Listening to Yang Shuoming's words, Fu Zhuoyao couldn't help but be silent.

While the two were talking, an officer ran over from a distance, Fu Zhuoyao saw the officer's hurried figure, and was about to get up to avoid it, Yang Shuoming reached out and pulled her sleeve, signaling that she didn't have to leave.

"General, the ship is coming." When the officer saw Yang Shuoming, he stood up and saluted, nodded to Fu Zhuoyao, and then said.

"It's really fast." Yang Shuoming said softly, looked at the watch on his wrist, and asked the officer, "Have you notified His Excellency Count Wu?" ”

"It has been notified, Your Excellency the Countess has passed." The officer replied.

Yang Shuoming took the military hat and put it on, got up and said to Fu Zhuoyao: "Let's go, let's go and have a look together." ”

"What to see?" Fu Zhuoyao asked a little strangely.

"You'll find out in a moment." Yang Shuoming smiled slightly and said.

Soon, Yang Shuoming and his entourage came to the dock, a navy transportation dinghy drove over, Yang Shuoming and Fu Zhuoyao got into the dinghy, and the dinghy immediately turned the bow of the boat and sailed forward.

Looking at Yang Shuoming standing in the wind on the deck, Fu Zhuoyao felt the kind of high-spirited and upward power that his body was full of, and he couldn't help but feel a slight throbbing in his heart.

Although she and he didn't have any feelings now, she still felt the unconscious attraction he had for her.

In the distance, there was a whistle on the sea, and the figures of several freighters appeared on the sea antenna.

"What's that?" Fu Zhuoyao looked at these large freighters and asked, "Is it our Chinese ship?" ”

"It's a free wheel." Yang Shuoming replied, "We built it in China." ”

"Why is it called a free wheel?" Fu Zhuoyao heard the name "Freedom Wheel" and asked.

"Because they brought freedom to Europe." "They were the ones who made up for the losses of British merchant ships and sent a lot of supplies to Europe," said a naval officer, "or the Germans would have strangled the British lifeline at sea with submarines." ”

"Don't underestimate these ships, although they look inconspicuous, their role is irreplaceable." Yang Shuoming said.

During the First World War, in order to cut off Britain's sea transportation, Germany launched the "Unrestricted Submarine War" in February 1917, and any country's merchant ships would be sunk without warning as long as they sailed to the ports of the Allied countries. This completely goes beyond the bottom line. Britain also obstructed trade between neutrals and Germany, but the British had never been so brazen as to slaughter all neutral merchant ships. Submarines can be said to be the killer feature of the Germans. Because the surface ships of the German Navy were no match for the Allied Navy, the Allied naval fleet could easily defeat the German battleship groups, but they were difficult to deal with the German submarines. The Germans threw huge submarine forces into the Atlantic. These submarines greatly disrupted the maritime shipping of the Entente powers. As if under a spell, the merchant ships of the Entente sank to the bottom of the sea one after another. German submarines had a brilliant record, but the only drawback was that they drew the United States into the war. Although this frightened the German Peacock Wilhelm II, his generals dismissed it as a minor side effect. The mainstream is still good.

The behavior of the Germans was completely intolerable to the Americans. The Germans also anticipated the reaction of the United States. It dared to do so because the Germans thought they were already in sight of victory. Because Russia was on the verge of collapse at that time, German submarines had almost killed British trade. The Germans thought that if they put more effort into it, Britain would succumb, and the United States, which had first-class potential and was third-rate in arms, had not yet had time to make a big move. But what the Germans did not expect was that China, a great power that had been sleeping in the Far East, also joined the ranks of the Entente along with the United States. Not only did the rebuilt Chinese navy go to Europe and actively participate in maritime anti-submarine escort operations, but China's civilian merchant fleet also joined this war, which was somewhat distant for ordinary Chinese.

