London, Royal Navy Building.

In the spacious and luxurious office room, an elderly man in his sixties is sitting in the main seat of the middle to handle the official business at hand. Although most of his hair and beard had turned white, and his old face was full of signs of age, his energetic countenance and radiant eyes showed everyone who met him the impulsive and capable character that was unique to him.

As a veteran sailor who fought in the Royal Navy for half a century, the energetic and talented John? Fisher had the complete trust and absolute appreciation of King Edward VII. He rose from Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet to Second Sea Lord in 1902, then to First Sea Lord in 1904 after a year as Commander-in-Chief of the Portsmouth Fleet, officially becoming the number one navy on the planet. Under Fisher's leadership, the Royal Navy embarked on a vigorous modernization process in 1902. A large number of old ships that he called "Scrooge's garbage heap" were decommissioned and scrapped, and those who lingered in the drinking party, the horse farm, and the wind and moon were removed from the list; The young handsome man was rewarded and promoted, and the rapid development of science and technology was widely used in the navy. In just a few years, the Royal Navy swept away the depravity of pleasure and peace, and regained its vitality and sharpness as if it had been infused with fresh blood.

The wheels are wheeling, the horses' hooves are pleasant, and the spring mood even attracts the scattered birds to leap and cry on the street trees that line the bustling streets. Fisher listened to it, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a happy smile.

At this time, Fisher had no reason to be unhappy.

Since 1905. The World Navy's ability to penetrate armor can be greatly increased when the shell is mounted on the cap. Previously, the artillery shells were not capped), and the technology in the field of long-range fire control and the field of rate of fire of large-caliber artillery has made a significant leap. In the context of this technique. The second main guns were largely reduced to chicken ribs, and the new ships with all-heavy guns would play a dominant role in naval warfare that followed. After absorbing the most cutting-edge theories from Italy, he finally made the wisest choice between 254mm and 305mm.

A month ago, under his vigorous promotion, the battleship Dreadnought, equipped with 10 single large-caliber guns, appeared in front of the world in an almost invincible posture; And this intrepid that completed the hull construction in only 4 months is a testimony to the Royal Navy ahead of all countries in the world! The Vermont class of the United States, the Liberty class of France, the Pavel I class of Russia, and the Elena class of Italy have all become obsolete on the slipway, and they will be as weak as lambs under the claws of a wolf with 10 305mm guns. The only thing that made him feel a little regret was that the two Lord Nelson class ships built by Britain in May 1905 were also lost to the launch of the Dreadnought; This class of battleships with a standard displacement of more than 16,000 tons could have been designed with full heavy guns at the beginning of their design. It will undoubtedly be an advanced warship that is far superior to the Dreadnought.

In addition, another thing that made Fisher excited and fascinated was the successful launch of the Perfect Cruiser.

Just five days before the launch of the Dreadnought, another battleship belonging to the "Invincible" class, the Indomitable Battleship, was also laid at the Brown Shipyard in Clydeburn: the ship's slender and slender hull on the drawings, and its elegant, sleek shape surprised the shipyard executives in charge of construction. However, under the handsome appearance of this huge ship, there is a terrifying combat power that shocks the entire world: with 8 305mm guns, which far surpasses the fierce firepower of active battleships, it can even run at a speed of 25.5 knots faster than a cruiser! At a time when cruisers were only 19-26 knots, the 25.5-knot Indomitable could catch up with any cruiser in service with the Great Powers, and then crush and sink its target with its unimaginable heavy guns that were completely out of line with its speed. In a sense, this high-speed heavy artillery battleship has far surpassed the Dreadnought battleship in Fisher's heart.

