The sound of rivets sounded one after another in Europe and the United States, but the Qing Kingdom in the Far East seemed to be calm as usual. In the eyes of white Europeans and Americans, it was because the Qing State did not have enough technology and funds.

But what stunned the whites was that just after the Qing New Year, Huludao Shipyard, Lushun Shipyard, Jiaozhou Shipyard, Keelung Shipyard, Naha Shipyard, Guangzhou Shipyard, Manila Shipyard, Pontianak Shipyard, and Incheon Shipyard. These shipyards, owned by the Qing Dynasty or within its sphere of influence, began to be closed one after another after all the workers were in place. Originally, the European and American countries that thought that the Qing State had no new shipbuilding plan were stunned by the scale of the Qing Dynasty's large-scale shipbuilding. Because in total, these shipyards have almost thirty docks, with a total shipbuilding capacity of almost half a million tons. The most hateful thing is that the Qing State did not make any announcements on the development of the Qing State, which does not conform to the laws prevailing in the world.

Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and other countries have inquired about what the Qing State is going to do. Russia's behavior was the most intense, and the minister to China, Cassini, protested directly to the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs, protesting that the Qing country's actions had broken the general laws of the world, and demanded that the Qing state explain.

It is understandable that Russia has done this, because after all, the purpose of Russia's construction of warships over the years has been to return to the Far East, and they must find out the basic data of the warships built by the Qing Dynasty. This move of the Qing State is the most direct threat to Russia, and if the Qing State really finishes building these 500,000-ton warships, the Russians would better move back to Europe. If the construction of the Far Eastern Railway had not been deceived by the Qing people, and the last section would have been placed in Ulan-Ude, with the temper of Nicholas II, troops would have been sent to the Far East now.

The European powers echoed one after another, because if the Qing really had the ability to build 500,000 tons of warships at the same time, the combat readiness potential of the Qing State would be too terrifying.

Britain induced Qing to ask how many basic-class warships were being built, France was asking about the specifications built by the Qing country, the Americans were asking how many were being built by the Qing country, and other countries also inquired one after another. Germany is even more direct, they offer a high price to buy the base number.

"You guys are really worried, it's true that the Qing Dynasty is building warships, but it's not what everyone thinks. Don't look at the base number as it looks good, but it's actually a failed design. Heben could not meet the needs of the Great Qing Naval Battle. "Tang Shaoyi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going crazy, anyone who says the same thing all day long will go crazy.

The materials of the Qing State were substandard and could not meet the needs of long-term high-speed operation during naval warfare. Moreover, the recoil of the twin 305mm naval guns is too large, and the supporting parts of the naval guns are deformed and cracked just during sea trials. The Qing Dynasty built warships. But it's not the foundation number, don't you see that the foundation number is being dismantled in Weihai Port? The Qing Dynasty was now building ten battleships and ten heavy cruisers, as well as ten destroyers. This battleship is a 18,000-ton ship with four triple 40L/305mm naval guns, and the heavy cruiser is also a 15,000-ton super-sea-class enlargement ship, not to mention the destroyer.

"You see, I've told them all, but they don't believe me, and there's nothing I can do." Tang Shaoyi spread his hands. A helpless look.

The explanation given by the Qing State made these whites with their eyes above the top scoff. Britain, the world's recognized industrial power, is not capable of building 18,000-ton battleships, and your small Qing country has the ability to do so? It's also a triplet. Yes, now you are the only one in the world who has solved the scattering problem of the triple load, but you can't even solve the recoil of the double-mounted naval guns, and you still have to be stronger than the triple? If you really want to install the triple gun, the supporting parts must be heavy, plus the weight of the armor, I am afraid that the warship you build will not even be able to reach the speed of 13 knots. This is called a battleship? It's called a target ship. There are also 30 warships of 340,000 tons with a total tonnage, and you don't look at how much steel production you have in the entire Qing Dynasty in a year!

