The Chinese Navy will start construction of four powerful battleships at one time, which will be a great shock to the whole of East Asia and even the world. The Chinese Navy now has eight capital ships, and if you add four more, it will be twelve. It is definitely a naval power second only to Britain, France and the United States. And, in the world, it will have a great influence.

As China's old enemy, the Japanese, of course, could not sit still. Originally, the Japanese Navy's 'Fuso-class' battleships were only planned to be built. However, the Chinese Navy actually started to build four battleships, which will make the balance of naval strength between China and Japan once again appear a huge reversal. If Japan does not catch up, they will not be able to guarantee defeat China in a future war.

As a result, the Japanese had no choice but to launch a new battleship construction plan. However, Japan's financial pressure is very high, and if two more battleships are built, it will cost hundreds of millions of yen. It would be difficult for the Japanese government to come up with this amount of money alone. As a result, the Japanese had to once again look to the West, hoping to get a loan.

At this time, Britain and France were preparing for war with all their might. For them, it was the Germans who met the challenge that mattered. If they are defeated in the future war, then they are all finished. So, all the resources had to be spent against the Germans.

Fortunately, the Chinese Empire was like a dumpling warship, which made the Americans extremely vigilant. On the one hand, the Americans have strengthened their naval strength, and on the other hand, they have increased their support for Japan and used Japan to contain China. Therefore, at a time when the Japanese lacked funds for the construction of battleships, the Americans immediately reached out. The U.S. government approved an emergency loan of $25 million, converted into yen. It's already 100 million yen. This money is almost enough for Japan to build two more 'Fuso-class' battleships.

However, the Japanese Navy did not continue to build the No. 3 and No. 4 ships of the 'Fuso-class' battleships, but improved the 'Fuso-class' battleships and made them separate into new battleships of the first class.

A new battleship, named the 'Ise class' battleship. The standing displacement is 29,990 tons, the full load displacement is 31,260 tons, the length is 208.1 meters, the width is 28.65 meters, and the draft is 8.74 meters. It adopts 24 oil-coal mixed boilers, two large steam turbines, four-shaft propulsion, a maximum power of 45,000 horsepower, and a maximum speed of 23 knots. It is armed with six twin 45-caliber 356 mm guns. 20 50x caliber 152 mm guns, 4 40x caliber 76 mm guns and six 533 mm underwater torpedo tubes.

Compared with the 'Fuso-class' battleships, the 'Ise-class' battleships are similar in appearance and not much different in overall performance. The biggest improvement was in the distribution of the six twin guns. The firepower of the 'Ise-class' is comparable to that of the 'Fuso-class', and it also has six twelve-mounted main guns of 356 mm with a diameter of 45 times, and there are many improvements in the ship type. The main correction was the arrangement of the six main turrets, with the Fuso-class turrets No. 3 and No. 4 located in front and behind the rear chimney, respectively, while the Ise-class had turrets No. 3 and No. 4 arranged in a piggyback arrangement behind the rear chimney. In this way, the six turrets are divided into three groups of knapsack guns, which are located in the head, middle and tail parts of the ship. This configuration is the same as that of the U.S. 'Wyoming-class' warships. This is more advantageous in the defense of the turret ammunition depot and the command of fire, but because the upper deck only extends to the middle main gun group, unlike the 'Fuso class' that extends to the rear main gun group, the space inside the ship is greatly reduced, on the one hand, the fixed number of personnel is more than that of the 'Fuso class', so it has an impact on the comfort of living.

'Ise-class' battleship. The Japanese Navy also intends to build two, the lead ship "Ise" and the second ship "Hyuga" battleship. These two battleships were originally used as the third and fourth ships of the 'Fuso-class' battleships.

The Japanese Navy built two 'Fuso-class' battleships and two 'Ise-class' battleships in succession, and once these four battleships were put into service, the Japanese Navy would have six battleships and four battlecruisers. A whole ten capital ships. Although, judging by the number of capital ships, it seems that there are not as many as the Chinese Navy. However, if you look at the number and caliber of the main guns, it seems that the Japanese Navy has an advantage. The Fuso-class battleships and the Ise-class battleships were both powerful battleships equipped with six twin 356-mm guns, while the Chinese Navy's Longxing-class battleships had only four twin 343-mm guns, and the Zhonghua-class battleships had only three triple 343-mm guns. In this way, in terms of the number of main guns, although the Chinese Navy has two more capital ships, it is only four more main guns. The 356 mm guns of the Japanese Navy were 13 mm larger than the 343 mm guns of the Imperial Navy.

