[Today's third shift, there is another shift in the evening]

A businessman speculates and hoards, making no more than a profit. But if a country starts hoarding and speculating from the beginning, then the profits will be astronomical.

Under the wise and far-sighted leadership of Emperor Wang Chenhao, the Chinese Empire resolutely launched a state-level strategic material reserve operation, and it is foreseeable that in the future, a steady stream of gold will flow into the treasury of the Chinese Empire, piling up into mountains of gold and silver.

After Wang Chenhao deployed the national strategic material reserve to Zhang Feng and Zhang Jian, he returned to the original topic, that is, to deal with the quasi-alliance relationship between the United States and the Anglo-French-Russian Entente, as well as the resale of a large number of key core military technologies by the Anglo-French-Russian Entente to the US military, and the strong support given by Britain and the United States in terms of financial resources, which will certainly change the military situation in East Asia and threaten the national defense and security of the Chinese Empire.

In particular, with the deepening of the contradictions between China and the United States, it has expanded from the initial conflict of interests in the Panama Canal to an all-out confrontation in politics, economy, military, diplomacy and other aspects, which cannot but make Wang Chenhao and the officials of the empire think deeply.

Wang Shizhen first said: "Your Majesty, since the United States and the United States have become a paramilitary alliance, then our intention of bringing the book under federal administration cannot be realized peacefully. ”

"You're talking light!" Zhang Feng immediately retorted: "Is it so easy to destroy? Not to mention that in this history, its homeland has never suffered a foreign military invasion, and the Yuan Empire tried but failed. As far as recent history is concerned, the USS Missouri blasted open the gates of Japan, but it only forced Japan to open its treaty ports, and the United States planned to send troops to Japan, but after intelligence analysis, it was finally canceled. The same was true of Britain after that, and it never dared to send an army to invade the mainland. ”

"Of course!" Then Zhang Feng said: "I'm not saying that the empire doesn't have the strength to destroy the capital. The question is how do we destroy it, and at what cost? Has Lord Wang thought about it? ”

Wang Shizhen snorted: "What else do you need to consider? No matter what the cost, anyone who does not accept the imperial order will be destroyed. ”

Zhang Feng sneered: "Let's put aside whether the United States will intervene in the Sino-Chinese war. If we declare war on the Ayaben, our navy will certainly be able to defeat the Yamaben navy, I cannot deny that. But what next? Would he have obediently obeyed the Empire? Obviously impossible! ”

Wang Shizhen retorted: "When we fought against Yue, didn't we also let Yueben cede land and pay compensation? What's impossible? ”

Zhang Feng argued: "At that time, the naval strength of our empire was far from being as strong as it is now, and I thought that they could restore the navy and fight the empire again if they gave in for the time being. But now it seems that the Imperial Navy has become the strongest navy in the world, and the Navy's navy cannot compete with it. If they are defeated again, they will not give in again. ”

Wang Shizhen said: "Then we will attack the local area and fight until they are served!" ”

Zhang Feng said with a smile: "Let's just say that you only think about fighting, and never think about the consequences and costs. It is said that the nation is single and united, and the resistance to foreign invading forces can be described as fierce. In less than 20 years, the European and American powers had been driven out of the country and all unequal treaties had been abolished. What I have to consider is not whether I can defeat him, but what will it cost to defeat him, and what if the Imperial Army is in a quagmire in the battle in Yuben and is in a dilemma? Not every war between a strong country and a weak country can be won. ”

Then Zhang Feng said: "Now let's talk about the United States." Since the United States and the empire are full of contradictions, they will definitely support the Empire, even if they do not go to war with the Empire head-on, they will secretly support the Empire. With the economic support of the United States and the covert military-technical assistance of the United Kingdom, it is easy for us to get bogged down in the quagmire on the battlefield. ”

Wang Chenhao on the dragon chair heard it very clearly, and he also knew very well in his heart that it was not so easy to conquer, and if it were not for the two atomic bombs of the United States back then, he would not have surrendered. Zhang Feng's words also reminded Wang Chenhao of the Vietnam War, where the powerful United States was dragged down by Vietnam, and finally withdrew without face, which led to the shaking of the hegemony of the United States in a single-level world, and thus the world entered a multi-level order. A strong country may not necessarily be able to defeat a weak country, and there are countless examples of being defeated by a weak country, and Wang Chenhao did not dare to pack a ticket to say that the war would definitely be victorious, because it was obviously much stronger than Vietnam back then, and it was the United States behind it, which was much stronger than China behind Vietnam.

