From a unilateral point of view, the probability that a convoy will be attacked by enemy submarine forces three times in a row on the way home is very small. As a result, the entire transport fleet, except for the "Icewind" for repairs in Italian ports, almost all the remaining ships sank to the bottom of the sea, and only the "Snow Wind" survived...

Not only did they survive, but they were unscathed.

In the ambush of German submarines, the Yukikaze not only sank at least one and damaged one. In addition, many officers and soldiers who fell into the water were salvaged, which can be said to be a great contribution.

In addition, no one knows what this is all about, so no one thinks that 'Yukikaze' is a broom star. On the contrary, in the Admiralty, many officers praised the British officers and men on the Yukikaze, and along with the praise, there was also the Yukikaze they piloted.

It's just that while praising it, the British also feel a little headache. Because there were about 20 transport ships and merchant ships that came back from Asia with the Yukikaze this time, and the total number of escort ships reached 30, and all of them sank to the bottom of the sea after one trip, which is how the British could stand it.

In this era, there were already frigates, but even the largest frigates had a displacement of only a thousand tons, and the average displacement was only a few hundred tons. There was no comparison to the Mountain Breeze class, so after the delivery to the home and some rest, the Snowwind set sail again, as the flagship of a group of frigates, leading a group of British-flagged merchant ships to the United States across the ocean.

Incidentally, on the way back, they were attacked again. It was also a heavy casualty, and this time the Snow Wind was still not injured. Instead of being injured. Instead, he salvaged a lot of his comrades who fell into the water again, and by the way, he injured a submarine.

Because of this, after returning to the British mainland, the Yukikaze received the title of 'Miracle Ship', and the captain of the destroyer also received a medal. And the title of 'Miracle Ship' was maintained until the end of World War I, and the Yukikaze was almost undamaged throughout the war. A miracle in the history of the Navy of World War I...

But perhaps because it was too unlucky to be its teammate, the Snowwind had a more resounding name.

'Widowmaker'...

This title shows that it is very good at making widows, but it is a pity. He's good at making for his own army, not the enemy. So by the end of the war, almost all warships were reluctant to follow it, but all the same. Many officers and men are also willing to serve on this ship—————— for the simple reason that they are willing to serve. Because the chances of surviving on this ship will be relatively high.

After the war ended, the British Navy wanted to return the broom to the Chinese government.

However, the Chinese government, which at that time already had a considerable size, was also deterred. However, they did not refuse the ship, but after receiving it, they hurriedly dismantled it, and then transported it inland in pieces, and built a museum in the city of Beijing. Specializing in the exhibition of naval stuff ...

For many years to come, the museum will be the world's largest museum of ashore naval vessels. And it's private. It also houses a number of ships, including several aircraft carriers of smaller tonnage. and battleships with a tonnage of tens of thousands.

Of course, these ships, like the Xuefeng ship, were dismantled first and then shipped to Beijing. Of course, the cost of doing this was not small, but at that time, Yan Shao was poor and only had money left, so he didn't care much about it.

And it is precisely because of this initiative that the naval museum funded by Yan Shao will become the world's most famous private military museum in the coming decades. And many, many years later, under the orders of Yan Shao, it was expanded into a comprehensive military museum that included not only the navy, but also the army, air force, and other armies.

But even at that time, the Yukikaze was one of the most famous exhibits.

And what makes it so famous is its legendary life.

According to later statistics, since 1915, when the Snow Wind began to serve in the UK, it has helped the Germans solve at least hundreds of 'their own people'. These included ordinary merchant ships, as well as frigates, destroyers, and cruisers that moved with them. Even the sinking of several battle cruisers and battleships is said to have something to do with it ...

It can be said that the life of the Snow Wind is definitely a brilliant life.

Serving on such a destroyer is an absolute honor for any naval officer.

But...

Fighting with such a destroyer is also a nightmare for everyone ...

No one has ever denied this...

PS Subtotal: In later generations, someone once asked Yan Shao whether he deliberately sent the Xuefeng ship to the UK, hoping to make the British unlucky and balance the Anglo-German maritime situation. This remark was very marketable at the time, but it was sternly denied by Yan Shao.

Although, it was indeed what he did...

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Sa Zhenbing is not an easy person to balance, in terms of seniority and prestige, there is almost no one in the navy who can compare with him. There is only one Liu Guanxiong who can be compared slightly.

And for Sa Zhenbing, reviving the navy is almost something he dreams of.

Want to revive the Navy? Quite simply, first of all, there must be warships, there must be people, and most importantly, there must be money.

Now that the people and the money are available, only the warships are missing. However, at present, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau and the Wuhu Shipyard are working at full capacity. Several other shipyards have also started to build and the situation is very good. In Sa Zhenbing's view, it may not take many years for the Chinese navy to surpass Japan.

At least in private, Sa Zhenbing has formulated a plan, which will be flat in 10 years and surpass in 20 years.

This is not impossible, after all, the capital ships of Japan were almost completely sunk in Longkou Bay. All that's left is one 'Settsu' and a few Kongo-class cruisers to hold up the table. Even if the Japanese were at full power, the Fuso-class battleships that were on the slipway would not be able to launch immediately.

