"So, I really bought it right this time?" After listening to Xu Jie's introduction, Guangxu said with a happy face. In Guangxu's opinion, since this newcomer from Beiyang even dared to set up a military order, it is estimated that the performance of this battleship is really similar to what he said. And if according to what Xu Jie said, this ship is indeed much stronger than various cruisers in the Beiyang.

"At least for three years, this type of battleship is the best choice among warships of its class." Xu Jie replied.

"If I buy 3 warships of this type in Beiyang, it should be able to protect my Daqing coastal defense without harm, right?" Guangxu continued to ask.

"There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this navy." Xu Jie is colorful. "Whether the European countries are a first-class naval power stronger than Britain and France or a second-rate naval power such as Russia and Italy, their warships are constantly being updated, and when a warship is put into service, new warships are being designed and even put into construction. Especially now, with the rapid development of naval technology, if it does not move forward, it will inevitably lead to backwardness, and the result of backwardness is defeat. ”

"If according to what you say, the money of this household will go to the water division?" Master Weng couldn't help it, even though Li Hongzhang was next to him!

"Japan, a small country in the east, can build an army and navy at any cost, is it not as good as any small country in the east of the Qing Dynasty?" Xu Jie said sharply. In fact, Xu Jie still has a subtext that he didn't dare to say, that is: "It's better to use money to be a sailor than to defeat as a compensation, right?" ”

"Master Weng is an important minister in the DPRK, you should have known about the invasion of Taiwan and the vassal country Korea when Japan sent troops to invade our Qing Dynasty, Taiwan, and the vassal country, right? The ambition of the wolf son of the Japanese is obvious, but you are still embarrassed by the funding of the navy. But if there is something wrong with the maritime affairs, is it your Lord Weng's fault or my Beiyang's fault? The annual expenditure of the Beiyang Naval Division is only more than 1 million taels, while the annual expenditure of the Japanese Navy alone is no less than 8 million yen. In the past, I'm afraid that my Beiyang Navy Division will be defeated without a fight, right? Xu Jie looked directly at Weng Tongyi and said.

"What does an ignorant boy know? Do you know how embarrassing this household's annual expenses are? Weng Tongyi didn't understand maritime affairs, so he had to lead the topic elsewhere first.

"I don't know about the household department, but I know that the Japanese people used me as the enemy of the Qing Dynasty everywhere in the process of setting up the water division. After I purchased Chaoyong in Beiyang, the Japanese people bought the same type of ship Tsukushi. Subsequently, I bought Dingzhen in the Qing Dynasty, and the Japanese people bought 3 scenic ships, and after I purchased Zhiyuan Jiyuan and other ships in Beiyang, the Japanese people bought Gao Qianhui, Langsu and so on. Coupled with the previous Fuso 2 and other battleships, the strength is not weak, if you take into account the warships that Japan plans to buy, I am afraid that even if I have these 3 new ships in the Beiyang, I will not be able to defeat it. Xu Jie said with a worried face. If you don't buy a boat, how does Master Weng plan to retreat from the enemy? Why don't you let me lose the Qing Dynasty to the small country in the east?? ”

"Alarmist." Master Weng was speechless for a while, and could only say these words to cope.

"Whether it is alarmist or not, it shouldn't be a person who doesn't understand maritime affairs?" The alcohol king, who had been silent, said dissatisfiedly.

"Your Majesty, please see, in addition to the 3 new cruisers ordered by my Beiyang Fleet, there are only 2 ironclad ships, 6 cruisers and 2 outdated fast collision ships, and these two ships have fallen into disrepair due to lack of funds, and if there is a war, I am afraid that the support will not be more than half an hour. Among the cruisers, the tonnage is in the early 2,000 tons, and there are only a few guns above medium caliber, and all of them are withdrawn. In this way, Beiyang will make up these 13 warships at most. And the emperor looked at the Japanese fleet again. As he spoke, Xu Jie pointed to the model of the Japanese fleet that was placed aside.

"The Japanese fleet is divided into three major parts, of which the ironclad ships and coastal defense ships with a speed of about 10 knots are a group, and its warships are the Fuso battleship with a displacement of 3,777 tons, with 17 guns, the 2,284-ton Kongo and Hiei, with 8 to 9 guns, and the coastal defense ships of more than 4,200 tons, Hashidate, Matsushima and Itsukushima are equipped with various artillery guns as many as 31 guns, among which it must be noted that these three battleships are equipped with a 320MM French-made Ghana heavy gun, which is specially designed to deal with the Dingzhen 2 ship of our Dashimizu Division. In addition, there is a Chiyoda with more than 2,400 tons and 17 guns. This is a total of 6 warships. The main team that makes up the Japanese fleet," Xu Jie said and let out a long breath. At least so far, his appearance is not bad, and the attention of Guangxu and others has been attracted to this model one by one.

"And the real elite of the Japanese fleet is its fast fleet. According to Weichen's speculation, there will be 6 warships. Although there are only 2 ships at present, and they have not yet been finalized, once they are finally completed, their combat power will be very terrifying. Xu Jie paused, well, it is impossible to tell a big lie in front of so many people that he is not nervous. However, Xu Jie still left a way back. He only said speculation and not certainty. …,

"When fully built, the fast fleet will consist of 1 Dome cruiser of the 1st rank and 5 Dome cruisers of the 2nd class. This class of dome cruisers was to be Edgar-class cruisers of the first class, purchased from the British. The displacement is 7350 tons, the normal speed is 18 knots, and the maximum speed is 20 knots. It was armed with 2 9.2-inch guns, 10 6-inch guns, 12 6-pounder guns and 5 3-pounder guns. 4 x 18-inch torpedo tubes. (This ship is very cheap, less than 400,000 pounds in the eighties of the 19th century, and it is really cheap.) However, the 4 6-inch guns on the lower level are too low in height, so in the case of slightly higher speeds, the lower guns will not be usable. Why? It's flooded!! In addition, the Japanese will also import two new 2nd class dome cruisers, one with a displacement of more than 4,200 tons, a speed of 23 knots, and 34 guns, and a displacement of more than 4,100 tons, a speed of 22.5 knots, and 30 guns, including two 8-inch guns (this is the later Takasago model, Yoshino's same class ship. And one of the remaining three warships will be launched next year, the ship is called Akitsuzu, with a displacement of 3,100 tons, a speed of 19 knots, and 22 guns. And the two protective cruisers that have been put into service are Takachie and Naniwa, with a displacement of more than 3,700 tons, a speed of 18 knots, and 24 guns. This high-speed fleet is equipped with a large number of rapid-fire guns, and the average speed will be above 14 knots (considering speed decay). Once the war starts, this fleet will directly cut into our battle line with high speed, and lock the distance between the two sides at the middle and close range where the opponent's firepower is absolutely superior, even if our new Beiyang ships are in place, these three new warships will definitely not be able to defeat one first-class cruiser and five second-class cruisers. And once our Beiyang fast fleet collapses, once the Japanese fast fleet cuts into our Beiyang fleet, I am afraid that a warship of more than 2,000 tons will not be able to hold up for even 20 minutes. Speaking of this, Xu Jie also fell a drop of cold sweat on his head. Although he was not sure that the Japanese would buy those ships, Japan, which had a certain margin of financial resources, would certainly not be indifferent after buying new ships in the Beiyang, and once the war started, it would definitely not be just four ships in one trip.