Wang Chenhao saw that everyone stopped talking, so he said, "What about the others? Tell us your opinions! ”

Deng Shichang first patted his chest and said, "Report to Your Majesty!" Our Navy is fine! ”

Duan Qirui also then said: "Report to Your Majesty!" Our army is no problem! ”

Then Liu Xiang replied with a relaxed face: "Back to Your Majesty!" Our Air Force is even more fine! Our bombers could fly over Tokyo and drop 500,000 tons of bombs, which was guaranteed to flatten Tokyo. ”

"It doesn't cost money, does it? 500,000 tons of bombs, even if you win the battle, can you get back the bomb money? Chancellor of the Exchequer Song Hanzhang suddenly poured cold water.

"That's it!" Wang Chenhao hurriedly stopped the civil and military forces when he saw that they were about to fight again, and said: "The military is confident that it will win the war, which is very good." The Cabinet was right to always put the interests of the empire first. War is always a continuation of politics, and we will not use force unless absolutely necessary. Even if we fight, we must consider whether the other party is worth our fight. If all the property of other people's families is not enough for us to pay for a bomb, then it will be boring to fight. ”

Wang Chenhao's words were immediately acceptable to the civil and military officials on both sides.

Then, Wang Chenhao thought to himself that he had to make the decision in the end. Wang Shizhen and others were influenced by Wang Chenhao, because Wang Chenhao's attitude towards Yueben was very unfriendly, so that the military always wanted to eliminate Yueben. Although Zhang Feng and others were also influenced by Wang Chenhao, as civil officials, they took governing the country as their first priority. However, after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, the people were no longer capable of invading the Chinese Empire, and the people were not destroyed by the Chinese Empire, and the hatred for the Chinese Empire was no longer established. On the contrary, it was said that Ben was bullied by the Chinese Empire, and if he wanted to hate, he also hated the Chinese Empire.

Therefore, Zhang Feng and others oppose bullying Yue Ben without reason and interests, which is understandable to Wang Chenhao, Zhang Feng did it right. As the Prime Minister of the Reich, this is how you should look at things.

Wang Chenhao needs to respect the opinions of his subordinates, so that he can in turn win the loyalty of his subordinates. Therefore, Wang Chenhao needed to weigh it, so he asked Li Guodong: "To what extent is this threat to the empire?" ”

Li Guodong then replied: "Your Majesty, this year we have completed eight super crossbow type (super god bow type) capital ships, including four Fuso-class battleships, four Kongo-class battlecruisers, and a number of light cruisers, hunting ships and submarines. This year's military expenditure has reached 420 million yuan, or 220 million dragon coins, for the construction of four Nagato-class battleships, as well as four Tango-class battlecruisers, as well as 20 Fengfeng-class hunting ships, and 20 I-6 type submarines. ”

Beginning in 1910, after the economic recovery of the Navy, stimulated by the arms race between the Chinese and American navies, the construction of eight capital ships, four Fuso-class battleships and four Kongo-class battlecruisers began.

The construction plan of the Fuso-class battleships was part of the warship construction plan proposed by the Imperial Navy in the name of the 88th Fleet. In 1910, it was approved to continue the construction budget for the "Third Battleship" (Fuso) in the "Third Naval Ship Expansion Plan".

