A single wireless communication can create a gap between victory and defeat between us and our enemies.

In the naval battles of the 19th century and even the beginning of the 20th century, everyone walked back and forth on the vast ocean worth hundreds of millions of steel ships, and it took a long time to find each other. Even if they found their target, they usually had to go through a long period of scrambling to find the best opportunity to launch an operation, and it was not until the aircraft dominated the skies in World War II that the situation was completely changed.

At present, the Chinese navy is not only able to communicate at any time, but also has radar, a big killer weapon, as its arm, and has long been invincible. Only when they come out to beat people, and people want to fight back, they have to withstand the initial beating first.

Obviously, it is very difficult to withstand the artillery bombardment that has been transformed by industrial production in the 21st century!

In the coastal waters of Japan, the allied cruisers that fled in a hurry were mercilessly intercepted and killed one by one by the "Tianjin", no matter how good their performance was in theory, the speed of only 20 knots, in the face of the 32 knots of the heavy cruise, most of them could not even speed up the full speed of strong pressure ventilation, and they were caught up and beaten into slag by a cannonball!

To say that the performance of the "Tianjin" is also a bully, the barrel of the main gun has been treated by various processes, and the life is as high as 1,000 rounds. The wide ammunition depot under the hull is large enough to accommodate more than 500 rounds per gun, and the combined combat effectiveness of this entire mobile ammunition depot is comparable to that of a whole fleet at the end of the nineteenth century! As for the cost of production, it is much lower than theirs!

That's it. The long-barreled 203mm cannon could easily crush the steel body of all armored cruisers, and when it approached, a cannon blasted over and shattered a qiē block, and the big hole torn open by the explosion was terrifying and inexplicable!

Run. Can't run away; Beat. Can't beat it; Hide. Can't hide! In desperation, only a few remaining battleships raised the white flag in humiliation and surrendered!

One of the fastest British battleships was less than ten kilometers from the Japanese coastline. From the lookout posts and forts on the shore, the entire process of being pursued and killed can be observed through telescopes from beginning to end.

Under the watchful eyes of the remaining Japanese troops and the officers of the allied forces, the "Tianjin" suddenly emerged from the sea and the sky like a ghost, and the ghostly rush accelerated, and the last to arrive first. It was as if an assassin of great skill had pressed to the side. Fireworks erupted, shells whistled, and the target was caught between the smoke and flames of the explosion in three or two rounds. Then, he swept the sea leisurely, maneuvering dexterously like a light song and dance, showing his slender and graceful figure gorgeously in front of everyone's eyes, turning around to block the way.

Seeing that the coastline is so close that it only takes a dash to enter the bay sheltered by the battery. But it's the end of the world at hand, and the strong enemy is blocking the way, and you can't get through!

The commander of the British ship, in anger, tried to get closer to the "Tientsin" more than once. He wanted to see with his own eyes what the hell it was, but then he reluctantly found out. The huge battleship is as flexible as a cloud, and no matter how you try to get closer, she always soars freely in the distance.

Discouragement, despair, despair, anger...... All kinds of feelings filled the hearts of the officers and men of the coalition ships. Whether it was sunk or surrendered after being hit hard, they couldn't wait to peel off the skin and bones of the "Tianjin" and eat it raw. In particular, the officers of the higher ranks, who are familiar with the world's most important warships, want to see with their own eyes what the monster that single-handedly beheaded them looks like.

It's a pity that Yang Haiwei didn't give them a chance at all. From beginning to end, he controlled the battleship to always swim at a distance of about ten kilometers, using the smoke and mist to make the enemy look like he was always in a trance. To be able to barely sketch the outline of a three-turret high bridge is amazing.

Having played the role of a peerless swordsman, Yang Haiwei and the tired officers and soldiers on the ship were refreshed, cheered and celebrated, and decisively ordered: "Send power to the first and second fleets, complete the mission of this ship, and withdraw from the battlefield immediately." The matter of cleaning and sealing the mouth will be left to them. ”

Liu Buyun was the first to call back: "You have worked hard, and the rest of the work will be handed over to us, and it will be foolproof." ”

The existence of the "Tianjin" is a top secret of the navy, and the foreign powers must not be allowed to know the details. Otherwise, if they find out that it is such a ghost, it is estimated that they will have to pour out of the nest and fill the coastal waters of China with hundreds of warships. That's crazy, the current Yang Navy can't bear it at all!

