PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets!

The emperor smiled dumbly, and the chief of the General Staff, Admiral Niu Meng, is really a lion's mouth. The 1st and 5th fleets of the Imperial Navy each needed six 'Qin-class' battleships to build a total of 12. The cost of each 'Qin-class' battleship was as high as 6 million Chinese dollars, and the total cost was 72 million Chinese dollars. That's an astronomical amount!

Although, in the war against Russia, the empire has just extorted a sum of money from the Russians. However, now the empire needs to spend money everywhere. In particular, large-scale infrastructure construction and industrial infrastructure, as well as the ongoing war against the United States, etc., need to be supported by this money. If it is all used in the construction of naval ships, how can other work be carried out? What's more, this time, the Imperial Navy not only needs to build 'Qin-class' battleships, but also needs to build some small and medium-sized warships to replace the Navy's 'Xia-class' cruisers and 'Shang-class' cruisers!

"12 'Qin-class' battleships, this is impossible. It is impossible for the Empire to build so many capital ships at once. In this case, will there be more powerful warships in the future? Long Yufei said.

"Yes, that's what Your Majesty said!" Admiral Niu Meng nodded and didn't say anything more. The reason why he opened his mouth was just to express the Navy's desire for advanced warships. In this way, when Long Yufei decided how many 'Qin-class' battleships to build, he would not set the number too low all of a sudden.

"Like the 'Eastern Zhou-class' battleships, build six. Three ships per fleet! Long Yufei pondered for a moment, and then said.

"Your Majesty, it's only three! That's too little, isn't it? Rear Admiral Lu Haipeng, commander of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, exclaimed. Vice Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Navy. Also fighting in North America. Therefore, only Rear Admiral Lu Haipeng, a naval general, participated in the formulation of the ship-building plan this time.

"Your Majesty, three ships are indeed a little missing. Our enemies are building more and more powerful ships! General Zhao Yi, Deputy Chief of General Staff and Minister of Logistics and Equipment, also said.

"Well, then build eight, four for each fleet. Couldn't have been more! Long Yufei hesitated, and then said. Build two more ships, that's 12 million Chinese dollars. Tighten your waistband a little. It's still possible to scrape together so much money.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Admiral Niu Meng, Admiral Zhao Yi and Major General Lu Haipeng all shouted.

From the smiles on their faces, Long Yufei knew that he had been fooled. Those guys. It's done on purpose. In order to make him loosen his mouth and promise to build more warships. However, his golden mouth has been opened, so naturally he cannot return.

The eight 'Qin-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy will be named the battleship 'Shihuang', the battleship 'Huhai', the battleship 'Ziying', and the battleship 'Qinzhuang Xiangwang'. The battleship 'King Qin Xiaowen' and the battleship 'King Qin Zhaoxiang'. The battleship 'King Wu of Qin' and the battleship 'King Huiwen of Qin'. The first four ships will be allocated to the 1st Fleet, and the next four ships will belong to the 5th Fleet.

"From the start of construction to the entry into service, how long does it take for the 'Qin-class' battleship?" Long Yufei asked. He also did not know when the British would make a move against the Imperial Navy. Therefore, it is necessary to hurry up and make the Imperial Navy strong. The 'Qin-class' battleship will be a trump card of the Imperial Navy, and if it can be put into service as soon as possible, it will also be of great benefit to improving the strength of the Imperial Navy.

"Your Majesty, this is the first time we have built a giant ship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons, and the construction period may be relatively long. From the start of construction to the launch, to outfitting and sea trials, it will take about three years! The Navy's engineer replied.

"Three years? No, that's too long! In two years, at most two and a half years, the 'Qin-class' battleships must enter service. Long Yufei said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The navy's engineer gritted his teeth and nodded. Although he knew that it would be difficult, the emperor had already spoken, so he had to find a way to complete it.

"General Lu, when the time comes, after the fleet accepts the 'Qin-class' battleships, it needs to form combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time!" Long Yufei instructed.

On the 'Qin-class' battleships, a lot of new technologies were used, such as rudimentary fire control systems. Some optical sighting equipment and ranging equipment imported from the West and developed and produced by the country, as well as small observation airships that were lifted from battleships, made the accuracy of the shelling of the 'Qin-class' battleships greatly improved. Three powerful twin 280mm guns can be fired in a salvo, thus greatly improving the accuracy of shooting.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Major General Lu Haipeng also replied categorically. Although he didn't know why Long Yufei was so urgent, he trusted the judgment of the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei. Over the years, Long Yufei's judgment has never been wrong.

