"Toot ......"

When the "Pingbo" ship sounded the first whistle and began its first sea trials, when the entire Incheon shipyard was boiling because of the launch of this warship, as the designer of the Pingbo ship, Stenge at this time just wanted to find a place where no one was there to be quiet. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Hardly anyone noticed him, he walked quietly in the shipyard, straight to the beach at the end of the shipyard, standing in the rocky beach, he silently watched the waves crash against the beach, and then took out a cigar from his coat pocket, silently lit the cigar, and the smoke was blown away by the sea breeze.

Looking at the rocky beachhead, Stenge's mind couldn't help but go back to when he first came to North Korea, what was the Incheon Special Zone at that time? Just like the rocky beach in front of him, there was nothing, but now that a city has risen with it, his greatest wish has also become a reality.

Dreams come true so suddenly.

I don't know when, William? Shi Si walked over, his bright blue eyes flashed with a kind of persistence and shrewdness unique to engineers, and he said with a smile on his face:

"Congratulations to Mr. Shi...... In Chinese parlance, it is a great achievement! ”

The stiff Chinese didn't seem abrupt when he came out of Shi Si's mouth, but what made Stenge curious was how he found it.

But Shi Si's congratulations still made Stenge humbly say:

"Mr. Shi Si's words have tormented me. If you talk about merit, the first recommendation is to be far-sighted and plan the shipbuilding foundation, so that today's shipbuilding can be completed; The two rely on the strength of the whole factory to work together with one heart and one mind. Of the three, if you talk about merit, the "Zhenhai level" designed by Mr. Shi Si is the real credit! After the "Zhenhai class" is launched, who will remember the "Pingbo"? ”

Apparently. He was still a little uncomfortable with the oriental-style polite Shi Si, but he was able to accept the praise of others immediately, and he only heard him say with a smile:

"Oh, if it weren't for Mr. Shi's full support, how could the "Zhenhai Class" be put on the construction schedule so quickly!"

That's true. From the "Zhenhai-level" plan to the specific design, he has received the full help of Stenge, but he is not so arrogant that he thinks that it is entirely his own credit.

"It's just a little bit of a stretch......"

Stengge shook his head, looked at Shi Si and said.

"After all, your design is better, otherwise how could you convince the Navy to accept it?"

Shi Si smiled and said:

"You are too humble, how could the Navy have accepted my proposal without your request for artillery tests."

Even now. After the "Zhenhai-class" plan was approved, and even after the keel had been laid, Shi Si still felt that it was a bit of a "fluke" to pass, not to mention that the "fluke" was beyond expectations, and even he prepared another plan, a more traditional plan that was easy to be accepted by the navy.

However, in the process, Stenger first asked for a target test with a 12-inch naval gun purchased from the British. To verify the defense of the "North Sea carburized steel" against 12-inch armor-piercing shells, later. It is also the issue of fleet speed coordination and other issues raised by it, in short, if there is no Stengge, at least there will be no current "Zhenhai class".

"What is the situation with "Zhenhae" now? ”

Stengge made a "please" gesture, and the two of them walked down the huge seaside reef and walked towards the beach.

"In a word—it's going well."

Shi Si said proudly.

"Like I said at the beginning. We have experienced engineers and mechanics, and all we lack is experience in actually building combat ships, and now is the time to gain experience......"

"It's not just experience!"

Stengge frowned, and then said straight to the point.

"Building a combat ship is never that simple, after all, it is the most complex machine in the world. If it weren't difficult, there would be only a few great powers in the world who could build combat ships. ”

"That's because, except for a few powers, other countries either have no money, or they don't have the corresponding shipyards and equipment, and China has both!"

Then, Shi Si said with a wry smile.

"In the final analysis, the navy is not so much about warships as it is about money! Every country that wants to enter the seas must first consider whether it can afford to spend so much money to build a navy, do you know that it costs about 8 million to build a combat ship, but do you know how much it will cost during its service life? ”

The two walked to a place where no one was, and Shi Si stretched out a finger with emotion.

Shi Tenge looked at Shi Si and said cautiously.

"10 million yuan?"

Shi Si nodded and glanced towards the sea.

"And it's just a little more, and that's why even Germany's financial resources can't afford to maintain a large fleet, because it's too expensive to maintain it!"

"It costs money, after all, the threat to China comes from the sea."

Sternberg glanced into the distance.

"Yes, it has to be done, but the financial resources of the Northeast limit the development of the navy."

Biting his lip, Shi Si stopped and looked southwest.

