Compared with the Zizhulin Wharf, the Tanggu Wharf located at the mouth of Dagu seems to be somewhat simple, in fact, it is true, several steel and wood structure trestle bridges into the sea plus several floating wharves, it constitutes the Tanggu Wharf, although the wharf seems simple, but compared to the Zizhulin Wharf that enters the city through the Haihe River, the simple Tanggu Wharf has its own advantages, the water depth and the width of the port is its biggest advantage, especially the steel and wood trestle bridge that goes deep into the sea for hundreds of meters, it is the only place in Tianjin that can berth large ships. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

As in the past, as a major trade port in the north, there are merchant ships flying the flags of various countries moored at the trestle bridge of Tanggu Port, and in a steel steamship, you can also see a small tonnage of Chinese sailing ships, Tianjin, has always been a place where merchant ships gather, although now there is Dalian and its "favor", but its special geographical location, especially its largest trade port in North China, still maintains the reputation of the northern port.

The port is very lively, merchant ships from all over the world gather, and the corresponding streets around the wharf are also crowded, the western-style buildings and commercial houses on both sides make people intuitively feel the prosperity here, and the foreign banks and continuous warehouses make people have an illusion that the prosperity here is not inferior to the illusion of Tianjin concession.

And the prosperity that brought to the port, and in those trestle coolies, the coolies were loading and unloading the goods. No, not necessarily, at least on one of the trestles, it was a little deserted, not deserted, but the coolies of the past - some were just sailors in white uniforms and beanies.

The beanie still has the words "Beiyang Fleet of the Great Qing Dynasty" on it, if it had been left two years ago, this dressed navy would have made people look at it a few more times, but now, people have become accustomed to wearing Western-style military uniforms of the Beiyang Marine Division, just look at this pier. You can see policemen in foreign clothes patrolling there, not to mention just sailors.

However, when these sailors appeared on the trestle, they still let the big guy look sideways a few more times, and the sailors with loaded guns stood on the side of the trestle like guards, at the end of the trestle. A cruiser was moored.

With just a glance, people can feel the strength of the cruiser - the muzzles of the black holes sticking out of the multiple ear platforms on the side are pointing directly to the left and right, this is a cutting-edge cruiser, and the cruiser has a dragon flag flying on a yellow background and the dragon badge on the bow to remind people that this is a warship of the Beiyang Fleet.

In the East Asian Ocean, this huge fleet may have lost its own base, Arthur, but this does not prevent them from continuing to exist as the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Empire on the East Asian Ocean, and even. In the eyes of the navies of Britain and the United States, the current Beiyang Fleet is the fundamental guarantee for maintaining the balance of power in the East Asian seas, and even the British Royal Navy, which once crisscrossed the seas, had no choice but to cooperate closely with the Beiyang Fleet in the face of Russia's aggressive posture to prevent it from encroaching on the Yangtze River and even extending its hand to warm Southeast Asia.

The Russian Pacific Fleet, which is now the most powerful maritime force in East Asia, is also well aware that only the North Ocean can compete with it in East Asia. In order to avoid triggering a diplomatic crisis, it is natural to give three points of courtesy. And this unprecedented elevation of status caused by the subtlety of the international environment made the officers and men of the Beiyang Fleet all raise their chins proudly, but there was no trace of accustomed arrogance on their faces, and there was even more respect from the bottom of their bones.

"Salute!"

When the officer's heavy shouting sounded on the trestle, Li Hongzhang, who was wearing an official uniform, walked in the middle of the trestle, and his somewhat aged face was on this time. They all looked full of ambition, especially when he looked at those dark-faced sailors, and looked at the unconcealable arrogance in their respectful eyes, Li Hongzhang even had an illusion that he was boarding a British warship for the first time. The British sailors had the same pride in their expressions.

In the past, he always felt that there was something missing in Beiyang, but now looking at the pride in the eyes of the sailors, Li Hongzhang not only felt that they had a sense of arrogance, but even felt relieved because they had found this kind of spirit, and the navy should have the arrogance of superiority, and his heart once again thought of the words that Lang Weili had said.

