Chapter 1o1 Navy Dream

After sending everyone away, Li Zhongtang was still unsatisfied, and only Zeng Jize and Zhou Fu were left chatting with them.

Li Hongzhang said that Zeng Gong was called a teacher, which originated from the fact that when he failed in the examination, he once worshiped under the Hunan Confucian Zeng Guo Clan as a "young family", learning the study of the world, and said with a sigh: "Jie Gang, the teacher has been gone for more than eight years, and I, a student, have no chance to worship again, and I often think of what the teacher said to seek officials with virtue and etiquette first, but I didn't expect me to sit in the position of superintendent, and I know the suffering!" ”

"Lord Zhongtang is too worried, this matter must be bowed in person, that is not a feasible way, but the precedent of foreign affairs advocated by adults, the father has a spirit in the sky, and it must be called yes! I've heard that this exercise of the warships has really increased the prestige of the country! "The just-completed Beiyang military exercise has already made headlines in the "Fujian Xinbao", which is the "Fujian Xinbao" using halftone printing technology, and the fleet led by 5O1 appears on the newspaper in the form of a photo.

This printing system imported from Germany can burn more than 100,000 taels of silver for Qin Kai, but there are gains and losses, Chen Tongpu's chemical industry is very sharp to crack the technology of printing dyes, of course, this is also thanks to the information in the light brain, and when Xu Guofang successfully developed the machine, Qin Kai believes that this is a big industry!

Speaking of this fleet, Li Zhongtang changed the topic, "Jie Gang, there is one thing you may not know, the main battleship of this exercise is the Qin armor fleet of the naval division, this young man has always made me feel a little incomprehensible, in the past year, the changes in the Mawei ship administration can be described as earth-shaking, no wonder Yu Sheng is so important to him!" What do you think of this young man? ”

Zeng Jize Xiao took a drink and smiled, "This Senator Qin's appearance today is a little abnormal, but I thought he was not a simple person, his plan, now that I think about it, it was tailor-made for Lord Zhongtang, if it was Lord Ding's plan, with his familiarity with you, it would be understandable, if it was Senator Qin's thoughts...... How many times has this Senator Qin met Lord Zhongtang? ”

Li Zhongtang thought about it, and Zhou Fu next to him replied, "There are only three times in total!" ”

Zeng Jize laughed, "That's strange!" But I thought that this should be Lord Ding's plan, but this Senator Qin is obviously a good and dangerous character, when I studied the naval battle in the South China Sea a while ago, I felt this problem, I even asked the French consul I knew to inquire about the news, the French are very taboo about this, but one thing is certain, the French are completely defeated! For this reason, I have also met Lord Hurd's friend, Luang Weili of the British fleet, Lord Nakado, do you know what the British think of this naval battle? ”

"Oh! I've asked Brother Yusheng a few times, but the details are not very clear! Is there something wrong with it? Speaking of this naval battle, Li Zhongtang, who was quite interested in Zhan Hai, also became interested.

Luang Weili said that victory in this naval battle was an impossible task! He enumerated the superiority of the French over Xìng, but he never calculated that the Nanyang Naval Division would have any possible advantage, so I was always surprised by the outcome of this naval battle, but the result was indeed true, and the French consul confirmed this to me! My lord, I thought it would be a good move for you to send him to Vietnam! ”

"So good, the reason why Brother Yu Sheng sued me is that their artillery is farther than the French, and I have also seen the surprise of the military advisers around the consuls and ministers in this exercise!"

At this time, Zhou Fu, who was sitting with him on the side, also said, "My lord, this Qin Kai is a person who does things, I asked the housekeeper in the house, this Qin Senator has been in Tianjin for half a month, he has not been out of the door once, and he is not even close to women, he writes in the house and yard every day, and he also lets his own soldiers guard it tightly, it is indeed an alternative!" ”

Qin Kai, who was sitting in the carriage, couldn't help but sneeze a few times at this time, and muttered, "I don't know who is talking about me!" ”

Lao Ding was already full of wine and food at this time, and was looking at him with xiaojiu, "Gale Wind, don't be stinky and beautiful, let's talk about it, how will you think of it to make up what Vietnamese protectors?" ”

Qin Kai took a closer look at Ding Richang, looking at him at the wine table one after another, but at this moment he was twelve points sober, and when he went out just now, he still looked confused, "My lord, you are still awake!" ”

