In May 1892, just when the three **-class light armored cruisers ordered by Beiyang were stepping up outfitting, Deng Shichang and Yang Yonglin, the pipe belts of the future new ships, finally came to Italy, which was thousands of miles away from the Qing Dynasty. Here they will receive new types of warships and add new blood to the Beiyang Naval Division.

"Welcome, gentlemen." In a conference room at the Ansaldo Shipyard, Xu Jie and Lang Weili met with Deng Shichang, Yang Yonglin and others who were preparing to receive the ship.

"I don't know when the battleship I ordered in Beiyang will be launched." Deng Shichang asked eagerly.

"All the works will be completed in October 1893." Xu Jie replied.

"More than a year? However, the three warships under construction are almost ready to be outfitted. It's almost time to install artillery. At this rate, it can be completed in a maximum of 3 months. Yang Yonglin said puzzled.

"That's not your ship, it's your ship on the 10,000-ton slipway next to it." Xu Jie pointed to the three slipways that were a little farther away and said.

"What is this?" Deng Shichang took a deep breath and steady, and then asked tentatively, "Isn't this the new Garibaldi armored cruiser of the Kingdom of Italy?" ”

"No, the closest to us are 2 Garibaldi-type armored cruisers, and the one farthest from us is an improved version of the Garibaldi type, which we call the PISA-class armored cruisers." Then Xu Jie took a deep breath and continued: "And these ships are all ours. ”

"This? Admiral Ding and Chief Liu, do they know? Deng Shichang suddenly asked with a spirit.

"In Beiyang, only Lord Li, Admiral Ding and Zhang Peilun know, and no one else knows, including Lin Zongbing and Liu Zongbing. And in Italy, apart from the Italian core, only a few people in the shipyards know about it, and the whole of Europe outside this base knows nothing about it. Xu Jie smiled proudly. This method of darkness and Chen Cang, he worked hard to come up with.

"And how are these warships distributed?" Yang Yonglin asked. The addition of six new warships will certainly have an extremely far-reaching impact on the existing pattern of the Beiyang.

"Li Zhongtang means that in addition to the general forces of the left and right flanks of Beiyang, there will be another general army of the fast fleet. Among the six new warships, 3 10,000-ton warships are temporarily not included, while three **-class light cruisers are incorporated into the fast fleet. Xu Jie replied.

"Could it be that these 6 warships will all be under Brother Xu's hands?" Yang Yonglin was shocked beyond measure.

Liu Zongbing and others didn't know about this matter, so they naturally couldn't command these three new ships, and the three 5,000-ton cruisers couldn't match the existing warships in Beiyang, so they could only be grouped separately. From the point of view of combat performance, a single team is the best choice. Xu Jie gave his reasons.

"Then these 6 ships to the pipe belt, can Lord Zhongtang have a choice?" Deng Shichang asked.

"These 6 warships will be divided into 2 detachments, and the ships of the same class will be grouped into one detachment, and Lang Jiaoxi, Lord Deng, and Lord Yang will serve as the pipe belt of the 3 Garibaldi-class armored ships. General Lang Jiaoxi led the First Fast Fleet, while Lin Guandao and Lin Yingqi respectively served as the pipe belt of the two **-class cruisers, and the other battleship was vacant, and Lord Lin Yongsheng led the Second Fast Detachment. Xu Jie replied.

"This is a whole new Beiyang Fleet. Li Zhongtang and Master Xu are really generous. Although Xu Jie did not say his position, how could Yang Yonglin, who had been in the officialdom for many years, not know that these two fast fleets would be under his command of someone Xu. As a close disciple of Li Hongzhang, I am afraid that after a hundred years of Li Hongzhang, the position of the minister of Beiyang will still fall into the hands of Xu Jie.

