Chapter 47: Trap

  The Sparrow's Shockwave at 45 knots stunned the world. In an era where 25 knots was already astonishing, this number became the best advertisement for diesel engines. If the Sparrow's Shockwave was just a symbol of technology, then the Viper-class destroyers showed the great powers in the midst of an arms race the practical significance of diesel engines. With 36-knot destroyers, it also meant that several thousand-ton cruisers could reach this number.

  The British Admiralty had no hesitation in entering into a cooperation agreement with Yang Feng, but the way of cooperation needs to be discussed. The Royal Navy cannot use warships that rely on foreign engines, so Yang's Power System Company must produce diesel engines in the UK or allow a British company to do so under license, which is the best option.

  However, when Sir Richard put forward this condition to Yang Feng, he was somewhat nervous, after all, this was the most advanced technology of the Yang's Power System Company, and if it were him, he might not agree to hand it over.

  Moreover, in this negotiation, he didn't have much to offer either. Yang Feng's company was based in Sweden and diesel engines were the most sought-after technology; as long as he was willing, Germans, Frenchmen, even Russians would all be clamoring to cooperate with him.

  However, to his surprise, Mr. Yang readily agreed to the patent authorization, and Swedish Yang Power Systems Company could authorize any British company to imitate its diesel engine, and even provide them with design drawings, but at a higher price of one million pounds.

  The figure startled Sir Richard.

  "Jazz, although I have a special feeling for Britain, you must understand that first and foremost I am a businessman, I have to fight for the maximum profit for my products. What diesel engines represent doesn't need to be said anymore. One million pounds is a very reasonable price, if you don't agree, I believe there are many people who can't wait to agree." Yang Feng said calmly.

  Sir Richard smiled wryly; this was his biggest problem.

  "Mr. Yang, this sum of money is enough to build a first-class ironclad warship," he said.

  "Without a diesel engine, even if you were to build a hundred first-class ironclad warships, the end result would be nothing more than providing a few more nests for the fish in the sea." said Yang Feng.

  This is indeed the truth, everyone knows what power represents, the steam engine has created an era, and it's clear that diesel engines will create a new era. Just as sailing warships lost all meaning in front of ironclad ships with steam power, so too will steam-powered warships lose all meaning in front of diesel-powered warships. This is something that Sir Richard firmly believes.

  But even so, such a huge investment is still amazing. To put it simply, one pound is equivalent to more than seven grams of gold, and one million pounds is 7 million grams of gold, or about 7 tons of gold. Those private companies would definitely not be willing to spend this kind of money because the fuel problem restricts diesel-powered ships from spreading too quickly, which means that this huge investment will definitely take some time to recover.

  It took a hundred years for steam power to send sailing ships into museums, and it won't be much less for diesel engines to do the same to steam engines. Yang's patent on diesel engines still has over a decade of protection left, so even navies can't enter the diesel age in that timeframe. Countless supporting projects need to be undertaken, and even then, steam-powered warships will likely continue to be built for years to come. As such, commercial shipbuilders can afford to wait a few more years, or even over a decade.

  But the Navy can't wait, for warships, being one step ahead is an advantage, being a year ahead means victory, and being ten years ahead means dominance. So this money must be borne by the Admiralty, but in that case, it would have to go through those old gentlemen in Parliament, which would be difficult even for Sir Richard.

  "Mr. Yang, I do have a proposal: the Viper and Rattlesnake destroyers, plus those six merchant ships of yours - Armstrong Shipyard will build them for you free of charge, in exchange for exclusive patent rights to your inventions in Britain," said Old Armstrong, who was also participating in the negotiations.

  As the UK's main private warship manufacturer, his main competitor was the Navy's own shipyard, which had previously found it difficult to get too much business in terms of building main force vessels. Diesel engines were the best opportunity, so he was particularly keen on cooperating with Yang Feng. If they could obtain exclusive authorization from the UK, they would gain a huge advantage in competition.

  "Having exclusive rights in the UK is no problem, but it seems I'm at a great disadvantage. You should also be aware that without adding engines, these eight ships are probably not even worth ￡500,000." Yang Feng said with a smile, actually he didn't want to cooperate with the British state-owned shipyard either.

  "Add another four hundred thousand pounds in compensation." Old Armstrong gritted his teeth and said.

  "Five thousand rounds of six-inch shells." Yang Feng said.

  "Yang, what are you going to do with so many cannonballs?" Sir Richard asked in surprise.

  "Sell it, sell it to my motherland, but there's one thing, all these shells use bitter acid filling." Yang Feng said.

