Nanjing, in the Liangjiang Governor's Palace, Liu Kunyi was talking with Wang Renkan, the minister who came to visit him, with a relaxed expression, and Yi Shunding, an important aide of Liu Kunyi on the side, was also accompanying him.

As the core staff of Liu Kunyi, the only big man in the Hunan army, he followed this big man who followed Zuo Zongtang from birth to death for many years, and naturally knew that Liu Kunyi had always been a decisive person......

However, now it is an indisputable fact, and the task of everyone who contributed to this matter is obviously this champion who talks well! And the polite topic between the two ended quickly, and they immediately got to the point!

"Governor Liu, Elder Weng Ge is very happy that you are willing to send sailors to defend the mouth of the Yangtze River, if it is not enough, he is still very worried about the safety of Shanghai, if the British can't let Yue withdraw his troops from Korea, then it will be very difficult to ensure that he does not come to Shanghai to attack and disturb...... Therefore, adults should prepare in Shanghai in advance, just in case! Wang Renkan made a pun, it was obvious that in the conversation with this feudal official, even his qualifications needed to rely on the power of the imperial court.

Liu Kun laughed, and said with a strange expression: "Bachelor Wang, this is out of sight, since it is an order from the Military Aircraft Department, the old man should do his best to share the emperor's worries...... However, the real hard work is you, Mr. Wang, this time your courage is not light, but I am afraid that Li Hefei may not accept your love! ”

"Li Zhongtang is a person who worries about the country, how can he not understand the emperor's thoughts, and besides, this time I supervise the military discipline of the sailors, but I never expected anyone to receive my affection!" Wang Renkan's expression was solemn, and he said with an aggravated tone: "Governor Liu, you have a heavy army, and this time you need to work hard to clean up a strong army to prepare for this chaotic war!" ”

"There is no problem with the garrison of Wusong Fort...... Bachelor, you still want to increase the Yangtze River estuary, do you have another plan? Liu Kunyi and other old foxes naturally wouldn't fail to hear Wang Renkan's words.

Wang Renkan laughed and took out a book of excerpts from his arms, Yi Shunding immediately got up and handed the excerpts to Liu Kunyi, while Wang Renkan smiled, "I really have a plan, please take a look at Governor Liu...... If you can really find a good opportunity, your merit will also be chasing after Bachelor Zuo! ”

Wang Renkan said that Bachelor Zuo is naturally the boss of the Hunan army, Zuo Zongtang, the most valuable wealth left by this famous minister of Zhongxing to the Hunan army, is undoubtedly the victory of recovering Xinjiang Province, and Liu Kun looked at the excerpt after his expression was also unusual, and looked at it carefully, then asked with some confusion and surprise: "Bachelor Wang, you are trying your best to promote the rule of the water master, is it also for this plan?" ”

Hearing Liu Kunyi's tone, Wang Renkan had some confidence in his heart, and said with a straight face: "Governor Liu, this plan is quite flexible, but it needs an army that serves the dead, I have thought about it carefully, I'm afraid it must be you and Zhang Nanpi...... However, Zhang Nanpi Road is far away, if you can fully support, this is undoubtedly a great fortune for the country! ”

Liu Kunyi closed his eyes thoughtfully and pondered for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes and nodded at Wang Renkan, "Master Wang, this matter is not trivial, but once the soldiers and horses are mobilized, this military expenditure will be a big problem...... I'm afraid I have to help talk to Lord Weng about the part of the salt tax from the two rivers! ”

Wang Renkan smiled slightly, nodded and came to Liu Kunyi's side and muttered, and then he gave up, and Yi Shunding on the side had already noticed Liu Kun's expression after seeing the fold, and naturally understood that the plan must be unusual, and as soon as Wang Renkan left, he immediately arched his hand and asked: "My lord, this Wang Renkan and Weng Tongyi are going to borrow your hand to fight against Li Zhongtang...... right?"

"This ...... How could I not know, but this strategy is a state affair, if the Huai army cannot do a good job, our Hunan army will not be lacking in capable people...... What I am curious about is that the person who formulated this strategy does not seem to be optimistic about the future battle situation, which is far from Li Hongzhang, but it is somewhat interesting...... Moreover, it is beneficial to us to do more than harm...... You bring Mr. Wang immediately, I want to plan well!" Liu Kun turned around and stood in front of the window and said slowly.

Under the bright sunshine, Lu Hong was wearing a short coat and standing on the bow of the Nanrui ship to observe the artillery training of the naval division, and the artillery looted from the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was installed on the Nanrui and Nanchen ships at the fastest speed, however, this obviously did not meet his requirements at all, the original side-chord guns of the Nanrui and Nanchen ships were 8, Lu Hong considered that the two ships were only allocated a total of 4 rapid-fire guns each, so after making a trade-off, he made a choice, and replaced all the 120mm Krupp old guns on the port side with rapid-fire guns of the new gun mount, The right-chord 120mm gun was only replaced with a new, continuous aiming gun mount.