"With the current financial resources of the Northeast, it is already quite reluctant to maintain a cruiser fleet, and if we increase the investment in the navy, I am afraid it will not be conducive to the development of the Northeast. And what the Northeast needs is a fleet capable of confronting Russia, which is obviously unrealistic, at least before the Northeast unifies the whole of China, it is almost impossible to build such a fleet! ”

When Stenge heard this, his body couldn't help but froze. He knew that what Shi Si said was the truth, and the fact was that the Northeast did not have the money to build and maintain such a large fleet, so that one place would be the enemy of one country? Is it possible?

"In contrast, the Beiyang Navy has rapidly expanded into a huge fleet that can make any Western country look at it with its previous borrowings, but one thing is for sure, the seemingly huge Beiyang Fleet is likely to become a burden to Li Hongzhang, and may even drag them down."

Although Britain has the largest fleet in the world, but the price is the weakness of its army, which is not even worth mentioning, and the reality of being an island country makes Britain only need to rely on the naval fleet to protect its security, and put it to other countries, but have to consider the land threat it faces, the army and the navy, always have to make a choice.

"Well, that's true, just relying on Zhili to feed the Beiyang Fleet, not only is the hole big, even if the land tax is reformed and there is money, the Beiyang side will not want to breathe a sigh of relief."

Stenge sighed lightly,

"Everyone thinks that the Beiyang Fleet is too powerful, but they didn't expect that compared to the economic capacity of Zhili, it is too huge, so huge that it will drag down Zhili, can this not delay things? Sometimes, it's a hassle for the navy to be too big? ”

Financial resources are the basis for determining everything, whether it is the Unified Supervision Office of the year or the current Governor's Office, it is all through the pursuit of financial foundation, as the foundation of all industries, it is thanks to sufficient financial resources that Ran Shuai can train an elite army. But despite this, the Northeast is still cautious to control the size of the army and navy within a reasonable range, just like the Zhenhai ship, even if it is commissioned, it will not put pressure on the economy, and after three years, the Northeast will have enough financial resources to maintain a relatively strong enough to challenge the cruiser fleet of the North Ocean to a certain extent.

And in comparison, will the Beiyang Fleet become a burden to the Naoli?

No one can say this, after all, with the help of a group of Japanese staff, the three provinces of Zhili and the two Guangxi provinces are conducting land and forestry surveys, and after further land tax reform, they should barely be able to maintain the operation of the Beiyang Fleet! As for the past few years, hasn't the Beiyang side raised taxes! But then again, now that province in Kannai has not raised taxes in the name of the New Deal?

"Hey, sweep the snow in front of the door! What will happen to Beiyang has nothing to do with us! ”

Stengge sighed, and then asked,

"If the Zhenhai ship is completed, what are you going to do next? ”

Shi Tengge knew that Shi Si would never stop at the "Zhenhai Ship", and there would definitely be a corresponding follow-up.

"If the time comes, if conditions permit, I think I will design a more powerful combat ship on the basis of the "Zhenhai Ship", the "Zhenhai Ship"...... Well, how to put it, in some ways, it does subvert the previous combat ships, so to speak, unlike any previous combat ships, but he still has some shortcomings. ”

After a slight pause, Shi Si looked at Stengge and said.

"For example, its power, I think, if you can use a steam turbine, it will be a little bit faster......"

"The Navy will definitely not agree, after all, now the Navy wants to be more secure!"

Not only the navy, if the "Zhenhai ship" uses a steam turbine, Stenge is estimated to be the first to stand up and express his opposition, after all, the steam turbine still has some deficiencies that need to be improved, and the "Zhenhai ship" is China's first combat ship after all, and it is undoubtedly more suitable and more secure to use a technically mature steam engine.

"I am not mature now, does it mean that it will not be three years later? I'm talking about later! It's ...... future."

Shi Si smiled, compared to the radical technology, he also chose the more stable and relatively conservative three-expansion steam engine.

"In addition to switching to a steam turbine with better performance in the future, I think there is a basis for further improvement in its firepower, after all, I am not very sure in my heart now, after all, I have added an inch of armor to him......"

"Well, it's better to be cautious now, and it is more appropriate to improve the design according to the actual use of the "Zhenhai" after it is launched in the future. ”

Nodding his head in agreement, Stengge looked at the sky and suddenly laughed.

"Shi Si, it's Christmas the day after tomorrow, how about it? How are you going to live here alone? If you don't like it, I invite you to me, okay? ”

As if worried about the other party's refusal, Stenge emphasized again.

"I insist!"

The invitation that persists is an invitation to a friend, and there is no sense of gratitude to the friend. (To be continued.) )