However, some news will definitely get out, and Yang Hao's side has also formulated countermeasures early. Just when the dust of the East China Sea War had settled, while informing the outside world of the good news that "the Chinese Navy had once again defeated the conspiracy of the great powers", a huge exhibition of industrial achievements was organized in Tianjin. Among them, a 200-ton gunboat using "the most advanced power equipment" soared back and forth from Dagu to Lushun in full view.

42 knots! A number against the sky! I'm afraid the highest speed ever recorded on the sea, and Yu Si was shocked to appear in front of him!

According to the young captain, if it weren't for the strength of the ship's hull and safety, the speed of the battleship could have been further improved, and it should not be a problem to exceed 45 knots!

Of course, even he himself didn't know that the ship was equipped with a modern version of the steam turbine from the 21st century, which was produced by the industrial steam power company jointly established by Yang's Group and Langya Iron and Steel, Jiangnan Heavy Industry and other enterprises.

In the face of the reporters, businessmen and even spy spies who were trying to find out what was going on like crazy, trying to figure out the way under various guises, Yang Hao led them to the commercial hall of the former American Concession very openly, and showed them a junk version of a steam turbine that could be made with the industrial standards of the early 20th century.

The so-called garbage version refers to the all-round shrinkage of material strength, processing accuracy, output power, service life, etc., and the power index given ranges from a minimum of 500 horsepower to a maximum of 2000 horsepower. As for the size of the machine, it can only be said that it is smaller than the existing three-rise steam engine. According to the power level of about 12,000 horsepower of contemporary 10,000-ton warships, it would be good if the total weight could be reduced by 1,000 tons.

And in terms of interior design, Yang Hao also specially limited the appearance of being extremely close to the Parson-style structure. Definitely do not give more advanced things. The same goes for the heat-pipe boilers that are equipped. All in all. Compared to the technology that the Brits have today. advanced by a distance of about five to ten years.

The most vicious thing is that he specially asked to strengthen the design of splicing and fixing key components, and people who are not industrial enough want to disassemble and reassemble it when they buy it back, which is maddening. Even if the craftsmanship is high enough to be reluctantly restored, the performance will drop sharply as a result, not to mention the shortening of life span.

This trick came from the world's 70s, when the British Rolls-Rodis-Sby engine was introduced in China. The British made a fuss on the drawings, leaving a lot of black holes. Now, it's Yang Hao's turn to be bad, take the lead of the British, and disgust those gray grandsons. Dig out the big pit again, and stare at a group of foreign devils jumping in one by one!

There is no doubt that the unveiled version of the junk version of the steam turbine has never been more wildly popular! This thing has a wide range of uses, such as power generation, industry, and marine. These three categories involve the center of the core of energy and power, and no one can avoid it. One can greatly promote the process of the electrification industrial revolution. Second, it can make a great progress for maritime power, especially naval ships, to make earth-shaking progress!

Yang Hao enthusiastically declared that as long as the steam turbine of Yanhuang Group is used, no matter how big your ship can be, it can easily advance to a speed of more than 20 knots, and the continuous working time is as long as 20 hours. This means that the current capital battleship can maneuver around the enemy at high speed in naval battles for almost a whole day!

Speed is combat effectiveness!

As a result, the reborn cousin of the Chinese Navy had a convincing answer, and a large number of spies from various countries lurking in Tianjin all went crazy, desperately exposing the danger of their identities, and reported this earth-shattering news to China through various channels.

At the same time, orders from all sides poured into Yang Hao's front like a tide, and the large number made Song Yunsheng, the general manager of the bank, who was accustomed to seeing money, look black and dizzy!

When the price was set, Song Yunsheng and the others looked at the staggering numbers on the quotation list, and wondered if anyone could accept it, it was really too expensive!

Yang Hao pointed out to them with a commanding attitude: "Power equipment is the source of a qiē industry. A power plant, a ship, and a power system account for a third of the total investment. The British's 'Sovereign-class battleships' cost 1.1 million pounds, and you can calculate for yourselves, how much does it cost just for engines, boilers, etc.? ”

Battleships, it's money piled up! The cost of the "Sovereign-class" battleship is equivalent to 7.3 million taels of silver. One-third of the cost will have to be around 2.4 million - this is still the local price in the UK! If it was sold to the Qing Kingdom a few years ago, the British would dare to ask for a price of 10 million taels. You can imagine how profitable it is!

