Time was like water, and three quiet months passed quickly.

September 1883

City of the Red River Valley

The large open and undeveloped area on the north shore is very suitable as a shipbuilding manufacturing base covering a vast area, relying on the iron and steel manufacturing supporting industries in the Red River Valley and surrounding cities to become a new shipbuilding industry concentration.

Here, along the north bank of the wide Brisbane River, there are more than a dozen shipyards of different sizes lined up, and the leading enterprise is, of course, the Red River Shipyard, which is not only the largest, the most powerful technical strength, the most employees, the most advanced equipment, and the international market influence is also the largest, especially the 10,000-ton bulk carrier is a sought-after product in the international market, which has endured for many years.

In the whole Queensland, there have been three shipbuilding industry centers of Red River Valley City, Songhong Town and Beilun Town, of which Red River Valley and Beilun Town are mainly large and medium-sized ocean passenger and cargo ships facing the international market, and undertake international orders from Europe, South America and the United States, forming eleven powerful shipbuilding enterprise groups, among which Hongshan Shipyard is the largest and strongest in scale, and is a well-deserved leading enterprise.

Dozens of shipbuilding enterprises gathered in Songjiang Town are mainly engaged in the construction of small and medium-sized ships along the coast and inland rivers, taking into account special ships such as fishing boats, oil tankers, small steamers for passengers and freight, and engineering ships.

More than a dozen large and medium-sized shipyards lined up along the riverbank, the slipways have a variety of ocean-going ships under construction and repair, mainly large cargo ships, and occasionally some of the three to five thousand ton shuttle migrant ships.

Red Hill Shipyard North Shore Shipbuilding Base

On the wharf, there are four Seagull 2 ocean-going patrol ships with a displacement of 2,250 tons, and the warships are full of flags, and the officers and men wearing the snow-white uniforms of the Coast Guard stand along the bridge to complete the warship entry ceremony amid the sound of majestic military music.

The four main warships were named "Parrots", "Woodpeckers", "Jays" and "Red-crowned Cranes" respectively, and after entering service, the "Parrot" and "Woodpecker" will join the Samarinda Borneo Squadron, and the "Jay" and "Red-crowned Crane" will join the Shangri-La Squadron in Moresby.

In addition to the addition of the two 2,250-ton Seagull II ocean-going patrol ships "Cardinal" and "Pheasant" that returned from the British mainland to join the Queensland domestic fleet, the coast guard has a total of 6 large frigates of more than 2,000 tons and 24 cruisers of various types ranging from 960 tons to 1,650 tons, and its strength is second to none in the South Pacific region.

The Seagull II is the ultimate model of this class of ships, and these four ships are the last batch of production models, and they are also the Seagull-class ocean-going cruisers with the largest displacement and the strongest combat effectiveness.

On one side of his side were Commodore Geng Guigui, Captain of the Coast Guard and Commander-in-Chief of the Queensland Fleet, Commodore He Fang, Commander-in-Chief of the Borneo Fleet, Brigadier General Li Kit, Commander-in-Chief of the Shangri-La Fleet, and on the other side were Speaker of the Queensland Parliament Xin Changjun, Mayor of the Red River Valley Van Ah Sang, Mayor of Brisbane He Shoutian, and Convener of the Zhi Gong Party Caucus and Director of the Investigation Division Tian Shan.

"Lord Yuanding, it seems that the size of our fleet is getting bigger and bigger, it's really gratifying!" Xin Changjun twisted his beard and smiled, with a happy look on his face.

Li Fushou replied lightly; "It's a good thing that the fleet is growing, and after the four Qinglong-class heavy cruisers are equipped, it will be almost the limit from the perspective of existing financial resources, and it can ensure that the sea and frontier will be worry-free for the next 15 years."

"Yes, as far as I know, the strongest combat power of the Far East Fleet of the British Empire is the second-class ironclad battleship of more than 7,600 tons, and the Dingyuan Zhenyuan Second Ship ordered by the Manchu government is almost of this level, and our "Qinglong" class heavy cruiser has a full load displacement of 8,800 tons, which is more than a step higher in terms of combat power and ocean endurance, which is enough to dominate in the South Pacific and the Far East. ”

Xin Changjun is now Li Fushou's deputy, in charge of the overall work, and he also has a large secretarial team under him, and the development of the relevant navy is naturally a matter of authority, and he knows a lot about it.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to dedicate four first-class battleships for the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's accession to the throne of the British Empire, Queensland planned and built four 8,800-ton heavy cruisers for the Coast Guard.

This kind of strength is comparable to the 3rd Battlefleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire stationed in Gargota throughout Asia and Oceania, and the others are younger brothers.

This also includes the French Expeditionary Fleet and the German Far East Fleet, both of which are far inferior to the Queensland Coast Guard, which is about to acquire four powerful warships.

Speaking of which

I have to mention the current military and official system in Queensland, one is confusing, the other is nondescript, and it is really a last resort.

The Earl of Queensland is a hereditary nobleman of Her Majesty's title and enjoys the fiefdom of the fief, and his power is limited to the rank of feudal noble earl, and cannot be transgressed.

