"The sea power in Europe should be balanced, and neither the British nor the Germans should be the best. We need to let them contain each other and consume each other, and only when they are inseparable from each other in Europe can we develop and expand in China with peace of mind. The German Navy has now begun to rise, and the Italians are on the side of the Germans. We also need to put some weight everywhere in the UK, only in this way can we ensure the balance of power between the two sides. ——Excerpt from Yan Boxun's "Memoirs of World War 1"

Just before the two heads were preparing for the meeting, Yan Boxun suddenly received an urgent secret message from China. In this secret telegram, Xu Jie secretly ordered Yan Boxun to sell the design of the 10-gun battleship with a central axis layout to the British under suitable circumstances, and asked Yan Boxun to suggest that Jericho adopt this 10-gun design with heavy protection, heavy firepower and light speed. And this move was made to balance the powerful dreadnought fleets of Germany and Italy.

"The boss is really black-bellied, and both sides are calculating at the same time." Yan Boxun suddenly felt that he had quite a conscience. Xu Jie thought so. In history, the Germans have entered the era of fearlessness about 5 years in advance, and adhering to the principle of Xu Jie's emphasis on firepower, so its navy will never have a situation where large ships and small cannons will occur, and now Italy has firmly stood on the side of the Germans, and then the situation of World War 1 will become a more powerful German fleet against the British Empire, and in the Mediterranean, it is Italy and the Austro-Hungarian fleet against France, if nothing else, the French will definitely not be able to withstand the strengthened Italy and Austria-Hungary together, The British also had to spare some troops to help the French. In this way, there is already a possibility that the warships of Europe will be out of balance!

So Xu Jie needs to make at least part of the British Royal Navy's warships hard. And Jericho was the future commander of the fleet, although it was Fisher who was in charge. But before 1914, Jericho still had the opportunity to influence the naval armament to some extent. So in the face of this situation, Xu Jie decided to provide Jericho with a battleship design at the last moment. Of course, this will have to be paid back by the British.

The next day, in a rural tavern in Italy, a serving rear admiral of the British Royal Navy and a rear admiral of the Chinese Republic of China shipbuilders were engaged in a far-reaching deal in a private room of an inconspicuous tavern. The two sides are pressed for time, both Jericho and Yan Boxun know that this is a private transaction, and although the arrogant British need it, they are unwilling to let others know that they bought the design. China, on the other hand, had to take into account the ideas of the Germans and Italians. So every minute of the meeting is very precious, there is no greeting, no politeness. The two sides just said hello and started trading!

"As allies, while the British Empire provides a great deal of support to your country, we should also share something of mutual interest. Your country has already submitted the design of two battleships to Germany and Italy, and Britain is your country's staunchest ally. I don't know what to do. What do you intend to share? Jericho said calmly.

"Then it depends on what your country wants. Or rather, what kind of battleship did General Fisher prefer. Yan Boxun said with a slight smile.

"As far as I know, in addition to battleships, there is also a type of ship called battlecruisers in your country's new ship plan, which emphasizes high speed and strong firepower, and weakens protection. As a cruiser killer. After Jericho finished speaking, he looked at Yan Boxun. Hopefully something will be discovered from his performance.

"There is such a design, and we do intend to use it against the armored cruisers of the Russians." Yan Boxun admitted.

"So I want to know how weakened is the protection of such a warship? Will it be possible to go to the battle line and participate in the engagement of the main fleet? Jericho asked.

"The outer main armor is 6 to 7 inches thick, and it is used to withstand the blows of medium-caliber artillery. Inside, there is also a layer of dome armor that is almost at the same level as the waterline. The thickness of the inclined part is about 3 inches, and it is used for supplementary defense. It stands to reason that such protection should be able to withstand heavy artillery attacks. But what is actually going on, I think as a good officer in the Royal Navy, you should know very well. Yan Boxun said.

"The dome armor was made flatter and lower in order to pursue protection, and the original role of the dome armor to keep water out of the original was lost, so even if the dome armor blocked the shells, it would still cause a lot of water to enter the cabin. Although the core room can be preserved, it does not mean that the battleship will not be sunk, but it will not be killed in seconds. Jericho muttered.

"That's right, although our battlecruisers said that they had taken into account the defense of heavy artillery, they did not consider having this type of battleship fight with regular battleships on the battle line. Such an outcome would be catastrophic. Yan Boxun said.

"So we wanted to get a real battleship that could be used in a fleet battle, in addition to the blueprints of the modified battleship." Jericho said. "Can you first reveal the basic data of the modified battleships built by your country in our country?"

