Liverpool.

Parsons sat leisurely in the café with black tea in his hand, looking at the statistics in his hand, and a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Yes, proudly.

He is now a popular figure in the British Admiralty, with the support of Sir Fisher, the newly appointed Third Admiralty, a £50,000 research grant, and a company of his own, Parsons Nautical Steam Turbines.

Everything looks so perfect, judging by the data in his hands, this new steam turbine can already reach seven hundred horsepower, although it is not very stable, but he is confident that in a year the power will be increased to two thousand horsepower, which will be enough to drive a torpedo ship.

As long as he can drive the warship and prove to the Admiralty that his design is correct, everyone will be convinced that the steam turbine is the greatest invention of this era, and the whole person shuddered a little at the thought that the warships of the future empire and even the world will use his steam turbine.

This represents not only countless pounds, but also power and status, and perhaps he can be canonized as a baron by the queen like Admiral John Fisher, who received him.

All that's left is to complete the final process as soon as possible, and everything will be revealed in a year's time! Parsons looked at his pocket watch, it was the day of the meeting of all the engineers, and he should have arrived early, so he took the last sip of black tea, took out two shillings and put them on the table, and walked quickly to the experimental factory a kilometer away.

However, Parsons didn't notice that at the same time as he got up, a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and not being able to see clearly was chasing after him at a rapid pace.

"Hello, Mr. Parsons, here's a package for you."

As soon as Parsons reached the entrance of the experimental factory, he was stopped by a child who was carrying a burden about his height. "You are the Messenger? Who gave me this baggage? Parsons wondered who sent the things himself.

The little boy shook his head, saying that he didn't know who had sent it, but that the post office had told him to deliver it to Parsons himself, and that he had been waiting here for half an hour.

Parsons took out a shilling and gave the little boy a tip, only to find that it was really heavy when he took the baggage, but he didn't open it immediately, and the meeting was about to begin, so he walked into the experimental factory with the baggage.

The experimental factory is not large, with a single-story structure, about 500 square meters back and forth, and there is a small office in the corner of the factory, which is where Parsons usually works. Of course, it's not that he doesn't want to expand, it's that money is a little tight, but he believes that in another year, it will be the center of the world's attention.

After putting the baggage in the office, Parsons looked at the locked cabinet again, which contained some important design information, and saw that there was no sign of opening it before he walked out of the office.

At this moment, the factory was already crowded with people, except for the more than thirty mechanics who had followed him for many years, most of the others were his assistants, and several experts who had just been sent from the Admiralty were also gathered around a steam turbine placed in the center, pointing and discussing something, looking very serious and conscientious.

As the atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic, the workers began to work, and the designers continued to discuss around the turbine, and no one noticed that a large group of men in large clothes had appeared outside the factory gate.

"Do it."

With a sound of German, the men gathered at the factory gate drew their pistols from their clothes and rushed into the factory quickly.

"Stop, you are." Before the worker who found them could finish questioning, a dagger pierced the worker's throat, and in an instant blood was sprinkled like a fountain.

This scene suddenly made all the workers and designers stop in fear, and Parsons didn't understand, who were these people, how could they suddenly kill people?

For a moment, screams and shouts filled the factory, but before they could finish shouting, one of the big men grabbed a designer, stabbed him in the neck, and said in broken English: "Whoever is screaming, just like him." ”

Such a frenzied killing immediately frightened everyone, even Parsons, the head of the factory, trembled in his feet, knowing that as long as he rushed into the office and picked up the phone, he could contact the outside, but he couldn't move no step anyway.

When the pistols appeared in everyone's field of vision, everyone was even more frightened, and they all crowded into the corner amid the shouts of the big men.

Parsons' eyes widened in horror, he didn't know why these people suddenly broke into this place, it was just a factory, there was no money at all, but as he saw these big men rushing into the office, constantly flipping through the materials and documents, his face suddenly changed! It's been his hard work for years, and if he loses it, it will be a disaster!

"No, you have to keep the information!"

