Chapter 24: Steam Engines and Carronades
Joseph looked into the Minister of the Navy's eyes and stated seriously, "I assure you, within a year at the fastest, or two to three years at the slowest, this 'fantasy' battleship will begin construction."
Castries was greatly astonished. "You... you're serious? How is that possible...?"
Joseph took a sip of tea and confirmed again, "It's true, I have ample confidence.
"So, stop wasting money on building existing warships. In two to three years at most, they'll all be obsolete!
"I won't make you wait long. I'll make a trip to the Port of Brest soon, and then you'll understand everything."
The reason he was so certain was that the steam engine had already been invented, and the artisans and technology were quite mature. The only thing lacking was low power due to an unreasonable design. But this was no problem for Joseph at all; he had seen far more advanced steam engines than Watt's minor modifications.
Castries felt dizzy, his mind leaping between doubt, excitement, and hopeful speculation. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Joseph then instructed, "Go coordinate with the shipbuilding department first and have them begin preparing artisans and raw materials. The trial production of the new vessel will be a complex process."
"Very well," Castries replied. He found himself beginning to believe the Crown Prince; after all, that fantastical battleship was too enticing. "I'll go to the shipbuilding department right away."
"Rest assured," Joseph said, then recalled something else. "Oh, by the way, once you return, you can gather artisans to construct a type of large-caliber, short-barreled cannon."
"Ah?"
"Just lengthen the existing mortars," Joseph explained. "They'll fire shells weighing over 60 pounds, but the gun barrel and powder charge will be less than half that of a cannon, making them very light and not too difficult to manufacture."
Castries said, perplexed, "Your Highness, this cannon should be very powerful, but its range will be extremely short. What good is that?"
Joseph offered him a faint smile. "I'll tell you once I arrive at the Brest shipyard."
In reality, this was the "carronade" that would later cause the French navy so much trouble during the Battle of Trafalgar.
The current French navy had always operated under a misconception: a persistent overemphasis on range.
'Ideally, if my range is superior, I can hit you, and you can't hit me, so I'm guaranteed to win, right?'
However, this was precisely where the French navy's theory diverged from reality. In the era of sailing warships, vessels had poor maneuverability, making it difficult to consistently keep both sides at your maximum range.
Furthermore, solid shot lacked sufficient power, making it difficult to severely damage enemy ships with long-range hits.
In actual naval battles, most warships engaged nearly face-to-face, practically shoving their muzzles into the enemy's captain's cabin to bombard each other.
At such close quarters, range was meaningless. Whoever had the largest caliber cannons was the true master!
The British had recognized this point, directly abandoning range in favor of developing large-caliber, short-barreled heavy cannons—the carronades.
In this lifetime, however, it would be the French navy's turn to be the first to equip themselves with this devastating weapon!
Joseph communicated with the Minister of the Navy repeatedly, and after confirming that he had no objections to his plans, personally saw him out of the reception room.
Before Joseph could even catch his breath, Eman arrived quickly, bowing slightly. "Your Highness, Marquis Saint-Priest requests an audience."
Joseph hadn't expected the Minister of War to be so impatient, but that was fine; it meant he wouldn't have to write that document himself.
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