arrived in China, almost none of them were willing to go back.
The scientific research environment in China is like a paradise for those who engage in scientific research.
Scientific researchers simply hope that their research funds can be guaranteed, and that they do not need to worry about trivial matters and can devote themselves to scientific research wholeheartedly. Also, their families can have no worries about food and clothing.
Of course, among these imported talents, there will still be some who are just trying to make up the numbers, but when they come to China, they find that this place is really too big.
A foreigner here has no choice but to rely on the arrangements of the Renaissance Army. Even if the Renaissance Army does not take care of them, they cannot leave the place where they live.
The grassroots organization of the Renaissance Army is very complete. Each village has its own militia team. When everyone sees strangers, they will consciously question them or organize them.
A foreigner with a completely different appearance cannot move freely in the mainland of China.
These fake people found themselves miserable. They originally wanted to defraud some money and then leave, but now they realize that they can't escape at all.
After these people are discovered, none of them can escape. Even if they do not have real talents or knowledge, they must continue to make contributions within their ability in China, even if it is just physical labor.
Just now, cargo ships in Tanggu Port were notified that they were not allowed to leave the port for two days.
There are also offshore patrol boats patrolling the entrance and exit of the Bohai Bay into the Yellow Sea.
All ships that wanted to enter the Bohai Bay were intercepted and turned around. They were informed to temporarily wait for two days to Jiaozhou Bay in the south.
The merchant ships on the route also left quickly or returned to the port under the surveillance of patrol boats.
In late autumn, the air is crisp and clear, but the wind and waves are high in the Bohai Bay.
From October 24th to October 25th, the First Fleet will train here for actual target shooting in complex sea conditions.
The existence of the First Fleet has always been kept secret, and even the top brass within the military knew about it.
When these officers and soldiers were transferred to the First Fleet, they did not know where they were going. They only knew that they were being transferred, but the transfer order did not clearly state where they were going.
Even fleet commander Du Hang didn't know that he was going to be the commander of the First Fleet. Although his promotion was quite fast, he only thought that Dong Shuheng valued him, and did not know that Dong Shuheng had been deliberately cultivating him.
And after they were stationed on each ship, they never came out again, let alone contacted their families.
Dong Shuheng did not want the First Fleet to keep it secret for long. He believed that the First Fleet would be put to use soon.
Who will be the first to be attacked by the Renaissance Army's armored fleet? This guy will jump out on his own soon.
Dong Shuheng already had some information and was closely watching that guy's every move.
Although it is only a smaller one, or a mini version of the armored fleet, it is definitely enough to put the old and outdated empire through its paces.
Let’s not talk about this for now. The exercise is already halfway through at this time.
The eight warships first practiced high-speed attacks in a double-file formation.
Dong Shuheng was standing in the command tower of the Yangtze River, the flagship of the First Fleet. As the flagship, the facilities in the command tower of the Yangtze River were more complete.
However, the warships of this period, no matter how perfect they were, were just like that. Today's warships basically rely on lookouts to observe the enemy's situation.
Information transmission basically relies on lights and semaphores.
The wind and waves were high outside, and the silver-gray ships were moving through the waves like a school of flying fish.
It's just that each warship is trailing a column of smoke behind it.
Dong Shuheng stumbled and almost hit the guardrail inside the glass window in front.
"President, be careful!" Du Hang, who was standing beside him, had quick eyes and quick hands and held Dong Shuheng's arm.
"It's okay, life on the ship is really not easy in this weather." Dong Shuheng waved his hand.
"The Army always complains that your Navy's salary is higher than theirs. Next time someone says that, we will transfer him to the Marine Corps so that they can experience life at sea for a long time." Dong Shuheng said with a smile to ease the embarrassing situation.
.
"Haha, President, actually you just get used to it. When we first got on the boat, we vomited every day, and we got used to it after vomiting. Once we got used to living on the boat, there was no shaking when we got to the shore, and I couldn't sleep at night." Du Hang
He also said with a smile.
"Sigh... Our boat is still too small. If it were bigger, it would be better able to withstand wind and waves." Dong Shuheng said with a sigh.
"President, I think with the Jianghe class, at least we are no longer afraid of any known enemies." Du Hang has studied the parameters of warships from various countries. He believes that as long as the tactics are used properly, almost no warships can get rid of the Jianghe class.
of dealing with.
"According to the warship parameters of the current naval powers that we know, we are capable of fighting almost all fleets. Even if we cannot defeat them, we can still escape successfully. Unless there is a problem with our engine room during the battle.
"The best martial arts in the world is fast, but our enemy is too big. How many warships are there in the entire British Empire? Hundreds? Thousands? Even they themselves may not be able to figure it out."
"Besides, during wartime, they can also recruit more armed merchant ships. How many merchant ships does the British Empire have in the world?"
"Not to mention these, they also have many younger brothers. The Dutch, who were once sea coachmen, are now the younger brothers of the British. There are many younger brothers like this in the British. They will all obey the British's call when the time comes.
