Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 178

  After dealing with the related matters, Li Fushou carefully considered and found no omissions, and then he was relieved.

As the Queensland governor election approaches in July next year, Governor Frank is ready to move. He knows that he can’t directly confront Speaker Li Fushou, so he resorted to some extra-market calls. He hopes to attract foreign forces to contend with the absolute superiority of the public party in Queensland. .

  Power is like a glass of wine, making people fall in love with it.

   sneered at this idiot Li Fushou, as long as he cut off his hands and feet to help, forgive him for not being able to make a big wave.

  As for the white hardliners in New South Wales and Victoria, there will be time to deal with them slowly in the future, but don’t worry now.

  Today

  Li Fushou should be on the shining political arena and truly lead the development of Queensland in the direction he wants, instead of using his huge influence to secretly influence the direction of policy.

  This is like scratching your boots, not a long-term solution.

  As the governor directly under the self-governing office, the governor has direct jurisdiction over the state’s industrial and commercial finances, public security and urban construction, agricultural and animal husbandry development, and other tasks. He is a well-deserved emperor of the land.

  Red River Valley Farm belongs to Queensland with an area of ​​less than 80,000 square kilometers. Outside the scope of the earl’s fiefdom, the governor has direct management authority.

  It is necessary to know that Queensland has an area of ​​1.72 million square kilometers, and the area of ​​the Red River Valley Earl’s Land is only 4.7% of it, which is still less than 5%.

  If Li Fushou wants to truly control the entire state of Queensland and let it develop according to his own wishes, he is the best choice to be on the throne of the governor.

  Anyone who interferes with this key strategy will be kicked away.

   Calming his thoughts, Li Fushou sat down at the desk again and opened the top-secret information on the military power of the Dutch East Indies collected by the expatriates in Black Guards, as well as the size of the fleet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

  Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never end up in battle.

  American strategic issues expert Stevenson wrote an article called "The United States and the Dutch East Indies", in which he made no secret of the American coveting of the Dutch East Indies;

  Netherlands East India is not an independent country at all, but an island with thousands of islands and endless resources, rich in spices, tin, rubber, steel, aluminum and other specialties. It is the richest archipelago in the world...

  Under the world environment at the end of the 19th century

  Since its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, France has been inspiring to be innovative, vigorously developing military industry and equipment, re-arming a powerful army that can rival Germany and other powers, and launching a large number of steam iron-clad battleships.

  Since the 1860s, France has made all-out efforts to develop steam ironclad ships more than the United Kingdom, which made the British Empire feel a real threat, and thus put forward the famous "two powers theory."

That is to say, the size of the Royal Navy of the British Empire must exceed the sum of the second and third largest navies. The British Empire thus set off an ultra-large-scale shipbuilding movement. A large number of cutting-edge steam armored warships were launched into the water and once again opened up with European competitors. Distance.

this age

The "British-American reconciliation" is the international mainstream. The relationship between the two sides has melted and broke the ice rapidly since the Civil War. Strong suppression and squeeze, both sides naturally approached for heating.

Among the world’s powers, the Netherlands, which has been reduced to a third-rate, has no place at all. In the eyes of the British Empire strategists, the Netherlands is a “neutral but small and medium-sized monarchy that favors the Anglo-American alliance. Neither South America nor the Far East constitutes a similar law. Russia is as strong as economic hostility."

   Therefore, it is neither in the interests of the United Kingdom nor the United States to start the Dutch East Indies.

  The United States may have some ideas, but the main directions of expansion are Mexico and Hawaii, and the East Indies are not taken into consideration for the time being.

  France aims to land on the Indochina Peninsula, launching and consolidating colonial wars against the Kingdom of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and even the greedy Shenzhou from the north has no time for him to take care of.

  Netherlands East Indies survive in the cracks, because the world situation is changing, and a peaceful space is briefly obtained.

  The Kingdom of the Netherlands is the in-laws of Queen Victoria. The two royal families are closely related and belong to the English-speaking world. This is completely different from Spain, Portugal and other countries.

  After considering the international trend, I will look back at the strength of the Dutch East Indies fleet. There is a sense of desolation at sunset.

  Thinking about the Great Sailing Era

  The Netherlands, known as the "Sea Carriage", has more than 17,000 sailing ships, with sailing tracks covering the five continents of the world. The famous East India Company is a microcosm of its colonial hegemony.

  To this day, the powerful "sea coachman" has been reduced to a ruined settlement. The Dutch East Indies colony has more than 30 wooden sailing warships, of which only 6 are steam ironclad ships.

  Among these six steam iron armored battles, the only one that can be obtained is the 2,700-ton iron-clad ship "Seven Provinces". There are two ships of the same type, one on the island of Java and the other on the mainland of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

  As for the wooden sailing warships, most of them have decayed, and no more than half of them can sail at sea. They are still equipped with front-loaded artillery at the beginning of this century, which not only has a short range but also has low power.

  Such an outdated naval force, not to mention the fleets of Britain and France and other countries in the Far East, is much inferior to the larger Qing Beiyang fleet.

