In the decades around the beginning of the 20th century, military competition among major powers in the world was normalized. Throughout the battle for each colony, there were repeated changes and upgrades of weapons and equipment. The most typical and most important ones were naval ships.

Especially at the end of the 19th century, with the explosive development of Western science and technology, the construction of warships directly represented the country's strong level and became an intuitive means to integrate the country's technological productivity and national financial resources. In order to burn the war to every corner of the earth in order to maintain its long colonial chain, the traditional European powers almost frantically invested funds and industrial technology in the manufacturing of newer battleships.

It is no doubt that before the era when no fighter jets dominate the sky, the displacement, armor, main gun caliber, and quantity of sea ships will determine the life and death of a country.

In order to ensure their leading position or to compete for their hegemony, several powerful countries dare to bet on everything.

As a challenger to the rising star, China, facing the evil wolf of the great powers that may join forces to fight at any time, it can only continuously upgrade its military strength, take advantage of the technical advantages of time and space assistance, and seize the most favorable and unique leading position in this competition at the lowest price.

Yang Hao knew how severe the challenges in the future were. Although the Chinese Navy now has four battleships with a maximum displacement of more than 30,000 tons, in terms of their firepower, armor, speed, and comprehensive combat performance, in another ten or twenty years, they may be on the front line with the subsequent ships they studied and built by the foreigners themselves.

But if this is guaranteed, he is not optimistic at all.

The main gun caliber of the "Hebei-class" battleship is only 12 inches and 305mm, even if its performance can eventually reach the excellent level of the "Alaska-class battlecruiser" at the peak of World War II in this world. Regardless of the range, rate of fire, and thickness of armor piercing are all unique. However, compared with real battleships, this guy can only be considered a barely douche.

If there is no main gun above 15 inches, do you have the nerve to say that you are the main battleship?

Therefore, in the future planning of several major naval fleets, the role of the four "Hebei-level" warships will gradually change to the position of taking on combat patrols. After all the four hosts are equipped, the speed of more than 30 knots is enough to crush everything.

Although in terms of hull strength and design, this warship can be upgraded to a 356mm main gun. Yang Hao felt that it was too accumulated, so it would be better not to go up or down.

The plan is made in this way, and there is no doubt that the model of the main battleship must be further upgraded. At the same time, in order to ensure that it will always be one step ahead of the foreigners in the shipbuilding competition, the "Guangxi-class battleship" that began to be designed and started to be built last year became the main role in taking on this important task.

The design and construction of the Chinese Navy's main ships in plane B are systematic. According to the design and hull structure of the main turret, they can be roughly divided into two categories: triple three turrets and triple four turrets.

The three-tuft structure of the three-turret was proven to be the most reasonable and cost-effective one in the world's 50 years of war. It has three nine-gate main guns, which ensures the density and efficiency of ammunition discharge during one-way or two-way strikes. It also saves water displacement as much as possible and thickens local armor as much as possible to achieve a relatively balanced strike resistance.

At the same time, the width of the hull brought by the three turret ensures the deployment of the lower power system. The structure of the four main engine and four thrusters meets the requirements of large power, high efficiency and high survivability. As the peak, the two-level battleships of the United States "Iowa" and Japan "Yamato" seem to prove that this statement is correct.

China does not have the experience of building battleships by itself. Even if it gathers experts from all over the world to work together, it is not as good as the masters who have accumulated decades before World War II and were under the environmental conditions at that time. So the best way is to plagiarize and imitate.

So the first "Tianjin" heavy cruiser was founded, and then it was enlarged on the basis of it to become a "Hebei-class" battleship.

So can you satisfy yourself by following this system? Obviously, Yang Hao doesn't think so. As a standard multi-turretist, when he has the opportunity to intervene in a space-time military change, he will never miss the possibility of meeting his preferences.

Is three turrets enough? That's still too few! Is the structure of the front two and the back one perfect? ​​Such a high center of gravity, such a crowded central superstructure, and such an ugly wine bottle-shaped hull structure, not beautiful at all!

It is necessary to have four turrets, more than ten main guns, and a perfect structure without defects to create the most powerful marine steel monster in your mind.

The four-turret structure came into being, and the "Langya-class" light cruiser became a test of this idea.

What is upgraded on this basis is the current "Guangxi-class" battleship. Four triple-mounted 356mm main guns, a majestic hull of 236.23 meters, and an armored monster with a standard displacement of 38,270 tons - for people at the end of the 19th century, it is absolutely worthy of it.

And out of preference, as the next model of the "Guangxi-class" upgraded version, carrying at least 16-inch main gun and a behemoth with a body tube of 406mm or above, a truly super giant on the water surface will become the ultimate version of this series.

As for whether the three-seat triple-mounted main battleships will appear, Yang Hao is not sure now.

The design indicators of the "Guangxi-class" battleship were still fiercely quarreled. After all, Fatty Liu and others didn't know that Yang Hao was really building the battleship. He and all the designers in this world took it for granted that this was just another project based on real fantasy.