In the eyes of the whites, the Qing should have exaggerated in tonnage and firepower, and the numbers should be accurate. After all, in the face of Russia's fleet totaling more than 400,000 tons, the Qing State, as the most likely enemy, must also come up with corresponding countermeasures. Perhaps the cruisers of the Qing Kingdom may have been very bad. However, no matter how heavy the cruiser was, it was not a battleship, and all countries did not report any hope for the Qing State to build its own battleships. Battleships need to have a head-on main showdown, which requires the perfect combination of firepower, speed, armor. Since the Qing State dismantled the foundation number, it means that the Qing country found a fatal problem on the foundation number, because no matter how bad it is, this firepower is still very considerable. Therefore, no country thought that the Qing State already had the strength to build battleships. Moreover, the white people also discovered a phenomenon, at the same time that the major shipyards of the Qing Dynasty were closed, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Keelung, Jiaozhou, Dagu, Lushun and other places began to reorganize the forts, and there was a great posture for renovating the forts. This time, foreigners all understand. Seeing the failure of self-built battleships, the Qing State built a large number of offshore heavy gunboats, hoping to use the cover of batteries to combat a possible Russian invasion. No wonder the Manchu military factories of the Qing Dynasty went crazy to produce heavy artillery, and the reason was here.

The British were somewhat worried. After all, it was the national policy of Britain to contain Russia in the Far East, and if the Qing were defeated at sea, it seemed that even if they won on land, they would eventually have to give in to Russia. Ogne, who had returned to England as general adviser to the Far East, was actively urging the government to help the Qing resist the Russian attack by actively selling battleships. But surprisingly, this time the Qing State had no intention of purchasing warships.

Indeed, on the face of it, it is. But the white people forget that this is not a democratic, open, and transparent Europe and the United States, but a feudal imperial dynasty that has been inherited for 2,000 years. Where are the means of feudal imperial dynasties that are understood by these European and American countries that have only had a hundred years of civilization.

Since the suppression of the Russian invasion and the return of Guangxu to the court, various resources and materials have begun to be hoarded. In particular, the amount of ore and steel ingots produced each year by Maoshan and Anshan, two mines that mainly used prisoners of war and Nanyang slaves, is a secret. Besides, since the eighteenth year of Guangxu, he has been arranging espionage and security matters, and when European and American countries were still pursuing a free economy, the Qing Dynasty began to plan overseas plunder, coupled with the bugs of Guangxu's materials and structures, how can these things let foreign devils know that they are not.

In fact, what the foreign devils don't know is that the maximum speed of the base is not 19 knots but 20.5 knots, and it can maintain this high speed for 3 hours. The reason why the foundation was dismantled was not only because the shelling test made the foundation lose its repair value, but because the Qing Dynasty was confident in building a more powerful battleship through the test of the foundation.

Although the 305 mm main gun of the same model is not up to the level of European countries because of processing technology and heat treatment technology, increasing the elevation angle and increasing the firing range is enough to make the artillery made by the Qing Dynasty compete with European and American countries. The addition of tungsten-containing tungsten carbide improved armor-piercing shells is enough to penetrate British Harvey armor of the same caliber thickness at a distance of 10,000 meters. This indicates that both battleships and heavy cruisers will almost be penetrated by a single shot as long as they do not encounter the front of the turret and the main armor belt. Domestic high-performance alloy steel plus surface carburizing process. It is enough to withstand the shelling of domestic shells of the same caliber. This also means that as long as they are not hit by larger-caliber guns, European warships will no longer be able to break through the protection capabilities of warships of the same type in the Qing Dynasty.

Fifteen-meter-long optical rangefinders are mounted on the towering bridge, and under the rangefinders is a new artillery control center, with a 10-meter rangefinder in each turret. Data observed through these rangefinders is connected via telephone lines to a fire control computing pod protected by thick armor under the conning tower. Over there. The fire control calculation system composed of five hand-cranked mechanical computers will calculate the accurate firing elements within 30 seconds according to the ocean current, wind speed, distance, shelling deviation, and other data, and then transmit these data back to each gun position through the telephone line. Precise artillery bombardment under the unified command of the artillery control center. This is the world's first full-ship artillery command system, although it is still very simple, but because of their existence, the Qing Navy began to enter the era of long-distance accurate strikes. If necessary, the flagship's artillery could even be commanded by radio to concentrate artillery on the whole fleet, and no warship could withstand the firepower of a fleet.

The enlarged hull allowed for more boilers and more steam turbines, and the powerful power pack propelled the 18,000-ton battleship at 22 knots. The four triple 40L/305mm guns he was carrying were enough to defy all opponents. The thickness of the armor belt of the ship's side waterline is 280 mm at its thickest, the armor thickness of the turret front, the gun mount, and the front conning tower reaches 280 mm, and the total weight of the armor exceeds 5,000 tons. Except for the Qing Dynasty, which has not yet developed a 45L/305mm gun, there is no place for the warships built by the Qing Dynasty to be worse than the foreigners.

