Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 150 The Eight Vajra
Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere at the scene, Zheng Guohui delivered a passionate speech. His eloquence was excellent, which inspired the masses and officials to get excited and naturally aroused their ambition to achieve great things.

Take advantage of this opportunity
Zheng Guohui announced on the spot that the four ironclad warships would be named "Zhendong", "Zhenxi", "Zhennan" and "Zhenbei", collectively known as the "East, West, South and North" ships, which are the main force of the navy fleet.

Excited, Zheng Guohui named the four thousand-ton main sailing warships "Zhenhai", "Zhenjiang", "Zhenhu" and "Zhenhe", collectively known as the "Jianghe, Huhai" four ships.

The above-mentioned eight battleships are commonly known as the "Eight Great King Kongs".

The four ships "Jianghe Huhai" and the large sailing ship "Guangming" are also the first-class battleships of the navy fleet.

As for the six 6-ton schooners listed in the navy, Zheng Guohui was so extravagant as to say "let's discuss it later", which was definitely showing off.

Unable to contain his inner joy, Zheng Guohui then led everyone on board the "Zhendong" and began to examine the ironclad warship from inside and out, with a smile on his face the whole time.

"Hahaha... So, the retired American military officer who drove these four ironclad ships across the Pacific was actually using sails all along? No wonder the speed was so slow." Zheng Guohui said with a smile. He thought about it and immediately pulled Joe Johnson's arm and said;

"That's not right! According to the contract, I paid for labor and navigation costs. I should have a share of the savings."

Joe Johnson smiled and replied, "The governor has already raised his objection. Please rest assured, Marshal, our Wan Guo Tong Bao Trading Company has given you an additional four 4-pound coastal guns. We will not charge you a single ounce of silver as a token of our sincerity."

"Oh... so straightforward, is there any conspiracy?"

"Please rest assured, Marshal. You are our Wanguo Tongbao Foreign Company's number one valued customer. The boss has instructed us to do our utmost to maintain our relationship with you. We look forward to more opportunities for cooperation in the future and to developing into long-term partners."

"Then you can tell the boss that I'm very satisfied with this cooperation. The second phase of cooperation has begun, and we will further strengthen the cooperation."

"This is great news. I'm sure my boss will give me a promotion and a raise. This is much better than being a military attaché at the embassy. I think this is the right choice."

"Don't worry, even if the Wan Guo Tong Bao Company doesn't hire you, you can come to me and become a powerful trade representative to the United States, with double your salary."

"Thank you for your kindness, Marshal. I am very satisfied with my current treatment. Marshal, look, this is the large marine steam engine that powers the ironclad warships. A single unit has an astonishing 920 horsepower, which is top-notch in the world today."

"Well, not bad, not bad." Zheng Guohui nodded in response, but his expression did not show any surprise.

Is 920 horsepower a big deal?
Zheng Guohui looked at this huge black lump of iron, which weighed more than ten tons but could only produce 1100 horsepower. He was really disdainful of it.

In the engine room of the Zhendong
All Zheng Guohui saw was chaos. The steam pipes of the six boilers were densely packed together, and next to them was a coal pile more than one meter high. It took more than 40 people to operate the entire engine room.

Just for boiler operators, 12 people are needed to be on duty at the same time, not counting the number of people on shift change.

When the ironclad warship was sprinting at full speed, the 12 boilermen needed to use shovels to add coal into the blazing boiler, making the fire burn as vigorously as possible.

The large amount of steam generated is managed by 8 instrument soldiers. If the pressure is too high, the valve needs to be manually turned to release the pressure to keep it within the limit so that the pipeline will not collapse due to excessive pressure.

The other soldiers in the engine room each performed their duties and worked together to drive the two steam engines.

It is conceivable
In this narrow space, six boilers consume a large amount of coal, and the high temperature and high pressure generated are so astonishing!
Coupled with the huge noise made by the running steam engine, the personnel in the engine room had to be rotated every half an hour. Otherwise, the harsh environment of high temperature and high noise would inevitably lead to exhaustion, fainting, and even death from excessive dehydration caused by the stuffiness.

On the technical level

Zheng Guohui was unable to offer any useful suggestions. He could only take a look around, smile, nod, and give some insincere praise.

Once he got on top of the circular revolving turret, Zheng Guohui's spirits immediately changed.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at the 68-pound Dahlgren cannon that looked like a large beer bottle. He stroked the smooth barrel of the cannon with his hand, just like stroking the delicate body of his lover, and his spirits were particularly high.

"Wow, look how thick the gun barrel is? I can't even hold it with my hands." Zheng Guohui really tried to hold it, his face full of a happy smile.

