The impact of the emergence of fast capital ships is very far-reaching, not only the major powers are thinking about their own fast warship plans, but even third-rate countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Turkey have begun to consider the future development trend of their navies. These small countries did not have enough strength to equip their fleets mainly with battleships, so they preferred to defend their territorial waters with multi-purpose armored cruisers, and the choice of both mobility and combat power became the strategy of their naval construction.

For example, in the history of Chile, the main force of Chile's "aggressive fleet" was the armored cruiser Oskins, the armored cruiser Esmeralda (the fourth battleship named after this name) and two protective cruisers of more than 4,000 tons, which constituted the main force, and was the first all-cruiser fleet in South America. As Chile's enemy, Argentina has invested a considerable amount of money in the installation of cruisers, and the four Garibaldi-class armored cruisers have become a veritable treasure of the Argentine Navy. Confrontation with Chile's "aggressive fleet" on the oceans of South America.

In the face of the Argentine Navy's 4 Donkey Kongs, the Chileans suddenly felt that their 2 armored cruisers were too thin, and even with the addition of the 1st and 2nd Pratt ironclads, they were still at a disadvantage and felt quite unsafe. So, historically, after 1900, Chile decisively decided to order two second-class battleships from the British.

THIS 10,000-TON BATTLESHIP, EQUIPPED WITH 4 10-INCH 50L GUNS AND 14 190MM GUNS, CAN ACTUALLY RUN AT A HIGH SPEED OF NEARLY 20 KNOTS, IN FACT, AT THIS MOMENT, THIS BATTLESHIP ALREADY HAS SOME VAGUE ATTRIBUTES OF A BATTLE CRUISER. TO KNOW THAT SOME OF THE MAIN GUNS ON GERMAN BATTLESHIPS AT THAT TIME WERE ONLY 240MM, IF YOU COUNT THE PROJECTION VOLUME. The projection capacity of the two agile classes was much higher than that of many battleships of the time. In terms of armor, agility is more than 2 inches thinner than normal battleships, so agility and battle cruisers are the same in terms of emphasizing speed and firepower and weakening protection. Of course, historically, with the reconciliation of Chile and Argentina, these two warships did not end up in the combat sequence of the Chilean Navy. Instead, it joined the combat sequence of the British Navy.

And with the arrival of Xu Jie, this plane appeared in advance. The armored cruisers of various countries are still as worthless as they have been in history, and third-rate naval states must keep up with the times if they want to ensure their own security. Chile and Argentina have begun to think about their future plans, as for whether it will be canceled with the reconciliation of the two countries as in history, Xu Jie does not know, but there is a news that makes Xu Jie feel a little uneasy!

"The Dutch Navy is recently working on a design demonstration of a new warship. Proposals have already been sent to France and the United States. The Dutch military attaché to France visited well-known French shipyards such as the Mediterranean Iron Works a week ago, while in the United States, the Dutch ambassador to the United States also discussed the possibility of further cooperation between the two navies. A document sent from the Ministry of Intelligence made Xu Jie faintly feel a little bad.

"It seems that the Dutch have finally decided to stand on the opposite side of China. But that's fine, the provincial Huaxia went to find an excuse. Xu Jie smiled slightly, in the 19th century, the Dutch finally gave up the competition for the sea, but used the last trace of national strength to the Dutch East Indies, the Netherlands last colony, from 1880 onwards. The main force of the Dutch Navy was a variety of inshore gunboats and cruisers of about 3,000 tons, if according to historical records. The main fleet of the Netherlands at this time was supposed to be 6 3000-ton protective cruisers and 3 inshore gunboats. Of course, this force will increase the capacity of five near-shore armored ships of about 5,000 tons by 1905. The fastest is less than 17 knots, but it is cheap and durable.

But with the arrival of Xu Jie, the Dutch did not start construction of those warships of less than 4,000 tons around 1894 according to the historical plan, but continued to use the old ships that have been in service for more than ten years or even more than 20 years. The Dutch are not necessarily as vulnerable as they seem!

Although the sea coachmen who once crossed the ocean in the 16th century have declined, and although the once powerful fleet and the huge transport fleet that accounted for more than the average in Europe have disappeared into the long river of history with the passage of time, the Netherlands at this time is far from being weakened to the extent that they cannot fight back, they must be waiting for something, an opportunity!

Xu Jie has been planning for the Dutch East Indies for a long time. This was planned as early as after he crossed, when the manipulation of the Beiyang Fleet to deter the Netherlands was only the first step, and then for nearly a decade, Xu Jie supported the Chinese and overseas Chinese who had dominated the economic life of the East Indies, fundamentally hollowed out the economy of the colony, and influenced the colony in various ways. According to Xu Jie's plan, after the final settlement of Russia, between 1905 and 1918 will be the time period for China's expansion to Southeast Asia.