Basically, the engine is made of silver, and that's right.

Even in modern times, the hull, power, weapons, and electronics of a warship account for a quarter each, and the power system is always the largest. In the industrial age, whoever can seize the opportunity will always occupy the fattest piece of the cake.

More importantly, the development of power equipment will directly promote the all-round upgrading of industrial production, the most obvious is the British steam engine in the early industrial revolution, the American steam turbine in the early twentieth century and the diesel engine in Germany, and the later gas turbine. Without exception, as long as the country that has achieved excellence in the core field of power will not fall behind in the position of industrial countries.

For negative examples, you don't need to look for others, just look at the Celestial Empire. In the last few decades of the Qing Dynasty, the Westernization Movement could still make steam engines, but after the golden decade of the Republic of China, Nima regressed! Within a few years after the establishment of the new dynasty, the shortcomings of the steam engine were made up, but the steam turbine was unable to catch up because of the generation difference in materials and processes. As for sending Mr. Wu Zhonghua and others, a world-class bull, to sweep the streets, and let Shu Xingbei bother calculating how to flush the toilet more efficiently, let's not talk about it.

All in all, after the eighties, everyone was finally able to go out and see the world, and when they looked up, they were stunned to find that Nima was so far behind! If I want to organize research again, I found that the group of capable people are dying of old age, and the key is that they have no money, no equipment, and no rectification!

Spending money to introduce, foreign devils make all kinds of difficulties, and they want to set a threshold at a high price and leave one hand to dig a big pit, and do everything they can. In the midst of hardships and hardships, it was difficult to persevere until the 21st century and enter the threshold of world trade, which accumulated enough strength to make a comprehensive breakthrough.

But the problem is that by this time, all kinds of power machinery have developed to the extreme. The great powers have long formed patent barriers that are so tight that there are no gaps. You want to tear a gap out of it. Hardly possible. This is why in key areas such as gasoline engines, diesel engines, electric motors, and steam turbines, China has been slow to produce independent intellectual property achievements that can boost the morale of the Chinese people.

There are many reasons, one is that the comprador bureaucrats who occupy the upper reaches of the resources do not want to forge ahead, how to fool how to come, "without the scale of 2 million cars, we can't support independent research and development" This kind of argument is all over the street, even if they are slapped in the face, people and officials do it, and the road is blocked.

And then there is no way out. Any kind of R&D will encounter patent barriers, and it is better to imitate or introduce it than to work research, which is a constraint of conditions.

Fortunately, in the fields of military jet power and further scramtherapy, advanced nuclear power, etc., everyone can shamelessly steal from each other, but can find a glimmer of life. So in the first decade of the 21st century, military fans who have been persecuting for decades are finally happy to see that one advanced driving force after another is breaking through one after another, and the dawn of curing "heart disease" is getting brighter and brighter. It is expected that in the second decade, encouraging results will be obtained.

It's been a long way. How hard!

Looking back at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the British Empire was as glorious as ever. Its total industrial volume may be surpassed by that of the United States, but it has always been far ahead in the field of industrial research and manufacturing. The warships of all countries that roam the oceans are always the most advanced and the most numerous in Britain. They can launch more than a dozen types of battleships and cruisers in a row for twenty years, and the large number makes everyone chase and sigh, but there is nothing to be done.

To support such a large expense, the money must be large. In addition to the hundreds of years when the British pirates plundered the world, the rapid expansion of their own industrial hematopoietic capacity was also one of the key factors.

Yang Hao wants to drive the rise of China in a different time and space, and the competition with the great powers must cover all directions, and this power center cannot be bypassed no matter what.

The news of the world's fastest steamship has attracted the attention of the whole country, and Yang Hao has received orders totaling hundreds of millions, and less than an hour later, this heavy news appeared on the desks of the leaders of the great powers and even the admirals.

British Admiralty, in the Office of the Admiralty.

