Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 838

The Dream Castle is a huge palace complex. The main building complex is the Palace of Supreme Harmony along the central axis below the main castle. The main hall where the dazzling diamond crystal chandelier is located is called the Dragon Head Hall. This is where large-scale royal events are held. The location is magnificent and splendid, which is dizzying.

The first palace building behind is the Golden Temple, which is a place for daily large-scale court meetings. The imposing royal seat is set up here. According to the regulations of the Ocean Kingdom, a large-scale court meeting is held every month. A hundred officials discuss the relationship between the national economy and the people’s livelihood. Big thing.

  The second palace to the back is the Taiji Hall. This is the place where His Majesty the King handles government affairs daily, and its status is equivalent to the Lingxiao Pavilion in the Red Fort.

Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai and a group of key cabinet officials regularly meet with his Majesty twice every Tuesday and Friday morning, report on political affairs, and beg for sacred judges. They are called "little dynasties". Most of them are in Tai Chi Hall, sometimes in Tai Chi Hall. Xianju Temple.

  For example, this Xiaochao meeting was in Xianju Hall. Generally, no more than 10 cabinet officials participated in the meeting. It was a small regular meeting of the core decision-makers of the empire and was a place to discuss important policies.

  Along the central axis and then to the back, the third palace is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where ordinary foreign ministers cannot enter unless summoned. It belongs to the apse.

In Taihe Palace (including Jinluan Hall, Taiji Hall, and Hall of Supreme Harmony), one east and one west belong to the harem area. There are many pavilions and deep courtyards. They are palaces under four sub-towers. The east palace is Xianju Hall and Chang'an Hall, and the west palace is It is Penglai Hall and Chengqing Hall.

  Chang'an Hall, in the imperial garden

The stage is lively singing Peking Opera, the Queen’s troupe sings "Mu Guiying Takes Command", and the scene of "Old Lady She Visiting the Enemy Camp at Night" is in progress. The Peking Opera is full of charm and wonderful extremely.

  Li Fushou and Queen Gu sat in the center of the stands and watched with gusto. On both sides are the imperial concubine Nicole and the concubines, the prince, the princess and a few founding fathers, all close people.

Queen Gu said, "Your Majesty, look at how good this opera is. The actor who sings Lao Taijun is the famous "Nine Years Old Red" in Beijing and Tianjin. This Lao Dan's singing can be said to be a circumspect. Three days, the aftertaste is endless!"

   "Oh, it's really different from other old lady She, this voice is transparent and clear, with a little rustle, and it has a different charm."

   "Brother heard it very well, so I specifically recommend it."

"Haha... I'm very interested in learning. I will ask the Secretariat to arrange for some gifts in return. I will ask the Secretariat to allocate another batch of equipment to him. Recently, the Admiralty has several seagull frigates to be decommissioned. It is necessary to build up the naval frames of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and there can be no sea without defense."

  "Then I would like to thank your majesty for the elder brother." Queen Gu replied with joy.

  Li Fushou raised his hand indifferently, but didn't take it to heart at all.

  Gu Zhixue is the elder brother of a compatriot of the Queen Gu family, the current Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, after the former Governor Gu Yanchuan Zhishi returned to his hometown, he has ruled the region of Guangdong and Guangxi for eight years, and has managed this well and prosperously.

   During his tenure, he set up education, opened up speech, built railways and roads, and encouraged non-governmental development of industries. He is one of the leaders of the Westernization Movement of the imperial court and has an outstanding reputation.

Although several seagull frigates were retired from the Ocean Empire Navy, it was only because of their old performance. The maximum speed of a 1,000-ton warship can only be around 24 knots, which is not much higher than that of a 16,000-ton battleship. It is already behind the times and cannot be satisfied. The needs of a first-class ocean-going navy.

  After decommissioning, rather than sending the scrap iron to the shipyard, it is better to be a favor.

  After the Qing court signed the "Xin Chou Treaty", it was burdened with a huge war compensation of 900 million taels of silver. Now it has completely lain down in naval construction, and has not purchased a ship in ten years after the fall of the Beiyang Navy.

  Thousands of miles of sea frontiers from the Beibu Gulf to the Bohai Sea are in a situation where there is no defense against the sea, which is embarrassing.

  Nowadays, for the world-class navy;

  Small and medium-sized destroyers do not have a speed above 32 knots, so I am embarrassed to take them out to meet people. The reason is very simple, they are behind!

  The speed of destroyers equipped by the British Royal Navy has reached 37 knots. The French Navy even has lightning destroyers with a high speed of more than 42 knots. For small boats, there is no defensive power. The displacement is there, and speed is king.

  The Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire still has disputes on the development of the destroyer project. Is it to develop high-speed lightning strike ships? Cheap destroyers, or the development of ocean-going frigates?

The 3200-ton "Cold Wind" class ocean-going general purpose destroyer under construction is responsible for accompanying the battle fleet to carry out ocean-going cruises and being a pioneer in sea warfare in the ocean hegemony. All design indicators are formulated around this strategic demand, so the cost is Not cheap.

  The so-called low price is only relative to cruisers. The 3200-ton ocean destroyer will not be cheap in any way, nor can it be built in large quantities.

Today, there are a total of 24 "Cold Wind" class ocean destroyers in the construction plan. Large private enterprises represented by Somali companies have donated 9 more ships. Now society has set off a wave of donations to build ships. Today there are 33 ships in total, and we will pay for them in the future. It is possible to further increase the size of the destroyer fleet.

