Ranwen
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Chapter 496: Iron-armored Battleship and Steel Helmet
Negotiations between the envoys from the royal capital and the executive committees of the overseas dominions broke down again. In the eyes of the envoys from the royal capital, the overseas dominions had truly become rebellious. Because they put forward conditions that the Kingdom could not agree to at all, they wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Kingdom was facing a crisis of famine due to a large-scale agricultural product failure, and that the Kingdom was at war with the invading Nasseri Kingdom to cause de facto separatism and separatism in the overseas autonomous territories. Independence, this is not rebellion, then what is rebellion
The conditions proposed by the generals of the Dominion Military Region headed by Claude were that the Kingdom of Ovilas could be recognized in name as a suzerainty and maintain a consistent diplomatic and military attitude towards the outside world. However, it maintains an independent status in the administrative policies, personnel appointments, finance, military and other aspects of overseas autonomous territories and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the kingdom. However, it is acceptable for the Kingdom's Army Department to be the nominal supervisory unit. For the promotion of non-commissioned officers and rank promotions in the army, lists will be sent to the Kingdom's Army Department. This is only a notification, but does not require review and approval.
In addition to the conditions proposed by the Dominion Military Region, the Dominion Executive Committee also proposed a series of terms for the ocean trade between the two sides. For example, both sides will also adopt low or no tariffs on incoming goods and materials. In the past, the Kingdom's domestic goods entered overseas directly under the jurisdiction. There are no customs duties in the territories, and special products from overseas territories must pay high taxes when entering the Kingdom. This is also a way for the Kingdom to restrict the development of manufacturing industries in overseas territories.
To a certain extent, the Kingdom itself has spared no effort to limit the development of its overseas territories. This should also be regarded as the foresight of the late King Sterling X. Overseas territories have such a large territory and so many rich product resources. Relocating the kingdom's local manufacturing workshops will obviously reduce and significantly reduce the cost of production resources.
If the kingdom does not impose restrictions on this, a large amount of private wealth will flow to overseas territories. The flow of wealth will mean an increase in population migration, because manufacturing requires various technicians and skilled industrial workers. When the overseas territories develop, it will be difficult for the Kingdom to effectively administer them. After all, they are separated by an ocean of tranquility. Too far away means an increase in variables. Therefore, the overseas territories can still be the source of local resources for the Kingdom. ... ...
It was only a colonial war that changed the future of the Overseas Dominions. Various reasons and opportunities resulted in the current situation of the Overseas Dominions. As predicted by the late King Sterling X, the economic development of the overseas autonomous territories means that they will be separated from the control of the kingdom, and the overseas autonomous territories can no longer be regarded as resource producers where the kingdom can do whatever it wants.
The Dominion Executive Committee proposed such ocean trade terms because today's Dominion can produce all kinds of goods needed by the Kingdom, and their quality and price are better than those produced by the Kingdom itself. The Kingdom's population of more than 27 million is a huge sales market in the eyes of the members of the Dominion. Therefore, the high tariffs imposed by the Kingdom on goods produced in overseas autonomous territories have become the first target to be abolished.
There are also various commercial clauses regarding ocean trade. The purpose is that the parliamentarians from the overseas dominions want to break the various commercial privileges monopolized by the old aristocratic families and emerging commercial aristocrats in the kingdom, such as the pricing of goods and goods, and the price of goods in a certain place. Exclusive agreements in a region, etc. What they want is a product sales market and are not afraid of free competition.
It can be said that the parliamentarians of the overseas autonomous territories who are related to the manufacturing industry are the real promoters of commercial freedom. They are not the so-called emerging commercial aristocrats of the Kingdom who advocate commercial freedom. Those emerging commercial aristocrats are simply selling dog meat with sheep's heads. When we talk about commercial freedom, we actually want monopoly commercial interests and do not allow commercial competition.
In this regard, parliamentarians from overseas autonomous territories are much more straightforward. They are not afraid of competition and want fairness and market access. As long as goods from overseas dominions are allowed to be sold in the kingdom, they will be confident that they can use the high-quality and low-priced goods produced by the dominions to defeat all competitors and seize the kingdom's local sales market.
