On the 18th of the 1st Month, Year 602 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Claude secretly boarded the Ironclad Fleet's newest flagship, the Rageshark, and returned to the region.
Originally, it would take another month for the council members of the Overseas Dominion to complete the King's bestowal ceremony before returning to the Overseas Dominion.
Claude really didn't want to stay in the royal capital any longer, so he used the excuse that he was busy with military affairs and left with his adjutant and guard platoon.
The armored cruiser Angry Shark, the armored destroyers Swordfish, the armored destroyers Flying Fish, and the armored transport ship Bull Head Whale formed a small team and sped on the sea.
More than a dozen sail warships with black flags appeared on the sea in the distance, but the Ironclad Squad acted as if they did not see them. They blew their sirens twice, spat out black smoke, and swept past the sail fleet. Soon, the sail fleet with black flags was left far behind …
"Are those the Blacksail Pirates?" asked Claude.
"Yes, they should be heading for the Nubali Islands," replied Moriad with a thick cigar in his hand.
He had heard from Borkal that the leader of the Blacksail Pirates was one of their childhood friends, Eriksson. Back then, Eriksson left Storm to search for his father and founded the Blacksail Pirates. He found an uninhabited archipelago in the depths of the Silent Ocean and made it their base with three large islands and a dozen smaller ones.
It was said that Eriksson's parents and the families of the Blacksail Pirates lived on the archipelago, which could house more than 200,000 people.
Eriksson wanted to use the archipelago to establish his own nation, so he plundered the coastal areas of the kingdom during the civil war to gather craftsmen and other skilled workers.
Usually, the Blacksail Pirates would plunder in the waters of the Bali Islands in the Pirate Paradise. Every three months, a batch of subordinates would return to their base to rest …
Thanks to Borkal's connections, the Blacksail Pirates maintained a neutral relationship with the region. They maintained a friendly relationship and didn't invade the region's coastal areas.
Sometimes, they would drop their black flags and pretend to be smugglers there to buy supplies and sell their loot.
"Do the Blacksail Pirates still buy supplies from us?" Claude asked.
Moriad shook his head. "I don't know about that. Their work should be handled by Colonel Borkal of the military intelligence.
Basically, when they come to buy and sell supplies, they contact the Wild Bull Trading Company. Even if they go ashore, they will be at the Port of Cobicus. They will not run to our Patres Military Port.
However, three years ago, the Wild Bull Trading Company asked us to buy ironclad warships for them, but I rejected them. Then, I heard that they asked the Wild Bull Trading Company to buy a lot of steam engines and firepower engines from our dominion. They probably want to develop their own ironclad warships … "
Claude nodded. He believed that with Eriksson's keen eyes, he would be able to discover the use of ironclads early on. He also knew that he wouldn't be allowed to purchase one from the region, so he decided to develop it himself after being rejected.
But with his power as a Black Sail Pirate, it was simply an impossible task. At most, he could only put a layer of iron plate on his Sail Warship.
As for acquiring so many steam engines and firepower engines, it would be a huge and difficult technical improvement project if he wanted to convert them into ship models and use them on his pirate ship.
Claude wasn't optimistic about Eriksson's chances of success unless he had three or four five-ring rune magi under him.
"Do you often run into the Blacksail Pirates at sea?" Claude asked.
"Not often, just occasionally."
Back when I was on patrol, I ran into them during missions and training. Sometimes, their warships would fly side by side and their pirates would laugh at us loudly.
But they didn't mean any harm. They were just bored and would even ask us for a few packs of cigarettes.
Back then, we were all Sail Warships and they would show off a little. They would chase us with their side sails and try to outflank us, making us look like a bunch of rookies at sea. Back then, we weren't convinced.
But to be fair, if we were to really clash with them, we are indeed no match for them in terms of sailing warships and combat ability.
However, after our Iron-armored Warships entered the fleet, we could see the intense envy and jealousy in the eyes of the pirates when we met them at sea.
As our Dominion's Ironclads took shape, they avoided us the moment they saw us.
They knew very well that no matter how good their Sail Warships were, they wouldn't be a match for our Ironclads. "
That was probably what they meant by technological superiority. The moment the Ironclads were introduced, Sail Warships became obsolete.
Claude then thought about the deal with the Kingdom's Ironclads and furrowed his brow. How could he fool them with that deal?
Moriad didn't notice Claude's worry. He continued excitedly, "By the way, Boss, since you're back, I have a report for you."
"What is it?"
"It's like this. Didn't Madam Sonia develop another batch of armor-piercing shells for our fleet?
I want to decommission a few Ironclads and use them as target ships to test if the shells are effective against Ironclads.
