May 5, 1886, 9:40 a.m

Royal Navy Base in Mulberry Bay Township

The unprecedented scale of the Tang Empire's Royal Navy parade was held here, and the blue bay was filled with ironclad giants like hills, which were the most powerful maritime forces in the entire Americas.

Emperor Richard and other heads of state took the "Daystar" fast cruise ship to inspect the Royal Navy fleet moored at anchorage one by one, and the sound of majestic military music wafted between the sea and the sky.

The 4,200-ton "Daystar" fast cruise ship is like a toy in front of the mountain-like ironclad giant, and there is a sense of a cat seeing a tiger.

After more than 30 years of unremitting development, the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire has become the world's first navy in the Americas and the fourth largest in the world in terms of total displacement of ships in service, and the only all-ironclad fleet in the world today.

This is due to the fact that the Tang Empire has no historical baggage, and in the early days of the construction of the Royal Navy, the first type of 450-ton coastal patrol ship developed was the ironclad ship, and in the next 10 years, it will develop into a complete ironclad fleet.

The main ironclad fleet of the Tang Empire consisted of three "Zhenyang"-class, four "Zhendong"-class, eight "Duke"-class and eight "Guogong"-class ironclad ships.

Among them, five of the eight "Guogong" class ironclad ships with a displacement of 12,600 tons have been built, one has been launched and outfitted, and two slipways are being built.

Today's Royal Navy base is home to most of the main ironclad ships, as well as 10 "Tornado"-class ironclad cruisers with a displacement of 4,500 to 5,800 tons, and "Han" ironclad destroyers with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons to 3,000 tons, forming a magnificent fleet group.

These ironclad warships are the belongings accumulated by the Tang Royal Navy for 10 years, defending the steel barriers of more than 100,000 miles of sea frontiers, and witnessing the rise of the imperial navy.

The "Daystar" cruise ship turned around and returned to the dock, at this time a thick salute sounded on the pier, and the gray-haired Admiral Duke Pan Hengchen announced loudly; "Your Majesty; The Royal Navy's Separate Fleet at Sea is ready for review. ”

"Well, let's get started."

"Wechen obeys the holy order." Admiral Pan Hengchen, Duke of the Navy, gave a deep salute, then turned around and commanded loudly; "Command; The detachment of the fleet at sea begins. ”

Order

The majestic military music played again, the sky was streaked with dazzling signal flares, and the sea parade began......

The Venus is divided into three decks: lower, middle and upper, and a large white awning is arranged on the deck, and the location of the viewing platform is below the awning.

The kings, crown princes, grand dukes, and heads of state of affairs are all on the top deck, surrounded by the throne of Emperor Richard, and each has its own seat.

Hearing that the sea parade had begun, everyone picked up the binoculars on the table and looked at the sea in the distance.

On the anchorage where the sea and the sky meet, the towering chimneys of one huge ironclad ship after another are billowing black smoke, cleaving the waves all the way, gradually accelerating towards the direction of the viewing platform.

At this rate

It would take more than twenty minutes to arrive, and Emperor Richard's sharp eyes could see clearly without a telescope.

After he looked at it for a while, he turned his head and chatted with Admiral Pan Hengchen and said;

"Pan Aiqing, the Royal Navy has been sharpening its sword for decades, and now it has finally begun to take shape, I am very relieved!"

"If you go back to the emperor, although the size of our imperial navy cannot be compared with the old powers such as Britain and France, it is not much different from the emerging German navy. The pedigree of the developed ironclad battleship is complete, the caliber of the main gun is unified, and the combat effectiveness is not far behind. ”

"This is very good, the Royal Navy has maintained a long-term and stable growth trend, laying a good foundation step by step, accumulating the foundation step by step, don't want to become a fat man in one bite, it is very unrealistic."

"Your Majesty, the training of our Royal Navy is extremely rigorous, and every warship and every gun crew is required to the highest training standards. Day after day, he sharpens his will and the ability to operate ships, with loyalty and sacrifice as the motto of the soldiers, and always listens to the call of the Empire. Marshal Pan Hengchen replied with a bright face.

To be able to see the Royal Navy grow so strongly, as the founder of the Royal Navy, he felt extremely honored, extremely proud, even if he died.

In particular, the 12,600-ton "Guogong" class ironclad ship developed in recent years ranks among the top in the world in terms of combat effectiveness, and is not inferior to the main ironclad ships of Britain, France and Germany.

The pace of the development of the ironclad battleships of the Tang Empire is very clear, starting from the 8600-ton "Zhenyang" class ironclad ship, equipped with a bow and a double 305 mm main ship gun in the stern, using hydraulic devices to extract shells, breech loading, a shell can be fired every 2~3 minutes, and the firepower is quite fierce.

The follow-up 9,000-ton "Zhendong" class main ironclad ship is the former's extended range type, and the 10,000-ton "Duke" class main ironclad ship is a firepower enhanced type.

The 10,000-ton "Duke" class ironclad ship, in the manner of 2 in the front and 1 in the rear, is equipped with three double-barreled 305-mm main gun turrets, a total of 6 305-mm main guns, and the front hemisphere and side firepower have been greatly enhanced.

The latest generation of 12,600-ton "Guogong"-class ironclad warships has been upgraded again on the basis of the former, and is equipped with four double-barreled 305 mm main gun turrets and a total of eight 305 mm guns according to the configuration of the front 2 and the rear 2. The firepower of the main guns has doubled compared to the basic "Zhenyang" class and the "Zhendong" class with an extended range.

