Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 869 Sea Fixing Plan

   This old thing, the play is very real!

  Li Fushou looked at Admiral He Fang with a solemn sigh, tears in his eyes, and he was about to shed heroic tears, so he couldn't help laughing in his heart.

   How can he be so exaggerated that he seems to be embarrassed on all sides?

The main force of Citi's navy is the Atlantic Fleet, and there are only four old battleships on the Pacific coast. Two of them are of the same level as the "Maine" battleship that was bombed at Guantanamo. They are old ships in 1892. Combat effectiveness and "Qinglong" class heavy cruisers are on a par, and they beat Citi Cowboys in terms of training level.

   Fusang and Tsarist Russia were preparing to build warships, but they were just verbally shouting, with no actual action.

  Fusang is now burdened with heavy debts. In addition to squeezing the Korean colonies and operating the South Manchu Concession, all citizens tighten their belts to repay the debts.

  In 1906, military expenditure was cut by one third again, accounting for only about 20% of fiscal expenditure. The army's standing divisions were reduced from 11 to 7. The navy did not even have enough fuel to go to sea for training and could only park in ports most of the time.

   Tsarist Russia’s tone is very high, but its ally, France, no longer pays huge bills for it. I hope that Tsarist Russia can focus its military power on Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and continue to put pressure on the German Empire and Austria-Hungary.

under these circumstances

  The 4 battleships that are being repaired in the port of Vladivostok are all seriously affected, let alone the construction of new ships?

  The Empire has been discussing full-heavy artillery ships for many years, and has proposed a variety of designs. It was earlier than the full-heavy artillery "Virginia" class battleship discussed by Citi in 1903, the Royal Navy Tianzi 1 project.

   The last time the "Metropolis"-class battleship was developed was called the "Plant Sky", this time the development of the "Queensland"-class battleship was called the "Solid Sea Plan".

   Learning from the experience and lessons of the Japanese-Russian Vladivostok naval battle, and referring to the British Royal Navy's "Dreadnought" class battleship, the Royal Navy made substantial changes to the design in the "Solid Sea Plan" to make up for the design flaws and make it more powerful.

  The "Guhai Plan" plans to build a type of 6 battleships, all of which belong to the "Dreadnought" class battleships. The standard displacement of a single ship is 24,600 tons, and the full-load displacement is 27,130 tons. It is equipped with four twin-mounted 356 mm caliber cannons, the first two and the second.

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

This is the world's first piggyback-style battleship. If you don't understand what this layout looks like, just look at the Citi Iowa-class battleships. The battleships that Citi will build in the next 10 years are all piggyback. layout.

The piggyback layout is characterized by two turrets, one lower and the other higher, as if one person is carrying another person. This layout is compact, and the area of ​​the ammunition depot that needs to be heavily protected is greatly reduced. Conditional bulletproof armor can be made more Thick, can greatly improve the defense.

Learning from the experience and lessons of the Japanese-Russian Vladivostok naval battle, the broadside armor belt that is too short or too small cannot provide complete protection. Protection of the cabin. Combined with the dome-shaped armor and the design of the small watertight cabin, the entire ship spent a total of 6,800 tons of armored steel to build an indestructible iron scale.

at the same time

The "Kunshan Lan" class battleship has increased the freeboard, and the positions of the 20 95mm secondary guns on both sides of the ship's side are all raised by 2.2 meters. The bulletproof steel plate is fully wrapped, and the tailgate is set to avoid being exposed to harsh sea conditions. Waves affect and lose the ability to fight.

   The tailgate of the 95mm secondary gun is opened during combat to dissipate the gunpowder smoke accumulated in the fierce shooting, and it is closed during non-war time to prevent the influence of damp sea water vapor.

The "Kunshan Lan"-class battleship has a 25% larger displacement than the standard British Dreadnought-class battleship, but driven by three gas turbines and 24 boilers, it can produce 33,000 horsepower, allowing the giant ship to reach a design speed of 26.5 knots , exceeding the Dreadnought's 22 knots per hour.

  With such superior performance, it will inevitably bring high cost. The cost of a single "Kunshan Lan" class battleship is 4.27 million jinyang, which is the first time in history to break through the cost of 2.1 million pounds, so it is very expensive.

   In comparison, the Metropolitan-class battleship is 1.5 million pounds, about 3 million gold oceans, and the construction cost has increased by about 44%.

  Li Fushou stared at Admiral He Fang with bright eyes, as if he could see through his heart, which made Admiral He Fang's face gradually stiffen and said in a dry tone; "Your Majesty, the old minister is dedicated to serving the country, and the sun can learn from it."

   "Huh, you know, I don't like other people playing tricks on me."

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

In the 27 years of following the current sage, he has transformed from a frustrated Manchu bureaucrat in his 30s, to become the backbone of the development of the Queensland earldom, and even the founder of the empire. Small tricks can't hide it from him, and when it's time to admit it, it's time to admit it.

   You know you can see through it, but why do you want to do it all?

   This is the wisdom of Admiral He Fang, who has learned both Chinese and Western skills. Occasionally, he makes some stupid mistakes. In addition to losing a little face, there are actually many benefits, and the secrets are hidden.