They'll only be able to open a hole in a Sail Warship with a single shot, but all the countries on Freia are developing their own Ironclads. We have to make preparations beforehand. If the shells are effective against Ironclads, we won't have to worry about our enemies having Ironclads anymore, "Moriad said as he flicked the ash off his cigar.
Claude was taken aback. "Sonia developed armor-piercing shells as well?"
"Yes," Moriad replied, "During the last battle with Sea King's fleet, I realized that our high-explosive shells are only effective against the exposed personnel on the enemy's warships. It's very difficult to penetrate the thick planks of the ships with just one shot.
So, I told Madam Sonia that I hoped the shells would be able to blast a hole through the thick planks.
Madame Sonya has agreed to develop it, and a month ago she sent us two hundred armor-piercing shells.
We tested it out. Those sailing warships were destroyed by our cannons, and a large hole was blasted open. They quickly sank.
"Now, we want to see if the shells are effective against Ironclads, but Grandmaster Bord said that decommissioning Ironclads requires approval from the military and I can't do as I please."
"Grandmaster Bord is right. We spend around a hundred thousand crowns to build a single Ironclads, and they can be used for more than twenty years.
Even the earliest Ironclads have only been in service for five to six years. You want to decommission them so soon and use them as target ships? You're not treating the crowns as money at all.
Looks like I'll have to look into where your fleet's funds went. "Claude agreed with Bord's opinion.
"That's not it, Boss.
You don't know this, but our fleet suffered heavy losses after the battle at St Rusk. It took us three months to barely make it back to port Patres and another half a year to repair it.
"However, we also benefited greatly from the battle with Seaking. The newest Ironclads have corrected many of the weaknesses we exposed during the battle. It can be said that we've improved our cruisers and destroyers once again.
The ironclad destroyers and cruisers produced by the four major shipbuilding workshops in the Patres Military Port can be said to be the third generation. Don't you think the Angry Shark you're on now is faster and steadier than the 'White-headed Sea Eagle'?
"The Swordfish, Flying Fish and Ox-Head Whale are the newest Ironclads built at the same time, which is why they're able to maintain the same speed.
The 30 or so warships of the Ironclad Fleet that were still patrolling along the coast of the Kingdom's mainland were all first and second generation warships.
The second-generation Iron-armored Warships can barely keep up with the third-generation Iron-armored Warships, but the first-generation Iron-armored Warships can't keep up with the third-generation Iron-armored Warships even if they try their best.
"Every time our Ironclads go out on patrol, they're like a burden. We're always one step behind when we're outflanking them or ambushing them.
Also, the steam turbines they're equipped with are very noisy and smoky. They're obsolete and can easily expose us. That's why I'm thinking of decommissioning them or transferring them to the sailing fleets as escort ships. "
"Then why don't you replace the first generation Ironclads with the latest steam turbines?" Claude asked.
He did not now understand to what extent the steam and fire engines had been developed and improved by Sir Bird.
In any case, it was said that the Dominion's motor workshops had become a gigantic machine manufacturing industry with all sorts of machines being produced.
The steam turbine that Moriad mentioned was a special mechanical system for warships invented and manufactured by Master Liboyd. It was not for sale to the public.
Moriad smiled bitterly. "We can't. If we want to replace this steam turbine, we'll need to move the entire bridge away and then cut open the ship's belly to take out the old steam turbine. Then, we'll have to reinstall the turbine cabin and the steam transmission pipeline below. That's equivalent to rearranging the entire cabin of the ship. The cost will be even higher than building a new ironclad destroyer …"
"How many Ironclads are there in the first generation?" Claude stroked the stubble on his chin.
"Twenty-two. Fourteen of them participated in the Battle of St Rusk and have just been repaired." As the commander of the Ironclads, Moriad knew the ships under him well.
"Perhaps you can decommission all the Ironclads and get the military to build the third generation," Claude mused.
Moriad was overjoyed. "Really?
The Dominion has agreed to fund our navy?
The five million crowns we received last time is already the last batch of funds for the navy.
One million is for Liboyd's experiments, one million is for the four shipyards to upgrade their technology, and one million is for the maintenance of the Ironclad Fleet for the next three years. Of the remaining two million crowns, four hundred thousand crowns were used to repair the warships after the last war. Only one and a half million crowns were used to build the eight Ironclad Warships … "
"The original plan for the Ironclads was to have 48 Ironclads, which can be divided into four sub-fleets of 12 Ironclads.
The plan was for each B Squadron to have two ironclad cruisers, eight ironclad destroyers, and two ironclad transport supply ships.
You already have a total of 52 ironclads in your fleet. Are you still not satisfied? "Claude still remembered the report the navy gave him.
Moriad whined, "Boss, you don't know. The first generation of Ironclads has a lot of problems and has to be repaired frequently.
