Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Chapter 230 Replacing the cannons! Dismantling the cannons! Storing the cannons!

The idea of ​​replacing guns on warships is nothing new to any country. Going back to the early 1980s and 1990s, many warships that entered service missed the first wave of the naval rapid-fire gun revolution, so they were subsequently replaced with medium-caliber rapid-fire guns instead of their original medium-caliber secondary guns.

However, it is obvious that replacing these secondary guns arranged on the deck is not technically difficult. When it comes to the main guns that need to be drastically modified and replaced, different countries have adopted various solutions, each displaying their unique abilities.

The most common modification method is to replace the original multi-mounted guns with new turrets that have larger calibers but fewer barrels. This is the most common example in the history of warship design and development in various countries.

In this regard, the first thing that comes to mind is often the standard battleship of the Federal Navy. Whether it is the Colorado in another world carrying 16-inch guns, or the Colorado in this timeline carrying British 15-inch guns for emergency purposes, they are essentially replacing the original triple 14-inch guns with larger caliber twin-mounted guns.

This is actually a "margin" that the Colombians left when designing the standard battleship. It also explains why the Federal Navy prefers 12-gun battleships. Not only are 12-gun battleships easy to fire and correct, but another reason is that 12-gun battleships inherently have considerable potential for firepower upgrades.

当然在这方面也有一些更极端的案例，比如说有维多利亚人想过给圣物——也就是有7个炮塔的阿金库尔号战列舰上面那7座双联装12英寸舰炮换成7座单装的15寸炮........

If this kind of modification plan is still only at the level of a rather extreme style, then in another world, the IJN's consideration of replacing the six twin-mounted 14-inch guns of the Yingzhou with two twin-mounted and two triple-mounted 410mm guns has actually gone beyond the scope of changing guns and should be classified as the "Ship of Theseus".

Of course, besides this modification plan of replacing more large-caliber artillery pieces, some countries do not want to further sacrifice firepower density during the modification process.

For example, the Syracuse Navy, during the modernization of its Graf Cavour-class and Daughter-class (crossed out)...Andrea Doria-class battleships, removed the midships turrets and transformed them into high-speed battleships.

Therefore, the Syracuse Navy was unwilling to further reduce the firepower density of these battleships. Instead, they opted to enlarge the barrels of the original 305mm naval guns, turning them into 320mm guns and increasing the weight of the armor-piercing shells from 452 kg to 525 kg.

All these different solutions are essentially aimed at maximizing the combat effectiveness of existing warships with relatively minimal cost. After all, more than half of the design of battleships revolves around their main guns. As the saying goes, a single cannon can cover up a hundred flaws; replacing the gun with a more powerful one can maximize the combat effectiveness of the entire warship.

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Li Che had just signed his stance on replacing the guns on the old battleships at hand, but the navy had already acted first and asked for permission without violating any procedures. In the last battle, the turrets of several dreadnoughts were damaged to varying degrees. Therefore, the first two Haiting-class battleships to undergo gun replacement were dismantled under the pretext of maintenance and overhaul.

Therefore, once the approval was granted, the navy immediately began to replace the turrets of the two battleships with 330mm guns. The spare parts used to assemble the twin 330mm gun turrets had already been sent to the warehouse next to the shipyard's dock, and were now being dragged out of the warehouse as quickly as possible.

Because the diameter of the base ring is the same for both the triple 280mm turret and the twin 330mm turret, there is no need to modify the base ring of the gun. Under the gantry crane next to the dock, an elderly worker patted his chest and said to the engineering designers wearing white hats and holding blueprints, "You can rest assured about the project we are in charge of. It's just changing a gun. We have plenty of experience."

The old worker's words caused the management trainees carrying bags behind him to whisper among themselves in surprise: "Our navy had a gun replacement project before? How come we haven't seen it in the files?"

However, during their conversation, although the management trainees thought they had lowered their voices considerably, the older worker clearly still heard them. He started to complain, "Do you think I'm lying to you youngsters? If I say it's true, then it's true! Our navy's first two dreadnoughts were halfway built when they said they needed to replace their guns. My son was born right when that ship was launched; I remember it clearly. Do you think I'm just making this up?"