"Nonsense, answer my question well, you mention yì, to be honest, I suspect that you have met Lord Zhongtang countless times before, otherwise how would you know Lord Zhongtang's mind?" ,

"Eh, my lord, in fact, Lord Zhongtang's thoughts are too easy to guess, who would think about something to come out, the court doesn't want to, and Lord Zhongtang doesn't want to, the problem is, I ran to Vietnam once, this French mind is too clear, if it is a war in Vietnam, in my opinion, the elite of the Huai army of the Qing Dynasty may not be sure of victory! The French can come again if they are defeated, so they want to fight Shanxi this time, but if the Huai army is defeated, is anyone willing to touch this nail? ”

"Didn't you say early in the morning that the French won't fight in the near future?" Lao Ding heard some mí paste.

"My lord, this is only possible, even if the French don't fight, it doesn't mean that the French don't fight, this time the commander of the French Far East Navy actually dared to go straight to the capital of Vietnam, this kind of person is definitely not easy to deal with, and the defense of our Mawei Port must also be strengthened! At sea, to annihilate the French, it is almost impossible, but on 6 ground, I want to try! ”

Ding Richang looked at Qin Kai, "Gale, these are all thankless things, if you are defeated, it will be useless, even if you win, France will only retreat temporarily, and there will be no peace, no matter how I calculate it, it is not a good idea!" ”

Qin Kai smiled in his heart, Lao Ding's vision is indeed very vicious, this Vietnam thing is indeed difficult and abnormal, but for himself, it is indeed an opportunity that cannot be given up, not to mention that now the king of Vietnam is already in his hands, such an opportunity is not good to use, it is no different from an idiot, he said with emotion: "My lord, who can forget the blood of the field, this is a national war, how can I stand by!" ”

Ding Richang looked up and down, "This is what I always feel mysterious, it is better for you to lie dormant in the ship administration ......for a few years" But thinking of Qin Kai's plan, Lao Ding also shook his head, he could also think of such a risky plan, it was an iron heart to go to Vietnam.

Early in the morning of the second day, Qin Kai had just had breakfast, and Lu Shu, who was on duty outside, ran in to report and send a sticker, which was very unexpected, it was Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the navy.

For this adult, although Qin Kai has several faces, he has not talked to him much, and the record of him in the history books is based on diligence, but there are mixed reviews for this commanding art.

After a while, under the guidance of Lu Shu, Ding Ruchang walked in with two men, and after meeting, he couldn't help but be polite, Qin Kai immediately noticed the two men behind him, one was of medium stature, his face was slightly dark, and his slightly closed eyes were shining, and the other man was easy-going, with thick long eyebrows showing his flying nature.

Ding Ruchang arched his hand at Qin Kai and introduced to the two behind him, "Zixiang, Zhengqing, this is the Mawei Ship Administration Qin Supervisor who is famous in the South China Sea!" ”

These two names searched in Qin Kai's light brain, and the result made him a little distracted, and he hurriedly replied, "Ding Junmen, it is all soldiers who use their lives to block the enemy and overseas, these two are?" ”

Ding Ruchang smiled slightly on his face, and pointed to the man with a slightly dark face, "This is Liu Buchan, the pipe band of the 'Zhenbei' gunboat," and then pointed to another man in his thirties with an easy-going face, "This is Deng Shichang, the pipe band of the 'Zhennan' gunboat."

Hearing these two names, although Qin Kai was expected, he was really shocked, Liu Buyun was a special student in the first phase of Mawei, and he was also a great general in Beiyang, and Deng Shichang, in his parallel space, was known to everyone on the earth.

