As soon as Zhang Shusheng mentioned the transformation of the battleship, Hatton's whole thinking was mobilized.

"Your Majesty, I need to know the latest battle situation on the front line in order to formulate the most suitable plan for the transformation of the warship."

Different warship transformation plans have different costs and different transformation cycles, and the direction of transformation, the key needs of the front line, etc., cannot be formulated by sitting in the rear of security.

"At this point, my general has the most right to speak, go, talk while drinking tea."

Zhang Shusheng called Cai Yi, and even Liu Shaoqi, vice minister in charge of economy and finance of the Government Affairs Yuan, who had rushed to the lunar base from the earth to welcome the fleet's return, also called them, and the four of them sat on the top floor of the 50-storey communications command tower, the tallest building in the lunar port, while watching the battleships densely packed throughout the lunar port, while drinking tea and talking about the plan for the transformation of the warships.

"O Songpa, look at these seventy battleships, once they are transformed and join our fleet, they will be enough to form the Second Fleet of the Empire."

Zhang Shusheng stared at the battleship in the moon harbor with hot eyes, different from the ecological environment of the earth, the moon seems extremely barren, but in such a high-tech base, the intersection of barrenness and technology reflects an alternative beauty.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the task of the First Fleet is too heavy now."

Cai Ye had been on the front line until he went out to receive the battleship this time before returning from the space jump gate.

He told Hatton and Liu Shaoqi in detail about the situation on the front line, including the latest battle report he had just received.

"Actually, so far, there has been no major battle on our front line, because the entire southwest star field has been in chaos, and even the Duchy of Ranke has never experienced dealing with us again.

The Fifth and Sixth Fleets of the Nok Business Alliance, under the command of Nok Admiral Lin Feng, have captured the four life planets of the Principality of Rank, and a quarter of Rank's territory has fallen.

The army of the Orion Alliance took advantage of the fire to rob and also took a life planet, and several other first-level civilizations joined forces to take down a life planet, and even a scuffle broke out over it.

However, the Duchy of Ranke still has nearly ten living planets, as well as a large number of mining stars, and these planets are all within three strong lines of defense.

The armies of the Nok Merchant Alliance have not advanced, and the Third and Seventh Super Fleets are being assembled and are expected to be put into the future battlefield of the Duchy of Rank.

The Orion Alliance is also rearming and expanding its army frantically.

However, it is worth noting that the Duchy of Ranke currently receives nearly 2,000 battleships through the Space Gate, although there are no super battleships, but a large number of G-type standard warships have joined in, allowing the Duchy of Ranke to avoid the danger of extinction in a short period of time.

What's more, the second super fleet, the fourth super fleet, and the sixth super fleet of the Longshan Empire are rapidly assembling, and at present, more than one-third of the fleet has been assembled in the border area, and it is likely that a big war will break out with the Nok Merchant Alliance in the Principality of Ranke in the future.

All things considered, a major war will be on the verge of breaking out in a period of one to two years, and small and medium-sized battles will continue. ”

Hearing that so many great powers were involved in the war, Hatton, like Liu Shaoqi, showed joy, the opportunity for the rise of weak countries is to sit back and watch the tiger fight, and the more fiercely they fight, the more chance the Chinese Empire will rise.

Whether it is the Longshan Empire, the Nok Business Alliance, or even the Principality of Rank, these are all high-ranking countries in peacetime, and any one of them is not something that the empire can compete with.

But now it's different, they don't have time to talk about it, and they give the empire the opportunity to make war money.

"Judging from the intelligence from many sides, the Longshan Empire has decided to intensify the war. Because it was forced by the third-level civilization Silver Moon Empire, the Longshan Empire, which was unwilling to get involved in the war, had already shown its fangs.

However, the Nok Business Alliance is not a vegetarian, and it is also fully prepared to dare to attack the Principality of Rank, and this time the third-level civilization behind it has long been dissatisfied with the pattern of the Southwest Star Domain, and wants to promote this war. ”

In Zhang Shusheng's view, things in this world are just like an old saying, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are countries where there are stars, there must be wars.

In the Ring Lost Star Field, the rising stars represented by the Orion Alliance are dissatisfied with the interests of rivals like the Principality of Rank, and they want to settle accounts for hundreds of years of grievances. And a big country like the Nok Business Alliance is dissatisfied with the strength of the Longshan Empire for thousands of years, and wants to use war to fight for its own interests.

As for why the two third-level civilizations resolutely entered this dispute and laid out in advance, Zhang Shusheng also had a more cautious guess: "The Silver Moon Empire and the Guluo Federation are evenly matched opponents, and they have been stepping into the third-level civilization for thousands of years, and they have always been inferior, and the technology and civilization of both sides have developed to the top of the third-level civilization.

The southwest star field of the Milky Way is still too small, and it can only accommodate a fourth-level civilization, and the battle between them should be a battle for civilization advancement, and it will never die. ”

How terrifying is a fourth-level civilization? You only need to look at the battleship Zhonghua to know that many of the technologies on it are at the level of a fourth-level civilization, and only the free jump technology is the ability of a fifth-level civilization.

