Historically, the Scharnhorst-class armored cruisers of the Second German Reich Navy were armed with eight 210 mm guns, four mounted in twin turrets on the fore and fore decks, and four mounted individually in the upper gun frames of the amidships. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 At the time of its completion, the Scharnhorst-class was a top-notch armored cruiser, but only a few years later, the British built epoch-making dreadnoughts and battlecruisers, the latter of which were simply the natural enemies of the old armored cruisers. In 1914, the Speegh fleet with two Scharnhorst-class cruisers as the main force defeated the British fleet with the armored cruisers "Cape of Good Hope" and "Monmouth" as the core in the Battle of Coronel, and 27 days later, the Speese fleet encountered two British fleets led by war cruisers, and in the case of not being able to fight and escape, the two Scharnhorst finally sank tragically, including Spee and his two sons, more than 2,200 German officers and soldiers died at the bottom of the sea......

……

With the help of Prince Oldenburg, Natsuki rolled out the blueprints of the new large cruiser design in front of everyone. In the era of pure hand drawing, Natsuki himself could not complete such a general design drawing in a week, but fortunately he had the backing of the Royal Shipyard. Under the excellent organization of Wiesel, Ernest is a senior consultant at the shipyard and a doctor of engineering at Keele University. A group of naval engineers led by Karls worked for six days and six nights without sleep or food, and finally completed this new general design drawing on the basis of the old design drawings.

"As soon as the Royal Naval Development Committee approves our new design, we are committed to completing all the design drawings within two weeks, and the technical demonstration in two weeks, so that we can get the D cruiser to work by the end of December." With that, Natsuki looked at the group of people who had the power to decide with a wistful gaze - they were all in front of the new design at the moment to carefully observe, obviously trying to find the fatal flaw in it, but as time passed, not only did they not succeed, but they were gradually attracted by these bold and innovative designs.

"It's unbelievable!" Commodore Gudsa, a naval weapons expert, exclaimed softly, "It has the potential to be a beautiful but fragile shelf, or a sea blade that the whole of Germany is proud of...... But who can say for sure before it's finished? ”

Sir Dietrich shook his head and said: "Regardless of whether the speed of the 25 knots can be achieved according to these design adjustments, the cost of the whole ship needs to be increased by at least ten percent, and the two ships are already close to 4 million marks, and it will not be easy for the council to approve this additional cost." ”

Bruckner, who presided over the meeting, also spoke on the side: "We don't have enough experience in the use of steam turbines on large warships, if we buy British Patis turbines directly...... It doesn't always feel very reliable. ”

Listening to the comments or discussions in the mouths of others, Xia Shu always maintained a calm and confident demeanor, and glanced at the chairman of the committee Feng out of the corner of his eye. Count Warren. This respected naval officer had a great say in the field of German naval design, but when he was about to retire, he probably would not have easily accepted such a subversive design, not to mention that the two armored cruisers were an important part of the German Navy's plans for 1903-1904 and an important basis for maintaining German colonial interests for the next decade.

"It's a good thing that young people have their own ideals, unique insights and extraordinary courage, and it's a very good thing, and the level of this design has surpassed that of some designers who have been in the industry for many years, which is very good and commendable."

Listened to Feng. Earl Warren's polite praise, Natsuki suddenly felt that he was about to come "but". If he clearly expressed his opposition, it would be difficult for his plan to pass the committee's approval, and if even the ship design department could not convince him, it would be even more difficult to get Tirpitz and even the emperor to nod his head.

Before the Earl's turning sentence could be spoken, Natsuki put away the kind smile on his face and said to everyone in a solemn tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, we could have gone directly to the office of the Minister of the Navy or even His Majesty the Emperor to submit this new design, and it is normal for His Majesty the Emperor to approve this design and increase the budget, and I believe that there will not be much resistance from Count Tirpitz. We come here with a respectful attitude and try to persuade you to adopt our suggestions, which is not only a respect for knowledge, technology, but also a respect for objective laws, and we look forward to the support of all of you! ”

These words immediately calmed the shipbuilding experts at the scene, and Natsuki then elaborated: "In the field of ship design, the biggest advantage of gradual progress is that the risk is small, but as I said earlier, sometimes we should be forward-looking, which is for the future of the German Navy, and for the sake of those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country." I implore you to consider our design carefully and make your decision carefully! ”

The meaning of Natsuki's words was very clear, and the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became solemn.

"Gentlemen, please allow me to say a few words." Christian's youthful voice was like a breeze in the silent and dreary conference room, and everyone listened to it with respect and contempt.

"In the field of naval design, you are all renowned technical experts, with knowledge, experience and even vision far above us. Coming here today with technical drawings, I am deeply confused and a little apprehensive because we have chosen a brave and adventurous path. No one can say for sure that they will be successful designs until they are finished and tested, or even before they are in real combat, but our philosophy, our efforts, our hard work are all about making the German Navy invincible. ”

After a tactful statement, Christian tactfully pointed out that the Navy's design department was too conservative and that the British were very aggressive in this regard - it was almost certain that the large ships that Britain would build in the next few years would be moving towards high speed and firepower.

After a while, Feng. Count Warren's tone changed from the previous euphemism to generosity: "All right! I always thought that the future belonged to you young people, and it seems that I was wrong, and your abilities are far beyond my imagination. There is no shortage of young geniuses in history, and I dare not assert that this is an epoch-making design, but I am sure that your designs will leave a deep mark on the German Navy. Work towards your goal, boys! ”

Natsuki was relieved by the concession of the chairman of the Royal Navy's Technical Committee, and he straightened his chest and nodded slightly: "Your far-sightedness and broad-mindedness are always worthy of our admiration and learning. ”

Praise from juniors, Feng. Count Warren's expression seemed to be relieved, but the hesitation and worry in his eyes did not disappear, but his gaze no longer returned to the blueprints, but left the long table with his hands behind his back.

For the other naval officers and ship engineers present, the former neighborhood boy seemed to have turned overnight into a formidable competitor, but fortunately, the competition was internal in nature, and whoever prevailed was for the same idea: Germany!

(End of chapter)