This time on a cruise in the South Seas, in order to resolutely abide by the decree of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Beiyang Navy Division brought all the ten ships belonging to the fleet

From an outsider's point of view, the combat effectiveness is quite impressive:

Ironclad Battleship:

Dingyuan (displacement 7335 tons, four 305 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, three torpedo tubes, maximum speed 14.5 knots, Liu Buyun - right wing commander, Dingyuan pipe belt)

Zhenyuan (displacement 7335 tons, four 305 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, 3 torpedo tubes, maximum speed 14.5 knots, Lin Taizeng - left flank commander, Zhenyuan pipe belt)

Armored cruisers:

Jingyuan (displacement 2900 tons, two 210 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, four torpedo tubes, maximum speed 15.5 knots, Lin Yongsheng - deputy general of the left battalion of the left wing, Jingyuan pipe belt)

Laiyuan (displacement 2900 tons, two 210 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, 2 torpedo tubes, maximum speed 15.5 knots, Qiu Baoren - deputy general of the left battalion of the right wing, Laiyuan pipe belt)

Protective cruisers:

Jiyuan (displacement 2,300 tons, two 210 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, four torpedo tubes, maximum speed of 15 knots, Fang Boqian - the left deputy general of the Chinese army, Jiyuan pipe belt)

Zhiyuan (displacement 2,300 tons, three 210 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, four torpedo tubes, maximum speed 18 knots, Deng Shichang - lieutenant general of the Chinese army, Zhiyuan pipe belt)

Jingyuan (displacement 2,300 tons, three 210 mm main guns, two 150 mm secondary guns, four torpedo tubes, maximum speed 18 knots, Ye Zugui - the right deputy general of the Chinese army, Jingyuan pipe belt)

Pingyuan (displacement 2100 tons, one 260 mm main gun, two 150 mm secondary guns. One torpedo tube, maximum speed 11 knots)

Collision cruisers:

Yangwei (displacement 1350 tons, two 250 mm guns, maximum speed 15 knots. Lin Luzhong - Deputy General of the Right Wing Right Battalion, Yang Wei's Pipe Band)

Chao Yong (displacement 1,350 tons, two 250 mm guns, maximum speed 15 knots, Huang Jianxun - deputy general of the left wing and right battalion. Ultra-far pipe belt)

The fleet was accompanied by more than 2,100 sailors and officers and more than 300 marines.

"If we start a war with the Beiyang Naval Division, are we sure of victory?" After receiving information on the strength of the southern patrol ships of the Beiyang Naval Division, Hu Zhen asked Zheng Dingbang, deputy chief of the general staff of the Huaxia Army and commander of the naval fleet.

In the face of the mixed terrain of the islands and the sea in the South Sea, according to Hu Zhen's ideas, the idea of joint command operations between the navy and the army was proposed, and the army and navy set up a joint staff headquarters of the army and navy, with Su Wenzhen as chief of the general staff and Zheng Dingbang as deputy chief of the general staff.

Zheng Dingbang heard Hu Zhen's question and replied: "With the armor of the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, none of our warships can sink them. However, according to our speed, artillery range, and rate of fire, it will be difficult for the Beiyang Fleet to annihilate us, but if we rely on the seaside shore artillery positions, it is not known who will kill the deer! If our two 8,000-ton battleships in Chile and Argentina in South America come back and install our unique artillery command instruments, our firing accuracy will be at least 70 percent higher than that of the Beiyang Fleet, and the Beiyang Fleet will definitely be defeated! ”

Hu Zhen purchased two 8,000-ton battleships, 12 cruisers of 3,000 to 5,000 tons, 16 500-ton destroyers, and 16 torpedo boats in Europe, with a total tonnage of 75,000 tons. Hu Zhen only ordered the torpedo boats, destroyers, and cruisers to be received back in batches, but the two battleships were left untouched for the time being.

Hu Zhen shook his head and said something that surprised Zheng Dingbang: "No, actually." We can now completely defeat the Northern Fleet! ”

Zheng Dingbang said in surprise: "No, these Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships, our ships' guns below 300 mm can't penetrate his thick iron armor at all, and there are no 305 mm heavy guns, but the 305 mm main guns on the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships can smash our ships with one shot." How can I defeat the Beiyang Fleet? ”

"You are afraid of the two ironclad battleships of the Beiyang Fleet, their ironclad is thick and their guns are sharp, but his speed is only 14.5 knots, and the main gun takes a minute or even two minutes to hit a shell, while the main gun of our ship can shoot several shells in a minute, and there is also a shooting sight that is unique in the world, our large and small cannons sweep the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships with dense shells, they are not only slow, but also unable to aim, I am afraid that they will not be able to hit a shell in two minutes, Besides, their terrace-type turrets can't protect the gunners at all, even if Dingyuan and Zhenyuan don't sink, the other ships must be swept away by us, at this time, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan won't become single commanders, with the speed of crawling like a snail, what threat does it pose to us? ”

Zheng Dingbang listened to Hu Zhen's assumptions in his heart, calculated the artillery projection speed of his own 23 cruisers and the artillery projection speed of the Beiyang Fleet, and said after a while: "What Mr. said is extremely true, our firepower projection speed has exceeded more than twice that of the Beiyang Fleet, and the artillery below 210 mm caliber is more than three times that of the Beiyang Fleet. Then are we going to annihilate the Beiyang Fleet now! ”

Zheng Dingbang's heart was burning with a raging fire, and he couldn't wait for Hu Zhen to order the destruction of the Beiyang Fleet now.

But Hu Zhen still adhered to the original strategic plan: "No, no, in my plan, the Beiyang Fleet has never been our enemy, on the contrary, one day the officers and men of the Beiyang Fleet may become our colleagues and fight together for the interests of Great China all over the world!" ”

"What do you mean by ......?"

"According to intelligence analysis, the purpose of the Beiyang Fleet to come to the South Seas is not to fight, it is obvious that it is to deter us, since this is the case, then we will cooperate with them and satisfy the poor ** of the Qing Dynasty!"

"However, if you have to be patient with this incompetent, humiliating Qing court, I'm afraid the soldiers will be cold!"

Hu Zhen said contemptuously: "Hmph, what kind of bullshit is that the Qing Dynasty is not even worthy of being our opponent at all, our real opponents are the real wolves of England, France, Hungry Country, Wa Kingdom, and Mi Kingdom!" ”

"Sir, I'm not worried about the strength of the Beiyang Fleet, but I'm afraid that after we annihilate the Beiyang Fleet, when our strength is not enough, we will attract the attention of the European and American powers and cause them to jointly send fleets to intervene, then it will be difficult for us to realize the grand plan of dominating the world!" Su Wenzhen has been with Hu Zhen for the longest time, and he knows Hu Zhen's ideas best, so he stood up to support Hu Zhen.

"Yes, we have to figure out who our enemy is, our current enemy is not the Beiyang Fleet, and even the Qing Dynasty is not our enemy for the time being, of course, if we only do it and overthrow this Qing Dynasty, we don't need too much strength, but in order to achieve our strategic goals in the future, let's do a little bit of market development now!"

"Open up the market?"

"Yes, let the officers and men of the Beiyang Fleet advertise for us!"

"What advertising?" A large group of military leaders were even more confused when they heard this.

Hu Zhen smiled meaningfully and said, "As long as you obey my orders and don't cause anything, and follow along, you will know!" (To be continued.) )