The Japanese Navy is generally optimistic that the Japanese Navy, with its 10 capital ships, will definitely be able to confront the 12 capital ships of the Chinese Navy. In addition, the quality of the officers and men of the Japanese Navy has always been superior to that of the Chinese Navy. In this case, once the two countries go to war, the Japanese navy still has a good chance of winning.

Of course, this is really nothing more than a psychological comfort. The Japanese Navy is mainly due to the lack of money, and if there is money, they will definitely build more battleships to confront the Chinese Navy.

Time passed little by little, and after both China and Japan began to frantically build warships, the situation in the entire Far East entered a calm. However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is clearly the calm before the storm. The present Far East is like a powder keg. As soon as there is a little spark, it is possible to detonate the powder keg.

Emperor Wu Haoxuan's eyes were not on the military equipment competition with Japan. In his opinion, the Japanese were using their military force to spare, and they simply could not hold out for long. On the other hand, the empire was supported by the huge war reparations paid by the Japanese, and even if it engaged in an arms race with the Japanese, it would not be affected at all. In addition, China's current economic development situation is far better than that of Japan. Japan's industry was shrinking, while the industry of the Chinese Empire was growing rapidly. If this continues for a long time, the gap between the two sides will only get wider. When the time comes, if the Japanese want to surpass China again, it will be impossible at all.

The empire is not focusing on Japan, but on the layout of the empire in the South Seas. After more than half a year of development, the empire still supported a number of Chinese armed forces in Nanyang. There were more than 3,000 Chinese soldiers who had been trained alone. Of course, there may not be many people at this point, and it is nothing compared to the regular armies of various countries. However, the combat effectiveness of the Nanyang Chinese people's armed forces, which were equipped with the standard equipment of the Imperial Army, was not comparable to that of the indigenous police and security forces in the Dutch East Indies. Even the Dutch regular army deployed in the Dutch East Indies was only superior in heavy firepower.

After all, all kinds of heavy weapons, it is difficult for the empire to send them to the South Seas. Heavy machine guns and mortars are no more. If it is a field gun or howitzer, if you want to send it, there is a good chance that it will be discovered by the Dutch. Even now, the Dutch began to wonder if the Chinese Empire was preparing to make trouble in the South Seas.

"Your Majesty, after more than half a year, we have supported a number of Chinese armed forces in the Dutch East Indies. Although the total number is only 3,000, there should be no problem in dealing with those natives. In addition, we have also transported a large number of weapons to the past, and in the event of chaos, the strength of the Chinese armed forces will soon be able to expand to tens of thousands. However, the Dutch also seem to have discovered something, and their regular army is beginning to move. Marshal Shi Tianhan, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, said.

Wu Haoxuan nodded, although the Dutch have declined, they attach great importance to the Dutch East Indies. This is the last colony of the Netherlands, and it is the foundation of their survival. The great wealth that the Netherlands received every year from the Dutch East Indies ensured the development of the country. This makes the Netherlands, although a small European country, have a well-developed economy and a well-to-do life for its people. If the Dutch East Indies were lost, it would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the Netherlands. There is a high risk that the Netherlands will collapse and become a small and insignificant country.

So, if the Chinese Empire were to attack the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch would have tried desperately to protect the last colony. However, the Chinese Empire did not care about the Dutch at all. This time, it was clear that the empire wanted to swallow the Dutch East Indies in one gulp. If the Netherlands wanted to go to war with the Empire, the Empire would not want it. With the current strength of the empire, no matter how many people the Dutch send, there is only one way to die.

The only thing that worried Wu Haoxuan was undoubtedly the reaction of the British and Germans. The Germans are good enough to say that in order to win over the Reich, they will most likely remain silent. However, the British would not have watched the empire expand in the South Seas. However, the British were also not determined to fight a war with the Empire in the South Seas. Therefore, the possibility of success of the empire's plan this time is very high.

"Prepare the South Ocean Fleet and the Marine Corps. As soon as the situation changes, we will act immediately. No matter what, we must ensure the safety of the Nanyang Chinese and win the victory at the lowest cost! Wu Haoxuan said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Marshal Shi Tianhan nodded.

If the empire launched an operation in the South Seas, the Chinese would definitely be affected, which was unavoidable. But if the empire can be prepared, it will undoubtedly be able to greatly reduce casualties. (To be continued.) )

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