The Beiyang Fleet ordered the "Superyong" and "Yangwei" new gunships from the United Kingdom, and they just returned to the Beiyang Fleet in July 1881, which greatly strengthened its naval power. In addition, 6 "town"-named shallow-water gunboats were added. It belongs to the strongest in the Far East.

   These two cruisers have a displacement of 1,350 tons and have two 10-inch caliber main guns (254 mm), and their combat effectiveness is quite strong.

  The Dingyuan and Zhenyuan giant ships ordered by the Beiyang Fleet in Volkeng, Germany, with a displacement of more than 7,000 tons, are second-level steam iron armored battleships, and their combat effectiveness is second to none in the entire Far East.

  There are many warships under the Dutch East Indies Fleet, but most of them are outdated and equipped with front-muzzle guns that are lagging behind the times. The only thing worth fighting is that;

  Due to the deep naval tradition, the Dutch East Indies fleet's naval officers are of extremely high quality, even if they face the Royal Navy of the British Empire, they are not much better than the officers and soldiers of the German Empire.

Li Fushou silently covered the dossier. It is now August. The "Albatross" ocean-going frigate was the first to be outfitted and delivered to the Coast Guard officers and soldiers to receive the ship in Portsmouth, England. The outfitting can be completed, and it is expected that the two ships will set off and return at the end of September.

With these two main battleships in his hands, Li Fushou is confident of dealing with the Dutch East Indies fleet. No matter in terms of ship performance, firepower, protection and speed, the "Albatross" fully crushes the old "Seven Provinces" steam. Ironclad ship.

Some people may wonder why the Beiyang Fleet ordered the 1,350-ton Chaoyong and Yangwei from the United Kingdom, which belonged to the new light cruisers in the Beiyang Navy series. Why the Red River Valley also ordered the 1,770-ton Seagull II from the United Kingdom? A frigate, not a cruiser.

  Compare the two

The   Seagull II is fully ahead of the "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei", not only has a displacement of more than 420 tons, but also has a speed of 21 knots, which is far ahead of the "Chaoyong" of 16 knots.

  Firepower

The "Chaoyong" is equipped with two British 254mm breech-loaded main guns, one at the front and the back. The "Albatross" is equipped with two German-made 239mm breech-loaded main guns, in an advanced front and rear piggyback arrangement. There are also four 120mm secondary guns on both sides of the hull. The firepower of the front hemisphere is more fierce. The main gun and the secondary guns can deliver more ammunition in a short time.

   Cost

The "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei" total about 128,000 pounds, the cost of a single vessel is 64,000 pounds, and the single "Albatross" cost 102,000 pounds. It is suitable for ocean navigation, faster and more stable, per unit time. The projected firepower is more intense.

  Why is the "Super Brave" a light cruiser, and the "Albatross" can only be a frigate?

  This is because the "Super Brave" belongs to the Northern Marine Division of the Qing Empire and is a regular naval establishment, while the "Albatross" belongs to the Queensland Coast Guard, or the Earl of Red River Valley, and is a private guard.

  This situation is similar to that of the Self-Defense Forces of later generations. The standard is selling dog meat, and the actual combat effectiveness is not inferior at all.

  Li Fushou doesn’t want that good reputation. He only needs affordable, and the current intensive military preparations are to control the deadly dog ​​stick, so that the Dutch dare not be underestimated.

  It is of course good to be able to not play, once it is started, the confidence is not weak at all.

   Even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands mobilizes domestic fleet reinforcements, the Red River Valley will also have two new ocean-going cruise ships at the end of December.

  The Red River Valley prevails in the boats and guns, and the officers and soldiers are united in the city, and they will not hesitate to fight a **** battle.

  The Dutch East Indies fleet wins in familiarity with the geographical environment, the high-quality officers and soldiers of the fleet, can use the old equipment to the maximum effect, this is one of the possible variables.

  Li Fushou thought in his mind, stepped forward to the large map of East Indies hung on the wall, carefully examined his eyes, and finally stayed in Lanfang country thoughtfully.

  The location of Lanfang Country is very delicate. If the fleet strikes from then on, it can cut off the vital spice trade line of the Dutch East Indies and put great pressure on the other side.

   Thinking of this, Li Fushou could no longer sit still, and said, "Here is someone."

  "Master, what do you want?" The secretary on duty today is Nangong Yunfei. He came to the front quietly and bowed in salute.

   "Call Fan Zhongzhai immediately and Tian Shan will come to discuss the matter."

   "Yes, let's go to the humble position." Nangong Yunfei immediately took the order and left.

  Fan Zhongzhai, Tian Shan, as the leading executive of the Secretariat, has his own secretarial team around him. In the lakeside hotel, he does not live together, but each has a separate courtyard. Fortunately, he is not too far away.

  About a few minutes later

  Fan Zhongzhai, Tian Shan hurried to the study, closed the door and talked for a long time before leaving until late at night.

  Preliminary agreement

  It is especially important that Tian Shan, as the special representative of the Queensland Earl, went to Lan Fangguo to contact the president in private, explore the possibility of further cooperation between the two sides, and find out the attitude of the other side.

  　 Today’s update is late, and I express my apologies for the third shift, and now I can finally get a good night’s sleep.

  (End of this chapter)