One of the two white-hat engineers turned to the management trainees behind him: "This guy is right. The reason you haven't seen it in the files is that you're basically dealing with files from the Dreadnought era onwards. But what you're saying is that our navy's first two Dreadnoughts were actually pre-Dreadnoughts in the file numbers. Those two ships were originally built in the form of pre-Dreadnoughts, but were later converted into Dreadnoughts midway through the process."

The management trainees then remembered that the Pinghai-class ships, which had almost no presence in the navy, had four single-mounted 280mm naval guns on their two dreadnoughts that replaced the original twin-mounted 240mm secondary main guns.

"So it turns out that our current methods are just following the wisdom of the old friends."

Upon hearing a management trainee's sigh, the man in the white hat couldn't help but shake his head: "The design and development of our warships are based on the work of our predecessors. The current popular concept of focused protection can even be traced back to the central armored fortress design of the ironclad warship era. Technology goes through cycles from generation to generation. Don't take it lightly. The gun replacement project we are in charge of now may seem insignificant, but there is a lot of knowledge in it that you need to study in depth."

As he spoke, the man in the white hat put his hands behind his back. Several students who knew him well showed pained expressions on their faces because they all knew that this was the standard starting position that the teacher was going to test them on. They couldn't help but cast resentful glances at the guy who talked the most. They were supposed to be able to go on a field trip with the teacher easily today, but you just added a pop quiz to everyone's schedule, didn't you?

Sure enough, the teacher soon had them calculate the ship's weight balance after the cannons were replaced and the coverage of the muzzle blast.

Although only two questions were given, these two questions will take these management trainees quite a while to answer.

Watching the management trainees over there furiously scribbling calculations in their notebooks, another person with a stick looked on with amusement at these students who exuded both innocence and foolishness: "These kids are exactly the same as we were back then. When I took the test, I looked almost exactly the same as them now. I was so worried about those questions that I almost tore my facial features off."

"Your teacher didn't give you enough questions back then, otherwise, how could you have lost to a woman in our last internal competition?"

"Is she a woman? She's a monster!" Upon hearing that he had lost to a woman, this guy immediately jumped up and down: "Has anyone ever seen anyone draw three times faster than me? When that girl was sketching last time, she drew a line without even using a ruler. I even used a ruler to compare it afterward, and there was almost no difference. Her hand was so steady it was terrifying."

“I had only heard that the woman, who was like a demon, had some unconventional design styles in the previous internal competitions, but I didn’t expect her basic skills to be so good as well…” As he spoke, the man in the white hat looked at the turrets of the 280mm naval guns that were temporarily piled up on the dock: “I think that woman’s proposal, which was rejected last time, may actually have a chance to pass this time.”

"Which woman? Senior Brother Song, Senior Brother Sun, do I not have a name?" A young woman in her early twenties, also wearing a white helmet, walked over. Although she was greeting the two senior brothers, her gaze had clearly drifted to the 280mm naval gun parts piled up behind her. Her gaze, connected to the steel, seemed almost piercing.

Song Zaihe, who was addressed as Senior Brother Song, turned around and introduced the management trainees he was with: "Let me introduce you. This lady may look about the same age as you, not much older than you, but she is my junior sister, named Wang Xuechun. In our line of work, women are extremely rare. You have already seen that today."

The management trainees looked at the young woman in front of them in surprise. Although they had heard some rumors about her before, rumors were just rumors, and seeing her in person was a completely different experience.

Sun Chenjun, addressed as Senior Brother Sun, approached Song Zaihe and whispered, "What you meant by the project that was rejected...?"

"It's related to these gun turrets that we dismantled." Song said in the river channel, "In the price of a warship, the artillery system is often one of the most expensive parts, so Wang Xuechun proposed the idea of ​​using these old guns at the last meeting."

