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Part One: Penghu Storm Chapter 240: Battleship Development, Drought!

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    The crimes committed by the so-called "great" navigator Vasco da Gama were enough to warrant him being hanged a hundred times.

    When Gamada Gama left India on his second eastward voyage, he left behind five ships. These ships continued to plunder Arab merchant ships and hit the trade between Egypt and India.  To this end, King Zamerin of Calicut, India, organized an army of 50,000 to fight back against the Portuguese and their allies, the Cochins in India, forcing the Portuguese and Cochin troops to flee to a small island until another Portuguese fleet arrived in 1504.  Only later did the siege come to an end.

    In 1505, after Da Gama returned to Portugal, he suggested that fleets should be sent to East Africa and India to strengthen the newly established Portuguese colonies. Only by stationing a permanent army in the Indian Ocean could the Indian Ocean be fully controlled.  Almeida accepted the Portuguese appointment and sailed to the Indian Ocean with 20 ships, 1,500 soldiers, more than 200 gunners, and hundreds of sailors and craftsmen.

    After Almeida¡¯s fleet entered the Indian Ocean, it controlled port trade on the one hand, and actively attacked Arab and Iranian merchant ships on the other.  In 1506, the Portuguese captured Socotra, the outlet of the Gulf of Aden, and then captured the city of Hormuz, the outlet of the Persian Gulf, and the city of Diu in India, and turned Cochin, India, which was allied with Portugal, into Portuguese trade  center.

    The Portuguese's rampage in the Indian Ocean shifted the center of trade between Europe and the East from Venice to Lisbon and Antwerp. This caused great damage to the interests of the Venetians who had previously controlled Eastern trade. In 1504, their merchant ships no longer had any spices in the Mediterranean ports.  Pretended, this caused strong dissatisfaction among the Venetians.

    The Venetians decided to help Egypt build a fleet to fight the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean.

    The Ottoman Sultan was also attacked by Portuguese ships because of his own ships.  Mediterranean galleys manned by Greek sailors were sent to Egypt as support.  The ships were disassembled in Alexandria by Venetian craftsmen and then shipped to the Red Sea coast for reassembly.  This new fleet first garrisoned the port of Jeddah in 1507 to guard against Portuguese attacks.  Then passing through the port of Aden, in 1508, they crossed the Indian Ocean to the Indian city of Diu.

    Because of their common religious beliefs and maritime interests, Catlett formed an alliance with the Sultan of Egypt, a branch of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.  The combined fleet composed of the Ottoman Empire, the Indian State of Calicut and the Sultan of Gujara was about to fight the Portuguese.

    The Portuguese have 5 large Karak sailing ships and 4 small Karak sailing ships.  6 caravels and 3 other small boats, with 1800 Portuguese soldiers and 400 Indian Cochin soldiers on board.  The carrack has four masts with jibs and square sails.  There is enough power to increase the speed of the ship, and it can sail either with the wind or against the wind.

    The gunpowder invented by the Chinese spread to the West, and artillery was mounted on warships.  Portuguese ships have multiple decks that can house heavy artillery. The side guns can fire shells from the bow and sides of the ship. The guns have large caliber and are operated by skilled gunners. Portuguese warships are built for sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.  Excellent wave resistance.  And the hull is strong and can withstand attacks by small ships. The combined fleet has 2,000 ships and 20,000 soldiers, of which there are only 12 large ships.  The rest were sloops.  This huge fleet attacked a Portuguese fleet in Dabur last year. Now they have a large number of self-sufficiency and an absolute advantage in the number of soldiers. They do not take the Portuguese fleet in Diu into consideration at all.

    When the Portuguese fleet faced the combined fleet.  Almeida ordered 18 warships to connect bow and stern.  Form a line to meet the enemy fleet.  The warships of the combined fleet rushed towards the enemy ships according to traditional tactics, trying to ram and get closer to the enemy ships. Then soldiers holding scimitars climbed onto the enemy warships and started fighting.  The cannons on the Portuguese warships gave them no chance to get close.  All Portuguese artillery aimed at the waterline of the enemy ship when the enemy was 200 yards away from itself, and all the ship's broadside guns fired simultaneously.  After a hail of bullets flew by, a dozen combined fleet warships were sunk.  Then the Portuguese gunners quickly reloaded the gunpowder packets prepared before the war into the gun barrels, and quickly fired them again and again, sinking batches of United Fleet warships.  When the warships of the United Fleet rushed to a distance of 100 yards from the Portuguese warships, many of them were sunk and destroyed by shells fired by the opponent's large-caliber, long-range cannons.