Due to the astonishing losses caused by German submarines to the Allied maritime transport fleet, Britain urgently needed to purchase merchant ships from the international market to supplement while stepping up its own production, but at this time the British shipyards were already running at full capacity, and at this time, Yang Shuoming seized this golden opportunity for development and made every effort to promote China's shipbuilding industry to join the ranks of producer ships.

Due to years of war, the shipyards controlled by China's coastal provinces were more or less inadequate in resources and technology, and until the outbreak of the First World War, they were unable to build their own decent ships and vessels. With the efforts of Yang Shuoming, the reorganized Mawei Shipyard was the first to break the silence and build large ocean-going shipping freighters, which were immediately put into the maritime transportation of the Allied countries. ,

Yang Shuoming began to invest in the domestic shipbuilding industry very early, at this time the domestic shipbuilding industry is in a period of transition to international standards, production capacity is greater than domestic demand, and Yang Shuoming has long anticipated what will happen on the European battlefield, so he has long been prepared for seeking overseas markets.

The Chinese may not be the top in shipbuilding technology and craftsmanship, but there is no shortage of innovative ideas. In order to enable the Chinese shipbuilding industry to learn to build warships at the same time as civilian ships, a bold plan was soon hatched through the efforts of Shi Xuanhou, the president of the Mawei Shipyard, to take out the ships that could be sold to the Allies in the form of civilian ships according to military standards. Soon after, the British, who were desperately ill and seeking medical treatment, approached the Chinese government and agreed to purchase Chinese-built ships.

The first business of the Mawei shipyard was the construction of 20 large ocean-going shipping vessels.

This large ocean-going freighter built by China for Britain has a displacement of 9,700 tons, a length of 165 meters, a width of 21 meters, a draft of 7 meters, and is designed as a three-expansion reciprocator power, two-shaft propulsion, and a coal-fired boiler. During sea trials and operation as a cargo ship, only one set of power is activated, and the maximum speed is 12 knots.

In order to provide these merchant ships with a certain degree of self-defense capability in the face of German submarines and camouflaged attack ships, the first batch of such ocean-going freighters were renovated at the Mawei Shipyard to open this secret power compartment and install a second chimney, increasing the maximum speed to 18 knots. In terms of structural design, a 30 mm thick ship board is adopted, and a layer of 30 mm ship board is added to the engine room and dark engine room for protection, and the hull skeleton is implemented according to military standards.

During the renovation process, the two cargo booms in the bow and stern of the ship were removed, an insignificant steel-and-wood deckhouse at the stern of the verandah deck was removed, and an American-made 150 mm single gun turret was installed on the top of the short front building, and two 150 mm guns were installed side by side at the front and rear of the superstructure, that is, a total of five single 150 mm guns on the whole ship, and two 76 mm guns were installed side by side at the rear of the roof of the verandah deck.

In order to adapt to the construction habits of Chinese shipbuilders, Shi Xuanhou further modified and optimized the original design, so that the construction period was greatly shortened, the construction of the first freeship took a total of 210 days, after the improvement of the design and the use of standardized assembly line operations for some parts, the final construction speed reached 72 days.

Because of its simple structure, sturdy and durable, quick to build, and cheap, this type of freighter was very popular with the British. In addition, the British were in dire need of ships, and the British government hoped that China's domestic shipbuilding industry would produce more of these freighters. Driven by high profits and driven by Yang Shuoming's huge overseas investment, Jiangnan Shipyard, Dagu Shipyard, Qingdao Shipyard and other large domestic shipyards have also joined the ranks of producing freighters. China's shipbuilding industry has ushered in a new golden age. By 1919, China's shipbuilding industry had built a total of 225 large ocean-going freighters for the British, which strongly supported the Allied Allies' naval operations.

Watching the huge cargo ships sail in front of her, Fu Zhuoyao couldn't help but sigh secretly, looking at Yang Shuoming's gaze, and a little more reverence.

