Chapter 774: Good Things Don't Necessarily Sell Well

The Army is busy, really busy. However, this is not about the combat troops, but the army management, with the end of the war, the demobilization of some personnel is certain, how to solve the employment problem of nearly 200,000 troops and logistics personnel is enough to annoy the War Department, let these battle-hardened soldiers return to the place like this is really a waste, but if they stay, the funds are relatively tight. So, this question was handed over to Xu Jie by Nie Shicheng and them.

"Look at your army, you're still worried about funding, and your navy has now begun to make money!" Xu Jie said with a smile. However, this problem is not a problem for Xu Jie at all, Xu Jie has already arranged for them, the newly added territory is too large, and there is no lack of fertile land, since as the largest contribution to the army, it is necessary to get the first month near the water, and the state can give a certain amount of land and support to the demobilized personnel who are willing to stay in the north or go to Nanyang. This can solve the employment problem of some people.

And for those who have some skills in their hands and are attached to the army and are reluctant to leave. Xu Jie will also have a way. There must be a force to maintain law and order on the Nanyang side, right? Just organize these people. The specific establishment is transferred from the army to the police, anyway, as long as the army's money is not spent, Nie Shicheng and they will be satisfied, as for the police? Anyway, Nanyang also needs a strong police force, and it is much better to let a veteran become a police officer than to start training yourself.

As Xu Jie said, when the army is reducing its strength and saving money, the navy has become self-reliant. I'm starting to figure out how to make money! The profits on the construction of battleships for the Germans and Turks were very low, since part of them was to compensate for the loss of two German battleships. If there is no government subsidy, I am afraid that the navy will be a pure loss. If the Turks and the Germans order 2 battleships. The navy doesn't make much money, but if you order 4 ships, then the next two are still very "money-promising"! However, the latter two warships are obviously a bit far away, and if you want to make money, you have to find other countries in a short time!

As a result, the business personnel of the Huaxia Naval Design Institute began to search non-stop in various countries, focusing on the three countries in South America. Historically, Chile, Argentina and Brazil have bought dreadnoughts. But it's hard to say who these orders will go to! And just when the Huaxia Navy was looking for customers, the three South American countries did have plans to buy new ships, as the richest countries in South America. Argentina first issued a tender for the country to equip two new battleships, hoping that countries that could afford it would come to the bidding.

The news quickly spread throughout the world through radio waves. Soon, except for the Chinese Republic. The British and Americans expressed interest in the order. And after seeing this news. Xu Jie can only admire the strength of the British shipbuilding industry, and the British shipbuilding has never lacked production capacity, only money! It seems that the original estimate of the British is still a little low, too strong! As for the Americans? It seems that you still have doubts about your shipbuilding capabilities? Looking for a country to practice with? Anyway, for whatever reason, Britain and the United States mixed up the bid

"We will build for your country a super battleship that surpasses all the warships in history, we call it super dreadnought, and we will build warships for your country completely according to our own standards, there will be no reservations. There will be no weakening. HE WILL BE ARMED WITH 10 NEW 343MM45L GUNS AND WILL USE A NEW STEAM TURBINE. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT SUCH A BATTLESHIP, ARMED WITH 10 343MM HEAVY GUNS AND CAPABLE OF RUNNING 22 KNOTS, WOULD BRING TO YOUR COUNTRY? And the cost of such a battleship is only 2.2 million pounds! The British side said.

Soon the United States also expressed its willingness to build a foreign trade ship for Argentina that imitated the Longxing-class battleship. And like the British, the Americans also said that the cost of the battleship would not exceed 2.2 million pounds, and the artillery could be selected from the 14-inch 45L main gun prepared by the United States, or 12 12-inch 50L main guns. Although the power is poor, the Americans said that our armor protection is quite good, and we can at least guarantee that the battleship has 11-inch armor at a height of 3.5 meters. The coverage area can reach 6% of the length of the hull!

The British and American warships can be said to have their own strengths in the eyes of the Argentines, and the British are powerful in firepower and speed, how to look at how the 10 343MM45L heavy guns are stronger than the Americans' 12 12-inch guns or 8 14-inch 45L guns. And the speed of 22 knots is indeed 1 to 2 knots higher than that of the American imperialist warships. As for the battleships of the Americans? On the one hand, the Americans hinted that the Argentines could provide some "help" in terms of payment methods and loans. On the other hand, the Americans actually said that they had an 11-inch armor belt that was high enough. That's quite tempting for Argentinians!

However, these rhetoric are very ridiculous in the eyes of Yan Boxun, the chief designer of Huaxia. "If Britain and the United States can have a conscience in selling foreign warships, then this conscience is too worthless." Yan Boxun said with a dark belly. The reason is simple, historically, the British were not kind to the warships used by their own country, how could they be kind to others? And what is even more incomprehensible is that the chief designer of dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts for the British Empire turned out to be a German from Incourt! It's hard to understand. And the number of warships he designed can be said to have almost pitted the Royal Navy for an era!

