Chapter 71: Visit the British warship
That year (1627), the United Kingdom was not the strongest. The old Spain had not fallen before, and the "powers came together" in the back, with the Netherlands on the left and France on the right. All of these were Britain's challenge to the new maritime supremacy. Strong opponent.
In addition to having colonies in Africa, the United Kingdom has the "East India Company" in the Indian Ocean and is busy controlling India's Bangladesh. The world is too big, with too few people and boats. Its headquarters is Kolkata, India, and its main power is in India.
Like all maritime powers, Britain came to Asia mainly for trade, not war.
This is the same as the Dutch who are known as the "Sea Coachman". The Dutch go to Asia unless the other party is very meaty or can't wait to fight. After all, the center of the red hair fan is in Europa, and too much resources cannot be invested overseas. Therefore, the red hair fans are fighting in Asia because of uneven distribution of spoils or jealousy.
At present, Spain has not been completely overthrown. There is a common enemy. The Dutch and the British still maintain a superficial friendship. The four British warships can freely pass through the Strait of Malacca controlled by the Dutch.
What’s even better is that Southeast Asia is the Dutch territory (Spain is only satisfied with keeping Luzon’s foothold). The British want to challenge the Dutch to get more trade benefits, and the Southeast has already been with the Dutch. The government has room for cooperation with the British National People's Congress.
Both sides are pregnant with ghosts, and both want to use each other to achieve their own goals.
"In order to enhance our friendship, what we need is more trade!" Keppel said drunkly.
"What can you give us?" Yan Changwu asked with a clear head.
"Battleships, artillery, saltpeter, copper, medicinal materials, machinery, spices, gold and silver jewelry, etc.!" Keppel gushed.
"What do I need to give you?" Yan Changwu asked again.
"Tea, silk! And sugar!" Keppel said cunningly.
"Your information is accurate!" Yan Changwu praised authentically.
"Are you willing to work with us in Great Britain?" Keppel extended his hand.
"Of course, no one can't live with money!" Yan Changwu reached out and shook his hand.
The superior set the tone, and the matter was left to the people below. The leaders only drink and talk.
Keppel talked about their journey at sea. They set off from England and went south along the coast of Africa, passing the Cape of Good Hope. Speaking of the Cape of Good Hope, it was the turbid waves that pierced the sky, the ship tilted sharply and almost sank!
And when Yan Changwu talked about the situation in Southeast Mansion, when he talked about hundreds of thousands of acres of sugarcane fields, Keppel told him that he must sell sugar to him, and Yan Changwu said that he must be sure.
The next day, Yan Changwu went to visit Sir Simon Fox on the Cambridge ship and had a very happy conversation.
Sir Simon Fox greeted him personally on the deck. He was a soldier with grey hair, but his hair was not messed up, his waist was straight, his face was firm, and he was dressed in elegant military uniform-a blue jacket with a white lapel, white. The waistcoat, black breeches and stockings have a large gold medal on the placket.
Hearing Yan Changwu speak fluent English with him, Sir Simon Fox was very happy and invited him to visit the British battleship.
"Oh! What a mighty battleship!"
"Beautiful!" Yan Changwu did not hesitate to praise.
The Cambridge is a heavy sailing warship with 70 guns, equivalent to the standards of a third-tier battleship. Its main material is wood, and the main structure is made of fine oak, which allows it to withstand the wind and waves of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Because it welcomes the distinguished guests, it rushes to clean up overnight (as it is for leaders to inspect everywhere), it is dressed up and down, the handrails are polished, the floor is extremely clean, and the light is shining.
"Six-pounder?" Yan Changwu looked at the artillery road on the open deck.
"Yes!" the Englishman replied,
On the highest level of the stern tower of the Cambridge, there are dedicated cabins for the fleet commander Sir Simon Fox and Captain Hagen. There are also cabins for several senior officers: deputy captain, communications officer, cable sail leader, etc., communications officer. From the stern tower to the deck, it is most convenient to convey information to nearby ships, and the captain can also come to the deck at the fastest speed to command navigation or battle.
They descended to the middle gun deck. The middle gun deck was also where the sailors ate and slept. The ship’s cooking room was also located here.
The lower gun deck is the lowest deck with portholes on the battleship. There are a total of 26 24-pounder guns, 13 on each side.
The projectile of the 12-pounder gun is about the size of an orange, while the projectile of the 24-pounder gun is the size of a grapefruit, and the weight and recoil of the cannon are much larger than that of the 12-pounder gun.
The artillery is what Yan Changwu is most interested in. He observed carefully and found that the British artillery was exquisitely made, and the cables and chains on the artillery were reasonably set up to stop the artillery quickly.
"This is..." Yan Changwu asked.
"This is chain bullet and shot bullet!" the gun officer on the ship replied.
The types of shells in this period, in addition to the usual solid shells, there are also several kinds of shot and chain shells. The shotgun is actually an iron barrel, which is filled with dozens of lead bullets. The iron barrel will be decomposed when it exits the chamber, so dozens of lead bullets fly forward in a fan. The main role of shotguns is to kill people. Chain bullets are two solid bullets connected by iron chains, mainly used to destroy masts and sails.
After introducing the artillery shells, the British officers introduced their bronze cannons. The range of the artillery during this period was not that far. Take a 24-pound or 32-pound artillery as an example. When the firing angle is 4 degrees, the range can reach 1,350 meters; When the angle is raised to 8 degrees, it can reach 2,250 meters. At a distance of 100 meters, a solid shell fired by a 24-pounder can penetrate 5 feet of oak.
"In a real naval battle, the two sides often fire quickly at a horizontal angle of fire within a distance of one or two hundred meters. At this time, the rate of fire is much more important than the range." The young officer named William was very enthusiastic and proactively introduced.
He proudly said: "Our Royal Navy attaches great importance to the training of gunners~www.wuxiaspot.com~ It is required that the rate of fire of naval guns can reach one shot per minute, which is faster than gunners of all other countries. In close combat, gunners often have one shot. Fire two or three projectiles, or solid projectiles and shotguns, for maximum damage."
Yan Changwu, who was with Li Ying, took notes, and ordered: "Our gunners in the Southeast Mansion must have a rate of fire of one shot per minute!"
Whether it is from the British or from the Southeast Mansion, he thought he was filling his head and biting his head.
He asked William again: "Don't you have a 32-pound cannon? Why didn't you see it here?"
William explained: “It’s not easy to sail, and the heavy artillery with it makes the speed of the ship too slow, which is not conducive to sailing.”
Actually, the 12-pound, 24-pound and 32-pound guns are similar in length, about 2.7 meters, but the weights vary greatly. The 12-pound gun weighs a ton and a half, the 24-pound gun weighs two tons, and the 32-pound gun weighs more. Up to two and a half tons.
Some people may say that 26 tons more is nothing, but you have to understand that this is a sailing warship, weighing only a few hundred tons, and more than a thousand tons. The redundant buoyancy is not much, and the weight of gunpowder and shells is not a trivial matter. Up.
There are two layers under the gun deck. The next one is the storage deck, which is relatively low and is mainly used to store materials needed for oceans, such as food, wine and various maintenance equipment. The next layer is the bottom compartment. There are ballast stones, shells and gunpowder barrels.
Yan Changwu looked very carefully, went down to the storage deck, and looked at the entrance of the lower cabin (it was dark inside, and someone illuminated him).
All the heroes who accompanied Yan Changwu looked satisfied, and they were overjoyed. They followed behind each other smilingly, quite proud of their own country's warship.
I don’t know that Yan Changwu has some BS British people: "They don't have watertight compartments!"