When she was in her hometown, her father Fu Xiaowen praised Yang Shuoming for these undertakings for China more than once in front of her, and she could not fully understand the meaning of what her father said to herself. But now, she really felt it.

"What kind of ship is that? There seems to be an airplane in the back. Fu Zhuoyao suddenly noticed a steamship that was similar in style to those free wheels but much longer, and couldn't help but ask again, "There are cannons on it." ”

The steamer with the red, yellow and blue "human" flag gradually approached, and Yang Shuoming's expression became extremely concerned for a while when he saw the ship.

"When we designed a ship like this, we considered the possibility of it being used for military purposes. Madam. A naval officer heard Fu Zhuoyao's questioning and explained to her, "There are quite a few ships that have been converted into auxiliary cruisers by the British Navy. This is our own modified seaplane carrier, the 'Zhenhai'. ”

Hearing the name of the "Zhenhai", Yang Shuoming's body couldn't help but be shocked.

"I see." Fu Zhuoyao looked at Yang Shuoming, who leaned forward slightly, and asked, "Did you design it?" ”

Yang Shuoming turned his head and glanced at her in some surprise, "Of course not." He smiled and asked the naval officer next to him, "Who designed this?" ”,

"It was designed by Director Ba of the Mawei Shipyard." The officer replied.

In the Battle of Jutland, the temporary absence of seaplane carriers on reconnaissance missions led to the fact that the battle turned into a melee from the very beginning. After the war, Chinese military observers in Britain were invited to visit the British Navy's seaplane carrier "Engedin" and sent a colorful letter to the Admiralty of China, suggesting that the Chinese Navy also try to carry large seaplanes with certain attack capabilities on surface ships.

This letter has been approved by the Chinese Navy Department and has been given full attention. The Admiralty believed that the auxiliary cruiser converted from a large ocean-going freighter could be further refitted, and soon a plan was drawn up, and the auxiliary cruiser "Zhenhai", which had been converted from a large ocean-going free freighter, entered the Mawei Shipyard in Fujian Province to carry out the renovation project, and the transformation plan was designed and completed by Ba Yuzao. After the modification, the hull of the "Zhenhai" was lengthened, an elevated seaplane parking platform was set up in the rear, and a heavy gantry-type boom was installed; A three-legged armored conning tower was added to the bridge tower, on which a large searchlight was mounted; The original armament of the ship has also been updated, and it has been changed to two single 76 mm guns and one twin 150 mm turret.

And what appeared in front of Yang Shuoming and Fu Zhuoyao at this time was the "Zhenhai"!

Thinking of the warship with the same name in the historical time and space in which he was originally located, which was named "the earliest aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy", Yang Shuoming was in a trance for a while.

At this moment in history, there was an astonishing coincidence.

For Yang Shuoming, the "Zhenhai" in front of him is not the origin of the Chinese Navy's aircraft carriers and naval aviation!

At this time, Yang Shuoming had a strong desire in his heart to let China's aircraft carriers be born ahead of schedule.

And with the leap of his mind, the "supercomputer eye" suddenly showed one aircraft carrier line diagram after another.

At this time, a long whistle suddenly sounded in the distance, pulling Yang Shuoming back from his reverie about the aircraft carrier.

"It's coming!" A naval officer pointed into the distance and shouted excitedly.

Yang Shuoming followed the prestige, only to see that on the sea antenna in the distance, the tall ship mast pierced the sky, and after a while, the figure of a huge battleship appeared in front of him.

The giant ship was now under the tugboat of the tugboat, slowly moving forward. Seeing the figure of this giant ship appear, a huge noise suddenly erupted from the coast in the distance!

Fu Zhuoyao couldn't help but look at the shore, only to see that the shore was black and oppressive at this time, full of people watching, and the noise just now came from the crowd.

Fu Zhuoyao refocused his attention on the giant ship that was getting bigger and bigger, at this time the small boat was moving in the opposite direction with the giant ship, and the giant ship quickly became clear in front of Fu Zhuoyao's eyes, looking at this giant ship moving majestically like a moving mountain, Fu Zhuoyao's sheared eyes widened, and he couldn't help but hold his breath.

