The metropolis of the Red River Valley

It has been three months since the last inspection of the southern states and the Canberra delegation, and the corresponding construction project of the new imperial capital of the Ministry of the Interior has been started, and a number of major projects are in the preparation of materials and preliminary preparations, and the construction will start one after another.

Li Fushou is ready to donate the Daming Palace to the Royal Charity Federation, which is a non-profit charitable organization, the primary and secondary schools donated by the royal family, Renji Hospital, Renci Hospital, and major colleges and universities are managed by the association, and the honorary president of the general association is named by the queen, and the princes are also honorary chairmen of the board of directors, forming their own traditional fields.

The honorary chairman of the Daming Palace Museum, Li Fushou is ready to hand over this room to the tenth prince Li Sixi, Li Sixi is named the Duke of Cebu, he is 25 years old this year, and he has two sons and three daughters under his knees.

The third, seventh and tenth are all from the queen Gu, and they are also the first, second and third heirs to the throne, Li Fushou is naturally more loved than other princes, and the position of honorary chairman can be passed on from generation to generation in the future, and a lot of income will be distributed every year.

In the metropolis of the Red River Valley, where every inch of land is valuable, even if the Daming Palace Museum rents out a separate small courtyard, whether it is holding an upscale banquet or holding an exchange activity, it can make a lot of money with the dignity of the royal family.

These properties placed in the name of the Royal Charity Federation are not sold by anyone, and the children of the royal family can receive a stable and lucrative income every year, and the relevant schools and hospitals are naturally managed by professionals, so there is no need to bother at all.

The royal family has built a lot of palaces over the years, and Li Fushou still likes to live in the Dream Castle in the Red River Valley, where he looks high and overlooks the entire bustling metropolis, and his mood is particularly comfortable.

In his spare time, he went to the suburbs of Lijia Town Palace for vacation and pastime, and sometimes he would go to Qinglonghu Palace or Songjiang Palace, this Daming Palace is really too big, there are many palaces and pavilions, and it seems particularly cold.

There is no better joy alone than the joy of all

It is not a beautiful thing to donate the Daming Palace to be used as a royal museum, and to take out the classical cultural relics treasured by the royal family to be appreciated by the general public, so that people can experience the charm of the royal garden.

Collecting some tickets to ensure the expenses of the staff of the Royal Museum and the cost of the preservation and repair of cultural relics and monuments, to maintain the operation of this charitable institution, and to control the flow of visitors, is the original meaning of the title.

"Holy Lord, Admiral Zhang Daoru, Minister of the Admiralty, asks to see you."

"Xuan."

"Yes."

It didn't take a while

There was a sound of footsteps at the door of the East Pole Palace, and General Zhang Daoru, who was dressed in military uniform, followed the secretary in, bowed respectfully, and said; "Wechen greets the saint and respectfully invites the saint."

"Excuse me, give a seat, serve tea."

"Thank you."

After some etiquette, Admiral Zhang Daoru took out a piece of music and presented it to the imperial case, which was taken by the secretary and presented to the imperial case.

Li Fushou picked it up and looked at it, and saw that it was a small thick book about the construction of the Navy's global bases and the development plan of the new fleet, and after turning a few pages, he was not interested in continuing to read it carefully.

So he put his hands together and said; "Take your time when you have time to read this piece, and since it's a plan presented by the Admiralty, let's talk about it, and talk about it urgently."

Admiral Zhang Daoru owes a bow, and he tells the Admiralty about the Admiralty's plan to improve the global base construction plan in 12 years.

In particular, many of the 22 islands that came to this trade are quite important. It has improved the layout of the Royal Navy's naval bases in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and made up for the shortcomings of the global base network.

What is needed is a continuous increase in financial allocations and the establishment of a network of naval bases with sufficient logistical facilities to provide a reliable guarantee for the Royal Navy's global military operations and the protection of the interests of the Empire.

This additional expenditure is a necessary price to pay for the Empire's global ambitions, which can only be maintained and fulfilled by the Royal Navy.

Now that the finances are abundant, it is a good time for large-scale construction.

Some old naval base docks need to be renovated and expanded, oil storage facilities and airfields need to be added, and ship maintenance facilities need to be upgraded to adapt to the rapidly growing ship tonnage in the era of large ships and giant guns, and a batch of 50,000-ton docks need to be built.

A number of new naval bases were added, with a focus on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, and the Admiralty planned to move the headquarters of the Indian Ocean Fleet from Baltic to the port of Banda Aceh on the northwestern tip of Sumatra.

Located on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean, it is the northwest entrance to the Strait of Malacca, forming a group of bases that echo the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, shielding the entire Strait of Malacca.

From here, it is easy to penetrate deep into the vast Indian Ocean, reach any country in South and West Asia, and exert strong military and political influence over it.

The port of Banda Aceh is one of the key points of the construction of the naval base complex.

Another key point is several base groups located in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Azores, Wallis and Futuna Islands, St. Helena Island, which will increase the construction of deep-water docks enough to dock 5~60,000 tons of naval ships, warehouses, coal and oil supply stations, ammunition storage warehouses, large ship maintenance facilities and spare parts depots, naval stations and power generation facilities, etc.

After it was built

The above-mentioned naval bases will form a cross-Atlantic String of Pearl base group with important naval bases such as Norfolk, Hampton, Panama, and Guantanamo on the North American coast, extending all the way to Guinea, strongly supporting the Royal Navy's military operations in the Atlantic, Europe, and Northwest Africa, and deeply instilling the influence of the empire in it.

Why develop deep-water berths of 5~60,000 tons of naval wharf?

