March 14, 1903 North Sea. A slender battleship was speeding across the sea, its swords slicing through the surface of the sea, and then its sturdy hull smashed the waves to pieces, and the ship began to accelerate with the roar of steam turbines and black smoke coming out of the chimney. Behind them, the Royal Navy's fastest battleship, the armored cruiser Qiangsheng, was following closely behind, and the two were racing towards the finish line.

"We're at 23 knots now, and that monster is faster than us." Colonel Fritz, the captain of the Mighty Force, cursed in a low voice. As the fastest capital ship of the British Empire, Colonel Fritz never thought that there were faster warships than himself in this world, and the Royal Navy was the first in the world, so the battleships of the Royal Navy should also be the first in the world, but it is a pity that today, a guy who is bigger than the Qiangsheng has trampled the pride in Colonel Fritz's heart with practical actions!

"Mr. Colonel, can you be faster? Although the Mighty has been in service for 5 years, I believe he can go faster. A voice came from behind.

"It's been pressurized and ventilated, Colonel Betty, and even a new ship has only run at 23.8 knots at half load, don't you notice? The main battleship began to tremble a little. Colonel Fritz paused and continued: "That monster is estimated to have reached its limit, its speed should be about 23.5 knots, if the Qiangsheng is a new ship, we will not lose to him." ”

At the same time, in the conning tower of the Longxu, Sir Fisher was happily communicating with Rear Admiral Lin Yongsheng of the Chinese Navy. "General Lin, you should thank God. It was the Almighty God who gave your country the fastest warship in the world with the help of the British Empire, and the current speed is 23.5 knots, which is enough to leave the warships of other countries far behind! Right now. Let's witness its limits. Fisher said happily.

Now the battleship has not been handed over to the Huaxia Navy, so Fisher can still operate this battleship as the master, and like the Germans, the British will not let this battleship leave the British Isles until they have studied this battleship thoroughly!

"Dear Sir Fisher, the main engine has begun to overload, and we now have a horsepower output of 33,000 horsepower. Fuel injection has already begun, and soon we are expected to reach high speeds of more than 24 knots. Captain Rafay on the side said respectfully.

With a slight vibration of the hull, the 24 boilers in the hull began to run at full capacity. Large quantities of Welsh white coal are fed into the boiler, and when the coal is red, the top of the boiler is then sprayed and a large amount of heavy oil is added to the boiler. Soon. The handling of the entire battleship reached a new level, the vapor pressure increased by more than 30%, and high-temperature and high-pressure steam was injected into the turbine units. The power output of the entire battleship has reached a whole new level!

"36,000 horsepower. The speed of the battleship was 24 knots. After a while, the data from the power compartment was sent to Fisher.

"41,000 horsepower! The speed of the battleship is 24.6 knots! The displacement of the battleship at this time was 20,000 tons. Captain Raffi said excitedly.

"I have to say that the power and ship design of the British Empire are definitely the world's first-class skills, I have never experienced such a speed, when I was on the Guiyuan-class armored cruiser, the maximum speed was 23 knots." Lin Yongsheng said with emotion.

"During the First Sino-Japanese Period, you had the fastest main warship in the world. And now, you're going to keep that crown! Fisher laughed. This is the perfect battleship. A presence that can truly bring all other ships to their knees, 8 12-inch 45L naval guns, and a speed of up to 24.6 knots! This is the miracle of industrial civilization! It will also become the pride of the navies of the two countries! In words, Fisher's pride is palpable!

And just when Lin Yongsheng and Fisher were evaluating the battleship with great interest, in the corner of the control tower, Jericho was discussing something with Captain Sa Zhenbing of the Huaxia Navy with a calm face.

"Thank you for building such advanced warships for our country." Sa Zhenbing politely raised a glass of brandy and said.

"It is said that Your Excellency will be the captain of this battleship? Is that so? If yes, please accept my congratulations. Jericho said with a smile.

"That's right, the two battle cruisers of the Longxu class will serve as the first detachment of the fast fleet. General Lin will be the commander of the fleet, and I will be the captain of his flagship. Sa Zhenbing said.

"So what is the main task of your country in the procurement of this battleship? Fast battleships against the Russians and the Dutch? Jericho asked.

"No, our priority is to deal with their cruisers. The speed advantage of our fast battleships is not obvious, so our first detachment must do it. Sa Zhenbing said after pondering for a moment.

"If General Lin's First Rapid Squadron and the Russian and Dutch fast battleships fight, what are the chances of your Excellency winning?" Jericho asked, shaking the wine in his hand.

"What do you want to know?" Sa Zhenbing said vigilantly.