If you can walk into the conning tower, you'll hear a continuous tick-tock sound. It was the sound of radio transmissions or receptions coming from the telegraph cabin next to the Command Tower. This is not only the pride of the Qing Navy, but also the pride of the entire Qing Dynasty. Yes, although it has been improved many times, the current wireless telegraph machine is still relatively primitive. Signal noise can still be a problem, especially at sea, where the breakdown and damage ratio is still high. However, when the foreigners were still commanding the fleet in their field of vision by waving flags, the commander of the Qing Navy could command every warship equipped with no wires in the entire ocean to conduct cross-sea operations as long as he sat in the command tower, so that the warships scattered in various sea areas could carry out accurate military operations in all directions. They can also sit in the command tower and directly contact the staff headquarters of the country's highest command organization, and at any time follow the instructions of the staff headquarters in charge of the million-mile theater to launch the deadliest attack on the enemy's weakest defense zone. The point is. Radio technology is currently the exclusive property of the Qing Dynasty.

In the corners of the warship corridors, in the mezzanine of the cabins, telephone lines connect each cabin in complete series. There is no longer a need to shout loudly at the tin pipe on the bridge. In some places, there are copper wires covered with thick rubber next to the telephone lines. This transmits the power provided by the alternator set, allowing the high-power alternator. Larger and heavier turrets and more drainage equipment can be driven......

There will be gains and losses, and there will be joys and sorrows. With the application of radio, telephone, alternator, rangefinder and other latest scientific and technological products, it has triggered changes in tactics such as single-ship artillery bombardment and all-fleet artillery bombardment, which has gradually changed the combat mode of the naval and land forces of the Qing Dynasty. This change has made every officer who has experienced it feel even more unknowledgeable, and they all know that they want to become a new generation of commanders in the future. You have to work harder and have more expertise than others.

Liu Buyun and Lin Zengtai have fallen behind, and their knowledge structure and thinking have not kept up with the rapid development of science and technology, and even contemporary commanders such as Wu Deren and Li Liang are quite struggling. These people will stay in the military academy as long as they are not on duty, but without a sufficient knowledge base, they are obviously inferior to the young boys, and all they rely on is more experience at sea. Wu Deren and Li Liang thought that as long as they studied again seriously, they would not be worse than these young men, but Liu Buyun and Lin Zengtai had already admitted that they were old. But they are not tired, as the pioneers of China's Deep Blue Navy, they have completed the tasks entrusted to them by history, looking at the young men who have grown up stronger than them from generation to generation, they always pat the young men on the shoulder and say: "Study hard, study hard." They are already old, and in the future, the coastal defense of the Qing Dynasty will still be handed over to you young men. Wait until this battle is over. They stepped down from the ship, and it was time to make room for the young men. After saying that, I laughed heartily at the juniors who had grown up.

In fact, it's the same everywhere, the older generation retreats. The top of the younger generation, the follow-up of the next generation. Isn't China just like this, replaced from generation to generation, and has stood proudly in this world for 5,000 years?

"10,000 meters on the starboard side, open fire-" Following Liu Buyun's order, Haichen, Haichou, Ninghai, and Jihai, which were lined up in a straight battle line, launched an artillery bombardment on the four ships Hairui (formerly Japan's King Kong), Haining (formerly Japan's Hiei), Chaohai, and Zhuhai, which were 10,000 meters away.

"10,000 meters on the port side. At the same time, Wu Deren on the Hai Rui, 10,000 meters away, also gave the order to launch an artillery bombardment on the Haichen team.

The whistling shells flew across the sea between the two fleets towards their respective targets, some landed in the sea and some accurately hit the hull, but none of the shells exploded. Not far from here, the four light cruisers were also fighting in twos and twos. These are rookies who are operating these warships and have completed their basic training.

Because from this year, the Qing Navy needs to train naval officers who can fully take over eight brand-new warships in two years. In order to achieve this goal, both the old Beiyang soldiers and the officers of the Hawaiian faction invariably chose the training as an actual combat exercise. Because these generals who came out of the big war know that no matter how good the training is, it can't compare to a real battle. Although the cannonballs will not explode, they can be smashed down from the sky, which is enough to make these rookies feel the real war.