Xu Jie is 100% sure that the Dutch must be very clear about Huaxia's intentions, although they don't know the timetable of Huaxia and don't know how Huaxia will deal with them, but the Dutch are sure that Huaxia will not bypass them, whether it is the blood debt in the past or the current interests, the conflict between Huaxia and the Netherlands will be inevitable. No one will sit still, and even less as a country. But it will definitely not work brutely, as far as the Dutch family is concerned, if they are pulled out to fight, it will only be a matter of a few days for the Huaxia fleet to dispose of them.

And now, the Netherlands, which has always been isolated and helpless, seems to have finally waited for an opportunity, on the one hand, in consideration of interests, the Russians want to join forces with the Netherlands against the Chinese navy. With the addition of a heavyweight from the Russian Navy, the Netherlands' chances of victory have obviously improved a lot. On the other hand, with the replacement of warships, the value of old combat ships has been greatly reduced, and at this time it is no longer measurable by tonnage alone. The major naval powers are facing great changes, and their former strength will be greatly reduced, even the King-class armored cruisers and PISA-class armored cruisers of the modern Huaxia fleet are a little outdated, and at this time, if the Netherlands catches up, it is not impossible to defeat Huaxia with the Russian fleet.

"It looks like the Netherlands needs to be on guard." Xu Jie smiled bitterly. Faced with this situation, Xu Jie had no way to immediately attack the Netherlands. The elite of the Chinese army was concentrated in the northeast, and although the navy could destroy the Dutch colonial fleet, it could not eventually turn it into its own place, and the British did not want the current China to develop in the direction of Southeast Asia. Meals must be eaten in one bite, and battles must be fought one after another. Take your time.

At this time, the first design of a fast battleship from France was sent to the desk of the Dutch Admiralty. "This class of battlecruisers, codenamed Amsterdam, was a copy of the French Navy's design of a fast battleship for the Russians. IT IS ARMED WITH 8 274MM GUNS, OF WHICH TWO TWIN 274MM GUNS ARE PLACED AT THE BOW AND STERN, AND THE OTHER 4 274MM SINGLE GUNS ARE ARRANGED IN THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE HULL. The main armor belt is 8 inches behind, the speed reaches more than 23 knots, and the total tonnage reaches 16,000 tons. That's all for now. A Dutch naval lieutenant commander introduced.

"What is not the popular firepower axis layout now? IN THIS CASE, ON THE BATTLE LINE WE WILL HAVE 2 274MM GUNS THAT WILL NOT WORK. The Dutch Minister of the Navy said with some dissatisfaction.

"There are no dreadnoughts in the current French plan, whether it is a battleship or a battlecruiser. Because of the high speed, the hull of the battlecruiser was stretched to accommodate more boilers and steam turbines, and if the turret was continued to be arranged in the central shaft, the hull would be further elongated, and the width of the battleship had to be limited to a strict range due to tonnage limitations, which would further reduce the seaworthiness of the hull. The lieutenant colonel paused and continued.

"And at the request of the Russians, it is necessary to increase the mine protection of warships. So the hull had to be wide enough to have enough buffer zones, in which case the width of the hull had to be guaranteed, the firepower had to be as balanced as possible, and most importantly, our tonnage was very limited, and the French couldn't get steam turbines for the time being. You know, the British and the French don't have a good relationship, and now only the British have it. The lieutenant colonel introduced.

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, you should know that the future fate of the Netherlands is in our hands, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands has entrusted the navy with the wealth accumulated over decades. If we fail, then the rich colony in the Far East will eventually become someone else's territory, and then the Kingdom of the Netherlands will completely sink and we will have no future. There is no hope for us. The Dutch Minister of the Navy said with a sigh.

"We also commissioned the Americans, and they would send the design in a matter of months, and we could see how the Americans' product looked. However, one thing that needs to be clarified is that the Americans still don't have steam turbines, so there are bound to be some problems with performance. The lieutenant colonel thought for a moment and said.

"In the United States, however, I met Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, who suggested that if the Kingdom of the Netherlands ordered warships at American shipyards, he could lobby American banks to lend us money. And it is possible to defer payment. The lieutenant colonel said.

"It seems that the Americans want to use the Netherlands and Russia as gunmen. Roosevelt really held a grudge. The Dutch Admiral couldn't help but smile bitterly, the meaning of the Americans is already very clear, to paraphrase the words of Xu Jie's era, it is a proxy war.

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