"I just feel that the practical usefulness of a fast battleship like Long Xu is very limited, except for dealing with old armored cruisers, there is not much use, although Russia and the Netherlands have built some dreadnought cruisers, but this is only a stopgap measure, I believe that there will not be a few such cruisers in the future. I'm just trying to redefine the role of the Battle Patrol through communication. Jericho said with a smile.

"You're right, in the main duel, the battlecruisers are indeed somewhat vulnerable. This is not obvious in smaller battles, as the Dome provides the most rearguarded protection, but if the fleet is large, the vulnerability of the battle cruiser is revealed. Sa Zhenbing said in a low voice.

"There are no eternal enemies or eternal friends in the world. The Germans are our allies in keeping Britain, France, and Russia at bay, but it is absolutely not our goal to let the Germans dominate the whole of Europe. Germany only needs to defeat Russia, and France and Britain in Western Europe must be retained, otherwise the powerful Germany is likely to develop in the direction of Asia. So when necessary, we need to remind the British, for example, let them not build too many battle patrols, for example, let them change the shells. At this time, Sa Zhenbing remembered some things in his mind before he went abroad.

The German navy was already stronger than before, and the Italians, with the help of Germany, might really be able to draw their swords against the French in the Mediterranean. In fact, in history, Germany was not far from victory in World War I, and now, the fully strengthened German, Austrian, and Italian alliance may really be able to inflict heavy losses on Britain, France and Russia. The British had many naval problems, especially in the face of a comprehensive increase in firepower, and the more aggressive German navy had more problems, such as poor protection and bitter acid shells that exploded early.

Xu Jie is not worried that the British Navy will surpass the Germans again after being fully strengthened, the reason is very simple, now Fisher is still in charge of the navy, and the British battle cruiser will still be as popular as in history, and the improvement of artillery shells will probably be resisted by British arms dealers, even if Jericho and others want to change, I am afraid it will only be a partial change, after all, Jericho is not yet the commander of the Grand Fleet, Xu Jie needs to leave some opportunities for the British to turn the book!

"Xie Lu Xie, Mr. Sa Zhenbing, you have given me great help, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you." Jericho said in stiff Chinese as a sign of respect for the other party. As for the problem of the battlecruiser, although Jericho intuitively noticed that something was wrong, he could not directly determine it. And Sa Zhenbing's words undoubtedly strengthened Jericho's confidence.

At this time, Fisher, who was praising the battleship with Lin Yongsheng, didn't know what was going on here, and Fisher was still amazed by the powerful power of the Longxu at this time.

"The Longxu and its ilk will turn all the armored cruisers of the Far East into obsolete pasture, and your country will no longer have to worry about those cruisers that act like thieves at sea. I congratulate Your Excellency. While looking at the trial report of the Longxu, Fisher said to Lin Yongsheng.

"I think this is more significant for your country, the battle cruisers of the Republic of China were at most against the Russians and the Dutch, and your country finally solved the problem of the cruisers of all hostile countries. Congratulations to the United Kingdom. Lin Yongsheng said.

"180 meters long, 24 meters wide, 7.8 meters draft, 19,000 tons of standard displacement, 28 boilers, 41,000 horsepower, top speed of 24.6 knots. There are also 8 12-inch 45L main guns and 10 6-inch rapid-fire guns, 12 12-pounder guns, and 2 18-inch torpedo tubes. This is simply the perfect creation of the God of War! Fisher said.

"THERE IS ALSO AN 8-INCH ARMOR BELT UP TO 3.5 METERS, COVERING 65% OF THE LENGTH OF THE HULL, AND AN 80 MM OF DOME ARMOR BEHIND THE MAIN ARMOR, WHICH IS AT A VERTICAL ANGLE OF 65 DEGREES. THERE IS ALSO 80 TO 100MM WATERLINE ARMOR AT THE BOW AND TAIL, WITH 11 INCHES IN THE FRONT OF THE MAIN TURRET AND 10 INCHES IN THE GUN MOUNT. Secondary turret 6 inches. There is also an underwater protective layer with a width of up to 5 meters. Lin Yongsheng added.

"Armor or something, in fact, is a second-level indicator, the British Empire emphasizes firepower and speed, and the powerful Royal Navy can rely on sufficient firepower projection capabilities to beat the opponent to pieces before they sink us. The high speed gives the opponent nowhere to hide, in fact, if I can, my absolute armor protection can be reduced a little more. Fisher said meaninglessly.

"If the defense is lowered, I'm afraid the result will be very miserable in the main showdown." Lin Yongsheng shook his head and said.

In the face of Lin Yongsheng's rebuttal, Fisher was a little embarrassed, but the etiquette of the British aristocracy made him ignore this, "The vast majority of people in this world lack initiative, even the Huaxia Navy, which has excellent combat records, and within the Royal Navy, whether it is Jericho or Thomas, they lack initiative, but Betty is a good person." Fisher thought to himself. (To be continued......)