The entry into service of the three ships 'Fengyang', 'Yunyang' and 'Qingyang', as well as 10 other destroyers and cruisers, has greatly enhanced the strength of the Chinese Navy. Counting the ships owned by the Beiyang Navy in the past, as well as the ten thousand-ton gunboats ordered from foreign countries during the Anhui Navy period, the strength of the Chinese Navy at this time was even stronger than most countries in the world, including South American naval powers such as Brazil, but compared with the Japanese, there is still a big gap, to be precise, very large.

At this time, Japan had more than a dozen battleships alone, and although they were basically former dreadnoughts, considering the number and the training of the officers and men of the two navies, if they really did it, no matter how you look at it, the Japanese would have a better chance of winning.

What's more, according to the information of the Special Affairs Bureau, the lead ship of the Japanese Fuso-class super-dreadnought, the "Fuso", has been completed and launched, and is currently being outfitted in the shipyard. The construction of the second ship of the Fuso class, the Yamashiro, also started half a year ago, and these are all super dreadnoughts equipped with 12 14-inch guns.

In addition, the "Kongo" class battlecruiser "Kongo", which was built by the British for Japan, was commissioned more than half a year ago, and the second ship "Hiei", the third ship "Haruna", and the fourth ship "Kirishima" built by the British for Japan have either entered the outfitting stage or have already begun formal sea trials...

(The battlecruiser Kongo was the last capital ship of the old Japanese Navy to be ordered from abroad.) The ships of the same class, Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima, were built in Japanese shipyards according to the drawings provided by Vickers)

It is important to know that there is a big gap between the Ludao Navy and the Japanese, if these ships are also in service. I'm afraid the gap between China and Japan will widen a lot...

In other words, the entry into service of the three ships "Fengyang", "Yunyang" and "Qingyang" did not shorten the distance with the Japanese, but only made the navy look less unbearable than in the past.

But the news is discouraging. But it's not like there's no good news.

At least in Fuzhou and Anhui, China's only two military shipyards are in a shipbuilding frenzy, and when shipyards in Tianjin, Guangzhou and other places are completed, the frenzy will be even more intense...

————————————————————

The Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, before the completion of shipyards such as Tianjin, has become the center of China's shipbuilding industry, like the Wuhu shipyard. It's just not the same as the Wuhu shipyard. Due to the limitations of congenital conditions, the focus of the State Administration on the Fuzhou Ship Administration Bureau was obviously greater.

It is not surprising either, although the location of the Wuhu shipyard is good. Deep in Anhui, there is no need to worry about threats and strikes from the sea (this is extremely important given the weakness of the Chinese navy at this time). But success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He, Wuhu Shipyard is safe. But the limitations are also significant.

Yangtze. China's largest and most important river, the Yangtze River has nurtured many Chinese over the years. And there have been countless important battles in the Yangtze River, such as the Battle of Chibi, which we all know about the road...

However, no matter how big the Yangtze River is, after all, it cannot be compared with the vast sea, for example, the width and ......... of the entire river Depth...

Each section of the Yangtze River has a different depth, but it is more obvious that the further inland you go, the shallower the depth of the Yangtze River becomes, and the smaller the tonnage of ships that can sail it. In the river basin from Anqing to Nanjing. 5,000 tons is already considered the limit—————— 5,000 to 10,000 tons in later generations, but that is after some transformation.

In other words. The limit of the Wuhu shipyard is the 'Iron Fire' class cruisers, and even the larger ships may not be able to sail in this part of the river basin.

The ships of this era, especially the warships, can only be regarded as a relatively junior unit of 10,000 tons, and battleships and battle cruisers of 20,000 or 30,000 tons are by no means rare. If the river outside a shipyard can only be navigated by 5,000-ton ships, then it is incompetent as a military shipyard.

It is no wonder that the people of the navy pay more attention to the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau in Fujian.

Of course, this does not mean that the navy has abandoned the Wuhu shipyard, after all, the current navy is difficult to return, not only two or three thousand tons of large ships, but also one or two thousand tons, two or three thousand tons of 'small' ships are also in urgent demand, plus the Wuhu shipyard is the only two military shipyards in China in the short term, the importance can be imagined...

But when the shipyards in Tianjin and Guangzhou are completed, I'm afraid it's time for them to be abandoned...

This can be seen in the comparison of the two shipyards today, although the slipways of the two shipyards are now also full of ships under construction. However, in addition to these, many of the original abandoned places of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau have been expanded into new docks or slipways at this time, and it is conceivable that after the completion of this place, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau will have many more docks and slipways, and the shipbuilding capacity will be greatly improved.

In contrast, although the Wuhu Shipyard has also received funding from the Navy to expand the shipyard, it is less than that of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau in terms of amount and quantity.