"It is impossible for a minion to be a qualified sailor!"

At first, Li Hongzhang didn't understand, but later, he slowly understood the meaning, it is impossible for minions to challenge a strong enemy on the sea, and it is impossible to resolutely attack and fight to the end knowing that they are invincible.

However, in the Qing Dynasty, who is not a slave of the Aixin Jueluo family, and even as a Han Chinese, they don't even "admire" being a slave. Although Li Hongzhang once abolished the kneeling salute on the ship, but with those efforts, the officers and men of the Beiyang Fleet seem to be missing something, what is missing? Looking at these sailors now, Li Hongzhang knows that it is the kind of superiority and pride that comes from the bones, such sailors, such officers, will never admit that the enemy army cannot be defeated, and will never surrender, they will fight to the death for that superiority and pride, this is the navy!

And this is his Beiyang sailor!

It's the fleet that he Li Hongzhang single-handedly runs!

It is precisely by relying on the land and water division of Beiyang that he Li Hongzhang can firmly occupy the position of the governor of Zhili in the Manchu officialdom, even if there is no "Nine Governors to discuss politics", he also believes that no one in the Great Qing Dynasty can shake his position, the imperial court is not good, even if the imperial court deliberately supports Zhang Zhidong and others.

It's not because they can't handle foreign affairs well, nor because they can't handle diplomacy well, but because except for him Li Hongzhang, no one else can command the Beiyang Marine Division, and they can't command this Beiyang Fleet, which is even the envy of Westerners.

The further he went, the closer he got to the "Haichen," the more excited Li Hongzhang felt; the "Haichen" was the most cutting-edge "dome cruiser," and this was the first of the six cruisers that had been purchased from the warship in order to cope with the "danger of looking eastward" the year before last. The towering bow and tail ships, the high freeboard and the slender and graceful shape all show the special beauty of this cutting-edge cruiser.

"Lord Zhongtang, you see, this is the "Haichen" cruiser, its displacement is as high as 4,150 tons, its tonnage is much larger than the old Beiyang cruiser, its length is 109.73 meters, even more than the largest "Dingyuan" class ironclad ship in the Beiyang now, the deck width of the warship is 14.17 meters. The draft was 5.18 meters, and the dome deck was laid along the entire ship near the waterline, and the central bulge of the dome was 1 and 3/4 inches thick, and the part of the slope on both sides inclined to the waterline was 4.5 inches......"

At this moment, a burst of words with a Cantonese accent sounded in Li Hongzhang's ears, and it was Li He who was closely following him. As the captain of the "Haichen", he naturally needs to welcome Lord Zhongtang on board, as in the past, it is completely in accordance with Western-style naval etiquette, and the current Beiyang Fleet has not only completely abandoned the old-style military uniforms, but also completely "Britishized", without the constraints of conservatives, and the implementation of many affairs is logical.

"Its normal coal load is 400 tons. The maximum coal load is 1000 tons. The power system of the "Haichen" ship is very proud, using two vertical 4-cylinder reciprocating steam engines, with 12 high-rise coal-fired boilers, can obtain 15,000 horsepower of surging power, in the United Kingdom when the test was completed using strong pressure ventilation technology, it reached 23,031 horsepower, at this time the speed should far exceed the design speed, that is, do not use strong pressure ventilation technology. Driving 2 propellers, the speed is still up to an astonishing 23 knots. It is the fastest surface warship in the world today......"

If Tang Haoran was here at this time, if he could see this cruiser, he would definitely be no stranger to it, because in another time and space, this warship has another resounding name - "Yoshino", perhaps. For the Chinese, there is perhaps no more well-known foreign warship, which, in another time and space, evaded the fire of the Beiyang Fleet with its incredible speed, and with its powerful rapid-fire guns. Thousands of shells were "dumped" on the warships of the Beiyang Navy.

And now, in this time and space, this cutting-edge cruiser designed by the famous British ship designer Watts did not fly the "Rising Sun Flag" as in history, but hoisted the Dragon Flag, becoming part of the expansion of the Beiyang Navy, and the first cutting-edge cruiser to be delivered to the Beiyang Navy.