   Li Fushou said with a cold snort; "Hmph, that's all, tell the truth, with the current strength of the Royal Navy, will it be able to maintain its dominant position in the Pacific region in the next 3 to 5 years?"

   "It's difficult, it's almost impossible." Admiral He Fang bowed his hands solemnly and said solemnly; "Citiland will build a large number of battleships this year and next, and it is expected that by the middle of 1908, it will have the strength of 21 to 22 battleships.

  If necessary

  The Atlantic Fleet can be transferred to the east at any time. This is a powerful force capable of destroying our army. If it is not dealt with, the old minister will be pessimistic about the future.

   As for the other opponent, Fuso Kingdom, it has shown extremely superb ship maneuvering and artillery skills in the Japanese-Russian Vladivostok naval battle, almost catching up with the average level of our Royal Navy. Also an extremely dangerous enemy.

   We must see that although Fuso Kingdom vigorously develops the shipbuilding industry, it is only at the level of cruiser construction at present, and the construction of main battleships is still insufficient.

   Therefore, it is difficult to say when the Fusang Kingdom was in a state of convulsion and suddenly placed a large order with its ally, the United Kingdom.

   Once this happens, with the super-strong shipbuilding capabilities of the United Kingdom, a large number of new ships can be delivered within 1-2 years, doubling the strength of the Fuso fleet, and the situation facing the Royal Navy at that time will be dangerous.

   It is an indisputable fact that the navy of both Citi and Fuso has secretly used the Imperial Navy as an imaginary enemy.

   I don’t need to remind him that His Majesty also knew that Citi President Theodore Roosevelt was a fanatical expansionist.

   In his speech on Capitol Hill last year, he publicly stated;

   "Ocean Empire is an extremely aggressive regime, which has taken the Luzon Islands as its own for the blatantly launched Western War, which has seriously damaged the interests of Citi.

  Citiland cannot tolerate the warships of such an expanding regime, cruising the coastal waters of the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, threatening the west coast of North America, and building a powerful naval fleet would be a wise choice. "

  I do not deny that Citi President Theodore Roosevelt lobbied Congress to pass the shipbuilding plan, and we should also clearly see that this is a white regime that is deeply hostile to us.

   According to classified military intelligence;

   British Admiral Fisher proposed a high-speed warship construction plan capable of independent operations, and was approved by the Cabinet. The construction of three high-speed armored cruisers "Invincible", "Unyielding" and "Indomitable" will begin in 1908.

   What kind of high-speed armored cruiser is this?

   These battleships are equipped with eight 305 howitzers, which are comparable to the firepower of the Dreadnought-class battleships, with a displacement of 17,250 tons and a high speed of 28 knots per hour.

The old minister has reason to believe that the appearance of these high-speed armored cruisers will greatly curb the speed advantage of the Royal Navy, and our fleet will become a concentration camp of slow-moving old-fashioned warships, whether it is battleships, cruisers or destroyers. , crushed in all directions.

   Plan for today

   Only resolutely plunged into today's shipbuilding boom to build the steel backbone of the Royal Navy. "

   Admiral He Fang's attitude was extremely sincere, which made Li Fushou look moved. He thought about it and asked, "Is the technical performance of today's 356mm dual-mounted artillery passing the test?"

"Your Majesty's words, this type of artillery has been tested for many times, which proves that the ballistic performance is flat, the armor-piercing power is large, the design of the ammunition depot lifting mechanism is reasonable, and the performance is reliable. The level is completely ready for deployment.”

   "What about... the camel-back layout?"

   "Haha, then there is no problem. The research has been very thorough in the past few years, and dozens of related papers have been published, so there is no problem at all."

   Hastily applying two major new technologies on the new ship, the technical risk is not small.

   After getting a positive answer, Li Fushou nodded with relief, stood up and walked to Admiral 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 European white powers as the dominant force, the Empire and Fusang are the only two yellow powers in the world, and everything will be observed under a magnifying glass. It is represented by the "yellow peril theory" advocated by activists, which also includes some extreme theories of the upper-class society of Citi.

   Press the gourd to float the scoop, and the noise is always heard.

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

  Although the empire looks like flowers are blooming, but as the helm, you are walking on thin ice! I don't want to do anything out of the blue.

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

Admiral He Fang was agitated by these heartfelt words, stood up, and said solemnly; "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, all the officers and men of the Royal Navy have always pursued rigorous training, and have the confidence to defeat any incoming enemy, even if these two ~3 years without purchasing new ships, but also confident, capable and determined to defeat the Citigroup fleet and achieve the final victory.”

   "Well, it's gratifying to have this kind of spirit. You don't need to use inferior equipment to fight against powerful enemies. The "Sea Consolidation Plan" presented by the Royal Navy repeatedly is indeed necessary. I will make it here. You can go back and arrange for the implementation."

Admiral He Fang was overjoyed by Li Fushou's words, and he continued with a smile; "The Royal Navy is the foundation of the empire. If anyone has wronged anyone, it cannot be wronged by you. If you want to say something in Europe and the United States, just go ahead and say it. The empire also has the strength to say it now. ;No."

   "We thank your Majesty for your letter. The Royal Navy has a powerful warship developed by the Guhai plan and will not be afraid of any strong enemy."

   "So great."

   (end of this chapter)