15 December 1901, German Navy Kiel Port Shipyard. At berth 1 of the Kiel Port Shipyard, a 182-metre-long and 28-metre-wide behemoth proudly overlooks the surrounding boats. On the opposite side of this huge battleship is a makeshift viewing platform. Just today, the first dreadnought in the world built by Germany for the navy of the Republic of China will be officially delivered to the Republic of China. It was a historic moment, a watershed moment for the Chinese Republic, for the German Empire, and for the world as a whole.

A bitter cold wind mixed with damp moisture blew from the sea, but the bad weather did not dampen the excitement of the crowd at all. Throughout the ceremony, more than 5,000 guests and staff were accommodated in their own areas. That is, including members of the German imperial family, senior officials of the German Navy, and officers and men of the Chinese Republic who came to receive the ship, as well as engineers and skilled workers who worked hard to build the warship. There are also foreign dignitaries who are invited to come.

Originally, according to Liu Buyun's meaning, he planned to be low-key, after all, there is an ancient Chinese saying that "the sharp weapon of the country cannot be shown." But Wilhelm II did not seem to think so, according to the English, the disabled German supreme ruler was like a stinky little peacock who always wanted to overwhelm England, and all kinds of new warships were the most beautiful feathers on this peacock's tail! This time, however, the German shipyard lived up to the high expectations and set two world records.

The first record was, of course, the completion of the world's first dreadnought, while the second record was the fastest construction speed of a ship of the same tonnage. It's only been 22 months. The Germans completed a behemoth with a standard displacement of more than 23,000 tons! This achievement not only greatly satisfied Wilhelm II's vanity, but was also quite exciting for the German Navy and German citizens. (The first dreadnought in history was built on October 2, 1905, and launched on February 10, 1906.) It was commissioned in December 06, so it is not impossible for a country to concentrate on building a warship, and it is not impossible to complete a dreadnought in 22 months. ）

The rise of the German Empire's navy was not determined by Wilhelm II's personal preference, but had a deep historical background. Not only was he a naval minister, but he was also very good at mobilizing people to gain public support, and before 1910 there were various social organizations in Germany, such as various organizations of naval veterans and research societies. With hundreds of thousands of members, these social organizations also played a huge role in the expansion of the German navy.

And today, the German Admiralty and civilian naval organizations have a new hot spot! Because they built the best warships in the world. And it was done in the shortest possible time! In their view, the future of the German Navy is bright, and with the support of Germany's strong industry, the new high seas fleet will inevitably make the world listen to them. And Germany will also use this to compete for more "land under the sun"!

Relative to the excitement of the Germans. The officer corps of the Huaxia Navy headed by Liu Buyun is cautiously optimistic about this warship, after all, what the Huaxia Navy needs is a warship with combat effectiveness, not just a seemingly powerful toy. "There are so many new techniques on this battleship, it is not a simple enlarged version of the old battleship, but a completely new system, it has a more advanced power system, a new fire control system. This is more than just an opportunity for us. It's a challenge. Liu Buyun whispered to Deng Shichang next to him.

The Huaxia Navy will be the first to eat crabs! The new shot control brings a new combat method and concept, according to Xu Jie's speculation. Larger and more sophisticated ranging language, coupled with mechanical computer-aided calculation consoles and archery, can extend the engagement distance of existing warships to more than 10 kilometers! And this engagement distance is about 50% more than the farthest engagement distance in the Sino-Russian naval war! This is more like a miracle than a deduction in the eyes of Liu Buyun and others. The new steam turbine and kerosene mixed boiler are to make the Chinese Navy face a new power system, how to maintain, how to repair, how to better play a role for the Chinese Navy are all obstacles, only after solving all the problems, this warship can play his due combat power, become a real overlord of the sea!

At the top of the viewing platform, Prince Henry of Germany and Admiral Tirpitz pointed to the towering figure in the distance and exchanged views from time to time. "I heard that the Huaxia Republic named their warships after the name Longxing?" Prince Henry asked with interest.

"Yes, the dragon in their excesses represents supreme authority and power, and Xing represents prosperity. They have high hopes for this class of warships, and it represents their great ambition, at this time, the Far Eastern Empire is no longer satisfied with the status quo, they also want to expand, but also to participate in the division of the resources of this world, in the future, Russia is their land target, and the Dutch East Indies will be their sea target. Tirpitz said with a smile.

"I like a country like this, a country as ambitious as Germany, and two countries like this should join forces to create a better future, and I can't wait to see that country in the East." Prince Henry said with satisfaction.