  "Yang, that's practically suicidal. This stuff is highly unstable when loaded into a cannon and reacts with metal, it could even explode during the firing process." Armstrong said.

  "Is this problem really that difficult to solve? The bitter acid and metal reaction is extremely unstable, so why not just prevent it from coming into contact with metal? It's as simple as thickly coating the inside of the shell with a layer of beeswax. Could it be that this would leave British engineers at a loss for what to do?" Yang Feng said with a laugh, and had to admit that the Japanese were indeed clever, able to think of even such a method. After all, in Europe they were still playing around with nitrocellulose, and only France was using bitter acid, and even then with great trepidation.

  Old Armstrong and Sir Richard were flabbergasted for a moment, then smiled wryly at each other. This was indeed too ridiculous, what a simple solution, so simple it's infuriating. To be honest, just Yang Feng's sentence is worth 5,000 rounds of cannonballs.

  Naturally, there was no further haggling and the Yangtze Machinery & Engineering Company signed a patent licensing agreement with Armstrong Whitworth Shipbuilders. This exclusive license only applied in Britain; other countries were none of their concern.

  However, Yang Feng added a condition that British diesel-powered warships were not allowed to be sold to other countries. Old Armstrong readily agreed to this, and it was not just Yang Feng, but the British Admiralty would also not allow him to export them abroad.

  Sir Richard also wanted to buy Yang Feng's diesel engine, but was deterred by the asking price of ￡1 million per year for ten years. In fact, through the Viper-class destroyers, Britain had already gained a leading position in diesel power, and other countries would have to wait at least a year or two to catch up, further expanding this advantage, making it unnecessary to spend more money.

  "Yang, and one more thing, are you interested in selling your new-style torpedo?" He continued, "The latest steam-powered gas torpedo from Bofors has been advertised in the newspapers, and it's impossible for the British Navy not to take notice."

  "Of course, but the price will be higher, ￡10,000 per piece," said Yang Feng.

  Sir Richard inhaled sharply.

  "May I inquire as to whether manufacturing rights can be authorized?" Old Armstrong asked impassively, the steam-powered gas torpedoes having made a great impression on him, for it was he who had been the boss behind Whitehead's white torpedo curtains.

  "Alright, five hundred thousand pounds." Yang Feng said with an unchanged expression.

  Even old Armstrong couldn't help but take a sharp breath in.

  "Second Master, don't think I'm boasting, the Parrot Shell has it on board, let's go out and test fire it, then you'll know if it's worth the price or not." Yang Feng said calmly.

  What are we waiting for? We're already on the Nautilus, let's take that nearby British cruiser on patrol as a target. Take an unarmed training torpedo and first get this cruiser to run at high speed, then have the Nautilus play the role of a torpedo boat attacking it. When this training torpedo accurately hits the cruiser three kilometers away, traveling at nearly twenty knots, Richard and the others were stunned.

  Their Whitehead torpedoes could be thrown directly into the trash, and it's no longer a question of whether to buy or not, but must buy. As a result, the British Navy ordered 50 at once, and Armstrong Company also acquired the exclusive manufacturing rights for steam-powered torpedoes in Britain for ￡500,000.

  ￡1.5 million, bought the future of sea warfare, anyway, the First Lord of the Admiralty felt very cost-effective, of course, he didn't know that later he would hide under his quilt, resentfully crying and cursing the guy who had cheated him.

  Whether it's the steam turbine or large ship diesel engine, they are not something that can be manufactured with today's technology. Although they were able to achieve domestic production in Britain, in reality, without the core components provided by Yang Feng, there is no point, just like how multinational corporations control China in later generations, giving you domestic production but unfortunately the core components are firmly in their own hands.

  In this way, the British Navy is actually tied to Yang Feng's body.

  After solving this problem, Boss Yang's mood was extremely pleasant. As a military merchant, what could be more fulfilling than controlling the navy of an empire? In addition, there were those 5,000 rounds of sour and astringent 152mm shells that he had prepared to give to Li Ergouzi. Now, all twenty quick-firing guns had been installed on the warships of the Beiyang Fleet, but the shells still used guncotton. If they could get this batch of sour and astringent ones, if the Beiyang Fleet couldn't take down half of Japan's warships in the Yellow Sea, it would be simply unreasonable.

  Apart from the 152mm, more than 600 of the 305mm were also manufactured by Bofors, equipped with bitter acid. With such a huge caliber, let alone the Sanjing-class, it's hard to say whether the Kino can withstand such a shell, and something like Saikyo Maru would be instantly killed with one shot.