Four-ninety-three chaos

On the clear blue sea, on the deck of the 13,680-ton American first-class armored cruiser USS Maryland, the sailors gathered together in twos and threes, looking at the two snow cloud dragon claw flags blocked in this sea area by themselves and the cruiser Pride in the distance, and there was an indescribable pain in their hearts. 【 I want: super fast update 】

The scene in Havana is an eternal shame for the U.S. Navy, so even trapping a small destroyer and an unarmed hydrographic survey ship is enough to make everyone excitedly command their fists.

The conflict did not take place, because it was very simple, the Maryland had a full 38 naval guns of various calibers, and the Pride next to it, although only 5,700 tons, had 10 152 mm naval guns, so the Chinese wisely retreated into a small island in the distance.

It's like two tigers staring at two sheep, it's so exciting

However, this scene did not make Lieutenant Spruance, who was leaning on the deck and avoiding everyone in the corner alone, not to have any feeling, but instead looked into the distance, his gaze was like a cold stone, and he remained silent.

It was an unusually beautiful sea, and the islands scattered between the blue seas were like a string of beautiful pearls, and there was almost nothing that the United States needed here, except for a slightly valuable phosphate, so in the eyes of the sailors, it was a paradise for vacation, but in his eyes, this string of pearls stuck in the neck of the United States, full of mortal danger

Because the Gilbert Islands are located in the middle of the sea lines between the United States and Australia, the Gilbert Islands are geographically important, with the Chinese-controlled Marshall Islands to the northwest and the British-controlled Solomon Islands to the southwest, and a Nauru, also controlled by China, on its doorstep

This means that in the event of war, the main route from the United States to Australia will be cut off, unless it is detoured through Samoa and Sealand, which will be longer and more vulnerable to attack.

In Spruance's view, Pratt said that the United States had made too serious mistakes, and the loss of Hawaii had been extremely serious, and those guys above had allowed the expansion of the Chinese empire for more than ten years, always using the failure of the Panama Canal to open and the inability to provide effective support as an excuse and slow to act.

If these are still realities or helplessness at the time, then it is time to act

The Panama Canal will be opened in another year, Britain is competing with Germany in the Atlantic to build ships, and the smell of gunpowder in Europe can be smelled even in the Pacific Ocean, and Europe's power here is rapidly declining.

For Britain, he needs to defend the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, for France and Italy, they need the Mediterranean, but for the United States, the Atlantic Ocean cannot intervene at all, so it is necessary to take this opportunity to accelerate the control of the Pacific

Although Britain exchanged the Gilbert Islands, Samoa, Fiji Islands, and Vanuatu for loans, nominally they were at this time the overseas assets of the British government, and the United States was only a creditor, with the right to protect these places, and did not have the right to transform them into sea fortresses.

So in his opinion, the United States is really too careful

Four Florida-class ships have been completed, two Wyoming-class ships can be delivered by the end of the year, and the construction of the four strong New York-class ships is already accelerating, even if the New York-class is not counted, the United States now has a total of 34 battleships, 10 first-class armored cruiser cruisers, and six heavy cruisers to be delivered one after another, and has become a veritable third navy in the world

The United States already has all the advantages of fighting a naval war, and it is entirely possible to take advantage of the fact that Britain is in the middle of the trouble of the Atlantic race to sign all the ententes similar to those of France and take the initiative to assume the defense rights in the Pacific, instead of being like a rootless duckweed as it is now.

"Just".

Spruance suddenly looked at his shoulder, smirked and scratched his head, he was just a small lieutenant, and he was too early to make a decision.

He patted the corner of his coat and got up to go chat with his friends, when suddenly, a scream rang out from the cage mast overhead.

"Ten o'clock direction, two, they are coming"

The anxious shouts caused chaos on the deck, and Spruance quickly ran to the other deck, only to see a large cloud of smoke rising in the distance, judging by the concentration of smoke, at least two large warships.

At the same time, the two Chinese warships trapped in the distance were slowly heading towards the Maryland, and the chaotic situation of the alarm bell made Spruance, who was the gun adjutant, frown, and shouted as he ran: "A and B turrets are pointing at ten o'clock, the side is ready, and the 3-inch guns on the deck are watching out for torpedoes."

Under his shout, the chaotic deck quickly smoothed out, and Captain William Pratt in the bridge looked at the running guy and nodded: "What's his name?" ”

"Lieutenant Raymond Arms Spruance, is the deck gun chief." The staff officer looked at it and said.

