"Stand up—"

In an auditorium at the Jingshengcheng Naval Base, thousands of officers and men of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet stood up neatly with Zhou Rui's arrival.

Thousands of officers and men of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet looked at Zhou Rui's eyes, all revealing admiration and excitement.

In the face of the beast clan that has suppressed mankind for more than 200 years, who dares to slash immediately, only their Zhou Dashuai!

It can be said that Zhou Rui is now not only the idol of the officers and soldiers of the Zhou family, but also the idol of all human youth.

When Zhou Rui sat down on the rostrum, thousands of officers and men of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet returned to their seats.

Today is May 10, 1545, and the commendation meeting for the Battle of Dragon Whale Island was held in this auditorium, so even Zhou Rui came to participate in person.

Qian Ronghua looked at Zhou Rui on the rostrum, he was very excited, he had received a notice that Zhou Rui would personally award him the Battle Meritorious Medal and bonus today.

Qian Ronghua was originally the third officer of the all-main gun battleship of the Seventh Formation Wang Xing, but after the captain, first officer, and second officer of the Wang Xing were killed one after another, Qian Ronghua temporarily took the position of captain of the Wang Xing.

Under the command of Qian Ronghua, the Wang Xing all-main gun battleship sank 2 all-main gun battleships, 1 battle cruiser and 1 large armored cruiser of the Black Bear Navy in the following naval battle.

Later, in the pursuit battle, he sank 1 battlecruiser and 1 all-steel battleship of the Golden Lion Navy, and almost single-handedly forced down 2 battleships with all main guns of the Golden Lion Navy, as if they were hanging.

Therefore, Qian Ronghua will be awarded the Southwest Town Guard Mansion First-Class Battle Meritorious Service Medal.

Zhou Rui is the army of the Zhou family, and the combat merit medal designed by Zhou Rui is divided into four levels, the highest is the special combat merit medal, and the lowest is the third-class combat merit medal.

Even Song Limin, commander-in-chief of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet, only won a first-class combat merit medal this time.

Only 36 special combat meritorious service medals were awarded this time, and all the officers and men who received the special combat meritorious service medals have already died heroically.

Song Limin, who presided over the commendation meeting, first announced the pension standards for the fallen soldiers and disabled soldiers in the naval battle of Longjing Island on behalf of the Southwest Town Guard.

Although the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet won the Battle of Longjing Island, its own losses were also very large, with more than 150,000 officers and men killed and missing.

In fact, at this time, the pensions of the fallen and disabled soldiers in the naval battle of Longjing Island have been distributed, and according to the standards set by Zhou Rui, the pensions have been issued with almost 500 million silver coins.

In addition, the families of the fallen soldiers and the disabled soldiers can also receive a subsidy every month in the future.

After Song Limin read out the standard of pensions, he summed up the naval battle of Longjing Island, and then began to present awards to the representatives of the officers and men who had made meritorious contributions.

In the Battle of Longjing Island, hundreds of thousands of officers and men of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet made meritorious contributions, and only more than 300 representatives of meritorious officers and men came to this commendation meeting.

Qian Ronghua took the first-class battle merit medal and a Zhou's bank golden ticket with a face value of 1,000 gold coins awarded to him by Zhou Rui, and hurriedly saluted Zhou Rui again.

Zhou Rui said to Qian Ronghua with a smile: "Do a good job, I am optimistic about you!" ”

In fact, Zhou Rui had said this more than a dozen times just now, and Zhou Rui didn't even remember Qian Ronghua's name, just a word of encouragement.

But Qian Ronghua was already so excited that he even forgot what the occasion was now, and shouted directly at Zhou Rui: "I am willing to die for the handsome!" ”

Zhou Rui patted Qian Ronghua's shoulder approvingly, "I hope that next time I can personally award you the Battle Meritorious Medal." ”

At the end of the commendation meeting, Song Limin announced the new establishment of the 12 main formations of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet.

Although in the Battle of Dragon Whale Island, the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet sank 112 battleships with full main guns and 42 battle cruisers, and some seriously injured capital ships, because they were too seriously injured, even to the keel, there was no value for repair, and they could only choose to scrap them.

However, Zhou Rui used the lottery system to replenish a large number of capital ships to the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet, plus those capital ships of the three beast countries that were captured, so that the number of capital ships of the 12 main formations of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet did not decrease but increased.

Counting the 4 three-star lottery cards given by the lottery system in February, March, April and May, some battleships and battlecruisers with full main guns were opened.

