After the ceremony

A group of military and political officials flocked to the side of the construction of the heavy cruiser "Qinglong". The shipyard technicians who had undergone intensive training are under construction. A huge hull has been formed and looks spectacular.

The ship was on board in May and cut the first keel steel plate. It has been 4 months since its construction. It is expected to be launched around Christmas on December 25th. The construction period of the ship is 7 and a half months, and the launch period is 6 months. It is truly delivered to the Borneo fleet after June 1884.

According to the equipment plan;

The first two "Qinglong" and "White Tiger" are all equipped with the Borneo fleet, which serve as the pillar forces of the fleet to deter the surrounding area. Among them, "Qinglong" is the flagship of the Borneo fleet and is also the ship of the fleet commander, and is personally directed.

The captain of the White Tiger has been designated as Wu Gang. He is a graduate of the Manchester Navy School in the United Kingdom. He was the former captain of the "Haiyan". During the encounter outside the sea, he joined forces with the captain of the "Sea Puffin" Zhang Daoru and adopted the "Lone Wolf Double Assault" tactic to deal a heavy blow to the Dutch landing fleet, forcing him to give up his original landing plan and move to the nameless bay overnight.

As a result, the landing target of the Royal Dutch Army changed from Jayapra to Moresby, more than 2,000 kilometers away, which had a huge change in the original battle situation.

In the following first and second naval battles in Malacca, the "Haiyan" played an important role, achieved great results, and performed extremely dazzlingly. Lieutenant Colonel Wu Gang was a powerful general in the Queensland fleet and was always known for his courage to fight and fight.

Therefore, among the fiercely competitive heavy cruiser captain of the "White Tiger", Lieutenant Colonel Wu Gang was able to defeat a group of colleagues and passed five hurdles and defeated six generals and were selected.

The final decision was Li Fushou, the Count who decided to be the one who was awarded the title. Lieutenant Colonel Wu Gang was grateful for this, and this was another story.

Subsequently, the third "Suhuque" of this class ship was equipped with the Shangri-La fleet, and the "Suhuque" will be the ship of the fleet commander Li Jie, and will be under his personal command.

The fourth "Xuanwu" of this class ship is equipped with the Queensland fleet. The "Xuanwu" is the fleet commanded by Geng Baogui, the fleet commander.

On the boat platform

The hull, which is more than 100 meters long, is extremely spectacular and gives people a strong visual shock. It is currently loading a heavy underwater armor belt and importing black new reinforced armored steel from the UK. The dense and heavy texture gives people an extremely down-to-earth feeling.

These Harvey steel plates are all the best quality products, and there is no need to doubt their quality, because the second 10,000-ton battleship to be built for the 50th anniversary of the throne of Her Majesty Queen Victoria will be on board in October, and will be built at almost the same time as the "Qinglong" class heavy cruiser. The new reinforced armored steel plates used are the same, and the same batch of 5,500 tons are purchased. Who knows which ship is installed on?

After years of technical accumulation, Hongshan Shipyard has tempered its technician team by building the "Qinglong" class heavy cruiser, achieving a leap in the ability to build top-level battleships. Now it is full of confidence in building a 10,000-ton first-class battleship and is preparing to show its skills.

"Hahaha... This giant is my old He's ship. You don't need to be envious of me. You will have it in two years." He Fang reached out and stroked the cold steel armor plate, the thickness reached an astonishing foot, and he couldn't stop smiling.

The usual elegant style has long been left behind, and I can't touch it enough no matter how hard I touch it.

Over the past period of time, the war in front has completely stopped. He Fang has been staying in Hongshan Shipyard for more than two months. He has to go to the boat platform for half a day every day. He touches here and there, but he can't even see it enough. He likes it to the bottom of his heart.

I was intoxicated by the thought that one day I could be able to ride this mighty warship across the seashore for thousands of miles.

"Old He, don't be so beautiful. As for showing off like this?" Geng Baogui was also envious of him and went to the shipyard every now and then.

"Hehe... don't say you don't think about it. If this is the case, then I will report to the Count and ask to allocate your "Xuanwu" to our Borneo fleet. At worst, we can defeat the Spanish Luzon colony as a gift to the Count. For the sincerity of our Borneo fleet, I think the Count will not refuse."

"Don't be foolish. No one can take away my "Xuanwu"." Geng Baogui didn't dare to make this bet with him. He would never take risks with his beloved ship.

"Old Geng, you're boring now. Where is the blood of the soldiers?"

