From Peking to Tianjin, it is only a few hours, but in a way, from Peking to Tianjin, it is like going back and forth between two worlds. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In exchange for the support of Westerners, Tianjin, which was still just a land and water wharf, was turned into a treaty port, and Britain and the United States were introduced to set up concessions in Tianjin, and then they set up a gun bureau in Tianjin. Subsequently, with its unique geographical location and historical background, Tianjin quickly became the intersection of Chinese and Western heterogeneous cultures, and took the lead in the rapid development of the modern lane. The real development of Tianjin was in the first year of Kaihong, after Tianjin was selected as the economic center of North China, the city has developed rapidly, but in just a few years, with the establishment of iron and steel mills, textile factories and other machine factories, and quickly developed into the most important industrial and commercial center in North China, and quickly replaced Beiping.

At the beginning of the opening of the port, foreigners in China regarded Tianjin as "one of the dirtiest, most disturbed, and busiest cities" in China, however, after years of development, it was once a disgusting and hateful road full of deep ditches, large holes, and stinky ditches...... Flattened, straightened, flattened, widened...... The garbage that had accumulated over the centuries in the moats was also removed. In the travelogues of some foreign tourists, Tianjin is described in another way: "Walking in the most magnificent, neat and beautiful neighborhood in Tianjin, it makes people feel like they have come to the capital of Europe." “

Zhu Yifeng does not know what the capital of Europe will look like, but the current Tianjin New Town is not inferior to Wuchang, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places. The plane trees planted four years ago on both sides of the street have grown into a tall canopy, forming a continuous forest on the sidewalk**.

From two years ago, when the first tram was put into use in the imperial capital, the first public tram line was opened, and now the public carriages in Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin have been rapidly replaced by trams, China's application of new technologies can be said to be far ahead of the rest of the world.

And as the advocate of all this, Zhu Yifeng has a lot of Qing, behind this seemingly rapid progress, in fact, it is completely his own "willful will", if he had not decided to use the public tram in the construction of the imperial capital, and directly participated in the development of the tram, I am afraid that there will not be the urban transportation revolution set off by the tram that is now showing its edge.

"The Second Industrial Revolution ......"

Zhu Yifeng, who was sitting in the carriage, muttered in his heart, in another world, from the late 60s of the 19th century, with the application of inventions such as generators, electric lights, and internal combustion engines, the second industrial revolution began, and mankind also entered the "electric age".

"Electric Age!"

Since when did China enter the electric age?

From the invention of electric light and generator in 1855, to the invention of the electric motor the following year, to the ...... Thinking about the train with the internal combustion engine, it seems that China has begun the second industrial revolution.

That's right, China's current lead is actually entirely due to the fact that it has been in the leading position of promoting the second industrial revolution, not only the initial establishment of the electrical industry, but even the establishment of the synthetic chemical industry, although it has only just laid a foundation, but this foundation is exactly what Britain and the United States and other countries lack.

In addition, the outbreak of war also prevented new inventions such as the electric car from spreading overseas, like electric lights and generators, and the spread of technology in the 1860s was far from comparable to that of later generations.

"Technical Advantage ......"

Saying this sentence on his lips, Zhu Yifeng nodded silently, only by constantly maintaining technological superiority can China be invincible in this war, after all, the gap in national strength will be impossible to catch up for a while.

"It seems that we still have to find a way to quickly complete the development of basic national strength......

Thinking about it in his heart, Zhu Yifeng thought of the wartime industrial development plan that had just been formulated this year, according to which in the next three years, the Imperial Central Bank would provide a loan of 150 million yuan to the three major iron and steel companies of Daye, Guangzhou, and Tianjin for the expansion of steel plants and iron mines, and would also provide a loan of 120 million yuan for the construction of coal mines. And this is only part of the cumulative industrial development plan of 3 billion yuan.

In addition to providing low-interest loans to support the expansion of these enterprises, government enterprises have also received large amounts of funds in order to achieve a rapid increase in industrial power in the short term. And this does not even include the 600 million yuan of industrial preparation funds raised by the Imperial Branch and the Central Bank after the outbreak of the war last year, from now on, this investment is undoubtedly worthwhile, the scale of hundreds of key factories has doubled, and the increase in production capacity of some factories and enterprises has shown results. Just like Tianjin Xingang Shipyard, a shipyard under the Ministry of Communications, last year, it could only build 2,000-ton merchant ships, but now its equipment can meet the needs of building 10,000-ton ships.

