Chapter 78 ugly battleships
Portsmouth is the largest naval base in Britain, where 60% of the warships are moored, and it is also the headquarters of the famous Armstrong Shipyard.
When the cruise ship slowly entered Portsmouth Harbour, Li Mo, standing on the deck, couldn't help taking a deep breath. As far as he could see, the dense ships along the coast of the port, the huge docks in the distance and countless piercing chimneys showed people what the most powerful empire of this era was!
The Spaniards, the Dutch, the French, etc. These countries have all risen in front of the empire and were eventually trampled under their feet. When these targets sink in front of them one by one, no one will even feel that the sun will fall from Britain one day!
However, as a traveler in later generations, Li Mo is deeply aware that the United States has quietly caught up in terms of economy. The rise of Germany on the European continent has made the British afraid, and the Russian emperor Nicholas II, who was afraid of internal greed and stinginess, has made Britain restless in the Far East. Only the Anglo-Japanese alliance can lead to the Russian War!
The British did not allow Russia to expand in the Far East, so they supported Japan to take the stage. So if they intervened in the Far East, how would the huge thing in front of them deal with themselves? At the thought of the huge fleet of hundreds of ships stopping in front of Pearl Harbor, Master Li's face turned green!
What can you do if you have money? What if we get a steam turbine? Without four or five years of accumulation, Master Li can't even build thousands of tons of cruisers, not to mention more complex and more advanced dreadnoughts!
The young master is still weak!
I thought that my shipyard on Oahu was quite big, but I didn't expect that only one Portsmouth was more than ten times bigger than him, not to mention the whole British Empire. But Oahu, Hawaii, is such a big place. According to someone in later generations, it's a small country! No matter how much you increase and expand the shipyard, it can't be compared with the United Kingdom. What's more, Hawaii lacks resources, and all materials need to be transported by sea. Once cut off, the consequences are unimaginable!
"It seems that we still need to find a plot of land! Why don't you beat down Alaska?" Li Mo held the armrest and thought about it.
"Young master!"
Before Li Mo wanted to pull the territory into his arms first, he was almost strangled by Chen Ping's two iron arms as soon as he got off the boat with Du Dazhuang. This guy is doing well in Europe, at least his face is much whiter. Li Mo muttered in his heart and hugged Chen Ping tightly. The two had been separated for a whole year.
"Hi! Dear Li, I miss you so so that I miss you so. Another strange cry came. There was no need to look back. Li Mo also knew that it was the bearded Simmons who was sent to receive the warship.
"I hate beards!" Simmons was fatter than when he met last time. After seeing Li Mo, he wanted to hug him fiercely, but he was kicked away by Master Li: "Especially Chile's beard!"
"Haha."
Simmons has known Master Li's habits for a long time. He suffered many times when he was in Chile last year, so he immediately turned around and dodged and said, "Li, you can't kick me anymore, you know? I'm the commander-in-chief of your torpedo ship!"
"How dare you say torpedo ship!" Speaking of the torpedo ship, Li Mo was angry. This guy trapped himself tens of thousands of pounds in each ship. As a result, when he telegraphed to Qiu Zishan last time, he actually said that he had just laid the first keel!
Damn, the young master's money is too easy to make!
"Oh. Don't worry, I love Li. After avoiding Li Mo's big feet, Simmons ran out with a smile and shouted, "Don't worry, you will get all the torpedo ships in two years."
"Why are you running outside? Didn't you come to greet me? Is it possible that the young master's shadowless legs have reached the point where the leg wind can hurt people invisible? I'm wondering why Simmons is going? In less than a while, a strange four-wheeled car suddenly appeared outside the dock, looking at Simmons sitting in the exposed cab and waving proudly at him. Master Li was dizzy!
Four-wheeled car?!!
Li Mo shook his head. Didn't he say that Daimler launched the first four-wheel VELO in 1894? This should be the era when tricycles are rampant!
Master Li is very curious. Has anyone traveled to Europe earlier than himself? So I hurried to the car and checked it carefully. The body design is very small and narrow, with no shell. The single-cylinder engine is placed behind the cab and wrapped in a piece of iron. It is huge and noisy. The power is the most used kerosene engine in Europe at this moment, and the taste is a little pungent.
However, from Li Mo's perspective, this car is still relatively successful in design. Although it is not as perfect as the Ford Model T, it can be regarded as a very successful design in this era.
The cab is so small that it can't squeeze four people, so Li Mo kicked Simmons to the back and let him lie down. Oh, no, it was to let him and Du Dazhuang "hang" behind the car, stunned by the passers-by and Simmons around him, and climbed into the cab to start driving.
