On the morning of December 11, the Qing government axe issued three edicts in succession.

The first edict was to appease the anger of the people by refusing to conclude an unequal contract with the Russian minister. In recognition of Wang Chenhao's efforts in receiving tremendous international diplomatic support during his visits to Europe and the United States, the second edict appointed Wang Chenhao as the minister with full authority to deal with Russian affairs, temporarily supervising military affairs and food in the northeast, and controlling the land and water divisions participating in the war. The third edict was to strictly order Wang Chenhao to end the war before the end of the year, on the grounds that the imperial court's finances could not support it anymore.

As soon as the three edicts came out, they immediately calmed the anger of the people and blocked the mouths of the governors of the provinces, but at the same time, they pushed Wang Chenhao to the cusp.

"Congratulations on returning to power!"

In the hall, at the banquet to celebrate Wang Chenhao's return to military power, Wang Chenhao's subordinates were full of joy.

In front of them, Wang Chenhao always has to wear an eternal bright smile, and everything is under control.

It's just that Wang Chenhao knows in his heart that the court has become more and more jealous of him. As Wang Chenhao's personal strength continues to increase, his ambitions are also expanding. He had Yuan Shikai's development opportunities back then, and he also had huge financial resources that Yuan Shikai did not have back then, and the combination of the two made Wang Chenhao's ambition grow much faster than Yuan Shikai's ambition back then. Obviously, the jealousy of Yuan Shikai that caused the court back then is now gradually happening to Wang Chenhao, which makes Wang Chenhao both nervous and excited. The nervous thing is that this road of no return is full of dangers, and if you don't do it well, you will lose your head and lose your life. What is exciting is that this road has been walked by Yuan Shikai, and Wang Chenhao can learn from and learn the lessons of Yuan Shikai's victory and defeat, so as to achieve a hegemony far beyond Yuan Shikai.

After the meeting ended, Wei Han found Wang Chenhao again.

"My lord, this is the blueprint for the new design that we have been sorting out for a long time, please take a look."

Coming up with a new ship plan so quickly, Wang Chenhao looked at Wei Han with some surprise, and secretly criticized that this efficiency was too high.

Wang Chenhao took the blueprint and read it, and with Wei Han's explanation from the side, it was roughly clear.

According to Wang Chenhao's previous advice to Wei Han, Wei Han led dozens of designers to design the blueprint of the new ship.

Although the specific drawings have not yet been released, the overall structure has been determined.

The new ship is determined to be a 10,000-ton large armored cruiser, and the 10,000-ton hull design of the hunter-class large armored cruiser is adopted to make up for the gap in the lack of domestic experience in building 10,000-ton hulls.

The hull of the new ship is equipped with four twin 203 mm 40 times diameter main guns, which are arranged in accordance with all central axes, with two in the bow and two in the stern, and adopt a knapsack scheme. The No. 2 and No. 3 guns were raised to raise the turret base, so that when the turret rotated, it could have the same firing range as the No. 1 and No. 4 guns, which was convenient for the installation of a unified fire control system. The secondary artillery system was abolished, and only 12 76-mm rapid-fire guns were carried to defend against torpedo boats.

In terms of armor, Wang Chenhao's instructions for key defense were installed to strengthen the thickness of armor in key parts. The armor of the main gun, the armor of the conning tower, the armor of the ammunition depot, the armor of the engine room, the armor of the waterline belt, the general dispatch room, the fire control room, the interrogation room and other key parts of the armor are specially strengthened. In order to reduce the overall weight of the armor and reduce the comprehensive displacement of the new building, Wei Han reduced the weight of the armor of other parts of the new ship according to the phalanx of key defense.

In order to usher in the era of dreadnoughts, Wang Chenhao needs to do too much preparation and related tests in advance. Among them, the early launch of key defense projects is also for the purpose of testing and preparing in advance for the project on dreadnoughts in the future.

At present, no one in the world's naval circles, except for Wang Chenhao, knows the benefits of this epoch-making defense idea. Fire tests conducted by the US Navy in 1911-1912 showed that the medium-thick armor of the traditional protection system of the former battleships, that is, the former dreadnoughts, could not protect against large-caliber armor-piercing shells of dreadnoughts. As a result, the U.S. Navy has made a major innovation in the protection design of Nevada-class battleships. The Nevada-class battleships adopted the controversial armor protection design of the time known as the "allornothingarmorscheme" (known as "key protection"), the main design feature of which was that the non-important parts of the battleship were reduced or no armor protection, while the important parts were maximized. Heavy armor protection areas are concentrated in critical areas such as the main turret, engine room, and control tower, and the defensive armor of the armored deck and ammunition depot is also strengthened. This design idea was only borrowed by the navies of other countries after World War I. The advantage of key protection is that it saves the weight and displacement of armor, and saves expenses, but it can make the battleship survive in battle to the greatest extent possible. And for new ships that have not yet installed steam turbine systems at this time, saving the weight of armor can increase their speed and avoid torpedo attacks.

