Java Sea.

A fleet of dozens of ships is heading north, each bearing a peculiar flag of twelve blue, white and red radial stripes, the flag of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the "Twin Princes Jack Flag". In the eyes of later generations, this flag is very embarrassing, and Mr. Wen once vomited, saying that it is too much like the logo of the "umbrella company" in "Resident Evil".

But in the 16th and 17th centuries, this flag was a source of fear for all nations. At that time, the Netherlands was the most powerful colonial empire in the world. At that time, this country was less than 100 years old, and its foreign trade volume accounted for half of the world's total, with more than 10,000 Dutch merchant ships crisscrossing the seven seas.

But the good times were short-lived, and after the defeat of the war against Britain and France, the Netherlands collapsed. This is also the congenital disadvantage of small countries, they may appear to be coaxed in a certain period of time for one reason or another, but once they encounter twists and turns, they will be immediately beaten back to their original shape.

After the decline of the Netherlands, many overseas colonies were lost and occupied by the late-developing powers. At this time, the main remaining colonies were the Dutch East Indies of the Dutch East India Company, as well as Dutch Guiana (Suriname) in the Americas, and the Dutch Antilles and Aruba. The once famous "Twin Prince Jack Banner" has long become a despised store.

Especially after the nascent Chinese People's Navy was forced to sign the humiliating Sino-Dutch Jakarta Treaty under the guns in 1909, the so-called Royal Netherlands Navy became the laughing stock of the world. Especially in Europe, the Dutch are so ridiculed that they can't hold their heads up and are embarrassed to say hello when they go out.

Under the cynicism of the European people, especially the hateful Belgians next door, they used this to disgust the Netherlands every three days. Even the white-skinned monkeys of the same noble race can kick their noses in the face, which is really unbearable for the Dutch. The most inexplicable thing for the Dutch is that the Chinese fleet that is forced to come to the door is a second-hand fleet composed of second-hand warships, which makes Dahenan, which has been the hegemon of the sea for 200 years, ah, no, how can the Dutch be embarrassed.

After being so disgusted for a while, the Dutch people finally couldn't stand it anymore. In 1910, the Dutch, who were deeply humiliated, passed the Naval Enlargement Act, intending to strengthen their navy and strengthen their military power in the Far East. Although it is no longer possible to reproduce the glory of the "sea coachman", at least a second-hand fleet of yellow-skinned monkeys can no longer be allowed to do whatever they want in the East Indies.

Originally, the Dutch parliament was originally preparing to build a number of "shore defense battleships" to strengthen the Far East Fleet. Although the "shore defense battleship" is called a "battleship", it actually has little to do with the battleship, and it is completely inferior to the real battleship in all aspects. It's just the product of a specific strategic thinking, but with some battleship-like designs.

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the navies of small countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark built a number of small capital ships with shallow draft, thick armor, and medium firepower according to their military needs and the geographical conditions of the surrounding coasts. The displacement of these battleships was about 3,000 to 8,000 tons, and the caliber of their guns exceeded that of their contemporaries of heavy cruisers, but not as good as the battle cruisers. The British Jane's Ship Almanac classified it as a "shore defense battleship".

To put it bluntly, these "shore defense battleships" are enlarged in size, thickened in armor, enhanced in firepower, and have the linear, gun arrangement, and firing command instrument of "former dreadnoughts" or "dreadnoughts", and shallow water heavy gunboats with multiple turret salvo capabilities, which can be said to be the development of shallow water heavy gunboats.

This kind of ship is a typical functional warship, low cost, with strong firepower, but seaworthiness, speed and range are obvious shortcomings. It is still very meaningful for a coastal defense navy, but for the great powers, especially those committed to global strategy, such ships are basically unattractive, so the great powers have no incentive to develop such warships.

To be honest, this kind of ship is quite suitable for the Netherlands. In fact, the Netherlands themselves had this kind of thing, and at the time of the Chinese approach, they had three Everson-class (3,500-ton class, three 210-mm guns) and five Queen Regent-class (5,000-ton class, two 240-mm guns), a total of eight so-called "shore defense battleships".