The era of big ships and cannons

With the innovation of ship power technology and large-caliber artillery, the tonnage of advanced main combat ships of the world's navy is getting bigger and bigger, and the first-line capital ships have generally entered the 3~40,000 ton level.

In the advanced naval countries led by Britain, the Ocean Empire, France and Germany, the caliber of the guns of the first-line main battleships generally reached 381 mm, and the German 343 mm, and a twin turret was often 1500~1600 tons, which led to the larger the displacement and thicker the armor of the battleship.

The Prestige-class battlecruisers built by the British in 14 were armed with 381 mm guns, and the Royal Oak class battleships, which were built in 15 years, were also armed with 381 mm guns.

The planned construction of the "Hood" class battle cruiser is even preparing to adopt a new generation of 406 mm main guns, but the plan is a bit mysterious, and the new equipment may not be able to catch up with the construction schedule of British shipyards.

Looking to the future

In the next one or two decades, it is almost a sure thing that the displacement of the new generation of capital ships will reach 5 to 60,000 tons.

meanwhile

At the beginning of the 20th century, the power technology of ships developed by leaps and bounds, pushing the main battleships of up to 3~40,000 tons to soar on the sea surface, and could reach an average speed of 25~26 knots per hour.

Such a high speed has surpassed the average level of old cruisers at the end of the 19th century, such as the Ocean Empire "Brave" class cruisers and "Kazuki" class cruisers, and the maximum speed is also such a level.

With a displacement of 4,000~6,500 tons of cruisers, relatively weak firepower and armor, the speed of the cruiser could not throw off a battleship of tens of thousands of tons, and once it encountered the enemy's main ship in a naval battle, it had almost no chance of survival.

Therefore, the rapid change in the level of science and technology forced a large number of old ships to be eliminated.

The newly developed cruisers of the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire generally have a speed of more than 32 knots, and the speed of destroyers is more than 35 knots.

Taking the new "Mountain" class cruiser as an example, it has a standard displacement of 10,510 tons, a maximum speed of 33 knots, a cruising range of 6,800 nautical miles, and a transoceanic combat capability.

Speaking of the new ships developed by the Royal Navy, we have to mention the aircraft carrier that the Admiralty is focusing on, which is a 41,000-ton through-deck aircraft carrier with a long side building, and the shape is very similar to the amphibious assault ships of later generations.

Emperor Li Fushou was very interested in this new aircraft carrier and personally participated in a lot of his own opinions, so this aircraft carrier of the Ocean Empire is very beautiful and very visually aesthetic.

The standard displacement of the ship is 41,070 tons, the hull is based on the "Princess Elizabeth" class battleship, the corresponding broadside armor belt settings, the multi-compartment settings are generally the same, the power configuration is slightly enhanced, and the maximum speed of 30 knots per hour can be reached.

This class of aircraft carriers can be seen as the integration of the shell of a battleship with a new power plant, eliminating the bulky main ship turret, but with three outward emplacements on each side of the ship, plus one battery in the bow and one in the stern, a total of eight batteries.

Each turret is equipped with a single-barreled 155 mm rapid-fire gun, one on the left and one on the right, and a twin 40 mm gun, for a total of 8 152 mm guns and 32 40 mm guns.

In today's era when firepower is paramount, such a large ship with such a small amount of firepower can be described as extremely weak.

Two years ago, the Admiralty submitted 13 aircraft carrier proposals, of which 5 were left after several rounds of technical expert review, and finally submitted to the Imperial Council for decision-making.

Li Fushou took a fancy to the straight deck scheme at a glance, but this straight deck scheme was to add a layer to the surface of the battleship, and the top was a completely straight deck, without any ancillary facilities, and it was simple and unsightly.

The second floor under the straight deck is a completely overhead design, and it is equipped with large-caliber main guns on both sides, and it still has not given up on equipping large-caliber guns.

Li Fushou's evaluation of this; "Although there are new ideas, everything is common and everything is sparse."

He noted;

Since it is an aircraft carrier in the new era, it should specialize in one item, and the entire ship should serve to ensure that carrier-based aircraft can fully exert their combat effectiveness, instead of fantasizing about naval battles with the enemy's artillery, and completely attacking the enemy with their own shortcomings.

The combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier should be embodied by carrier-based fighters, bombers, and reconnaissance planes, which are suitable for searching large areas of the sea, controlling the airspace above one's own fleet, conducting submarine operations, blockading, and controlling the entire sea area, and striking and destroying the enemy's small and medium-sized ships and merchant ships.

For this purpose

Aircraft carriers do not need to be equipped with large-caliber main ship guns, and should sail in formation during missions and operations on weekdays, with destroyers and cruisers coming out to reconnoiter and protection, and battleships accompanying them.

Leave professional things to professional ships to do, this is the right solution.

In order to make the Royal Navy avoid detours, Li Fushou could only open a golden finger and set a clear path for the development of aircraft carriers.

Anyway, in his memory, it seems that the aircraft carrier of the United States has never acted alone.

The first aircraft carrier developed by the empire has a total of two aircraft carriers of one type, the first "Dinghai" has been completed and launched for outfitting, and the second ship "Dingbo" is expected to be launched by the end of the year and enter service in March next year.

The "Dinghai" class aircraft carrier developed by the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire will be widely recognized by the world's navies as the originator of modern aircraft carriers in the future, guiding the development history of aircraft carriers for more than 100 years.

The operational norms established by it, such as the action of aircraft carrier formations, the existence of aircraft carriers to provide perfect logistical support for aircraft, and the full play of the combat effectiveness of carrier-based aircraft, have become the golden rule pursued by aircraft carriers in later generations, which can be called classics.