Palazzo Quirinale, located in the old city of Rome, was the political center of the Kingdom of Italy.

Of course, the scenery is also good, there is a Gemini fountain in the center of the square in front of the palace, and an obelisk moved from the mausoleum of Augustus. On either side of the obelisk are two 5.6-metre-high statues of giants, intricately carved with different expressions, flanked by two lifelike horses.

Once inside the palace, the garden is also unique, surrounded by elegant corridors, giving it a harmonious and solemn appearance.

And all of this seemed so fascinating to Vittorio Cuniberti that it was inevitable to look around. After all, the first time I came to the palace, what was new.

And the attendant who was responsible for guiding him was also very considerate, and introduced it from time to time.

When Kuniberti was ushered to a doorway, the attendant made a gesture to wait for a moment and knocked on the door. Immediately, the room was filled with the same majestic voice that Kuniberti had heard.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, Mr. Kuniberti has arrived."

"Invite him in."

As soon as Kuniberti entered, he saw that there were only two people in the room and he knew both. One was Admiral Yagill, the Lord of the Admiralty, and the other was His Majesty Carlo, the monarch who had summoned him.

"I have seen Your Majesty, and Your Excellency the Admiral."

Although he did not know why the king and the admiral had summoned him, he still had the proper courtesy, and immediately made a curtsy.

When Kuniberti had finished saluting, Admiral Yagill spoke. "Kuniberti, you can tell Your Majesty in detail about your plan for a new warship."

Admiral Yagill shook Kuniberti's heart, for he finally knew why the king had summoned him. Of course, this is also an opportunity for him, as long as he can convince His Majesty, then it will be an ironclad thing to develop a new battleship by himself.

As soon as he thought of this, Kuniberti's heart was full of fighting spirit, and he opened his mouth. "Your Majesty, I have a slight opinion about the new battleship. At present, the battleships of various countries use two-stage main guns, a tradition that comes from the era of sail warships. Of course, the setting of the two-stage main gun is more about the amount of projection. ”

What Cuniberti said is also a consideration of the current design of warships and the actual needs of the user navy for naval warfare.

Because the battleship originated in the era of sail warships, the battleships at that time had three layers of gun decks on each side, and the lowest gun deck had the largest caliber and the heaviest gun, and the gun caliber of the top gun was slightly smaller and the gun was lighter.

This was a compromise set up to minimize the center of gravity of the battleship and allow the battleship to have some heavy artillery.

After entering the era of ironclad ships, the navies of various countries still continued this tradition. At this time, the battleship began to explore the way of fighting, of course, at this time, the demons were dancing wildly, and there were all kinds of things. However, after the emergence of this kind of groping in Turin, Italy, countries basically reached a consensus.

The Turin class also marked the return of battleships, so most of the admirals believed that the steel battleships could resume the artillery bombardment of the main fleet in the battleline. The guns mounted in the side guns are also decisive weapons, or they are the first important decisive weapons.

From the Turin, the development of the battleship was to continuously increase the caliber of the artillery arrays on both sides, from 120mm to 152mm, from 152mm to 178mm, to 203mm, and the name was gradually changed from secondary guns to secondary guns.

Of course, the second-level main gun is also because the first-level main gun is not fast, and it can only be fired in 1-2 minutes, and at this time, the armor and structure of the warships of various countries are becoming thicker and thicker, so that the chances of the battleships of various countries wanting to get into the soul are becoming more and more slim. Therefore, the existence of the second main gun is very meaningful.

With the development of the times and the application of new technologies, Kuniberti keenly observed the shortcomings of the current secondary main gun, that is, the lack of armor-piercing ability. However, the rate of fire and armor-piercing ability of the first-level main gun are gradually improving, and at this time, it is possible to fully equip the first-level main gun.

"As for now, I think the second main cannon can be canceled, because although their projection is higher than that of the first main gun, they lack the means to inflict heavy damage on the opponent. I think that after the abolition of the second main gun, it will be possible to add two main turrets and four primary guns to the new battleship. Relying on the salvo power of eight main guns, it is completely possible to double the firepower of the first-level main gun. Moreover, compared with the two-stage main gun, the first-stage main gun can achieve more unified firepower, and its unified firing command instrument can have higher accuracy at a longer distance. I believe that at this point, Garibaldi's class outfit gave a good explanation. ”

In response to what Kuniberti said, Admiral Yagil immediately helped. "That's true, on the Garibaldi stage, the eight 254 mm guns with the assistance of the unified firing commander have greatly improved the accuracy of long-range shooting. It is completely capable of carrying out accurate artillery bombardment of the enemy at a distance of 6,000-9,000 meters. ”

Admiral Yagill gave the assist, and Kuniberti gave him a grateful look.