But the Everson-class and the Queen Regent-class were too small and too weak in firepower to be the opponent of the Chinese Navy, although the Chinese fleet at that time was said to be a second-hand fleet, but those six battleships were serious eight hundred former dreadnought battleships, not to mention a bunch of cruisers. It is precisely because of their inferiority that the Dutch suffered such a big loss.

Of course, at that time, they also built a seven-province Soyuz, but it was still in sea trials in the Netherlands at that time and was not officially put into service. However, the ship was only 6,500 tons, with two 280-mm guns, which did not play a role even in the East Indies at that time. In the face of China's fearlessness, the seven-province alliance is just a dish.

Therefore, this time the new plan proposed by the Dutch parliament is an enlarged version of the Seven Provinces Alliance, this class of "coastal defense battleships" has a standard displacement of 7,600 tons, is equipped with two twin 280 mm guns, a maximum speed of 18 knots, and is ready to build 8 ships. To tell the truth, such a ship is actually very much in line with the national strength of the Netherlands, and it is a vote to fight against it along the coast.

But this scheme is still being discussed, and it is outdated. Because the Dutch Navy learned from Britain that China had ordered intelligence on super-dreadnoughts in the United States. If China adds a few more super-dreadnoughts, these "coastal defense battleships" will be useless, and in the face of real super-dreadnoughts, these so-called "coastal defense battleships" are completely a gift to people.

What can I do? Yellow-skinned monkeys can build super dreadnoughts, and of course we can build them even more in the Netherlands!

As a result, the Dutch immediately revised the "Naval Enlargement Act" and replaced the original "shore defense battleships" with real super-dreadnoughts, and also increased the number to nine! The Dutch were really anxious this time, and their plan this time was quite brilliant; in addition to these nine capital ships, they also included nine cruisers, 18 destroyers, 18 torpedo boats, 18 submarines, and four minelayers.

But the Dutch had no experience in building dreadnoughts, just like the British and Germans, who had good relations, tendered, and in the end they chose the British scheme out of political considerations. The main numbers of this super-dreadnought, named the "Dutch Monarch Class", were: 21,000 tons in standard row, 26,850 tons in full row, 22 knots, and equipped with four twin 14-inch guns, as well as 16 150 mm secondary guns and 12 75 mm rapid-fire guns. 150-250 mm main armor belt, 25-50 mm deck armor, conning tower armor 200-300 mm.

In fact, this class of battleships is a variant of the Kongo-class designed by the British for Japan, which reduces speed and endurance and strengthens armor. Seriously, the performance of this battleship was quite good, and the Dutch were very satisfied.

However, it is indeed difficult to build nine such powerful super-dreadnoughts with the national strength of the Netherlands, plus a large number of supporting light ships, as well as various related factories and dockyards, at least 700 million guilders are needed (about 2 at the exchange rate at the time. $800 million). If it had been before, the Dutch would never have done such a thing, it would have cost too much.

However, this was not the case, and the Dutch, who were deeply humiliated, broke out with a strong sense of patriotism, and they were very supportive of the plan to blow up the ship. Queen Wilhelmina even publicly declared in Parliament: "Even if I sell my last dress, I will reproduce the glory of the Royal Netherlands Navy!" She first announced that half of the royal funds would be donated to this shipbuilding project, and under the leadership of the queen, the Dutch have donated generously. At the same time, they also issued treasury bonds for naval construction and increased their looting of colonies.

Although the national strength of the Netherlands is not as good as in the past, it is also an old colonial empire, and after robbing it for so many years, it still has some family resources, and it can still save a lot of money by gritting its teeth. With their efforts to raise funds, they were able to get together the funds.

Of course, the Dutch are not so stupid and do not really want to become a so-called "sea power". Nor did they think of restoring the naval power of their heyday, because the Dutch knew very well that if they really dared to have such ambitions, it would not be anyone else who would come to their door first, but the opium cattle, their biggest backer now. With Niuniu's sensitivity to sea power, he will never allow another naval power to appear at his doorstep.