"Your Majesty, are you aware of any crisis?" General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, asked.

"Don't forget, the Suez Canal is being built. After investing heavily and recruiting a large number of local laborers to participate in the construction, the construction of the Suez Canal was very fast. In a maximum of three years, the canal will be opened. When the time comes, the distance between the East and the West will be shortened a lot. It only takes a month to get from Europe to China. This will make the collision between us and the British more intense. Perhaps, after the opening of the guò canal, it will not be merchant ships that will pass through the guò canal first, but the warships of the British! Long Yufei said.

Because of the accession of the Chinese Empire, the construction time and completion time of the Suez Canal have increased a lot. The early completion of the canal accelerated the communication between the East and the West, but at the same time, it also greatly increased the threat to the Chinese Empire.

"Your Majesty, it seems that we really have to be prepared!" General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, also said.

Everyone present felt a strong pressure. The contradictions between the Chinese Empire and Britain are well known to all. I also know that it is impossible for the two countries to coexist peacefully at all. So, the Imperial Navy, on the other hand, was the main force against the British. Before the canal was opened, the strength of the Imperial Navy had to be greatly improved. In the future battle with the British, the Imperial Navy could not afford to lose, and would not tolerate defeat.

"In addition, we have a naval base in East Africa or West Asia. In this way, it will help us to increase our influence in the Suez Canal area. The General Staff and the Military Intelligence Bureau will cooperate and choose a suitable place! Long Yufei said. Later generations of Americans have densely packed military bases all over the world, and although this has increased the consumption of US military spending, has it not also maintained US global hegemony? In the future, it is impossible for the Chinese empire to occupy the whole world. After defeating the main opponents, it was also necessary to build a series of military bases in Tongguò to protect the interests of the empire around the world.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Chief of the General Staff, General Niu Meng, nodded.

The appearance of steam battleships accelerated the speed of battleships. However, steam warships need to burn coal. Unlike sail battleships, which are powered by the wind. If there were no coal, the steam warship would be like a coffin floating on the sea. Therefore, the empire needs to build more naval bases around the world.

"The 'Qin-class' battleship is very good. However, I hope that the follow-up 'Han-class' battleships will be even more powerful. Compared to the Qin-class battleships, the Han-class battleships required greater displacement, thicker armor, more firepower, and faster speed. These are the goals you need to work towards. I hope that when the 'Qin-class' battleships are launched, the 'Han-class' battleships will be able to start construction! Long Yufei looked at the navy's engineer and said.

"Rest assured, we will work hard!" The engineer of the Navy hurriedly said. The Emperor's expectations are what they strive for.

Long Yufei nodded with satisfaction, from the 'Qin-class' battleships to the 'Han-class' battleships, the capital ships of the empire's navy will become more and more powerful. The Imperial Navy must always lead the trend of the world in advanced warships, so that the Imperial Navy can always have an advantage. Only in the future large-scale naval battles can we be invincible.

In addition to the Qin-class battleships as the capital ships, the Imperial Navy also needed to equip new small and medium-sized warships to replace the already somewhat obsolete 'Xia-class' and 'Shang-class' cruisers. These two types of battleships, due to technical reasons at the time, were slow in defense and speed, and they were not even as fast as the 'Qin-class' battleships that were about to start construction. In future naval battles, these two types of warships will no longer be able to follow the capital ships and provide protection for the capital ships. So, the Imperial Navy needed completely new small and medium-sized warships.

Like the 'Qin-class' battleships, this time the small and medium-sized battleships were also specially designed at the request of the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei. In order to meet the requirements of the emperor Long Yufei, the engineers of the navy also racked their brains. In the end, I barely got through.

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the weak firepower of small warships, under the auspices of the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei, the Imperial Navy deliberately developed a completely new weapon, that is, fish. The appearance of fish as a weapon brought the strength of the Imperial Navy to a new level. Although the 'Qin-class' battleships are not equipped with fish launch tubes, the small and medium-sized warships that are about to start construction and the subsequent 'Han-class' battleships will be equipped with fish. As a result, the strength of the Imperial Navy will be even stronger, and it will be able to have a killer feature when facing the British Navy in the future! (To be continued......)