This old guy is acting very realistically!

Li Fushou looked at General He Fang with a solemn sigh, and tears were shining in the tiger's eyes, and the hero's tears were almost shedding, and he couldn't help but feel funny in his heart.

How could he be as exaggerated as he said, it seems that he is already surrounded by enemies?

The main force of Citi's naval force is in the Atlantic Fleet. There are only four old battleships along the Pacific coast. Two of them are the same class as the USS Maine battleship blown up in Guantanamo. They are old ships in 1892. In terms of combat effectiveness and the "Qinglong" class heavy cruiser, they beat Citi Cowboys in terms of training.

Fuso and Tsarist Russia were preparing to build warships, but that was just a verbal clamor and no practical action.

Fusang is now carrying heavy debts. In addition to trying hard to squeeze the Korean colonies and operating the South Manchurian Concession, all citizens are tightening their belts to repay their debts.

In 1906, military expenditure was reduced by one third again, accounting for only about 20% of fiscal expenditure. The Army's Standing Division reduced from 11 to 7. The Navy did not even have enough fuel to go out to sea for training and could only stay in ports most of the time.

Tsarist Russia called it very high, but its ally France no longer paid huge bills. It hoped that Tsarist Russia could focus its military power in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and continued to put pressure on the German Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was not willing to Tsarist Russia to create troubles.

in this case

The four battleships under maintenance at the Vladivostok port have been severely affected, let alone build new ships?

The Empire has been discussing full-heavy gunboats for many years and has proposed a variety of design plans, earlier than the full-heavy gun "Virginia" class battleship discussed by Citigroup in 1903, the Royal Navy Tianzi-1 project.

The last time the "Metropolis"-class battleship was developed, the "Qingtian Plan" was planned to develop the "Queensland"-class battleship, and the navy was called the "Guhai Plan".

Learning from the experience and lessons learned from the Battle of Vladivostok in Japan and Russia, and referring to the "Defensible" class battleships of the British Royal Navy, the Royal Navy made significant changes to the design in the "Guhai Plan" to make up for the design defects and make it stronger.

The Guhai Plan plans to build six battleships of type 1, all of which belong to the "Dreadnought" class battleships. The standard displacement of a single ship is 24,600 tons, the full load displacement of 27,130 tons, and is equipped with four dual-mounted 356mm caliber giant cannons, two in front and two in the rear.

The two turrets at the bow and stern of the ship are in a piggyback layout, and are set along the center line of the ship, without ship turrets. This piggyback layout is the most advanced large-caliber artillery layout today. The Ocean Empire has been studying related technologies for more than 10 years and has overcome technical difficulties.

This is the world's first piggyback layout battleship. If you don't understand what this layout looks like, just look at the Iahua-class battleship of Citigroup. The battleships Citigroup built in the next 10 years will be piggyback layouts.

The piggyback layout is characterized by the two turrets being lower and higher, just like one person carrying another person on his back. This layout is compact, and the area where the ammunition depot needs to be protected is greatly reduced. If conditions permit, the bulletproof armor will be made thicker, which can greatly improve defense.

Learning from the experience and lessons learned from the Japanese-Russia Vladivostok Battle, the side armored belt that is too short and too small cannot provide complete protection. The "Kunshan Lan" class battleship has increased the area of ​​the side armored belt by 42%, and pays special attention to the protection of the ammunition depot and engine room. With the design of the dome armor and small watertight tank, the ship consumed a total of 6,800 tons of armored steel to create an iron weight that cannot be smashed.

at the same time

The "Kunshan Lan" class battleship has increased its freeboard and all the 20 95mm secondary guns on both sides of the ship's side have been raised by 2.2 meters. It adopts a bulletproof steel plate full-wrapped design and sets a tailgate to avoid being affected by the upper waves in harsh sea conditions and losing combat capability.

During combat, the tailgate of the 95mm secondary gun opens, allowing the gathered gunpowder smoke from the violent shooting to dissipate, and closed in non-war to prevent the influence of wet sea water vapor.

The Kunshan Lan class battleship has increased by 25% standard displacement compared to the British Fearless Class battleship, but under the promotion of three gas turbines and 24 boilers, it can burst out 33,000 horsepower, allowing the giant ship to reach a designed speed of 26.5 knots, exceeding the Fearless Class's 22 knots per hour.

Such superior performance will inevitably bring high cost. The single "Kunshan Lan" class battleship cost 4.27 million Jinyang, which exceeded the cost of 2.1 million pounds for the first time in history. It is so expensive.

In comparison, the Metropolitan-class battleship was 1.5 million pounds and about 3 million Jinyang, and the construction cost increased by about 44%.

Li Fushou stared at General He Fang with bright eyes, as if he could see through his heart. This made General He Fang's face gradually stiffen and he said in a dry tone; "Your Majesty, the old minister is devoted to the country, and the light of day can be seen."

"Hmph, you know, I don't like others to be smart about me."

"This... the old minister knew that he was wrong, please forgive me." General He Fang replied bitterly.

After following the current emperor for twenty-seven years, he transformed from a frustrated Qing bureaucrat in his middle age in his 30s to become the backbone of the development and growth of the Earls of Queensland, and even the founding of the empire. He knew that the current emperor was wise and powerful, and could not hide these little tricks from him. He had to admit his mistakes when he should.

Even though you know how to see through it, why do you have to do it with all your strength?

This is what makes General He Fang, who is a master of Chinese and Western learning, is smart. If he occasionally makes a fool of himself, he actually has many benefits except to lose face. The mystery is all in his words.