Therefore, the Dutch designed this class of battleships not to be deployed to the Home Fleet, but to the Far East Fleet to counterbalance the Chinese Navy, which was increasingly coveting the Dutch East Indies colonies. The main imaginary enemy of this class is the Chinese Navy's large number of former dreadnoughts and heavy cruisers (known as pocket battlecruisers in Europe and the United States), and of course can also compete with China's "Fuxi"-class battleships.

According to the information obtained, the Dutch Navy believes that if their Dutch monarch class encounters the Fuxi class, both sides can penetrate each other, and the specific actual combat performance depends on which side has a stronger character.

Due to lack of experience, the first "Dutch Monarch class" was built by a British shipyard and construction began in October 1910. At the outbreak of World War I, four ships had been completed, two of which were built in Britain and one on the slipway. After the completion of the fifth ship in June 1915, the Dutch had to turn their efforts to the army and abandon the construction of the remaining four ships because of the worsening shape of the European war.

This was because of the threat from the Germans next door, although Belgium, an old enemy, was bulldozed by the Germans, much to the delight of the Dutch. But Wei Er is a psychopath, even if the relationship between the two countries is good, but God knows if he will have a hot brain, and he will clean up my big Holland together.

By 1916, after the fifth "Dutch Monarch class" officially joined the service of the Dutch Far East Fleet, the Dutch Navy already had five super dreadnoughts, ranking ninth in the world, second only to Britain, Germany, the United States, China, France, Japan, Italy and Austria, and stronger than Russia.

The strategic thinking of the Dutch navy was different, and the configuration of their navy showed a very rare pattern, which was a naval force in which the strength of the overseas colonial fleet far exceeded the strength of the home fleet. Most of its ships and all the new ones were deployed in the Far East Fleet in the Dutch East Indies, while the Home Fleet consisted of only a few old ships, and the fleet was still pitifully small. This special configuration method is rare in the whole world, and even colonial empires such as Britain and France do not have this kind of play.

But if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising, because the Netherlands is small, and on the European continent, if it really conflicts with the big European continent like Germany and France next door, that is, they will be bulldozed every minute, and no matter how strong the navy is, they will not be able to save them. At the same time, as the loyal brother of Britain, the Netherlands does not need to deploy too strong a fleet on the mainland, and there is no need to maintain too strong sea power on the mainland. And during this period, the Netherlands had good relations with such big countries as Britain, Germany, and France, and none of these countries would come to fight them. On the contrary, it has never dealt with Belgium next door, but if it is only to guard against Belgium, there is no need for a navy.

Compared with the mainland, which has a good international environment, the East Indies need a strong navy to protect it. The East Indies were the most important colony of the Netherlands, and it was also the most important source of wealth, without which the Netherlands would have been reduced to a small third-rate country.

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After a few years of lying on the bat, the scale of the Dutch Far East Fleet is still quite considerable, with a total of five cutting-edge "Dutch monarch-class" battleships, five Queen Regent-class and one seven-province Union-class coastal defense battleship, 14 light cruisers (6 Dutch-class, 8 Sumatra class), 14 destroyers (6 Brioc-class, 8 Fret class), and finally did not let the "Twin Prince Jack Flag" continue to be disgraced.

In addition to these capital ships, the Dutch Far East Fleet also has 15 submarines, 10 gunboats, 8 Z-class large torpedo boats, and more than 50 torpedo boats (30-140 tons), which is the third largest fleet in the Far East.

At this time, Vice Admiral Cruyff, commander of the Far East Fleet of the Royal Netherlands Navy, convened a meeting of senior officers on the flagship Dutch Monarch.

"If the Chinese don't send the main force, we still have a chance." As long as Chinese know that even if they can defeat us, they will have to pay a considerable price, and they will not dare to ask too much......" Cruyff said with a heavy face.

Despite such a powerful fleet in his hands, Cruyff did not have the slightest confidence. He can't be blamed for that, because the red dragon in the north is too powerful. The national strength of the two sides is no longer at the same level at all, and this kind of crushing from absolute strength is insoluble unless the ruler of China has a water in his head or is caught in the door. But looking at it now, China's President Wen Desi doesn't look like his brain is in water or caught in the door.

Now their only hope is that China does not send the main fleet, but only wants to blackmail.