In 1909, the Navy selected the British to design and build the battlecruiser "King Kong", and at the same time, it sent trainees to Britain for the purpose of introducing the latest capital ship design and construction technology. The hull design of the Fuso-class ship designed by Saymoto was improved with reference to the drawings of the Kongo-class battlecruisers. The standard displacement is 30,000 tons, the protection is stronger than that of the King Kong class, and the design speed is 22.5 knots. Two main gun turrets were added to the middle and rear of the hull, and six twin main gun turrets were arranged on the longitudinal central axis of the hull: No. 1 and No. 2 turrets were knapsack in front of the bridge; The third turret is behind the fore mainmast and the first chimney; The fourth turret is between the second chimney and the rear mainmast; Turrets No. 5 and No. 6 are piggyback-mounted behind the rear mainmast. The boiler compartment was divided into two parts, front and rear, by the main gun turret in the middle of the hull. The main gun is the same twin 356 mm main gun as the King Kong class, and 16 152 mm gun silhouette secondary guns are arranged in the long bow tower.

The disadvantages of the arrangement are: the space in the power compartment is limited, the defense part of the heavy armor belt needs to be extended too long, the muzzle explosion will sweep the whole ship when the main gun is fired, and the impact on the superstructure and mutual interference when the guns are fired. Because this is the first time that the Navy has tried to design and build a super-godbow-class battleship on its own, the overall layout, construction technology, and experience of the Fuso-class are not ideal. Moreover, during the later modernization, it was found that the ship's surface was occupied by too much space for the turret, resulting in a very narrow space for usable modifications. At the same time, the deck armor of the Fuso class was relatively thin, only 305 mm, which was a fatal weakness.

There were four Fuso-class battleships, the first of which was Fuso, named after the ancient alias "Fuso", and was built at the Wu Naval Shipyard. The second ship, the Yamashiro, was named after the ancient name "Yamashiro", which is the Yamashiro Province of the Five Provinces of Honki, and was built at the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard.

Due to financial delays and the soaring pace of the Sino-US [***] preparation race, the planned No. 3 and No. 4 ships were able to significantly modify the design plan to become Ise-class battleships after the Yamashiro-2 ship. However, the military did not change its name to the outside world, and it was still a Fusang-class battleship, in order to confuse the Chinese Empire and make it think that the Fuso-class was vulnerable and could not compete with the Chinese Empire's 356-mm battleship of the same class, the Hanwu Emperor-class battleship.

In fact, the changes made by the Navy's Ise-class battleships were still no match for the Han Wu Emperor-class battleships of the Chinese Empire. Although she is still equipped with 12 twin 356 mm guns, which is 3 more than the 3 triple 356 mm main guns of the Han Wu Emperor-class battleship, the firepower looks powerful, but its armor protection is still 305 mm, while the main armor protection of the Han Wu Emperor-class battleship is 330 mm, and the main gun turret, command tower, and ammunition depot are 356 mm. The 356 mm main guns of the Ise-class battleships of the Navy's Ise-class battleships were difficult to inflict a fatal penetration hit on the Chinese special steel armor of the Han Wu Emperor-class battleships because of the power of the shells.

However, as the first-class super god bow battleship built by Yuben, it is still remarkable. At least this has proved that the industrial capacity of the navy has made rapid progress, and it has become one of the few countries in the world that can build 30,000-ton battleships, and has entered the ranks of the great navies.

The Ise-class battleships were an improved version of the Fuso-class. It is equipped with 6 twin 356 mm guns of the same caliber as the Fuso class. The main improvement of the gun arrangement in the middle of the hull ensured sufficient space in the engine room. The No. 3 and No. 4 main turrets in the middle of the Ise-class hull were scattered on the front and rear sides of the rear chimney instead of the Fuso-class and were arranged in a knapsack mode behind the rear chimney. The boiler compartment was no longer divided into two parts, the front and rear by the main turret, as in the Fuso class, and a new scheme was adopted for the power system layout. Due to the knapsack layout of the No. 3 and No. 4 main gun turrets, the bow tower is shorter than that of the Fuso class, extending only to the No. 3 main turret, and the secondary guns are concentrated in the bow tower in the middle and front of the hull. Improvements in the arrangement of the guns made it possible to reduce the impact on the superstructure when firing from the guns, as well as mutual interference. A baffle was set up at the rear chimney to eliminate the impact of the muzzle explosion of the main gun of the amidships on the shipboard. Increased the elevation angle of the main gun reload to increase the reload speed. Improved defenses. In consideration of the physical strength of the person who carried the shells, the secondary gun was changed from the 152 mm caliber of the Fuso class (the shell weighed 45 kg) to the 140 mm caliber (the shell weighed 38 kg). However, the bow tower has been shortened, the space inside the ship has been reduced and occupied, and the living comfort has been greatly affected.

