"Are they really in an air war?"

Zhuge was stupid for the Tao. Because he found that the two airships in the sky would rise and fall sharply, not like they were fighting in the air, but like playing trampoline.

What is even more exaggerated than jumping up and down is that most of the two airships have no ability to attack each other. The larger Wyvern III had machine guns on it, but the two machine guns were so misaligned that they never found a chance to fire.

The smaller Armstrong, although not as fast as the Wyvern III, was significantly more agile. You can grab the high position while going around in circles with the Wyvern 3, and also make a turn from time to time.

However, there seemed to be no firepower on this airship, so it ran up and down, and after going around with the dragon boat for a while, it didn't let go of a single shot at the dragon boat. I don't know what it's going around?

Seeing this, Zhuge Weidao also lost patience, so he ordered: "Anchor, let's go over to help the customs chief!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

......

"Bang, Bang, Bang......"

It was the sound of the wheels of the train hitting the steel rails, and now Zhuge Weidao had boarded the train back to Beijing - his shipboard mission was not over, but he was given a short "vacation" to return to Beijing to wait for the birth of his twin children, and at the same time to report to the Prime Minister's Office and the Admiralty in Beijing about the Battle of Ji Yin and the Battle of Jueying Island. Then he had to attend an important meeting of the corps.

Although the Ming Dynasty and the Zhuge family have already set the national policy of competing for hegemony with Britain and accepting Japan as a dog...... But when it comes to implementation, it is still very cautious. The "thrust" of Zhuge Weidao only made the hegemony line of the Zhuge family army and division from the previous "waiting and testing period" to a small step forward and entered the "small bet and less win period".

That is, if you don't play big, you will play small, and in the future of avoiding a final showdown, you will encroach on the interests of the British Empire as much as possible, and at the same time carefully but resolutely expand the sphere of influence of the Ming Empire.

Therefore, even if there was the Battle of Ji Yin and the Battle of Jueying Island, and the Ming Dynasty could already determine that the Japanese rebels in Nagasaki were also enemies of the Ming Empire, the Great Ming soldiers still could not kill the Japanese mainland without obtaining the name of righteousness...... This is the general policy of "no invasion, no colonization, and no coercion of other countries to be vassals" handed down by King Wuzhong!

Of course, this standard of "no aggression, no colonization, and no forcing other countries to be vassals" is very clear, and it is not possible to rob it without stressing righteousness, and people who are not willing to be dogs can not be forced to accept it, and Daming's dog is not just anyone who is qualified to be a dog.

As for the big hats of implicit colonization and economic colonization, the Great Tomorrow Dynasty will not recognize it, not only will it not admit it, but it will not accuse others of engaging in implicit colonization and economic colonization.

Therefore, the first major thing Zhuge Weidao had to do when he returned to Beijing this time was to discuss a specific strategy on how to get the righteous name of crusading against the traitors in Nagasaki.

And the second major task he wanted to accomplish in Beijing was to draw up a general strategy for the air defense operations and aviation operations of the Ming Navy -- he is now a recognized expert in aviation operations and air defense operations in the Ming military circles.

And he is also the "Air Force Division" of the Zhuge family...... Of course, this identity is known only within the military division.

On the train to Beijing, Zhuge Weidao spent most of his time writing, and he had to produce reports and proposals before attending the Admiralty's meetings on aviation operations and air defense operations...... And this report and proposal are also the key to winning the budget for the air defense transformation of the naval forces and the budget for the aviation units.

Naval Aviation Admiral Guan Tianpei also returned to Beijing with him, and now he is sitting in a box with Zhuge Weidao. Zhuge was writing a report for the Dao, and he was reading the report written by Zhuge for the Dao, and the more he looked at it, the more frowning he became.

"Daozi, what is the new flying machine you are proposing? Is it a new type of airship? Why is it listed as a top-secret project, and a special budget of at least 5 million silver yuan is required in the eighth year of Taiping? ”

"Of course, the new aircraft is not an airship, and the airship has no future...... "Zhuge Weidao replied while writing something in a pen notebook, "The name of the new aircraft is airplane." ”

"Flying chickens?" Guan Tianpei asked, "Roosters, hens' chickens?" ”

"The machine of the machine." Zhuge Weidao laughed, "A flying machine is called an airplane." ”

"Flying machines? How to fly? ”

"This ......"

When Zhuge Weidao was thinking about how to explain to Guan Tianpei, Guan Tianpei found a novelty from Zhuge Weidao's report, so he asked with a smile: "Daozi, didn't you say that the airship has no future?" Why are plans for the development of transport airships, bombing airships, reconnaissance airships and combat airships also proposed? Oh, and to develop airship carriers...... Is it well thought out? ”

"Admiral, this is for the British!" Zhuge Weidao explained with a smile, "Airships have no future, so they are the most suitable for the enemy to develop...... If there is only one kind of airship, it may not cost the British much silver, so we will first engage in four major categories, and each major category will be divided into two sub-categories: ship-based and ship-based. In this way, the British needed to develop at least eight types of airships, and also needed to develop and build one airship carrier...... With so many projects added together, tens of millions of pounds may be wasted. And the British, who spend more money on airships, will naturally invest less on surface ships, underwater ships and aircraft.

In fact, in the direction of the development of surface ships, we should also mislead the British, so that they regard speed as the ultimate performance indicator of surface ships, so as to reduce investment in armor and firepower. ”

The speed, armor, and firepower of a battleship are, of course, strong and balanced, fast, durable, and firepower...... That's certainly ideal! But such a ship costs too much money, and the technical requirements are too high. Not to mention the British, even the Ming Dynasty is difficult to rectify. And when the speed, armor, and firepower of the battleship are all in order, it is time to be eliminated. Instead of spending money to build battle cruises, wouldn't it be fragrant to have a few more aircraft carriers?

Therefore, a truly good battleship should not pursue comprehensive capabilities, but must make trade-offs in three aspects: armor, firepower, and speed. In Zhuge Weidao's view, speed is precisely what can be discarded!

Because high-speed battleships often need to use high-power power systems, they need large heavy oil boilers and steam turbines, and they also need large oil depots. And these will squeeze out a limited tonnage, and thus sacrifice firepower and armor, and it is easy to create a battlecruiser or fast battleship with mediocre firepower and thin armor...... Moreover, the tonnage of such ships is usually large and the cost is extremely high.

In contrast, those slow ships with thick skin and thick guns are actually very guaranteed in combat effectiveness, and they are much cheaper, and if the same cost is used to build battle cruisers or fast warships, the number is much less......

......

Nagasaki, Japan.

At the same time, George. Yoshiri was taking notes in a Japanese-style castle on the outskirts of Nagasaki while listening to the report of Takamori Yoshibei Saigo, the ace of Japanese air warfare.

It turned out that in the air battle of Jueying Island that day, the airship that Saigo Yoshibei Takamori was riding was not shot down by Guan Tianpei's airship, but also used its low-altitude maneuverability and relatively flexible lifting characteristics to launch a round of collision with Guan Tianpei's airship...... It is said that he also hit the target!

If it weren't for the Ming Navy's Lushun to come to support the Wyvern No. 3 airship, Saigo would have the confidence to shoot it down with a flying knife!

The weapon used in the world's first air battle was actually a knife, and the airship could also cooperate with surface ships, by the way, the Indomitable was sunk by the coordinated operation of the Ming Navy and the airship...... What a valuable experience!