"..." Simmons and Chen Ping's eyes widened. Did the young master drive a car?
I've driven it, but I've never driven it so old! Li Mo was in a hurry and it took a few minutes to initially master the surname of the vehicle. And Simmons also woke up from his astonishment and proudly introduced his new toy to him.
Li Mo guessed it well. This car is indeed Daimler's new product, which is still in the test period. There are very few on the market. This was the last time Chen Ping went to recruit Deteller. He happened to meet someone's test. Simmons saw that it was fun and spent a lot of money to buy one.
He also said proudly that this was specially prepared for Li Mo to come to Europe!
"Fuck you!" While pointing his middle finger at Simmons, Li Mo scolded in his heart that he had made too much money! Spend a hundred pounds on this stuff? It's like having money and nowhere to spend it!
After the contempt, Li Mo smiled again at the corners of his mouth. Haven't he been thinking about the problem of industrial workers? What else can train a large number of industrial workers than the automobile industry?
However, before he finished secretly, he got a bad news, because he sent it two days late, so the delivery ceremony of the two cruisers was held yesterday. Chen Ping couldn't do anything about this. After all, it was a warship secretly ordered by Chile. If he left one day earlier, he could also reveal less secrets.
"It's a pity..." Li Mo didn't talk about it. He didn't expect that he had circled half of the earth, and he was still a step late. He blamed the big-headed monsters for pestering himself to waste time and deduct all his wages when he went back!
Seeing that Li Mo was disappointed, Simmons didn't care at all: "Li, if you want to see the warship, I have a way."
"Oh?" Li Mo is interested.
"Have you forgotten? I am a warship supervisor. According to the agreement between the two countries, I can check the manufacturing progress and quality of the warship at any time, so if you invite me a glass of wine, maybe I will take you in. Haha..." . Simmons said at the end and laughed.
Continue to despise you with your middle finger!
This guy's character is really a bitch! Black my money, delay my schedule, and see if the warship still wants to blackmail my wine. Who does this kind of person despise if he doesn't despise it? Don't look! At worst, after the young master waited for the warship to return to Hawaii, he closed the door and came to visit alone!
But in the end, Li Mo still failed to withstand the battleship's **. After being blackmailed by Simmons for three bottles of Lafite, he finally found an opportunity to sneak into the supervision team and enter the shipyard.
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It's ugly!
Standing under the 10,000-ton big iron guy, Li Mo didn't feel excited. He just felt that it was worthless to spend this money. Compared with the smooth hull of later generations, the big guy in front of him now is like lowering his head and being blocked by his big belly. He can't see his second brother, and he is still full of pimples. Uncle.
Excredly ugly! Li Mo curled his lips.
The hull is copied from the high trunk of the Junquan class, and the design concept of the flat deck has improved the airworthiness surname. But the bow was inserted straight into the water. There is no way. The processing technology of the Atlantic bow is high, and the design concept of the outer float has not been widely adopted, not to mention the design of the ball nose!
The two high chimneys have been changed back to the design of the front and the back, instead of adopting a side-by-line design like the royal power level. There are two high masts one in the front and one in the back. The bridge has been raised a lot according to the requirements, but the command tower is too much. It's okay to put it under the bridge and protect it with armor, but the semi-cylinder design that is deeply sunken is like a Spartan warrior with armor and no neck!
The power is also terrible! Sixteen boilers, two three-expansion reciprocating steam engines, three-leaf propellers, and double-axis propulsion, everything can only be said to be normal.
The most ugly thing is the main turret. The outer wall is actually vertical down, just like a large square box. There is no concept of inclined armor at all. Not to mention improving the bullet resistance, the huge opening at the root of the barrel alone is very ugly.
As for the cannons on both sides, hey! It's really ugly. When will the young master use the full turret? As for the interior of the warship, it is still sloppy. At least the telephone system in the ship has begun to be used, and there is no need to shout at the iron pipe.
Forget it, it's good to be like this in 1892!
Li Mo frowned all the way and looked at his warship. The battleship was basically formed, and the main gun had been installed. If everything went well, it would be time to go into the water in a few days. Judging from the progress, the British did not brag.
As the head of the delegation, Simmons is very familiar with those British engineers. He visited and greeted people all the way. How can he remember to check the quality? Master Li shouted so angrily, but he can't run over and kick his buttocks, can he?" Forget it, anyway, the British are honest, at least they didn't cheat themselves in terms of armor thickness.
Touching the cold armored hull, Li Mo raised his eyelids and sighed!
It's so ugly!
When will the young master be able to use the dreadnought?
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