Zhou Rui replenished the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet with a total of 32 German Bavaria-class battleships, 32 British Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, 36 British Revenge-class battleships, 36 American Colorado-class battlecruisers, 36 British Prestige-class battlecruisers, and 36 British Hood-class battlecruisers.

In the Battle of Longjing Island, the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet captured a total of 60 battleships with all main guns and 20 battle cruisers of the Golden Lion, Red Tiger, and Black Bear navies.

However, only 52 battleships with full main guns and 16 battle cruisers could be incorporated into the sequence of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet, and the remaining 8 battleships with full main guns and 4 battle cruisers could only be scrapped because of damage to the hull structure.

After Zhou Rui's discussion with the senior management of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet, the new establishment of the 12 main formations of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet is as follows:

The first formation is divided into 9 squadrons, under the jurisdiction of 38 US Nevada-class all-main gun battleships and 36 US New Mexico-class all-main gun battleships.

The second formation is divided into 8 teams, with 40 U.S. Tennessee-class full-main gun battleships, 14 Toei-class Fuso-class all-main gun battleships, and 12 Toei Ise-class all-main gun battleships.

The third formation is divided into 9 teams, under the jurisdiction of 73 German Bavaria-class battleships with full main guns.

The fourth formation is divided into 9 teams, under the jurisdiction of 72 British Queen Elizabeth-class all-main gun battleships.

The fifth formation was divided into 8 squadrons, 36 British Revenge-class battleships and 36 American Colorado-class battleships.

The sixth formation is divided into 5 teams, under the jurisdiction of 20 Xianyuan-class Zi-class all-main gun battleships, 10 German King-class all-main gun battleships, 10 German Caesar-class all-main gun battleships, and 5 French Kolbe-class all-main gun battleships.

The seventh formation is divided into 5 teams, 12 "Akeboke" class full main gun battleships, 8 British Orion class full main gun battleships, 6 British Iron Duke class full main gun battleships, and 14 captured all main gun battleships.

The eighth formation was divided into 6 teams, and it had under the jurisdiction of 52 battleships with all main guns captured in the Battle of Longjing Island.

The ninth formation is divided into 4 squadrons, under the jurisdiction of 36 British Hood-class battlecruisers.

The 10th Formation was divided into 8 squadrons, under the command of 24 British Lion-class battlecruisers, 14 German Seydlitz-class battlecruisers, 12 German Moltke-class battlecruisers and 16 captured battlecruisers.

The 11th Formation is divided into 6 teams, with 30 Kongo-class battlecruisers and 20 traditional-class battlecruisers under its jurisdiction.

The 12th Formation was divided into 7 squadrons and had 56 British Prestige-class battlecruisers under its command.

The number of battleships with full main guns of the entire Southwestern Coastal Defense Fleet became 494 units, and the number of battle cruisers became 208 units.

The biggest feature of the new organization is that each team has at least 8 capital ships.

In addition, each main force of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet will still be equipped with 24 large armored cruisers, 40 light cruisers and 48 destroyers.

After the commendation meeting, Zhou Rui came to Song Limin's office, "Old Song, is there a problem with the staffing of the new warship?" ”

Song Limin said: "Don't worry, the reservists of our Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet have reached nearly one million before, and we have fully equipped all the officers and men of the new warships.

However, these officers and men need to adapt for a while before these new warships can give full play to their due combat effectiveness. ”

Zhou Rui said in a deep voice: "Hurry up and train, those six beast countries may not be able to give us too much time." ”

"Marshal, haven't the six orc nations reached an agreement on the formation of an alliance?"

Zhou Rui shook his head, "According to the information we have obtained, those six beast nations are all greedy, and they all hope to take more things from our Zhou family, but they have been frozen there. ”

Song Limin hesitated for a moment and said, "Great Marshal, the strength of our Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet is stronger than before.

If we can announce the true situation of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet to the outside world, will it make those six orc countries even more fearful?

Maybe ......"

Song Limin's words were not finished, but Zhou Rui understood what Song Limin wanted to say.

Since declaring war on each other with the six beast countries, although the newspapers of the Zhou family's feudal towns have always promoted the belief that the Zhou family's army will win.

But the top of the Zhou family, including Zhou Rui, were under very great pressure, after all, this was a declaration of war with the six beast countries at the same time.

Zhou Rui pondered for a moment and said: "There is no need, even if those six beast nations know that the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet has more than 100 capital ships, they will never choose to compromise."

It is better to hide these more than 100 capital ships, and give the navies of the six orc countries a big surprise in the future. ”

Zhou Rui understood that the reason why the six orc countries declared war on the Zhou family was because the rise of the Zhou family had infringed on the interests of the entire beast clan.