And what made him quite satisfied was the modification of the gun emplacement protection of the two ships...... Although the two ships of Nanrui and Nanchen are steel shells, however, the 1-inch armor can be said to be extremely weak, which is also the problem that Lu Hong is most worried about......

Under this guiding ideology, the machine factory provided an alternative plan to strengthen the protection of the two ships, that is, on the basis of the original gun cover, especially on the side of the ship in front of the gun cover, several 70mm steel plates were reinforced and riveted.

These steel plates form a much stronger effect similar to the ancient city wall, which is undoubtedly the extraordinary imagination of the engineers, of course, considering the problem of artillery vision, this steel fence obviously can not be too high, after careful weighing, this half-hanging protective strengthening, now it seems to be an effective protective strengthening, however, whether it is really effective, that has to withstand the test of war.

At this moment, on the left artillery position, an officer is skillfully directing a group of gunners to conduct rapid-fire training, and in the roar of the officer's throat, one training shell after another is quickly loaded, and on the side of the artillery, a post completely different from that of the navies of various countries in this era is playing a role in determining the surname......

The sight man who bends over the high and low machine turns the muzzle up and down through the ruler on the side of the barrel to ensure that the gun is always in a horizontal position! Practice shells were simulated and reloaded...... Aim, fire, reload, ...... This simple, yet fully standardized maneuver was repeated over and over again on four gun emplacements.

Lu Hong looked at the clock, more than two months of intensive training, and carried out hundreds of rounds of live ammunition practice, it seems that the effect is really good...... At present, it seems that the slowest firing rate of the rate of fire of the gun position is not less than three rounds per minute, and this is obviously the speed of fully considering the aiming time before the launch, and the group of gunners in the left gun position has even reached an extremely high efficiency of 5 rounds per minute!

However, compared with the high-efficiency shelling of the side-chord rapid-fire gun, the firing efficiency of the 200mm and 30 times diameter main gun of the NARI ship is really not good, which is actually no wonder to the gunner, only a relatively primitive lifting device, after all, the 120 kg shell is not easy to move by manpower, and the rate of fire of one and a half minutes in training is not satisfactory.

He turned to look at Lin Jianzhang, who looked full of ambition, and smiled slightly, "Lang Zhai, you have trained this soldier well...... The officer of this gun position is really good at training, pass my order, reward 20 taels of silver, and in the future, there will be an artillery ** competition every five days, and the winners will be rewarded! ”

An hour later, the bow platform of the Nanrui ship was already full of people, and after Lin Jianzhang loudly announced Lu Hong's commendation order, in the eyes of envy, jealousy and hatred of everyone, Sun Yigang, the tube gun in the first gun position on the left, ran to Lu Hong with an excited face and swaggered, and then, this tall, brown-skinned Jiangsu man took the red silk bag handed by Lu Hong with a smile and raised it high!

However, Lu Hong asked a question next, which made the Jiangsu man a little stunned......

"Sun Yigang, today's ** performance, your artillery group has practiced well, 5 days later, we will also have a ** performance competition, and then we will see your performance...... Now that you've got this reward, tell everyone about your training experience! Lu Hong asked with a smile.

Sun Yi just scratched his ears and cheeks for a long time, and then muttered, "This...... Lord Lu, this ...... Lin Guandao taught him after the cannon operation, the dog said, that turtle son is not good at practice, so I will kick him hard! ”

This answer immediately attracted laughter, and at this moment, a warning bell suddenly sounded from the lookout, and Lin Jianzhang waved his hand, and the sailors at the bow of the ship immediately scattered and returned to their positions...... Today, Lu Hong's praise for the soldiers' artillery skills obviously had an excellent morale-boosting effect, and seeing that Wang Yi had just gotten the big red silk bag, the other officers were obviously a little unconvinced!

"Report, my lord, in the northwest direction, an unknown fleet has appeared!" A moment later, the lookout officer hurriedly ran into the bridge and reported loudly to Lu Hong.

This news made Lu Hong a little strange...... Could it be that his little crossing changed the course of history, do you remember that it would have to be a month later for Xiao Yuben to turn his face, but his route from Shanghai to Incheon Port in North Korea completely deviated from the area where the Chinese Navy appeared in history...... You must know that since the start of the war, the Beiyang Naval Division has been active in the Bohai Bay, and has completely lost the mobile surname that a navy should have!

And this direct flight to North Korea is obviously also a small demonstration of Lu Hong's ambition, and he must show his own courage that is completely different from Beiyang, in order to lay the foundation for the future to truly master this force!

"Lin Guan belt, hang up the warning flag, and let Nanchen and Jingqing follow the flagship action!" Lu Hong loudly issued his first naval command order, and all history will start today and slowly change in his own hands! (To be continued.) )