  As of early 1905

A total of 11 "Cold Wind" class ocean destroyers have been built, namely "Cold Wind", "Gree Wind", "Gust", "Howling Wind", "Shanfeng", and "Haifeng". "Trade Wind", "Nuanfeng", "Lengfeng", "Hufeng", "Ghost Wind", and 22 ships are under construction or planned.

  Can the 33 ocean-going destroyers meet the needs of the Royal Navy?

the answer is negative.

  The Royal Navy also needs a cheap **** destroyer that can be built in large numbers, with a displacement of between 950 tons and 1,300 tons, and the required number is at least 60 ships to protect the vast sea.

  The construction plan proposed by him was changed in several drafts, but it was rejected before the parliament, and it was not before Li Fushou's imperial case.

   Why? It's too expensive.

This kind of thousand-ton **** destroyer must be cheap and suitable for mass construction. The Admiralty’s proposals all exceed £150,000, and the Appropriation Committee of the Reichstag must not exceed £117,000. The two are at odds. As a result, the construction plan has been inconclusive.

  The British naval destroyer uses a new type of 10,000 horsepower steam turbine for power, which can make the destroyer reach a high speed of 37 knots per hour.

The Imperial Navy also hopes to be able to use such advanced power instead of the old-fashioned triple expansion steam engine. This is reflected in the performance of the destroyer that one plan can reach a speed of 36 knots per hour, and the other plan can only reach a speed of 29 knots per hour. Speed.

  Good things are inevitably expensive. For such a new type of steam turbine, it costs 47,000 pounds to import from the UK, 43,700 pounds from Germany, and 38,900 pounds to build it yourself.

   Equipping a destroyer with a main engine and a large diesel engine for auxiliary power calculation. The cheapest self-built solution requires only the power system to cost 42,000 to 43,000 pounds, and the most expensive British solution requires more than 50,000 pounds.

Coupled with auxiliary boilers, high-pressure pipelines, steel ship slurry shafting, power generation equipment, weapon systems and navigation equipment, plus construction costs, these costs will exceed 130,000 pounds, leaving a reasonable profit for the shipyard. Over 150,000 pounds.

Regardless of the appropriation committee's calculation of 32,000 pounds, if it is a large-scale construction of 60 ships, it will be a gap of nearly 2 million pounds. It is almost possible to build a battleship "Samalinda" plus a 6,500-ton cruiser. One of the small fleets is bursting with combat effectiveness.

  ...

   "Hahaha...sing well, and rewards..."

  Sing a song, the reverberation is lingering

  Li Fushou laughed with a red face and waved his big hand. His own court attendant was carrying a tray on the stage. The tray was piled full of gold oceans, and there were more than 10 people in a row.

  The Queen’s troupe bowed and thanked them, and the corners of their eyebrows were filled with joy. This is not only a big reward, but also a reward for the famous actors of Liyuan in the world. It can be described as a lifetime glory.

"Your Majesty, there are so many good things in your place. It's the Royal Meteorology. Every troupe sings so memorably, and the ministers feel the same way." Admiral He Fang, Minister of the Admiralty, approached him with a smile on his face. .

  Li Fushou was in a good mood, and said to the general with a smile on his face; "Sing a song, where are so many ways?"

"Weichen prides himself on listening to the drama for a lifetime. Today, Lao Dan's singing is really amazing. That voice can go up to the sky. It is definitely a rare red corner. This is really nice. Weichen has an unsympathetic request... "

   "Then put it straight, you and me, the monarch and ministers have been suitable for more than 20 years, there is no need to hesitate."

"Weichen Gaotang mother is seeing her 80th birthday next month. Your majesty, the royal team sings so well. Seeing Lie's joy, Weichen dares to ask for a chance. Let this royal team sing for three days at the birthday banquet. ."

   "Hehe... it's a trivial matter, that's it, then I will let Siyuan take a trip to send blessings to the elderly on my behalf."

"Thank you, Majesty." After admiral He Fang's respectful salute, he watched his majesty feel good, and said while the iron was hot; "Uh... one more thing, the old man of the Noble House Conrad Ardenne controls the Appropriation Committee, the Admiralty The "Town"-brand destroyer plan sent up has been rejected by them four times. It has been delayed for two years. We have to force us to use outdated power technology to keep costs down. We are worried that it will affect national defense security, and we can’t sleep day and night. what!"

  "What do you mean?" Li Fushou gave him a thoughtful look. The old man in front of him is not a fuel-efficient lamp, so he puts eye drops on Conrad Adenauer whenever he has a chance.

  General He Fang replied confidently;

   "Enlighten Your Majesty;

  Weichen believes that coastal defense is nothing trivial. It blindly reduces the construction cost, and the destroyer with severely reduced equipment and technology, and the one-sided pursuit of cheapness, is an extremely irresponsible short-sighted behavior.

  The House of Nobility now has an unhealthy trend. By passing the "Town" Destroyer Act by entraining private goods, it deliberately suppresses the Royal Navy Budget Act, thereby achieving its ulterior motives.

  Weichen thinks that this wind must not be long, please respectfully ask your majesty to judge. "

  Li Fushou faintly felt a headache when he said that.

  (End of this chapter)