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Xinhuaguo, Manila Shipyard, King Long Yufei and Chief of the General Staff Vice Admiral Niu Meng, Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of Logistics Operations Vice Admiral Zhao Yi, and Commander of the 1st Fleet Rear Admiral Wei Yong all came here. Today is the day when the Shangtang, the lead ship of the 'Shang-class' cruiser, the second steam warship of the Xinhua Navy, entered service. There are a total of 12 'Shang-class' cruisers, and after the 'Shangtang' cruiser enters service, the subsequent 11 warships will also enter service one after another. These warships will be assigned to the 1st Fleet, making the 1st Fleet the second fleet in the Xinhua Navy to be composed entirely of steam warships. In addition, the combat effectiveness of the 'Shang-class' cruisers is more powerful than that of the 'Xia-class' cruisers, which will make the 1st Fleet once again the most powerful fleet in the Xinhua Navy.

The 'Shang-class' cruiser, with a displacement of up to 2,600 tons, used two large steam engines, two-shaft propulsion, and reached a maximum speed of 16 knots, and at the time of sea trials, it also ran at a speed of 17 knots. The Shang class cruiser was highly armed, with two twin 155mm guns in the bow and one twin 155mm guns in the stern. On the side side were 10 105-mm guns and two 75-mm guns. This gave the 'Shang-class' cruisers more firepower than the 'Xia-class' cruisers. The biggest difference between the 'Shang-class' cruisers and the 'Xia-class' cruisers is in the armor protection. The 'Xia-class' cruisers adopted a focus on protection, with steel plates laid on the bow and stern decks, engine rooms and bridges. But the 'Shang-class' cruisers are a step closer. Connected to both sides of the deck and near the waterline. Steel plates are installed. This brought the 'Shang-class' cruisers closer to ironclads. Although the cost of the 'Shang-class' cruiser reached 500,000 Chinese yuan, it was also a good deal in terms of combat power.

Rear Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy. Particular satisfaction with the 'Shang class' cruisers. When he was serving on the 'Xia-class' cruiser, he was not able to become the commander of the 5th Fleet, and he was always a little disappointed. Well, now the more powerful 'Shang-class' cruisers are all replenished to the 1st Fleet. The 1st Fleet's 'Shark-class' cruisers were eliminated to the 2nd and 3rd Fleets, which made a qualitative leap in the strength of the 1st Fleet. Even in the eyes of the world, the 1st Fleet is the most powerful.

"General Wei, you won't blame me for being biased this time!" Long Yufei said with a smile.

"陛xià. How dare you? Major General Wei Yong said with some trepidation. Although he knew that Long Yufei was joking again, as Xinhua became stronger and stronger, Long Yufei's prestige was also constantly improving. Even these strong generals in the army. In front of Long Yufei, he could also feel a lot of pressure. This made them a lot cramped, but they were loyal to Long Yufei. But nothing has changed.

"Haha. Take it easy. Just kidding. General Wei, are you still satisfied with the 'Shang-class' cruiser? Long Yufei asked.

"Your Majesty, I'm very satisfied! The Shang-class cruisers were too tough. Chen is sure that this must be the most powerful warship in the world. If our 'Shang-class' cruisers had been commissioned in the last naval battle, our losses would not have been so great! Major General Wei Yong said. When he thought that in the last naval battle, the Xinhua Navy had suffered thousands of casualties, he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

"There are a lot of things that we can't control. But. As long as we get stronger and stronger, we will not be afraid of the enemy! Long Yufei said. All the time. He and the entire Xinhua country are working hard in this direction.

"General Wei, the 'Shang-class' cruiser is indeed very powerful. However, if you knew about our next-class ships, maybe you wouldn't think so. Lieutenant General Zhao Yi, Deputy Chief of General Staff and Minister of Logistics and Equipment, said with a smile.

"Oh? Is there already a plan for the next class of battleships? "The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Niu Meng, also came to be interested.

"The general design is already there. The number was set, and the engineers at the shipyard were working on the design. Lieutenant General Zhao Yi said.

"General Zhao, then tell us about it." Major General Wei Yong asked eagerly. As the fleet commander of the Navy, what could be more interesting to them than a powerful warship?

Lieutenant General Zhao Yi did not speak, but looked at Long Yufei. After all, the next-level battleship is still highly secret, except for the engineers involved in the design, only he and Long Yufei know.

"It's okay, talk to them. However, this is our top secret and must not be leaked. Long Yufei instructed.

"Yes, please rest assured, we will keep it strictly confidential!" Lieutenant General Niu Meng and Major General Wei Yong both said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After getting Long Yufei's permission, Vice Admiral Zhao Yi will tell everyone about the situation of the next-class warship.

"Chief of Staff, General Wei. The next class of battleships is named the 'Zhou-class' battleship! "Lieutenant General Zhao Yi.

