Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 496 Ironclad Battleships and Helmets

Negotiations between Wang Du envoys and the Executive Committee of Overseas Autonomous Territories have broken down again, and in Wang Du's view, the Overseas Autonomous Territories have truly become treason. What is treason, because they put forward conditions that the Kingdom could not agree to at all, to use as a gateway to the risk of famine this time when the Kingdom itself is experiencing massive agricultural failures, and when the Kingdom is at war with the invading Kingdom of Nasri, to create a de facto separation and independence for the overseas autonomous territories?

The Autonomous Leadership Region Commander, headed by Claude, made it conditional on the nominal recognition of the Kingdom of Ovieras as a monarchy with diplomatic and military unity. However, various aspects of the administrative policies of the overseas autonomous territories, personnel appointments, fiscal finance, military armaments, etc. remain independent and outside the jurisdiction of the Kingdom. However, it can be accepted that the Royal Ministry of the Army, as the nominal competent unit, for the promotion of officers and the promotion of ranks of troops, will be listed with the Royal Ministry of the Army, which is merely a notification, not a review and approval.

In addition to the conditions laid down by the Autonomous Territorial Regions, the Executive Committee of the Autonomous Territories has also introduced a series of provisions on ocean trade between the two parties. For example, both parties have also adopted low or no tariffs on imported commodities. There were no tariffs on the entry of commodities formerly from the mainland of the Kingdom into the overseas territories, and the entry of specialty commodities from the overseas territories into the mainland of the Kingdom is subject to high taxes, which is also a way for the mainland to develop manufacturing restrictions on the overseas territories.

To some extent, the Kingdom itself had spared no effort to limit the development of its overseas territories, which should have been the foresight of the predecessor King Sterling X. With such a large overseas territory and such a wealth of property resources, the relocation of the kingdom's native manufacturing plants would clearly reduce and significantly reduce the cost of production resources in the past.

If the Kingdom does not impose restrictions on this, a large proportion of private wealth will flow to overseas jurisdictions, and the movement of wealth will mean an increase in population movements, as manufacturing will require a variety of technicians and skilled industrial workers. When overseas jurisdictions develop, it will be difficult for the kingdom to effectively exercise jurisdiction over them. After all, being too far away from a silent ocean means an increase in variables, so overseas jurisdictions can still be the origin of the kingdom's own resources...

It was only a colonial war that had changed the future of the Overseas Territories, and the circumstances and timing had contributed to the current situation of the Overseas Territories. As Wang Sterling X had anticipated earlier in the year, the economic development of the Overseas Territories meant that they would be removed from the control of the Kingdom and could no longer be regarded as the source of resources that the Kingdom could do whatever it wished.

The Executive Committee of the Autonomous Territories has proposed such a pelagic trade clause because today the Autonomous Territories are able to manufacture all kinds of commodities needed by the Kingdom, both in quality and price, which outweigh those produced by the Kingdom itself. And the kingdom's own population of over 27 million is a huge sales market for autonomous councillors. Therefore, the high tariffs levied by the Kingdom itself on goods produced by overseas autonomous territories became the first target to be eliminated.

There are other commercial clauses on ocean trade, the purpose of which is to break the commercial prerogatives of those members of the Overseas Autonomous Territories who are monopolized by old and emerging commercial aristocrats in the mainland of the Kingdom, such as the pricing of commodities, exclusive agreements for commodities in a given region, etc., and who want markets for the sale of commodities without fear of free competition.

It can be said that it is the parliamentarians of overseas autonomy who are associated with manufacturing who are the promoters of genuine business freedom, not the emerging business nobility of the kingdom, who are purely sheep-headed and selling dog meat, who say that business freedom is actually about monopolistic business interests and do not allow commercial competition.

Parliamentarians from the overseas autonomous territories were simply much more comfortable in that regard, and they were not afraid of competition and wanted fair and market access passes. As long as overseas autonomous territories are allowed to sell their commodities on the mainland of the Kingdom, they have the confidence to defeat all competitors with goods produced by the autonomous territories at a good price and to seize the mainland sales market of the Kingdom.

Of course, in order for the Kingdom to agree to these conditions set forth by the Autonomous Territories and the Executive Council, the Overseas Autonomous Communities have promised to pay an annual tax of 300,000 gold kroner and a contribution from the Royal Sterling family of 100,000 gold kroner, which, taken together, amounts to 400,000 gold kroner. Food and agricultural commodities worth 1.2 million gold kroner may also be supplied to the mainland of the Kingdom in one lump sum as taxes paid to the Kingdom by the overseas self-governing territories in the three years following the end of the colony.

With regard to the mineral resources of the Overseas Autonomous Territories, the Executive Committee rejected the free provision requested by the Kingdom, but could lend the Kingdom at low interest rates so that it could purchase various mineral resources in the Overseas Autonomous Territories at a reduced rate of 80% of the market price in order to meet the Kingdom's current requirements for arms production. The guarantee for this low-interest loan can be secured by the taxes and contributions to be paid annually to the Kingdom by the Autonomous Territories in the future.

