November in the Atlantic Ocean is a cold and windy month, which is the season of the year after the alternation of cold and heat. As soon as the newborn sun shows its smiling face, it dispels the morning fog and makes the Mediterranean Sea bathed in sunlight even more tranquil and beautiful.

Sixty nautical miles south of the English Channel in the British Isles, a fleet flying the flag of the Chinese Navy broke the silence and headed north. After the ship, dozens of thick and large snow-white tracks were left on the sea.

At this time, Chen Ce was standing on the bow of the famous general-class battleship Wei Qing, staring at the Atlantic Ocean in the morning light with a telescope.

The morning fog had completely cleared, and everything on the sea was clearly visible. The fleet group that was breaking the waves and marching in three columns was sailing slowly under the sound of the whistle, and it was an air defense cruiser and three anti-submarine destroyers that were responsible for guiding and guarding the task, and on either side of the fleet there was also a Kunlunshan-class battleship moving slowly.

It is worth mentioning that the Chinese Navy did not abandon battleships entirely, but the requirements for battleships were high. As a matter of fact, at a time when all countries in the world are embroiled in a large-scale arms race without exception, the top echelons of the Chinese military are aware of a kind of crisis: No matter how strong an aircraft carrier's attack is, it can only fight beyond the line of sight, and once it is close to the enemy, it will be difficult to effectively defend itself with the existing aircraft carrier frigates. In other words, there are still certain defects and blind spots in the defense of the aircraft carrier formation, although they are equipped with relatively advanced shipboard electronic equipment, which can give early warning, but some unspecified natural factors are still enough to affect the normal operation of those equipment. As a result, there has also been a long debate within the military specifically around the topic of 'to build or not to build battleships'.

In the end, it was Chen Shao who made the decision. Rebuild two faster Kunlunshan-class battleships and the famous general-class for high and low matching. The famous general class is locked at four, and basically will not continue to build.

According to the lessons of previous naval battles in various countries around the world, the old battleships with low speed, high firepower, and heavy armor and the battlecruisers with high speed and light armor are not suitable for the new conditions of naval warfare. The Chinese Navy's decision to build a new, high-speed, heavily defended battleship gave birth to the Commander class standard capital ship, which combines every state-of-the-art technology, from powerful new gas turbine engines to electrically driven, radar-corrected turrets. The gas turbine is fast in a short time, but the cost is expensive, the reaction time is fast, and the combat effectiveness is also strengthened.

It's so mighty, so majestic, it's our own battleship. This is after every Chinese saw this battleship. There was a burst of emotion in my heart. The obvious dark gray hull and the hideous cannon. All the time declares their strength.

It seems to satisfy the self-esteem and pride of the Chinese people, and deter the four states. However, no one knows that the economic cost of this is huge, for the past two years. China's naval spending has grown by 170 percent per year. Arguably. The average cost of each new battleship is close to 31 million yuan, and the first ship, Weiqing, is as high as 37 million yuan. This is still the cost incurred by China under the extremely preferential situation of the Red Police shipyard, if it is placed on the United States. This price is definitely going to break 100 million. No wonder the Netherlands coveted super battleships at the beginning, and they never came up with the money to buy them, because they were afraid that they would not be able to raise them!

"Maybe that's the price! But whatever our reasons and intentions, since we have begun, we must not stop in any case, we will not blindly follow, but we must not lag behind, because the future of the empire is at sea, and we must maintain such sea power! That's why we need to do everything we can to do better. And the secret of this is quality, and only by ensuring quality can our navy be ahead of the world at all times. As soon as he thought of Chen Shao's speech at the previous national defense conference, a smile appeared on Chen Ce's face. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the navy, he naturally hopes that China's navy will stand on top of the world.

Moreover, the arms race at this time had been transformed into a spirit of competition by the war, which was prominently manifested in the new world hegemony. Two months ago, the United States dismounted and built a super battleship with a displacement of 80,000 tons, with the obvious goal of overpowering China's famous generals. And at the same time, second-class battleships are being built, with the same displacement as the famous generals of China. Japan also announced that it would build a capital ship with a displacement of 100,000 tons, which in Chen Ce's view, can only be said to be a complete obstacle for little Japan.

Germany and Great Britain, despite the fact that their navies were already scarred, had undying ambitions to develop them. Germany has accelerated the construction of the Hindenburg-class and has also commissioned China to help build a Hindenburg-class. Britain soon came up with a more powerful battleship, vowing to compete with Germany.

Everyone despised the role of aircraft carriers, because although the aircraft carriers of Germany and the Allies played a significant role in this naval battle, the survivability at sea made all countries not very optimistic about the role of aircraft carriers in the decisive battle of capital ships. Despite this, all countries in the world have not given up on aircraft carriers, because they have taken a fancy to the sneak attack role of aircraft carrier-based aircraft. So at the same time as the production of battleships, countries around the world also began to build aircraft carriers.

