In fact, the price of a 12,000-ton battleship at this time is between 100-110 pounds, but this time the East China government has set a very strict date for the delivery of the ship, and the construction period of such a battleship is generally about 2 years (not counting sea trials), and now it is actually less than two years. Preparation, the construction time left for Germany is only about 1 year and 8 months, and it needs to work overtime to build, so the price is naturally higher, in addition, several warships built by Germany for the East China government are given relatively favorable prices, so this time the price can not be lower, and now the East China government is in urgent need of warships, and it is not too entangled in the price.

This type of battleship is still a continuation of the Navy's idea of one type and two ships, using the type of armored cruiser that is being built in Germany with a 10,000-ton class, the size is basically the same, but the width has increased by about 1 meter, after all, the battleship has higher requirements for stability, the estimated displacement is 12000-12500 tons, the increase in tonnage is mainly in the armor, the main armor of the waterline belt is 110 meters long, 2.4 meters high, and the thickness is 120-240 mm, and the secondary armor belt is 95 meters long, 1.6 meters high, and 100-180 mm thick, headquartersThe frontal armor of the main gun is 280 mm, and it is inclined 15 degrees, the sides are 180 mm thick, the dome armor is 80 meters long, the lower part protrudes into the water about 2 meters, the thickness is 120 mm, the top is 50 mm thick, the power is 20,000 horsepower, two steam engines are used, the two-shaft and two-rudder propulsion is used, the speed is 19-20 knots, and the integrated fire control system is installed.

Except for the replacement of the main gun with four twin 280 mm 40 times diameter guns, the bow and stern are arranged along the central axis, and the knapsack structure is basically the same. Originally, the Admiralty considered using the most versatile 305 mm (12 inch) diameter guns in this era for the main gun, but it was worried that the 12,000-ton warship could not afford the shooting backlash of 8 305 mm diameter guns, after all, in the old time and space, the first dreadnought that proposed the concept of full heavy firepower was 18,000 tons, and 10 305 mm diameter guns were installed, and only 8 could be used at the same time, so to install 8 305 mm diameter guns, it is estimated that at least 15,000 tons of hull will be required.

It just so happened that the German Navy, at the suggestion of the traverser, upgraded the firepower of all the battleships built to 305 mm diameter, but the batch of 280 mm guns that were previously produced for the battleships were all useless and had to be changed to shore defense guns. In fact, this batch of 280 mm guns is also quite good, although the power is inferior to the 305 mm guns, but the rate of fire is almost twice that of the 305 mm guns, and the battleships built by the East China government are equipped with 8 main guns, while the battleships of this era are usually only equipped with 4 main guns, so the firepower of a single ship is completely sufficient, so the traverser decided to take over this batch of guns and install them on their own battleships.

And Germany is naturally happy, because there is another one more to be built in Shandong, and there are a total of 16 warships in the two warships, plus the spare ones, a total of 24 guns are needed, not only can all the existing German guns be used, but also another batch will be produced, so that even the production line can be used again.

The warship was still built at the Kiel shipyard, and although the East China government initially preferred to build it at the Volkeng shipyard, which was better at building battleships, the Kiel shipyard was obviously more experienced considering that this type of battleship was the same type as the large armored cruiser being built at the Kiel shipyard, and that the battleship was a battleship with strict construction schedules.

And the traverser also knows that after the German and British shipbuilding competition, the Kiel shipyard also began to build battleships, which also shows that the Kiel shipyard still has a technical foundation, and the German government also promised to transfer a group of engineers from the Volkeng shipyard to the Kiel shipyard to ensure that the battleship can be built smoothly.

So the two sides quickly negotiated the conditions, and signed a contract to build the ship, Germany promised to start construction before September, and the construction in Shandong, will be in place in October personnel and materials to start construction, the East China government for the construction of battleships in Shandong to the construction period to not too strict, after all, it is built in their own homes, everything is up to their own decision. If the war really started, even if Germany wanted to evacuate all the workers, the East China government could detain the workers and release them when the warships were finished.

At this time, the two protective cruisers that had returned from Germany had already been docked for repairs, and the two ships of the same type built in Shandong had also completed outfitting and could be tested at sea.

At the same time, the War Department also submitted to the Military Commission and the Executive Yuan the design of the armored train and towed artillery.

In fact, strictly speaking, armored trains and train guns are two concepts, the former refers to armored railway vehicles that provide fire support to troops along the railway line and fight independently, while the latter refers to large artillery erected on railway tracks, armored trains do not need to install large-caliber artillery, and large train artillery can also be independently organized and do not have to be grouped together with armored trains.

However, the armoured train designed by the army is a combination of these two concepts, an armored train has 12 carriages, arranged in a symmetrical arrangement, the first in the front and rear is an artillery car, equipped with two twin 105 mm guns and one twin 125 mm gun, and behind the artillery car is 2. The 3 carriages are troop transport cars, each carriage is equipped with 1 company of soldiers, responsible for guarding the safety of the train, after all, the armored train is a very large target, each carriage is equipped with 2 50mm rapid-fire guns, 6 Makbi machine guns, and there are range holes in the side wall of the carriage, so that soldiers can shoot outside the carriage or get off the train to fight.