Of course, in order for the Kingdom to agree to these conditions put forward by the Dominion Military District and the Executive Committee, the overseas Dominion promised to pay an annual tax of 300,000 gold crowns and a tribute of 100,000 gold crowns from the Stirling royal family, adding up to 400,000 gold crowns. . It can also provide a one-time supply of food and agricultural products worth 1.2 million gold crowns to the Kingdom, as back taxes paid by overseas autonomous territories to the Kingdom in the three years after the end of the colony.
As for the mineral resources in the overseas autonomous territories, the Executive Committee rejected the free provision requested by the Kingdom, but could provide low-interest loans to the Kingdom, allowing the Kingdom to purchase various mineral resources in the overseas autonomous territories at 20% off the market price to meet the Kingdom's current needs. Arms production requirements. The guarantee for this low-interest loan could be secured by future annual taxes and tributes paid by the Dominion to the Kingdom.
It’s just that the conditions proposed by the Overseas Autonomous Territory Military Region and the Executive Committee were all treacherous lies in the eyes of the envoys from the royal capital. They angrily rejected these conditions and ignored the fact that the Autonomous Territory Military Region and the Executive Committee had first forwarded these conditions. He asked to go to the royal capital to show the high-level powerful people, and the negotiation broke down.
However, due to the critical situation faced by the kingdom itself, these kingdom envoys tried their best to please and plead with each other, as well as working privately as members of parliament, and finally the Overseas Dominion Parliament passed the only motion on negotiations. It is the overseas autonomy that takes the lead in delivering food and agricultural products worth 1.2 million gold crowns to the Kingdom to help the Kingdom resist the threat of the coming famine. At the same time, this material was also regarded as the taxes and tribute paid by the overseas autonomous territories to the royal capital in the past two years and this year. This was confirmed by the signatures and pledges of several kingdom envoys.
After the matter was settled, several envoys from the royal capital returned to the kingdom's mainland along with the ocean-going cruise fleet escorting grain and grass. For these envoys, the food and agricultural products worth 1.2 million gold crowns were enough to go back and deliver their missions. Moreover, if these food and supplies are saved, the kingdom should be able to survive this food shortage crisis.
For Claude and the others, sending away these envoys from the royal capital was considered as one thing accomplished. The Dominion had too many things to do now, and they really had no time to tangle with these envoys from the royal capital. Anyway, in the minds of those dominion members, this batch of food and agricultural products can only be regarded as a small amount of money to send to poor relatives. The more prosperous and prosperous the Dominion became, the less likely it was that anyone wanted to return to the days when they were governed by the Kingdom.
At this time, Claude went to the Port of Patres in Robido State to discuss with Master Bird the finalization of the first batch of iron-clad ocean-going battleships. After three sea trials of iron-hulled ocean-going ships, Master Bird finally admitted that the patterns of iron-clad battleships that Claude drew for him still made some sense. He canceled the gun windows below the deck and installed heavy forward-loading guns, and enlarged the bottom tank and the part below the waterline to stabilize the hull.
However, the final shape of the battleship seemed to Claude to be a little oval and not slender enough. The most important thing was that Master Bird was unwilling to cancel the three masts on the battleship. His reason was that if the black rocks loaded at sea burned out, the warship would have to rely on sails for power to travel on the sea. Even if the speed was very slow, there would still be hope of returning to the harbor...
Forget it, Claude doesn't want to compete with Master Bird in these aspects. After all, Master Bird also became a monk halfway and learned about battleship design. Those who were with him were designers of sailing battleships. The iron-clad battleship designs they completed were always It is inevitable to have the shadow of a sailing ship. Claude can only hope that after the first batch of armored battleships are launched, they will slowly improve and become better in the future.
The first batch of finalized iron-clad battleships totaled six, and they were all imitations of ocean-going light cruising three-masted sailing battleships, which were defined by Claude as destroyers. Six medium-sized naval guns are installed on the ship, which is an expanded version of the new infantry light field artillery. Four at the front, two at the back, and three fixed-mounted nautical versions of light infantry field artillery on both sides.