Zhang Shusheng didn't know the war strength of the fourth-level civilization, but from the difference between the second-level civilization and the third-level civilization, it was estimated that only one fourth-level civilization could be promoted in the southwest star field of the entire galaxy.

What Cai Ye said is mainly the situation of the Lost Star Field, and the situation of the entire Southwest Star Domain is more complicated.

"Your Majesty, so this war will last a long time? And it may lead to a future redivision of power in the southwest star field of the Milky Way? ”

Liu Shaoqi asked excitedly.

"Yes, there are not many opportunities left for us, so I strongly borrowed this huge amount of money from outside, just to catch this ride.

As I have said many times in office meetings, from now on, we will concentrate on developing the military industry and selling it all.

We need cosmic coins, and we can also exchange resources for our battleships, and we can even exchange living planets for our battleships, and we will do whatever it takes to strengthen our strength and accumulate war capital.

I have a dream, maybe when this war is over, our Chinese Empire will be promoted to a second-level civilization, or a quasi-second-level civilization. ”

Zhang Shusheng described it imaginatively that in the eyes of Liu Shaoqi and others, the Chinese Empire is still far, far away from the second-level civilization, and it may take hundreds of years.

But only Zhang Shusheng knows that this time does not take so long, according to the latest top-secret exploration report, three life planets have been found in the Lost Star Domain alone, two A-level life planets, and one B-level life planet, all of which are located in the Lost Star Domain.

In addition, a B-class life planet has been discovered near the chaotic star belt.

In this way, the number of exploitable life planets owned by the Empire has reached 4.

With the addition of the existing three, the empire will have a total of seven living planets, which has already reached the standard of a quasi-second-level civilization. Judging from the calculation of the intelligent brain, there will be no more life planets in the entire Lost Star Domain, seven have reached the limit of natural distribution, and if you want more planets, you must expand externally.

"Therefore, our most important task now is to increase the population and develop the military industry."

Zhang Shusheng said in conclusion, "Hatton, at present, our front line is mainly on the defensive, protecting the security of the trade route with the Orion Alliance when necessary, and there is currently a fleet led by 30 battleships stationed at the front.

For the time being, the battleships are enough, and the 30 brand new battleships that have just been purchased can be rotated for firepower reinforcement.

As for the remaining 70 battleships, how to renovate, what about the opinions of Shaoqi and Hatton? ”

Liu Shaoqi said: "At present, there is no problem in terms of funds, mainly from the loan to pay expenses. The rest depends on General Manager Hatton's plan. ”

Hatton thought about it for a while, and finally came up with an idea, "Thirty brand-new battleships can dismantle some unnecessary small guns and some entertainment and leisure facilities on the ship to install a set of main gun systems, but if the main gun system is installed, the energy supply system needs to be modified, if it is transformed at the same time, without affecting the production of battleships, it can complete 2 ships in a month, and all 30 ships can be completed in a year." ”

Zhang Shusheng: "No problem, these thirty battleships will be used as the earth defense fleet, and by the way, they will be used for recruit training before they officially enter service, and this run-in period will also take a year or two, which is completely timely." ”

His idea was to keep the battleships around the planet and take turns retrofitting and upgrading them while training new recruits.

These brand-new battleships, surnamed energy, energy shield and speed, and even others do not need to be modified, only the firepower and energy supply system need to be modified and upgraded, if the firepower is not strong, the battleship will go out like a knife that has not been sharpened.

As for other transformations, Zhang Shusheng didn't want to, but the time was not enough and the cost was too high.

"The remaining 70 second-hand battleships, the transformation and upgrading time will be longer, considering that they will be overhauled, I plan to dismantle some internal facilities for each battleship after the overhaul, add a set of main gun systems, improve the energy supply system, and at the same time upgrade the engines of the battleships to try to increase some speed."

These 70 battleships are not the same as new ones, and there are many places that need to be overhauled. Moreover, it is not enough to increase the firepower, its speed is far inferior to that of the new ship, and the engine must be overhauled and modified.

Although these battleships are second-hand, they can still be used for many years, and at present, they are mainly allowed to run and fight, and when the opportunity is right, they will consider others.

"Okay, that's no problem, if there are more renovation projects, it may affect the production of Shenlong-class battleships and Tianlong-class battleships.

How long will it take for all 70 battleships to be rebuilt? ”

Zhang Shusheng asked.

"Two years."

After getting this answer, Zhang Shusheng had an idea, and after that, a large number of training tasks can use real ships, and the empire can still afford this energy cost.

"Your Majesty, next month, our three Shenlong-class battleships and two Tianlong-class battleships will be able to complete outfitting and enlistment, and you must come to cut the ribbon then."

Hatton also followed the local customs, and often saw Zhang Shusheng go to other strategic projects to cut the ribbon, and he also hoped that the new ship could get the personal attention of His Majesty the Emperor.

"Haha, okay, no problem, at the same time as the new ship enters service, I will also announce our expansion plan to the outside world."

Zhang Shusheng thought that two or three years had passed, and there was finally a powerful domestic battleship launched, and he couldn't help but feel excited and proud in his heart, 5 new battleships, although they were all piled up with money, but it was worth it, it was too cost-effective, and for the empire, this was an epoch-making achievement.

(To be continued)