"In that case, why did Lord Yang and I come first, and Lin Guan took them later? Our ships were finished even later. Deng Shichang asked puzzled. …,

"The Garibaldi-class armored cruiser is a collection of European shipbuilding masterpieces, which uses too many new technologies, new 10-inch turret guns, rangefinders, and water-tube boilers, these equipment and weapons are very different from the previous Beiyang warships, it can be said that the generation difference between the two sides is about 10 years, and if there is not enough time to familiarize themselves with and learn, I am afraid that they will not be able to play the role of new warships. Moreover, although there are Dingzhen 2 ships on the Beiyang side, the combat methods and command of the new ships are very different from the old ships, which is also a challenge for you to bring in the management. Therefore, Li Zhongtang decided to let our three pipe bands come first, and give priority to training the technical soldiers of the first rapid detachment. Luang Weili explained.

"Looks like we're going to be based in Italy." Yang Yonglin smiled bitterly.

"There is nothing bad about it, except that you can't go out casually, whether it is the living conditions and training conditions here are higher than those of Lushun and Weihai. I'm so much worse than you, I'm going to be here for at least 4 years. Xu Jie said while gesturing.

"I'm afraid that even if these three Garibaldi-type armored ships return to Beiyang, it will be very laborious to maintain, the waterway and dock will be expanded, and the Lushun Machinery Bureau will have to add new equipment and personnel. That's a lot of money. I don't know how I raised this money. Deng Shichang said helplessly.

"Naturally, Deng Gong doesn't have to worry about this. Now we must be familiar with the operation of the fast fleet, in addition to the six warships ordered by Beiyang in Italy, in the future Qing-Japanese war, the fast fleet must also draw some warships from the Guangdong and Penghu naval divisions and reorganize. Xu Jie laid out his plan and disfigured.

"What is the purpose of this?" Yang Yonglin asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Xu plans to draw a new 1,500-ton third-class dome cruiser from these two sailors as a reconnaissance fleet, right?" Luang Weili asked.

"Yes, the three Garibaldi-class armoured ships will not be immediately put into battle at the beginning of the war, and I reckon it would be good if they were all completed by February 1894. After arriving in the Qing Dynasty, I will definitely have to correct it before I can fight, and at the same time, I still want to start hiding in the snow and play this trump card again at the decisive moment. So at the beginning, the guerrilla operation could only be carried out by 3 **-class light armored cruisers. And this combination did not have an advantage over the Japanese Edgar-class protected cruisers of the 1st rank and 2 protected cruisers of the 2nd class. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the 2nd Rapid Detachment, it was necessary to have some faster ships to serve as guards. Xu Jie said.

"Then once these avant-garde battleships are entangled, it will be very dangerous." Deng Shichang frowned, he knew very well that if the second rapid detachment went to the rescue, he would definitely be entangled. And after the speed drops, once it is targeted by the main Japanese force or other cruisers, it will be all over, so these third-class dome cruisers are just consumables, providing the main fleet with a chance to retreat.

"There will always be sacrifices in war." Lang Weili glanced at Deng Shichang with some dissatisfaction and said. In the eyes of Luang Weili, the British teacher, auxiliary warships are used for consumption, although they are very cold-blooded, but for victory, any price can be paid, and only a navy that dares to sacrifice is a strong navy. When necessary, a strong man's broken wrist is also a kind of courage and wisdom.

"What should I do with the Beiyang team? How to strengthen? "Deng Shichang is now more concerned about the old Beiyang ships led by Admiral Ding. 6 new warships with a certain number of avant-garde ships, they can fight and run, and there will be no danger, but how can the slow and old Beiyang Navy Division old ships deal with it?

"This, except for the clippers transferred from the Guangdong Navy Division and the Penghu Navy Division, the others are incorporated into the Beiyang team, and if the Nanyang Navy Division can fight for it, there is no problem for the Beiyang Fleet to protect itself!!" Xu Jie himself was not sure whether Liu Kunyi's Nanyang would really help Beiyang fight. In history, Liu Kunyi's Nanyang ran away directly after participating in the big parade, hoping that this time, Nanyang, who received the benefits of Beiyang, could be more righteous, at least the war-weariness should stay. But fortunately, in this plane, the firepower of the Beiyang Fleet has been greatly strengthened, and goods like the Sanjing Ship and Fusang are estimated to be in a catastrophe.

Thank you book friends for taking the life of the scholar, the reward of the frozen night wolf~~, the war is about to start, everyone support the author~~