The Rise of the Empire

"This is really a perfect battleship!" Beside the berth of the Earlehull Shipyard in England, Shuzo Aoki finally saw the first-class protected cruiser recommended by the British to Japan!

This Edgar-class cruiser, formerly named George, was originally intended to equip the British Navy, but with a series of accidents, the Japanese fleet, which had suffered huge losses, urgently needed to replenish its strength, so the British sent this ship that had just been completed and had not yet been completed. The battleships in service were directly resold to Japan! And the cost and return cost of this warship with a displacement of up to 7,300 tons is as high as 550,000 pounds!

"A 9.2-inch gun is equipped at the front and rear, and there are 10 6-inch guns on both sides. And according to your request, the 12 6-pound guns were replaced with 12-pound guns, and the protective armor of the gun positions was increased. After After some improvements, the firepower and defense of this battleship have been improved to a certain extent, but the voyage has been reduced." Sir Watts introduced.

"If Beiyang acquires a Mainz-class armored cruiser, will the George be able to compete with the opponent?" Aoki Shuzo asked tentatively. After all, the news from China made this matter more likely!

"The core module of the George will not be destroyed by the 6-inch rapid-fire gun, but it is doubtful whether it can block the 280MML40 main gun. It should be fine in a short time, but it will be difficult to say after a long time. After all, your country's 260MM gun is also Can't penetrate Mainz's armor. And medium-caliber rapid-fire guns are not very effective against Mainz with its huge armor belt." Sir Watts is still very honest.

"But I still believe in the warships and technology of the British Empire." Shuzo Aoki looked at the slightly embarrassed Sir Watts, and said tactfully.

The war will continue, and if you want to win the war, you must regain your maritime superiority. Even if you are cash-strapped, the Japanese will grit their teeth and restore their fleet strength. In order to make up for the loss and deal with the possible increase of warships in Beiyang. Buying a first-class cruiser is the first-hand response of the Japanese!

Watts' words were conveyed to the country by Shuzo Aoki intact, and this information obviously caused an uproar in the country! Many people think that the price Japan paid to balance its sea power is too high!

"Since my colleagues in the army think that the cost of the navy is too high, you can let the engineers build a pontoon bridge connecting North Korea and Lushun. If possible, I will give all the military expenses of the navy to the army!" Ito Hirobumi's words completely overwhelmed The disgruntled generals in the army.

But the existing fleet is not enough, and it is still not enough after buying one, so what should I do? The answer given by Hirobumi Ito is very simple! keep buying! until enough is enough! But although the world is big, there seems to be only one place where you can buy a boat!

Germany's Munich-class armored cruisers are naturally excellent. They have proved their strength with the achievements of the British and the blood of the Japanese Navy. Although the Japanese want to buy them, Germany does not sell them! Russia can do the same, and the French also closed the door to Japan's outsourcing under Russia's diplomatic efforts. What's more, because of the Sanjing ship, Japan is not interested in French warships! Italy has no newly completed warships, and Italy is unwilling to offend Germany and Russia. Then the only option is the UK!

I have to say that the British are very interesting to their little brother! The day after the Japanese government proposed to continue to purchase warships, the British government detained the cruiser Blanco Ncalaca ordered by Chile. After this incident happened.

(The author does not know when this cruiser arrived in Chile, but based on the general events from the launch of second-class cruisers to service, this process takes about 1 year, so let’s assume that this battleship is still in the UK for the time being, and it is about to be completed but not yet. Delivered to Chile.)

The British acted as an intermediary to coordinate negotiations between Chile and Japan on the purchase of this warship. The British have a big face,

In the end, this second-class protected cruiser, which is the same type as Yoshino but obviously stronger than Yoshino, changed its owner! The Japanese government finally bought back the warship at a high price of 390,000 pounds!

However, the Japanese government, which has two new dome cruisers, still feels a little confused. Before the official delivery, the Japanese are still considering whether they can replace these two battleships with one battleship! For example, the Centurion-class second-class battleship currently deployed in the Far East is a good choice! After all, the price of these two battleships is also equal to a battleship, and the latter has obvious advantages in firepower and defense, and its speed is not slow!

But this time the British said that they couldn't continue playing, or that they were unwilling to continue to take the blame for Japan! Some time ago, there was already quite an upset between Britain and Russia and Germany because of the Japanese issue! If you dare to sell an active second-class battleship at this time, wouldn't you be uncomfortable?

As a godfather, there is a limit to helping a son! (For example, when the three countries intervened in Liao Dynasty in history, the British resolutely shrank back!) Didn’t you see that when the British sold you the first two cruisers, they just walked around the edge? They didn't directly row the battleships in service! Instead, choose a battleship that is almost ready to be completed and has not yet entered service!

But even so, the British still tried their best to meet the needs of the Japanese. If they couldn't find larger warships, they could only find smaller battleships! After rummaging through the shipbuilding lists of various shipyards, the British finally discovered another small boat!