As members of the design team, they can design battleships with infinite close proximity and seriously consider all aspects of their needs, ensuring that when they are put into construction and use one day, there will be no flashy and unsuccessful funny scenes.

Of course, this possibility basically does not exist. After all, from the "Tianjin (Oriental)" to the later two ships of "Hebei-level", the entire team has been working in and verifying the actual construction to ensure that their work is meticulous and thoughtful. The entire production and construction plan from scratch. After obtaining the Plane B, it can still be copied according to the drawings. The successful service of the two "Hebei-level" battleships built on the Plane B is a clear proof.

But there is one of the most critical issues that are always ignored intentionally or unintentionally, that is, the inheritance and systematization of production capacity and technological upgrades.

Fatty Liu and others, who are in the 21st century, do not have to consider the difficulty of production, nor do they have to think about technical upgrades at all. As long as they can design it, there are sufficient conditions to produce it. Whether it is the high-strength armor of the hull, or the main system with high power, small volume and low failure rate, no matter how large the propeller integrated cutting and manufacturing is integrated, or the main gun exceeding 18 inches, it is not a problem.

So these guys also wanted to satisfy their hobbies, Sa Huan'er tried to create a real super battleship. The most ready-made goal was to recreate the "Montana-class" battleship. To this end, they started from the actual conditions, from the selection of steel to the construction machinery, main gun metallurgy formula and forging machines, to the heat treatment factory, chrome plating and strengthening treatment processes......

With the support of Yang Hao, the great tycoon, thousands of people can use their imagination without considering the cost. As a result, the design team led by Fatty Liu broke down the task into hundreds of small pieces, and received enthusiastic investment from professionals from all over the world. They collected complete information in a very short time, and then designed a complete set of drawings and process flows.

It can be said that as long as the drawings printed with dozens of containers are realized, any country with industrial level in the 1930s can build a super battleship with a platoon of more than 60,000 tons according to the construction!

These guys put their main energy on the super battleship, and the "Guangxi-class" of the Little One became a small job. Then, in order to satisfy their own delusions, these guys changed Yang Hao's initial request beyond recognition!

When Yang Hao got the first design sketch, he almost became angry. What Fatty Liu gave him was a three-seat triple-mounted 380mm main gun! It definitely copied the French "Riceliu" class battleship, combining the comprehensive product of "Veneto" carrying the m1934 drug-taking gun in Italy.

There are many advantages to talk about. The body panels limited to the 35,000-ton standard platoon, main armor, bottom cabin lightning protection and main gun seat, command tower, etc., have a thickness of more than 16 inches, and a range of more than 12,000 nautical miles. The 140,000 horsepower host can achieve superior performance of speeds of more than 30 knots. It is a full inch smaller, but it can shoot an ultra-long range of 42 kilometers, and its accuracy spreads in all aspects, which exceeds the excellent body tube of the German Bismarck main gun. Even in World War II in this world, it is definitely not inferior to most battleships including "Iowa".

It has a cost-effectiveness and high performance. If you see it for the powers in the B plane, you will definitely fall in love with it crazily.

But Yang Hao was so angry that he slapped the table and shouted at Fatty Liu: "What I want is a four turret! A three-unit four turret warship! It's not such a thing that can't go up or down!"

Fatty Liu didn't understand his real needs, and argued with his own professional knowledge: "In your original requirements, whether it is standard 305/50l main gun or upgradeable 356/50l gun, the caliber firepower is too small. According to the British test results that year, even 12 main guns with caliber below 14 inches, the comprehensive combat power is not as good as 8 main guns with caliber or above 15 inches! So they tried their best to improve the caliber of the main gun since the construction of the Queen. Later, the reason why the main guns were continuously increased in the shipbuilding competition among various countries was not just to show off their industrial strength, but to support them with actual experience and data."

Yang Hao couldn't tell him that the target he needed to deal with was those backward things in the countries of Plane B with a displacement of less than 30,000 tons and a maximum caliber of the main gun no more than 356mm. At least before the British "Queen Elizabeth-class" was put into service, the current 305mm/50l main gun and thick armor were enough to sweep everything.

The key is that he is not writing and painting on paper, so he really has to spend real money to build real objects! According to the willful design of Fatty Liu and his group of people, what level will the construction cost rise to?

According to the design of the three triple-mounted 380mm main guns they gave, the construction cost was as high as five or six! Yang Hao's money he got from extortion and cheating from foreign devils was not enough!

To this day, Yang Hao used the funds used by the Navy to build a large-scale naval force on the B plane, all from the powers. Whether it was war compensation, redemption of prisoners of war, the cost of warships, or the purchase of technical equipment, warship facilities and materials, or even participating in the investment in the Philippines' development. While simultaneously promoting the domestic revolution, he really did not have much extra money to engage in super battleships of World War II level!