"Don't do this, Lao He, the provocation will not work for me. You really want to exchange it... Then the Coast Guard Captain will do it for you. I will be in the Borneo fleet, and I can still fight Luzon Island. I will ask you if you do it, right?"

"Don't let it go... I'm not jealous of your official position!"

"I'm sincere, will you change it?"

"Of course I won't change it. I did a good job in the Borneo fleet. One day, the war will start again, and our Borneo fleet will still be the top main force. I will change it with you because my head is broken."

"Hehe... don't daydream. These four big guys emerged. I dare say that no one in the entire South Pacific region dares to challenge our fleet within 10 years. Where did the war come from?"

"Haha... it's hard to say, it's hard to say..."

He Fang laughed dryly and refused to answer. He knew that with the invasion of Lord Earl... Uh, his ambition to expand territory, he had never been unable to take the initiative after digesting Borneo and Shangri-La Island.

I secretly speculated that it took about 5 to 8 years.

There are many territories in the world today, and expansion will definitely offend people. Like the Qing Dynasty, the Russians were blackmailed by the Russians. They lost 1.5 million square kilometers of land without firing a shot and shooting. They could only shrink their heads and grit their teeth without saying a word.

Even the Ottoman Empire, known as the sick husband of Xiya, has experienced 10 bloody Russian-Turkey battles over the past 100 years, and will only cede land and pay compensation after defeat. No matter tens of thousands of casualties or 100,000, it is impossible to successfully extort without a single shot or bullet.

The British experienced two Afghan wars before occupying the Kingdom of Afghanistan, and two British-Burma wars. They spent a lot of money to occupy most of the coastal areas of Myanmar, and their control over the vast inland areas of Myanmar is almost equal to 0.

In the midst of the Qing and French War, the Huwei Left Army sent by the Qing Dynasty once again repelled the attack of the French Expeditionary Force and won the third Battle of Shanxi, forcing the French Expeditionary Force to suspend the land war.

Due to repeated setbacks in the northern part of the Indochina Peninsula, the French cabinet fell sharply, taking responsibility for continuous defeats and taking on the anger of the French people. This is the fragility of the elected government.

Having said that

Although He Fang does not know where the Count will expand in the future, Luzon is undoubtedly a soft persimmon, and the weak Dutch East Indies Governor's Office is also a soft persimmon. As long as you do not enter the Indochina Peninsula to provoke the sensitive nerves of Britain and France, you can choose any of these two soft persimmons.

Who it is, it depends on who bumps into him without opening his eyes.

The Dutch suffered a lot before and probably had a deep shadow on the Queenslanders. As long as it was not too much, they would endure it anyway.

Relatively speaking

He Fang is more optimistic about the blind and arrogant Spanish. Spanish pirates are quite rampant in the waters of South China. They are fools who dance horizontally on the edge of the cliff. They may be lucky enough to win this grand prize.

Geng Baogui was stirred by He Fang's mysterious smile, and he guessed in his heart... He Fang must have some ideas, but it's not advisable.

As one of the top academic masters and the most strategic persons in Queensland, Geng Baogui sincerely admires He Fang's rich knowledge of learning both Chinese and Western, and does not have any falsehood.

"Can't it..."

To figure out the meaning of superiority is a necessary quality for senior military and political officials, Geng Baogui looked at him thoughtfully and thought seriously in his heart.

It doesn't matter who he is. He wanders around the boat with his hands behind his back, and he doesn't dislike the deafening sound of rivet guns hitting the sound and the endless sound of steel hitting the sound, even if he turns all day, he won't feel bored at all.

Li Fushou and several senior government officials came from the bow of the ship with laughter. When he saw He Fang, he immediately greeted him. "Brother He, you are a real expert. Tell us the difference between riveting and welding?"

"The Count ordered, where would he be happy?"

Li Fushou waved his hand and said with a smile, "Brother He, just call Yuanding. They are all brothers of their own for many years. They support each other and do something together, so there is no need to be so disgusting."

"Then I'm taking the liberty. Lord Yuanding and a few brothers, please see..." He Fang pointed to the long rivets on the hull. "In my opinion, the welding process is not yet mature today, and it can be applied more in the manufacturing of freighters, because the steel plates they use are thinner, can be welded through and welded hard.

However, it is not possible to use it in warship manufacturing. The new armored steel plate has a very high hardness and a thickness of more than one foot. Each armored steel plate weighs as high as several tons.