"Old guns are cheap, but right now these 280mm naval guns don't pose much of a threat to Colombian ships, even dreadnoughts. Against Federation standard battleships, they have almost no effective means of retaliation. So what if the ships built with these 280mm guns are cheap? We can't use second-hand armor steel and boilers, can we? The money saved on main guns and cannons will eventually be paid back with interest."

"We all know this, and people naturally know this too, so I heard that the report Wang Xuechun submitted before was not about building a battleship."

"Not a battleship?"

"I guess it might be something like the Victorian 'pee-pee,' that is, a large light cruiser."

Upon hearing the term "large light cruiser," Sun Chenjun nodded in sudden realization. If a large cruiser were to be built using the main guns of a battleship, then it wouldn't be surprising.

During the commerce raiding and counter-commerce raiding battles with the Colombians, the high command of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy did indeed consider whether they needed to build ships similar to or the Victorian "Hush-Hush," also known as the Courageous-class large light cruisers.

The earliest known warships of this type can be traced back to 1915, when Lord Fisher, First Sea Lord of Britain, promoted the construction of this class of ships under the name of the "Baltic Project".

The plan was intended to break through the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea with shallow-draft ships to support the landing operation in northern Letania, but the actual purpose of building them was to circumvent parliamentary restrictions and build high-speed ships with battleship firepower under the guise of "light cruisers".

Because the military stipulated that the draft of this warship could not exceed seven meters in terms of design specifications, a lightweight design was adopted to meet the requirements of high speed and shallow draft. The armor thickness was only 51-76 mm, which is comparable to that of a light cruiser of the same period. At most, it could only withstand six-inch high-explosive and conventional shells.

These large light cruisers, sacrificing armor in exchange for a high speed of 32 knots, possessed battleship-level firepower, with two twin-mounted 381mm guns as their main armament. The third ship, HMS Furious, was even originally planned to be equipped with 457mm guns.

The most fundamental difference between the two sides and the Victorian "large light cruisers" lies in the firepower density. The 280mm naval gun is a large-caliber naval gun that is known for its high rate of fire, and it can easily reach a rate of fire of three rounds per minute.

Wang Xuechun proposed using the 280mm turrets removed from the dreadnoughts to build a "large cruiser" for the Tang Dynasty, largely because of the excellent performance of the navy's first-class cruisers in commerce raiding.

These real combat experiences made the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty realize the value of secondary capital ships in the naval combat system—when both sides' capital ships are busy, who says that secondary capital ships cannot take on the combat missions of capital ships?

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Chapter 231 Sorry, your cabbage has already been eaten.

"That little brat doesn't seem to have been infected, right?"

Li Zongdi suddenly turned to Li Renchi, who was sitting below him, and asked him a question that seemed completely unrelated during the course of a normal conversation. This left the other people sitting in the hall today somewhat puzzled.

Li Renzhi glanced at the two people opposite him. One of them was about 40 years old and had long hair tied in a bun, which was rare in this era. He wore a jade crown inlaid with gold and jade. If you only looked at these things, you would think of him as a retro old scholar. However, he was not wearing traditional Chinese clothes, but rather a casual modern Ming-style outfit. Although this mixed style of dressing was a bit ahead of its time, you could still see a noble air about him from his every move.

Compared to this middle-aged man, the three generations of the Li family seemed like lowly soldiers who couldn't be brought to the table. And this middle-aged man was none other than Liu Chang'an, one of the three great non-royal princes of the Ming Dynasty and the current Prince of Shu.

Emperor Longwu initially enfeoffed four non-royal princes. Apart from Prince Qin, Sun Kewang, who died in battle without leaving any descendants, the other three non-royal princes included the original Prince Chao, who was later enfeoffed as Prince Song and granted overseas fiefdoms. Prince Jin did not have any actual fiefdoms, but his family had been serving in the military for generations, leading troops to guard the northwest.