Such exercises are not limited to the sea, and the army throughout northern China has never stopped military training. In the Mongolian steppe now, an iron box with a machine gun is speeding down the steppe driven by four fast-turning wheels.

The Mongolian steppes in the north have always been the greatest threat to the Central Plains dynasties, whether it is the Han and Tang dynasties or the Ming and Qing dynasties, and here also includes the later republics. The northern region is like a knife on the head of the Central Plains Dynasty, as long as you are not careful, he will cut you down and kill you with a single sword. After the Qing Dynasty and Ming ruled China, in order to prevent such things from happening again. A series of policies have been implemented towards Mongolia. For example, the flag boundary is closed, and the crowd builds to divide its strength. Mongolia was divided into more than 200 alliances and flags, which were always confined to their respective territories and did not belong to each other. could not be unified together, and at the same time, the Mongols were forbidden to learn and come into contact with Han culture. As a result, the Mongolian people were unable to obtain the advanced production technology and production tools of the Han nationality, and were always in a nomadic position, and could not develop further for three hundred years. The most poisonous is the Lamaist policy, which reveres liberation to control his life. The Manchus used Lamaism to rule over the Mongol people. Whoever has eight brothers, seven must be lamas; If there are five brothers, four of them must be lamas; Only one commoner can marry a wife and have children. Lamas are not allowed to take wives, and in the long run, the population will inevitably decline. As a result, Mongolia had 12 million people at the time of the Ming Dynasty, but only more than 500,000 in the Guangxu period.

This policy also forced the Mongols to be separated from the central court, which is also the reason why the Utai army could have a huge impact. However, since the defeat of the Utai army and the slaughter of the rebels, the chiefs of all banners and tribes, princes and nobles in the Mongolian steppe have all been declared into the capital by one decree. On the same day that the emperor married Qimuge, the daughter of Wutai, as the imperial concubine, the imperial court issued a decree to completely abolish the closed system of the flag boundary and the policy of Lamaism. Men who are required to return to the laity may return to the laity at any time, and religion must not interfere. At the same time, the prime minister proposed to purchase meat such as cattle and sheep in a fixed amount every year, and the military department proposed a series of policies such as the imperial court to pay for the salary, and the Mongols to form cavalry. As a result, these Mongolian princes who were still devoted to the imperial court felt a sense of imperial grace, and cried at the wedding banquet where the emperor married the imperial concubine. all made the imperial concubine angry.

The Mongol cavalry watched in horror as the flames of the heavy machine guns destroyed any obstacles in front of the muzzle, while the thick steel plates effectively protected the men inside the iron box. Unless you can get the bullet into the only gap, there's nothing you can do with Ben with the iron box called the armored car, because the steel knives in their hands can't cut through thick steel plates.

The appearance of armored vehicles destroyed the last pride of the Mongols, so much so that the Mongol cavalry all lamented that the cavalry had lost the meaning of existence. Fortunately, Liang Huadian, the commander of the Middle Route Army, comforted these Mongolian cavalry in time and told them that these armored vehicles could only run 300 kilometers without refueling, but the Mongols could kill as long as they had horses, like Genghis Khan did. The Mongol cavalry nodded yes.

The Air Force has added only fifteen airships in recent years. The 30 airships never stopped training, they flew into the sky again and again, and dropped training bombs from the sky again and again, just to make each bomb drop a little more accurate. They have no regrets.

It's a good thing that the soldiers train hard, and Guangxu, as the emperor, should be happy, right? But Guangxu was complaining to Empress Yang Zao'er at the moment: "Why do you want the imperial court to count the cost of training shells and the cost of changing the barrel of the gun on the Ministry of Internal Affairs." ”

Yang Zao'er just glanced at Guangxu: "Over the years, your patent fees and factory income are enough to pay for the existing education funds." If the remaining part can help the imperial court, share a little. You are the emperor, and you should have some of the emperor's atmosphere. After saying that, his eyes were full of contempt.

"The money is mine, isn't it yours? Our family has to support thousands of people to survive, you can't save some flowers, what kind of uncle ......" Guangxu got angry but became more and more angry, sat on the sofa and pointed at Yang Zao'er, and roared in his mouth: "You ruined girl-" (To be continued.) )