Even though he has been the emperor for many years, Wu Haoxuan is still not a stubborn and conceited person. Although, he traveled from later generations and had a vision that most people in this era did not have. But on many issues, he is also not a professional. Leave the specialized work to the professionals, so that the problem can be better solved. Only in this way will the empire be able to develop rapidly and become stronger and stronger.

The marshal of the Navy Minister Sa Zhenbing is indeed an inspiration for Wu Haoxuan. After the empire extorted huge wealth from the Japanese, the gap in funds was not large. In addition, the war in Europe was becoming more and more intense, and the empire began to sell all kinds of war materials to the warring sides in order to obtain more profits. If this continues, the empire's wealth will accumulate more and more, and its financial resources will become more and more abundant.

Although, sooner or later, battleships will become obsolete. But at this time, and even for more than a decade to come, it will remain the most powerful weapon at sea, the crystallization of the highest level of industrialization of a country. It was necessary for the Imperial Navy to maintain a strong array of battleships for a long time.

"Well, Lord Sa, you convinced me." Wu Haoxuan said with a smile.

"Your Majesty Shengming!" Marshal Sa Zhenbing finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Wu Haoxuan was determined to reduce the size of the capital ship formation, then he really had no way at all. With Wu Haoxuan's current prestige, as long as he gave an order, no one could stop him. Even if Sa Zhenbing was unwilling, he had to follow Wu Haoxuan's will. It can be said that by now, the emperor Wu Haoxuan has been deified.

"So, what's next for the Admiralty?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Your Majesty, the Admiralty hopes to be able to complete the construction of the two 'Nagato-class' battleships and the two 'Kaga-class' battleships acquired from Japan first. The four battleships of these two levels were all built by the Japanese. We just need to outfit and you're good to go. The cost is less than half of the normal construction of four battleships. Merely. Both the 'Nagato-class' battleships and the 'Kaga-class' battleships had flaws in their design. Therefore, the Imperial Navy hopes that the construction of our self-designed super battleships will begin. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

Wu Haoxuan's brows couldn't help frowning, the Admiralty did have a great appetite, not only to build all the four battleships transferred by the Japanese, but also to build new battleships on its own. That's the case. The Admiralty's expenses in the next few years will certainly be significant.

"Does the Admiralty already have blueprints for the next class of battleships?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Your Majesty, we have completed the design drawings and have been verified." Marshal Sa Zhenbing immediately took out the simple drawings from his briefcase and handed them to Wu Haoxuan.

The Admiralty plans to build a battleship of the next class, with a length of 186 meters, a width of 31.5 meters, a draft of 9.8 meters, and a full load displacement of 42,000 tons. Equipped with the latest heavy oil boilers and steam turbines. This allowed the speed of the battleship to be maintained at more than 25 knots. Armed with three triple 45 times caliber 410 mm main guns, two in the front and one in the rear, knapsack design. In addition, there were 16 155-mm secondary guns, 12 88-mm rapid-fire guns. The thickness of the side waterline armor reached 406 mm, the deck armor was 75 mm, the main turret armor and the conning tower armor were 406 mm.

I have to admit that such a first-class battleship is indeed the most powerful battleship in the world today. Powerful firepower. Even the Japanese Navy's 'Nagato-class' battleships and 'Kaga-class' battleships could not surpass them. The Nagato-class battleships were planned to deploy four twin 45-caliber 410mm guns. The Kaga-class battleships were planned to deploy five twin 45-caliber 410 mm guns.

From the point of view of defense, the new first-class battleships of the Imperial Navy had a great advantage. Plus the superiority of the Imperial Navy in terms of fire control systems. From the point of view of comprehensive strength, the new first-class battleships of the Imperial Navy are definitely the most powerful.

Of course, Wu Haoxuan seemed to be a little dissatisfied with the main guns adopted on the new first-class battleship. The main guns used by the Imperial Navy before were all 50 times the caliber main guns. Compared to the 45 times caliber main gun. The 50-caliber main gun has a more powerful armor-piercing ability. Of course, long-barreled artillery also generally has the disadvantages of short life and complex casting process. However, in naval warfare, greater armor-piercing capabilities can undoubtedly pose a more formidable threat to enemy ships.

"Lord Sa. Has our own 410-mm gun already been completed? Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Your Majesty, after absorbing the technology of the German side, we have come up with an experimental 410 mm main gun. It is expected that in another year it will be possible to come up with a full-fledged 410-mm gun. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

In this regard, the empire, through years of hard work, has successfully caught up with Europe and reached the advanced level in the world. This is something to be proud of. You know, even the British Navy is conducting tests on the 406-mm gun. However, the British Navy's 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships and 'Revenge' battleships were armed with 381mm guns instead of 406mm guns.

