"Haha... Compared with Queensland, which has the Blue Dragon class heavy cruiser, these countries are indeed not enough."

He Fang smiled proudly, and the expression on his face seemed to be full of spirit, fully demonstrating the strong confidence and leadership charm of a naval commander. He paused for a moment and continued;

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a traditional European land power, without a deep naval tradition, and did not pay much attention to the costly naval construction, and did not give much priority to the military sequence, which seemed much behind other European powers.

In order to cope with the unification and rise of Italy, the first steam iron armored warship in the modern sense of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the Dragon-class armored frigate built in 1861. The ship of this class had a displacement of 3,000 tons. The original equipment was 10 48-pound smoothbore guns on the side and 18 24-pound front-mounted rifled guns. Later, 10 178-mm main guns were replaced and are still in service in the army.

Starting from the Dragon level, the Austro-Hungarian Navy also entered the era of ironclad ships.

To commemorate the victory of the Battle of Lisa, the Austro-Hungarian Empire started construction of the Lisa ironclad ship in 1867. The Lisa-class ironclad ship adopted the central artillery room design that was not long ago, and 12 229mm main guns were arranged in the central armored artillery room with a displacement of 7,000 tons, which met the first-class ironclad ship standards of that year.

It can be said that the Lisa was the ancestor of the Austro-Hungarian armored battleship, and its design specifications have always influenced the ship manufacturing of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1882, the Iron Craft "Tegotov" was put into service.

This class of ironclad ship has a displacement of 7,400 tons, and its main weapon has 6 283mm guns. This class of ship is still a central gun room type ironclad ship, but it has many innovations.

First, its main gun caliber finally reached the level of a third-level battleship. Since it is still an ancient annealing cannon, its main gun firepower can barely reach the world's third-rate level.

Second, this class of ships is the first Austro-Hungarian Empire main ship equipped with torpedo weapons. It has caught up with the development trend of the world's naval main ships, and it can be said that it is late.

Third, it adopted some designs similar to the artillery profile to facilitate the main gun shooting, which had a profound impact on the development of Austro-Hungarian main ships. This was also the design drawings that the British and French naval powers had discarded, but it was the latest design in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

From this point alone, lags behind the world's level for 20 years.

In 1884, the Austro-Hungarian Empire built an iron-armored heavy cruiser designed with a 305mm main gun and a rotating turret in the early 2018 and August.

The "Crown Prince Rudolph Grand Duke" built at the beginning of the year had a displacement of 6,800 tons and was equipped with 3 305mm main guns and 6 120mm secondary guns.

The "Prince Stephanie Female Grand Duke" built on board in August had a displacement of 5,000 tons, equipped with 2 305mm main guns and 6 150mm secondary guns. These two ironclad ships were the earliest Austro-Hungarian main ships equipped with 305mm main guns, and were also the starting point of Austro-Hungarian armored heavy cruisers.

However, compared with our 8,800-ton "Qinglong" class new heavy cruisers, the traditional ironclad ships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the newly built heavy cruisers are all scum that can be swept into the garbage dump of history, far behind the trend of new warships in today's era, and their combat effectiveness is incomparable.

The main guns of Austro-Hungarian naval warships still use traditional retreat artillery, and the design still retains two tall sail masts in front and rear, with a maximum speed of only a pitiful 16.5 knots. This is the result of the joint efforts of using ship power and sail masts when the wind direction is favorable.

Taking the most powerful "Crown Prince Rudolf" in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as an example, the thickness of its warship armor belt is only 253 mm on average, and it is not the latest bulletproof armor Harvey steel.

Our "Qinglong"-class heavy cruiser maximum speed can reach 22.5 knots, and the high freeboard adapts to the harsh sea conditions of various major sea areas. The three dual-mounted 280mm hydraulic re-advance main guns are extremely fierce, and the average thickness of the main armor belt reaches more than 400 mm. This is the level of the first-class British battleship, and its defense is two levels higher than the "Crown Prince Rudolph Grand Duke".

Moreover, the Qinglong-class heavy patrol is equipped with four double-equipped 150mm secondary guns, four double-equipped 95mm secondary guns, and four double-equipped 37mm legal Haqi Keis secondary guns. Once all fire, it will be a shocking volcanic eruption, bringing devastating blows to the enemy.

In terms of single-ship combat effectiveness, an 8,800-ton "Qinglong"-class heavy cruiser is worth four large-displacement ironclad ships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and they won the battle.

Lord Yuanding

Please believe this is not my blind optimism, but based on rigorous sand table deduction and data analysis. In addition to the details you cannot see, our high cost Harvey armored steel and dense compartment anti-sinking design have played a qualitative role in the overall improvement of the combat effectiveness of the warship.

As for the traditional naval power Spain, it is now just a ruined house. Although it has barely entered the era of ironclad ships, the fleet is more traditional sail warships.

These fragile wooden warships wrapped in copper skin have been proven in the last round of the Battle of the East Indies. They are as delicious as Christmas turkeys, and have become the number of great achievements in my Queensland Navy and are not threatening.

As for the three South American top three, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, they do not have the ability to build iron-armored warships and have not been tested by cruel warfare. The powerful warships they purchased are more like mascots that decorate the facade.

At this point

The three South American powers have many similarities with the Qing Dynasty, the hometown of China, but the three South American powers face much better national security situation because they are located in remote South America."

Speaking of this, He Fang seemed to have thought of something. Wei Ran, who was in a heavy mood, sighed, closed his mouth tightly and stopped talking.

Li Fushou patted his shoulder very well and conveyed encouragement through this subtle action.

No one can do anything about this situation. The different dimension divine thunder is not a joke. It will kill you in minutes.