Of course, for the current Li Hongzhang, Li He, and the 360 officers and men on the cruiser "Haichen," they do not know how the "Yoshino" in another time and space makes the Beiyang Navy hate Dadonggou; for them, all they see is that the "Haichen" cruiser designed by the British designer Watts is equipped with a special artillery rangefinder that has just come out in addition to its high speed and 12 more rapid-fire guns, which means that the aiming and ranging of the guns of the "Haichen" ship will be more accurate and convenient. Combat power can be multiplied. At the same time, it possessed fast speed and powerful weapons, which made the "Haichen" incomparably powerful, and was hailed as the best cruiser in the world at that time, although this reputation was not verified, but no one would doubt this, and as for the people on the ship, they would never have a trace of doubt.

Even, as the founder of the Beiyang Navy, Li Hongzhang, who was over seventy years old, did not enter the most spacious captain's room to rest, but walked around like a curious teenager, and even visited the deafening engine room, and finally came to the deck, braved the cold wind, and inspected the powerful rapid-fire guns on his ship.

“…… The main gun is 4 6-inch 40 caliber rapid-fire guns produced by the British Armstrong Company, with a 20-foot breech, a warhead weighing 100 pounds, an effective range of 9,000 yards, and a rate of fire of 7 rounds per minute......"

When the artillery commander mentioned one point and seven arrows, Li Hongzhang's eyes suddenly widened in surprise, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Ten years ago, when the Navy first ran it, the 6-inch gun could only fire two shells at most a minute, but this guy could shoot seven shells, which is really a fast cannon at sea!"

After this sigh, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but think that before the Russians declared war on Japan, the imperial court even stopped building weapons in the North and South Oceans, if it weren't for the Russian-Japanese war, I am afraid that the Beiyang Navy is still operating old ships and old guns, and how can it compete with the new Western clippers and fast guns at that time?

Secretly rejoicing in his heart, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but touch the cold cannon body with his hand, and then glanced into the distance with great ambition, with the purchase of ships two years ago, not to mention anything else, just two 13,000-ton combat ships and five cutting-edge cruisers are enough to deter the ambitious Western powers.

As for the Northeast...... Holding on to the bolt, Li Hongzhang glanced thoughtfully in the direction of the northeast, and the sea breeze blew his cloak, making him shiver.

"Father, it's cold at sea, you better rest in the cabin first!"

Li Jingfang hurriedly persuaded softly on the side.

"After all. It will take another day to get to Jiaoao. ”

This time, Li took the "Haichen" ship not to the naval yamen on Liugong Island, but to Jiaoao, where the rudiments of a port are showing up, and it will be another station of the Beiyang Navy after the loss of Lushunkou.

When his son mentioned Jiaoao, Li Hongzhang naturally thought of Lushunkou. And every time I think of Lushunkou, I can't help but feel a pain in my heart, Northeast! If it weren't for him Tang Ziran who captured Lushun, how could Beiyang have gone away to Qingdao?

But then, Li Hongzhang sighed again, wrapped his cloak, shook his head and said.

"Don't worry, the side ......"

Leaving the gun position, Li Hongzhang, who walked to the side, seemed to say thoughtfully.

"I heard. Now in the Northeast, a combat ship is being built, and you have a lot of contacts with the Northeast, but is there such a thing? ”

It is no secret that Inchon is building combat ships, and they did not even hide it from the beginning, so much so that all the naval officers of various countries in Tianjin regarded it as a joke. Before the construction of the cruiser was completed under the guidance of the French, it suddenly came to the idea of building a combat ship of more than 10,000 tons. Isn't it beyond our means?

"It's just a self-defeating move, not worth mentioning!"

Li Jingfang's words seemed a little arrogant, and it is no wonder that compared with the weak Northeast Navy, the Beiyang Fleet is undoubtedly a behemoth, a behemoth that even makes Western countries jealous.