"However, the main guns of the next class battleships are equipped with 45 times the caliber, why not 50 times the caliber? The 50 times caliber main gun is also a little more powerful. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Your Majesty, increasing the difficulty from 45 times the caliber to 50 times the caliber is not half a star. If you have to wait until the 410-mm gun of 50 times the caliber, it is expected to be at least three years later. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

Wu Haoxuan hesitated for a moment, and then said: "It's okay, the next level of battleships will wait until two years later to start construction." After the development of a 50-mm gun with a caliber of 410 times, it was just in time. In this way, the development speed of the Imperial Navy can also be controlled a little. The financial pressure will not be too great. ”

Marshal Sa Zhenbing opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, just nodded and adopted Wu Haoxuan's plan. After all, Wu Haoxuan did not ask not to build this class of battleships, but only asked to increase the ratio of the main gun a little.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Marshal Sa Zhenbing nodded.

"How many battleships of this type are planned to be built in the Navy?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Your Majesty, we plan to build five battleships of this type just like the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships. In the future, this type of battleship and the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships will become the main fleet of the Imperial Navy. Before the aircraft carrier formed combat effectiveness, it became a sharp weapon to ensure the overseas interests of the empire. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

"Five? There are too many of them. In this way, let's build three. There were already 'Five Emperor-class' battleships before, and another 'Three Emperor-class' battleships were available. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Three?" Two ships were cut, and Marshal Sa Zhenbing was a little dissatisfied. However, after thinking about it, I compromised. After all, there were also two 'Nagato-class' battleships and two 'Kaga-class' battleships from Japan.

The total cost of the 'Three Emperor-class' battleships was as high as 40 million Chinese dollars. Even if three ships are built, it will cost a full 120 million Chinese dollars. However, it was determined that construction would start after two years, and the financial pressure on the empire would not be so great.

The first ship of the 'Three Emperors' class battleships was named 'Fuxi', the second ship was named 'Shennong', and the third ship was named 'Xuanyuan'.

"Your Majesty, the Admiralty plans to begin the construction of the 'Nagato-class' battleships acquired from Japan at the end of the year. At the end of next year, construction of the Kaga-class battleships will begin. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

"I think it would be nice for the Navy to continue building the 'Nagato-class' battleships. As for the hull of the 'Kaga-class' battleship, it can be mothballed there. In the future, it will be converted into an aircraft carrier. Wu Haoxuan explained his intentions.

Marshal Sa Zhenbing was immediately dumbfounded, and after working for a long time, not only was the plan for the construction of a new class of battleships curtailed. Even the four battleships that we got from the Japanese had to be cut by two!

"Judging from the current size of the capital ships of the countries of the world, the empire is already at the forefront of the world. Five powerful battleships with 381 mm guns, plus five powerful battleships with 410 mm guns, were enough to ensure the power of the Imperial Navy. Wu Haoxuan said.

The hulls of the two 'Kaga-class' battleships were used to transform into aircraft carriers, which was a plan that Wu Haoxuan had for a long time. There is no need for the Navy to build so many battleships, it is enough to get two from the Japanese and build three more on their own.

If you add the seventeen capital ships before the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Navy will have a total of twenty-two capital ships. Such a scale is already second only to the British Navy. Even the U.S. Navy can't compare. Unlike the British Navy, which had to defend the British Empire's colonies around the world, the U.S. Navy needed to take care of the bright oceans. The main force of the Imperial Navy was to defend the Empire's interests in the South Seas and the Pacific. Coupled with the Empire's investment in aviation weapons, as well as the Empire's research on the main force of future naval warfare, the Imperial Navy will always be at the forefront of the world.

After Marshal Sa Zhenbing hesitated for a moment, he still compromised and agreed to Wu Haoxuan's plan. After acquiring the hulls of the Nagato-class battleships of the Japanese Navy at the end of the year, construction began. Two years later, the construction of the 'Three Emperors-class' battleships began. Of course, because of the design, the 'Nagato-class' battleships could only continue to be built according to the design scheme of the Japanese Navy, that is, the scheme of four twin 45 times caliber 410 mm main guns. However, this class of battleships was to be renamed the 'Hirakai-class' battleships, the 'Nagato' was renamed 'Hirakai', and the 'Mutsu' was renamed 'Dinghai'. (To be continued.) )

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