The Prince of Shu originally had a fiefdom in Sichuan. However, when the Ming Dynasty launched its industrial movement, he sold his fiefdom back to the imperial court. In exchange, the Prince of Shu's lineage gained control of the empire's finance minister. In addition, the Prince of Shu's lineage invested in a series of industries in line with the trend of industrialization at the time, making the Prince of Shu's family the richest in the country today.

It has been more than a year since Li Zongdi took control of Yingtian Prefecture, and four months have passed since his enthronement ceremony on September 15 last year. The fact that Liu Chang'an, the Prince of Shu, only came to the capital to meet Li Zongdi at this time is quite intriguing.

After all, given the relationship between the three princes, if he supported Li Zongdi, then whether it was when Li Zongdi entered the capital or when he later ascended the throne, the Shu Prince's Mansion would have been very suitable to stand up and make a statement. Even a telegram would have been enough to show the Shu Prince's Mansion's attitude to the whole country and the world.

However, the Prince of Shu's Palace has never done so. But if you say that the Prince of Shu's Palace opposes it... they readily accept all the major policies and guidelines formulated by Li Zongdi. Around April last year, Li Zongdi sent a small army into Shu. The whole process went very smoothly without any conflict.

On the surface, the Shu Prince's Mansion's excuse was that, with the Ming Dynasty's removal of the title, strictly speaking, all the titles conferred by the Ming Dynasty were now obsolete. Therefore, Liu Chang'an, now a "commoner," was unwilling to get too involved in politics, which is why he had not made a statement.

But you might fool a child with that kind of talk. Even if the Ming Dynasty were to fall from power after Emperor Yongning's death, who would dare to underestimate the status of the three kings of Jin, Song, and Shu? Ultimately, their positions stemmed from their resistance against the Qing Dynasty and their efforts to rebuild China. Even if the Ming Dynasty were to collapse, or even if it were now a republic, if you wanted to become the King of Shu behind closed doors, the government of the republic wouldn't necessarily refuse. So what about now?

Compared to the Ming Dynasty of the past, the Tang Dynasty had indeed had to discard many things, but some things had to be inherited. Therefore, Li Zongdi's first act after becoming emperor was to acknowledge the thrones of the other two princes.

Although the main reason for doing so was to ensure that the Song Prince's Mansion and the corresponding Borneo would not split off but would remain under Chinese rule, there was also a desire to appease the Shu Prince's Mansion, since the Shu Prince's Mansion was known as the "Second Ministry of Revenue" of the Ming Dynasty even during the reign of Emperor Yongning.

The other person sitting next to Liu Chang'an, the King of Shu... had an even more special identity.

This man was also a king, or rather, a former king. Liu Chang'an's throne was recognized after the establishment of the new dynasty, while this man's throne was abolished after the Ming dynasty was abolished. This man's surname was Zhu, and his name was Zhu Guangyu, the former Prince Zhou of the Ming dynasty.

The reason these two came to see Li Zongdi today was actually because of Princess Yongning.

After all, Princess Yongning had been living in the Crown Prince's residence. Although this matter didn't spread much at first, Princess Yongning became more and more active, and such things couldn't be kept secret like fire wrapped in paper. Now, the whole country knows that the former dynasty's princess is now in the Crown Prince's residence and often spends time with the Crown Prince.

Do you think the remaining members of the Zhu family, the former imperial relatives, have no objections to this? It's impossible that they don't. After all, even for girls from ordinary noble families, this is somewhat scandalous.

But before this, nobody cared about it.

After all, the emperor was already dead, and the Ming Dynasty was already over. None of the imperial relatives of the Zhu family dared to step forward and take the throne. After the Ming Dynasty collapsed, they were initially worried that their entire families would be killed after the establishment of the Republic. Some of them were so fearful that they even went into hiding and fled abroad. Later, after Li Zongdi entered the capital, these imperial relatives began to think outside the box and connect with history.

After all, people privately call him the living Cao Cao. If Li Zongdi really is Cao Cao, that's fine, but what if he's just an old scoundrel like Sima Yi? Moreover, Li Zongdi has twice "launched massive imprisonments," and it's rumored that the number of people arrested and imprisoned almost filled the prison in Yingtian Prefecture. There are even rumors that the Qinhuai River was dyed red. With these exaggerated rumors, no one would dare to go to Yingtian Prefecture to get involved in this mess.

