What does it mean that there are people outside the world? What does it mean that there is a sky outside the world? When the Beiyang people saved money and saved 6 cruisers, the Russians had already launched battleships in batches. Although they were not completed yet, although they were not yet commissioned, in the face of this momentum, Alexander

Ah! Historically, there were no less than 20 Russian battleships in service before 1905. If it weren’t for the initial division of forces, the Thousand Miles Expedition and the Russians would have been a tragedy, among many other problems, Japan’s little wealth in the Battle of Tsushima

It’s simply not enough to watch!

To be honest, if the Russians really obtain Hokkaido, the Russian fleet faced by the Beiyang Navy will be more severe than the situation faced by the Japanese fleet in history. First of all, judging from the location of Hokkaido, it is far away from the Beiyang Fleet base. Once

To start a war, I want to use the r of the year

The way for our fleet to deal with the Russian fleet, blockade and blockade operations close to the shore is obviously not feasible, because the Beiyang Fleet cannot fight the Russian fleet far away from the base, and the conditions of Muroran Port are better than those of Port Arthur. If you want to block the

How many ships would it take to live on the waterway?

Secondly, from a geographical point of view, controlling Hokkaido is equivalent to controlling the Karutsu Strait. Based on Muroran Port, the Russian fleet can enter and exit the Japanese Sea and the Pacific at will, and fight guerrillas with the Beiyang Fleet on the vast sea. Even if the Beiyang Fleet is powerful

It is powerful. Once a mobile war starts, no matter whether it wins or loses, it will definitely consume a lot of time. And if the time consumes too long, once the Russian Baltic Fleet arrives, the pressure faced by the Northern Fleet will be too great.

But Xu Jie still intends to acquiesce to Russia's attack on Japan. As the saying goes, every gain must come with a loss. The Russians have obtained an extremely advantageous ice-free port. The most anxious thing is not Beiyang, but the British. In order to resist Russia's expansion in the Far East

, when Japan is already weak, the British can only choose to continue to support Beiyang. And they must increase support! Secondly, it has to be said that Japan's national cohesion is very strong at this time. And the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army can also be

Describe it as powerful.

In this case, if part of the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army can be retained and used to contain the Russians, Russia's threat to Beiyang on land will be significantly weakened. This is good news for Beiyang, which has a weak army.

Moreover, the elongated supply lines and transport fleets are also a drain on Russia's national strength. In order to cover the transport fleet heading to Hokkaido, the Russian Pacific Fleet must also allocate part of its forces to escort it. This is also a problem for the Beiyang Navy.

Good news.

"Ji Shi. In this case, do you have a development plan for the Beiyang Navy?" After a while, Li Hongzhang asked.

"Of course there is a battleship procurement plan, and the Italians are building two Dante-class battleships for themselves. If they work properly, I think we can buy them in Beiyang." Xu Jie said carefully.

"Is it difficult to buy warships produced by others for your own navy?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"Is there any difficulty?" Xu Jie said in his heart. In history, after the Italians designed Garibaldi, the first equipment was not for the Italian Navy, but was snapped up by Argentina in South America. Generally speaking, the external environment is stable.

In fact, Italy does not have a strong demand for naval armaments. The presence of two battleships has little impact on the comparison of naval power between France and Italy.

"Students must do their best. This matter is not too difficult. After all, students also have things that Italians need." Xu Jie stood up and replied.

"What is it? Can you tell me, my master?" Li Hongzhang was very satisfied with this disciple who was capable of both technical and military skills. Although his political skills were still a bit lacking, as long as he cultivated himself for a period of time, he should be able to do it.

"New torpedoes, torpedoes with a range of 2 to 3 kilometers." Xu Jie replied.

"This is really a good thing. It is close to the effective range of naval guns. If it can really succeed, I, Beiyang, will also need to buy some." Li Hongzhang nodded with satisfaction and said. "In addition to the two Dante-class first-class ironclads, there are others.

?”

"The students plan to purchase another Pisa-class and a Guiyuan-class." Xu Jie said in a low voice.

"They are all Italian battleships. Compared with Italy, are German battleships so inferior?" Li Hongzhang was a little dissatisfied. People will have some persistence, especially those like Li Hongzhang who are in high positions and have a good impression of Germany.

people,

Recently, the Germans couldn't help but feel a little anxious when they saw that Beiyang has no longer purchased German warships since the war. After all, the First Fleet in the Far East will continue to expand. Can't all the cakes be eaten by the Italians? Now

The Italian shipbuilding industry is making huge profits. They even start construction first and then find a buyer. This really makes William, who is interested in the navy, very unhappy. And Germany

The Chinese shipyards also have objections, after all, it has been 6 years. The Qing people bought British naval guns, Italian warships, and French water tube boilers, but there are no products from German manufacturers. One aspect is that they have no money to make. But they can’t lose face either.

No, the Krupp family specially sent people to Tianjin to visit Li Hongzhang, hoping that Germany could get a share of the next Beiyang arms purchase plan.

