Since he had the consciousness of the future, Jochen began to compulsively squeeze the memory and knowledge in his brain, and found out all the political, policy, economic, diplomatic, military, and technological development, changes, gains and losses, right and wrong information in Germany in the history that he had seen and heard in the past, and then recorded it, wrote it when he thought of it, and remembered it when he had ideas, so Jochen began to carry a small notebook with him. And this made the people around him regard him as the diligent and studious cousin of the emperor's eldest grandson. Of course, the content of the notes is all simplified Chinese characters from previous lives, so I don't worry about how many people can understand them.

Then, Jochen, who had compiled a lot of information, found that many things were intertwined, and it was difficult to change them individually, otherwise it would have a bad impact on the subsequent reaction. Therefore, the first goal of his own sake, and the least important thing to have a serious impact on the international situation, is to strengthen Germany itself and weaken its opponents in the competition in various fields.

And now, the closest to him, and the one he can exert a certain amount of influence, is undoubtedly the shipbuilding order that the Qing State seeks to order a new type of cruiser, which is the historical controversial Jiyuan dome cruiser. And this is not just a matter of one warship, the Jiyuan was the first dome cruiser built by a German shipyard in history. Because there was no previous technical accumulation, so the design borrowed from the same kind of ships built in the United Kingdom in the past, and Jiyuan did have some problems that could not be ignored because of inexperience, but it cannot be simply positioned as a ship with a failed design, but in front of the "perfect protective cruiser" launched by George Rendale is also the famous "Armstrong-type protective cruiser system" in the future, coupled with the promotion of some people with ulterior motives, Jiyuan's problem has been magnified and belittled.

This led to the fact that when the Beiyang Naval Division ordered cruisers again in the future, Germany was severely criticized by the British, and in the end, Li Hongzhang, who had always been unhappy with the British, had to run to order warships from the British. If Germany can properly solve this problem, then at least two more cruisers will be ordered, and the British will lose two orders as a result. Jochen, who had long been determined not to spare even a single mark of income, and not to let the English get a penny, was naturally bound to take advantage of this God-given opportunity.

The dome, the arch also. In line with the modern Chinese translation habits of many foreign words, the translation of the word "dome" is also very vivid. Although the flat armor deck used by the previous Pingjia cruiser to protect the engine room gave the warship some survivability, it was located about 4 feet below the waterline, so that once the waterline was breached, the sea water would take advantage of the momentum and flood the entire Pingjia top, eventually capsizing the warship. And with the increasing requirements for the speed of the "fast ship", the volume of boilers on warships is getting larger and larger, and the space in the engine room is too narrow to be difficult for operation, limited by the armored deck installed below the waterline.

The dome cruiser, on the other hand, changed the flat armored deck to a dome armored deck with a flat middle and slopes on both sides, that is, the dome armor. The flat armor in the middle was raised above the waterline, while the oblique armor on both sides fell 4 feet below the waterline. Because the central part is higher than the waterline, even if the waterline is damaged and flooded, it is difficult to submerge the armored deck above the waterline for a while, and the warship can still maintain a large buoyancy; The two sides of the armored deck that extends diagonally to the waterline have become inclined armor with a good bulletproof effect, and the resistance of the water outside the ship has played a better role in protecting the side of the warship near the waterline, that is, "resisting bombs with an inclination and isolating water leakage with a dome boundary", compared with unprotected cruisers and peace-armored cruisers, the advantages of dome-armored cruisers are quite obvious. Just because of the consideration of reducing weight, the use of dome armor on early warships often only covers the engine room and other vital parts in the middle of the warship, and cannot protect the whole ship.

The first cruiser of this kind designed by George Rendale, the 2,977-ton Esmeralda, built for the Chilean Navy, became the first product of the famous Armstrong-type protective cruiser system. What makes this type of warship etched in the history of the development of the world's ships is its way of protection, which is a new kind of dome cruiser. And for medium and emerging countries that cannot afford to build and buy battleships, and who have an urgent need for powerful warships, this new type of ship is a huge appeal.

On November 22, 1881, when Ding Ruchang and Deng Shichang served as pipe belts, returned to Tianjin Port after hardships and dangers, Li Hongzhang personally greeted them at Dagukou, and then joined the Qing Beiyang Naval Division's Chaoyong and Yangwei two cruisers were Pingjia cruisers lacking effective protection, which was obviously not what Li Hongzhang wanted.

At this time, the two ships in Dingzhen had started construction at the Volkeng shipyard one after another, and the progress was gratifying, when the last payment was made, Li Hongzhang found that he had planned to order another ironclad ship had little money left, but the DPRK and China had already complained about such a huge expense, and Li Hongzhang, who was expected to have difficulty in preparing the follow-up payment, decided to use the remaining funds to order two relatively cheap cruisers.

