The German Empire embarked on an ambitious shipbuilding program, and the funds received from the British, as well as British technology and talent, led to the explosive growth of their navy. Starting with the 'Brandenburg-class' battleships, Germany will launch eight advanced battleships of two classes every year, striving to make the German Empire have a strong navy in a short time. And this is undoubtedly a challenge to the maritime hegemony of the Chinese Empire.

At a time when the German Empire began to build ships on a large scale, the Chinese Empire was not idle. Having finally defeated the British and seized the world's sea power, the empire would certainly not be willing to give up the sea power so lightly. Besides, the Chinese Empire was far more powerful than the German Empire, both in terms of capital and in terms of technology and talent accumulation. Emperor Long Yufei is an emperor who attaches great importance to sea power. Combined with these factors, it was not so easy for the German Empire to challenge the sea power of the Chinese Empire.

Almost after the German Emperor Wilhelm I attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the 'Brandenburg-class' battleship, the Reich* Military Intelligence Bureau had already learned about the relevant performance of the German battleship and sent it back to China as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, the Germans are menacing, and they want to challenge the maritime supremacy of the Empire! Although they only started the construction of four 'Brandenburg-class' battleships, according to the information obtained by the Empire's * Military Intelligence Agency, they will also start construction of four 'Caesars' in the second half of the year. Frederick III class battleship. In this case, the Germans will have as many as eight warships to be built this year. According to the standard of the two powers, we will have to build sixteen ships to maintain the superiority of the Imperial Navy! The newly appointed Minister of the Navy, Marshal Wei Yong, said.

The expression on Long Yufei's face was a little stiff, and he didn't expect it. The Germans would have started building so many warships at once. Previously, he had made a bold suggestion that the Germans should build a battleship. The Empire will build two. Now the Germans will build eight of them this year. Wouldn't the empire have to build sixteen ships? With the current cost of warships, once the construction of sixteen battleships begins, it will cost 200 million Chinese yuan! With the addition of supporting light warships, this year's shipbuilding funds alone will require 300 million Chinese yuan. This is only the first year, and if the German Navy continues to build more warships in the next few years, won't the Reich have to invest exponentially?

Of course, the admirals of the Empire wish that the Empire would build more warships. That's the case. The fleet they commanded was even stronger. Maintaining a strong fleet would also give the Imperial Navy an advantage over the German Navy.

"Lord Wei, you can count the eight 'Eastern Han Class' battleships that exist in the Imperial Navy. The Imperial Navy now had eight battleships, and the German 'Brandenburg-class' battleships were not as good as the Imperial 'Eastern Han class' battleships, so the Germans' 'Brandenburg-class' battleships could not put pressure on us at all. This year, the Reich only needed to start construction of eight battleships to be able to meet the challenge of the Germans! Prime Minister Lin Zihao jumped out. He didn't want to see all of the Empire's limited funds tilted toward the navy. In that case, the Empire's finances would be burdened with a heavy burden.

"Your Excellency, the 'Eastern Han-class' battleships are more powerful than the German 'Brandenburg-class' battleships. But in the face of the Germans' Caesar. The Frederick III-class battleships were not at all advantageous. 'Caesar. Frederick III's class battleships were armed with 343 mm guns. "Admiral Minister Wei Yong hurriedly said. The main gun of the Eastern Han class battleship was only 305 mm main gun, and its performance was a little more powerful than that of the "Brandenburg class" battleship. But if you want to talk to 'Caesar. In the case of a battle against a Frederick III-class battleship, the main guns will fall to the upper hand first.

"Director Luo, does the Military Intelligence Bureau have any information about the detailed shipbuilding plans of the Germans?" Long Yufei asked. If the Germans were determined to build warships on a large scale. Then, even if the empire smashes the pot and sells iron, it has to keep up. After all. In addition to defeating the German Navy, the Reich Navy had to secure the Reich's sea lines of transport on the World Ocean. As soon as the German Navy took the Reich's sea transport offline. The consequences will be dire. And defending the sea transportation lines also made the empire need more warships.

The empire now, like Britain during World War I, has a great deal of overseas interests to protect. On the contrary, the Germans, although they did not receive overseas colonies due to the intervention of the Chinese Empire, also allowed them to concentrate all their efforts on challenging the Empire's maritime supremacy and not bother with anything else. Therefore, if the Reich wanted to defeat the Germans, it would have to secure at least twice the advantage.