In this arms race, even the Soviet Union wanted to intervene, and Stalin shouted that the great Soviet Union would also build a super-battleship. Soviet designers quickly came up with a design drawing, but Stalin was not satisfied. The Soviet Union has not had the experience of building large ships for a long time, and where is there a way to immediately dismount and build a capital ship of more than 50,000 tons. Stalin's actions made his ship designers quite speechless. In the end, it was decided to build a 50,000-ton battleship first, and it was still based on the Kunlun Mountain class as a sample, so it should be practiced. As for Stalin's desire for more powerful battleships, the ability to give birth was difficult to deliver.

The European battlefield also suddenly fell into calm because of this sea battle. Except for the daily routine engagement of German and Allied planes, the army was frighteningly calm, as if it was calm before a storm, very oppressive.

Chen Ce shook his head and shook off the cranky thoughts in his mind, raised his hand and looked at his watch, the hour hand had pointed to the position of 8 o'clock, and the hand had also gone to the direction of 40. With England coming soon, he adjusted his mentality a little. He slowly paced towards the podium again.

At the same time, the port of London is full of festive atmosphere, with flags fluttering, the docks crowded with people, and a particularly prominent area of the port where dignitaries and dignitaries gather. This is very incongruous with the cloudy and war-torn Britain, where the war seems to have passed, and its negative effects seem to have gradually subsided.

Although China and Britain were hypothetical enemies of each other, during the war in Europe, the two countries maintained normal trade exchanges without exception. For this visit of the Chinese Navy. The UK takes it quite seriously. Of course. In addition to political factors that must be taken into account, the lack of arms supply is also a prominent problem for Britain at present. And because of the arrival of the Chinese fleet, the air forces of both warring sides stopped, like an intermission. And the purpose of China's visit is also what the British side wants to know most now.

As the plenipotentiary envoy of Great Britain. Lord Misona stood at the head of the procession. At this moment, the British greeting fleet also set sail. Go to meet the arrival of the Chinese fleet. This is necessary etiquette. It is also a must. At this moment, a lot of mines have been planted in the waters around London, so as not to cause misunderstandings. It must also be led by the warships of the British Navy.

Everyone immediately raised their eyes and looked around, only to see that more than ten small black dots appeared at the junction of the sea and the sky, and as time passed, the black dots moving on the sea surface continued to expand in everyone's pupils, and then, a fleet appeared.

"Let's get started!" Tidying up his shirt a little, Misona said.

In less than three minutes, 11 British ships anchored in the harbor were heard firing a 21-gun salute at the same time. The Chinese warships also fired 21 salutes in response, and for a time, the salutes roared, one after another. Then, following the flag issued by the leading British ship, the Chinese fleet changed formation and slowly sailed into the harbor.

China did not bring in its entire fleet, and only three battleships, two cruisers, and two destroyers, or eight integrated supply ships, entered the port. This is also a kind of politeness, not to mention, Chen Ce doesn't want to put the aircraft carrier in such a crowded place in a different place.

The British side also let go of the suspense of China's move, and the naval battle has passed, and now when the British navy is officially the most ineffective, if the Chinese fleet is not good, then it will be a great disaster for Britain. Although this is unlikely, it has to be guarded against. And China's move just made them let go of their worries.

"Respected Chinese General, welcome to your coming from afar, and I would like to extend my most sincere greetings to you on behalf of the British Government and the British people." As soon as Chen Ce stepped down the gangway, Misona led the crowd to greet him.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency!" Shaking hands with him gently, Chen Ce responded politely, then turned his head to look around, and then said to everyone with a smile, "It seems that the people here are very welcoming!" After saying this, he did not forget to wave to the crowded place.

The British have long been accustomed to the warships of European countries coming and going in various regions, but this is the first time they have seen a giant steel ship from China, which is thousands of miles away. Looking at the super battleship with the military flag flying high and the majestic majesty, the crowd was mixed with envy, and from time to time there were bursts of exclamations. After witnessing the flotilla landing, the crowd of onlookers became agitated and rushed forward, and the scene seemed a little chaotic.

They had never seen a battleship with a displacement of more than 70,000 tons, and they saw the Chinese naval soldiers standing neatly around the hull, and the white naval uniforms matched the sense of oppression given by this huge ship, and the impact was full.

The situation gradually getting out of control made Misona frown, at this time, he didn't want to make trouble, after all, he still had important things to do, so he said unhappily to the army colonel who was in charge of security next to him: "Colonel, please be sure to control the situation on the scene, and don't let people offend our most honored guests of the British Empire." Immediately, he owed to Chen Ce again, and said apologetically, "Your Excellency the General, please don't mind this ignorant behavior!" ”

"Nope! How so? I think that speaks volumes about the enthusiasm of your country. ”

"Thank you very much for your understanding!" As she spoke, Misona raised her arms and waved at the crowd, "Gentlemen, let's talk as we go." ”

At this moment, under the instructions of the colonel, hundreds of soldiers and policemen had already forcibly driven the crowd that had crossed the line out of the warning area, and restored the somewhat blocked walkway of the human wall at the end to its original state.

Later, Chen Ce met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the two had a long secret discussion. In the end, Chen Ce walked out with a red face, and Churchill's face was quite calm, but he didn't know what he was thinking in his heart. (To be continued.) )