Even if it is really launched, at the current speed of shipbuilding in China. The Navy should have already had a large number of destroyers and cruisers at that time. With these, plus three dreadnoughts and ships salvaged from the bottom of Longkou Bay, it was almost inevitable that the Japanese Navy would be overwhelmed by surface ships. The only difference between the two is that of officers and soldiers...

Seriously, the high-speed development of the navy is somewhat of an upstart, while Japan is relatively good. After all, the Japanese Navy has had a foundation for decades, unlike the current Navy, which completely rose from the ruins.

Think of the time during the Battle of Jutland, when the 1st and 3rd battleship detachments of the German High Seas Fleet fired a total of 1904 rounds of large-caliber shells. With an average of 119 rounds per ship and 10.9 rounds per gun (carrying 80-90 rounds), the battlecruisers fired a total of 1,670 large-caliber shells, an average of 334 rounds per ship. 37.95 rounds per gun (80-90 rounds carried). A total of 3,597 large-caliber shells, 3,952 medium-caliber shells, 5,300 small-caliber shells, and 120 confirmed large-caliber shells hit. The average hit rate is 3.33%. 107 medium- and small-caliber hits were made, with an average hit rate of 1.16%; In total, the British battleships fired 4,598 rounds of large-caliber shells, including 1,239 rounds from 15-inch guns, with an average hit rate of 2.17%.

The result was a strategic victory for the British and a tactical victory for the Germans.

The victory of the British aside, the victory of the Germans was that they sank more British ships on a smaller scale than the British. This shows the level of training of the Germans, as well as the design concept and technical skills.

At present, there are more ships in China than in Japan. But it really happened, and the outcome was unpredictable.

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Because the outcome is unpredictable. So recently, Sa Zhenbing has been focusing on production problems, and he sees every ship as a baby bump. At the beginning, Yan Shao was also a good talker, so he took out two destroyers from Sa Zhenbing's hands. Now he has run over and wants to get five destroyers, the difficulty can be imagined, and in the end, Yan Shao can be said to have wasted all his strength, and finally got these five destroyers out of Sa Zhenbing's hands, almost exhausting him to death...

However, in Yan Shao's opinion, this deal is still worth it, after all, a lot of money has been made, and this money can be used to build more destroyers. Moreover, the British have promised that these ships, including the two that were sent out of the city earlier, will be returned at half price.

It's just that...

Forget about the others, that Xuefeng ship, even if Yan Shao really took it back, it would definitely not be used. After all, this warship has begun to show the characteristics of its broom star, and if you really bring him back, Yan Shao will not be alive.

However, Yan Shao couldn't talk to Zhu Erdian and Sa Zhenbing, but he was thinking about how to solve this problem in his heart.

Whether to refuse it outright, or find a way to properly collect it—————— if you just collect it, there shouldn't be any problems. After all, judging from the situation obtained by Yan Shao, although the Xuefeng ship is very powerful at overcoming its own people, as long as it has no combat mission, it usually does not have much of a problem.

And during the berth at the dock, I didn't hear of any major incidents. So it's a big deal.

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As we entered May, the weather began to heat up, just like the war in Europe.

But this increasingly fierce war has little to do with distant China—————— if you don't count the factories.

Because of the European war, Europe's demand for various materials increased dramatically. The end result is that industries in countries such as China, the United States, and Japan have been greatly boosted. According to the Ministry of Finance's projections, this year's fiscal revenue is likely to reach 700 million or 800 million, which is still the reason why the government has reduced various taxes and customs and export taxes.

If Yan Shao is willing to raise the export tax of tariffs, I am afraid that the fiscal revenue can be higher. However, the most important thing at the moment is to improve the level of domestic industry and promote the development of industry and commerce, so this proposal was finally vetoed by Yan Shao.

But now, he's in an arsenal.

The arsenal of Guangdong...

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Guangdong Arsenal, in 1873, the Governor of Liangguang Ruilin sent a candidate Wailang Wen Zishao (Luyuan) to the Thirteen Lines Liantai to try out a breech seven-ring chain gun, which was made. The construction of the Machinery Bureau began. The Governor of Liangguang, Ruilin, requested the establishment of the Guangdong Machinery Bureau. Manager Wen Zishao was appointed to manufacture guns and gunpowder and build military wheels. It is located in the provincial capital of Guangzhou Juxian Fang. The products include 'piglet's foot' pistol and seven-shot breech pistol, etc., which is the earliest machine bureau in Guangzhou and the earliest Guangdong arsenal.

Of course, if it's just like this, it doesn't have much to do with Yan Shao.