“…… Xingang Shipyard has now undertaken 12 2,000-ton and 5,000-ton transport ships ordered by the Ministry of Communications......"

As the person in charge of Xingang Shipyard, Song Peien's every word seemed very cautious, he did not expect His Majesty to suddenly visit Tianjin, let alone come to Xingang Shipyard. That's why he seemed a little nervous, so he didn't know what to say to His Majesty.

"I heard that now the Xingang Shipyard, like the Dalian Factory, has begun to build warships?"

Listening to the roar of the air hammer hitting the rivet in the air, Zhu Yifeng asked with a smile.

China's government-run shipyards are divided into three systems, one is the naval system, that is, the navy's own shipyards, such as Huangpu, Jiangnan and Dalian, they are all invested and founded by the navy, and the navy's warship orders are also mostly issued from these three shipyards, although its shipyards are few, but its scale is large, well-equipped. There is also a system of shipyards invested by the Ministry of Communications, compared with the three naval shipyards, the Ministry of Communications has invested in more than 20 shipyards, which are not only limited to the mainland, but also in North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Nanyang, and African colonies There are also shipyards set up by the Ministry of Communications to serve commercial shipping, which is characterized by many shipyards, but most of them are limited in scale. The last one is Wuchang and many other shipyards under the name of Hanyang Group, which cannot be compared with the naval shipyard in terms of the scale of shipyard equipment, nor can it be compared with the Ministry of Communications in terms of quantity, but it has the most strong technical force, and has the title of "the mother of Chinese shipbuilding", because most of the equipment and personnel of the shipyard are from the Hanyang Group.

And now, the war is changing all that - the shipyard under the name of the Ministry of Communications has received more than 100 million yuan in investment and loans for the expansion of the shipyard, and thanks to the huge injection of funds, the large shipyard under its command has expanded rapidly for many years, and its scale is no less than that of the naval shipyard, of course, many shipyards are still expanding.

The reason why the shipbuilding industry will be paid attention to, one of the most fundamental reasons is that overseas operations need a large number of transport ships, and the navy's operations also need a large number of warships, because of this, now the shipyard of the Ministry of Communications will be greatly expanded at the same time, but also participate in the production of warships, after all, compared with the domestic private shipyards, the Ministry of Communications's shipyard equipment and technical force is more abundant. Tianjin's Xingang Shipyard, one of the five major shipyards under the Ministry of Communications, is no exception, with four warships under construction in its dockyard.

"Let's go there and have a look!"

When he came to the dock, Zhu Yifeng saw four warships under construction in the dock -- four 1,000-ton escort ships, which were a kind of merchant ship-type escort ships designed by the Admiralty's Naval Administration Office last year; the reason why the navy designed this kind of merchant standard escort ship was precisely to build warships with the help of the experience of civilian shipyards in building merchant ships, so as to expand the navy and enhance the navy's strength in the shortest possible time; as for the merchant ship standard, it was because the navy believed that in the event of a decisive battle between the fleet, it would be impossible for the British fleet to attack and intercept the fleet, a merchant ship equipped with 120 mm naval guns, was sufficient to protect the transport ship from interception by old British cruisers at sea.

Of course, under certain circumstances, this kind of merchant type warship can also participate in naval warfare, after all, its huge number is the basis for winning naval battles -- the navy has ordered as many as 65 merchant ships at one time, and now 23 shipyards in the country have started to build this kind of cheap merchant type warships at the same time, because of their small tonnage and fast construction speed, there are now nearly 10 merchant warships in service. Of course, they were not even used on the "right way" of escorting, and in the face of the reality of a serious shortage of ironclad warships, as soon as they entered service, the Navy immediately enriched them into the fleets and used them to strengthen the fleet, as for the escort of the fleet...... It is still provided by the old wooden-hulled warships, and those old-style wooden-hulled ships, in the opinion of some, are even inferior to the armed merchant ships with added artillery, after all, those merchant ships are also iron-hulled.

