Chapter 269: Navy Separation

What unfolded in front of Wang Yuze's eyes was a small submarine that was only 20 meters long, two meters wide and four meters high, with a draft of less than two meters. The two ends of the submarine are pointed, like a slender oval, and there is no drop-shaped submarine like the later generations. However, this was already a very good design at the end of the 19th century. Of course, this is only the first prototype, and it is difficult to say what the real combat power will be.

"Your Majesty, this is the design office of this submarine, Engineer Wei Kun. Is he at Barclays? The design of this submarine was completed under the guidance of Mr. Smit. Let him introduce you to the performance of this submarine! Wei Han introduced.

Wang Yuze nodded, this engineer named Wei Kun was just a twenty-year-old with small hair, a little thin, and at the same time, it was estimated that it was the first time he saw the emperor, and he looked very nervous.

"Your Majesty, this is the first submarine we have designed, named 'Jiaolong'. The submarine has a displacement of 27 tons on the surface and 55 tons underwater, is 20 meters long, two meters wide, 4 meters high and has a draft of two meters. The maximum depth of the dive is 0 meters. Propelled by two 20-horsepower diesel engines and two electric motors, the water speed is knots for large speeds and underwater for knots. Armament is door 450 mm torpedo tubes. Wei Kun introduced to Wang Yuze.

"Have you tried your flight?" Wang Yuze asked.

"It's been a sea trial! There's still a lot to improve! Wei Kun said.

"Very good, you did a good job, overall, I am quite satisfied with the 'Jiaolong'. However, I have to make a big request of you. In terms of the displacement of the submarine, it is too small. Not to mention conducting ocean-going operations, it is difficult to undertake even near-sea operations. In addition, the speed of the submarine is too slow, so it can be increased to more than 0 knots, and the depth of the dive should be more than 50 meters. In addition, the armament was changed to two 5-mm heavy torpedoes, which could pose a threat to the battleships! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we will work hard to improve!" Wei Kun said.

"Work hard, until you improve. When the trial is successful, I will award you a certificate of honor and knight. I'm looking forward to you becoming the 'father of submarines' of the Chinese Navy! Wang Yuze patted Wei Kun on the shoulder and said.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely succeed!" Wei Kun said excitedly. Being able to get Wang Yuze's personal encouragement and commitment made him very excited. After that, he threw himself into the transformation of submarines, and two years later, he finally designed the first submarine that could be used in actual combat, and Wang Yuze also named him the Imperial Earl.

After visiting the battleships and submarines of the North Sea Shipyard. Wang Yuze convened a meeting of the top officials of the Admiralty in the conference room of the shipyard.

"Submarines this weapon, although temporarily because of performance reasons. It can't be put into actual combat yet, but with the continuous progress of science and technology, submarines that can be used in actual combat will be designed. When the time comes, everyone must fully understand the role of this type of weapon, which will be a sharp weapon for us to catch up with the powerful country in Shanghai in a short period of time! Wang Yuze said to everyone.

"Your Majesty! The current battleships have a speed of more than 5 knots, and our 'Zhonghua-class' battleships have a speed of more than 20 knots, while the speed of submarines is too slow, even if they can reach 0 knots. I'm afraid it's far from catching up with the capital ships! In addition, the range of the torpedo is only two to four thousand meters, and it is estimated that it is difficult to pose a threat to the capital ship! Fleet Commander Deng Shichang was the first to raise objections. After the Chinese navy defeated the Japanese Combined Fleet, he had become a believer in the theory of giant ships and cannons, believing that battleships were the guarantee of victory after victory, and as for the rest, there were some crooked methods. If it weren't for Wang Yuze's point of view, he would have scoffed a long time ago!

"Commander Deng. I never said that I wanted submarines to compete with battleships head-on. Submarines have never been a weapon to compete with other warships. Its power lies in its stealth and its ability to attack suddenly. Like what. Submarines, generally a number of submarines ambush in the fleet's only way, when the fleet passes, they dive underwater to attack, and then evacuate from the water, unaware, who can resist? Or ruthlessly, it is to ambush outside the Empire's naval base, and once an enemy warship leaves the port, it will launch an attack, or even directly enter the enemy's military port and sink all the enemy's warships with heavy torpedoes. Wang Yuze said.

After Deng Shichang and the others heard Wang Yuze's strategy, their faces immediately turned pale. If that's the case, then it's really impossible to guard against these elusive submarines. Although this style of play is a bit of a scoundrel, in the war, as long as he can win, it doesn't matter if his means are justified or not. Everyone suddenly felt that such a thing as a submarine seemed to be able to play an unpredictable role for them!