This guy designed the multi-turret creature Agincourt, the worst-defended Admiral LaTorre in the world, the worst-defended battlecruiser Prestige, the boo cruisers Glorious and Fury, and the Prime Minister's one-shot Hood, the Tin Skin cruiser Kent. Of course, after building so many garbage battleships, he still produced two more conscientious goods, one is an R-class battleship, and the other is a Nelson-class battleship known as the first of the 7.

The 7 turret relic, Agincoot, will not say much, everyone understands, as for the prestige, this crispy with a 15-inch gun does not need to be said. What really needs to be said is the super dreadnought Admiral Latorre, which was later sold to Chile, this battleship has a tonnage of about 28,000 tons, is equipped with 10 14-inch 45L main guns, and has a high speed of 22 knots, it seems that this ship is still relatively hot. But in fact, its protection performance has hit an all-time low, and it is known as the worst protection among the super dreadnoughts! If the Queen Mary had a soul in heaven, she could lament the injustice of God!

The main armor belt of this battleship was no more than 9 inches thick! It's actually the same standard as Agincoot, but the protection is not as good as this 7-turret holy relic, the latter's 9-inch armor is at least a large piece, the height is quite sufficient, at least the protection standard is also the level of a lion. But the Admiral Latorre's 9-inch armor is only 0.9 inches above the water, and the 7-inch armor on top of it is 7 inches! This is a real cheat! Not even some of the last outfits! But don't say that this thing is the most lucky, Jutland almost didn't get shot!

And wait until the end of the war, this battleship, which was originally scheduled for 2.5 million pounds (the British are really black enough, despise one first. When it was sold to Chile for only £1 million, the ship was worth the price in the eyes of later generations. ALTHOUGH THE ORDINARY SUPER DREADNOUGHT OF THE IMPERIAL EMPEROR IS KNOWN AS A MASTER ON PAPER, THERE IS ONLY ONE 300MM MAIN OUTFIT, BUT THERE IS ALSO A LARGE 9-INCH ARMOR ON IT. This shows the conscience of the British Emperor!

Therefore, even if the British imperialist really guarantees not to shrink, the protection of the battleship ordered by Argentina will not be very strong, and if the British imperialism secretly shrinks for you, then the final protection of this battleship with the name of dreadnought may shrink to the level of only patrolling! There are quite problems on the side of the British, and the same is no better on the side of the Americans! Although the Americans have guaranteed the thickness, height and length of the armor, there is a problem that the Americans' armor is Harvey armor, which appeared in 1890, and has been used for more than ten years. The price of using inferior armor is naturally cheaper.

Originally, according to the ideas of Yan Boxun and others, when they put the design and part of the drawings of the Huaxia "conscience" version of the foreign trade ship on the table, the Argentines could judge the good or bad between the three, although the plan of the Chinese Republic was obviously inferior in price, but the absolute conscience, artillery, protection and speed were not inferior at all, and the artillery could even choose from Krupp, Skoda and Vickers and other artillery. What the? You ask Huaxia its own artillery? Well, it hasn't been developed yet, and it is estimated that it will not be able to catch up with the speed of shipbuilding. Although the price is relatively high due to the purchase of some foreign components, the performance in all aspects is definitely conscience!

THIS TIME, IN ORDER TO MAKE A BRAND, THE HUAXIA NAVY ALSO SPECIALLY ADOPTED SUBDIVIDED COMPARTMENTS IN THE DESIGN OF THE ARGENTINE WARSHIP, AS WELL AS 320MM INCLINED ARMOR WITH A HEIGHT OF 4.2 METERS, PLUS AN ABSOLUTELY CONSCIENTIOUS UNDERWATER PROTECTION SYSTEM, THE PROTECTION LEVEL OF THIS BATTLESHIP IS DEFINITELY NOT INFERIOR TO THAT OF BAVARIA IN XU JIE'S PLANE! According to Xu Jie's own evaluation, even after 10 years, this battleship is definitely a qualified battleship! 100% conscience! If it is equipped with the Austro-Hungarian 350MM45L cannon, both the artillery and the shells are quite powerful. Isn't there anything to be picky about the offensive and defensive speed? Yan Boxun really can't find a reason to lose!

As a result, Yan Boxun still lost, he lost because he couldn't see the situation clearly! If it is said that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Russia, and Turkey buy warships because they are always ready to fight, the symbolic significance of the purchase of warships by the three South American countries is far greater than the actual combat significance. They are more concerned about the tonnage of this battleship, how to bluff people with firepower, as for protection or something? Can these things be seen at the surface? Can't see it? What's the use? And the price of Huaxia is a little too expensive, it is actually 2.5 million pounds, which is 300,000 higher than the quotations of Britain and the United States! If it's a piece of clothing, a symbol, what do you have to spend an extra £300,000 for?

As a result, Yan Boxun, who only understands technology, does not understand politics, and does not know much about business, is not good for his teacher! In the first round of bidding, Yan Boxun's design was directly eliminated, and then led to his own disgrace, Yan Boxun didn't have time to go around South America, so it was over!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~. (To be continued......)