However, as the domestic situation gradually stabilized, these imperial relatives found that no one was going to settle accounts with them. Only then did these frightened imperial relatives calm down and begin to think about things they had not had time for or dared not consider before.

Take Princess Yongning, for example.

Regardless of the circumstances, considering the reputation of the Zhu family, they couldn't just let the unmarried princess stay in the Crown Prince's residence, could they? If the world were to think that the Zhu family was uneducated and had such a casual nature, wouldn't Princess Yongning ruin the reputation of the Zhu family, which was most valued by those old officials and their descendants who relied on the prestige and prestige of the previous dynasty to marry into some of the current nobles or wealthy families?

Therefore, it was only after much delay that Zhu Guangyu was finally recommended to meet Li Zongdi. After all, the Zhou Prince's Mansion had always had a good reputation. The earliest Zhou Prince, Zhu Su, was not only a prince but also a famous botanist and pharmacologist in ancient times. In the fourth year of Yongle (1406), he wrote "Jiuhuang Bencao" (Herbal for Famine Relief), which recorded 414 kinds of wild plants, 276 of which were newly added by him. It provided detailed descriptions of the origin, name, shape characteristics, properties, and methods of consumption of various plants, and was later praised as a scientific botanical work in early 15th-century China.

Although the Zhou Prince's Mansion didn't make much of a splash afterward, it managed to revive its ancestors' "profession" during the Southern Ming Dynasty, producing several scholars who made outstanding contributions in the fields of zoology and botany.

In ancient times, someone with such a status would be considered a great Confucian scholar. Even if they didn't get along well, Li Zongdi wouldn't kill such a scholar, would he? To be on the safe side, they specifically sought out the Prince of Shu and strongly requested that he accompany them. Since the Prince of Zhou and the Prince of Shu were related by marriage, Liu Chang'an accompanied them to Yingtian Prefecture.

From Li Renchi's perspective, while Liu Chang'an was irrelevant and Zhu Guangyu was definitely worrying unnecessarily, Li Renchi could confidently assert that Princess Yongning was absolutely innocent...

That's a valid point of view. If these people had arrived a month earlier—no! If they had arrived half a month earlier—Li Renchi could have said those words without batting an eye.

But now...

Why did the emperor suddenly mention the crown prince?

Isn't it because the princess is currently with the crown prince?

Although the two children were isolated in the house and the specifics of what happened are not clear, the fact that they rushed to Li Che's side without hesitation after learning from the princess that he might be infected shows that it would be utter nonsense to say that the young couple had no feelings for each other.

Of course, more importantly, after Li Renchi returned to his residence yesterday, the Crown Princess came over very mysteriously and said that a message came back from Songjiang Prefecture that the staff there found a sheet with a piece cut off in the middle when they were changing the sheets in the Crown Prince's room.

For those who have been through it, it goes without saying what the young couple inside the house went through in this situation.

"During the quarantine period in Songjiang Prefecture, thanks to the blessings of Heaven and the proper care of Princess Yongning, I am now in good health." Li Renchi was telling the truth in a typical way. From the beginning, Li Che was not infected at all, but the way he said it made it sound as if Li Che was infected with the virus and then received care from Princess Yongning, and has now recovered.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of Liu Chang'an and Zhu Guangyu became particularly interesting. The King of Shu's expression was basically like, "How many more surprises are there that I don't know about?.jpg", while Zhu Guangyu's expression was somewhat unable to hold back.

Even when they were living in the Crown Prince's residence, all sorts of rumors were already circulating. Now that the Crown Prince is sick, Princess Yongning is personally serving him soup and medicine, and the two of them are isolated in the same room in Songjiang Prefecture... You think nothing happened? Who the hell would believe that?

Chapter 232 Sorry, your cabbage has already been eaten.