However, the people of Wuhu Shipyard were not very worried about this situation, because Yan Shao had assured them that Wuhu Shipyard would never collapse. As proof of this sentence, the navy reluctantly allocated a sum of money to the Wuhu Shipyard—————— which they originally planned to invest in the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau.

The navy naturally had a lot of complaints about Yan Shao's request that they invest their money in a shipyard with little future, but at this time, everything in the navy can be said to be given by Yan Shao, so even if there are complaints, they can only hold it in their hearts.

Like them, there are many people in the outside world who think that Yan Shao is because the Wuhu Shipyard was founded when he was still in Anhui, so he has feelings and wants to take care of it more.

In the eyes of many people, this is also a human nature, and many military and political officials in Anhui also support this. After all, they all came out of Anhui, and naturally they didn't want the only shipyard in Anhui to collapse like this.

But what about Yan Shao...

He didn't think so, the Wuhu Shipyard was founded by him in the first place. He does not deny that he has great feelings for him. But if the Wuhu shipyard is really useless, he will not be reluctant, after all, it is just a shipyard...

That's why he's doing it. It's all because the Wuhu shipyard still has a lot of value.

That's right, with the depth of the Yangtze River, it is indeed not suitable for ships of more than 5,000 tons, but in the case of submarines, it is still no problem...

We will not repeat the importance of submarines, historically China once founded the Wuhan shipyard in Wuhan, which was dedicated to the construction of submarines. Since Wuhan can. Then what is Wuhu for?

In Yan Shao's view, the Wuhu Shipyard can become China's submarine production center, together with the Wuchang Shipyard that is under construction in Wuchang—————— compared with the great powers. The navy is too weak to guarantee the safety of the coastline, let alone the shipyards along the coast.

Those large ships have to be produced in shipyards along the coast, and there is no way around this. But submarines are ships that can be built at shipyards along the river. It is obviously easier to reassure Yan Shao in shipyards along the river like Wuhu and Wuchang...

————————————————————

Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, the managers of more than a dozen shipyards were hugging Wei Han and walking in the direction of the port, and walking in the middle of everyone, Wei Han didn't know what Lu Dao was thinking.

Compared with more than half a year ago, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau at this time has changed greatly, and if a different person comes, it is very likely that he will not even recognize the current Shipbuilding Bureau.

Brand new factory building, just paved brick road. The shade of the trees on both sides of the road and the pavilions and stone benches for workers to rest in the shade of the trees. Coupled with the newly renovated port and the once almost abandoned dock and slipway, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau has been completely renovated.

“……… Wei Lao. Otherwise, you'd better stay, and we'll do the job this time..."

"Yes, Old Wei, you're not in good health, it's better to let us go..."

Around Wei Han, the managers of those shipyards persuaded one after another.

Wei Han, who was surrounded in the middle of them and looked a little wrong, shook his head slightly. "It's better for me to go in person, old man, this mission is extraordinary, and I can rest assured that I will go in person, old man..."

Speaking of this, Wei Han quickened his pace and walked out of the crowd.

A gust of wind blew, and the managers who were still surrounding Wei Han just now looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

About a few days ago, due to a heavy rainstorm, the weather suddenly turned cold, and Wei Han, who was already old, suddenly contracted a wind chill. Wind chill, also known as a cold, is certainly not a serious illness, even in this day and age. But Wei Han is old after all, and the shipyard management is naturally worried. After all, if Wei Han had three long and two short...

With these worries, more than ten minutes later, Wei Han and the others came to the dock belonging to the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau.

Looking at the shipyard that has been renovated, although Wei Han's spirit is a little bad because of the wind and cold, he is in a very good mood, especially when he sees those warships on the slipway in the distance...

Perhaps in a hurry to restore the Navy's strength, the Admiralty sent a large number of orders to the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau and the Wuhu Shipyard, the only military shipyards in China. For example, the Navy did not even give them a specific number of the 'Shanfeng'-class destroyers and the 'Iron Fire'-class cruisers that have been launched or put into service, but only told them to 'fill in the vacant places as soon as they are launched' and that's it...

Therefore, the positions of the ten 'Shanfeng'-class destroyers and the two 'Iron Fire'-class cruisers that were launched were occupied by the new ships early on. Even next to the slipways of the soon-to-be-completed 'Shanfeng'-class destroyers, the necessary shipbuilding materials have been prepared, and after these 'occupying places' are launched, the keels of the new ships will be laid...

In addition to these, a number of slipways are under construction in the Shipyard, and once completed, the Fuzhou Shipyard will soon become the largest shipyard in China. As a person who has worked all his life for this shipyard, what else does Wei Han have to regret...

As for the Wuhu shipyard, he didn't know anything, but...

As mentioned earlier, the natural geographical conditions of the Wuhu shipyard limited its development, so Wei Han never cared about the threat there.