Including the Secretary of the Admiralty, George. Lord Hamilton, First Sea Lord, Admiral Arthur Murphy. Sir Hood, Vice Admiral A.H. Hoskins, Second Sea Lord, Rear Admiral J.O. Hopkins, Naval Examiner, Rear Admiral C.F. Hotham, and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary A.B. Foward, as well as William White, Director of Naval Shipbuilding, and John W. Hawks, Director of Naval Ordnance and Third Sea Secretary. A large group of decision-making figures of the British Royal Navy, including Admiral Fisher, gathered and stared at the telegram in front of them with solemn expressions.

Lord Hamilton's face was pale, and he clearly showed a look of old decadence. If the follow-up intelligence proves that what the message said is true, then this time the plan of the navies of the united countries to kill the Chinese warships has failed miserably again! The damage may be smaller than the last time, but the impact is many times greater. There are no surprises that he will step down because of this.

Even so, he still fought hard and stood on the last shift. Looking around at everyone, he said slowly: "Gentlemen, let's not discuss the authenticity of the battle report first, but focus on judging how much the use of this steam turbine will bring to the current capital warship, and the countermeasures we need to take." ”

Everyone's attention immediately focused on the authoritative designer, shipbuilding director William. Sir White, and the Director of Naval Ordnance John Brown. General Fisher's face.

There is no doubt that the two of them have the most say in this regard.

William. Sir White raised his pale eyebrows and said succinctly: "If the steam turbine were to be replaced for the 'Majesty Class', I think she could easily break the speed of 20 knots and maintain that speed for more than ten hours. ”

The "Majesty-class battleship" is the most outstanding work of his life, and theoretically speaking, it is also the most advanced battleship in the world. However, the failure of two consecutive naval battles will inevitably lead to a discount.

General Fisher followed: "If the news is true, then the question of the performance of Chinese warships has been greatly improved and the speed of the ship has been accelerated. Regardless of how the Chinese built this advanced machine, I judge that they must have used steam turbines with an output of more than 3,000 horsepower, or even higher, on their ships! According to our understanding of the performance of Parson's latest products, this engine has an extremely amazing performance for increasing power output, reducing equipment space and weight, speeding up warships, and so on. ”

Hearing this, the adults couldn't help but let out a slight commotion. And almost subconsciously, they believed the judgment of the two experts.

Without him, the Royal Navy has suffered an unprecedented defeat in the Far East in the last two years. In particular, the loss of the "Sovereign-class" battleships was simply a slap in the face of their whole. But for a long time, they could not find enough evidence to prove that the Chinese Navy had suddenly become stronger, and it was impossible to convince the public by relying on the statement that "Krupp leaked artillery technology".

Later, they judged that the Chinese Navy was the first to realize the improvement of the rapid fire of the barrel on the main guns of the battleship, so the question of the rate of fire was also answered. But what about speed? How to explain it?

Today, they may have found the most reliable one.

"Finally, we can explain to the two members and the opposition." Several naval ministers quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Britain is also one of the world's largest bureaucratic countries, and the bureaucrats at the top are best at stealing profits and passing the buck. The Navy's successive failures require not only someone to be the scapegoat, but the best way to find a convincing excuse.

Today's telegram is undoubtedly a good answer. Then, even if they are immediately confronted with the challenge of another fiasco, they have something to say.

Lord Hamilton nodded softly: "Well, according to that, China actually already has two fully optimized main warships. Extra-thick armor, terrifying main guns, and incredible speed, this qiē constitutes an absolute superiority. ”

"Yes, it is!" The crowd chimed in.

Sir Hood, First Sea Lord, frowned and asked: "There is no need to discuss what has already happened, we must solve a problem at present, the Royal Navy of the British Empire, what should we do?" I definitely don't want to see the Chinese warships flaunting their might. The whole sea of the world is ours! ”

He was domineering and arrogant, and everyone took it for granted.

William. Sir White was silent for a moment, and then said categorically: "Abandon the existing ship design, we must try to improve it with all our might!" ”

"Yes!"

"Agreed!"

"It's long overdue!"

The stars in the audience let out exciting cries.

William. Sir White's old eyes shone brightly, and he only felt a long-lost power surging in his chest. If there is a challenge, and that is good, then let everyone see how the British Empire has ruthlessly crushed its enemies who tried to challenge its dignity to the ground!

A few days later, the Admiralty quickly approved a proposal to rebuild four more "Majestic-class" battleships that had already begun laying keels, and to design a new powerful battleship.

That day is called the beginning of a new round of shipbuilding competition in the world! (To be continued......)