During the sea trials, the effective range of the medium-sized naval guns was 1,800 meters to 2,000 meters, and the effective range of the light naval guns on both sides was about 1,200 meters. In the current mode of naval warfare, where sail warships are two to three hundred meters apart and blast each other with front-loaded naval guns, and then gradually get closer and join forces to attack with swords, this is an unknown number of years ahead of the times. The only worry is that naval artillery battles require the best gunners to use their eyes to aim at the enemy warships. Whether they can hit or not depends more on experience. Claude is not yet capable enough to come up with some kind of aiming instrument for naval artillery warfare...
As the admiral of the ocean cruising fleet of the overseas dominions, Murield fell in love with the iron-clad battleships after a sea trial on the iron-hulled ocean-going ships. He told Claude that it didn't matter whether the enemy warships could be hit in the artillery battle. , the enemy can't attack his own armored warships anyway. Besides, if the shells fail to hit, why are you worried about hitting and sinking the enemy warship? These thick iron-shelled warships can completely dominate the sea, and there is no problem in a fight with ten.
The Port of Patres in Robido State has now become the largest shipbuilding base in the overseas autonomous territories. In order to cooperate with the manufacturing of iron-clad warships, the five generals of the autonomous military region gathered many congressmen and invested in the construction of the nearby East Mosilaga Mountain. A large iron ore refining workshop specializing in the production of rust-proof iron armor and marine stainless iron plates required for armored warships. For this reason, two rune mages were specially hired with high salaries and benefits to study how to mass-produce metal iron plates and special steel plates with anti-corrosion, waterproof, anti-rust and other functions for navigation...
In the long-range planning of the overseas autonomous military regions, an ocean-going iron-clad fleet consisting of more than 40 iron-clad warships will be established in the future, as well as more than 100 ocean-going iron-hulled transport ships, with a total investment of 12 million It is about 1.2 million gold crowns and is completed in ten years. The annual investment is only 1.2 million gold crowns. So that large iron ore refining workshop has very good investment prospects. After the formation of the armored fleet and transport fleet, it is expected that all investment costs can be earned in ocean trade and transportation in three to four years.
It can only be said that the armored battleships of this era are still in a very crude and rough structure, and they all resemble the architectural layout of sailing battleships. If Claude hadn't insisted, Master Bird would have even wanted to cancel the watertight compartment design in the bottom tank. The reason is simple. He believes that sailing wooden-hulled warships need to have a water-proof tank structure in the bottom tank because wooden-hulled sea-going ships are not strong. And the iron armored warships they built had such thick iron plates welded together as a whole, which was strong enough to ensure that it would not leak...
Fortunately, Claude finally convinced him that there was no waterproof tank. If a hole was broken at sea and water leaked, the ship would sink faster, even if it took an extra month to install the waterproof tank in the bottom tank. The construction period is also worth it. Master Byrd originally planned to complete these six so-called ironclad destroyers within four months, and then design and build an ironclad battleship as big as a second-class five-masted ocean-going sailing battleship named cruiser by Claude.
By the time Claude returned to Lanhu City, it was already January of the 599th year of the Holy Light Calendar. It's not that Claude doesn't want to go back to Orchid Lake City to spend the New Year's Eve, but Sheila is acting a little bit. She knows that if Claude goes back, he will definitely go back to the Field Manor to spend the New Year's Eve with his mother and wife Kaifani, leaving her alone. desolate. So she pestered Claude, insisting that she liked the sea and wanted to walk on the beach every day, forcing Claude to stay in Port Patres and spend the New Year's Eve with her.
In the end, Claude accompanied Sheila on the beach of Port Patres for more than two months in the cold wind. After the New Year's Eve, Sheila was almost done staying there and was tired of eating seafood. Then she and Clod De returned to Lanhu City. Of course, Sheila also knew that Claude was obedient to her because she felt guilty after not seeing him for more than ten years, so she drove Claude home after returning to Squirrel Manor in the western suburbs.
