San Lorenzo Naval Base, Peru, South America.

In the harbor, there are more than 20 ironclad ships of all sizes flying the golden dragon flag, the most eye-catching is the flagship "Xuanyuan".

With a total length of 125 meters, a width of 22 meters, and a standard displacement of up to 12,000 tons, the Xuanyuan stands out from the crowd.

This is the latest type of warship that was recently launched in Daqing, and as soon as the trial voyage was over, it was incorporated into the East China Sea Fleet and came to South America, and only a few people in Daqing were able to see its style.

On the docks, Zai Zhao, Guo Zhongmou, and several admirals waited in the shadow of the warships in full formation, and Peru agreed to capture the port of Valparaiso and enter Santiago's battle plan, but asked for a group of military and political dignitaries to visit the Qing fleet.

For this request, Zaizhao naturally will not refuse, and it is not easy to refuse, after all, if you want Peru to send troops to cooperate, people want to evaluate your strength, which is a completely legitimate request.

However, some officers have opinions on this, and Sun Yisheng, the captain of the "Xuanyuan", is one of them, but after only waiting for a few minutes, he was a little impatient, raised his wrist and glanced at his watch, and muttered softly: "We came thousands of miles to live and die for them, and they still put up a shelf." ”

"What's the whine?" Guo Zhongmu scolded softly, and then said: "We came to South America, ostensibly to support Peru and Bolívar, but in fact to safeguard our country's interests in South America, this must be clear."

In addition, it is also a legitimate request for people to come to visit the fleet and evaluate our strength, after all, they want to send 20,000 troops to fight together, or maybe they have different opinions in the country, hoping to use this to unify their thinking. ”

Sun Yisheng said softly: "The 'Xuanyuan' is the most advanced warship in my country, and there are many people, so it is difficult to ensure that no one among them takes the opportunity to spy on secrets. ”

"Are you vigilant? Are we all wine bags and rice bags? Guo Zhongmu reprimanded angrily: "The 'Xuanyuan' hurriedly finished the sea trial test and was transferred to the fleet to come to South America, do you know why?" ”

Hearing this, all the officers who watched the excitement suddenly became interested, "Why?" ”

"Confidential." Guo Zhongmou's face was flat, "Pay attention to discipline, you can't ask what you shouldn't ask." ”

Everyone rolled their eyes, isn't this sincere appetite, since you can't say it, what are you asking for?

Sun Yisheng's heart was itching, and he turned to look at Zaizhao, "Commander, can you say it?" ”

When the "Xuanyuan" came to South America, Yi Zhishu specially explained that there was no need for secrecy, and that only torpedoes needed to be kept strictly secret, and his intention was very simple; first, to show off force, and second, to stimulate Western countries to engage in an arms race and drag down the economies of various countries.

"Xuanyuan" belongs to the dreadnought, it can be said to have created an era - the era of dreadnoughts - the era of giant ships and cannons, compared with the existing warships of Western countries, "Xuanyuan" has too many advantages, once it appears in public, Western countries will inevitably compete to follow suit.

Zai Zhao understood this meaning, but it was inconvenient to say it clearly, so he muttered at the moment: "There is nothing that cannot be said, sending the 'Xuanyuan' here is naturally to play a better deterrent effect by force, in addition, the 'Xuanyuan' can also reflect and reflect China's industrial strength, ship-building capabilities, scientific and technological level, weapons research and development level and other comprehensive strength, the hidden meaning behind this is more important than the deterrence of force." ”

This is better than him, Guo Zhongmu was secretly amused in his heart, but he looked at Sun Yisheng and said: "As far as you can say, the military and political dignitaries of Peru will come in a while, and you will be responsible for explaining and introducing, remember, the situation of torpedoes is rarely explained." ”

As he spoke, he glanced at everyone and admonished: "My country's influence in Peru is not small, and it is not excluded that there are Peruvian officials who know Chinese, so everyone should not be careless." ”

On the deck of a battleship in the center, Peruvian President Prado pointed to the Qing fleet in the harbor with a smile on his face, "In the two South African naval battles, the British Navy was defeated by the Qing Navy, and I originally thought that the Qing Navy only relied on torpedoes.

After seeing the Qing fleet, I realized that I was wrong, the ironclad warships built by the Qing State have surpassed Britain in all aspects of performance, and it seems that the Qing State has replaced Britain as the new maritime hegemon, and there is no need to question it. ”

Admiral Grau, who has a detailed understanding of ironclad ships, said slightly: "The Qing people have always been in the leading position in the world in terms of weapon development, and in terms of the army, from breech rifles to machine guns, from mortars to breech steel cannons to automatic abdication and re-entry artillery, the navy has more advantages, submarines, torpedoes, and twin main guns are far ahead.

Originally, there were still some defects in the battleship, and the naval gun firepower was seriously insufficient, but in just a few years, the Qing people made up for this shortcoming, and the naval gun firepower of the 'Xuanyuan' configuration has surpassed that of the European ironclad ships, and it is in an absolute leading position in terms of speed, steel armor, gun position setting, wind and wave resistance, endurance, maneuverability, etc. ”

"It's ridiculous that there are still people who are worried that the Qing fleet is no match for the Chilean Navy." Prado said: "What is the saying of the Qing State, sit on the well and watch the sky, yes, it is to sit on the well and watch the sky, it is long overdue for them to come and visit the Qing country's fleet." ”

"Your Excellency." Grau said with a solemn expression: "The Qing Navy's record is too dazzling, the torpedoes are not only extremely powerful, but also there is no effective means of defense so far, and the Chilean Navy is very likely to avoid war."

According to the normal situation, the Qing army should assist our country to recover the occupied ports and lost territories first, but the Qing country directly attacked Santiago, the purpose is obvious, that is, to force Chile to surrender and end the war as soon as possible. ”

Prado said: "What are you worried about? Worried about the stalemate in the war, the Qing Navy will evacuate and return to China halfway through the battle? ”

"It's not impossible." Grau said straightforwardly: "There is a rebellion in Central Asia, that is, the two northwestern provinces of the Qing State, and there may be a situation of British and Russian intervention, and if this happens, the Qing army is very likely to retreat." ”

"Then we will try to end this war as soon as possible." Prado said in a deep voice, in fact, he has always been quite concerned about the situation in the Qing country, and this war with Chile is only relying on the strength of the two countries themselves, and there is no possibility of winning at all, and he must rely on the support of the Qing country, and he can't help but pay attention to the situation in the Qing country.

That part of Central Asia is too sensitive, and the possibility of Britain and Russia intervening is really relatively large, so in order to prevent accidents, they did write to end this war as soon as possible, which is why he agreed to attack Santiago directly.

After pondering for a while, he spoke: "Chile advocates force, and there is the support of the British behind it, if it can't be completely solved, there will be no less trouble in the future, we can't always rely on others, we must build a strong navy, the new warships of the Qing Dynasty, you find an opportunity to ask, can you book a few." ”