And the new "perfect protective cruiser" is naturally the best product to meet the needs of the Qing State. In 1881, Jin Denggan, director of the Chinese Customs Office in London, obtained a new cruiser design from Randolph, which was the Esmeralda. Armstrong also sensed China's eagerness to need ready-made warships at that time, and proposed that the Esmeralda, which was being built on the slipway, could be given priority to China, and another ship of the same type would be delivered to Chile, and China would need to subsidize 15,000 pounds to the Chilean government in addition to the 160,000 pound price as compensation for the delay in the delivery of the ship.

Perhaps Hurd introduced the Esmeralda directly to Li Hongzhang, and it is estimated that there will be nothing to do with the Germans after that, this 2977-ton, 18.3 knots, equipped with 2 254 mm 30 times the diameter main gun, 6 152 mm 26 times diameter secondary guns, 3 356 mm torpedo tubes, and with a comprehensive protection from the bow to the stern of the 63 mm dome armor cruiser can be said to be worthy of her "perfect type of protective cruiser" at that time.

However, the ambitious Hurd was not in a hurry to inform Li Hongzhang of the news, and this scheming Englishman had been waiting for an opportune moment to ask for a good price and control the dream of the Chinese navy, which he had been doing for a long time. Therefore, after hearing the news that Li Hongzhang was ready to order a cruiser, Hurd, who was well-informed, immediately recommended it to Li Hongzhang, but it was not the latest "perfect cruiser", but an "improved cruiser", that is, it was enlarged on the basis of the Chaoyong, and it was still an unprotected cruiser. The Esmeralda, on the other hand, was concealed by Hurd as a backhand.

But what Hurd was self-defeating was Chao Yong, Yangwei's delay in the construction process, the transformation of the torpedo boat into a pole mineboat, and Hurd's desire to control the Qing Navy. hope, all of which made Li Hongzhang gradually lose trust in him. And this kind of large-scale super courage was obviously not taken into account by Li Hongzhang. Therefore, Li Hongzhang decided to get rid of the British and go to the Germans.

On October 20, 1882, Li Fengbao, who was far away in Volkeng to check the progress of the construction of the Dingzhen Second Ship, received a telegram from Li Hongzhang, informing him that he was ready to purchase two new cruisers, and introduced the situation that Hurd had recommended an improved cruiser with "17 nautical miles per hour, 27 tons of guns, 2 heads and tails, 600 tons of coal, 18 feet 6 inches of draft, and about 140,000 pounds." Or is it something else? How much does it cost? ”

Was it necessary to go to the German shipyards to inquire about the ships recommended by the British? As Li Hongzhang's trusted confidant, Li Fengbao can naturally understand what Lord Zhongtang means. Lord Nakado, who was obviously deeply disgusted with the British, was reluctant to order warships from the British, but in order not to be stabbed by Hurd in order not to be stabbed by Hurd, he had to find a suitable excuse as a reason not to order warships from the British. And this burden naturally fell on Li Fengbao's shoulders.

Four days later, on October 24, a telegram was sent back to Tianjin from Berlin, saying that the warships recommended by Hurd "must not confront the iron ships." The expensive telegram could not contain much content, so on the same day Li Fengbao replied with a long letter, in which he further criticized the warship recommended by Hurd as useless, saying that "it is difficult to get accurate when it encounters wind and waves, and the ship has been pierced by small cannons, and it is impossible to defend against enemy artillery in vain when it encounters small cannons." He held that this kind of warship was old and backward and had no value to buy. He also built yì should buy the latest dome cruisers from European countries, but completely ignored the fact that the latest dome cruisers built in Europe were made by the British, and then changed his pen and recommended ordering dome cruisers from Germany.

Li Fengbao's action made Li Hongzhang very satisfied, and on the day he got the callback, he immediately ordered Li Fengbao to order one trial ship first, and Li Fengbao did not dare to slack off, and put forward the intention of ordering to the German Volkeng shipyard, which was building the second ship of Dingzhen.

And with such a big move, it was naturally impossible to hide it from Jochen, and he immediately said that he wanted to participate in the order transaction for the new ship. At this time, Yoheng was already the eldest grandson of the emperor, and the enlightening thinking in the design of the second ship of Dingzhen was also refreshing, and His Royal Highness the imperial grandson was so concerned about this order, both Qingde and Germany were naturally extremely welcome.

And Jochen's first sentence in the negotiations made Qingde's face change dramatically: "Mr. Minister, Mr. Counselor, do you know that my Germany has no experience in designing and building dome cruisers? ”