Emperor Chongzhen once again took the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the cabinet, the six Shangshu, and all the instructors and students of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies and the Jingshi Naval Armament Academy to arrive in Tianjin by train.

In addition to this, there were the future crown princess Catherine, as well as Anders, the plenipotentiary of the King of Portugal, among others.

The reason for such fanfare is, of course, because there are major events.

The place where Emperor Chongzhen took them was not in the port of Tianjin, but the newly built Tianjin Shipyard a little way from here.

In the vicinity of this shipyard, there has long been martial law in the army. A group of people followed the emperor into the shipyard.

Catherine, who was following behind, was very curious, and saw that because she arrived at the shipyard, the crowd was whispering, so she quickly asked Anders, "What the hell is it for, why is it so grand?" ”

I have been living in Daming for more than a year, Catherine was thirteen years old when she came over, which happened to be the fastest age to learn things, and she herself is smart, not only can probably speak Daming official dialect, but also familiar with the customs of Daming, and she has tasted all the famous dishes of Beijing.

Yesterday, she was brought in by Anders' notice. Looking at this posture, she understood that the Ming Emperor was a busy man, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty were also very busy, and if there was no particularly important matter, they would definitely not gather in this shipyard.

Of course, Catherine also knew that since she was coming to the shipyard, she must have come to see the new shipbuilding. However, she wondered, what new shipbuilding could cause such a big sensation?

Anders listened to her question, so he whispered: "You just pay attention to Daming's clothes and food, and don't care about political affairs!" This is the shipyard presided over by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I heard that the king of the sea has been created! ”

Hearing this, Catherine couldn't help pouting, and said a little unhappily: "Didn't you tell me to abide by the customs of the East? I have known for a long time that this oriental woman is not allowed to interfere in politics, so why do I care about politics? ”

After finishing speaking, her thoughts also jumped fast, and she remembered what Anders said, and she couldn't help but immediately ask again: "What king of the sea?" Is it a giant battleship at sea? ”

Before Catherine came to the East, in 1637 the British built the largest warship in Europe, the famous "King of the Seas".

The ship has three decks and is armed with 102-104 guns. There are 11 anchors, each weighing 2 tons. There were more than 800 sailors, the largest shells had a net weight of 60 pounds, and a salvo of shells weighed a ton.

Such a battleship, just by seeing, is enough to shock, so this ship is called the "King of the Sea".

At this time, Catherine, as soon as she heard about the king of the sea, naturally immediately thought of this British battleship.

But Anders listened, shook his head and said, "Even if it is a giant sea warship, even if it is the British Sea King, it can't be called the king of the sea!" Something else, I guess! ”

Catherine listened, and was about to ask again, when she suddenly saw something out of the corner of her eye, so she didn't bother to ask again, and hurriedly looked, and saw a big chimney on the sea in the distance, coming with smoke.

"Steam engine?" When she saw it, she said, "It's a steam-engine ship!" ”

Steam engine ships are not uncommon, at least on the Grand Canal, there are paddle wheels powered by steam engines. At first, Catherine thought it was fresh, and she didn't know how many times she ran over to see it. Therefore, as soon as you see the iconic big chimney at this time, you immediately understand.

After finishing speaking, she looked at the Ming Emperor standing in front of her, as well as his future husband, who was pointing at the steam engine that drove over, saying something, it seemed that she was still more excited.

So Catherine turned to Anders and asked, "Isn't it just to see the steam engine ship?" This...... Is this also the king of the sea? ”

On visual inspection, this steam engine ship is not very big!

Anders didn't answer her words immediately, but turned his head to look at the Ming Emperor, then frowned slightly, and then turned back to look carefully at the steam engine ship that was approaching in the distance.

After a while, he suddenly spoke, "Could it be because the whole ship is covered with iron sheets?" ”

The reason for saying this is because Anders saw that the steam-engine ship reflected a metallic sheen in the sun's rays.

Iron-clad battleships are relatively rare, but they can also be figured out. To this extent, wouldn't it attract the Ming Emperor to bring high-ranking civil and military officials to review it?