Li Hongzhang really wanted to help the Germans. However, the performance of the Italian warships was indeed outstanding. If you want to force them to press hard, it would inevitably be a bit bad. Moreover, his understanding of warships was indeed not as good as that of his disciple Xu Jie. Therefore, he had no choice but to do so.

, Li Hongzhang said the above words.

"The Germans' basic industry is still very good, but the main difference lies in design. They can produce good enough raw materials and components, but the design of battleships is relatively average. (At least this was the case before 1900) and it is different from our Beiyang modern ones.

The equipment is not very suitable." Xu Jie replied carefully.

"Then if you design a warship for Germany, would it be okay to have the Germans produce it?" Li Hongzhang asked casually.

"That means breaking the contract and the invalidation of all cooperation agreements between Beiyang and the Kingdom of Italy." Xu Jie said a little funny. In fact, Xu Jie didn't have a good impression of Germany. After all, William II was still very ambitious for the Far East.

In his historical plane, Qingdao was captured by force, and the United States

The fight for control of some islands in the Far East illustrates William II's ambitions for the Far East. Therefore, Xu Jie tried his best to prevent Germany from getting involved too deeply. It is not yet known whether the Shandong Mission Plan can be launched. What if the warships he ordered were in Shandong?

If you haven't come back when the lesson plan comes out, then the meat bun will beat the dog.

"Forget it, that's it." Li Hongzhang said helplessly.

"Actually, if Beiyang doesn't buy German warships, it doesn't mean that other fleets won't buy them. As for the design issue, if Italy agrees, I think some old designs can still be provided to the Germans for reference." Xu Jie thought for a while and said.

, what are the biggest features of German products? First, they are durable and durable, and second, they are cheap! The Beiyang Fleet has relatively high requirements for design and combat power, but other fleets pay more attention to cost-effectiveness.

"Liu Kun is in charge of Nanyang. The Guangdong Navy and the Penghu Navy belong to our Huaihe Department. We still have to take care of them when necessary." Li Hongzhang nodded, still very satisfied with Xu Jie's arrangement.

.

"Master Zhongtang, the Penghu Navy and the Guangdong Navy are controlled by our own people. If possible, it is best to merge them. They are responsible for maritime security in the South China Sea. The strength of a single navy is too weak. If there are changes, the strength of

I haven't caught it yet." Finally, Xu Jie revealed the merger plan he had envisioned.

"It's easier said than done. The Beiyang Navy and the Nanyang Navy are the national fleets of the imperial court, while the Guangdong Navy and the Penghu Navy are both local fleets. If this is merged, who will control it? Is it the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang or the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi?" Li Hongzhang asked rhetorically

road.

"Actually, Mr. Liu made a great contribution in this Qing Dynasty war, and his contribution is enough to go further." Xu Jie said in a low voice.

"Going further? It's difficult. But what you said about turning two naval divisions into one is not possible overtly, but it is still possible secretly. The defense areas of the two are connected, and they often train together. There should be no problem in unified actions during war."

Merging the navy requires a lot of work and cannot be implemented immediately.

"It would be better if the two navies could purchase new warships together." Xu Jie reminded.

"The Guangdong Navy has Chen Biguang. The Penghu Navy is short of personnel." Li Hongzhang said pointedly.

"You mean to transfer a group of people from Beiyang?" Xu Jie asked.

"Ding Ruchang is almost 60, and he wants to go somewhere. If Liu Mingchuan can change his place, I plan to let Ding Ruchang go to Taiwan." Li Hongzhang said with profound meaning. This couldn't be simpler. If Ding Ruchang doesn't leave, where can he go?

When Xu Jie came to power? Moreover, Ding Ruchang was nearly 60 years old and was indeed no longer suitable to command such a large fleet.

"The student thinks that it would be better for someone else to take over the position of admiral of the Beiyang Navy." Xu Jie replied.

"I know what you are thinking, but if you don't serve as the admiral, are you sure you can capture the Beiyang Navy? Now all the new ships are yours, so you can naturally control them, but once this is ordered

Xinchuan, Liu Zixiang and others still have to serve as commanders and commanders. Who can control them without you?" Li Hongzhang said with some worry.

"Actually, as long as the Russian fleet is not eliminated for a day, there will be no problems within our Beiyang Fleet. And students can't participate in every naval battle? There will always be someone to replace the students." Xu Jie explained.

"Who do you think can serve as the admiral of the Beiyang Fleet? How do you restrict someone's faction from becoming dominant?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"The students feel that Mr. Yang is qualified to hold the post of admiral," Xu Jie said.

"I always thought you would recommend Deng Shichang. Yang Yonglin has the ability and connections, but this information is a little inferior." Li Hongzhang nodded happily and said. "Before Yang Yonglin takes over, you should be in charge of the water division first.

The old Beiyang has suffered heavy losses, so you can worry more about the new warship arrangements and personnel."

"Remember, the Navy is busy with two things recently. The first is the ship ordering plan in Italy. The second is choosing suitable warships for the Guangdong, Guangxi and Penghu Navy. You are responsible for the Italian side.

You should also worry about the other thing." After Li Hongzhang finished speaking, he waved his hands, indicating that he was tired, and everyone dismissed the meeting.
Chapter completed!