"Is this the Glory?" Yang Shuoming stared closely at the giant ship that broke the waves in front of him and asked.

"No, this is the number three ship, the USS Civil Rights." A naval officer replied.

Yang Shuoming nodded, no longer spoke, but focused all his attention on this battle cruiser.

The dinghy in which Yang Shuoming and others were seated sailed from the side of the bow of the "Minquan", and the dinghy at this time seemed extremely small compared with the "Minquan"; because the distance was too close, the people on the dinghy looked at the "Minquan" and all of them involuntarily turned into an upward movement.

She ...... It's so big......" Fu Zhuoyao muttered as he looked at the huge golden dragon emblem on the bow of the ship that glittered in the sunlight.

"Of course, this is a battlecruiser with a displacement of more than 50,000 tons, ma'am." One of the naval officers replied, "There are no such large battlecruisers in the Japanese Navy. ”

"It's so powerful." Fu Zhuoyao's gaze fell on the huge triple main turret of the "Civil Rights", "She must have sunk a lot of German ** ships in Europe, right?" ”

"No, hehe." The naval officer smiled and said, "She has not been in our Chinese Navy for a long time, and this time in Europe, she did not catch up with the battle." Because soon after it was built, General Yang asked these battle cruisers to hurry back to China. As for why, Madame must be able to guess. ”

"It's against the Japanese, isn't it?" Fu Zhuoyao looked at Yang Shuoming and asked.

"Not bad." Yang Shuoming nodded, but his eyes still did not leave the "Civil Rights". ,

At this time, the dinghy had approached the square stern of the "Minquan", where Fu Zhuoyao clearly saw the two big gold-lettered names of "Minquan".

Fu Zhuoyao softly read the name of the battlecruiser, and asked, "Who came up with the name of the ship?" ”

"Of course it's General Yang," replied the naval officer with a smile, "not only this 'Glorious' class battlecruiser, but also the 'Republic' class battleship that has made great achievements in Europe, and all the ship names are given by General Yang himself." ”

"What's the name of the others?" Fu Zhuoyao asked again.

"Like this 'Glorious' class battlecruiser, the No. 1 ship is called 'Glorious,' the No. 2 ship is called 'Victory,' the No. 3 ship is the 'Minquan,' the No. 4 ship is named 'Datong,' the No. 5 ship is called 'Minsheng,' and the No. 6 ship is called 'Minxing.'" The naval officer replied, "Like the 'Republic' class battleship, the first ship is named 'Republic', the second ship is named '***', the third ship is named 'Constitution', the fourth ship is named 'Free Spirit', the fifth ship is named '***', and the sixth ship is named 'Nation', all of which are very symbolic names. ”

After listening to the officer's answer, Fu Zhuoyao immediately understood Yang Shuoming's painstaking efforts to name these capital ships of the Chinese Navy.

At this time, the battlecruiser "Minquan" had stopped, and the dinghy quickly approached the side of the "Minquan", and several sailors quickly lowered the gangway to let the people in the dinghy board the ship.

Yang Shuoming and his entourage soon came to the deck of the "Minquan", and looking at the neatly lined up Chinese naval officers and soldiers on the ship, Fu Zhuoyao's heart suddenly rose with pride.

"Stand up! Salute! ”

Yang Shuoming raised his hand to return the salute, and he looked at the heroic Chinese naval officers and soldiers in front of him, and the corners of his eyes were a little moist.

"I can't imagine that the Chinese Navy can have such a new giant ship, and it is really worth the trip to return to China this time!" A Chinese in a Western-style high hat dress standing next to the captain said with a smile, and beside him was a young couple dressed up.

"How does Your Excellency feel about this ship?" Yang Shuoming looked at the Count of Papen in front of him and asked with a smile.

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