He beckoned over Admirals Huo Haisheng, Dong Kuifa, Nie Tongsheng and others, patted the thick barrel of the cannon with great emotion and said;
"If we talk about the happiest people right now, it should be you guys. This is a step to heaven.

Look at this big guy. One shot from it will definitely shake the world. No ship can withstand such violent force. It can definitely destroy any warship.

With it, you will be the true overlord of the sea.

I ask you to equip these four ironclad ships with the best officers and soldiers, implement the most rigorous training, devote yourself to the exercises with the greatest enthusiasm, and be able to control them freely as soon as possible.

This is the navy's naval hammer and the decisive weapon to completely defeat the Franks.

You must master the skills to control it as soon as possible and grow rapidly. This is my deepest expectation for you."

Admirals Huo Haisheng, Dong Kuifa, Nie Tongsheng and others immediately knelt on one knee and saluted. Huo Haisheng's eyes, slightly red, widened as he answered firmly:

“The Marshal is here;
We dare to guarantee with our lives that we will train diligently day and night for two months to master the skills of controlling this iron ship and will never let the Marshal down.

No matter how great the difficulties are, they cannot stop the determination of us naval officers and soldiers.

If we violate this oath, we will be guilty of an unforgivable crime and will be torn into pieces, never to be reborn."

In this superstitious age, making such a solemn oath is truly a remarkable thing.

Zheng Guohui walked forward, held them with both hands, and said encouragingly with emotion;
"Well, you must possess this kind of fearless spirit to master the art of maneuvering an ironclad warship. Piloting this powerful warship, follow me on my expeditions to the four corners of the world, achieve great feats, receive honors for your wives and children, and spread the prestige and military might of the Great Chu across the vast seas."

These words revealed Zheng Guohui's ambition intentionally or unintentionally, and everyone was extremely excited after hearing it, and their blood boiled.

I am not afraid that my lord has ambitions, I am just afraid that my lord does not have enough ambitions!

Zheng Guohui lingered on the circular battle platform for a long time, carefully observing every design detail and having a lively discussion with everyone.

"Look, the return mechanism of this cannon is very ingeniously designed. It's simple and easy to use."

"This is the base of the triangle. The cannon is normally located at the lowest point of the triangle. If the cannon is fired, the enormous recoil will push this cannon, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds, backwards to the highest point."

"There's a huge spring designed here to offset the upward force. Look at this... do you see it?"

"After the bombardment, the cannon will automatically slide back to the lowest point of the mount under its own enormous weight, without any human effort. This is the ingenuity of the design."

"When we appreciate this cannon, we must see its mysteries, spark deep thought, and apply them to future industrial design. Can learning from others' experience polish jade?"

"The design of the revolving wheel of this revolving turret is quite unique. It makes good use of the power of the slide rails and is worth further consideration!"

"And this ingeniously designed auxiliary loading device is essentially the same as the boom on the dock, cleverly utilizing the principle of leverage." "By the way, from now on, you must study the principle of leverage thoroughly. It's a phenomenon in physics. Western learning has its own unique advantages, and I'm constantly studying it. This is how people gain daily insights, broaden their horizons, and continuously improve."

Zheng Guohui then turned into a tour guide, pointing out the mysteries of the Dahlgren cannon's design one by one, which shocked Joe Johnson and his eyes were full of admiration.

This completely overturned his three views. Joe Johnson didn't know that a Qing Dynasty official had such a deep understanding of the huge cannons cast on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Are there really people in this world who are gifted by God?
What I admire even more are the crowd of civil servants who are watching. They are all well-educated people, most of them are Jinshi or Juren. It can be said that they are well-read and knowledgeable.

But listening to the new terms that kept coming out of the Marshal's mouth, I had a sense of awe and was deeply aware of the shallowness of my own knowledge, and a deep sense of respect arose spontaneously.

Inside the circular turret, there are 21 round shells neatly stacked, each weighing 440 pounds, which are the shells originally equipped on the battleship.

Zheng Guohui specifically asked

The four ironclad ships had varying amounts of shells, with some carrying 26 shells and others carrying 17 shells, which was basically enough for two or three naval battles.

More shells, then there are none.

This also made Zheng Guohui feel a sense of urgency. The plan to trial-produce 15-inch artillery shells must be put on the agenda as soon as possible to avoid having guns without bullets.

There must be such shells in the US Navy warehouse, but Joe Johnson does not have that much time to search for them. After all, Zheng Guohui's orders are large in quantity, variety, and very complicated.

Being able to comb them out one by one is already a hassle that makes you want to pull your hair out.

In San Francisco and Los Angeles on the West Coast alone, the Bank of China hired 37 local employees to search for military surplus supplies, inquire about various auctions, and collect information on bankrupt factories and mines.

