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On the afternoon of February 12, 1901, Sir Fisher, Secretary of the Admiralty, did not enjoy his afternoon tea as usual, but was reading one by one, his brow furrowed tightly, as if he had encountered some problem. Two years ago, the Royal Navy and its allies, the Russian and French navies, were defeated by the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea, forcing the former Admiralty Minister, Lord Walter Kerr, to resign and take over as Admiralty. It can be said that the current British Navy has reached a low point in strength for hundreds of years. If it weren't for the commissioning of six 'old man-star' battleships last year, the British Navy would probably not have a suitable warship to defend its maritime frontiers. The six 'dreadnought-class' battleships on the slipway are also working quickly. It's just that the war between South Africa and the Boers swallowed up a lot of Britain's national strength, and even affected the shipbuilding plan of the British Royal Navy, which made Sir Fisher very dissatisfied, and after arguing with Prime Minister Arthur Belfour, he ensured the smooth construction of six 'Dreadnought-class' battleships.

Sir Fisher had the piece of information sent back from China. The military attache of the British Embassy in China used many means to obtain some information about the new warships of the Chinese Navy. However, because the Chinese Navy is very secretive, these materials are relatively vague and somewhat specious, so that Sir Fisher cannot make a correct judgment.

"With a displacement of 20,000 tons, four twin 305-mm guns, and a maximum speed of more than 25 knots? How is this possible? How could the Chinese build such a terrifying warship? Sir Fisher's brows furrowed tightly. The 'Dreadnought-class' battleship under construction by the British Navy. The displacement is only 21,000 tons, with five twin 305 mm naval guns, but the maximum speed is only 21 knots, which is a full 4 knots compared with the new battleships of the Chinese. Even the 'Bellerophon-class' battleships that are being designed are only at this speed, but with thicker armor. Now in naval operations, speed is also a very important factor, with a gap of more than 4 knots. It was enough to change the shape of the entire battlefield, which gave Sir Fisher a lot of headaches.

"Your Excellency, a telegram from Vice Admiral Howard of the Mediterranean Fleet!" At this time, a female secretary walked in and handed the telegram to Sir Fisher. Then he walked straight away.

Sir Fisher took the telegram and read it, and what it said was undoubtedly that Vice Admiral Howard, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, had seen with his own eyes the situation of the Chinese Navy's battlecruiser "Bai Qi". Howard reports Sir Fisher, a new battleship of the Chinese Navy, with a speed of absolutely more than 25 knots, and at the same time has eight 305-mm guns. The fire was very ferocious. It's just that the armor doesn't seem to be comparable to that of a battleship.

Lieutenant General Howard's telegram brightened Sir Fisher's eyes. It turned out that the Chinese sacrificed the armor of the battleship in exchange for the huge speed. He already knew. The Chinese Navy has begun to use advanced steam turbines on a large scale, and is even more advanced than the British in terms of technology. Coupled with the use of more powerful oil-fired boilers, it is necessary to accelerate the battleship of more than 20,000 tons to more than 25 knots. There is nothing wrong with zài. However, this made him a little suspicious. Such battleships, on the battlefield, really worked? Weak armor, which means poor resistance to blows. And the decisive battle at sea is undoubtedly like the medieval period, cavalry in heavy armor, slashing each other. The side with weak armor is obviously going to suffer.

"Perhaps, this kind of battleship of the Chinese is not used for a decisive battle at sea. High speed combined with strong firepower is enough to easily deal with any battleship below the battleship. All armored cruisers and light cruisers, were no match for such battleships. Although the battleship could beat the opponent, it could not catch up. And once the armored cruisers and light cruisers were lost, the battleships could not escape from the encirclement of the opposing side. In addition, this kind of warship is very suitable for carrying out diplomatic breaking operations, especially against countries such as the United Kingdom, which have a large number of colonies overseas. Only a few such battleships were enough to paralyze British overseas transport. Sir Fisher muttered that he had analysed them on the basis of the information he had obtained. However, this result shocked him inexplicably, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"These cunning Chinese, this new type of battleship, must have been designed for the British Empire. Once they deployed such warships on the overseas shipping lines of the British Empire, they would cut off the British Empire from its overseas colonies. Once the British Empire and its overseas colonies are cut off and cannot receive the support of the overseas colonies, the combat strength of the British Empire will be greatly reduced! Sir Fisher gritted his teeth. He was very glad that he had seen through China's vicious scheme, and if he had not taken precautions, Britain would definitely suffer a great loss in the next war.

