Chapter 155: Ironclad Ships Are Invincible (First Update, Please Subscribe)

Ironclad ships of that time were almost all like this, they simply nailed a layer of iron sheet onto the wooden hull and it became an ironclad ship.

As the first "ironclad ship" built by Nanhua, it is also like this. In fact, it is essentially a wooden ship.

Nanhua actually built an "ironclad ship"... To be honest, in Zhu Xianhai's opinion, this "ironclad ship" with only a layer of iron plate nailed on it is basically a steam version of the "turtle ship". Yes, it is the thing that was nailed with a layer of iron plate by Korea during Wanli's expedition to Korea.

Well, it seems that during the Civil War, the ironclad ships of the Americans were almost all covered with a layer of iron sheet above the waterline, two inches thick.

However, an inch thick iron plate is enough here, after all, customers’ needs are different!

Zhu Xianhai asked, staring at the sharp steel ram in front of the iron keel in the dock.

"Is the ram strong enough?"

"It must be strong enough. The main body of the ram is integrated with the keel. It is definitely strong enough."

After answering in the affirmative, Liang Mingwei asked curiously again.

"Boss, is this ram useful? I heard from Chief Engineer Hares that this ram is completely useless, just like, just like..."

Looking at the boss, Liang Mingwei said.

"Just like its ten-inch gun, it seems to be of little use."

Why isn't Hares, the shipyard's chief engineer, here?

In a word, he simply couldn't understand why the company would insist on building such an ordinary ship. In his opinion, even if the company wanted to build a warship, it could start step by step with an ordinary wooden hull warship instead of taking a different approach.

Compared to this kind of "little thing" that could be sunk by wind and waves even when going out to sea, he would rather build merchant ships - an iron-ribbed clipper ship is being built in another shipyard.

"What do you mean by not very useful? He doesn't understand at all!"

Zhu Xianhai simply sneered at Harris's judgment.

"He may be right about the cannon, but this ram will definitely be useful. It may even become the most important weapon of this ship. After all, sometimes the ten-inch cannon may not be used, but the ram will definitely come in handy. It is used to sink the enemy ship. Just rush forward and ram it!"

A few years later, the Battle of Lissa was the first major sea battle involving steam-powered armored ships. Naval battles proved that using artillery to deal with armored warships was no longer effective. Steam-powered ships were highly maneuverable and could quickly transform into various combat formations. The Austro-Hungarian fleet used ramming tactics in the Battle of Lissa, which was successful many times, so this ancient tactic was revived. From then on until the beginning of the 20th century, rams were installed on warships of most countries.

"No matter how big or small the enemy warship is, a ram like this will sink it instantly! I can guarantee that this will definitely meet the customer's needs! As for the ten-inch cannon..."

Zhu Xianhai smiled and said.

"The ten-inch Dahlgren cannon is powerful enough, but it is not actually needed. Using such a cannon to bombard the Hunan Army's small wooden boats is a waste of firepower. It is better to ram them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Mingwei said in surprise.

"What? This ship is going to attack the Hunan Army? Dong... Boss, what does this mean?"

Looking at Liang Mingwei who looked confused, Zhu Xianhai smiled.

"We're going to sell this ship to the Taiping Army to make a lot of money!"

Pointing at the boat in the dock, Zhu Xianhai said proudly.

"Look, how much can such an ironclad ship with iron armor and ten-inch cannons sell for? How much is our construction cost? The budget is less than 50,000 silver dollars, but after we ship such a ship back to China and sell it to the Taiping Army, we can sell it for at least 400,000 or 500,000 taels, or 600,000 or 700,000 silver dollars! This is a profit of more than ten or twenty times! However, none of this is important. What is important is that with this ironclad ship, the Taiping Army can not only break the Qing army's blockade of Tianjing, but also roam the Yangtze River!"

Liang Mingwei stared at the boss with his eyes wide open, speechless with astonishment. The boss... how much he must hate the Qing Dynasty!

Even in America, he did not forget to bring disaster to the Qing Dynasty!

How could Liang Mingwei understand Zhu Xianhai's anxiety!

Through the news brought by the second batch of immigrants, he roughly understood the situation in China. Although the siege of Tianjing was lifted after the Jiangnan Camp was broken for the second time two years ago, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was still in chaos. Hong Xiuquan was still obsessed with the gentle life of thousands of people, and the government was controlled by his brothers Hong Renda and Hong Renfa.

Li Xiucheng, who looked down on the two of them for controlling the government and constantly wrote to them to demand reforms, focused on running his own Sufu Province after suffering repeated setbacks. He had already captured Hangzhou at the end of last year.

Then what?

It was also this year that Zeng Guofan planned a three-pronged attack on Tianjing, and then laid siege to Tianjing. This siege lasted for several years. It was this siege that earned Zeng Guofan the nickname "Zeng Iron Bucket". It was also this siege that ended the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's fate. A year later, Zeng Guoquan stationed at Xiaolingwei in the east of the city. Two years later, the Hunan Army captured Tianbao City on the top of Purple Mountain.

And what about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?

It’s cold!

In the three-year defense of Tianjing, Zeng Tietong relied on his iron-barreled encirclement to attract hundreds of thousands of Taiping troops to return. Li Xiucheng, who had just conquered Hangzhou, was forced to abandon Hangzhou and lead his army back to Tianjing. This time, the good situation he had worked so hard to build was broken. In just one or two years, the Sufu Province he had worked so hard to build was completely seized by Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others. From the moment Zeng Tietong's troops arrived at the gates of Tianjing, the strategic initiative fell into the hands of the Qing army.

To put it bluntly, the Battle of Tianjing was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s farewell performance!

How to break the “iron barrel encirclement” of “Zeng Tietong”?

Zhu Xianhai had been thinking about this problem. After much deliberation, he turned his attention to the Yangtze River and the Hunan Army's navy. What did the Hunan Army rely on to fight for a long time under the city of Tianjing?

It was by controlling the Yangtze River with the navy that the Taiping Army in the north could not move southward, and the navy also ensured the smooth flow of logistics supply. As long as the Hunan Army's navy was broken, Zeng Tietong's deep trenches and strong fortifications under the city of Nanjing would become a decoration - without the food, grass and gunpowder from the rear, how long could they hold out?

In history, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was unable to lift the siege of the Hunan Army, so it eventually went to the end of the country. As long as the navy can be defeated, the siege can be lifted and the country will not be destroyed!

At least, I can hold on for a few more years!

It was almost impossible for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to defeat the Hunan Navy and seize control of the Yangtze River by relying on those wooden boats. After all, the current Taiping Army was no longer the same as before, and that invincible navy was finished long ago.

So if you want to defeat the Hunan Navy, you have to find another way. What should you do? The simplest way is to crush it through technology. For the Hunan Navy of this era, such an "ironclad ship", even if it is an ironclad ship covered with a layer of iron, is invincible.

With it, crushing the Hunan Navy is as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

Liang Mingwei came back to his senses from his astonishment, first looked at the "ironclad ship" in the dock where the boards had already been nailed, then looked at his boss, and then said.

"Boss, can this ship travel so far across the ocean? What if it sinks midway?"

"fine!"

Zhu Xianhai smiled proudly.

"We have the Great Eastern ..."

(End of this chapter)