Of course, although the Navy can build its own 30,000-ton Super God Bow battleship, it still needs to import large-caliber guns and steam turbines from Britain and the United States. However, China has begun to develop its own related equipment, but the cost of self-construction is still too high, and it has to be imported from abroad under the condition of limited funds.

The Navy was suddenly transferred from a 305-mm battleship to a 356-mm battleship with a 356-mm gun, and the 13-inch guns were skipped.

The construction of the navy was completely in accordance with the outline of the defense of the Chinese Empire, but the funds were limited and could not provoke an arms race, but after the warning of the Chinese Empire's blockade of Britain in the Atlantic naval war, the navy was afraid, because the navy was an island country like Britain, and needed a supply line of life at sea to support the survival of the country. Therefore, this required that the original must also have its own battlecruiser, so after several twists and turns, the Kongo-class battlecruiser was finally quickly built by the British promised to help.

The Kongo-class battlecruisers had a long bow and a tall three-masted ship. The power system adopts oil/coal mixed boiler and steam turbine. It was equipped with eight 14-inch caliber guns (known as 12-inch guns to the outside world during the development period, confusing the Chinese Empire) developed by Vickers Company, which was later imported into China for manufacturing. The layout of the main gun turret is similar to that of the British Navy's battlecruiser Tiger, with the No. 1 and No. 2 main turrets being knapsack in front of the bridge, the No. 3 main turret between the boiler room and the main engine room, and the No. 4 main gun tower located in the stern after the main engine room. The level of defensive armor was comparable to that of the British naval battlecruisers of the same period. The bow of the Kongo is neither a vertical bow nor a flying shear bow, the bow of the ship is bent forward, perpendicular above the waterline, and backward below the waterline to the bottom of the ship, forming the unique "hyperbolic bow" of this warship.

Due to the delay in the construction of the Kongo-class armored cruiser by the Sino-British War, the time for the battlecruiser was delayed again and again, which also made the company miss the first round of the battlecruiser competition and took a part of the journey, which can be described as a blessing in misfortune.

As the first-class battle cruiser, the King Kong class has a displacement of 30,000 tons and a speed of 27 knots, surpassing the early Zhou Wuwang-class and Zhou Liewang-class battlecruisers in the early Chinese Empire, but compared with the 30-knots speed and 254 mm armor of the Jinwudi-class battlecruisers of the same level (the same main gun caliber) of the Chinese Empire, the speed and protection of the King Kong-class are inferior. Moreover, the Jin Wu Emperor class is equipped with three triple 356 mm main guns, which is one more than the four twin 356 mm main guns of the King Kong class, and this slight gap also makes the King Kong class fall into a position that is not as good as the Jin Wu Emperor class battleships.

However, the eight capital ships, which were started in 1910, were all completed in the summer of 1912, which greatly improved the strength of the navy and posed a certain threat to the imperial navy of China.

Moreover, with the strong support of Britain and the United States in 1912, the military budget was greatly increased, and four Nagato-class battleships and Tango-class battlecruisers were built to build the Super Divine Bow Type 88 Fleet of the Navy, which would bring a huge threat to the Imperial Chinese Navy.

The Nagato-class battleship was a first-class battleship built as a first-class battleship built by the Navy's 16-inch (406 mm) main guns against the Song-class battleships of the Chinese Empire, and the biggest feature was that it adopted the 410 mm caliber main gun of the largest caliber carried by the battleships at that time, and the four twin main turrets were symmetrically arranged along the longitudinal centerline of the hull, two of which were arranged symmetrically before and after, and the piggyback layout was adopted. And in order to meet the needs of the main gun in long-distance artillery battles and command, the front main mast adopts a tall conical structure mast supported by 7 pillars, and a firing command post is set up at the top, which is quite strong and not easy to be damaged by bullets. The Nagato class adopts the type of long bow ship, and the ship of this class is equipped with a two-layer gun profile type auxiliary gun in the long bow of the hull. The most distinctive feature is the design of the unique "spoon-shaped" bow with a 60° inclination (in order to use chain mines, the bow will not hook the chain connecting the two mines, but the mist splashed by the bow will affect the bridge and mast command post when sailing at high speed in bad sea conditions).

