The caliber of the artillery will become larger and larger, the power of the shells will become stronger and stronger, the range will become longer and longer, and the protection will become more and more perverted...... New ships will rapidly obsolish old models, and fleets built with millions of dollars will be obsolete before twenty or thirty years old.

The Beiyang Naval Division was formed in Liugong Island in 1888, but in the Battle of Dadonggou in 1894, how could the once powerful Beiyang Naval Division, which was known as the first in Asia and the sixth in the world, be able to catch up with the Japanese in only 6 years?

Of course, there are reasons for corruption, the situation of sand passing off as gunpowder does exist, and there are also reasons for the lack of discipline and combat effectiveness of soldiers, and at that time Japanese spies even found that the soldiers of the Beiyang Naval Division were drying their clothes on the barrels of their guns.

But the reasons for failure are varied, and the impact of technological progress cannot be ignored.

The Beiyang Naval Division was formed in 1888, but the ship orders placed to the Western powers were not until 1874, which means that the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division during the First Sino-Japanese War were designed 20 years ago.

What kind of era was that? It was the era when mankind entered the second industrial revolution and the great development of science and technology, and in 20 years' time, the industrial level and scientific and technological level of mankind, and even the concept of human beings, will undergo earth-shaking changes.

In fact, before the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, Li Hongzhang was already aware of the crisis, and at that time, he kept applying to the imperial court for military expenses, and he did not ask for the purchase of new ships, but had to upgrade his artillery, right?

But it's a pity that at that time, Lafayette wanted to build the Summer Palace, and Emperor Guangxu also wanted to exchange the garden for his own pro-government, as for Weng Tongyi and Li Hongzhang were political enemies and had personal enmity, and the military would rather repair the garden than give it to the Beiyang sailors.

Sigh, it's really embarrassing, in fact, the Japanese navy at that time was not very strong at all, the First Sino-Japanese War was more like a big gamble, a big gamble between the entire Japanese national fortune and the Beiyang forces, Ito Hirobumi once said, there is only one enemy of mine, and that is Li Hongzhang.

Very powerful pragmatism, I don't seek to be the first in the world, I don't want to be perfect, since the goal is set on Beiyang, then I will prepare for the war with all my strength, I only need to be a little stronger than you.

Just like the Sanjing ship at that time, it was completely to deal with the two giant ships of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, with a small body carrying a large artillery and a small body of more than 4,000 tons, and actually carrying a 320 mm caliber giant cannon, and he was not afraid of firing the cannon to disperse the small body.

But the Japanese don't care, the purpose of the people is simple, how much is the Sanjing ship, how much is the town of Dingyuan, I will end up with you, I will take advantage of it.

In fact, the First Sino-Japanese War Beiyang Naval Division was only the advantage of naval tonnage and numbers, and the scientific and technological strength and the concept of naval combat have lagged behind Japan, although the backwardness is not much, it can be completely made up, but it is a pity, don't forget that there is also a Manchu pig teammate.

Xiao Lotian will never let history repeat itself, although Japan changed its name to Fuso, and the pace of the Meiji Restoration was forcibly interrupted, but is China safe?

There is no threat from Japan, but Russia, Britain, France, and even the United States, which will recover in the future, are not fuel-efficient lamps, and China's navy will still encounter a big battle sooner or later, perhaps even more tragic than the First Sino-Japanese War.

Make money, Xiao Lotian plans to purchase only two 2300 type warships, these two battleships are the training ships of the future ironclad fleet, and the second battleship must be produced in the shipyard in the Ryukyus, although the steam unit still has some core components that still need to be purchased from Prussia, but the Chinese have to work hard to learn ah, to accumulate shipbuilding talents.

After the 2300 model, it is necessary to build a larger tonnage of warships, and it is better to spend money and waste the lessons learned from the failure of the college students under his command than to completely rely on imports, how can the sharp weapons of the military state be held in the hands of others.

The Wing King patted the ironclad ship in front of him, "Mr. Kevin, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to receive an order for this battleship......"

"Why? Oh my God, what a good battleship this is, I've already pushed the cost down to £260,000, aren't you satisfied?

Prince Karl was also stunned, he felt that the two sides had been working together very happily, the Prussian business actually didn't make much money at all, and his father was not optimistic about this plan, but now it was completely him Karl and Xiao Lotian who were promoting this plan.

In the face of his savior, Carl is still very conscientious, and he never thought of slaughtering Xiao Letian.

The Wing King smiled and shook his head and said, "No, no, no...... You didn't understand what I meant, I said that there will be no more orders for this battleship, and my brother should send you updated drawings when I get back...... Maybe a bigger warship, 6,000 tons, 7,000 tons? Who can say for sure......"

"Hey...... My brother's ambition is too great!"

Kevin was so excited that he almost didn't fall off the shelf, not to take you so big to gasp for breath, "Six or seven thousand tons, God, we can add more advanced steam turbines, we can try new structural layouts, more powerful artillery, faster ship speeds, thicker armor ......"

"Your Royal Highness, I officially apply to you, I want to follow this battleship to Asia, and I will personally record all the data to lay the foundation for better warship design in the future!"

"Okay, I agree to your request, I was going to let you work this trip, first-hand information is too precious...... Hehe, the British and French can learn the appearance of our warships, but they can't learn from our experience!"

"Xiao Lotian once told me a Chinese proverb called, one step will be the first step, don't underestimate the technical gap of twenty or thirty years, there is the accumulation of experience in these details, to create a legend!"

"You don't have to be a century ahead of them to defeat the enemy, in fact, ten years is enough!"

"Well, the ship is ready for a long journey, Lord Lord...... This battleship has to have a name!"

The Wing King nodded and took a folder from the hands of the guards behind him, and after opening it, there were several folded pieces of rice paper inside, Xiang Ying and Cai Bixuan hurriedly opened it carefully, and the two big characters written in thick ink appeared in front of people's eyes.

"Zhiyuan...... This is the name of the ship named by the prime minister, China's first ironclad battleship, the Zhiyuan!"

Distant Ryukyu, it was already late at night at this moment, Xiao Lotian suddenly woke up from the nightmare, the Dadonggou fiasco appeared in front of his eyes, and the smoke-billowing Zhiyuan rushed towards the enemy like a dying beast, crashing into Yoshino It was the pain in the souls of all Chinese.

"On this day, the world is full of tears, and there is a strong navy! It can only be Zhiyuan, and it must be Zhiyuan, otherwise I will not be able to get over the hurdles in my heart!"

Note: Zhiyuan, it can really only be Zhiyuan, without those sacrificed predecessors, this military soul can't come out!

Although the Zhiyuan is not the most powerful battleship in history, Xiao Letian advanced the design concept of this battleship by 19 years, which is terrifying.