Qin Kai smiled slightly, he really had a big face, and he saw these two heroes who went down in history so quickly, and hurriedly waved his hand, "Ding Junmen, Lord Liu, Lord Deng, please inside!" ”

Turning his head to Lu Shu, who was standing on the side, he said, "Go and bring me the best tea, I'll have a good chat with Ding Junmen and Liu Deng!" ”

Seeing Qin Kai's enthusiasm, Ding Ruchang was also Yan Sù's face also showed a pleasant smile, the four of them went to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, waiting for Lu Rate to pour tea, Qin Kai pointed at Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang with a smile, and said, "Lu Rate, come, meet the two seniors of the Mawei Academy, study hard!" ”

Lu Shu looked at Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang in a daze, snapped the standard military salute that was customary in ponytails, and shouted loudly, "Lu Shu, the eighth student of the former school of the Mawei Ship Administration Academy, has seen the senior!" ”

Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang studied in the Mawei Shipbuilding School, and naturally attached great importance to the backwardness of the school, and also got up and arched their hands, Liu Buyun smiled and said to Qin Kai, "Our army is full of rumors about the feat of Lord Qin in the South China Sea, and we are quite suspicious, today I see that the children of this academy can actually practice such military might, it seems that the rumors are true!" ”,

You must know that before Qin Kai came to the Mawei Shipbuilding School, the students never had physical exercise, although the students were diligent in studying, they had nothing to do in their spare time, so that the French and British teachers recorded in the book that the students in the school only focus on rote memorization, not exercise, and today's Lu rate's table can be said to have subverted the original memory of Liu Buchan and Deng Shichang!

"Rumors?" Qin Kai was slightly stunned.

"Doesn't Supervisor Qin know?" Deng Shichang on the side picked up the conversation and smiled casually, "It is said that this battle in the South China Sea is God's blessing to my Qing Dynasty, but we and other soldiers don't believe such unfounded words, but I heard that Lord Qin is not an officer, but a master of Western studies, but can win such a big victory, I dare not believe it!" ”

Qin Kai was obviously a little surprised by Deng Shichang's easy-going xìng, in his imagination, Deng Shichang should be a heroic and heroic character, at least a Lu Han-style rigorous character, he didn't expect to see this heroic figure turned out to be very different, not only easy-going, he is a rare Cantonese in the Beiyang pipe belt, and it can be seen that he has a very good relationship with Liu Buchan, who was born in the Fujian family.

Lu Shu, who was holding the teapot, obviously had some opinions when he heard it, and snapped a military salute again, "Report, supervision, I have something to say!" ”

Ding Ruchang saw that Qin Kai's military discipline was so strict, but he also praised it in his heart, and watched quietly with a smile.

Qin Kai naturally knew what Lu Shu wanted to say, it was nothing more than to correct the name of the training camp, so he turned his head and glared, "You are responsible for pouring water, you only need to bring a pair of hands!" He turned his head and said with a smile, "Ding Junmen, I came here today, didn't I come here to make good tea!" ”

"Supervisor Qin said with a smile, today one is to bring Liu and Deng to meet with the two tubes, and then in Fujian-Guangdong, Beiyang is Zixiang and Zhengqing to bsp; Qin Kai looked at the two pipe belts, arched his hand and said: "Ding Junmen, you can rest assured, Mawei Port is the second hometown of the two pipe belts, and there will be no problem if they are supplied!" ”

Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang hurriedly thanked them, after all, the biggest problem for this battleship to cruise and go out to replenish supplies is the biggest problem.

Ding Ruchang glanced at Qin Kai and thought for a while, "Lord Qin, there is one more matter, this inspection, I will receive the order of Lord Zhongtang, and Liu Guan will be in charge of command, which still needs Lord Qin to explain to the brothers of the Nanyang Naval Division!" "After all, this is an official matter, and the distinction between ranks is a very strict matter.

Qin Kai thought about it, he didn't think about it, this is just an ordinary cruise, and it also allows these sailors to learn from the experience of the Beiyang, and the set of training conducted by his own fleet is also thought out by Lu Han himself, Qin Kai also thought about studying the training of sailors in this era, but unfortunately he checked the light brain and didn't find such ancient information, so he had to give up.

"This is naturally in accordance with the order of Lord Zhongtang, after arriving at Mawei, I will go to Vietnam for business in the near future, and the inspection will be carried out by the two brothers Liu and Brother Deng, and everything about the Nanyang Navy Division can be decided by Lu Han!" Qin Kai remembered that Lu Han should also be involved in this matter, and hurriedly turned his head and asked Lu Shu to call Lu Han over.

Deng Shichang suddenly arched his hand towards Qin Kai, "Qin supervises ......"

"Brother Zhengqing, if you don't mind, you can call me Gale Wind," Qin Kai smiled slightly.