Two hundred years ago, the European earl-level nobles could still have their own feudal courts, divided into vassals, and sat on one side to control the real power of the military and government, and were feudal officials of the other side.

Entering the mid-to-late 19th century

With the strengthening of feudal royal power and social progress in European countries, the power of the great nobles at the level of the earl has been gradually decreasing, and there are very few feudal courts, let alone the right to divide the courtiers, at most they can only be awarded to knights and nobles who cannot be hereditary, and the number is strictly limited.

In the top, it will touch the feudal royal power, which is a high-voltage line that must not be touched.

Therefore, the knightly nobles of Sir Queensland's division were all lifelong nobles, not hereditary nobles with more respected status.

Since it is not an independent country or a feudal principality, or a marquis state, Li Fushou's army is nominally the Queensland National Guard, which is a kind of name for a paramilitary organization and militia organization, not a de facto national army.

The same is true for the navy, which is a coast guard in the nature of the National Guard, and cannot be called a navy, and warships are called patrol ships.

In terms of generals, the navy is called captain, deputy captain or commander-in-chief, and the army is called commander-in-chief or commander-in-chief, and the highest military rank is the level of division commander.

Li Fushou leisurely picked up the binoculars and looked at the four Seagull 2 ocean-going frigates that had just been commissioned, the morale of the officers and men was high, the formation was strictly organized, and the muzzles of the black holes went straight to the distant sky, revealing an invisible and murderous atmosphere.

After more than three years of naval warfare, this naval unit has shown its strength and has become a regional power that cannot be underestimated in the South Pacific region, and has its own war spirit and war history.

"Yes, the spirit of the officers and men is very good." Li Fushou nodded with satisfaction, put down the binoculars in his hand, and said with a look of approval; "Throughout the history of ancient and modern naval warfare, every world power army is sharpened from blood and fire, with the adventurous spirit of fighting the wind and waves and the unyielding fighting spirit of fighting to the death with the enemy, I think this is the core spirit that a strong army at sea must have, only an army with an unyielding fighting spirit can truly be called a world strong army."

"Your Excellency, it is in accordance with your instructions that we have carefully tempered and carefully forged our own naval soul, that is, no matter how strong the enemy is, our navy will not be afraid of difficulties, face the enemy, defend every inch of maritime rights and interests with a fearless spirit of sacrifice, and forge the soul of the navy." Geng Guigui replied solemnly.

"It's very good, I'm happy with the performance of the navy." Li Fushou's slender fingers tapped on the table, and he asked with a deep groan; "How's the preparations going on with the Navy Academy?"

"Returning to Lord Earl;

The naval academy is planned to be built on the Huangpu River in Songjiang Town, at present, the construction of the Huangpu Naval Academy site and the building are nearing completion, and it is planned to officially open on September 15, at this stage, it recruits more than 210 non-commissioned officers and students, and has set up a total of 7 naval majors, employing experienced instructors at home and abroad to teach, and has the ability to retrain existing naval officers.

We, the Navy, have taken the liberty of asking Lord Earl to take up the post of Honorary Rector and I would like to ask for your permission. ”

"Hehehe...... You've got another problem for me! Li Fushou laughed when he heard this, and there was no half-embarrassed look on his face.

Lord Earl is famous for liking to concurrently serve as the principal, the Eagle School is also the honorary president, the Red River Valley University is also the president, and the Baixi Army Officer Academy established at the end of last year is also the president of the earl, and all the talents cultivated in the Red River Valley are the disciples of the earl.

In every sense of the word, that's fine.

Whether it is the Eagle School or the University of the Red River Valley, whether for charitable purposes or private schools, Lord Piaget is the sole and largest funder, and deserves to be the chairman of the board of directors and honorary president.

The Baixi Army Officer Academy and the Huangpu River Naval Academy are also private schools, and in fact they belong to the places where the Earl cultivates feudal private army officers.

"Our naval colleagues unanimously strongly demand that the Earl cannot favor one over the other, and that it is a blessing for us to take up the post of honorary principal of the Whampoa Naval Academy for the sake of the sincere heart of the naval officers." Geng Guigui has a spirit of perseverance.

He silently swept his eyes at where he was, and motioned for him to say a few words.

He Fang arched his hand and said; "Lord Earl, the Whampoa Naval Academy is the cradle of cultivating talents, and the naval colleagues are looking forward to Lord Earl taking up the position of president, and the people of the whole school are confident, and the teachers and students of the whole school are honored."

"Hmm...... Well, I'll do it. ”

The two subordinates took turns to persuade them to advance, and Li Fushou groaned and agreed, saying; "Teaching and educating people is a hundred-year plan, the Whampoa Naval Academy must run its own characteristics, all the students are selected from the outstanding talents of the Young Eagle School, we must strengthen the ideological education of loyalty, the sense of honor and responsibility of military personnel, I do not require them all to become handsome, but every officer must be loyal, to obey orders as their duty, out of a high sense of honor and responsibility of military personnel to perform their duties, truly become a solid pillar for defending the 10,000-mile sea frontier."

"The Earl's teachings, we will take them to heart, and we will not dare to go against high expectations at any time." Geng Guigui and other senior admirals replied respectfully.