How many ships are there?"
"So, we cannot underestimate our enemies." Dong Shuheng reminded him seriously when he saw that Du Hang seemed to be too confident in his warships.
He is not a weapons only theorist. Weapons and equipment are certainly important, but the role of people cannot be ignored. This has been proven by countless later generations.
"Yes, President, what I just said is indeed a bit arrogant." Du Hang knew that what he just said was a bit arrogant. This is not the cautious attitude that a military commander should have.
"I was just making an analogy. We won't be stroking the British Empire's beard just yet. What I mean is that no matter what kind of enemy we face, we cannot take it lightly. We must always remember our advantages.
Where to use our advantages to face our enemies, so that we can be in an invincible position." Dong Shuheng said earnestly.
The First Fleet has its own advantages and disadvantages. It has a displacement of more than a thousand tons and a limited coal carrying capacity, and its cruising distance is only more than a thousand nautical miles.
Therefore, Jianghe-class frigates cannot pursue long-distance battles with battleships that retain their sails, and they also need to be accompanied by supply ships when attacking over long distances.
Now scientific researchers at the shipyard have discovered that fuel can be injected into the boiler when the warship is in combat. Increasing the boiler's pressurization speed can also increase part of the cruising range.
Because fuel burns more efficiently than coal and is easier to carry, the Jianghe-class's cruising range can be increased by several hundred nautical miles when carrying fuel. However, the cost of fuel is higher than that of coal.
However, the advantage of this is that under the same circumstances, the first fleet can start and speed up faster. It can gain the upper hand in battle.
"Report to captain, the target ship has been sighted seven nautical miles away at three o'clock." The lookout on the ship reported.
When the battle began, Dong Shuheng stopped chatting with Du Hang. The target ship was a large and dilapidated fortune ship. The rudder had been fixed. It was a ghost ship, wandering freely on the sea with full sail.
This is the most practical method that Dong Shuheng can think of at present.
There are not many opportunities for this kind of actual target shooting. After all, the cost of target ships and artillery shells is not low.
Du Hang is the commander of the fleet, but according to the practice of the Renaissance Army, he usually also serves as the captain of his own flagship.
"Send the semaphore, the entire team will hold full starboard rudder, maintain a speed of twenty knots, and detour to the left side of the target ship. From a distance of 1,500 meters, listen to the flagship gun command to fire the single main gun at the same time.
"Du Hang ordered." Next, Dong Shuheng quietly became a spectator. After all, he was just a landlubber who had never been on a boat a few times.
Still a miserable landlubber who once drowned.
Next, the fleet quickly approached the target ship. The target shooting process was very fast. Under the bombardment of eight warships, the Fu ship quickly completely disintegrated and became fragments floating on the sea.
Each battleship only activates one main gun.
The unfinished fleet headed eastward, where they would look for a reef.
There, the fleet will test a secret weapon of the Renaissance Army.
"Du Hang, the reef is a fixed target, which is easier than actual combat. Are you sure you can hit it with one hit?" Dong Shuheng asked as the fleet sailed.
"Don't worry, President, Mr. Xu calculated our torpedo trajectory for us?" Du Hang said.
Today's artillery does not have high-tech things like sights. The ballistics of artillery shells are calculated manually in advance.
Mr. Xu is a famous mathematician in the Fuxing Army. He is also the dean of the School of Mathematics at Huaihai Academy.
Next, the reef was found, and the Yangtze River was the first to launch a torpedo. Sure enough, the hit was sure to hit.
From a distance, you can see a huge water column flying up from the reef. When the water column falls, you can also see gravel mixed in the water column.
Then each other ship launched a torpedo.
After the shooting of the entire fleet ended, the reef that could still be seen a little on the water was now completely invisible due to the explosion.
Next, the warship sent Dong Shuheng back to Luanzhou. There Dong Shuheng reunited with Wei Yuzhen, and then they returned to Xinjing together.
Wei Yuzhen has not been idle these days. On behalf of Dong Shuheng, she visited local schools and welfare homes.
I also stopped by the local Women’s Mutual Aid Federation.
Wei Yuzhen feels much more fulfilled these days, and she likes this kind of life.
The first fleet will have a long-distance training next. This is to test the fleet's long-distance navigation ability.
The "nanny" specially accompanying them, the Great Lakes-class high-speed ocean-going supply ship, will also make an appearance this time.
The tonnage of this kind of supply ship is about 4,000 tons. She uses a light steel armor structure throughout the ship. After all, she is a supply ship, so she doesn't care so much about protection.
The main thing is that she is equipped with four triple-expansion steam engines. This allows her to achieve a cruising speed of fifteen knots, barely keeping up with the Jianghe class.
In fact, her speed has exceeded that of most sailing battleships.
This two-ship configuration will be the main configuration of the Renaissance Navy in the future.
In addition, this Great Lakes-class supply ship can also be used as a troop carrier, providing the possibility for the Renaissance Army to conduct ocean-going operations.