Presently. Although the Royal Navy lost the complete control of the sea in the face of four or five navies at the same time, they still had an unshakable absolute supremacy at sea with a full 50 battleships and 38 cruisers of the first class. There is a huge difference between them and the second and third navies. In Fisher's view, no force had the strength to challenge the Royal Navy head-on, and the threat to Britain could only come from pirate patrols who plundered and disrupted the maritime trade routes. Impressed by the large number of ocean-going armored cruisers that France had built against the British, and the successful breakdown of the Essen patrol fleet in the Russo-Japanese War, Fisher was in desperate need of a sharp weapon that could completely solve this inexplicable obscene tactic; The current perfect cruiser is the ultimate artifact created by Fisher after British designers began to make full use of the tonnage of warships, using the concept of steam turbines and the appropriate size of warships. As for its armor, which is only at the level of an armored cruiser, it is completely a scum with a combat strength of only 5 compared to the Dreadnought, and it is gorgeously ignored by Fisher under the dazzling light of the Royal Navy's absolute strength. Come to think of it, the British Navy will only worry about not being able to catch its opponent, and it will never worry about not being able to sink its opponent!

Subsequent to Indomitable, contracts were signed for the construction of the Indomitable and Invincible, and Fisher could have woken up laughing at the sight of this "cat-like perfect and elegant" battleship speeding through the sea and sweeping away the vicious cruiser raiders with a thunderous force.

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"Jingle bell ......" The crisp sound of the doorbell disturbed Fisher's YY dreams, and he coughed and spat out a syllable in a deep voice. A moment later, a fat old man pushed the door in, it was none other than Charles, Fisher's right-hand man and current Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy? Durry. Seeing Durry coming, Fisher put down the documents in his hand and smiled, "Dear old Charles, is there anything wrong with you?" ”

To Fisher's surprise, his deputy's originally red face was now a little gray, and his face was as heavy as water, as if he had encountered an extremely difficult matter. Dory walked slowly up to Fisher and said, "John, do you remember the launching ceremony of the German battleship that you brought to my attention?" Fisher nodded when he heard this, as the initiator of this matter, he was naturally energetic and could not forget.

On February 17, 1906, a week after the completion of the hull construction of the British Dreadnought, the German government and navy began an overwhelming propaganda campaign for the launch of their new battleship, which drew the attention of the naval powers, who were still immersed in the colossal aftermath of the launch of the Dreadnought, to the attention of the German impending action. As a neighbor of Britain, it is impossible for Germany not to be unaware of the explosive news of the launch of the Intrepid on the cusp of the storm, and they must have a great grasp of the warship they had built in their previous secrets.

"Why, could it be that this group of jungle Hans on land has also built some great warships?" Seeing the deputy's solemn expression, Fisher suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart, and asked in a deep voice.

"According to the photos we took at the scene, this German battleship was about 480 feet long, the same width as the Dreadnought, and a full circle larger than the previous German battleships. German officials have released the benchmark data of the battleship named Silesia, which has a standard displacement of 16,750 tons, propelled by a 3-shaft reciprocating steam engine, and most importantly, the ship will be equipped with 5 twin 47 times the diameter of 11-inch main guns! ”

"10 11-inch guns?" Fisher's eyes widened, and he said in a tone full of disbelief.

Dury took out a few photographs from his bosom and lined them up in front of Fisher, which clearly reproduced the deck layout of the German battleship from a bird's-eye angle. He pointed to the circular holes in the photo and said, "These are the places where the Germans will equip the main turret in the future." Like our Dreadnought, they have one turret in the bow and one on each side, but the two turrets in the back are carried with the help of a long bow tower that is one level lower. It is clear that the Germans also built new battleships with full heavy guns, and the construction of this ship had apparently begun in the second half of 1904, otherwise it would not have been launched now. ”

Fisher stared at the black and white photographs in front of him, as if trying to find some clues out of them, but after a painful struggle, he slowly turned his gaze away from the horror that he had never expected. His eyes were slightly condensed, and he said softly, "I understand." The German battleships, due to the smaller caliber of their main guns, were easier to achieve rapid-fire than our 12-inch guns, so they were one step ahead of us and started construction of this type of battleship of the same type as the Dreadnought ahead of schedule. But...... Compared with our Dreadnought, the German Silesia is still much inferior. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward of the book friend Blood Soul 1937~