In addition to the command staff, there are also medical personnel and some engineering personnel, mainly to repair the railway, and to assemble one twin 75 mm gun, two 50 mm rapid-fire guns, and two Makbi machine guns; the relief car is mainly loaded with food, drinking water and materials and accessories for emergency repair of the rails, and the relief car is not equipped with weapons, and finally the main gun car, each car is equipped with two 240 mm 40 diameter guns. The armor of the train is made of Jun steel plates, with a thickness of between 50 and 120 mm, after all, the armored train is a support weapon for the Marine Force, and there is no need to use thicker armor.

Originally, the War Department hoped to install the same 280 mm guns as the battleships, but considering that it was the first time to manufacture armored trains, and the recoil of large-caliber guns was extremely large, before firing, not only had to separate the main gun car from the train, but also the main gun car had to put down the support rod to support the ground, so it chose a more conservative plan, only equipped with 240 mm guns, and after the first armored train was manufactured, accumulated manufacturing experience, and tested the use effect, then consider installing larger guns on the later armored trains。

In fact, the 240 mm gun is not small, and it is the same model as the main gun of the current Navy's armored cruiser Takumi. The Caesar Frederick III-class battleships and the Wicchersbach-class battleships built by Germany in the early days used guns of this caliber.

On the one hand, it is to increase the power of the train, and when necessary, it can also hang several more carriages to transport materials; on the other hand, in some special circumstances, the armored train can also be divided into two and fight separately, but the locomotive is located between the two troop carriages instead of at the beginning and end of the train, which is also to protect the safety of the front of the train.

In general, the armored train designed by the War Department is basically a mobile artillery car, which can be called a land battleship, even if the firepower of the main gun is almost equal to that of a regiment, mainly along the railway to provide fire support for the army, protect the railway line and transportation hub, because an armored train is equipped with 4 companies of infantry, so it can also fight independently. However, the firing range of the 240 mm gun can reach 20-25 kilometers, and the maximum elevation angle can be fired, and even close to 30 kilometers, this range is quite considerable, and the power is huge, the amount of charge can reach about 40 kilograms, which is of great help to the army to attack the enemy's defense line and fortifications.

In terms of towed artillery, the War Department decided to set up an independent 155 mm heavy artillery regiment, which did not belong to other units, but was assigned to the necessary units to fight according to the situation on the battlefield.

The heavy artillery regiment is divided into 2 motorized battalions, an ordinary battalion, and a mobile heavy artillery company. Each mobile battalion is equipped with 12 155-mm guns; it has three companies, each company is equipped with four, each gun is towed by a car, and each gun is equipped with 60 soldiers, commanded by two crossing soldiers, who also serve as drivers; in addition, each artillery is also equipped with four horses, which are mainly responsible for transporting artillery shells, accessories, and other materials; the company headquarters and battalion are also equipped with a transport vehicle; and the regimental headquarters is equipped with two transport vehicles, which require a total of 34 vehicles. In addition, each mobile battalion is also equipped with an engineering company, which is mainly responsible for the construction of temporary roads and bridges on the battlefield, after all, the mobile battalion has higher requirements for roads, while the ordinary battalion is equipped with 16 155-mm guns, and has four companies, each company is equipped with four guns, and each gun is equipped with 12 horses.

The mobile battalion is mainly deployed on the battlefield, while the ordinary battalion can only rely on the railway for deployment, but the use of the equipment still depends on the actual needs and conditions of the battlefield.

The mobile heavy artillery battery was armed with only 4 guns, but it was a large-caliber gun of the 200 mm class, and it was not towed by a car, but directly mounted on the car, as a self-propelled gun.

Originally, when the army set up a heavy artillery regiment, it did not consider 200 mm artillery, but after inquiring about the vehicles that crossed, it was found that there were still several 50-ton trucks, and these vehicles were indeed used as tractors, and the number of vehicles in the plan was not used up, so the War Department decided to make full use of these vehicles after consultation, transform 4 self-propelled guns, and install 200 mm guns. In addition, there are 2 transporters, so that exactly 40 vehicles are used.

Although the armored train is equipped with 240 mm artillery, it must be arranged along the railway, and it is only useful within 30 kilometers along the railway, once the battlefield deviates from this range, the armored train will have no use, and these 4 200 mm self-propelled guns can not be limited by the railway, theoretically they can be arranged on any battlefield, although the power of the 200 mm gun is much less than the 240 mm gun of the armored train, but in the land battlefield, this level of artillery is considerable, far better than the 155 mm gun, not to mention the mobile arrangement。 Therefore, the establishment of a mobile heavy artillery company can make up for the shortcomings of armored trains and raise the KPA Army's ability to attack fortified positions to a higher level.

Since the Central Military Commission and the Executive Yuan gave the green light to the design and plan of the Army, which was completely unimpeded, the War Department was naturally very happy and immediately organized personnel to start construction and modification.