"He's a nice guy." Captain Pratt nodded, picked up the binoculars and quickly looked into the distance: "Route 270, first level alert, ask the British, when will the Sealand arrive?" ”

"Yes"

The smoke did not worry Captain Pratt, and it was clear to everyone that when the other party arrived, the two sides would intimidate each other or fire a warning shot, and then what to do. (Full text reading, all in. (.i. Want. Wen. The skirmishes have not been interrupted in the past two years, but if the British battlecruiser Sealand can arrive in time, then this time it may trap the Chinese for a few more days and embarrass them.

"Tell the observer that I need to confirm the model number right away." Captain Pratt handed the telescope to his assistant and quickly walked to the chart. Judging from the smoke, there must have been two large warships, and the light cruisers in the Chinese Navy should be them.

As long as it's not a capital ship, Pratt doesn't care, the Mariland has similar firepower to that kind of light cruiser, with four 203mm heavy guns, but it's about 2,800 nautical miles from Guam, and Sealand's here is only 2,400 nautical miles, and if they set off at the same time, the Sealand battlecruiser should have arrived earlier than them.

But why did the Chinese Empire support ship arrive first this time? Could it be that the Sealand is out of order?

"The report that the British said that the Sealand had arrived in the Tuvalu Islands and was expected to arrive in ten hours, and they hoped that we would be able to tow the two light cruisers."

"Ten hours? Idiot British" Pratt cursed secretly, and was about to speak, when suddenly the gunners shouted in horror: "Damn, it's a battleship"

"What"

----

----

"What's the speed?"

"It's been reduced to 20 knots, and the power compartment is working normally." The sound of the report made Ning Xiaochuan breathe a sigh of relief.

Not counting his order to slow down, since the emergency sailing on Guam, the Hong Kong has never been lower than 25 knots, and even used the ocean current to reach a terrifying speed of 30 knots at high times.

Fortunately, the four big guys held on, so that he finally put his mind at ease, looking at the two cruisers in the distance, he didn't expect that after he was finally promoted from a light cruiser to the captain of a battleship, he encountered such a beautiful errand for the first time, and a sneer crossed the corner of his mouth.

"Direction 090, left rudder 45 °, preparation of naval guns"

"Inform the Pinghai, prepare to attack"

"Yes"

As soon as the communications staff officer excitedly took the order, the first mate frowned: "Captain, do you really want to fire?" ”

"Prepare for the attack" Ning Xiaochuan continued to give the order, nodded emphatically: "Do you know what the emperor's first words were after learning that our warship was trapped? ”

In the movement of the first mate and all the officers shaking their heads, Ning Xiaochuan had already picked up the binoculars, turned around and said slowly: "The emperor asked, where is the nearby battleship?"

"Everyone should forget the previous light patrol regulations, now we are battleships, this voyage requires 2,000 tons of fuel to make a round trip, enough to build a few torpedo boats without firing, why are you looking for us? Dig up guano? Before raising the binoculars, Ning Xiaochuan smiled slightly and raised his hand: "The target enemy ship is 2 kilometers in front, and the warning shot is fired once."

-----

-----

"Arms, do you think they're going to open fire?" At the Maryland Aturret, Sergeant Major Sampson pulled the corner of Las Spruance's coat, his face a little nervous.

In fact, everyone was very nervous, because there was a type of battleship among the support warships sent by the Hua Empire, and they did not make any contact with them so far, but began to turn right, which made many people have a bad feeling.

Spruance didn't speak, looking at the battleship that was suddenly turning to the right and the turret was also starting to move, he knew that the enemy would definitely open fire, because no one would use the battleship in a skirmish, but if it did, then at least a warning of shelling and a show of force

Otherwise, the battleship would have lost its value

Because the Navy will always only believe that axioms exist only within the range of naval guns.

Inside the bridge, Captain Pratt saw through the binoculars the cannon muzzle that was beginning to sink, and knew that the other side was not attacking, but about to fire a warning gun, so he immediately ordered: "Get ready." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, sparks suddenly exploded in the telescope, and only a few small black dots jumped up from the sea and flew towards him.

On the Maryland, everyone held their breath, and the gunners subconsciously prepared to return fire, but when they put their hands on the button, they suddenly found that there was no order.

"Boom, boom."