Installed outside the hull, it not only has to withstand years of erosion from the harsh ocean environment, but also has to withstand the explosive impact of large-caliber heavy artillery instantaneously, and the unit area may be as high as 100,000 pounds.

This is a huge challenge for today's immature welding technology. If you fail to achieve it, you still have to rely on the traditional riveting technology to shoulder this important task.

Warships emphasize reliable combat power, and new technologies will not be easily tried during manufacturing, which may cause unpredictable operating risks to warships. Therefore, every detail must be cautious and considered again.

The advantages of welding are fast speed, low cost, and low labor, which is suitable for civilian freighters built in large quantities.

For the manufacturing of warships in various countries, the cost is never the first priority to consider. The construction difficulty is much higher than that of civilian cargo ships. Reliability and durability are the first priority to avoid dragging the enemy in battle. We cannot afford such a painful price."

This was reasonable and well-founded. Li Fushou nodded frequently when he heard it, stretched out his fist and pounded the steel plate hard. There was no sound at all, but instead shocked his hands. "The expert looks at the tricks, and the layman watches the fun. With our brother He, who is a master of Chinese and Western learning, we will understand after saying this."

"Lord Yuanding is too modest. You are the bright moon. How can we compare fireflies?"

"Hahaha... You are not considered the light of fireflies. I'm afraid the fireflies at Muda Port are no less than that."

"Mr. Yuanding, it seems that this fire will make you remember it deeply!"

"It's not just a deep memory. According to subsequent civil affairs officials, the Saimuda port was broken into ruins, and almost no intact walls still stood. A fire in the port burned the soil of more than a thousand meters in radius and the thick ashes were more than two meters deep. The army's grandsons fought so hard that they were no wonder that the Dutch defenders on the fort were so scared that they surrendered immediately..."

Speaking of this, Li Fushou stopped talking and shook his head with a wry smile.

The military will only consider achieving the purpose of the battle when fighting, and will not consider town reconstruction and post-war social recovery.

As a superior, you must also be cautious in speaking. As the first Kalimantan Second Division to win the honorary title, people now say "Tiger Division" when they mention it, but the original number is rarely mentioned.

The Count made some random comments. If you hear the Tiger Division's ears, it may cause considerable damage to the fragile little mind of the "Tiger Division".

Li Fushou immediately changed the topic and asked some relaxed things; "Brother He, I heard that you have been at the Honghe Shipyard in the past two months, and Hefang Town has not been there, the ranch has not been there, and the home has not been back. Should we take time to go back and take a look?"

"Lord Yuanding, there is an old housekeeper there to take care of him. The sons He Jiaju and He Jiajin are already over 20 years old and have achieved success in their studies. The related matters can be handled roughly properly, so I don't need to be distracted from other things."

"That's the case, you can't ignore it."

"In my heart, the Qinglong is more important than everything. The construction work involves a lot of things. I want to witness his growth process with my own eyes and participate in every detail of the construction, rather than modifying it afterwards if it is inappropriate." He Fang said this, pointing to the chimney in front of him with his hand;

"In the original design, there were two chimneys, but after I calculated many times, the 12 boilers of the "Qinglong" were burning at full strength, and the huge smoke and dust generated by the two chimneys were short of strength, which easily caused poor power output.

Therefore, I suggest modifying it into three chimneys, one chimney is used for each 4 boilers, and a hot water recovery device is installed on the side walls to use hot water pipes to transport heat to the residential cabins and enhance combat capabilities in the cold area.

This is not considered in the original design.

During the process of laying the armor plate, I recommend that steel riveting and welding be used at the same time, laying the armor plate in the traditional riveting method, and applying welding technology around it, which can improve the fit of the armor plate and prevent the rivet structure from being damaged by waves or ship impact, resulting in looseness and friction damage. Although one more process is added, it improves reliability.

In addition, for example, the angle design of the bow anchor chain cabin, the adjustment of the officer cabin, and the arrangement of the combat cabin, as the users of warships, we can put forward more suggestions for improvement, and participate in the construction period of the shipyard to carefully build this important weapon of the great power.

This is a century-long plan and cannot be easily solved.

In comparison, what's the point of having a love relationship between some children?"

After hearing this, Li Fushou clasped his fists and bowed; "Listen to your words is better than reading for ten years, and Yuan Ding has received teachings."

"How dare you? In private, Qinglong is a partner to spend time together day and night in the future. In public, this is just a humble duty." He Fang held his fists and returned the gift.
Chapter completed!