In the face of the cooperation between the two, Carlo can't see it.

However, since he recruited Cuniberti, the chief Italian ship designer, to Rome, of course, he had his own considerations.

After hearing from Admiral Yagill that the chief designer of Kuniberti had a bold battleship plan, Carlo had a hunch that after listening to Admiral Yagill's story, it was really a famous all-heavy artillery battleship, in this case, how could Carlo miss it.

For Italy, the importance of the navy does not need to be mentioned. After guaranteeing a certain number of land forces to defend the sides of the Alps, more of the Italian threat came from the sea.

"Go on."

Although no specific signal is given, the sentence itself represents a kind of recognition.

And Kuniberti, who got the signal, continued. "I have an idea about the new battleship. That is, with all the advanced technologies we have at present, we can integrate them into one warship. At the moment I think that the new 305 mm 45 times naval gun is very suitable as the main gun.

As for the armor, carburized case-hardened nichrome steel is still the best armor steel (Krupp armor steel) at the moment, and I think it will continue to be used. According to the actual needs, I think that the armor of the new battleship needs to reach a thickness of 300 mm at key points such as amidships, batteries, engine rooms, ammunition depots, and conning towers.

As for power, I recognize the steam turbines that are currently available, as well as the oil-fired boilers, which can provide a ship with full speed for up to thirteen or fourteen hours, which is a crucial advantage for naval engagement. As for oil-fired boilers, for the same reason. Oil-fired boilers are more efficient, which frees up more space for the ship or allows for a longer maximum range. In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of personnel, at least the coal shovelers can be eliminated. ”

Hearing this, Carlo already understood Cuniberti's train of thought, and he still had a question.

"And what about your specific data on this battleship?"

The specific data of the ship is that the whole ship is 158.3 meters long, 25.1 meters wide, 9 meters draft, with a standard displacement of 19,100 tons and a full load displacement of 22,500 tons. The firepower was 8 305-mm 45-caliber main guns and 14 105-mm single-barreled secondary guns. The thickest armor is 300 mm, and the ship is powered by 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines, with a power of 26,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 22 knots. Range of 6800 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4500 nautical miles at 14 knots............"

In the face of Kuniberti's report of the battleship data, Carlo's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"What about the cost, it's impossible that you haven't calculated the cost, right?"

In the face of Carlo's inquiry, it was certainly impossible for Kuniberti to hide it. Although this ship is a bit expensive, he can guarantee that it is definitely worth the money.

"The cost of the ship is about 40 million lira, of course, if more is built, then the price will be lower."

When Kuniberti said this, he looked at Carlo with some uneasiness. Because the price is really expensive, take the Garibaldi class, which is currently the most expensive in Italy.

At present, due to the hot sale of the Garibaldi class, the cost of the Garibaldi class in the shipyard has dropped from 33 million lire at the beginning to the current 30.9 million lira. The reason for such a high drop is precisely because Garibaldi built enough of them. So far, a total of 8 ships have been built in the Gari-Wave class, including 3 in the United States, 2 in Spain, 2 in Japan, and 1 in Italy (with two more in the queue).

"Yes, build one first, and let the Navy verify it first."

Carlo's words relieved Kuniberti and Admiral Yagil.

He was not afraid that the king would not build it, and that the new battleship that Kuniberti had brought out was worth building because of its performance. And what he was afraid of was that the king was fascinated by the performance of the new warship, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he would build several ships. After all, there are too many new technologies used in this new warship, and sometimes new technologies can also represent unreliability, so it is definitely a wise decision to build one first.

"But the ship needs to be built in secret, and I don't want to make a fuss before it is launched."

At this point, Carlo made a new request.

"Your Majesty, this is easy to do, our navy can start building the ship in the name of Garibal's fourth ship. At the same time, there is no problem at all with strengthening supervision. Admiral Yagill assured, patting his chest.

"I believe in the capabilities of your navy, and the ship's funds will come out of the more than 80 million lira you have saved."

“…………”