The stronger the Zhou family showed, the more united the six beast nations would become, and they would never choose to make peace without a fight just because the southwest coastal defense fleet had more than 100 capital ships.

Song Limin heard Zhou Rui say this, and did not continue the topic, "Marshal, the Liang Yan Navy has made it clear that until the end of this war, the two main fleets of the Liang Yan Navy are willing to accept the command of our Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet all the time. ”

Zhou Rui said with a smile: "I didn't expect the Liang Yan Empire to be so powerful, I heard that the Liang Yan Empire is preparing to build 30 Xiandao-class battleships with full main guns and 30 order-class battlecruisers at the same time, and a batch has already been built."

If the Liang Yan Empire is willing, our Zhou family can place an order for another 30 Xiandao-class battleships with full main guns and 30 order-class battlecruisers, and the price is not a problem. ”

The Xiandao-class battleships and order-class battlecruisers of the Liang Yan Empire both had 380 mm main guns.

In fact, now the six major shipyards under the Zhou family have begun to build 48 battleships equipped with 380 mm guns and 48 battle cruisers equipped with 380 mm guns at the same time.

But for Zhou Rui, who is not short of money, he very much hopes that the shipyards of the Liang Yan Empire can build more capital ships for the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet, and the more the better.

Of course, Song Limin hoped that the more capital ships of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet were, the better, "Dashuai, I will immediately contact the Liang Yan Empire to discuss the matter of ordering Xiandao-class all-main gun battleships and order-class battlecruisers. ”

In a large hall of the imperial palace in Lingyang City, the capital of the Liang Yan Empire, Emperor Fan Yi asked the crown prince Fan Pu and the prime minister Lu Qing: "What do you think of the Zhou family's desire to order the Xiandao-class all-main gun battleship and the order-class battlecruiser?" ”

Prime Minister Lu Qing immediately said: "Your Majesty, several shipyards of our Liang Yan Empire are building 30 Xianyuan-class all-main gun battleships and 30 traditional-class battlecruisers for the Zhou family's Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet.

Now, even the 18 Xiandao-class all-main gun battleships and 18 order-class battlecruisers that our Liangyan Empire is planning to build more than 30 new large docks have to be built.

With the shipbuilding capacity of our Liang Yan Empire, this is almost the limit, and it is impossible to build a new Xiandao-class battleship with full main guns and an order-class battlecruiser for the Zhou family right away. ”

Crown Prince Fan Pu then pondered and said, "Father, the reason why our Liang Yan Empire has invested a lot of money is to build 30 Xiandao-class battleships with 380 mm guns and 30 Order-class battlecruisers with 380 mm guns at the same time.

The main purpose is to cooperate with the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet to deal with the navies of the six beast countries.

In fact, with the financial situation of our Liang Yan Empire, it is not suitable to support so many battleships and battlecruisers with full main guns.

I suggest that it is better to transfer all those that are under construction and those that are about to be built, those Xiandao-class battleships with full main guns and order-class battlecruisers, to the Zhou family.

In this way, the navy will not have to worry about training so many new recruits. ”

The words of the crown prince Fan Pu made Emperor Fan Yi's eyes light up, "This is a good idea."

With the financial situation of our Liang Yan Empire, it is indeed not suitable to support a navy that is too large.

Since a military alliance has been established with the Zhou family, putting those Xiandao-class battleships with full main guns and order-class battlecruisers in the hands of the Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet is actually no different from joining our Liang Yan Navy. ”

Prime Minister Lü Qing also knew what the financial situation of the Liang Yan Empire was, so he did not object to the proposal put forward by the crown prince Fan Pu.

Zhou Rui didn't expect the Liang Yan Empire to be so happy, and learned that the Zhou family wanted to order Xiandao-class all-main gun battleships and order-class battlecruisers.

It was even necessary to transfer all the 30 Xiandao-class battleships with full main guns and 30 order-class battlecruisers that were under construction or about to be built to the Zhou family's Southwest Coastal Defense Fleet.

Of course, Zhou Rui would not refuse such a big gift, and agreed to the Liang Yan Empire's offer for these two capital ships.

The Xiandao-class all-main gun battleships, the Liang Yan Empire's offer was 25.1 million silver coins each, and the order-class battlecruisers were quoted at 23.8 million silver coins.

The offer of the two capital ships is actually not cheap, but Zhou Rui doesn't care.

With such a powerful ally as the Liang Yan Empire, Zhou Rui didn't mind letting it make more money, and if necessary, Zhou Rui could even help the Liang Yan Empire with a huge amount of money free of charge.