Different from the two local fleets in the East China Sea and the South China Sea set up by the Ministry of National Defense in the Navy, the new Pacific Fleet will mainly use small and medium-sized ships and submarines in combat ships, and its main warship is the new Cochin-class light cruiser specially designed by the Sizhejiang Shipyard of the Republic for various overseas colonies.

Compared with the early Taiwan-class cruisers of the Navy, these Jiaozhi-class light cruisers, which have just been built and put into service in batches in domestic shipyards, are slightly larger than their predecessors in terms of tonnage.

The hull of the new Cochin-class cruiser is 104.4 meters long, 17.9 meters wide, 5.2 meters draft, and 6,770 tons of full load displacement, because the new steam turbine is more excellent than the previous ship steam engine in the power system of the battleship, and the boilers on the ship have also been replaced with a new type of oil-fired boiler for the first time. Combined with up to 1,000 tons of internal oil storage (heavy oil), this class of cruisers has a long-range endurance of 9,000 nautical miles / 12 knots.

Compared with the previous Taiwan-class cruisers, although these newly commissioned Cochin-class cruisers are more than 1,000 tons larger in tonnage, the overall armor protection of the battleship has not been strengthened as expected, and the weight of all 1250 tons of armor of the Cochin class is roughly equivalent to the arrangement of its predecessors, and the overall side of the ship is dominated by 8-inch surface-hardened armor, and the key protection areas such as turrets and bridges have focused on increasing the armor thickness of 4 to 6 inches, in addition, based on the previous long-range combat trend, The new Cochin class also provides enhanced armor protection on the ship's horizontal deck. But even so, the entire Cochin-class warship is not much better than the previous Taiwan-class in terms of armor protection, in fact, the increase in 1,000-ton tonnage of this new class of warships is completely used in strengthening the ship's armament.

The new Cochin-class cruisers are fully twice as powerful as the Taiwan class in terms of firepower, and the front and rear of the battleships are each equipped with a fully enclosed twin-mounted 255mm/30 caliber main gun, and four 75mm caliber high-level rapid-fire guns and eight 37mm rotary tube guns are arranged around the hull at the maximum firing range. In terms of the configuration of fish firepower, for the first time, the whole ship has abandoned the underwater fish launch tubes commonly used in the past, and replaced them with a new type of water fish launch device installed above the deck of the ship, and the six 455mm fish launch tubes arranged at the bow and tail can not only launch new long-range fish, but also serve as launching depth charges and surface smoke grenades and other combat missions.

In addition to these, like all types of ships in the past, the Cochin-class cruisers are equipped with all kinds of radio, sonar and other electronic equipment. In addition, for the first time, the ship was also equipped with a firing command system that was only available on large-tonnage warships in the past, so that the four main ship guns in the front and rear of the battleship could fire at a sea target at the same time. Up to now, 11 ships, including the "Lijiang", "Tainan", "Kaohsiung", "Keelung", "Penghu", "Naha", and "Zhangzhou", have entered the naval combat sequence, and seven of them belong to the newly formed Pacific Fleet of the Republic.

In addition to these seven Cochin-class cruisers and some other small surface combat ships, the Pacific Fleet of the Republic was also the first to be equipped with 24 Tang-class submarines that had just been successfully developed by the Sizhejiang Shipyard.

As the first ocean-going combat submarine successfully developed in China, the combat surname of the entire Tang-class submarine can be called outstanding.

Compared with the Sui-class coastal combat submarines that were commissioned earlier, the newly built Tang-class submarines are more than twice as large in tonnage. The whole submarine has a floating displacement of 1,790 tons and a submarine displacement of 2,320 tons, and for the first time on the hull, the bow of the Sui class has been abandoned, and the epoch-making teardrop-shaped style has been adopted, which has greatly strengthened the underwater seaworthiness of the submarine. The whole submarine is 69.3 meters long, 8.4 meters wide, 14.5 meters high, because it is equipped with a telescopic snorkel, which greatly improves the submarine's self-sustaining force at sea, reaching an astonishing 19 days and nights, the maximum range of the submarine is 7200 nautical miles, the maximum diving depth is 45 meters, the fastest speed on the surface is 18 knots, the fastest underwater speed is 16 knots, and the whole ship is equipped with 79 crew members.

In terms of armament, the Tang-class submarine is equipped with four 455mm torpedo tubes, which are arranged in three front and one rear, so that the submarine can launch torpedoes at the tail even when it escapes, and the space in the four torpedo compartments can carry a total of 16 new long-range torpedoes in wartime, in addition to the special submarine mines.

In the area of operation, these submarines will henceforth cruise in the vast western Pacific waters of the Republic with the new Cochin-class cruisers in the fleet. The entire Pacific Fleet will now be based on Guam in eastern Luzon, with Naha Port in the Ryukyus and Honolulu in Hawaii.

……

April 26, 1898, Republic of Luzon Mariana Islands, Guam Naval Base.

In the early morning, not long after the Navy's wake-up call sounded, the training ground at the base was already full of naval officers and men who were conducting morning training.

According to the routine of the naval base, the officers and men got up at 5:03 a.m. and had to undergo an hour of military training before breakfast time at 7 a.m.

"Führer, over there are units of the 303rd Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the Marine Corps."

Lan Jianshu, the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, and several staff members are accompanying Chen Zeyu, the head of state, to inspect various facilities in the base.