No matter what kind of factories and mines, Mindanao wants them all. The only requirement is that the price is low, the disassembled production equipment is intact, and the installation, production, training and other related matters are included.

Later, one thousand Chinese sailors arrived, followed by more than 200 students with the level of scholars or above. Most of them will enter various schools on the West Coast to study Western liberal arts and science in depth.

In their spare time, they all go to the Wan Guo Tong Bao Trading Company to help with work, such as following up on negotiations with factories and mines, collecting supplies, organizing relevant documents, disassembling and assembling machinery and equipment, transporting and shipping, and other tedious matters.

This was a plan that Zheng Guohui had prepared in advance. Due to financial constraints, he could only send more than 200 students to the west coast of North America for further studies for the time being. He would be unable to send more than that.

"Mr. Cao, come and see what's so special about this auxiliary device?" Zheng Guohui mentioned Cao Wenxiu's name with lingering interest. This was a young and middle-aged official whom he was quite optimistic about.

Cao Wenxiu is the youngest of the "Three Sages of the Cao Family". His eldest brother is Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Jinling, and his second brother is Cao Yushu, the newly appointed magistrate of Yipil County. He is thirty-one years old this year, at the stage of youth and promise, and he acts in an extremely methodical manner.

Zheng Guohui planned to send Cao Wenxiu to Cagayan, where the government was going to be established. However, he had to start from scratch.

The same was true for Cao Wenxiu and another younger official, Mu Qing. They were both planned to be placed in Port Angeles on Palawan Island, which was also the planned location for the establishment of the government seat. They were both valued.

These two people need to be patient in developing their jurisdictions, which will take at least 3 to 5 years to make Cagayan and Puerto Angeles prosperous and to demonstrate their political achievements.

Whoever develops better will have a brighter career.

"In that case, Wenxiu will show you how to do it." Cao Wenxiu walked forward generously and began to carefully examine the artillery loading auxiliary device.

After a careful examination, I had a clear idea in my mind.

Cao Wenxiu had read various books such as "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", "Dream Pool Essays", "Essential Techniques for the People" and "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art", and had gained a lot of knowledge about exquisite creations.

After carefully considering his words, Cao Wenxiu bowed respectfully to the Marshal and said respectfully;
“Reply to the commander;

After careful examination, I found that this auxiliary device uses a balance force structure, oh... that is the lever principle that the Marshal mentioned.

At one end there are several large stones placed in an iron basket to serve as ballast.

The apparent weight is between 500 and 550 pounds, slightly heavier than a round cannonball.

Moreover, this end is shorter, which facilitates the rotation operation and is not cumbersome.

The other end is tied with a long iron chain, and there is an iron claw at the bottom of the chain to grab the iron ball. There is nothing strange about this.

The secret lies in that after grabbing the iron ball, one person can shake the circular capstan to tighten the iron ball at the top of the chain and make it hang in the air, making it easier to rotate and load the shells.

Since the weights at both ends of the iron frame are similar, the iron ball can be easily lifted, thus saving effort.

The key is that this circular winch rotates and converts the upward lifting force into a twisting force through two pulleys. It is indeed very ingenious.

By extension, if it is magnified many times

It can be used in the construction of pagoda fortresses. The transportation of stones to the top of the pagoda can save workers from carrying heavy loads and greatly reduce the manpower required.

This winch handle has been specially lengthened. In my humble opinion, it should be easier to use than a shorter handle, right?

"Well said. You have captured the ingenuity of this device with almost no omissions." Zheng Guohui said with appreciation.

Don't underestimate this simple small boom, there are many details inside it.

Especially this extended winch handle, although it requires many more turns, it really saves a lot of effort.

The entire rotating turret is heavy in the front and light in the back. It only takes four or five artillerymen to push it together to turn the heavy gun body in any direction. This is also a clever use of force.

The accompanying officials found it more and more interesting as they watched, and they all talked about it, feeling that they had learned a lot.

Zheng Guohui liked this kind of atmosphere very much. After only a dozen days in Southeast Asia, these officials' horizons were broadened, as if a layer of paper in front of them had been pierced through.

Thoughts became active and all kinds of wonderful ideas emerged one after another.

Sometimes, even Zheng Guohui finds it very interesting.

He would not judge gains and losses arbitrarily, but would encourage these officials to test themselves in practice, correct their mistakes, and naturally strengthen their confidence and be willing to make more attempts if they succeeded.

Zheng Guohui is very optimistic about such new changes.

(Dear readers, please don't forget to vote for the monthly ticket and recommendation ticket to support the author's update efforts. Today I updated 10,000 words, and there is one more chapter about to be published in the late afternoon. I worked hard all night and didn't sleep. Now I'm going to catch up on my sleep. Thank you for your support!)
(End of this chapter)