But before Parsons could finish his thoughts, he saw a big man pointing at him, and then two of them quickly ran to his side, grabbed him and pulled him to the big man who was in charge.

"Mr. Parsons, I'm glad to see you." The big man looked at Parsons and laughed, this guy is worth ten thousand pounds! I didn't expect it to fall into my own hands so simply.

The thought of taking him to receive the bounty later, Dahan trembled with excitement. Seeing Parsons caught, no one in the factory workers and designers dared to gasp, and could only stupidly watch these big men rummaging through boxes and cabinets, like robbers.

"Who are you? What are you going to do? Parsons' face turned green and he asked, trembling.

"We are."

"Ruth, look at this." Dahan just wanted to tell him about the fact that someone paid him to kidnap Parsons. At this moment, a companion suddenly reported a large package from the office, and his eyes lit up. When the big man named Ruth saw the package, he immediately shouted: "Quick, take it apart and see, maybe there is something good." ”

After several big men unwrapped the package, a wooden box immediately appeared in front of everyone, Ruth didn't bother to look closely, and suddenly lifted the lid of the box, and suddenly a wire caught his attention.

Before he could see clearly that the wire was connected there, a huge ball of fire suddenly erupted in front of him!

Rumble!

At the plant of the newly established Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky, countless bricks and tiles rose into the sky with the shock wave, and the pedestrians around were even more frightened and fell to the ground.

"Bang bang." A few pieces of rubble fell on the corners of the street around several men with wide-brimmed hats, and in the dust, the men showed a satisfied smile, glanced at each other, and then disappeared at the end of the street.

Rear Admiral John Fisher, Third Admiral of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, looked at Sir William White, who was sitting opposite him and was one of the best warship designers in the Empire, and asked with a smile: "Dear Baron William, I wonder if you feel about the sinking of the Yoshino in the Far East that you designed?" ”

William White didn't like coffee, so he asked for a cup of tea and said with a smile: "John, that's not my Yoshino, I just designed it, damn it, I don't know how to use it at all." ”

Although William White smiled, the last sentence still exposed his heart, as a great warship designer, no one wants their design to be sunk less than a year after launching.

And it's a sneak attack to sink! Don't even give a chance to face each other head-to-head! Those damn Hawaiian warmongers, if the Yoshino were to face the enemy head-on, could rely on speed to get rid of the entanglement.

Fisher smiled, this stubborn old guy was stubborn, but he was actually very concerned about the sinking of the Yoshino.

Waiting for William White to calm down a little, Fisher continued: "Mr. Baron William, what do you think of the war in the Far East? Any inspiration? ”

"It should be said that there is no big inspiration, those damn guys, they don't know how to abide by the laws of nobility at all, whether it is themselves or Hawaiians, they have chosen to sneak attack! Damn, if it's a head-to-head battle, I'm sure the problem will be exposed, and it will give me more inspiration and more revelations. William White thought for a moment, then shook his head.

After hearing this, Fisher also smiled bitterly.

The battle of the Steam-Age Sea in the Far East could have provided more information, but those Far Easterners seemed reluctant to engage head-on. However, even so, as an expert in artillery and torpedoes, he still received some useful inspirations, especially some information provided by the commander of the Far East Fleet, such as the information on the war between the Qing State and the Qing State. According to him, whether it is a battleship or a heavy patrol of the Pacific Fleet, their main guns have actually not achieved very great results, but are not as effective as those secondary guns, and the reason for this situation is not the power of the artillery, but the problem of firepower output.

Taking a Majestic-class battleship as an example, the rate of fire of the 12-inch main gun is only one shot every two minutes, although a ship has four guns, but the low rate of fire and the lack of accuracy lead to a salvo can not meet the requirements of fire coverage at all, and the people who came back from the investigation of the Beiyang Fleet also said that his small-caliber artillery was faster and completely suppressed the main guns of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan.