The boiler system uses 18 boilers, and the mixed firing of oil-fired and coal-fired boilers is used to improve the combustion efficiency. However, because the stability of the large warships on the Parsons steam turbine cannot be guaranteed, the new ship still uses the reciprocating steam engine with mature traditional technology.

The ship type has also changed, and the bow of the current large warships is basically vertical with ramming angles and an oval stern. At the request of Wang Chenhao, the bow of the new ship was designed with a high freeboard to prevent the bow from going up to the waves when sailing at high speeds.

These changes were theoretically calculated so that the new ship was designed to reach a speed of 23.5 knots, which is the minimum standard for a high-speed cruiser (above 18 knots is the minimum speed required to avoid torpedo attacks).

Taken together, the design blueprint of the new ship reflects a series of important standards that will be necessary for future mainstream warships. For example, the 'unified caliber all-heavy main gun', the 'unified central axis mode' layout, the 'knapsack' main gun design, the 'key protection' design, the kerosene mixed combustion boiler, the square stern four-shaft propulsion, etc., these future warship design schemes are used in this new ship, making this new ship a test ship for testing new concepts.

"This warship is mainly used to test various new technologies, and all technical links must be kept strictly secret."

After Wang Chenhao read the blueprint of the new ship, he thought that Wei Han had basically understood the new ideas he had instilled in him before. On the whole, Wang Chenhao is very satisfied with this new ship.

"Your Excellency, is this agreed?"

Seeing Wang Chenhao nodding, Wei Han suddenly said happily: "Yes!" Humble duty must be strictly confidential! Then you might as well name her! ”

Wang Chenhao thought about it, this new ship has too many future mainstream design ideas and new concepts, basically all the test items are advanced and epoch-making revolutions, and before being recognized by the international naval community, she is like a monster.

Thinking of the monster, Wang Chenhao suddenly smiled and said, "Just call her Daji!" ”

"Daji?"

Wei Han was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile for a long time: "My lord, I'm afraid this name is not good, right?" Daji, everyone knows that she is a demon girl who brings disaster to the country and the people! ”

Wang Chenhao said with a smile: "Don't you think that after the successful testing of various new technologies of this new ship, it will bring an unprecedented revolution to the world's navies?" It's not an exaggeration to call her Daji, but instead of letting her harm our country, I just want her to harm other countries. ”

Wei Han asked puzzledly, "Scourge other countries?" I hope you will make it clear! ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "Do you know what means can drag down a strong country? ”

Wei Han immediately replied: "War! No matter how strong a country is, if it experiences a huge war, it will be dragged down! ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "This is indeed one of the means, but whether the war is the winner or the loser, both sides will lose in the end." The investment is too high and the stakes are too high, because no one can foresee the outcome of the war. ”

Wei Han agreed with Wang Chenhao's point of view and nodded: "That's right! What are the methods of the adults? ”

Wang Chenhao said with a smile: "In addition to war, the best way is an arms race." Low investment, quick results, and very safe. ”

"An arms race?"

Wei Han is not a politician after all, so he can't understand Wang Chenhao's true intentions.

"That's right! Arms race! The Daji will definitely set off a large-scale arms race among the navies of various countries around the world, so let's wait to see the show! ”

Wang Chenhao didn't explain much, and only let Wei Han slowly experience it.

Wang Chenhao's words are always incomprehensible, and they can't guess everything. This is a unique manifestation of being a superior, and maintaining a sense of mystery towards subordinates can improve the superior's ability to be superior and make subordinates worship them even more.

Wei Han is also not interested in paying attention to any arms race, it is a leader's game, and it has nothing to do with him. For the time being, he is only focused on the design and construction of new ships, fulfilling his dream in this area.

"Then call her Daji! I can't wait, and I will start the specific design plan of the new ship immediately, what do you think? ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "You can do it!" But if we have the spare capacity, we will try to install the steam turbine system on our own. I'll have Parsons pass on to you the plan for the steam turbines on the British side at any time. ”

Wei Han nodded and said, "Don't worry, my lord, the lowly position has already arranged for people to test!" ”

For Wei Han's ability and enterprising, Wang Chenhao is still very satisfied.

After Wei Han left, Li Bing, the head of the guard, came in.

"My lord, the housekeeper Li Dehai has sent you good news. It said that Mrs. and Miss are safe, and congratulations to your lordship for their happiness. ”

"Really?"