Li Fushou snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, forgot, to be honest, with the current strength of the Royal Navy, will it still maintain its dominant position in the Pacific region within the next 3 to 5 years?"

"It's hard, almost impossible." General He Fang bowed his hand with a serious look and said in a deep voice. "Citi's country will build large-scale warships this year and next year, and it is expected that by mid-1908, it will have the strength of 21 to 22 battleships.

If necessary

The Atlantic Fleet can be transferred east at any time, which is a powerful force that can destroy our army. If it is not dealt with, the old minister will be pessimistic about the future.

As for another opponent, Fusang, he has shown extremely high ship control and artillery levels in the Battle of Vladivostok in Japan and Russia, and has almost caught up with the average level of our Royal Navy. He is also an extremely dangerous enemy.

We must see that although Fusang Kingdom vigorously develops the shipbuilding industry, it is only the construction level of cruisers, and the construction of the main battleship is not as strong as possible.

Therefore, it is hard to say when Fusang was in trouble and suddenly placed a big order with his allies Britain.

Once this happens, with Britain's super strong shipbuilding ability, it can deliver a large number of new ships within 1 to 2 years, double the strength of the Fuso Fleet. At that time, the situation facing the Royal Navy will be in danger.

Whether it is Citi or Fusang, its navy has secretly used the Imperial Navy as its imaginary enemy. This is an indisputable fact.

I don't need to remind you, I believe that your Majesty also knows that Citi President Theodore Roosevelt is a fanatical expansionist. The "stick theory" he proposed is notorious and has always been known for his hostility to the empire.

In his speech on Capitol Hill last year, he made public statement;

"The Ocean Empire was an extremely aggressive regime. It took the Luzon Islands for itself and seriously damaged the interests of Citi.

Citigroup could not tolerate such an expanding regime warship, cruising along the coastal seas on the eastern Pacific coast, threatening the west coast of North America, and building a naval fleet with great strength would be a wise choice."

I do not deny that Citi President Theodore Roosevelt lobbies the parliament in order to use the shipbuilding plan. We should also clearly see that this is a white regime with deep hostility towards us, be prepared for danger in times of peace, Your Majesty!

According to confidential military intelligence;

Admiral Fisher, the British Secretary of the Admiral, proposed a plan to build a high-speed battleship that can operate independently, and was approved by the cabinet to start building three high-speed armored cruisers in 1908.

What kind of high-speed armored cruiser is this?

These warships are equipped with eight 305 howitzers, which are comparable to the firepower of the Fearless Class battleship, have a displacement of 17,250 tons, and can reach a high speed of 28 knots per hour. They can be regarded as a super battleship.

The old minister has reason to believe that the emergence of these high-speed armored cruisers will greatly curb the speed advantage of the Royal Navy. Our fleet will become a group of slow-moving old warship concentration camps. Whether it is battleships, cruisers or destroyers, the speed is far inferior to him, and it will crush him in all aspects.

For the present plan

Only by resolutely joining in the current shipbuilding craze and building the steel backbone of the Royal Navy.”

General He Fang's attitude was extremely sincere, which made Li Fushou's expression move. He thought about it and asked, "Does the technical performance of the 356mm dual-mounted artillery pass the test?"

"If you want to go back to your majesty, this type of artillery has undergone multiple rounds of testing, proving that the ballistic performance is flat, the armor-piercing power is strong, the ammunition depot upgrade mechanism is reasonable and reliable. It has passed the rigorous test of the Navy, and its performance has reached world-class standards and is fully equipped with the conditions for deployment."

"Where is that...the hunchback layout?"

"Haha, that's even more problematic. I have studied it very thoroughly a few years ago, and I have published dozens of related papers, so it's fine."

The risk of using two major new technologies on the new ship is quite considerable.

After receiving a positive answer, Li Fushou nodded with relief, stood up and walked to General He Fang's side, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly;

"Brother He, I have always strongly supported the construction of the Royal Navy.

In today's world

With the white powers in Europe as the dominant force, Empire and Fuso, as the only two world powers of yellow race, were placed under a magnifying glass to observe everything, represented by the "Yellow Peril Theory" promoted by white racists such as German Empire Emperor William II and Tsar Nicholas II, which also includes some extreme arguments in the upper class of Citigroup today.

Press the gourd to float up, and the noise is always endless.

I am not my race, and my heart will be different. I am responsible for the important task of the rise and rejuvenation of the Tang Dynasty nation. I feel very pressured and cannot make any mistakes, so that the Western powers can form a united front to deal with us.

Although the empire looks rich and prosperous, as the helmist, he is walking on thin ice! He is unwilling to do something that is leading the way.

I hope you can understand the king's difficulties, we can't afford to be wrong!"

General He Fang was in a state of great excitement and stood up, and said with a solemn expression. "Please rest assured that all the soldiers of the Royal Navy have been pursuing rigorous training and are confident of defeating any invading enemy. Even if they do not purchase new ships in the past 2 to 3 years, they are confident, capable, and determined to defeat the Citi National Fleet and achieve the final victory."

"Well, it's gratifying to have this kind of spirit. There is no need to let you fight against a strong enemy with inferior equipment. The "Guhai Plan" submitted by the Royal Navy repeatedly is indeed necessary. I'll be sure to do it here. You go back and arrange it to implement it."

General He Fang was overjoyed by Li Fushou's words. He continued with a smile, "The Royal Navy is the foundation of the empire. If anyone is wronged, you cannot be wronged. If European and American countries want to say it, just go and say it. The empire now has the strength to say it; no."

"I thank you for your confidence. The Royal Navy has powerful warships planned to develop in Guhai and will not be afraid of any powerful enemies."
Chapter completed!