Today's Admiralty calls for a large-scale increase in the number of secondary guns to make up for the slow rate of fire and lack of coverage of the main guns, and there are even people who put forward the idea of abolishing large-caliber guns and installing 6-inch guns uniformly, but Fisher does not see it that way, according to his calculations, if the number of main guns can be increased to eight or nine, in this way, a salvo can fully achieve the required coverage.

Although he already had an idea, it was difficult to do so, because according to his calculations, the installation of eight main guns, plus secondary guns and armor, would require a displacement of about 20,000 tons, and the recoil generated by the simultaneous firing of eight main guns would be enough to shatter the deck.

Another problem is power, to propel such a large warship, at least more than 20,000 horsepower, according to the current level, need 24 coal-fired boilers and six steam engines, just to install these big guys, it is already very difficult, although he put forward the idea of replacing coal with oil oil very early, but so far it has not received enough attention, the Admiralty is still conservative that coal is more secure than oil.

So he came to William White today to ask for advice from the most famous warship designer in the empire, but after listening to Fisher's words, William White also shook his head, the idea of installing more than eight main guns at the same time is indeed too radical, not to mention that it can be built, even if it is built, the speed will be as slow as an old cow, and it will become a target completely.

Fisher smiled wryly, it seems that he will have to wait a few more years, at least until the steam turbine designed by Parsons can be practical.

Seeing Fisher's wry smile, William White smiled: "John, in fact, we don't have to install so many main guns at once, we can completely use our brains on the secondary guns." ”

"Sub-artillery?"

"Yes." William White put down the teacup, took out a piece of paper from his bag, drew the outline of a ship in a few clicks, and said, "To be honest, I really want to meet that young master Hawaii, remember the two battleships he ordered?" When I saw the data, I thought that guy was crazy, but today I realized how predictable he was. ”

As a friend of William White for many years, it was the first time Fisher had heard him praise someone like this, and he was surprised: "What foresight surname? ”

William White marked the outline of the ship a few times before saying: "This cute little guy, when he ordered the battleship, in addition to asking for a new 12-inch main gun, he also proposed the need for four twin 8-inch secondary guns, and in order to reduce the weight, he also drastically reduced the number of six-inch secondary guns, and even removed the torpedo!" At that time, I thought he was crazy and actually used two large-caliber guns on a warship. ”

"Judging from this naval battle, his idea is correct, although it is impossible to install as many main guns as you said, it is completely possible to use 8-inch guns as secondary main guns, so that when firing, you can have eight large-caliber naval guns on one side, although it cannot be compared with 12 inches, but compared to 6 inches of secondary guns, it is really much more powerful."

"Imagine that in the exchange of fire between two ships, with eight guns over 8 inches on one side and four guns over 8 inches and ten guns over six inches on the other, who do you think will win?"

Fisher shook his head, the idea tower of the second-level main gun actually existed for a long time, but everyone didn't notice one of the very critical and difficult to solve problems, that is, because the caliber of the naval guns is different, the trajectory produced is also different, in the exchange of fire, even if there is an experienced fighter, it is difficult to calculate the accurate impact point according to the trajectory of the opponent, and in the future, as the caliber of the naval gun becomes larger and larger, the firing range becomes longer and farther, this problem will be infinitely expanded, So he has always been against the adoption of two types of naval guns of more than eight inches on the same warship.

Seeing that Fisher was still sullen, William White smiled and said, "What's wrong?" Are you still worried about that young master? Rest assured, didn't the Admiralty decide not to build ships for him anymore? Speaking of this, he sighed deliberately: "It's a pity that we can't see these two battleships, and it's a pity that they will actually be used to me in a few years!" ”

Now that the topic was diverted, the surname Fischer gave up the idea for the time being, and when he heard the meaning of his words, he smiled and said, "Dear Baron William, you shouldn't want to intercede for Hawaii today, right?" Could it be that they are lobbying you too? ”

"Yes, it's not just me, they lobby every senior executive at Armstrong Shipyard." William White didn't hide it at all, deliberately stared at Fisher after speaking, and continued: "And I believe even more, they must have sent someone to lobby you!" ”