The negotiations broke down when the conditions put forward by the Overseas Autonomous Territories and the Executive Council, which appeared to the envoys of all the Kings to be utterly disobedient, rejected them outrageously and ignored the request of the Autonomous Territories and the Executive Council to transmit them first to the Kings for the purpose of the superior figures above.

However, because of the critical situation facing the Kingdom itself, the generous greetings and courtesies of its envoys, as well as their work as parliamentarians in private, have finally led to the adoption by the Overseas Autonomous Territories Council of the only bill on negotiations. It is overseas self-government that has spearheaded the delivery of 1.2 million gold kroner worth of food and agricultural commodities to the Kingdom's homeland to help it withstand the threat of the impending famine. At the same time, the material was also regarded as taxes and contributions paid to Wang by the overseas autonomous leaders for the previous two years and this year, which were confirmed by the signatures and drawings of several royal envoys.

The matter was settled, and several envoys from Wang Du returned to the mainland of the kingdom with a cruise ship carrying grass. For their messengers, it is enough to return to the crossroads with food and agricultural supplies worth 1.2 million gold kroons. And these foodstuffs and supplies, if saved, should enable the Kingdom to survive this food failure crisis.

For Claude and the others, it was a complete thing to send away the messengers of the Kings. The Autonomous Lords have too much work to do today. There is really no kung fu and the messengers of the Kings are involved. Anyway, the food and agricultural commodities in the minds of the autonomous consuls can only count as a small sum of money for the poor relatives. The more prosperous and prosperous the Autonomous Territories are, the more unwilling nobody is to return to the period previously governed by the Kingdom.

This will bring Claude back to Port Patrice in Robisto to discuss the styling of the first Ironclad Ocean Battleships with Master Byrd. After three nautical tests of the Ironclad Ocean Ship, Master Byrd finally admitted that Claude still had some reason to paint those Ironclad warships. He removed the cannon windows under the deck and the heavy-duty guns placed in the front chamber, increasing the bottom compartment and below the water line to stabilize the hull.

But in Claude's view, the final shape of the ship was slightly elliptical, not long enough, and most importantly, Master Byrd was reluctant to cancel the three masts on the ship. His reasoning is that if the blackstone loaded at sea burns out, the ship can only use the wind sail to power its journey at sea, even if it is slow enough to retain hope of returning to the harbor...

Forget it, Claude doesn't want to compete with Master Byrd in these respects. After all, Master Byrd is also halfway out of the house, learning about the design of the warship, and all he's with is the designer of the sailboat. The iron armor warship design they complete always carries the shadow of the sailboat, which is inevitable. Claude can only hope that after the first Ironclad ships go underwater, they will improve slowly and become better in the future.

The first stereotyped Ironclad warships were six in total, imitating a pelagic lightweight cruise trimast, defined by Claude as a destroyer. The installation of six medium-sized guns on board is an expanded version of the new infantry light field artillery. There are also three fixed nautical versions of light infantry field artillery on both sides of the front four and rear two.

At the time of the sea test, medium-sized guns had an effective range of between 1,800 and 2,000 metres, and light guns on both sides had an effective range of around 1,200 metres. In the current naval pattern, wind sails are two or three hundred meters apart from each other with front-loaded guns, and then gradually approaching the age of jumping gangs with swords to slaughter, it is not known how many years ahead. The only concern is that sea artillery battles require the best gunmen to target enemy warships with their eyes, and it is more experience that can't hit them. Claude hasn't been able to come up with a marine artillery targeting device yet...

As Governor of the Overseas Autonomous Territory Ocean Cruise Fleet, Muried loved the Ironclad Battleship after a naval test on the Ironclad Ocean vessel. He told Claude that it didn't really matter if the artillery battle didn't hit the enemy vessel, and the enemy couldn't touch his Ironclad. Besides, if the shells don't hit, are you afraid they won't sink the enemy warships? These thick Iron Shell warships are perfectly capable of hegemony at sea. There's nothing wrong with picking 10.

The port of Patrez in Robisto has now become the largest shipbuilding base for overseas autonomous territories, and in order to complement the manufacture of Ironclad warships, five members of parliament from the autonomous military region have invested in the construction of a large iron ore refinery in nearby Mount East Mosiraga, specializing in the production of rust-proof iron nails and marine stainless steel plates required for Ironclad warships. To this end, two syllabics were hired to study the large-scale production of metallic and specialty steel plates for functions such as corrosion and water resistance and rust resistance for navigation...

In the long-range planning of the overseas autonomous military zones, an oceanic Ironclad fleet of more than forty Ironclad warships will be established in the future, and more than a hundred oceanic Ironclad shipping vessels, with a total investment of around 12 million gold kroner, to be completed in 10 years, with an annual investment of 1.2 million gold kroner. So that big iron ore refinery has very good investment prospects. With the formation of the Ironclad fleet and the transport fleet, it is expected that all investment costs will be recovered in ocean trade transport over a period of three to four years.

It can only be said that the Ironclad warships of this era are still in very simple and rough construction, imitating the construction layout of the Windsurf warships. If not for Claude's insistence, Master Byrd would even like to cancel the bottom compartment design. The reason was simple: he believed that the Windsurf Woodshell Battleship needed to have a watertight compartment structure in the bottom compartment because the Woodsurf Seaship was not strong. And the Ironclad warships they built, so thick, welded together, were strong enough to ensure no leakage...