In the first month of 1909, the smokeless medicine factory of the Guangdong Arsenal was established. On August 23, Hu Xianglin, the political envoy of Guangdong, played Chen, and the expansion of the Guangdong manufacturing ordnance factory was completed. Hu Xianglin also asked for the purchase of a machine for making fast artillery for the Guangdong Manufacturing Ordnance Factory. Its so-called fast artillery is: light machine gun (light machine gun) produced by Dan (Mai) country. Madsen Machinegun), created in 1904, caliber of eight meters. The rate of 2,000 Mita can be fired 12 times per second, and it is particularly handy to carry, and there are many people in foreign countries who have recently changed this kind of artillery team. The manufacturing plant in Guangdong Province was imitated by craftsmen. It can be made by hand. It's no different from the ocean. Now I have telegraphed the German Krupp Gun Factory that the machine that makes ten statues a day will cost about 300,000 taels of silver. The case was not approved, and the plant continued to produce 8x58mm Rimmed DanishKrag machine guns by artisanal, with the production of 2-3 units per month. In September, the smokeless pharmaceutical factory started trial manufacturing.

This light machine fast gun is the Danish Madsen light machine gun that is now used on a large scale by the Wehrmacht.

In January 1913, the War Department formulated a copy of the Mauser 1904 rifle purchased by China from Germany, which was the original rifle, and the caliber was changed to 7.9 cm. Jiaochuan Guangdong factories imitated. The formulation of the caliber system was repeated several times by the War Department between 6.8 and 7.9. Production statistics of the provincial arsenals of the War Department in March. Guangdong Arsenal Sunrise 68 rifles 20 pieces, Moon Rise machine guns 20 pieces, 68 bullets Sunrise 35,000 pieces, its smokeless medicine is purchased from outside, and its own production is still not usable. In that year, the governor of Guangdong, the president of Longji Optoelectronics, appointed Lieutenant General Liu Chengen to supervise the Guangdong Arsenal.

This 68 rifle, which is the current standard equipment of the Wehrmacht, is a 6.8mm caliber rifle, which is a 1904 rifle in the fur color.

At present, almost all of the Wehrmacht uses this kind of rifle, only the militia and other organizations, because of the lack of firearms, so temporarily use the original fast gun, Hanyang-made, Austro-Hungarian Manlixia, Japan's golden hook gun, and the Japanese rifle captured from the Shandong battlefield, the equipment is very mixed, and the power is difficult to say...

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Guangdong is very hot in May, and Yan Shao has only one purpose for coming this time...

"How's the expansion going?"

After glancing at the situation in the factory, Yan Shao asked Shi Lin who was standing on the side softly.

Hearing Yan Shao's inquiry, Shi Lin, the current director of the Guangdong Arsenal, hurriedly replied. "At present, the expansion project is very smooth, the first and second phases of the project have been completed, and now the third phase of the project is underway, which is the last phase."

Speaking of this, Shi Lin paused slightly, and the generals and officers standing around Yan Shao also listened attentively.

Today's Wehrmacht officers have completely changed into pure black Type 11 uniforms. Dozens of officers wearing pure black daily clothes stood behind Yan Shao, looking very imposing.

"At present, the daily output of 6.8mm rifles in the arsenal has reached 500 pieces, the daily output of light machine guns is 1,000, and the monthly output of heavy machine guns..." Standing beside Yan Shao, Shi Lin reported the current situation in the arsenal in a soft voice.

The previous data have also been read, the original Guangdong Arsenal can only produce 20 6.8mm rifles in a day, and the Madsen light machine guns that are currently being equipped in large quantities by the Wehrmacht are only a pitiful figure of 20 per month...

Such a small amount is obviously not enough for the National Defense Force, which is also the reason why Yan Shaohui expanded the Guangdong Arsenal. In fact, the expansion is not only the Guangdong Arsenal, but also other arsenals, including the Sichuan Arsenal, the Hanyang Arsenal and the Dexian Arsenal in Shandong.

There is only one purpose, which is to be able to meet the needs of the Wehrmacht.

At present, although the National Defense Force has only more than 700,000 troops, when it comes to expanding the army in the future, it will not have the ability to arm a million-strong army in a short period of time. Then in the war, what awaits Yan Shao is probably only defeat. You only have to think about how many troops the Russians armed in a short period of time after the outbreak of war in World War II, and how many troops the Americans armed at full strength after Pearl Harbor.

China's population is so large that it almost exceeds that of any other populous country. But in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China has always been inferior to other countries. It's not because soldiers and officers don't work hard, yes, there are indeed many people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, but there are also many brave people who sacrifice their lives and forget to die, and the reason why this is the case is entirely because of the problem of training and equipment.

Especially the equipment, it was precisely because the equipment was not as good as others, so the officers and soldiers of the Anti-Japanese War at that time had to meet the Japanese army's machine guns and artillery with flesh and blood...

If the Chinese army at that time had the same level of equipment as the Japanese, then the whole war would undoubtedly be much easier.

Think about many wars, almost all because of the equipment, so that the side with the weaker equipment has to get into a difficult situation. Of course, there are also those who are weakly equipped, but who win with real tactical skills.

But in that case, the requirements are too high. And even if the tactics are excellent, in the face of the enemy's superior equipment, casualties will still not be less...

And Yan Shao's purpose is to show the superiority of manpower while ensuring the lives of national defense officers and soldiers...

Otherwise, for the C division, which is called cannon fodder, how could Yan Shao be equipped with so many mortars? (To be continued......)