"You guessed it, they didn't just find me, they found a lot of councillors." John Fisher took a sip of his coffee and seemed surprised by the power of the Hawaiian lobby as well, saying, "And as far as I know, they are not just looking for us, but also France and Italy, and have achieved great results." ”

John Fisher put down his coffee and said with a wry smile: "Our Prime Minister still hasn't spoken, but the Italians have changed, and they have promised to sell all the complete naval artillery technology to Hawaii." It is said that in order to obtain these technologies, Hawaii also purchased eight twin 12-inch naval guns and more than five large supply ships from Italy at one time. ”

"Damn it!" As soon as he heard that the Italians had received such a lucrative contract, even William White couldn't help but spit and said angrily: "John, I'm not a politician, and I have nothing to do with the war with the Hawaiians, I just want to see the warships I designed all over every ocean!" And only by handing over the warships to Hawaii will we be able to gain practical experience from the war a few years later and design better warships to serve the Empire. ”

"As the Third Admiralty, you should immediately present your own proposals to the Admiralty and the Prime Minister!" William White continued to shout excitedly: "Don't forget, compared to my own order, Hawaii's battleships and cruisers are almost completely behind, and they need at least four battleships and two large armored cruisers!" We have to work hard for such a big contract! ”

"No, Mr. Baron, you have miscalculated." Fisher smiled bitterly and said the new information he had just received: "It's two battleships and two cruisers, because I just got the news that the Argentines and the Chileans, like the Chileans, handed over the two battleships they bought from our country to the Hawaiian Pacific Fleet, and the remaining four. ”

"What's wrong?" Seeing that John Fisher's face suddenly turned much uglier, William White hurriedly asked.

"The Germans struck, they announced that they would send the Far Eastern Fleet to Hawaii. I'm sure the Germans must have seen such an attractive contract, and I'm even more worried that the Germans might pick up Hawaii and enter the Far East! ”

"The Germans are also going to the Far East?" William White looked at the young Imperial Third Admiral in front of him in surprise and asked, "John, last time you said that Russia also sent warships to the Far East. Then will they. ”

"I don't know, but I believe in one thing, when the Navy is rearmed, the Far East will become very crowded!" John Fisher shook his head, and his face suddenly became solemn: "At that time, Admiral Filletman and his Far East Fleet will face the most serious challenge!" ”

Although William White was a warship designer, he was not a political idiot, and after being stunned for a while, he immediately understood what Fisher meant, nodded, and sighed: "John, don't worry too much, isn't the Admiralty already building a new Pavrel-class battleship?!" General Filimante will soon be able to replenish it. ”

"Yes, I know, I'm the Third Admiral in charge of ship building and logistics." John Fisher smiled self-deprecatingly and took a breath: "But don't forget, compared to the navy, the Russians are more intimidating than their army!" ”

Fisher took a sip of his coffee: "I'm worried that there may be a great change in the Far East!" ”

"A sea change?" William White also took a sip of black tea, and somewhat understood what John Fisher meant, from the navy, even if Germany and Russia joined forces, they were not the opponents of the Imperial Royal Navy, but if they launched an offensive from land, even if the empire immediately changed the policy of continental isolation implemented, it was difficult to say that they could defeat them.

"It's a pity that the Qing are so disappointing, they have the largest population in the world, the largest army, but they were beaten to the ground in Korea, and now both the prime minister and the parliament have been disappointed in them, and it is impossible to limit the expansion of the Russians with their strength." John Fisher sighed: "It turns out that some people in the parliament are still ready to support the Russians against Russia, because for us, if the Russians conquer the Far East, then we will face a powerful force with a territory larger than ours, abundant resources, and a large population!" Fisher sighed again.

