：→：
The next day, early in the morning.
After breakfast, the imperial envoys represented by Tan Wenxue and Zhang Youwei officially prepared to set off.
Officials from the Guangdong Road Transport Office and local government representatives from Guangzhou came to see him off.
The ships and the men were ready.
After the imperial court issued the order, Guangdong Road took on the task of dispatching and escorting.
Send guides and translators to escort the delegation all the way west.
Naturally, this mission was not as big as Zheng He's, with a large group of tens of thousands of people.
But there are also more than 5,000 people.
In addition to the more than 100 people in the diplomatic mission, there were also a large number of fleet sailors, attendants, soldiers, and some personnel led by many guides and translators.
However, the Guangzhou Navy led 5,000 people out to sea, accompanied by an ironclad ship and several supply ships of the Jinghai Navy.
In this way, at least during the period of the fleet in the South China Sea, it maintained a size of more than 100 ships and 13,000 people.
The Song Dynasty's navy has not developed over the years. It still has seven fleets, each with 5,000 people, and the number of active naval soldiers is 35,000.
Even if the relevant logistics, maintenance, support, supply and other personnel are included, the total number is only more than 50,000, which is not a significant increase in scale.
However, the strength of the navy has achieved a qualitative leap.
Since the first ironclad ship was launched in the seventh year of the Qingli period, there are now six of them, and the seventh is under construction, so as to ensure that each navy has at least one ironclad ship.
And as the technology of ironclad ships became more mature, the ironclad ships produced later became more powerful.
For example, the first ironclad ship had a displacement of only 500 tons, the second one had a displacement of 1,200 tons, the third one had a displacement of 1,800 tons, and the fourth one had a displacement of 2,600 tons.
By the time the sixth ship arrived, it had reached 5,900 tons, with a total length of 72 meters and a width of 16 meters. Its average cruising speed was 13 knots, and its maximum speed at full power could reach 18 knots.
Therefore, while improving the quality, the Song Dynasty did not increase the number of troops. It was enough to ensure the continuous production of ironclad ships.
After all, with the current size of the navy, it is already possible to guarantee absolute control of the oceans, which is enough for the Song Dynasty to dominate the entire world's oceans and thus occupy a dominant position in global trade.
As for further improvement, there is no need for it for the time being.
Because if the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty Navy is compared to 100, then the combat effectiveness of the navies of all countries in the world can only be considered 5.
All added together, it's just a piece of trash with a combat power of 5.
Many countries don't even have large ships over 20 meters. They only have small boats like fishing boats. No matter how many there are, it is useless. They don't have firearms and can't get close to the Song Dynasty Navy.
Therefore, whether it is 100 against 5 or 1,000 against 5, there is actually no difference. Continuing to improve the navy's combat effectiveness is just a waste of national strength.
Therefore, the current national policy of the Song Dynasty is to fully develop the economy and technology, and it is sufficient to steadily maintain and improve the combat effectiveness of the army.
Once industrial accumulation is sufficient, upgrading armaments will be a natural thing to do.
"The Director said that after industrialization began, it was like a train that was always moving forward. It could only move forward, not backward. Now, our Great Song Dynasty is rising like the morning sun, and its momentum is unstoppable."
After the hour of Chen, Wang Han looked at the rising sun on the dock, with a rising sense of pride in his eyes.
Guangzhou officials such as Su Yan also stood with their heads held high.
Under the scorching sun, countless merchant ships raised their sails on the Pearl River wharf, and countless large ships sailed towards Guangzhou.
Among these thousands of huge ships, there was an extremely large one with two tall sails. A huge chimney emerged from the middle, and billowing white smoke rose straight into the sky. The ship with a ferocious appearance was extremely dazzling.
This ship is the second ironclad ship of the Song Dynasty - Guangzhou.
Because the war in the north had ended, after the first ironclad ship Taizhou was delivered to the Ninghai Army stationed in Taizhou, the Song Dynasty began to focus on the south.
Southeast Asia to be precise.
Therefore, the second ironclad ship was immediately equipped to the Jinghai Army stationed in Guangzhou to develop Mayit, Srivijaya and other places.
Compared to the Taizhou, which is only 33 meters long and 6 meters wide, the Guangzhou is 46 meters long and 8 meters wide. It may appear to be only 10 meters longer and 2 meters wider, but its load capacity and displacement are doubled.
The main reason is that the Taizhou is not fully armored, but only armored on the outside. Most of the internal parts and craftsmanship are the same as those of the Song Dynasty ships, so the main part is similar to the ordinary Song Dynasty ships, except that it has iron armor on the outside and two steam engines inside.
Later ironclad ships gradually increased the proportion of steel and the number of steam engines.
For example, by the time of the sixth ironclad ship, the Dengzhou, owned by the Shandong Weihai Navy, this giant ship had replaced most of its hull with steel, and the number of steam engines had reached 10.
The seventh ironclad ship under construction is made entirely of steel. It is expected to be 130 meters long and 19 meters wide, with a displacement of more than 9,000 tons and 12 steam engines, making it a giant.
Although the Guangzhou's improvement was not much compared to the Taizhou, its size was already very exaggerated compared to those ordinary merchant ships docked at the port.
The largest seagoing vessel of the Song Dynasty could reach over 100 meters in length. Although it could not be compared with the Fujian ships that Zheng He used to sail to the West, it was not much different.
However, few people would choose it to go overseas.
Firstly, such a large ship is very expensive and ordinary merchants cannot afford it.
Secondly, ancient wooden ships had poor ability to withstand wind and waves. If a ship was too large, even if it could carry a lot of cargo, it would most likely capsize once it encountered a storm.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