The Nagato-class was designed to have a speed of more than 26 knots, and because the Chinese Empire kept the speed of the 29-knots Song-class battleships secret and claimed that it was 25 knots, the Navy considered the Nagato-class battleships to be the fastest battleships, and took secret measures against the speed indicators of the Nagato-class, and the speed announced at that time was 23 knots. Because the previously built battleships were British designs or changes based on British design blueprints, the Nagato-class battleships, which were completely designed by the Nagamoto, were completely designed by the British battleships and were regarded as "the first type of battleships with pure lineage".

The Tango-class battlecruisers, which were based on the reduced armor of the Nagato-class battlecruisers, were equipped with the state-of-the-art steam turbine systems of the British Prestige-class battlecruisers, making them design for speeds of 30 knots. However, if you run into a Song-class battleship with a speed of 29 knots, the Dango-class armor of only 228 mm is still vulnerable.

Although the Navy, misled by the strategy of the Chinese Empire, continued to develop the battle cruiser project, the eight 410 mm capital ships were still a great threat to the Imperial Chinese Navy.

Wang Shizhen said: "If the eighty-eighth fleet is completed, then they will have sixteen super god bow type capital ships, while the empire's super god bow type capital ships are only 26, and the advantage is not so great." Of course, if you include the eighteen Shenbow-type capital ships, it still has an overwhelming advantage. However, it is difficult for the main guns of the Divine Bow capital ships to sink the Super Divine Bow capital ships, so we cannot expect the 18 Divine Bow capital ships to still be able to exert the effectiveness of the main decisive battle. ”

Li Guodong added at this time: "As far as Wei Chen knows, the caliber of the main guns of the eight capital ships newly built in this book is said to be 410 mm, which exceeds the 406 mm of the Imperial Song-class battleships, which is a great threat. In terms of speed, the book is also very secretive, and it is announced that it is 23 knots, but we guess that it should be around 25 knots, because they have received core technical support from the United Kingdom, and the increase in the speed of the battleship will not be a problem. ”

Wang Chenhao thought to himself, the Nagato-class battleship in his impression was indeed one of the most powerful battleships at that time, and now although Wang Chenhao has rewritten history, the huge habitual surname still gives Yuben a chance to rise again, so it is not impossible for the Nagato-class battleship to reach the level in history again.

Thinking of this, Wang Chenhao nodded and said: "The current prime minister of Yuben is Yamamoto Gonbei, a right-wing [***] soldier, and the empire has to be on guard, because the Yuben Navy is also extremely good at sudden sneak attack tactics. If the Imperial Navy's Super God Bow battleship base is attacked by a sneak attack and suffers losses, it cannot be ruled out that the Navy's ability to dare to engage in a decisive battle with the Empire's capital ships cannot be ruled out. ”

Zhang Feng saw Wang Chenhao and Wang Shizhen singing and harmonizing, and had roughly guessed Wang Chenhao's intentions, but he was not sure, so he asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?" ”

Wang Chenhao then said: "As a close neighbor, we can't let it develop and grow, and it's time for us to weaken their naval strength." ”

Zhang Feng asked, "Does Your Majesty want to do anything to Yuben?" ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "As an island country, we only need to defeat their navy. The war does not have to be extended to the mainland, but the army can be sent to try to fight, and it is naturally good if it can be resolved quickly, and if the situation is not good, it is necessary to avoid falling into the quagmire and get out in time. Of course, the premise is that it is best if Ben is willing to give in. ”

Wu Tingfang said at this time: "But Your Majesty, Yue Ben has always been tolerant of the empire, they have avoided friction with the empire, and they have always been cautious, we don't seem to have an excuse to start a war against Yu Ben." ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "Can you find an excuse casually, you can figure it out yourself." ”

(To be continued)