After finishing speaking, he suddenly felt something unusual, so he hurriedly added: "Her Royal Highness has found that the speed of this battleship, under the combined action of the power driven by the steam engine and the sails, seems to be relatively fast!" ”

Catherine was reminded, looked at it carefully, and nodded, "It's just a little faster, it's actually nothing, right?" And looking at this battleship, it is not big, and it is definitely not equipped with many guns, so how much combat power it can have. Can it also be called the king of the sea? ”

Anders was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and quickly explained: "I added the title of the king of the sea. Probably that means, the battleship will be more powerful! ”

Catherine listened, and said "oh", then looked left and right, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she whispered to Anders: "Actually, our Portuguese ships are not bad. Not to mention anything else, just the combat power at sea, if the number of fleets is the same, I believe that we in Europe will be stronger! ”

Anders listened, and quickly looked left and right, and then responded to Catherine in a low voice: "Your Royal Highness Princess, you are going to marry the Son of Heaven." According to the Oriental saying, it is to marry a chicken and a dog to marry a dog, and the ...... That's probably what it means! If you still keep thinking that you are not a Ming person, life will be very sad! His Royal Highness the King has asked you to marry far away from the East, and he will blame himself if he knows that you are not doing well. ”

Catherine listened, opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't speak, turned her head to look at her future man, and then nodded, "Okay, I see." ”

Anyway, she has only been in Daming for more than a year, and it is a bit reluctant to say that she has completely forgotten Europe and substituted herself as a Ming person. After all, the appearance is really different, isn't it!

While they were talking, the steam-engine ship was getting a little closer, and began to lower its sails and slow down, slowly stopping to the shipyard.

At this time, Anders saw more clearly, and couldn't help but say in surprise: "Why does this battleship only have two guns?" ”

Obviously, the battleship had only guns in the bow and stern, and there were no gun emplacements on the sides of the ship. What role can these two guns play in naval warfare?

He was thinking that Emperor Chongzhen had boarded the steamship under the guidance of the crown prince and others. And the soldiers of the Ming army and the craftsmen in charge of this ship have already stood on the deck to greet them.

Stepping into the deck, Emperor Chongzhen stepped on it hard, listened to the sound made, and said with a smile: "Not bad, how about the protection ability?" ”

"Back to my father, except for a very small part of this warship, which is still made of wood, everything else is made of iron." When the prince heard this, he said excitedly, "After two improvements, the balance and protection of this warship have only met the requirements. Erchen dared to guarantee that if he encountered a Western warship head-on, he would definitely be able to kill the enemy by surprise! ”

It is not so easy to build a steel battleship, even if Daming has accumulated rich experience in shipbuilding, but the steel battleship is the first time. Therefore, from the beginning of the wooden ship wrapped in iron, he groped to build a steel battleship, and even at this time, he did not have the ability to build a battleship that was all steel.

And shipbuilding is extremely expensive. If it weren't for the fact that the Ming Dynasty is rich now and the treasury is rich, it really can't withstand years of experiments.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he nodded and said, "I still want to know the shortcomings after the actual voyage!" ”

When he had finished speaking, he turned to look at the captain and commanded him, "Answer me!" ”

"Yes!" When the captain heard this, he hurriedly agreed, and then replied, "Driven by an old-fashioned steam engine, the speed of the warship is not fast. Later, it was replaced with an improved steam engine, and the speed was much faster. Even when the sails are down, the speed is not slow. The only downside is that even if the ship is stockpiled with as much coal as possible, it still won't be able to stay at sea for long. Therefore, the ship still has to rely on the power of the wind. ”

Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew that the improved steam engine he said was actually sealed with rubber instead of silk, which increased air tightness and made it more efficient. As for the source of the rubber, it was proposed to the Portuguese for the first time, and this time when the Portuguese sent their princess over, they brought it over.

Nowadays, large-scale cultivation has begun on the South Seas. It is expected that in the near future, an improved steam engine like this will replace all the current mainstream steam engines.

At this time, listening to the captain's introduction, Emperor Chongzhen probably understood that the steel warship driven by the steam engine did not yet have the ability to mass-produce and equip the navy.

First of all, steam power needs to be further improved;

Secondly, the steel warships that can be built now are still a little smaller, and when the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty are more mature and can build large steel warships, then the battleships that are very famous will be able to come out in the future.

If a steam-driven, steel-made battleship had been built, the Ming would have been invincible at sea, not as it is now, and it would have to rely on numerical superiority.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was not satisfied with this battleship, but Zheng Zhilong, who then entered the Naval Armament Academy of the battleship, was excitedly touching everywhere, as if this battleship was his!

For this battleship, he knew that there were three major killers.

One is the steel body, so the protection ability is extremely strong;

the second is steam power drive, which can sail against the wind;

The third is that the artillery is rifled artillery, with an extremely long range and high accuracy.