As the saying goes, some people are happy and some people are sad, and while a German prince and the admiral were having a pleasant conversation, an Englishman expressed a trace of dissatisfaction with all this in front of him. "General Jericho, Huaxia is no longer resigned to their inherent territory, and I feel a little uneasy from it. And the Germans will be a big problem for us. Lieutenant Commander Betty said, pointing to the towering battleship in the distance and the excited Germans next to him.

"Their country has a sea force far greater than they need, and when the Russians and Dutch fall, this invincible force in the Far East will swallow up the whole of the East Indies and even the whole of Southeast Asia! This was extremely detrimental to the British Empire. Seeing that Jericho didn't pay attention to himself, the young lieutenant colonel was a little hung up.

"So what can we do? Do you want to help the Russians defeat the Huaxia Republic and then compete with us for the Pacific? Jericho said calmly. The Far East can never be short of great powers. The Chinese Republic is just one of them, and in the distant New World, the country that once split off from Britain also has a lot of ideas for the bounty of Southeast Asia. Let them fight slowly, we need to calm down and solve the problems in Europe. Jericho said after taking a sip of German stout.

"The Germans have nothing to fear, we have a geographical advantage, and unless the German Navy defeats our Grand Fleet, the Germans trapped in the North Sea are simply powerless to threaten the lines of communication on which the British Empire depends. And defeating the Grand Fleet is an impossible thing. Betty said proudly.

"Don't despise your enemies, past successes don't represent the future." Jericho said with some displeasure. Then he left Betty, and now Jericho is very irritable, not only because this class is about to equip both the Chinese Republic and the German Longxing-class battleships. At the same time, because of his own naval expansion plan, he did not get enough support in the Admiralty!

December 15, 1901, 10:30 a.m. With a bottle of champagne smashed into the bow of the ship, Liu Buyun officially named the first dreadnought ship of the Chinese Republic. "The Longxing-class battleship, the lead ship, Longxing, will serve as the general flagship of the Huaxia Fleet." Subsequently, the officers and men of the Chinese Republic who were ready to take over the ship began to board this huge warship to replace their German counterparts. And at this moment the celebration reached its climax, and the cheers of the people came. The roar of the salute resounded throughout the shipyard.

A few are happy and a few are sad. Some are happy, others are sad, and in a hotel not far from the Kiel shipyard, a few middle-aged people from Russia became extremely restless as they listened to the constant sound of salutes and faint cheers from afar. "General Essen, the Huaxia Navy has once again gone ahead of the Empire, one of their new ships has been completed, and the fastest battleship we have built has not yet been launched and outfitted." A man with a beard said.

"And this is just the first, they ordered 7 warships throughout Europe. They are all brand new dreadnoughts, and we are still arguing with the bureaucrats about the cost. To be honest, I am not optimistic about the prospects of this war. Another interjected.

"This is not the crux of the matter, the point is that now the situation in Europe has changed, the Germans have finally shown their sharp fangs against the Reich, they have taken Germany as an enemy, Germany and Austria-Hungary and Italy have joined forces to divide Russia from Europe, our defeat in the Far East will at most mean the cessation of expansion, and some barren land will be ceded in the future, but if something goes wrong in Europe, the best part of the Reich will be in danger." Major General Essen said with a melancholy face.

On this visit to Germany, Essen felt the hostility of the Germans everywhere, and Rear Admiral Essen had intended to order some artillery and naval armor from Krupp. The Germans had already made two hardened armor, and the hardening layer was much thicker than the original 1893 version of the hardened armor, and in addition, it was very close to Russia, so it was possible to transport German supplies to Russia as long as it passed through the Baltic Sea. Coupled with the fact that Wilhelm II and Nicholas II had a fairly good personal relationship, it stands to reason that the Germans would have agreed to the Russians' procurement plan, and no one would give money to get by.

But in fact it surprised Essen. The Germans politely rejected Essen's request and stopped selling to Russia on the pretext that there was no stock, and in Essen's opinion, the Germans may indeed not be able to get enough Krupp 2 hardened armor for a while. But it's not like you can't even get the army equipment, right? There was a hint of hostility in this, and then, when Essen's plea for a visit to the Krupp plant and the naval shipyard in the port of Kiel was again rejected, Essen was keenly aware that Germany was now an enemy of Russia! Germany's high-tech departments have been completely wiped out and blockaded to Russia!

And at this time, Essen was not reconciled, he didn't sell weapons, he couldn't visit the factory, and he could go to the Kiel shipyard to watch the ceremony, right? As a result, such a request was ruthlessly rejected by the Germans! Of course, this time the Germans did not say so directly because of their face, but said that the Huaxia Navy, as the receiving party, did not want the Russians to participate, but Essen knew very well that not only the Huaxia Navy was unwilling, but the Germans were also unwilling!

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