"'Zhou-class' battleships?" This naming did not surprise them. After all, the first steam battleship was named the 'Xia-class' cruiser, the second was named the 'Shang-class' cruiser, and the third, naturally, it was the turn of the 'Zhou-class'. But why not the 'Zhou-class' cruisers? Is there any essential difference between this and the previous two warships? Lieutenant General Niu Meng and Major General Wei Yong both had some doubts in their hearts.

"The 'Zhou-class' battleships are very different from the 'Xia-class' cruisers and the 'Shang-class' cruisers. For the first time, this battleship was built in all-steel. The keel and hull are made of steel, no longer wooden! Lieutenant General Zhao Yi said.

"What? All-steel battleship? Lieutenant General Niu Meng and Major General Wei Yong were shocked.

"It is preliminarily estimated that the 'Zhou-class' warship will have a total length of 85 meters, a total width of 8.1 meters, a draft of 5.6 meters, and a displacement of more than 4,800 tons. Four large steam engines will be used as power, with two shafts of propulsion, and a maximum speed of at least 16 knots. The thickness of the armor on the foredeck was 30 mm, the thickness of the armor on the bridge and engine room, as well as in the turret, was 100 mm. The Zhou-class ships were armed with twin 210 mm guns in the bow and stern, and six 155 mm secondary guns, four 105 mm secondary guns and two 75 mm naval guns on either side of the hull. The main gun of the 'Zhou-class' battleship adopts a closed turret design, which is different from the open turret of the 'Xia-class' cruiser and the 'Shang-class' cruiser. In this way, it helps to ensure the safety of the gunner. Lieutenant General Zhao Yi introduced.

At this time, Lieutenant General Niu Meng and Major General Wei Yong were completely shocked. Although this is only a few of the preliminary estimates of the 'Zhou-class' battleship, it will be gradually modified during the design process. But in general, there won't be much change. There is no doubt that the 'Zhou-class' battleships are epoch-making warships, and their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the 'Xia-class' cruisers and the 'Shang-class' cruisers. The power of the 210 mm gun must be very strong, and there is no warship in the world that can withstand this kind of main gun. Coupled with the all-steel hull, the defense of the battleship is even more amazing. In the mind of Rear Admiral Wei Yong, this is undoubtedly a perfect battleship.

"Your Majesty, how many 'Xia-class' battleships do you plan to build?" Major General Wei Yong asked. If he could, he would have preferred to give up the 'Shang-class' cruisers to someone else, and his 1st fleet would have to wait until the 'Xia-class' battleships were commissioned before refitting. Although it will take a few more years, it will be worth it in terms of the performance of the 'Zhou-class' battleship.

"The cost of the 'Zhou-class' warship is probably as high as more than one million Chinese dollars. Initially, only 4 to 6 ships will be built, and how many will be built in the future, depending on the specific situation. Long Yufei said. The reason why so many Xia-class cruisers and 'Shang-class' cruisers were built at one time was because Xinhua's naval strength was too weak and it was necessary to ensure a sufficient number of warships. Now that the 'Xia-class' cruisers and 'Shang-class' cruisers are in service, the naval strength of Xinhua has been guaranteed, and there is no need for large-scale construction. Instead, it took the speed of building several first-class warships and constantly updated them. In this way, it will help to save money, and at the same time, it can also ensure the continuous development and progress of the Xinhua Navy.

Major General Wei Yong nodded and didn't say anything more.

In fact, Long Yufei also has his own considerations. The Xinhua Navy now has five fleets, but he does not want all five fleets to develop in a balanced manner, in that case, Xinhua will invest a very large amount in the navy. The 1st Fleet and the 5th Fleet will become the main force of the Xinhua Navy, and the other three fleets will be downgraded to local fleets. Eventually, the 1st and 5th fleets will grow stronger and stronger, and the number of warships will increase. Relying on these two fleets, the Xinhua Navy was able to defeat a strong enemy. Unless Xinhua can become the world's hegemon like Britain in the future, the Xinhua Navy will not build too many powerful fleets. Two fleets, one staying at home and the other going out to fight, a real war breaks out, and when a strong enemy is encountered, the two fleets are united, and this is enough.

At 9:30 a.m., the whistle sounded from the cruiser SenseTime. Inside the thick chimney, there was billowing smoke. The battleship began to shake, and the propeller in the stern began to spin. The battleship slowly sailed out of the dock and into the sea outside the shipyard.

Long Yufei, King of Xinhua, Vice Admiral Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Zhao Yi, Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Director of Logistics Operations, and Rear Admiral Wei Yong, Commander of the 1st Fleet, all boarded the cruiser Shang Tang. The 'Shang Tang' cruiser will become the new flagship of the 1st Fleet, and when all 12 'Shang-class' cruisers of the 1st Fleet are put into service, they will devote themselves to intense training and strive to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible! (To be continued......)