The New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve at Field Manor were really deserted. Basically, few people came to visit. Even the ladies who were usually very close to their mother and Kaifani came to the door in a hurry to deliver gifts and said they were in a hurry. After saying goodbye and leaving, mother and Kaifani were particularly uncomfortable with it. Especially the mother, who had accumulated a lot of words but no one listened carefully, which made her very unhappy.
"Why did you come back just now?" The mother blamed Claude for all this, thinking that it was because he was not at home that the guests did not come.
Claude replied that he was busy with military affairs and couldn't get away from it.
But my mother complained that the colonial war was over, how could you do so much, and you didn’t need to go to the battlefield, and you couldn’t even take time to stay at home for two days? Then you might as well resign from this position...
Claude could only smile bitterly, unable to explain clearly to his mother. She often used her deceased father as an example, saying that when Mr. Morsand was the administrative director of White Deer Town, he had so many official duties to handle, but he still returned home every night. At home, we entertain guests at home from time to time.
At that time, the Field family was so popular in White Deer Town. When I went to buy things in the town, everyone would give them face, and they would either give them a discount or sell them at a reduced price. It's not like Claude, who has become a general and has to travel around. He doesn't have much time at home in a year, and he is worse than his deceased father, Mr. Morsan.
Mother is probably the only one in the world who would compare Claude, the general with the highest military power in the overseas dominions, with his late father, Mr. Morsan, who was the administrator of a small town. She also concluded that Claude was not as good as his father, Morsan. Mr. Judgment. Claude looked at Kaifani and wondered if she had told her about Sheila in front of her mother, so her mother deliberately talked about her not going home to beat herself up. However, Kaifani behaved very normally and wore the same attentive clothes. Claude took off his military uniform and put on casual clothes at home...
As soon as Claude returned home, someone came to visit him. It was Mr. Veblen, who also brought his wife. Mother was very happy to finally have someone to chat with, and took Mr. Veblen's wife to have their gossip tea party. Mr. Veblen came to tell Claude the good news, because the Lanhu City military industry he was in charge of had finally produced its own flagship product, and Claude provided creative soldier helmets.
Mr. Veblen brought a sample. The helmet was somewhat oval in shape, with a peak on top. Four small holes were drilled into the raised edges on both sides of the helmet, which were used to tie the lining inside. With the lining, there is no need to put the helmet directly on the head, so that a bullet or shrapnel hitting the helmet will not cause neck bone fractures and severe concussion. This is the task Claude gave to Mr. Veblen, and now he has finally completed it.
But what Claude didn't understand was why there was a peak on the top of the helmet.
Mr. Veblen explained that several technicians in the military industry felt that the bare helmet looked unsightly. After making a peak, they could put on tassels during the review, and it would look more powerful...
Claude could only shake his head. A steel helmet is a steel helmet. It provides head protection for soldiers during battle. It can effectively prevent matchlock gun fire and shrapnel attacks from grenades in this era. It is the biggest function. There is no need to make it so fancy. . Putting on a spire and tassels makes the helmet lose its practicality. On the battlefield, if soldiers want to drink hot soup and cook something to eat, they can use the helmet as a pot during the battle, and they can also use it as a basin to ladle water. Coming. Adding an extra peak is equivalent to punching a hole in the top of the helmet, and these practical functions are gone.
If Claude had not seen the statistical report on the cause of death of the wounded soldiers, he would not have thought of asking Mr. Veblen to make some helmets. Because the statistical report said that 60% of the soldiers who died on the battlefield died on the spot after being hit in the head by a gun or shrapnel, so Claude then thought of asking Mr. Veblen to make a steel helmet.
"Remove the spire, and there should be no holes on the top of the helmet." When Claude explained the practicality of the helmet, Mr. Veblen suddenly realized it, and he immediately followed it when he returned.
"Tomorrow, bring these helmets to the theater headquarters and let General Bolognik and the others take a look. After they pass the inspection, we will place an order to manufacture 200,000 helmets to equip the two legions of the military region. As for whether the local troops want them We have to think about equipping the steel helmet again." Claude thought for a while and then said: "After the production of this steel helmet, you can try to make the engineer shovel I drew for you last time. These equipment will soon become our The standard equipment of the military region troops is very profitable..."