    People in the United Fleet may have forgotten that in 1501, during Da Gama's second eastward voyage to the Indian Ocean, he fought an Arab merchant ship at Marbala. In that battle, the cannons on the Portuguese ship easily destroyed the Arab sloop  Sunk, that naval battle was the first time artillery sunk an enemy ship.  This time it was just that there were so few Portuguese cannons targeting so many sloops, and more were sunk.

    The sloops of the United Fleet cannot be equipped with heavy guns. The two sides of the Mediterranean-style row-row ship are the oarsmen's positions. If the cannons are installed, there will be no power to row. Only the bow and stern can be installed with guns, and the range of the guns on these large ships is too close.  , the power was too small, even if a few shells fell on the Portuguese ship, it would be of no avail and could not cause fatal damage to the Portuguese warship.

    of the combined fleetThe numerous soldiers on the warship only have bows and arrows and scimitars. How can the range and power of bows and arrows be compared with artillery? In a confrontation between cold weapons and artillery, they will only get beaten.  Despite this, the warships of the United Fleet charged bravely at the risk of being sunk.

    Some joint fleet warships approached the Portuguese warships. After the two sides connected, they discovered that the Portuguese warships had high sides and the soldiers of the combined fleet could not climb aboard.  The condescending Portuguese soldiers held muskets in their hands. They were well-equipped, good at shooting, and could also throw grenades very skillfully. These firearms beat the soldiers of the United Fleet to the point where they could not raise their heads.

    The result of the battle is self-evident. The Portuguese defeated the combined fleet with fewer victories and almost no losses.

    The failure of the combined fleet was due to the backward performance of the warships and the backward combat weapons. At this time, the naval battle was no longer about two ships hitting each other, shooting bows and arrows, throwing javelins, stones, and hand-to-hand combat. It was long-distance artillery bombardment.  See whose cannon is more powerful and has a longer range.

    After the Battle of Diu, the Portuguese relied on their artillery superiority to defeat their opponents at sea, and then they occupied Goa, India.  , Malacca, followed by Colombo, Java, and Sumatra.  Then occupy Macau, China.

    All of this, the reason why Portugal, a country called Folangji in the Ming Dynasty, is able to dominate the sea relies on their advanced warships and powerful artillery advantages.

    Eighteen ships defeated two thousand ships.  This is hard to imagine, but the Franconians did it.

    The Battle of Diu has always been deeply imprinted in Ding Yunyi's mind, and it inspired him a lot.  A powerful fleet.  It's not about how many warships it has, but how advanced its warships and artillery are.

    Ding Yunyi¡¯s biggest enemy at sea is Zheng Zhilong.

    In terms of quantity, the Huben Guard Navy cannot compare to the Zheng Family Navy.  So once a decisive battle breaks out, the only way to win is quality.

    Use more advanced warships and more advanced artillery to win the decisive battle in the future!

    Taiwan¡¯s shipbuilding industry has taken a big step forward.

    The most advantageous thing is that Zheng Zhilong, who currently has huge maritime power, has begun to stop making progress.  He firmly believes that no one can challenge his maritime supremacy, not even the Ming Dynasty Navy, nor Hongyi.

    He owns thousands of ships of various types, owns the Nan'an Ishii Shipyard, and has everything that others can only dream of.  So he thought that everything was enough, and the only thing he concentrated on was how to keep everything he had.

    But if you don¡¯t advance, you will retreat.

    He didn¡¯t know that the whole world was developing at a rapid pace, and he didn¡¯t know that the shipbuilding and gun-building technology of many countries in Europe and the West had surpassed that of the Ming Dynasty.

    Especially the victory in the naval battle of Liaoluo Bay.  This further strengthened his belief that the Zheng family navy was invincible.  But he didn't know that the Hongyi warship had never experienced the Ming Dynasty's two-wing assault and fire ship tactics.

    In particular, the Red Yi warships were slow, and the patterns they were accustomed to using, such as inserting around the back and attacking from the stern, were difficult to work against the Ming Dynasty warships.

    Once Hongyi pays attention to this and improves it.  Then it will be difficult to predict the outcome of the Liaoluowan naval battle again.

    Ding Yunyi has fully paid attention to this point. The completion of the Taiwan Shipyard has made him take the most solid step.