William White also seemed to be aroused by the resentment in his heart, and said hatefully: "Damn, our former prime minister has cut too much naval military spending, and it has already reduced the strength of the imperial navy too much!" Now the parliament is beginning to limit the Hawaiian Pacific Fleet! Did he forget? At the moment in the Far East can threaten the so-called Third Navy of the madman of Nicholas II, in addition to Philmantle's Far Eastern Fleet, only the Pacific Fleet, which occupied the Ryukyus, remained. ”

John Fisher also sighed in his heart, he didn't know that William White was right.

Sitting in his seat, he saw more clearly than anyone that it was impossible for either the Russians or the Germans to enter the Far East by land alone, and in order to prevent our country from supporting the Qing from the sea, they had to establish a maritime force in the Far East that could cut off the sea lanes, so in the foreseeable future, both Russia and Germany would continue to send troops to the Far East.

The Germans said that after all, they had not yet acquired a decent colony there, and even if Papua New Guinea and Britain were to compete with each other, they could not afford to make much wind in the remote area and weak sea power. But the problem is that if the Germans take advantage of this unfriendly opportunity between the Reich and Hawaii to collude with them, who already have a foothold in the Far East, then the Ryukyus, which is controlled by the Pacific Fleet, will become a forward base for Germany.

And the threat from Russia is even greater, they don't need any forward bases at all, the natural harbor of Vladivostok is enough to build a huge naval base! The Germans have built up a navy that is third in the world, and it would be terrible to continue to expand in the Far East!

What's more, the Russians are very ambitious, and this trip to the Far East will almost certainly attack Korea, and even if the empire intervenes, it will not be able to make Yuben win this battle! If they had taken control of Korea, it would have been a great challenge to the British policy of balancing the Far East!

Therefore, he felt that not only should the two battleships of the Hawaiians not be detained, but the construction speed should be accelerated and Hawaii should continue to be strengthened, so as to delay the Russian Navy's march into the Pacific Ocean, not to mention that there is still a United States that is gradually showing its ambitions and is bent on challenging the world hegemony of the British Empire! Therefore, the only way to repair the precarious relationship with Hawaii as soon as possible and try to win them over is the best way!

It's a pity that I'm not the decision-maker!

"Who knows? However, the Hawaiians do not have the strength to confront the Russians at the moment, and their army numbers are too small," Fisher sighed in his heart, spreading his hands a little helplessly. At the same time, he scolded in his heart: "Gladstone, that idiot." ”

"Me." Clearing his throat, Fisher was about to continue speaking, when suddenly a rush of footsteps came from outside, followed by a knock on the door.

"Please come in." William Fisher straightened his posture.

"Report." The guards burst into the office of the 3rd Lord of the Admiralty, bringing with them the astonishing news: "General, three hours ago, we had a simultaneous explosion of gas pipes at three experimental factories in Newcastle, including an important boiler factory, which has so far killed thirty-nine specialists and hundreds of mechanics!" ”

"What!"

Fisher and William White stood up at the same time, boiler experimental plant ?! That's the design headquarters for the new boiler! Don't.

Before they could recover from their shock, the guards had already continued to shout: "In addition, the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Liverpool also had a big explosion this morning, killing all the employees and technicians, as well as Mr. Parsons and the three experts we sent!" ”

"Bang!"

John Fisher slammed his fist on the table, and in an instant, coffee and tea spilled all over the floor! Four important places were bombed in one day, which is beyond the scope of the accident, someone must be making trouble!

As the Third Admiral in charge of logistics and new technologies, Fisher knew better than anyone what the Boiler and Parsons Nautical Steam Boiler Company meant to the Royal Navy, and the explosion of these two experimental factories alone would cause incalculable damage, not to mention the deaths of so many specialists and skilled craftsmen!

Parsons, in particular, the steam turbine expert whom he had met in person and whom he had secured fifty thousand pounds for naval experiments had been awarded to him was also killed, and he had taken the only three experts in the empire he had sent to assist him in the field!

The death of the four of them will greatly regress the research of the new power of the Imperial Navy, and even if it can be restarted, without Parsons, who is the most profound in this field, it will take at least ten years to succeed!

Decade! Does anyone want to put off themselves for ten years? Who is he?

(To be continued)