Deng Shichang was slightly stunned, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "Gale Wind, I came with Zixiang and Ding Junmen, in fact, I want to ask about your ironclad ship, to be honest, this kind of three-gun battleship with two cannons makes me breathtaking!" ”

Qin Kai felt proud in his heart, he stood in front of China's most tragic naval hero, and introduced him to this new type of warship that changed the balance of power at sea, this feeling was really strange.

"Ding Junmen, Zhengqing, Zixiang, I won't tell you that this 5o1 ironclad ship is not a warship officially in service in the South Seas, it is a hull customized by Mawei Shipmaster from Germany, used for dismantling and imitation purposes, and now this design is the second improved model, and the key to this naval battle in the South China Sea lies in this artillery......"

"Lord Qin, this gun room on your ironclad ship is very peculiar, the barrel of the gun is not only very large, but also relatively long!" The top student who won the first place in the Harbour Master School is really observant.

Qin Kai nodded, "This is the latest product of our Mawei Artillery Bureau, with an effective firing range of 75oom and a maximum firing distance of 10,000 meters, the three of us should think of the advantages of this!" ”

This point is self-evident, Liu Buyun's "Zhenbei" gunboat and Deng Shichang's "Zhennan" gunboat are British-made mosquito ships that have just arrived in Beiyang, and they belong to the wooden-hulled battleships covered with iron, equipped with one of the most advanced 11-inch (28omm) breech heavy guns, two 12-pounder breech guns, and two Green guns. ,

The 11-inch heavy gun on the ship is only a 24 times the diameter of the product, and the effective firing range is only 5 kilometers, compared with the 5o1 ship's artillery, the judgment is superior, so even Deng Shichang was surprised and asked: "Such a sharp weapon, can you also modify the cannons on our two gunboats?" ”

"Brother Zhengqing, this warship transformation is not to change there if you want to, we don't have a turret on the ironclad ship that weighs 7o tons, how can you install that gunboat?"

The three of them thought about it and understood that what Qin Kai said was the truth, and Liu Buyun asked: "Lord Qin, you are one of the few Western scholars in our Qing Dynasty, is it possible for Mawei to produce a big battle ship like the Xiang 5O1 ship?" ”

"Zixiang, I can't answer this question, this is exactly what we're working towards," Qin Kai smiled slightly, this is the secret of the ponytail.

Deng Shichang smashed his mouth, shook his head and said: "Gale Wind, if my Beiyang Naval Division has three or five such powerful ironclad warships, it would be such a pleasure to patrol the four seas to raise the prestige of our country!" I'm really looking forward to a day like this...... Zixiang, you say yes! ”

Liu Buyun also smiled when he heard it, these people are the generation born for the navy, which carries all their dreams, from wooden-hulled steamships to current mosquito gunboats.

At this time, Qin Kai talked about the dream of a naval power with three living heroes who only survived in the history books, and a voice could not be heard in his mind, to be honest, he had an impulse to tell them loudly, you finally paid the price of your lives to build the most perfect Chinese naval power dream of this era is indeed such a tragic ending.

Ding Ruchang obviously noticed Qin Kai's expression, "Supervisor Qin, do you seem to have any concerns?" Do you have any worries about this inspection of Guangzhou? He obviously misunderstood what Qin Kai meant.

I have seen the name Ding Ruchang countless times from books, and I have never thought that one day facing this strict man will make people feel so emotional, to be honest, in Qin Kai's current contact, this 6th Army general who does not speak much is not at all like a stubborn soldier recorded in the history books, in conversation, he is a serious listener, observer, he is a rare soldier in this era.

How can a general who has been through a hundred battles be a mentally retarded soldier who does not know how to change? In any case, a soldier who is willing to sacrifice his life for the cause he loves and the honor of a soldier is worthy of respect!

"Ding Junmen, when I was in Taixi, I collected some information on the wars of the navies of various countries over the years, and I will bring it to the military gate next time," Qin Kai pondered for a while, and decided to make some efforts for this navy that had withdrawn with countless halos.

"Ah...... I have to thank Lord Qin for this," Ding Ruchang's face was happy, he had several ups and downs in the 6th Army, and now he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, it was obvious that Qin Kai was very sincere, and he hurriedly thanked him.

The three of them talked freely about their own naval dreams, and these topics made their spirits fly, and gradually Qin Kai also integrated into this topic, leaving those bleak futures behind.