"The main guns were arranged in a quadrangular pattern, with two twin 12-inch guns at the head and tail, and the other two turrets arranged diagonally in the middle of the hull, with the main guns on each side having a range of 45 to 60 degrees on the opposite side. In general, in the battle line, all 8 main guns can be used. The displacement is about 17,000 tons. The speed is above 23 knots. Yan Boxun gave a rough figure.

"This battleship is enough to suppress all armored cruisers and armored cruiser collar ships. Very nice design. But the British Empire did not want to have only such a type of battleship. Jericho said.

"What we offered Germany and Italy was a warship design. And in return, they will give us extremely low prices. Yan Boxun said calmly.

"Naturally, we will compensate your country accordingly. For example, the export license of new steam turbines, and the sharing of some technology. However, we need to see the corresponding design before we can decide whether to buy it or not. If I can, I would like Mr. Yan to introduce his design concept first. Jericho said.

"One is a battleship in the traditional sense, which in terms of layout is an improved version of the two battleships we built in Italy, with 5 twin turrets and a central axle layout. There are 2 turrets at the end and 2 turrets in a knapsack layout. There is a twin turret in the middle. There are pretty good shooting boundaries on both sides. Cancel the Gun Gallery guns, and all the turret secondary guns are utilized, which can save the Gun Gallery armor belt. THE THICKNESS OF THE MAIN ARMOR REACHED 300MM AND 3.5 METERS IN HEIGHT. THE UPPER ARMOR OF THE 150MM TURRET AND THE FRONTAL 320MM TURRET ARE EQUIVALENT. The speed is 20 knots and the tonnage reaches 23,000 tons. Yan Boxun threw out the plan of the standard battleship first according to Xu Jie's instructions.

"To be honest, I prefer this layout of 5 twin guns to the 3-pack main gun used in your country. More turrets meant that the risk of loss of fire was dispersed, and the walk of the twin guns was even better. Anyway I like it. Jericho said with satisfaction.

"Hehe, that's because you didn't consider replacing the 3 12-inch guns with a twin-mounted main gun with a larger caliber. As for the 5 twin turrets, the probability of being shot is slightly greater than that of 4. What's more, the weight of the armament will be higher. Yan Boxun said in his heart.

"A warship of this type can become a full-fledged ship type. When we have a more powerful main gun, we can still use this layout. I'm satisfied, and I'm hoping to get the relevant information, after all, it's General Fisher and the Royal Admiralty and maybe Parliament that I'm trying to convince. Jericho said.

"This is naturally no problem, if you can come up with a consideration, then this battleship will definitely satisfy you, we have a third plan, I wonder if Your Excellency Lu Dao is interested?" Yan Boxun hesitated for a moment and then took out the plan for a fast battleship.

"Fast battleships? A battleship with a slightly higher speed than a normal battleship? Jericho said with interest. I'd love to know what is the important role of such a battleship? Counterattack cruisers already have battle cruisers, and decisive battles at sea still depend on regular battleships. So what is the purpose of a fast battleship? ”

"As we said earlier, the battle cruisers we have provided for your country will not be able to participate in the decisive battle of the fleet, and if the opposing avant-garde fleet is a cruiser, then it will be fine. If the opponent's avant-garde is some battleships, the avant-garde formed by the battle patrol is useless, it cannot stop the reconnaissance of the opponent's avant-garde, it cannot penetrate the opponent's avant-garde fleet, and more importantly, it cannot participate in the main decisive battle, then tell me, what should you do? Yan Boxun asked.

"One thing I don't understand, shouldn't the reconnaissance fleet be made up of high-speed warships? I'm afraid the speed of the united front ship is not enough, right? Jericho didn't answer Yan Boxun's question.

"The purpose of the avant-garde fleet is to detect the adversary on the one hand, and to prevent the opponent from conducting reconnaissance on its own fleet on the other. If the former can't be done, then it's okay to do the latter well, and more importantly, if your avant-garde is a fast battleship, then you have a chance to do both tasks well. Yan Boxun said with a smile.

"I have reservations about this type of battleship, the advantage of 1 or 2 knots more is not really obvious, and this advantage is easily offset by seaworthiness and mechanical wear. In the first few years of service, it may be considered a high-speed battleship, but after a few years, its speed will definitely decay, so its significance is limited. Jericho was still concerned about this kind of battleship. And this has affected the comparison of naval combat strength between the two sides in World War 1. It was later called one of Jericho's few mistakes in his life.

However, Jericho did not immediately embrace this idea. But he still bought the design, so that when Jericho came to his senses, the British Navy would not be blind. In this way, a meeting in an Italian country inn inadvertently changed the British Navy. Although the battlecruisers were still in the water, before the start of World War 1, the British still built two battleships that were worthy of use, and maintained the glory of the St. George's banner!

Today's subscriptions are almost 400 fewer than yesterday. Tragedy——! This is still in the recommended period——! (To be continued.) )