“…… It has a displacement of 1,212 tons, a draft of 3.2 meters, a three-expansion steam engine, an output of 1,500 horsepower, a speed of 12 knots, a coal storage capacity of 150 tons, and is armed with six 120-mm naval guns and six 11-barreled Gatling guns of 15 mm......"

In Song Peien's introduction, Zhu Yifeng looked at the four warships in the dock that had begun to show their shape, he didn't have much impression of this kind of merchant ship-type warship, and of course he would not object to the navy building a large number of this kind of warships for emergencies, after all, in another time and space, whether it was World War I or World War II, Britain and the United States had built a large number of similar escort ships to meet the needs of escorts.

On the other hand, however, Zhu Yifeng knew very well that this kind of escort ship could not meet the needs of the navy, and what the navy needed now was a real warship that could be used in a decisive battle of the fleet, rather than this kind of humble "substitute."

"Mr. Song, you are a ship engineer, so I want to ask you, what role can they play in naval warfare?"

Turning his head to look at Song Peien, Zhu Yifeng said with a serious expression.

"This ......"

Faced with His Majesty's question, Song Peien's whole person immediately became hesitant, and after a moment of hesitation, he immediately replied.

"Your Majesty, Wechen is not a soldier, and he doesn't know much about naval warfare, but in Wechen's opinion, the combat effectiveness of a type of escort ship is not necessarily stronger than that of armed merchant ships, and their hulls are the same as those of merchant ships, as for the artillery, that is, the 120 mm Han naval gun, in addition to its better mobility, in Weichen's opinion, it seems that they do not have too many advantages......"

Despite saying this, he turned the corner and defended the navy.

"But now, this is the only warship that the shipyard can provide in the short term, maybe its performance is far from being comparable to ordinary warships, but Your Majesty, for the time being, the navy needs enough warships, and Wei Chen thinks that this advantage is enough to make up for his other weaknesses, and then ......"

Looking at His Majesty thoughtfully, Song Peien said deliberately.

"When the war is over in the future, these warships can be used for export to other countries, and Wechen feels that other countries must need warships made by China, and they can also be used for colonial cruises, after all, China's extensive colonial interests in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean need warships to defend ......"

Song Peien may not be a soldier, but as a shipbuilding engineer, he is very aware of the advantages of a type 1 escort ship.

"Although the tonnage of the first type of escort ship is limited, its coal carrying capacity is as high as 150 tons, which makes its range far exceed that of warships of the same tonnage, and it is also equipped with sails, which makes it have the long-range cruising ability of a small cruiser, so, in Yichen's opinion, if it can be improved for some of its shortcomings, it can fully meet the future needs of the navy, not just an emergency work!"

"Oh!"

Song Peien's words made Zhu Yifeng look at him and ask curiously.

"In view of some of its deficiencies, you can tell me, what are the areas that need to be improved?"

"Back to Your Majesty, Wechen doesn't know how to design warships, but Wechen thinks that if we can further increase its power, increase its speed, and properly thicken its broadside equipment, a type of escort ship can be a kind of small cruiser with excellent performance!"

Then Song Peien put out his ideas one by one, and these ideas were completely based on his knowledge of the ship, but he never had the opportunity to make these suggestions to the navy.

“…… In the design of a type of escort ship, in order to facilitate the construction of civilian shipyards, so it strictly abides by the specifications of merchant ships, which leads to its weak armor and poor power under the standards of merchant ships, in the opinion of the minister, appropriately increasing the thickness of its armor will not bring difficulties to the construction of civilian shipyards, after all, 32 mm of ship board and 45 mm of ship board, for shipyards, there is no difficulty in manufacturing, if you have to say difficulty, I am afraid it is still ......."

When Song Peien paused, Zhu Yifeng immediately asked rhetorically.

"What is it?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's still a matter of steel production!"

In addition to answering His Majesty's question, Song Peien said again.

"From the beginning of the war until now, steel production has been limiting the production of many enterprises, Your Majesty, the minister thinks, this is the biggest problem!"

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