"Maybe. However, in the final analysis, the Beiyang Fleet was able to have this expansion thanks to Ziran, if it had not been for the fact that he had converted that loan into pounds, it would have been only because of the loss of pounds today. I'm afraid that this purchase will shrink by more than half! ”

At this time, Li Hongzhang said a fair word, in order to deal with the threat of the Russians, the imperial court agreed to expand the Beiyang Navy, so he borrowed 25 million taels of silver from HSBC in two installments, used to add a new army to the Beiyang Navy, if it was agreed at the old time, I am afraid that the loan contract will be signed with a sterling contract, but under Tang Haoran's reminder, in the end only signed a loan contract of 25 million taels, only stipulating the fineness of the silver, and not limiting the pound sterling, and then the money was all accepted by North Korea for pounds,

At that time, Tang Haoran relied on this to get as much as one million taels of "remittance", and there were even officials who impeached him, Li Hongzhang and Tang Haoran colluded to harm the public and private interests. But now, the imperial court can be said to have taken advantage of that transaction. In the past two years, silver has fallen day by day, compared to the past fell below fifty percent surprisingly, if the day by HSBC to provide a British pound loan, its flat to obtain Huijin not to mention, today's repayment only the principal is about to be no less than 36 million taels, not to mention that the silver is a six-year loan period, four years later, I am afraid that the price of silver will only be lower, and the principal and interest at the time of repayment may not be less than 50 million taels. Now, even if the repayment is made after four years, it will not exceed 30 million taels.

"Counting up, in the matter of purchasing ships, Ziran has saved at least more than 30 million taels for Zhili, and this sentiment must always be remembered!"

Li Hongzhang said this casually, and Li Jingfang said again and again, although he was a little jealous of the governor of the three provinces who was younger than him, but on the other hand, Li Jingfang knew his ability in some aspects, and that time to negotiate a loan for Beiyang was just a small test.

Envy is envy, reality is still reality, the reality is that the Northeast is really the first potential enemy of Beiyang, and even Zhang Zhidong can't rank this number.

"Father, are you worried about the threat of the Northeast Navy to us in the future? In fact, I don't think there is any need to be nervous, because I have dealt with many officers of the Chinese fleet in the concession, and most of them believe that the Northeast Navy, which is dominated by self-built warships, is far from being able to threaten the Beiyang Fleet, because of the fleet's absolute superiority over it, and secondly, because the quality of the warships is not only inferior to the left-wing detachment, but also inferior to the right-wing detachment......"

The left wing detachment will be the main fleet composed of two newly built combat ships and five cruisers, while the right wing detachment is the old Beiyang ship, which was originally planned by the imperial court to be handed over to the Nanyang Navy, so as to achieve the goal of "dividing one into two", but under the "Nine Governors' Deliberations", the "Seven Great Distances" that should have been handed over to the Nanyang were intercepted by Li Hongzhang, not to mention, even if they were handed over to the Nanyang, they could not afford to raise this navy.

"Father, I'm more worried about ...... than in the Northeast."

The voice was slightly suppressed, and seeing that no one was paying attention to the left and right, Li Jingfang whispered.

"Now that Fujian Province is controlled by the imperial court, I'm afraid it's not good for me!"

On the surface, Li Jingfang mentioned the "imperial court," but didn't Li Hongzhang know that the naval officers from Fujian Province in the Beiyang Fleet that his son was referring to didn't know that the "Fujian faction" on the ship had become bigger, and Li Hongzhang didn't know that the "flag-raising incident" of that year was actually the Fujian generals crowding out the foreigners and fighting for control of the ship; just as Lang Weili reported back then, the current Beiyang Fleet is gradually becoming the fleet of the Fujian family, and the ships are about to be filled with their relatives, and the well-trained northern officers and men are even more squeezed out of the ship. If Li Hongzhang hadn't insisted on instructing Ding Ruchang to support him, I'm afraid they would have kicked those northern officers and soldiers out of the fleet long ago.

"Christmas is coming......"

An inexplicable sentence came out of Li Hongzhang's mouth, and then he only heard him say it again.

"Jingfang, when I return to Tianjin, don't forget to remind me that it'......s time to add clothes to the students sent to study in the United States." )