Chapter 19: The Rise of Ben

Walking to the No. 7 dock, Chen Zeyu quietly looked at the shipyard workers who were under intense construction not far away, and did not go over immediately.

A large number of shipwrights were laying armor around the hull of another Taiwan-class "Kunming," and in the stands not far away, Wei Han, deputy chief engineer in charge of the progress of the warship, and others were busy checking the data and discussing areas for improvement with a group of intern engineers who had just graduated from the Sizhejiang Ship Technical School.

Outside the dock, the workers in the crane are using a special gantry crane to lift the 14-inch armored steel plates, and transport them to the dock where a group of boatmen are responsible for construction and welding.

Compared with the riveting that is still used in the shipyards of other European industrial countries such as Britain and Germany in this era, this gas welding process can undoubtedly make more efficient use of every cent of the weight on the warship, according to the conservative estimates of the shipyard engineers, the Taiwan-class combat surname using this technology will be 15% or more than the same tonnage warship, and the deck usable area is equivalent to that of a European 7,000-ton warship.

At this time, many parts of the ship's side around the hull of the "Kunming" have been equipped with armored steel plates, and the sunlight shining from the top of the dock falls on the side of the newly formed hull, making the steel that has just been laid emit a faint metallic luster, and the awe-inspiring murderous faint pavement comes.

The Taiwan-class armored cruiser is a reference to the Oak-class fast cruisers of the British Navy as a whole. Some people may be unfamiliar with this class of warships, but when it comes to the "Yoshino" ship of the Combined Fleet, they must have some impressions.

This cruiser, with its speed and power, was hailed throughout the 19th century as the finest cruiser in the world at the time. In order to raise money to buy this cruiser, Emperor Kamoto even took the lead in calling on the people to eat only one meal at a time, and the empress and princesses also donated their jewelry, and the people of Komoto and the people built donation boxes for the Yoshino on the roads of various cities.

Excluding personal emotions and considering the level of warship design of the 19th century, the Yoshino-class cruisers were already at the apex of this era. According to information from the European Intelligence Division, the newly launched warship, built by the British shipyard Armstrong, is expected to enter service with the British Navy in the middle of next year.

Avalanche shipyard engineers have raised the freeboard on the basis of the Yoshino class, removed the ramming angle, and improved the ship's seaworthiness in the open sea. In addition, thanks to Chen Zeyu's guidance, the Taiwan-class warships adopted a key protection design that was only adopted during World War II, and in addition to the basic armor, some key parts are equipped with a layer of armor steel plates, such as the most important ship headquarters, ammunition bays and all turrets are laid with amazing 14-inch T3 hardened armor. It was enough to withstand the bombardment of the large-caliber artillery of this era, and before this key protection design became popular, all engineers and workers were required to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to ensure the confidentiality of the project.

As a result of intense construction, the "Kunming" and "Fuzhou" ships in the No. 7 and No. 8 docks have also entered the engineering stage of laying armor on their hulls, and it is expected that the two "Taiwan-class" ships will be launched three to four months ahead of schedule.

Considering that the nascent Sizhejiang regime was still very weak, Chen Zeyu implemented a strict secrecy system throughout the shipbuilding process in order not to attract the covetousness of the surrounding Western colonists. At the beginning, Chen Zeyu purchased the floating dock, also considering that this shipbuilding mode can better conceal the ships in the dock in the distance. Chen Zeyu also dispatched additional armed forces from the Heishui Security Company in the shipyard to inspect the shipyard day and night, and a strict identity verification system was implemented inside and outside the shipyard, and no one without a permit was allowed to leave.

For this reason, the British, Dutch, and even the local Spaniards in the vicinity of Sizhejiang knew nothing about the new armored cruisers built by the shipyard and were unaware of it.

Not far away, the workers in the dock are still divided into groups to weld and cut steel plates, and these workers in the Avalanche Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group have undergone strict training in welding technology in the technical school under the Avalanche Group in Sizhejiang a few years ago.

Considering that in the future, shipyards will also build high-risk oil and gas and other energy transportation vessels, and the technical school implements a strict license access system in this regard. Workers who have not passed the examination and have not obtained the welding technical license are not allowed to work, and the access license is divided into four grades: C, B, A and even super A. Because the actual income of workers can increase by a large percentage with each grade, many workers who have already obtained a lower level of license will pay out of their own pockets to go to a technical school to obtain a higher level of welding license.

Reflected here, it can be seen that the school's hard work at the beginning was not in vain. From the neat and flat black steel armor plate on the hull, Chen Zeyu can see the skillful welding skills of the workers in his shipyard.

Looking at all this, Chen Zeyu felt a burst of relief in his heart, and he couldn't help but feel a little more confident in his future plans.

"Old Wu, do you know? The Frenchman Bai Laoyi launched the Sanjing ship designed and built by the Navy, and I was a little worried when I heard the news from the intelligence department, but when I saw what was in front of me, I was relieved. ”

Patting Wu Zhongxian, the president and chief engineer of the shipyard next to him, Chen Zeyu took the lead and walked towards the civilian dock in front of him, it was these engineers and shipyard workers who worked tirelessly in front of him that gave Chen Zeyu the confidence to defeat all enemies in the future.....

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In 1868, in the seventh year of the reign of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Mushito issued an edict for the Meiji Restoration, and the Emperor became a constitutional monarchy. From then until 1891, for 23 years, the New Deal fully implemented the capitalist policy, recruited European and Western experts under the slogan of enriching the country and strengthening the army, cultivating industry and industry, and cultivating civilization, vigorously developing Western-style education, and cultivating scientific and technological talents. A series of state-owned enterprises such as military industry, mining, railways, and shipping were established.

It is said that the industrial revolution began to appear, and actively reorganized the army for war, and the goal was directly aimed at the Qing Dynasty.