"Aren't the officers and men of the fleet here?" Chen Zeyu wondered.

Lan Jianshu pointed to the southeast for the Führer and said, "Tell the Führer, this is the West Third District, which belongs to the camps of several Marine Corps and patrol aircraft squadrons on the island, and the site of the officers and men on the ship is in the South First Zone of the base. ”

"Let's go, go over and have a look." Chen Zeyu nodded.

The group got on the Centrino sedan equipped in the base in batches and headed for the fleet berth in the southeast.

While the convoy was moving, Chen Zeyu saw that several more planes on the island had risen into the air, and the propellers were buzzing, and even many officers and men in the base looked up curiously. Compared with a few years ago, the biggest change in several naval units is the addition of these winged aircraft, LG1897-J reconnaissance aircraft, codenamed J-2 in the military, in addition to being used as a reconnaissance and alert mission for troops, this J-2 aircraft can also perform large-intensity military operations when necessary.

Looking at these patrol planes flying in the sky in all directions around the island, the officers and men of the base, including Chen Zeyu himself, suddenly felt a burst of relaxation in their hearts, and it was these warriors soaring in the air that brought the entire base a broader field of vision, depth, and an incomparable sense of security.

With the rapid movement of several cars, Chen Zeyu and the others soon arrived at the fleet berthing camp in the first district south of Guam.

In addition to the dozens of naval barracks near the mooring, several Cochin-class cruisers and patrol boats of the Navy can be seen moored on the southernmost pier.

After visiting the officers and men on duty on the ship, Chen Zeyu, accompanied by fleet commander Lan Jianshu, inspected the submarine forces in the base; unlike the previous surface ships, these Tang-class submarines assigned to the Pacific Fleet were usually moored in semi-enclosed cave-type anchorages.

The interior of the complex electrification has transformed the originally gloomy and hidden base beyond recognition, and a large number of the Navy's new Tang-class submarines are moored next to the vertical and horizontal steel trestle.

Looking at these undersea wolves that faintly exude a sharp and murderous aura, Chen Zeyu was proud and at the same time quite emotional.

"It's really a plan that can't keep up with the changes!"

Originally, Chen Zeyu and his political axe were not actually prepared to set up the Navy's Pacific Fleet so early, but last year's Spanish-American War obviously disrupted his steps, and after Seris successively acquired the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the western islands of Hawaii that were later purchased from Spain, these realistic Pacific maritime interests made the expected new fleet establishment have to be implemented in advance.

In terms of operational areas, in addition to being responsible for regular patrols of the Pacific islands such as Ryukyu, Guam, and Honolulu, the newly-born Pacific Fleet is also shouldering the protection of the eastern coasts of Taiwan and Luzon provinces, thus reducing the combat pressure of the South China Sea Fleet to a great extent and enabling it to concentrate on various patrol tasks in the South China Sea.

As the main anchorage of the entire Pacific Fleet for many years, the Guam Naval Base is not at all behind the mainland bases in terms of facilities and equipment, although it is isolated from overseas. Whether it is the training equipment of the troops, the fleet's barracks in the port, the wharf, the oil depot, the ammunition depot, the runway, the hangar, and other logistical facilities, or the various supply needs of the officers and men of the navy, everything is available in the entire Guam base. Including the soldiers' usual catering, medical care, hot water, etc., are very perfect under the ample military budget of the republic, and Chen Zeyu can be said to have no sense of saving at all in this regard, compared with the colonial bases of the navies of other countries in the world, the work done by the republican political axe in this regard is absolutely second to none. Chen Zeyu firmly believes that with these perfect logistical supports, coupled with the strict training of the troops themselves, the navy of the Republic of China will certainly be able to become a world-class dragon force.

"Führer, do you want to visit Captain Chen of the Aviation Unit again......"

After finishing the entire itinerary of the day, the fleet commander Lan Jianshu came to Chen Zeyu's side and asked for instructions.

"Forget it, don't bother him," Chen Zeyu sighed and shook his head, "Since you have embarked on this path, you must have the consciousness of enduring hardships, and when it comes to the family visit holiday, I will naturally be able to see my fourth brother again, don't go, let's go!" ”

After Lan Jianshu nodded to show that he understood, Chen Zeyu took the lead in the special car waiting on the side and drove towards the dock......

When Chen Zeyu was working hard to run the country, his original brothers were not idle. In addition to the eldest brother Chen Qiye, who inherited his father's business and inherited the medical center of his hometown and opened a large traditional Chinese medicine hospital to carry forward the ancestral business, the remaining two brothers were later influenced by Chen Zeyu to study at the Army Military Academy and the Naval Academy in Sizhejiang successively, and after graduation, they went to serve in the navy and army units of the Republic respectively.

The second brother, Chen Qimei, is still stationed in the military sub-district of Sizhejiang and served as a major battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 33rd Integrated Division of the Army, while the youngest brother Chen Qicai, who is the eldest in the family, is now serving in this Guam base and is now a captain pilot attached to the naval aviation unit.

The second brother Chen Qimei is okay, he has married his wife six years ago, but his fourth brother is quite a headache, and now he is 21 years old, and everyone is not small, but now he doesn't even have the slightest intention of talking about marriage. Thinking of the sad face of his mother in the house, Chen Zeyu's head seemed to hurt a little again, it was time to find a daughter-in-law for him......;