Chapter 906: Ironclad

"Besides refining metal, you all should review the preparation of rubber and build the rubber production line in advance, so that once the rubber arrives, you can immediately begin production," Zhao Xu instructed.

Everything he mentioned were factors limiting industrial upgrading.

To pave the way for the Second Industrial Revolution, they needed to be solved one by one.

After staying at the Research Institute for a while longer, Zhao Xu returned to the Prince's Mansion.

He tallied up the launch times for the steamships.

That morning, he took the earliest steam locomotive on the Yan-Jing Line and headed east.

Unlike last time, this steam train was a special one for him and the officials.

Now, this steam locomotive traveling from Yancheng to Jinghai was packed with people.

Ever since this steam locomotive existed.

The common people along the route from Yancheng to Jinghai had benefited greatly.

Many commoners were able to travel from very far away to Yancheng to find work in the Workshops.

Merchants could also travel to Yancheng along with their goods via the cargo carriages behind the steam locomotive.

And this was the reason why Yancheng had suddenly become prosperous during this period.

People from all directions were gathering in Yancheng.

According to Liu Fu, Yancheng was now about to be bursting at the seams.

After running-in, the speed of this steam locomotive had reached sixty kilometers per hour.

In an hour and a half, he arrived at Jinghai.

Stepping down from his exclusive carriage, he went straight to the Shipbuilding Department's shipyard.

At this time, Zhou Yi and Chen Shou were already waiting for his arrival.

"Your Highness, your subject has delivered the second batch of thirty-six steamships on schedule," Chen Shou said, bowing upon seeing Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu looked toward the steamships in the dry dock that were preparing to be launched and nodded with satisfaction.

The current Jinghai Shipyard had twenty-four steamships, and there were another twelve at the Pingcheng Shipyard.

However, they would be launched at the same time.

Besides these, there were the sailing warships currently under construction in the dock.

"After this batch of steamships and sailing warships are launched, stop building towed steamships and sailing warships," Zhao Xu said to Chen Shou, having thought of something.

He believed that sixty steamships and sailing warships were enough to deal with the Westerners' fleets in the waters of Dongtu.

Continuing production would be a waste of resources.

Next, the military shipyard only needed to focus all efforts on building ironclad warships, large troop transports, large hospital ships, and large supply ships based on the triple-expansion steam engine.

At the same time, the civilian shipyard could build a large number of small steamships, as well as some large ferries and cargo transport ships based on the triple-expansion steam engine.

"This is exactly the problem your subject was going to report to Your Highness," Chen Shou said, feeling relieved upon hearing this.

Ever since the Research Institute's triple-expansion steam engine could be mass-produced in factories.

He had believed that the Jinghai Shipyard should no longer continue building small steamships and sailing warships.

This was a waste of the Jinghai Shipyard's resources.

Freeing up these resources to move toward the construction of ironclad warships would be more valuable.

If the Yanzhou Navy still needed small steamships and sailing warships, they could be handed over to the shipyard in Qizhou.

"Hahaha, great minds truly think alike," Zhao Xu laughed.

Then, his gaze was immediately drawn to a warship under construction.

The length of this warship was nearly double that of previous sailing warships,

being about one hundred and twenty-four meters long and around eighteen meters wide.

However, because construction had not been going on for long, the wooden planks on the keels on both sides had not yet been fully installed.

But even so, he knew clearly that this was the Great Song's first future ironclad warship.

"After it is launched, it will shock the world, raise our national prestige, and will surely leave a heavy mark in history," Zhao Xu said.

Chen Shou wore an expression like one gazing at a beloved child as he introduced it to Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, this ironclad warship will be equipped with ten boilers to burn water, providing powerful propulsion for the triple-expansion steam engine. Your subject estimates its speed will reach thirty kilometers per hour."

"At the same time, because the warship's volume is large, there is no need to reduce the number of artillery pieces. This ironclad warship will possess eighty-six front-loading rifled naval guns; in terms of both defense and firepower, no warship will be able to rival it."

Zhao Xu became increasingly expectant as Chen Shou spoke.

This ironclad warship had been under construction for less than half a year, and because it was more complex than a sailing warship, he estimated the construction period would take at least two years.

That is to say, he would have to wait another year and a half before the ironclad warship could be launched.

However, he was not in a hurry.

His current focus was to drive the Westerners out of Dongtu and incorporate the entire Dongtu into the Great Song's sphere of influence.

Afterward, he would deal with the enemies in the North Territory.

Of course, he would not forget the independent continent in the southern seas—Australia.

Following this order to achieve his goals one by one, it would likely take two or three years.

By then, the ironclad warship would be launched, and it could serve as the vanguard for him to head into the deep sea and seize maritime hegemony.

"By the way, how have you and Wang Chong and his son discussed the rotating turret?" Zhao Xu asked, having thought of something.

The ironclad warship being built this time, besides inheriting the gun positions on both sides of the sailing warships,

also had four rotating artillery pieces designed for it.

Two were on the front deck, and two were on the rear deck.

These four artillery pieces would be fixed onto rotating trays.

The principle was similar to the rotating glass circular tray on a dining table in a restaurant.

An ironclad warship with only side gun positions was merely an immature design of an early ironclad warship.

Later-stage Ironclad Warships were basically all equipped with Rotating Turrets.

In this way, the Artillery could attack the opponent's Warship without needing to adjust the sailing posture. Compared to Warships that only had gun positions on the sides, the advantage was immense.

"The father and son patted their chests and took full responsibility for this matter, letting this subject only be responsible for the installation," Chen Shou laughed; his cooperation with the two of them was very pleasant.

The father and son were also very compatible with him.

"That is good; with this, this Prince can wait for the arrival of the Ironclad Warship with peace of mind," Zhao Xu said.

"Not just this one; after this batch of Steamships is launched, these Dry Docks can all be used to manufacture Ironclad Warships. This subject will give Your Highness a fleet composed of Ironclad Warships," Chen Shou said ambitiously.

After his voice fell, Zhao Xu did not react much, but Zhou Yi laughed out loud first, "Director Chen, when that day comes, I will personally pour tea and water for you."

"I don't care for that," Chen Shou snorted through his nose.

Then, he also could not hold it in and laughed.

The three of them laughed for a while before shifting their attention to the Steamships about to be launched.

The longing for Ironclad Warships made them feel that the Steamships before them were rather ordinary.

However, the launching ceremony still had to be carried out.

After Zhao Xu conveyed the order to launch, twenty-four Steamships slowly sailed from the Dry Docks toward the sea.

Looking at the Steamships emitting columns of smoke, Zhou Yi put his hands on his hips with a self-satisfied expression and said, "Your Highness, this general intends to send this batch of Steamships to Wufeng Island to coordinate with Gong Ying and the Four Domains of the North Territory to launch an attack on Watanabe."

"There is no time to lose; let them head to Dongying now. Dong An has likely already met with the four domain lords, and the war is about to break out," Zhao Xu said.

Dongying is a country without depth, with its longest distance from east to west being no more than three or four hundred li.

This means that they can support the Four Domains of the North Territory from the sea at any time.