Zhu Guangyu seemed not to have fully recovered from Li Renzhi's words, and he was still somewhat dazed: "Your Majesty, Princess Yongning... is in Songjiang Prefecture? With the Crown Prince?"

"Yes, the two young people fell in love at first sight. Don't young people nowadays believe in free love? It's not appropriate for us elders to interfere."

Li Renchi said things that none of the people present believed. It was true that young people in the city generally preferred free love, but the royal family's claim of promoting free love was pure nonsense.

Apart from the founding emperor, I've never heard of any royal family member being able to freely choose their spouse. This isn't just in the East; even in the West, which seems more open, do you really have the freedom to choose your spouse?

If you hadn't deliberately condoned it, would these two young people have been able to get together?

Zhu Guangyu himself wholeheartedly approves of the two young people with special backgrounds coming together. He has no political ambitions at the moment. If Princess Yongning really marries Li Che in the future, he dares not hope for the empress's position. Even if she is only a concubine, it would be of great benefit to them.

For the next few generations, it's impossible for members of the Zhu family to pursue a political career in the Tang Dynasty. However, there are many other paths they can take. Even if they don't go into business, they can pursue art or academia. The impact of having such connections is enormous.

What?You do not believe?

Then I suggest you go and watch Sir Richard Burgh, the Englishman.

The Sir Niu you imagined—an introverted STEM guy who embarked on a research career after an apple fell on his head, working diligently and conscientiously.

The real Lord Bull—

"The burden of the Victorian Empire's three islands and 59 counties rests on my shoulders!"

"According to you, building a riverbank for Scotland has already exhausted all of Great Britain's resources?"

"The treacherous officials have already revealed themselves: one is Hooker! The other is Leibniz!"

"The Irish do not understand the difficulties faced by the court."

"I'll hurt your mother's head!!"

When Hawking came to the University of Tokyo, he had to stand up to toast him, which was just for fun. If Hawking had lived in Sir John Bull's time, and if there had been a conflict between Hawking's and Bull's academic research, then the reason why Hawking was in a wheelchair would have to be asked of Bull. And then Bull would have stood up to toast Hawking after he was in a wheelchair.

Therefore, in Zhu Guangyu's opinion, it would be wonderful if Zhu Miaoyun could marry Li Che. It doesn't matter that this cabbage has been taken now. Let's pretend we don't know. Let's take the princess back first, and then go through the procedures and formalities as needed. In this way, the country will be peaceful and the lovers will be able to get married. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

However, his initial shock and subsequent joy were abruptly reversed by asking just one more question.

"May I ask how Princess Yongning and His Highness the Crown Prince met? As far as I remember, Princess Yongning and His Highness the Crown Prince were not acquainted before?"

Zhu Guangyu originally intended to start the conversation from this angle, and what should have been a pleasant and enjoyable time for both host and guest was unexpectedly interrupted by Li Zongdi's lighthearted and cheerful tone, which made Zhu Guangyu feel as if he were in the dead of winter.

"Oh, it's just that a group of people wanted to kidnap Princess Yongning and flee overseas, splitting the Song Prince's Mansion and the Jin Prince's Mansion, and attempting to re-establish the Ming Dynasty's banner overseas. Princess Yongning understood the greater good of her country, and after learning that these people were colluding with the Colombians, she seized the opportunity to escape. During the pursuit by their assassins, she happened to encounter my good-for-nothing grandson, and thus a connection was formed..."

Li Zongdi spoke in a very friendly tone, but two of the four people sitting in the room were already getting restless.

How strange, why is this mahogany chair so hot to the touch today?

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Liu Chang'an regretted coming here.

For the Shu King's Mansion, as long as it does not fall to foreign tribes, it is not important who becomes the emperor of this land, or even whether there is such an emperor at all.

Making money for the Shu King's Mansion is the most important thing.

The experiences and lessons learned by the Shu King's Mansion over the years can be summarized in just two sentences.

First, business and politics are two sides of the same coin; those who don't understand politics can't do business well.