In the retina, nine huge columns of water had just risen from 2,000 meters away, and almost simultaneously there was a sharp whistling and explosion in the ears, sweeping across the Maryland like a summer hurricane.

"Report, they sent telegrams and flags."

"Say what?"

"Unleash or go to war"

----

----

"Where are the near battlecruisers"

This sentence is similar to the sentence on the lips of the US president when the regional conflict broke out in the future: "Where are the near aircraft carriers?" "It's the same, but at a moment when the aircraft carrier is not yet fully combat-capable, the battleship is undoubtedly the only hegemon of the seas.

However, no one expected that shortly after Li Mo said this sentence, which would be recited by many people in the future, there was also a roar in the Admiralty building in London, and it was said that even the opposite street could be heard.

"Where's the Sealand?"

Churchill, who had just become Lord of the Admiralty, was already tired of it, and finally suppressed Germany a little on the battleship, but he didn't expect that the bastard Li Mo to make a battleship that was stronger than the Iron Duke class under construction, and it was said that there were three ships of the same type under construction

In this way, he had to worry about whether the interests of the British Empire in the Pacific would be suddenly attacked, because the sudden loan of 500 million yuan to Germany by China would not be a harbinger of their alliance.

To this end, he had to send six Nelson-class battleships imitating the first type of battleship of the Chinese Empire to India, and at the same time send two Indefatigable battlecruisers built with the aid of Sealand and Australia, but as a result, Britain's power in the Atlantic was also greatly reduced.

But not long after the stoppage, a Chinese naval hydrographic survey ship broke into the Gilbert Islands, which were temporarily mortgaged to the United States, but at the moment they were still the territory of the British Empire

One can imagine how angry this news will make him.

Fortunately, two cruisers blocked them nearby, but in less than four days, the other side sent two support ships and forced the cruiser to release the trapped two warships.

It's a hard slap in the face

There is no doubt that Li Mo guy would never do meaningless things, and there are several skirmishes in the Pacific every year, and everyone wins and loses against each other, so he didn't care too much at first.

But the telegram sent by the USS Maryland from the United States five hours ago made this little friction a little overdone, because Hua actually dispatched battleships and fired warning shots, which only showed that he had begun to dislike the cooperation between Britain and the United States in the Pacific, and was about to flex his muscles

What made him angry was that the battleship had completed its mission and had not left, and was still confronting the Arrogance and Maryland, which could be called the world's battle cruiser, and the Sealand had not yet arrived in the Gilbert Islands, so he could only watch the cruiser under the threat of the enemy.

God knows if the shells will fall in the next second

"Your Majesty, don't you think the battleship has arrived too much?" John Fisher was still very confident in the battlecruisers he designed, so he suspected that there was something wrong with the Beijing-class battleships and said: "Do you say they will use battleships to cover up the truth?" ”

"John, you mean it's actually a battlecruiser?" Churchill understood a little, and his heart suddenly sank, if the Huarui Beijing class was not a low-speed battleship, but a battle cruiser, then it would be terrible, because it would mean that the maneuverability of the capital ships of Li Mo's fleet would be greatly improved."

"I've heard that the Germans once sold their near steam engines to Hua Liu, so." Fisher said fiercely: "We must increase the number of battle cruisers and increase the maneuverability of the fleet, and I suggest that the current four Lion class ships should be increased to eight." ”

"What?" Churchill hurriedly waved his hand: "John, although your battle cruiser is perfect, do you know? As the ship's guns and tonnage grow, their speed is decreasing, and the Lion class can only reach only 22 knots at the moment. ”

"No, in fact, we have already made a breakthrough in power, I think in three more years, it can be used for capital ships, and according to my calculations, it can increase the speed of the Lion class to 25 knots"

"Oh? It's true? Churchill thought about it, the fourth Tiger is currently in the process of greatly improving the design, and it will take three years from now on to be built, and it will basically match the power system, but the problem is that if you add four more, God, the parliament and the prime minister will kill themselves

If Britain was an absolute maritime hegemon before Limer took out the battleship, then when the battleship Rhine, which was bought by Germany, arrived in Europe, the whole world was already on the same starting line.

Although Britain has proud battleship manufacturing and technical capabilities, it is already economically overwhelmed, which has also led to the decline of Britain in technology and shipbuilding speed.

For centuries, Britain's annual budget has never exceeded £200 million, except for the Anglo-Boer War, but this year it has reached as much as £400 million, considering that last year the gross national income of the entire British Empire was £2.1 billion.

