Ling Wencha sent a report on the 40-mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns to the fleet, and remained in Qinzhou to oversee the renovation of the fleet's two aging battlecruisers.

Truth be told, there has been a great deal of controversy within the Imperial Navy about whether or not to modernize the six aging "Green Ridge-class" battlecruisers. Most of the senior officers considered the six ships to be too old to be of much significance even if they were to be refitted, and their opinion was more inclined to decommission and dismantle them after the expiration of the stipulated service life, that is, in 307 and 308, so that new replacement ships could be built.

However, after the formation of the Ninth Fleet, due to the lack of capital ships to accompany them, and the planned construction of new replacement ships to be given priority to the Eastern and Southern Fleets, at the request of the Ninth Fleet and the Northern Fleet, the Admiralty approved a major modernization program for these six old battlecruisers.

That is, the order for the refit of these six battle cruisers was out of desperation, and not the original intention of the Admiralty.

Beginning in the second half of 302, the refit of six "Green Ridge class" battlecruisers was assigned to three large shipyards in the empire: the Luda Naval Shipyard, the Songjiang Naval Shipyard and the Southwest United Shipyard in Qinzhou, of which the two battleships converted by the Luda Naval Shipyard belonged to the Northern Fleet.

The first to be renovated was the Nanling, a battlecruiser built by Canton Shipyard that was the latest to be completed in its class, but it was the battleship with the most problems, and its power system has been constantly malfunctioning since it entered service.

According to the refit plan, the renovation of the "Green Ridge class" ships is huge, and it will cost almost half the cost of building a new ship. First of all, to solve the problem of weak underwater protection, three 3 cm thick armor plates were added to the inner side of the side side of the waterline as a mine protection compartment. The watertight doors that originally penetrated in the lower compartment were all welded with steel plates, and three horizontal watertight compartments were also subdivided. The bow and stern were completely dismantled and rebuilt, while the freeboard height was increased for seaworthiness, the new cruiser bow extended the front by 17.6 meters, and the stern was extended by 13.7 meters to accommodate the installation of two new steam turbines and improve the ship's high-speed performance. In addition, a 1.2-meter lightning protrusion has been added to the side of the ship, so that the underwater width of the whole ship has increased from the original 27.3 meters to 29.7 meters. Due to the widening of the hull, the whole ship has an additional reserve buoyancy of more than 4,300 tons after the refit.

As a result, the displacement was increased from 27,000 tons to 31,000 tons.

In terms of power system, the original 12 coal-fired boilers were dismantled and replaced with 8 new high-pressure boilers for naval heavy oil burning, and the original four reactionary steam turbines were replaced with four high-pressure autoclaver gear steam turbines manufactured by Liugong, and the total power was increased from the original 27,000 horsepower to 125,000 horsepower.

After the removal of the boiler, the surplus empty tank was converted into a fuel tank, which can increase the fuel reserve by a total of 1,200 tons, which also greatly increases the endurance of the warship.

In terms of armament: all torpedo launchers were removed, and the original four triple 305 mm main guns were replaced with four newly developed 330 mm 45 x caliber main guns arranged in the 3223 manner, and the maximum elevation angle was increased from 28º to 37º, which was enough to compete with the Dunkirk-class battle cruisers under construction in the East Frankish Navy. The secondary guns were also turretized, the original 12 150 mm secondary guns were replaced by 6 twin 130 mm high-level dual-purpose turrets, the original 18 70 mm secondary guns were replaced by 12 twin 37 mm anti-aircraft guns and 6 twin 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, and 10 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns were added.

In terms of superstructure, the bridge, mast and chimney have been redesigned, and the height of the bridge has been increased. Two hangars were also added between the No. 3 turret and the rear chimney, while two seaplane catapults were installed on either side of the aft deck.

Such a drastic change would have almost reinvigorated the older battlecruisers built before the war, and the increased protection brought their performance close to that of a fast battleship, with a top speed of more than 29 knots after the replacement of the new power system.

Now, the two old ships have completed the replacement of the power system and are re-outfitting the project.

Ling Wencha rushed to the shipyard before eight o'clock, "Lieutenant Colonel, General Chen Shiying is here. His lieutenant said to him.

Ling Wencha was taken aback when he heard it, "Lieutenant General Chen Shiying?!" ”

"Yes, he went to the reception room of the shipyard, and the general's car was parked outside."

After hearing this, he hurried to the room of the fleet commander.

"Hey, Vancha, what do you want to drink?" Lieutenant General Chen Shiying said to him.

"Black tea, less sugar." Ling Wencha looked at Chen Shiying opposite, the other party still had the familiar resolute face, and there was still a little cunning in his black eyes, but the original thick black hair was already mixed with a little white, and the original young and handsome face was also full of wrinkles. The two gold stars on the collar badge represent his current status - Vice Admiral Chen Shiying, commander of the Ninth Fleet of the Imperial Navy.

The Imperial Navy was divided into three major factions: the largest being the Surface Fleet, the Submarine Force, and the Naval Aviation, which came from the Air Force. Of course, the bigwigs of the first series of the surface fleet are Marshal Pei Yunsong, the current Minister of the Navy, Marshal Liu Chengliang, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Jiang Yuanchao, commander of the Eastern Fleet of the Navy, and Admiral Sa Wenlan, director of education of the Imperial Navy, while the representatives of the first series of submarine forces are Admiral Xiao Zhenbang, the former commander of the submarine force and the current deputy chief of the general staff of the Navy.

For the limited number of promotion places in the Imperial Navy, the three factions are of course indispensable to fight openly and secretly.

"Are your wife and children okay?" Lieutenant General Chen Shiying took the black tea from the adjutant and personally delivered it to Ling Wencha.

"Thank you, General, they are all good. The eldest has just been assigned to serve in the Indian Ocean Fleet, and the rest of the children are still in school. Ling Wencha took the porcelain teacup from the lieutenant general's hand and replied.

"Sit down, Vancha." Lieutenant General Chen Shiying asked Ling Wencha to sit on the couch, and then he also entered the single sofa on the side, and lit a cigarette in his hand, "Lieutenant Colonel, I heard that you have participated in several aviation confrontation exercises, right?" His face turned serious.

"Yes, sir. I'm just concerned about the direction of the new technology in the Navy, as if before the last war, who would have thought that submarines could cause so much trouble to surface ships. Ling Wencha said loudly, "Now a new subject has come out again, and this time the threat is from the sky. ”