Fortunately, Claude finally convinced him that if there was no water compartment set up, and a hole in the sea was broken, it would sink even faster, even for the water compartment set up in these basements, it would be worth an extra month of work. Master Byrd was going to complete the six so-called Ironclad Destroyers within four months and then design an Ironclad Battleship the size of a Class II Five-Mast Ocean Windsurfer that Claude named Cruiser.

By the time Claude returned to Langhu City, it was January of the year 599. Not that Claude didn't want to go back to Lan Lake City for a new night, but that Sheila played a little girl, knowing that Claude would definitely go back to the Fields Manor to spend the new night with his mother and wife, Kevin, and leave her alone. So she wrapped Claude around her and said she loved the ocean, going for walks by the sea every day, forcing Claude to stay only at Port Patres for a new night with her.

In the end, Claude accompanied Sheila on the shores of Port Patres for more than two months, and after a new night, Sheila stayed almost as much and was tired of seafood before returning to Lake Lang City with Claude. Sheila, of course, knew that Claude had gone home after returning to Squirrel Manor on the western outskirts because she hadn't seen him in over a decade and felt guilty.

This New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve at the Fields Manor was so cold, there were basically very few visitors, even the usual and very good friends with the mother and the noble ladies of Kaifani, who rushed to the door to send a gift and left so hastily that the mother and Kaifani were not used to being separated. Especially her mother, who had accumulated a stomach and no one listened to her, was very upset.

“How come you're back now?” Mother blamed Claude for all this, thinking he wasn't home, so the guests wouldn't come.

Claude replied that the military was busy and could not escape.

My mother complained that the colonial war was over. Where did you get all this stuff, and you didn't have to go to war to spend two days at home? I'd rather resign from this position...

Claude could only smile bitterly and could not make it clear to her mother that she often cited the example of her late father, who said that Mr. Morsan, when he was the chief administrative officer of White Deer Town, had to deal with so many duties, but that he still went home every night, occasionally at home to invite guests.

At that time, the Fields had such a beautiful scenery in White Deer Town that they went to the town to shop for themselves. Everyone gave face, either at a discount or at a reduced price. Any man like Claude would be a general, and he'd have to run around, not much time at home in a year, than his late father, Mr. Morsan.

Probably only a mother would compare Claude, a general with the highest military authority in the Overseas Autonomous Territories, with the position of the town administrator of his predecessor, Mr. Morsan, and conclude that Claude was less judged than his father, Mr. Morsan. Claude looked at Caffrey and wondered if she had said anything about Sheila in front of her mother, so she deliberately said something about not coming home to knock herself out. But Caffrey was acting normal, and the usual attire, Claude, took off his uniform and changed into his plainclothes at home...

As soon as Claude came home, he was visited by Mr. Viberon, who brought his own wife with him. Mother was happy to finally have a nagging audience and took Mr. Vibran's wife to their gossip tea party. Mr. Viberon, on the other hand, came to congratulate Claude because his military industry in Langhu City had finally manufactured its own fist products, and Claude had provided creative soldier helmets.

Mr. Viberon brought a sample and the helmet was a little oval, with a pointed top and four small holes on each raised edge of the helmet, which was used to tie the inner lining. The lining eliminates the need to put the helmet directly over your head so that a bullet or shrapnel hits the helmet without causing a fracture to the neck and severe concussion. That was the task that Claude entrusted to Mr. Viberon, and now he's finally done it.

What Claude just doesn't understand is, why did you get a spike on the top of the helmet?

Mr. Viberon explained that several technicians in the military industry found this helmet bald and ugly, and that it would look more prestigious to wear a helmet or something in a censored fashion after getting a spike...

Claude can only shake his head. Helmets are helmets. They provide head protection to soldiers in battle. They are the most effective way to prevent flare gun fire and shrapnel attacks in this era. There is no need to be so fancy. Instead of putting helmets on top of a spike, soldiers on the battlefield want a hot soup to cook something that can be used as a pot in battle time or as a basin spoon water. An extra spike is like a hole in the top of a helmet, and these utilities are gone.

If Claude hadn't seen the cause of death statistics for the war-damaged soldier, he wouldn't have thought of letting Mr. Viberon build a helmet. Because that statistic said that 60 percent of the soldiers killed on the battlefield were shot in the head by guns or shrapnel, that's why Claude remembered to ask Mr. Viberon to make a helmet.

“Remove this spike and no holes in the top of the helmet.” When Claude spoke of the utility of the helmet, Mr. Viberon suddenly realized that he would go back and do it.

“Take these helmets to theatre headquarters tomorrow, show them to General Bolognick, pass the acceptance, and then we order 200,000 helmets and equip the two regiments in theatre. As to whether the local forces should be equipped with helmets, we need to reconsider them.” Claude thought about it and said, "When this helmet is finished, you will experiment with the engineering shovel that I painted for you last time, which will soon become our regional unit's fabricated equipment, with high returns...”