"Your Majesty, but the performance of the current submarine is far from meeting the needs of combat!" Li Ding also said.

"Therefore, we must increase our research in this area and strive to build submarines that meet our needs as soon as possible. When the time comes, if we build a powerful submarine fleet, we will even have the strength to compete with the British Navy! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Naval Equipment Department will definitely increase its investment in submarine research!" Wu Dezhang, director of the Naval Equipment Division, said immediately. Through Wang Yuze's explanation, he also fully realized that submarines are indeed a powerful underwater weapon, and if the Chinese Navy is equipped with advanced submarines, who else will be the opponent of the Chinese Navy within the four seas?

Although the current Chinese navy is not very strong, they have long set it a goal to surpass the British navy, which is the first in the world. And the appearance of submarines seems to allow them to achieve this goal early, which of course has attracted their attention.

"Your Majesty, since the submarine is so powerful, we have to find a way to be prepared. If other countries also have submarines, it will be a huge threat to us! Fleet Commander Deng Shichang said.

"In the future, our naval bases must be equipped with anti-submarine defense under water, and the main ships of the Navy must also increase their defense against torpedoes. In addition, destroyers have also increased their protection in this regard, and if they find torpedoes from other countries, they will sink them immediately! Wang Yuze said. Today's submarines can't dive underwater for a long time, and if they are discovered by destroyers, they can't be destroyed with depth charges or the like.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Deng Shichang nodded. Before a weapon can equip the troops, it is necessary to find a way to counter it, so that it can be invincible.

"Also, there is one more important thing to say today. The MIA is almost ready, and next, it's time for the Navy. As for the naval fleet, I intend to divide the existing navy into two, the home fleet and the Pacific fleet. The main task of the home fleet is to fight against Japan and protect the homeland. The Pacific Fleet is guarding our interests in the Pacific! Wang Yuze said to everyone.

Everyone immediately became nervous, but they all knew what Wang Yuze meant. As early as two years ago, the Military Intelligence Agency and the Admiralty had begun planning to seize a base in the Pacific Ocean for the Chinese Navy, and this base was the Hawaiian Islands, 8,000 kilometers from China. For the past two years, the military intelligence and the navy have been making preparations, and now the preparations have been completed.

"Minister Zhang, you can tell everyone the detailed plan!" Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Cheng said. He spread out the text in his hand, glanced at everyone and began to read: "In order to meet the needs of the Empire's future naval operations, the naval fleet is divided into the Home Fleet and the Pacific Fleet. The home fleet was commanded by Admiral Deng Shichang, and the chief of staff was Rear Admiral Li Haitao. Vice Admiral Li Ding is the commander of the Pacific Fleet, and Rear Admiral Gao Yi is the chief of staff. Among them, the main composition of the Pacific Fleet is the battleships 'Gaoyuan' and 'Qinghai', the heavy cruisers 'Chengdu', 'Chongqing', 'Kangding' and 'Lhasa', the light cruisers 'Panzhihua', 'Guangyuan', 'Bazhong' and 'Zigong', and the destroyers Beihai No. 1 to Beihai No. 16. Zhang Cheng read. Except for these warships assigned to the Pacific Fleet, the rest of the warships belonged to the home fleet. This division can be concluded that the home fleet is still important, because the home fleet has to face the rapidly rising Japanese navy. The Pacific Fleet, on the other hand, will face the United States. At this time, the United States was indeed not very strong in terms of military strength, and the strength of the Pacific Fleet was enough to form an overwhelming superiority over the US navy in the Pacific region.

"Your Majesty, now that our 'Zhonghua-class' battleships have not yet been put into service, if we transfer two battleships to leave, it will severely weaken our local strength. Otherwise, the "Plateau" and "Qinghai" will be assigned to the Home Fleet for the time being, and then they will be built into the Pacific Fleet after the war against Japan. Against the US Navy, four heavy cruisers are enough! Li Ding, commander of the Pacific Fleet, said.

"No need!" The Beijing-class heavy cruisers will be commissioned before the end of the year, and the combat power of the Beijing-class heavy cruisers is not far from that of the Japanese battleships, and we have a huge numerical superiority, which is completely overwhelming over small Japan. The 'Tianshui-class' light cruisers have also been commissioned, and the construction of the second batch of ten ships has also begun, and the strength of the home fleet will become stronger and stronger. It's just that this is only temporary, and after the defeat of Japan, the strengthening of the Pacific Fleet will begin. After all, if we take Hawaii, the Americans will certainly not rest on their laurels, and given America's industrial power, we must be fully prepared to withstand their counterattack! Wang Yuze said.

ps: Sorry, forgot to upload. The second arrives!

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