"Someone, prepare the car, I'm going to see the Prime Minister right away!" After thinking about this, Sir Fisher commanded at once. Since the Chinese navy once went ahead of the British, they had to quickly come up with countermeasures. And for this, he must have the support of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.

British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour has also had a headache recently, and finally ousted the Marquess of Salisbury, but what he inherited was a mess. Because of the Boer uprising in South Africa, Britain had to hastily sign an armistice agreement with the Chinese, paying a huge price to shift its focus to quelling the Boer rebellion. However, the British ** team has repeatedly suffered defeats in South Africa, which has made the British have a lot of opinions on the cabinet, which makes him miserable. At this time, Queen Victoria passed away, and the death of the queen, who had ruled the United Kingdom for more than 60 years, undoubtedly made the current situation of Britain even worse. Fortunately, the powerful emperor of the East said that he would come to the queen's funeral in person, which made Britain very face-saving. Prime Minister Arthur Belfort has decided that when the emperor from the east visits, he will go to Portsmouth Military Port with the future King Edward VII to greet the emperor and give him the highest courtesy.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Minister of the Navy is visiting!" At this time, his secretary came in and said.

"Well, let him in!" Arthur Belfour said.

Soon, a hurried Sir Fisher entered, but his face was a little unpleasant, which made Arthur Belfour a little strange. The military budget for the warships promised to the Admiralty has already been allocated in full? What else is this admiral not satisfied with.

"Sir Fisher, how long will it be before the Emperor of China arrives in England?" Arthur Belfour asked.

"Your Excellency, there are three days at most before the Chinese Emperor will be able to reach the Portsmouth Military Port!" Sir Fisher replied.

"Very good, the Chinese emperor personally came to attend the queen's funeral, which undoubtedly gave us a great face in the United Kingdom, and it was very helpful to ease our relations with the Chinese!" Arthur Belfour said with a smile.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I don't think so. On the contrary, I think that the Chinese are planning some kind of conspiracy against Britain! Sir Fisher said.

"Oh? What the hell is going on? Arthur Belfour was shocked. He had just thought that the Chinese wanted to ease relations with Britain, but he did not expect Sir Fisher to say so.

"Your Excellency, this is the information we have about the new battleship on which the Emperor of China is riding!" Sir Fisher handed the information to Arthur Balfour.

Arthur Belfour took it and looked at it, although he didn't know much about the navy, but it can also be seen from the information that this new type of battleship of the Chinese Navy is very powerful.

"Sir Fisher, there is no doubt that this is a very formidable battleship. Could it be that this battleship is more powerful than the Chinese' 'Qin-class' battleships? Does this pose any threat to us? Prime Minister Arthur Belfour asked.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, if the Chinese really equip a few such battleships, we will definitely lose the war with the Chinese in the future!" Sir Fisher said.

"What? How is this possible? Sir Fisher, you are being alarmist! This battleship, it's really good, but in addition to being a little faster, are there any other advantages? The main guns are even two fewer than even our 'Dreadnought-class' battleships. Can it pose a deadly threat to the British? Arthur Balfour did not believe Sir Fisher at all.

"Your Excellency, the most vicious thing about this kind of battleship is their high speed. The maximum speed of more than 25 knots is more than 7 knots faster than our active battleships, and even the 'dreadnought-class' battleships are 4 knots behind the opponent. Our 'Dreadnought-class' battleships have more firepower than the enemy's new battleships, but the opponent will definitely not fight with us. As a result, our navy will not have a single battleship that is an opponent for them, except for the new battleships. The battleships that have been beaten can't catch up with each other. If you can catch up, you can't beat it. I think that the reason why the Chinese designed such battleships was aimed at our British Empire. Your Excellency, if you think about it, if the Chinese deploy several such battleships on our overseas routes, not to mention too much, as long as there are four or five ships, they can definitely paralyze our overseas transportation lines. This kind of battleship can sail from the Far East to Britain, and its endurance must be very terrifying! Sir Fisher analyzed.

"These vicious Chinese!" After listening to Sir Fisher's analysis, Prime Minister Arthur Balfour also spit out these words.