On November 3, 1891, early in the morning, it was said that this Tokyo Yokosuka

Surrounded by his ministers, the young Emperor Muhito climbed the ramp of the Matsushima, the flagship of the Navy.

Perhaps the sea breeze was a little strong in the early morning, and when he was halfway there, Muren staggered and crooked.

"Your Majesty—" Iwakura Gushi, the cabinet minister beside him, hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Mujin's left arm.

Emperor Muhito shook off Iwakura's help with his left arm, stabilized himself to the sound of majestic military music, and stepped onto the deck of the "Matsushima", one of the three scenic ships that Yumoto had just launched...

Stepping on the bright red carpet of the deck that looked like blood, Emperor Muhito, dressed in a formal military uniform, suppressed his inner excitement and calmly walked past the naval sailors on the foredeck of the "Matsushima" who were waiting for him to inspect one after another.

On this day, Muhito, who was born on November 3, 1852, was 40 years old, and in order to celebrate Emperor Muhito, the military held a naval parade on the Matsushima ship, one of the newly launched Sankei ships.

In the sound of military music, Muren looked at the sailors who walked in front of him one by one...

Suddenly, a figure stopped him.

"Aren't you the youngest son of the Asahi family?" Looking at the young face in front of him, who was still slightly immature, Muren asked with interest.

The young sailor stepped forward and replied in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, it's me!" ”

"I sent 13 of Prince Asahin's 15 nephews to study in Europe," Muhito narrowed his eyes and looked at the nephew in front of him, "You stayed because of your young age."

In the eyes of the surrounding naval officers and cabinet ministers, the young Fushimi Miyahiko stalked his neck, "I am already a corporal and sailor of the Imperial Navy, please Your Majesty stop saying that I am young, okay?" ”

"Good! I promise you, Corporal Asahin! Muren stared at the nephew in front of him and retreated into the queue, nodding in satisfaction...

On the back deck of Songdao, accompanied by the sound of waves, Muren's white gloves stroked the huge 320mm double diameter barrel of the giant cannon body standing in front of him, "Is this the 320mm gun used to deal with the Qing Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships?" ”

"Yes," said Admiralty Shikinori Kayama, stepping forward, "and not only that, but the speed of this Matsushima ship is 16. 5 knots, much higher than Dingyuan's 14. 5 knots. But in terms of the overall surname, our ship is not yet able to match it. ”

Muren was slightly silent when he heard this, turned around and walked onto the bridge.

The ministers on one side glared at Shiki Kayama one after another, and hurriedly followed.

"The rate of fire is heavier than the caliber of artillery, this is a new concept that is admired in the Imperial Navy," Admiral Shikinori Kayama patiently explained as he followed Muhito, "but this concept must be supported by money"

Imperial Household Minister Ito Hirobumi frowned and stepped forward, looking at Shiki Kayama in response, "This is the opinion of Minister Saigo in the cabinet earlier, do you think so too?" ”

Iwakura Gushi walked over to Hirobumi Ito and agreed, "Yes, do you want Your Majesty to listen to you on the warship on your birthday?!" ”

"But! The Qing state spent a lot of money to build a water division. Recently, the Haiphong donation has been opened, which is also a well-known dangerous fact! Admiral Shiki Kayama's whole body straightened, and his face became more and more serious.

"The people of the Qing Kingdom have already used up 30 million taels of silver just to celebrate the birthday of their queen mother. With such a powerful national strength, is this comparable to our country? Hirobumi Ito's face was heavy, "What's more, our country has even invested in the Admiralty for tobacco tax and drug tax, and it is really impossible to come up with the money, and the people can no longer afford it." ”

"That's right," Iwakura Goshi glared at Shikinori Kayama, "it's not okay to fish with all your might, and the Diet won't agree to it!" ”

"Let's allocate 300,000 yuan from the inner treasury to the Admiralty every year", at this time, Muhito, who was originally silent on the side, standing on the bridge and looking at the ships in the distance, startled everyone.

Ignoring the stunned faces of the cabinet ministers, Muhito turned his eyes back to look at everyone and repeated again, "I said that 300,000 yuan will be allocated to the Admiralty from the Inner Treasury every year!" ”

According to the constitution, the political axe will allocate 3 million yuan every year as the use of the royal family, compared with the extravagant pomp of the Qing royal family, this money to support the use of the royal family is usually not redundant. 300,000 yuan is one-tenth, and Emperor Muhito's fluttering words are equivalent to directly amending the constitution, and the permanent surname reduces the use of the imperial family.

"No way!" Iwakura looked sad, "That's Your Majesty's personal property!" How can it!! How can you..."

"Yes, Your Majesty! The feelings of the people will not agree," Ito Hirobumi said loudly.

The Minister of the Navy, Shiki Kayama, who had been cold, looked excited, stepped forward to the opposite side of the bridge, and said loudly to all the officers and men of the Matsushima ship who were still standing straight below, "Soldiers, His Majesty the Emperor wants to hand over one-tenth of his private property to the navy. However, the Navy refused to accept such a gift from His Majesty"

"The Navy refuses to accept His Majesty's gift"

"The Navy refuses! ――”

"The Navy refuses! As far as the fleet could see, all the officers and men of the navy were excited, raising their arms and shouting.

Emperor Muhito's eyes moistened a little as he looked at everything in front of him, and he forced himself to wipe it away, "My decision will never change!" ”

Looking at everyone around him, Muren said in a deep voice, "Open up thousands of miles of waves and declare the country's prestige in all directions." The loyal and brave officers and men of the Navy will never fail to live up to my expectations! ”

"Long live the Emperor!! ――”

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!! ”

"Long live the Emperor!! Long live the Emperor!! "This moment is powerful.

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