The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Steam Engine and the Carronade

Joseph looked into the eyes of the Minister of the Navy and spoke earnestly, "I assure you, within a year at the earliest, or two to three years at the latest, this 'fantasy' warship will begin construction."

The Marquis de Castries was stunned. "You... you’re serious? How is that possible?"

Joseph took a sip of tea and confirmed again, "It’s true. I am fully confident.

"So, stop wasting money on building current warships. At most, in two or three years, they’ll all be obsolete!
"You won’t have to wait long. Soon, I will visit the port of Brest, and you will understand everything."

Joseph’s confidence came from the fact that the steam engine had already been invented, and both the craftsmen and techniques were well-established. The only issue was the inefficiency caused by poor design. However, for Joseph, this was not a problem at all. Watt’s minor improvements were trivial in comparison to the more advanced steam engines he had seen before.

The Marquis de Castries felt dizzy, his mind jumping between doubt, excitement, and speculation, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Joseph added, "First, coordinate with the Shipbuilding Bureau. Have them start preparing craftsmen and materials. The trial production of the new ship will be a complex process."

"Understood," the Marquis de Castries replied, gradually beginning to believe the Crown Prince. After all, the dreamlike vision of the warship was too enticing. "I’ll head to the Shipbuilding Bureau immediately."

He suddenly fixed his gaze on Joseph, his voice trembling slightly. "Your Highness, you must keep your word!"

"Rest assured," Joseph replied, suddenly recalling something. "By the way, once you return, gather some craftsmen and start manufacturing a type of short-barreled, large-caliber cannon."

"Ah?" The Marquis was surprised.

"Just modify the existing mortars by lengthening their barrels," Joseph explained. "It should fire projectiles weighing over 60 pounds, but with barrels and powder charges less than half of a standard cannon’s, making it much lighter and easier to produce."

The Marquis de Castries was taken aback. "Your Highness, this cannon must be very powerful, but its range would undoubtedly be extremely short. What use would it have?"

Joseph smiled faintly. "I’ll explain when I visit the Brest shipyard."

In fact, this was the weapon that had caused the French Navy so much trouble during the later Battle of Trafalgar—the carronade.

At present, the French Navy had fallen into a misconception: an excessive emphasis on range.

The logic seemed ideal—if my range is greater, I can hit you while you can’t hit me. Victory would be assured!
However, this was where French naval theory diverged from reality. In the age of sail, ships were not very maneuverable, making it difficult to maintain maximum range engagement consistently.

Moreover, solid shot lacked destructive power, and it was hard to inflict critical damage on enemy ships at long range.

In actual naval battles, most engagements were fought at close range, with ships practically "kissing," their cannons almost pressed against each other’s captain’s quarters as they exchanged broadsides.

At such close range, range was irrelevant. The caliber of one’s cannons became the deciding factor!
The British had realized this, abandoning range entirely to develop large-caliber, short-barreled heavy cannons—the carronade.

But in this timeline, it would be the French Navy’s turn to be the first to equip itself with this devastating weapon!

After repeatedly discussing and ensuring that the Minister of the Navy had no objections to his plan, Joseph personally escorted him out of the reception room.

Before Joseph could catch his breath, Eymond approached briskly, bowing slightly. "Your Highness, the Marquis of St. Priest requests an audience."

Joseph had not expected the Minister of War to be so impatient. Still, it worked in his favor—he wouldn’t have to write that document after all.

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