The twelve battleships and eight armored cruisers owned by the Japanese Navy were like a big mountain, and the people were overwhelmed. If you look at it quantitatively, the Imperial Navy was indeed thrown several streets away by the Japanese Navy.

However, the Imperial Navy was not without a chance of victory. The battleships of the Japanese Navy were all old battleships. Except for the 'Katori-class' battleships, which have only recently been commissioned, the rest of the battleships are all old ships. In particular, the captured battleships of the Russian Navy were old battleships that had been commissioned more than ten years ago. Although these battleships had 305 mm guns, their performance and power were far from being comparable to the 50 times caliber 305 mm guns equipped with the capital ships of the Imperial Navy.

In addition, in terms of armor defense and speed, the capital ships of the Imperial Navy also have an overwhelming advantage. As long as it does not fall into the siege of the enemy, the Imperial Navy can completely recover its disadvantages one by one.

In addition to this, the Imperial Navy had a range of means. In particular, the submarines that are now being built are the killer features of the future of the Imperial Navy. 、

However, even if all these factors are taken into account, the chances of victory for the Imperial Navy are still not great. The number of capital ships of the Imperial Navy was simply too small. So much so that in front of the Japanese Navy, the gap seems so big.

"Send a telegram to General Sa and General Cheng, tell them to get ready, and then go back to China. There will be a war between us and the Japanese. Although the Imperial Navy was at a disadvantage, it was not without a chance of victory. Wu Haoxuan finally made up his mind and was ready to let the fleet return home. Even if the fleet returns home, it is very likely that a war between the empire and Japan will break out immediately. But is there any other way for the Empire?

"Yes. Your Highness. Admiral Shi Tianhan nodded.

"Your Highness, we can't have as many warships as the Japanese, so let's build more warships. Isn't the Empire's finances much richer now? Admiral Shi Tianhan said. As a high-ranking general in the Empire* military, he joined forces with the Military Intelligence Agency and the Ministry of Security to overshadow those who were left behind. is informed. In total, more than two billion Chinese dollars were earned, which made a huge difference in the finances of the empire. (Since the end of September, the Imperial Central Bank has issued the Chinese dollar in full force, replacing the old ocean.) Huayuan and Ocean, for a one-to-one exchange)

Wu Haoxuan hesitated for a moment and nodded: "That's right, since the number of our capital ships is not enough, then build it." Of course, our finances are under great pressure. But the financial pressure on small Japan is not small than ours. ”

Japan's finances are still heavily indebted. In particular, after the empire intends to block Japan economically, this will undoubtedly make Japan's finances even worse. After the empire received large sums of money from the old and the young, the financial pressure had changed considerably. Although, the empire still has a lot of foreign debt. But the empire has a lot of potential for development, and those debts are long-term debts, and when the empire grows. Those debts are not a problem at all. Now it is possible to build more capital ships with a sum of money. Further the strength of the Imperial Imperial Navy.

Next, Wu Haoxuan began to use his brains, what kind of capital ship should be built? The Imperial Navy's 'Dragon-class' battleships, with a full load displacement of nearly 30,000 tons, were armed with five twin 305mm guns of 50 times the caliber, and also had thick armor. The speed reached more than 21 knots. The 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers, on the other hand, have a full load displacement of 26,500 tons, and their armament is the same as that of the 'Longteng-class' battleships, but the armor is a little weaker. However, this allowed the Longyao-class battlecruisers to reach an astonishing speed of 27 knots.

These two capital ships. All of them can be called perfect capital ships. With the current technology, it will be very difficult to improve further.

"Since there is no greater improvement in the performance of the battleship, let's increase the firepower. The British's Orion-class super-dreadnought is about to start construction. Although the British battleships were still thin-skinned, the 13.5-inch guns were extremely powerful. If the Dragon-class battleships and Longyao-class battlecruisers were to be equipped with 13.5-inch guns, or 343 mm guns, they would make these two battleships even more powerful. It's just that if you want to equip 5 more twin main guns, it seems unlikely. Wu Haoxuan thought secretly.

In his ideal design, the battleship should be equipped with three triple guns. It's just that now the German side has not yet broken through in the triple main gun. Relying on the scientific and technological level of the Chinese Empire itself, not to mention the triple main gun, even the main gun with a caliber of more than 305 mm could not be manufactured. The technology for making 305-mm guns, which we have now, was obtained from the Germans. Therefore, if you want to install a larger caliber of main guns on a battleship, you can only rely on the Germans.