    Building an ironclad ship is currently a fantasy, but we can build newer ships, improve their operating speed, install more lethal cannons, and use quality to defeat the Zheng family's navy in quantity!

    "The shipbuilding workshop must speed up its development. You don't have to worry about money." Ding Yunyi said thoughtfully: "I will give you as much money as you need. Also, send people to recruit craftsmen all along the coast. The salaries will be generous, Fo Lang.  We must also recruit as many outstanding technicians as possible from the Machine Country and the Dry Silk Country. Those who are willing to come will be paid. If they are not willing to come, they will be brought to me! We will build a large-scale one for me by the end of next year.¡±

    The generals know that when the Lord comes back this time, he is ready to fight with all his strength!

    "Where is the Firearms Bureau?" Ding Yunyi asked about this topic that he was also concerned about.

    "The development of the firearms bureau is far behind the progress of the shipyard." Qin Yun said calmly: "At first, we thought it was very convenient, but we didn't expect that the order issued by the Hongyi technician shocked us. It continued until the adults returned to Taiwan.  At this time, the necessary supplies were barely purchased.¡±

    "Well, we can't rush this matter. Firearms require the most careful preparation and manufacturing." Ding Yunyi didn't take it seriously: "It's still the same thing. The Thai and Western people have a lot of experience in artillery, so we still need to put them to good use. Use the other's spear to attack the other.  We are studying now. After studying for a few years, our own technology will mature, then we can learn from students.Become a master.  "

    The shipyard and firearms bureau are the two projects that Ding Yunyi is most concerned about. Although the progress is not fast, they have begun to develop. This also reassures Ding Yunyi, who has been fighting in the Central Plains for a long time.

    In central Taiwan, Su Yang¡¯s governance was also very effective.  He first established Ding Yunyi's prestige and credibility in the central region, and then transformed central Taiwan step by step in his own way, so that it was finally completely controlled by Ding Yunyi.

    Natural disasters cannot be reversed, but deliberate management can reverse the damage caused by natural disasters to the greatest extent.

    Romande Romandelan has arrived with his own selected research team and started working immediately.

    In recent years, the most frequent disaster in Taiwan has been drought, which rarely occurred before.

    Taiwan is a disaster-prone region. Floods, winds, earthquakes and droughts have all caused great disasters to Taiwan.  But unlike the first three disasters, droughts do not occur frequently in Taiwan.  However, once a drought occurs, it will seriously affect the development of Taiwan's agriculture.

    What is particularly troublesome is that due to Taiwan¡¯s special terrain, once a drought occurs, the disaster response experience used in the mainland will not be of any use in Taiwan.

    According to Romande¡¯s research, Taiwan has abundant rainfall, but the rainfall is unevenly distributed in various places, leading to droughts.  Taiwan is a swampy place, and when there is severe drought, the severe drought will lead to no grain harvest.

    Taiwan has the most drought in summer, followed by autumn drought, and then spring drought.

    Winter is about to enter now, and the spring drought will come soon. On this point, Romande and Su Yang both have the same view on seeking fate.

    "Not only Taiwan, Romande predicts that there will be a severe drought in Penghu this time." Qin Yun smiled bitterly: "Romande told me that he had been to Penghu. There are no mountains and rivers in Penghu, and the soil on the island is barren.  It is also in the rain shadow area, so there is very little rainfall and insufficient supply. Therefore, droughts occur more frequently than in other places.¡±

    Ding Yunyi didn't stay in Penghu for a long time, and the people in Penghu were already accustomed to droughts. Most of them made a living by fishing, and few grew crops. Therefore, during the time when Ding Yunyi governed Penghu, he felt the impact of drought on agriculture.  It's not very deep.

    The problem in Penghu is easy to solve, but the problem in Taiwan is more troublesome.

    "In addition to God's will, man-made causes are also very important for droughts." Qin Yun continued: "Romande said that since the Hongyi arrived in Taiwan, people have been migrating here, especially Zheng Zhilong's several major migrations to Taiwan.  Many people took the risk to cross Taiwan because they were greedy for the wide land. All this led to a rapid increase in the population of Taiwan. The most important thing for survival was to solve the problem of food and clothing, so they cut down trees as a way of making a living.  What's more, they directly set fire to the forest and diverted water to dredge, resulting in the increase of a large amount of cultivated land, but destroying the original vegetation, which brought very serious and destructive consequences  "

    Ding Yunyi sounded a little confused. Could it be that the consequences of human destruction of nature have already appeared in this era?

    This matter is troublesome.  !  ~!
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