If Xu Jie is asked to evaluate the naval lineup of China and Japan in the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, there is only one sentence: "The main force of Beiyang will fight against the Japanese elite fleet." "Compared with the Beiyang to dispatch almost all the warships that can go to sea, Japan only sent about two-thirds of its main force. In addition to the well-known 6 warships of our team, and 4 fast cruisers, Japan also has 2 2nd class ironclad ships and 5 unprotected cruisers, of which two 2nd class ironclad ships (tonnage of 2200+ tons, firepower is not weaker than the general cruisers of the Beiyang) and the other 5 protective cruisers have a tonnage of more than 1300 tons, although there is no protection, but the combat performance is still much stronger than the super brave and mighty of the Beiyang (especially the firepower, such as the Tianlong, the tonnage of 1358 tons, there is a 170MM Krupp gun, 120MM GUNS 6). As for gunboats and torpedo boats? The Japanese Navy had 23 torpedo boats alone. So no matter from which point of view, the defeat of the Beiyang Navy is not unjust at all. If the Japanese Navy had poured out of the Dadonggou Naval Battle that year, it is estimated that the Beiyang Naval Division would not have lost just 5 warships, and it would be enough to choke whether Dingzhen could go back.

And if we consider Japan's potential, we refer to the fact that Japan directly ordered 2 battleships on the day of the First Sino-Japanese Naval War and snapped up the Izumi from Chile at a high price during the First Sino-Japanese Naval War. It can be roughly inferred that Japan had at least 750,000 pounds of surplus money during the war. (Two battleships priced at about £1 million per unit are calculated at 25% of the down payment, while Izumi is calculated at £250,000) In this way, it seems that Japan will be able to buy two or three dome cruisers. In other words, the number of first-line capital ships that Japan could reach in the end was 20 (including 5 unprotected cruisers), including 7 fast cruisers. And also to think about coping with the robbery of the Russian Navy.

In response to the above situation, Xu Jie's transformation plan for the Beiyang Navy is as follows, the first is to replace the Bada Yuan with rapid-fire guns. Combined with historical facts, Dingzhen plans to install 6 guns each, and if the other ships are calculated by supplementing 4 guns, they need to purchase 36 4.7-inch rapid-fire guns. Combined with the ammunition and other costs of maintaining the ship, it will cost about £300,000. (Historically, it is estimated that it will cost 610,000 taels of silver to purchase 16 120 rapid-fire guns and their accessories)

Second, the purchase of 3 **-class cruisers, if calculated with 1 twin 6-inch gun at the bow and tail, the 3 battleships plus other accessories and ammunition will cost about 900,000 pounds. At the same time, based on 400 people per boat, there must be at least 1,200 sailors. Personnel consumption is not included

Thirdly, buy 2 or 3 Garibaldi's improved circuits, each at £700,000. That's £2.1 million. Each battleship is counted at 600 people. A total of 1,800 men were needed for the three warships.

To sum up, Xu Jie will spend at least 3.3 million pounds to purchase weapons and warships. As for the personnel of at least 3000 people, this is almost equivalent to rebuilding a Northern Fleet. You must know that the Beiyang Fleet has a total of more than 4,000 officers and men. Coupled with the cost of personnel, without 3.5 million taels of silver, Xu Jie was not sure to win the crucial war of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. And the premise of this qiē is still based on historical estimates. Looking at a few pieces of white paper full of jù, Xu Jie felt a deep powerlessness. £3.5 million. It's more than 22 million taels. Historically, the Qing government borrowed only 24 million taels from foreign banks during the First Sino-Japanese War.

Worrying is not the answer. Xu Jie can only do it now by making money first, becoming famous first, and then trying to make friends with Xue Fucheng, the Qing Dynasty's minister to the four countries. And then find a way to enter the North Ocean. At the same time, it is also necessary to maintain certain contacts with the technical and political circles of various countries to prepare for the future construction of ships. As for where to build the ship? Xu Jie still prefers to be in France and Italy. Why? First, the United Kingdom. The slipways for Britain to build their own warships were no longer very abundant. Can you launch 3 8,500-ton warships into the Beiyang at the same time? Apparently impossible. And at that time the pro-Japanese tendencies of Britain were already obvious. Xu Jie didn't dare to guarantee that the British would not tell the Japanese all the information. Second, Germany. Let's put it this way, before the German production of the Bismarck for cruise, German warship construction could not be compared with Britain, France and Italy. When Germany built a town for the Qing Dynasty, Italy was already building 13,000-ton battleships (speed 20.3 knots!!). 4 guns of 343. But the waterline armor was thin, only 4 inches. It was a typical thin-skinned fast battleship. The Emperor-class battleships that Germany began to build in 1895 were also inferior to the Ammiraglio di Saintbon-class battleships that Italy began to build in 93, so Xu Jie directly ignored Germany.