Three days later, with the help of engineers from the Navy's Battleship Design Institute, Wu Haoxuan came up with improved battleships of the 'Longteng-class' battleships and the 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers. These two battleships were named the 'Longxing-class' battleships and the 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers.

The 'Longxing-class' battleship has a length of 168.4 meters, a width of 29.5 meters, a draft of 9.2 meters, a standard displacement of 24,580 tons, and a full load displacement of 29,800 tons. It is armed with 4 twin 343 mm 50 x caliber main guns, 14 155 mm 45 x caliber single guns, 10 88 mm rapid-fire guns, and no underwater torpedo tubes. The 4-seat twin main guns, with a front-two-rear layout, and a knapsack design, allowed the battleship to fire at one side of the eight main guns. The use of the latest boilers and steam turbines made it possible for the battleship to reach more than 23 knots. The thickness of the armor on the side of the battleship was 350 mm, the frontal armor of the turret was 330 mm, and the armor of the conning tower was 350 mm. The Imperial Navy planned to build two battleships of this class, the first ship 'Longxing' and the second ship 'Longfu'.

Compared with the Longxing-class battleships, the length of the 'Longxing-class' battleships was slightly shortened due to the cancellation of the turret in the middle of the battleship. However, due to the increase in turret defense and the replacement of larger caliber guns, the displacement of the battleship not only did not shrink, but increased a little. Of course, even with a full load displacement, the 'Longxing-class' battleships are under 30,000 tons.

Compared with the Orion-class battleships that the British Navy is about to start building, the Longxing-class has a larger displacement, thicker armor, and faster speed. The British Navy's 'Orion-class' battleship will kick off the super-dreadnought. But in terms of performance, the 'Longxing-class' battleships were more powerful than the 'Orion-class' battleships.

The 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers are also slightly changed from the 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers. The four twin 50-caliber 305-mm guns were replaced by four twin-mounted 50-caliber 343-mm guns. The thickness of the armor was inconvenient, and newer boilers and steam turbines were used. This allowed the displacement of the 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers to be 2,000 tons larger than that of the 'Longyao-class', while maintaining a speed of more than 27 knots. Two 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers will also be built, namely the first ship 'Longfei' and the second ship 'Longyun'.

Wu Haoxuan sent people to send the design drawings of the 'Longxing-class' battleships and the 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers to Germany, asking Germany to build these four battleships for the Chinese Empire. Of course, the total cost of these four capital ships will be controlled within 100 million Chinese yuan, that is, 200 million marks. The cost of each warship must be controlled under 50 million marks.

In less than a month, Admiral Sa Zhenbing and Admiral Cheng Biguang, who were far away in Germany, received the drawings sent from China. When the design drawings of the 'Longxing-class' battleships and the 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers were placed in front of them, the two of them felt that this was so similar to the 'Longteng-class' battleships and the 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers.

However, the main guns of these two levels of capital ships were changed from 305 mm to 343 mm. Compared with the 305 mm gun, the 343 mm gun has a larger caliber and is naturally more powerful. Once the Imperial Navy was able to have two more battleships and two more battlecruisers, the gap between the Imperial Navy and the Japanese Navy would be further narrowed.

Of course, even if the construction of these two capital ships starts now, it will be at least two years before they can enter service. And the fact that the Japanese will be able to wait until two years later is obviously somewhat unlikely. Wu Haoxuan's meaning is more to let the navy have no worries. This battle with the Japanese Navy will be very difficult. Once the current four capital ships of the Imperial Navy are destroyed, then in the future, the Imperial Sea Frontier will have four more powerful capital ships, and there will be no hope at all. Of course, if you can win completely, it will be the best.

Along with these design drawings to Germany, there was also a handwritten letter written by Wu Haoxuan to the two. After reading the letter, Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang understood what Wu Haoxuan meant.

"Let's go, Lao Cheng, let's go to Minister Tirpitz and let the Germans continue to help us build warships. With these four battleships, it doesn't matter if we fight with the Japanese. Sa Zhenbing said excitedly.

"Hmm!" Cheng Biguang nodded heavily.

The two men traveled from the Wilhelmsvn naval base to the German naval base in the port of Kiel, where Tirpitz happened to inspect the construction of the German Navy's capital ships. Four Nassau-class battleships of the German Navy have been commissioned, but four Helgoland-class battleships are still under construction. In addition, the German Navy's 'Moltke-class' battlecruisers, which imitated the 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers, are also undergoing sea trials. (To be continued.) )

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