Wang Chenhao hurriedly took the telegram and read it over and over again. After learning that he had a daughter, Wang Chenhao's face couldn't help but be happy. This means that he has relatives, roots, and the value of existence in the true sense of this parallel time and space.

But under this joy, Wang Chenhao also had a worry in his heart. As soon as he arrived in Shanghai, he sent a telegram to his family to inquire, but it took two days for Li Youyi to ask the housekeeper to call him back. This made Wang Chenhao feel that Li Youyi seemed to be angry because of the matter of Rothschild.

"Congratulations to your lordship!"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and Wang Chenhao looked up, but it was Luo Xier and Qiao Yuying who came in together. It was Qiao Yuying who spoke, and Luo Xier heard half understanding of Chinese, and hurriedly asked Wang Chenhao.

Wang Chenhao then told her again, Luo Xier was first surprised after hearing it, and then full of vinegar, but soon hugged Wang Chenhao excitedly and said happily: "I also want a daughter!" ”

Qiao Yuying next to her was dumbfounded, although she couldn't understand English, she was also taken aback by Luo Hill's performance.

Qiao Yuying saw that Wang Chenhao seemed to have something on her mind, so she asked, "The adults don't seem to be very happy!" Is it because Madame didn't give you a little master? ”

Wang Chenhao smiled bitterly and said, "Do you think I'm a patriarchal person? You have no idea how happy I am to hear that I have a daughter! ”

Qiao Yuying asked, "Then why do you still have an unhappy expression?" ”

Wang Chenhao looked at Rothier and smiled bitterly again.

Qiao Yuying was smart and intelligent, and immediately saw Wang Chenhao's thoughts, and said with a smile: "It turns out that the adults are worried that Mrs. is to blame?" Then I can't help, so I'll be blessed! ”

With that, Qiao Yuying left with a smile. Luo Shier, who was hanging on Wang Chenhao, couldn't understand what the two of them said, so he immediately asked Wang Chenhao to tell her what the two of them had just said.

Obviously, it was impossible for Wang Chenhao to tell her.

Later, Li Jingchu and Qiao Zhiyuan came to visit. Since Wang Chenhao's matchmaking, Li Jingchu and Qiao Zhiyuan have turned their rivalry into friendship.

Li Jingchu came to visit Wang Chenhao and thanked Wang Chenhao for reminding him, so that his Yishanyuan Money Bank could successfully avoid the impact of the international silver loss crisis, and Li Jingchu speculated in the silver market and took the opportunity to make a lot of money, which was given by Baiwang Chenhao, and he naturally wanted to thank him.

As for Qiao Zhiyuan, he has already opened a large antique auction house in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, and he urgently needs Wang Chenhao to provide him with a large number of antiques, otherwise he will lose money.

Of course, Qiao Zhiyuan's Jinde Qianzhuang also entrusted Wang Chenhao's blessing to avoid the international bank loss crisis and made a lot of money, so he naturally has to thank him.

The two also brought a guest, which was Sheng Xuanhuai, a government-run businessman.

"Humble Sheng Xuanhuai sees the adult, the adult is auspicious!"

"It turned out to be Sheng Xuanhuai Sheng, who admired him for a long time."

"Don't dare to be! Adults are our generation of models, compared with the deeds of adults, adults are like the moon in the sky, and the humble position is equal to the stars. ”

"You're welcome! Shanda's succession of Hanyang Iron Works and Peiyang University is very effective and commendable! ”

"Lord Wang has won the prize! Hanyang Iron Works is too far behind the Naoli Iron and Steel Company, and although Peiyang University is a lowly contractor, all the funds and faculty are only realized with the help of Lord Wang. ”

After some praise and politeness between the two, this is the main topic.

"I wonder what Sheng Daren is doing in Shanghai this time?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Don't hide it, the imperial court is considering a currency reform, and he was ordered to prepare for the establishment of the Great Qing Commercial Bank. ”

Wang Chenhao was a little surprised that the Commerce Bank, which was supposed to start preparations next year, but now it appeared a year ahead of schedule, but it was normal to think about it. The international price of silver continued to fall, and the Qing government axe avoided this crisis and tasted the sweetness because of Wang Chenhao's special reminder, so it was natural to establish the Commerce Bank early.

When Wang Chenhao heard this, he immediately became interested, and wanted to control the finances of the Qing political axe, and this commercial bank was an opportunity.

"Presumably Master Sheng already has a plan, right? Let's talk about it, and let us open our eyes! ”

Li Jingchu and Qiao Zhiyuan all looked at Sheng Xuanhuai, obviously very confident in him.

(To be continued)