What is particularly commendable is;

The unique hunched main ship gun layout of the Tang Royal Navy has been further carried forward on the "Guogong" class ironclad ships, with a compact gun layout and no dead ends in shooting.

Compared with the layout of the "shipwaist gun room" of Britain and France, the advantages are very obvious, and it has become one of the iconic advanced technologies of the Tang Imperial Navy.

"The Royal Navy has always been one of my most trusted and trustworthy armed forces, and in order to build the Imperial Navy, Pan Aiqing has worked hard and knows everything! Aiqing has worked hard. Emperor Richard said with a warm expression, and suddenly reached out and patted Marshal Pan Hengcheng's arm lightly to show his holy favor.

This heart-warming action made the white-haired Marshal Pan Hengcheng couldn't help but have red eyes, and he was instantly moved beyond measure, and replied in a choked voice; "Your Majesty, it is a blessing in life for Weichen to be able to follow the left and right, how can he be worthy of His Majesty's great reputation?"

Emperor Richard didn't say anything more, just patted the old courtier's arm again and turned his head away.

Silence is better than sound.

At this moment, Marshal Pan Hengchen could no longer suppress the stirring emotions in his heart, and his face was full of tears.

There is nothing like the honor of receiving His Majesty's approval, and all the effort is worth it.

After the 40 th anniversary celebration, Marshal Pan Hengchen will step down from the post of chief of staff of the Navy, retire to the countryside and make fun of his grandson, and enjoy his old age peacefully.

The power of the new generation of the imperial military has risen rapidly, and it has come time for a new generation to replace the old.

The crowd on the shore cheered, and in the blue bay, the first to take the lead was the "Guogong" class lead ship "An Guogong", at this time the 12,600-ton ironclad giant is the war monster of today's top steam technology, and the power of 8 305mm cannons is terrifying.

In the light of the sun

The steel hull of the ironclad ship "An Guogong" exudes an icy luster, the bow plows the waves, and the flag of the Imperial Navy is flying high on the tall steel triangular mast, symbolizing the invincible maritime power of the Americas.

Followed by the "Huguo Gong", "Ning Guogong", as well as the "Zhendong", "Zhennan", "Zhenxi", and "Zhenbei" ironclad ships lined up neatly at sea to accept His Majesty's review.

One after another, the sea war beasts passed in front of them, and the second fleet composed of the "Duke"-class ironclad ships in the rear continued to sail again, which made people feel blood swelling and their emotions were excited.

From the beginning to the end, the cheers of the crowd on the shore were not heard, and the salute accompanied by the ships saluted in high esteem fully demonstrated the strength of the Royal Fleet today.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Empire, it no longer conceals its strength, but announces to the world with a very high posture that the Tang Empire has become one of the world's top powers.

When the strength is strong, it is still hidden, which is tantamount to walking at night in brocade.

Taking the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the empire, it is also one of the main purposes to fully display the great military might of the Tang Empire and completely wipe out the careful thinking in the hearts of some countries.

The so-called soldiers who surrender to the enemy without a fight are also good people.

Judging from the effect of on-site observation, it is clear that the royal families and heads of government were intimidated by the strong force of the empire, which achieved the original intention.

"Are the Dutch more honest now?" Emperor Richard asked casually.

Prime Minister Baron Tang Dezhao subconsciously looked at the direction of the delegation of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and replied with a smile on the corner of his mouth that could not be concealed;

"Back to Your Majesty's words;

The Dutchman had been silent since yesterday, and his face was very ugly, like who owed him a lot of money.

Sternberg, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, once paid a private visit to His Royal Highness Edward of the United Kingdom, but His Royal Highness Edward did not have time to pay attention to him, so he asked British Foreign Secretary Thomson to say a few words to pass the scene.

Don't look at His Royal Highness Edward's greed for money and lust, not like the style of the master, but after all, he has been up and down in London's top political circles for decades, and at least he still has political judgment.

The Dutch would be naïve to rely on some ridiculous performances to gain sympathy.

According to our information;

Last year, in July 1885, the British ambassador to the Netherlands, Disburway, proposed;

It is hoped that the Kingdom of the Netherlands will remove regional barriers to commercial trade and that all ports in Sumatra that are not occupied by the Netherlands will be free trade.

The Royal Dutch East Indies Fleet should not influence foreign trade, including the Kingdom of Aceh, on the grounds of anti-smuggling or other untenable reasons, which already have a serious impact on the economic development of the region.

Today

The Governor-General's Office of the Dutch East Indies has been prevaricating and ignoring the relevant issues, which has greatly displeased the British side.

So, few European countries would stand up for the Dutch on the East Indies. ”

Prime Minister Tang Dezhao's remarks are also somewhat untrue, and some heads of European countries still question the legitimacy of the representatives of the Kingdom of Aceh.

It's just that these are small European countries, so the imperial government selectively ignores them.

During the five-year term of the current cabinet, Prime Minister Tang Dezhao still wanted to do something, and the focus of colonial expansion fell on the Dutch East Indies.

So it is not surprising that in the daily newspapers, the Dutch colonists were given some eye medicine from time to time.

in time

His Majesty has no good impression of these Dutch, and it is easy to get a royal decision here in His Majesty if everything is ready, and this is a little caution in this Cabinet.

After Emperor Richard listened to the report, he bowed his head slightly and said; "In that case, let's downplay the deal and don't cause sharp confrontation between the two countries."

"Your Majesty, Weichen respectfully obeys the holy decree, don't dare to disobey it!" Prime Minister Tang Dezhao immediately responded.

(End of chapter)