It is important that Britain is not the first to be, and must also provide sufficient loans to Russia and France, to which 200 million pounds have been paid so far, to ensure that they can contain an increasingly aggressive Germany.

And there is no end in sight to the race, and the Germans seem to be catching up, and it is said that five more King-class battleships will be built, and according to the German idea of one British two, then at least ten Queen Elizabeth, who have already been secretly underworked

The huge financial pressure was already a little overwhelming, so in order to borrow money from the United States, and in order to curb the expansion of the Chinese empire in the Far East and ensure that the interests of the Pacific Ocean were not violated, Britain had to mortgage a large number of colonial islands in the southwest Pacific to the United States in exchange for loans.

Look at the opponent again, although Germany is not comfortable, but when the United States embargoed machinery to China before, Germany made a lot of money, according to estimates, those funds can build at least two battleships, and they used the Guinea island control area to borrow 500 million blue coins from China, this money will undoubtedly be invested in the military by Wilhelm II.

The United States is undoubtedly the world's largest economy.

The only thing that people didn't expect is that because of its huge population advantage, China has even surpassed Britain economically and climbed to the second place in the world, although it is only 40 US dollars in terms of per capita income, less than one-ninth of the United States, and less than Britain, but Li Mo has a population of nearly 500 million

Damn 500 million

Any number multiplied by 500 million is an extremely large number

Coupled with the fact that the prices of rubber, sugar and other materials that he already monopolized began to rise, he could get at least $1 billion a year, about 200 million pounds, to invest in army construction, plus the $100 million blackmailed from the United States, and almost none of the capital ships he is currently building spend his own money

Churchill waved his hand, trying to calm himself down from the confrontation in the Pacific, and when he thought of the Chinese battleship that appeared outside Gapo, he was full of depression and asked, "John, if you want to increase the number of people, I will go and ask the councillors, but what about your 15-inch naval guns?" ”

Referring to the 15-inch naval gun secretly developed, Fisher's face immediately sank, although it was advertised to the outside world as 14 inches, but in fact, this gun was troublesome from the beginning, and it is difficult to say whether it can be put into service on time.

In fact, he can't be blamed for this, the era of battleships came too quickly, from 12 inches to inches, and then countries began to come up with 14-inch or even 15-inch and 16-inch super-large caliber naval guns, and the British Empire was already a little caught off guard.

So he would cross the 14-inch and force the 15-inch naval gun, but just as he was about to say the progress, the secretary suddenly rushed into the room: "Winston, Negro has declared war on Turkey"

Before Churchill and Fisher could come to their senses, the secretary shouted again: "Also, Beijing has just sent a telegram that a representative of Nicholas II has appeared there, and it is said that he will purchase arms worth 100 million blue coins from the Chinese Empire."

"What?"

"Idiot, this stupid bastard, he actually used the loan provided by our country to buy arms from the enemy" Winston Churchill heard the news, and he didn't even care about the opening of the Balkan War, and he trembled with anger, but before he could finish scolding, the secretary completely knocked him into the ice cellar with a stick.

"I think there's also bad news, an hour ago Germany announced that they had sold the Baghdad Railway to China, and the deal was said to have been negotiated last year."

The news made everyone seem to sink into an ice cellar, everyone knew what the Baghdad Railway meant, and Britain even almost went to war with Germany because of it

In order to prevent Germany from connecting this main artery across Europe and Asia, Germany was pressed to the death in Europe, and then Britain, France and Russia put pressure on it at the same time, but now Li Mo's guy is stepping in sideways

If a few years ago, Britain was not afraid at all, but now it is different, the importance of the Baghdad railway is self-evident, if Limer really wants to build it, then the Ottomans, Germany, Austria-Hungary will definitely support it, and Italy may also support it, so that is

The sky is full of war

Fisher's heart couldn't help but tremble, although many people are saying that war is inevitable, but in fact Britain is not ready, if it starts now, no one can predict the consequences

Listening to Churchill's roar that almost shattered the entire building, Fisher sat down slowly, there is no doubt that Limer's all this is because of the initial Anglo-American Pacific Defense Agreement, but everyone did not expect the counterattack to come so quickly and so unexpectedly

"Is there really going to be a war?" Looking out the window at the drizzling rain, London in front of me seemed to suddenly become foggy.

。。

。。