It's hard for a sub-fleet of 12 Ironclads to go out to sea at full strength. There are always a few ships that need to be repaired in the docks.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have only brought 20 Ironclads to ambush Seaking's fleet. Even two sub-fleets should have 24 Ironclads. But there's nothing I can do if four of them break down.
"The second generation of Ironclads has been modified and finalized. That's why they're on duty. However, they still need to be repaired every six months. Each repair takes about a month.
The eight shipyards set up by the navy aren't empty at all. There are always four to five Ironclads docked in the docks waiting to be repaired.
Although it was said that there were four armored B Squadrons, the overseas autonomous region only needed one armored B Squadron to patrol the coastal waters and guard against pirate attacks along the coast.
Another sub-fleet has to be escorted by the Sailing Fleet.
The other B Squadron was split into two. Six Iron-armored Warships were stationed at the Northern Gulf, while the other six were patrolling the coastal waters of the kingdom's mainland. The remaining B Squadron was waiting at the maintenance workshop for repairs. Once it was repaired, it would rotate with the other warships …
That's why I, as the commander of Ironclads, have no choice but to add a few more ships to increase the rotation rate.
Otherwise, I doubt I'll be able to spare two sub-fleets to form a mobile Ironclads if we're ambushed.
We originally planned to attack the Shiksan docks again since they didn't stop the war with us. But now, we don't have the manpower or warships to do that. "
Claude believed that Moriad was telling the truth and that there was no need to exaggerate.
While Ironclads had been in service for five to six years, there were still problems. This was the first time the world had Ironclads, so there were bound to be problems.
Otherwise, Liboyd wouldn't have redesigned and improved the design of the Ironclads and Cruisers over the past few years.
"You'll need to recall the first generation of ironclad destroyers and cruisers to Patres Military Port. I'll have Master Bord organize a team to refurbish and refurbish the first generation of ironclad warships.
According to the agreement between us and the royal court, we need to provide the kingdom with a fleet of 16 Ironclads within two years.
Including two ironclad cruisers, ten ironclad destroyers and four ironclad transport supply ships … "
Before Claude could finish, Moriad's expression changed drastically. He didn't even care that the cigar in his hand fell to the floor. "Boss, who signed that agreement with the kingdom?
He's basically selling out the Dominion's navy!
Ironclads are a unique maritime weapon of our region. If the kingdom has them, it'll mean that the coastal kingdoms of Freia will be able to replicate them. "
Claude could only sigh and tell Moriad about the arms deal Bolonik made with the kingdom on behalf of the region.
It was all written in black and white. The region couldn't go back on their word.
The deal was to be used to offset the promotion fee and land selection fee. Now that they had the hereditary fief, they had no choice but to accept it.
Moriad cursed out loud …
"The deal states that the 16 Ironclads have to be the same as the ones we have in service. That's why I want to give the first generation of Ironclads to the kingdom after some repairs so that they can rebuild Fearless," Claude explained.
Claude explained, "There are some key technologies we don't want the kingdom to know about, such as the watertight compartment at the bottom of the ship. I'm sure the royal navy will be happy with that. Dreadnaught's predecessor used to use the ship as a transport ship to make some extra money."
During the battle of Sanrusk, eight Ironclads were blasted by Seaking's heavy cannons and the walls of the ships were cracked.
Because of the watertight compartments at the bottom of the warships, these ironclad warships could still return to Port Patres for major repairs.
Without the watertight compartments, the Ironclads would've sunk to the bottom of the sea long ago.
"We'll give the first generation of Ironclads to the kingdom and allocate funds to build the third generation. That way, it'll reduce the cost and energy of the navy and increase your actual combat power.
The sooner we give the first generation to the kingdom, the less criticism we'll receive.
Otherwise, we won't be able to hand over the first generation even if we want to in two years. "Claude made up his mind.
"As the commander of the fleet, you can work with Liboyd to see if there are any key technologies that need to be removed that won't affect the ship's combat power.
We'll try our best to provide the kingdom with a fleet that looks impressive but is useless. It'll be obsolete after five or six years of service.
The remaining Ironclads can be used as target ships to test the effectiveness of our armor-piercing shells. That way, we'll be able to destroy the kingdom's Ironclads even if something unexpected happens. "
Moriad had already calmed down. He knew that since Claude said that, the matter was settled.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Is the new funding approved by the military enough to build 22 Ironclads?
Since it's the third generation of cutting-edge warships, the production cost has increased greatly. We can only build one destroyer for two in the past … "
Claude replied, "Don't worry, the funds allocated this time are sufficient. For this arms deal, the autonomous region reached an agreement at the high price of 380,000 crowns per ironclad warship."