"Your Majesty, according to the information we have received, the Germans have indeed drawn up a crazy plan to build ships, and they plan to start building eight battleships a year for the next three years, and it is expected that in six years they will have twenty-four battleships in service. When the time comes, there will be no country whose navy will be comparable to theirs, except for the Empire. Field Marshal Luo Hongtao, director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, said. Because of the intelligence support of the MIA in the war, the empire was able to defeat strong enemies with ease. Therefore, after the end of the war, Luo Hongtao was also promoted to the rank of Imperial Field Marshal. It's just that as the controller of the imperial intelligence department, Marshal Luo Hongtao is undoubtedly a person who lives in the dark. Therefore, only a very small number of people attended his promotion ceremony, and the outside world did not even know about his existence at all.

"Twenty-four battleships have been started in three years? Are the Germans really crazy? Long Yufei's brows furrowed tightly.

If the Germans really started building twenty-four battleships, then by the standards of the two powers, the Imperial Navy would need forty-eight battleships. Even after deducting the eight 'Eastern Han class' battleships in active service, in the next three years, the Imperial Navy will have to start building forty battleships one after another, so as to ensure the superiority of the Imperial Navy. After all, the fleets deployed by the Imperial Navy in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas were only half the size of the Imperial Navy.

"Your Majesty, could this be a conspiracy of the Germans, who deliberately formulated such a huge shipbuilding plan, just to make the Imperial Navy frantically build warships, so as to realize their ulterior conspiracy." Prime Minister Lin Zihao said.

Long Yufei shook his head: "The empire is crazy about building warships, which is not good for the Germans at all. Once the Empire's economy recovers and the Empire is ready for war again, we can attack them. And the German Navy will not have any advantages. ”

"Your Majesty, are we going to keep up with the Germans' frenzied shipbuilding?" Marshal Wei Yong, Minister of the Navy, asked. In order to ensure that the Imperial Navy can win in future naval battles, the Imperial Navy will of course start its own shipbuilding program.

Long Yufei pondered for a while, and then said, "What happened to the Imperial Navy's 'Tang-class' battleships? ”

"Your Majesty, the construction of the 'Tang-class' battleship began three months ago, and now it is proceeding in an orderly manner according to the schedule." Marshal Wei Yong said. The 'Tang-class' battleship was the first class of battleships built by the Imperial Navy after the war, and its performance was greatly improved compared with those battleships in service before, with larger tonnage, larger caliber of main guns, and stronger armor. At the same time, the speed does not decrease but increases.

The 'Tang-class' battleships had a full load displacement of up to 26,000 tons, and because of the use of triple main guns, the length of the battleship was not as long as that of the 'Western Han-class' battleships, which shortened the armor belt of the battleship and saved the displacement. At the same time, on the battleships of the 'Don class', the Imperial Navy put forward the concept of focused defense. For example, the defense of key compartments such as turrets, bridges, and power compartments was strengthened, while the armor in other places, such as the fore and rear decks, was relatively weak. After all, the three triple 343mm main guns of the 'Tang-class' battleships have been able to ensure the penetration of enemy battleships at a distance of 10,000 meters. In such a situation, it is no longer necessary to install thick deck armor. After all, no matter how thick the deck armor is, it can't be compared to the key cabins. Once hit by the enemy's main gun, the deck armor will also be torn apart. It is better to carry out a focused defense and save the amount of water in other areas. This kind of warship design idea will also become the mainstream of the design of warships of the Imperial Navy.

The "Tang-class" battleship adopts a new type of armor rigidity and carbonized armor on the surface, which further improves the defensive performance of the battleship. The turret, bridge, and power compartment were up to 300 mm thick, and the armor near the waterline was also up to 300 mm thick, which made the performance of the 'Don-class' battleships very impressive. In addition, the 'Don-class' battleships used oil-fired boilers and new steam engines, which allowed the ships to maintain a speed of 21 knots. The Imperial Navy's research institute is developing a steam turbine, and if it is successful, the speed of the warship will be further increased.

However, it is precisely because of the adoption of a large number of new technologies that the cost of the 'Tang-class' battleships is as high as 15 million Chinese yuan per battleship, which is 3 million Chinese yuan more expensive than the 'Eastern Han Dynasty-class' battleships. However, the performance of the 'Tang-class' battleships is more than one and a half stars stronger than the 'Eastern Han class' battleships, and the three million Chinese dollars are definitely worth the money.

There are four 'Tang-class' battleships under construction in the Imperial Navy, namely the 'Tang Gaozu' battleship, the 'Tang Taizong' battleship, the 'Tang Gaozong' battleship and the 'Tang Zhongzong' battleship. (To be continued......)

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