Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 286 The Giant Ship and Heavy Cannons Are About to Enter Service

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Time flies, and the scheduled attack on Fujian is drawing ever closer. Just as the Qiongzhou garrison was making preparations for the battle and about to set sail for Fujian, the shipyard manager personally came to Nanyuan to report the good news.

"General, the 1000-ton warship has been completed. As long as it is equipped with the appropriate naval guns, it can be put into battle at any time."

Liu Ye's spirits lifted. With the battle imminent, these two warships, which had been under construction for over a year, were finally ready to be launched, adding another significant asset to the battle for Fujian.

"Go and have a look."

Beside the dock, Liu Ye looked up at the towering hull and muttered, "Holy crap, its displacement is twice that of the Wuyi-class. Why does it feel like it's even bigger than three Wuyi-class ships?"

The shipyard manager explained, "Although the displacement has only doubled, the number of compartments has tripled, the gun deck has changed from a single layer to a double layer, and the number of masts and sails used has also increased exponentially, so it looks like it's more than twice as big."

The warship in front of us was as tall as a four-story building, and if you include the height of the mast, it would be nearly eight stories high. In the era of wooden ships, it was a behemoth.

Liu Ye walked around the dock with great admiration, feeling very proud that his shipyard could build such a giant ship. During his observation, he noticed a layer of brass-colored metal covering the hull below the waterline and asked curiously, "Is this copper?"

"Yes, this is copper sheet."

"What's the point of covering it with a layer of copper? Is it for bulletproofing?"

The shipyard manager laughed and said, "This layer of copper is not effective in protecting against shells weighing more than 18 pounds; its main function is corrosion prevention."

"Anti-corrosion?" Liu Ye's eyes widened.

"Yes. Generally, tar is used as a preservative for ship hulls. Tar is a resin extracted from dried pine resins. It has the effects of corrosion prevention, water resistance, moisture resistance, rapid drying, high temperature resistance, and strong adhesion. As a preservative, it is usually applied to the joints of the ship's wooden planks and masts. For warships under 500 tons, tar is more than enough. However, for warships over 1000 tons, adding this layer of copper is a practice that Master Liang taught us. In addition to preventing corrosion, it can also improve navigation and performance."

Although he didn't quite understand the underlying principles, Liu Ye guessed that the improved aerodynamic performance was related to the coefficient of friction of the metal itself. He didn't focus too much on this question, instead concentrating his attention on the two rows of densely packed gun ports on the side, excitedly asking, "How many gun emplacements does a warship of this class have?"

The shipyard manager proudly said, "Thanks to Mr. Liang's advice and methods, and with our continuous practice, the new hull design can accommodate more naval guns than current warships of the same class. Apart from the small cannons such as the mortars and swivel guns at the bow and stern, a total of 44 naval guns can be installed on both sides."

"44 guns? If I remember correctly, the Wuyi-class has 28 guns, so the firepower has almost doubled?"

“You’re right, General. Master Liang said that even in Europe, such a ship would be top-tier, let alone here. For pirates who still use cold weapons, the firepower of such a ship exceeds that of an entire pirate fleet.”

Liu Ye was overjoyed to hear this. Heavy artillery and giant warships were the perfect weapons for dominating the ocean!

However, he immediately thought of the bombardment cannons that he could still only hear about but never see, and shook his head regretfully: "I wish Akiko could bring me some good news."

The shipyard foreman asked, "Are you referring to the heavy cannons weighing over 32 pounds that Master Liang mentioned? I'm also eagerly anticipating their arrival. Only such heavy cannons are worthy of such a magnificent warship. I heard his experiments are nearing completion; he just needs to refine a set of stable data and methods so that the subsequent casting process can follow suit. Shall we go and take a look together?"

Liu Ye followed the shipyard manager to the arsenal with anticipation. Liang Xiaoming was not surprised to see them and asked with a smile, "Are you here to urge delivery? Don't worry, two prototype cannons have been cast, and the initial tests are fine. Now we just need to put them on the warship for further testing. As long as no obvious cracks appear, it means it's a success."

Liu Ye was both surprised and delighted, and couldn't help but complain, "You little rascal, Mingzi, you've already built all the equipment, why didn't you tell me? I've been worried about it the whole time, and I haven't been able to eat or sleep properly."

Liang Xiaoming said seriously, "I'm doing this with a scientific, serious, and pragmatic attitude. Although the two prototype cannons have been cast, they were made after seven or eight cannon barrels were scrapped, resulting in a scrap rate of 80%, which is not what I want. We must test the most accurate data, make every step of the water-cooling process, which lasts for dozens of hours, accurate to the minute, and increase the yield rate to over 70% before we can consider it a true success. Only then will I report to you."

Liu Ye was filled with respect; such a solid work ethic was truly admirable.

"You've worked hard. I thought copying other people's work wouldn't be difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so complicated."

Liang Xiaoming sighed, “Just like I know how to fire glass but can’t make tempered glass, knowing the principle isn’t enough. It’s much more difficult than casting a small cannon like a 12-pound mountain howitzer. But it’s always easier to stand on someone else’s shoulders. It took Rodman a full ten years to test a scientifically effective method—although the experiments were interrupted several times due to a lack of funds, wasting too much time—I’m very lucky that I was able to do it in less than half a year.”

Liu Ye tentatively asked, "So, can these two cannons be moved onto the ship for testing? When can the two thousand-ton warships be officially equipped with bombardment cannons?"

Liang Xiaoming replied, "Testing of the prototype can be carried out at any time, and formal deployment is not a big problem. Since it is the first time such explosive shells are used on a ship, the gunners and commanders need an adaptation and adjustment period. Let's equip each thousand-ton warship with four cannons for now. Once the casting technology is mature and the officers and soldiers are used to it, we can appropriately increase the proportion of bombardment cannons. With the current conditions, we can't build more, but we can still produce seven or eight cannons."

Liu Ye was overjoyed and said, "That puts my mind at ease."

The next day, the two prototype guns were moved onto the "Lingao" for live-fire testing to assess their effectiveness. Liang Xiaoming, as the chief technical officer, repeatedly reminded Gao Jie and others who were directing the test: "Remember the safety operating procedures. Explosive shells are not like solid shot or grapeshot. A mistake in operation could destroy the entire ship."

Having received Liang Xiaoming's earnest instruction, Gao Jie knew, even without Liang Xiaoming's reminders, the potential safety hazards of the still-immature explosive bomb to the ship itself. Before firing, he was on high alert and refused Liu Ye and others' requests to board the ship for close observation.

"General, as the leader of this army, you can't take this risk. It's safer to stay on the shore."