This second-class protected cruiser named Brave belongs to the Apollo class. With a displacement of 3,400 tons, an output power of 9,000 horsepower, a maximum speed of 20 knots, and the firepower of two 6-inch guns, six 4.7-inch guns and eight 6-pound guns, this warship was completed in 1894 and was also prepared for the British Navy. , As a result, it was directly rowed to the flag of the Japanese Navy!

So after some hard work, the Japanese spent nearly 1 million pounds to order 3 cruisers! Someone may ask, does the Japanese government have so much money? The answer is naturally yes, people have been preparing for this war for more than ten years! There are about 150 million yen in military reserves and budget funds alone! At that time, the ratio of the British pound to the Japanese yen was about 1 to 9! It is also possible for the Japanese government to come up with 1 million pounds. What's more, there is also the support of the United States and Britain to purchase Japanese foreign debt. As long as they can win, everything will be fine!

The Japanese not only bought a large number of warships, but also replaced all the artillery of the first-line main battleships with new rapid-fire guns. You must know that the secondary guns of ships such as Fuso, Hiei, and Takachiho in history were not rapid-fire! After changing the guns, the combat effectiveness of these old ships also soared!

With a lot of new ships in hand, the Japanese navy has also become bullish. The Takachiho, which originally belonged to the guerrilla fleet in history, has been difficult to get into the eyes of the top Japanese navy. The speed of this warship in the 1980s is too slow! So the new fast fleet is composed entirely of 3 new ships and 1 Yoshino! After suffering setbacks, Dongying Yaodao stood up and went to the battlefield again!

"Ready to go?" Ruprecht said, looking at Hipper who came to say goodbye behind him.

"Yes, the Mainz has been handed over to the Beiyang Navy, and I will go to Lushun with the ship. I am very willing to teach those Japanese dwarfs a lesson!" Hipper said with high spirits.

"You are very optimistic. Remember, second, after the fleet battle is over, you must persuade Yang Yonglin to follow our pre-planned strategy. Third, this battleship must not fall into the hands of the Japanese. Mainz The reputation of the Japanese fleet comes from the massacre of the Japanese fleet, so you understand. In addition, this is also the meaning of His Majesty the Emperor and the Ministry of the Navy." The prince said seriously.

"Mainz's results are only victory and sinking, there will be no third result!" Hipper said. A warship that can be said to have opened a new history of the German Navy, naturally cannot fall into the hands of its former enemy!

"So what's the first point? You seem to have forgotten the most important point!"

"Do your best to ensure the safety of you and your men! This is just an experiment. In the future, you and your fleet will participate in a sea battle that can change the entire world! Every German naval officer and soldier is the most precious The wealth is more precious than the Mainz!" Ruprecht said earnestly.

"This sounds really exciting, but it's too far away, can you give me something real?" If Ruprecht is generally said to have a previous king, then this one is obviously an exception, even if he was born noble , and even received more than ten years of royal education and nurturing, Ruprecht seems to be farther away from the two words "wangba"! As an adjutant accompanying him, Hipper was also very casual in private.

"How about a cruiser's chief mate in three years?" Ruprecht asked. "As long as you can come back!"

"Are you kidding me?" Hipper said with a slightly embarrassed face.

"Whatever you think!" Ruprecht waved his hand to indicate that the other party could leave.

And just after the armored cruiser Mainz left the formation, lowered the Black Eagle flag of the German Navy, and raised the Dragon flag of the Beiyang Fleet, the first batch of German transport ships carrying the supplies and personnel of the Blue Legion had also arrived. Vladivostok, although the two sides have not yet started a war, His Royal Highness believes that they should go to the battlefield earlier to adapt to the future environment.

This time the blue army is led by His Royal Highness's old subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel von Caliput, this buddy accompanied the prince to fight against the Prussians, and also led the infantry in the Franco-Prussian War to face the French volleys. However, the overall performance is not bad, with rich practical experience, and at the same time sensitive to new things. As a lieutenant colonel, commanding a force of no more than 3,000 people is absolutely no problem.

The conflict between Germany and Japan did not dispel the war clouds that filled the Far East. After the crisis came to an end, what should come will finally come back! When the three cruisers ordered by Japan finally arrived in Japan, the Sino-Japanese War re-entered the countdown, but unlike in history, this war, which was supposed to break out in July, was postponed for 2 months! During this period, both Beiyang and Japan are doing their best to prepare.

However, what is different from history is that this time it is not just the Qing and Japanese countries that are preparing to meet each other. Because of some accidents and under Ruprecht’s deliberate guidance, Russia and Germany’s interference in the situation in the Far East is more serious than in history. Come up earlier, and at the same time, the means are more intense!

"I have created a different Jiawu, what will happen in the future is really exciting!" Ruprecht said in his heart as he watched the armored cruiser Mainz leave.

An update of 3,000 words counts as one and a half chapters. For the sake of hard work on updating, can you give more support?