"Have the two ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ordered from Germany by the Qing Dynasty have been delivered recently?" Li Fushou asked.

Due to the outbreak of the "Qing and French War", these two powerful warships were temporarily seized by the neutral Germany in the shipyard, and their future fate was unknown.

Now that the war is over, it should be unblocked.

He Fang showed a long-lost smile on his face, and it can be seen that he was really happy; "The Emperor and the Emperor are blessed by the land, and the ancestors are blessed by the ancestors. The two giant ships, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, have arrived at Dagukou, Tianjin recently and officially joined the Beiyang Navy. These two 7,600-ton giant ships are in charge of the Beiyang Navy. Its strength is the best in East Asia. It is far from being able to match the Fusang and other countries, and there is no worries near the sea!"

"Very good."

Li Fushou was also pleased with the strength of the Beiyang Navy. In 1884, the Beiyang Navy reached its peak due to the joining of the two giant ships, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, which was enough to ensure the safety and worries of the Qing Dynasty for 20 years.

The premise is...it does not challenge the powerful European countries such as Britain and France.

While the two were chatting leisurely, Li Fushou glanced at the Director of Political Science (formerly Black Guard) Dai Yingcai, standing not far away, as if there was something important to report.

Li Fushou's heart sank. He knew that Dai Yingcai would not show up in public without any matter, nor would he find this place. It seemed that something serious had happened.

Suburbs of Qinglong City

In the elegant and deep Longhu Palace, the guards were on high alert, and the surrounding areas were covered with open and secret whistles, leading patrols with ferocious German dogs to keep coming and going. If a bird does not have a special pass, it will not be possible to fly over.

Large study room

"Tell me, what happened?" Li Fushou sat down with a cold face and asked in a cold voice.

"Report to Master, a major incident occurred in Borneo. Henan's new governor brazenly ordered troops to invade Lanfang Kingdom. It has occupied most of the areas, which may cause serious consequences for Lanfang Kingdom to directly destroy the country."

Dai Yingcai dared not neglect. Now that the master is getting more and more majestic, he feels great pressure when standing in this big office.

"Well..." Li Fushou's tone was too high, and he could hear a strong sense of dissatisfaction, and said sternly; "These damn Dutch people have not calmed down. After the Aceh War regained their advantage, they targeted Lan Fangguo. Isn't it enough to suffer? You tell me about this from the beginning, and don't add your own subjective assumptions."

"Master, I dare not do a humble position."

Whether it is the Black Guard or the Political and Social Affairs Department, the department under the supervision of Dai Yingcai is all the hawks and ears of Red Fort. Therefore, Dai Yingcai does not call him "Earl" like other government leaders, but calls him "Master" like the personal guards, to show his meaning.

He raised his sleeve and gently wiped a layer of cold sweat from his forehead, and replied carefully;

“Report to the master

The Dutch have always pursued the elimination of indigenous kingdoms and forces in the East Indies. Over the past 280 years, dozens of indigenous kingdoms and separatist forces have been eliminated, gradually demarcating the East Indies into a whole colony.

They have been eyeing the Lanfang Kingdom established by the Chinese for a long time, but the sudden East Indies War disrupted the deployment of the Dutch East Indies Governor's Office and delayed the annexation plan.

Now, Queensland forces have landed in Borneo, forming a chaotic situation of separatism in Borneo. Among them, Lanfang Country, which has the same origin, species and culture as ours, is the weakest. For the Dutch, it is like a stunning hint and must be eliminated and then quick.

In August of the lunar calendar in 1884, the Dutch took advantage of the funeral of Lan Fanghua for the deceased last chief Liu Sheng, and dispatched troops to occupy Dongwanlu.

In addition to driving the Liu family out of the General Office of the Grand Command, the Dutch also tore off the yellow flag of the general manager and threw it on the ground. This humiliating action angered the Lanfang people. The locals, led by the leader Liang Luyi and the deputy commander of Lanfang, Li Yuchang, fought back and drove the Dutch people out of the capital of Lanfang.

Although Lan Fangren achieved a temporary victory, the situation was hopeless, and the strength of the enemy and us was very different, so the current situation was in danger.

Li Yuchang sent a special envoy to Sanmalinda for help. The Political Information Department was located in Sanmalinda's agency and learned about this matter immediately. He used a secret language to inform the headquarters that I rode a fast horse to report the news. Please tell the master if I urgently responded."

Lan Fangguo seeks help?

A dangerous arc appeared on the corner of Li Fushou's mouth. This political system that had existed for nearly a hundred years had long transformed into a one-man rule of the Liu family. The Liu family controlled the supreme power for three generations, flattered the Helan people and helped suppress the Chinese resistance group, which was really unsightly.

Remember more than three years ago

Li Fushou sent Tian Shan, deputy director of the Secretariat, as a special envoy, to secretly meet with Liu Sheng, the ruler of the National Assembly of Lanfang, to express the intention of the two sides to work together to fight against the Dutch. If they can gain a foothold in the territory of Lanfang, it will have a great impact on the spice trade line that is crucial to threaten the Dutch.

As a result, Liu Sheng refused the request for joining forces without hesitation, showing no feelings for his compatriots.

The foolish Liu clan elders in the country even yelled to tie the Queensland envoy Tian Shan to the Dutch, who was extremely disgusting.

Now the birds are full of good bows, and the rabbits are dead and the dogs are cooked.

Li Fushou was ashamed of being with his side, so he waved his hand and said, "You go down and continue to closely monitor the domestic situation in Lan Fang, monitor the movements of the Dutch people, and report important situations as soon as possible."

"As for orders, sir." Dai Yingcai bowed and responded, then quietly left the large study room with thick wool carpets.
Chapter completed!