————————————————————

Standing at the dock, I took a look at the destroyers and cruisers that were still under construction in the distance. Wei Han shifted his gaze to a few strange-looking ships not far away.

"I really don't understand, why would a big president want to make this thing, if he has so much money. Isn't it good to put money into surface ships..."Standing beside Wei Han, a short, middle-aged man with a darker complexion complained.

"Yes," two or three others agreed.

He didn't care about the words of those people, Wei Han just looked at the 'submarines' that were bolted to the dock, and only spoke after half a sound. "Don't complain, since it's the task assigned above, we'll be responsible for completing it..."

After speaking. Wei Han waved his hand at the officers and men of the submarines, where some of the officers and soldiers who saw Wei Han were standing on them and saluting him.

led the dozen or so people behind him. Wei Han and the others walked towards a small passenger ship on the dock, where a very young-looking captain had been waiting for a long time.

"Director..."

Glancing at Wei Han, whose face was not very good, the captain said with some concern.

The news of Wei Han's illness has spread in the shipyard. Those who do not know the Tao cannot say that there is none. But it can also be said that it is rare. Seeing that Wei Han was sick and had to continue the mission, the captain was inevitably a little worried.

"Don't worry..."Seeing the captain's worried face, Wei Han smiled. I'm not going to fall down so easily, old man, by the way, I'm all ready, right? ”

"It's ready..."Hearing Wei Han say this, the captain temporarily put aside the worry in his heart and nodded. You can go to sea at any time..."

"Then hurry up..."Wei Han smiled. After all, there are still many things to be busy, and it would be better to solve them sooner..."After speaking, he had already walked towards the passenger ship, and behind him. Those who followed him looked worried.

Boarding the passenger ship, the ship slowly departed from the pier. At this time, a signal was received, and several submarines docked at the dock also left the port.

The mission this time was simple, to test the submarines that had already been launched to see if they actually met the design requirements.

Since the Wuhu shipyard completed the construction of the first submarine a few months ago, under Yan Shao's mandatory order, the two shipyards have diverted a considerable part of their energy from surface ships and devoted themselves to submarines.

Doing so will definitely be subject to some complaints from shipyards and the navy, after all, this is an era of big ships and huge guns, and the importance of submarines cannot be said to be unnoticed. But before they have a good record, people still pay more attention to surface ships after all.

Especially in the current Chinese Navy, there are not even 30 surface ships above 1,000 tons, and even more than five fingers are not enough for those above 10,000 tons—————— this is still in the case of 'Qingyang' and other ships have entered service, otherwise it will become Doraemon's fist...

As for the shipyard side—————— although submarines are easier to build than destroyers, the profit margin is much less, and with the excuse of the navy, the shipyard is naturally complaining.

However, they didn't dare to disobey Yan Shao's order, after all, it was a mandatory order, and in order to monitor the entire progress, Yan Shao even transferred a few people from the Special Affairs Bureau to blatantly monitor it.

Of course, this is not to say that there were no special affairs bureau personnel in the two shipyards in the past, but usually such people are disguised as ordinary employees, or managers and other hidden in the shadows, and their identities will not be revealed unless they have to.

This is naturally convenient for the Special Affairs Bureau to monitor the two shipyards, but from another point of view, it is equivalent to not having the slightest deterrence, which is also the reason why Yan Shao will ask the Special Affairs Bureau to send people.

Naturally, the people in the Secret Service Bureau are actually quite inexplicable, because they are also supporters of the doctrine of big ships and giant artillery, but orders are orders, so they are meticulous in their surveillance, and the people in the shipyard are also very hard-working. By now, more than 10 submarines have been built by the two shipyards, and the prototype is naturally the German U-boat ...

And in addition to these more than a dozen, on the slipways of two shipyards, an equal number of submarines are under construction. For Yan Shao, it is unrealistic to expect the navy to compete with the Japanese in a short period of time, so there is only the sword to go sideways...

Standing on the deck of the passenger ship, Wei Han looked at several submarines not far away.

These submarines are all built according to the U-boat drawings purchased from Germany, and the batch is the U19 batch, which is definitely among the most advanced submarines in the world in terms of performance. At this time, these submarines, with a surface displacement of up to 650 tons, were closely following the passenger ship at a speed of 10 knots.

As the most famous ship designer in China at this time, although Wei Han did not know the role of submarines as well as Yan Shao, he also faintly felt that the role of these ships was probably not as inconspicuous as their appearance, which was also a reason for dissatisfaction, but the Harbour Administration Bureau still obeyed Yan Shao's orders.

"I hope I can wait for the day when they exert their power, old man...", muttered, when a gust of sea breeze blew, and Wei Han couldn't help but shiver. Noticing this, the captain who had been prepared for a long time hurriedly brought a coat and put it on Wei Han.

Wei Hanzhi did not refuse, but while putting on his coat, he continued to focus on the submarines not far away. (To be continued......)