Even the giant ship in the design was at the 10-year juncture! By 1910, it could build a 60,000-ton standard battleship, which was enough to crush all opponents. The great powers could only follow behind him and eat dust, which was enough.

There is another very critical factor, technology upgrade and inheritance issues.

There is no problem with the construction of warships in this world in the 21st century, but even in the plane B around 1900, even if a complete set of industrial equipment from the 1970s and 1980s was removed, the construction capacity would not be able to keep up due to the lack of talent.

Therefore, in the entire shipbuilding plan, Yang Hao always paid attention to the improvement of industrial production capacity. Up to now, the "Hebei-class" battleship can be built using riveting and welding on the B plane, which is already the highest level, and manufacturing a 305mm main gun is also the limit. The next improvement node is to take the construction of the "Guangxi-class" battleship as an opportunity to improve the construction capacity of the main gun and hull. The key is to master the production and manufacturing of the 35,000 horsepower steam turbine system.

It is expected that in five years, the large-scale integration of China's industry in Plane B will be achieved and a series of production technologies and capabilities related to the construction of a 35,000-ton battleship with standard ranks will be fully mastered. Only after that will the battleship with larger tonnage, larger caliber, and larger power system will be considered.

Industrial productivity is never achieved overnight. It takes time, money, and talent accumulation.

Fatty Liu didn't know about this at all, so there was inevitably a disagreement between the two. However, in the end, Yang Hao, the big boss who paid the money, had the upper hand, so Fatty Liu finally compromised and completed the modification of the "Guangxi-class" battleship.

The 380mm main gun warship they had to put it on the shelf and put it as a model in the "Big Sailing" game to satisfy their fantasies.

The design and shape of the "Guangxi-class" battleship was finalized, coincided with the rectification of the Yang Group by "relevant departments". Under the dangerous conditions of all-round prevention, Yang Hao could not disperse the processing in this world. People were just waiting for their family to make mistakes. The old and the young disappeared, leaving him as a legal person to deal with it with a projection substitute. All institutions were shut down, so don't expect anything else to purchase.

In this difficult environment, the construction of this type of battleship must completely rely on the personnel of Plane B. The hull steel plates and armor, artillery, diesel engines, pipelines, cables, etc. purchased in advance have sufficient reserves. However, the module welding can no longer be completed in the African factory in this world like the "Hebei-level" and transferred to Plane B assembled.

All sensitive research projects in the African factory were urgently transferred by Yang Hao to Plant B, where there was no piece of paper left, and the ship platform was empty, with only fragmented civil ship repair business perfunctory.

So from the beginning of cutting steel plates, all the work was pressed on the shipyard in Plant B. Without the advanced modular welding production capacity of this world, the proportion of riveting technology of warships has increased significantly. These problems have forced Jiao Hai and other plane B ship designers to rack their brains to try their best to modify the drawings. This also gives them a rare opportunity to learn and practice, and can truly participate in the design and production of an advanced battleship, which is of great benefit to their growth.

After all, with the production experience of the "Hebei-class" battleship, the construction process of the first two "Guangxi-class" was still relatively smooth. In March 1899, the two hulls were completed and outfitted began. It is optimistic that they will be officially put into service in the spring of 1901.

Overall, compared with the huge hull with a 38,000 platoon and a 47,000 platoon, there is no doubt that the "Guangxi-class" 356mm main gun has weak firepower. Even the number of 12 main guns seems to be insufficient compared to the general firepower of 380-406mm during World War I.

But this does not mean that the warship is really bad. Because the main gun diameter is small, the turret is light, and the balanced design of the front and rear seats ensures the stable center of gravity of the hull, the internal space is increased, and the excess displacement is tilted towards the armor, fuel, and ammunition carrying capacity.

The "Guangxi-class" waterline main armor belt is wider, with lightning protection compartment at the bottom, thickened horizontal armor, gun mount, and the commander tower's armor is enough to prevent long-distance strikes of 406mm by cap armor-piercing shells - this is based on the performance of artillery shells in various countries in the late World War II.

Faced with the development capabilities of the main guns of various countries on the plane B, it can be said that within 10 or 20 years, no main gun will easily penetrate the ship's armor. On the premise of meeting large ranges and large self-sustaining capabilities, it will maximize the survival ability in combat, and leave a future modification margin for air defense, lightning protection, and large main gun attacks.

The battleship cost more than ten million taels of silver, so it would have to be worth it for decades!

Yang Hao has another purpose, which is to mislead the development ideas of Western powers on the basis of meeting his own needs!

He knew very well that Western countries attach great importance to the caliber and quantity of warship main guns. If they knew that China had created such a monster with 12-barrel main gun, they would inevitably try to surpass them in dissatisfaction. At that time, they would continue to pursue larger and thicker cannons, and had to design larger hulls in order to carry cannons. However, both of these require industrial technology to keep up. At that time, they could not keep up with their own research. They would either buy them from China or sacrifice part of the performance of the warship.

No matter which one it is, they will be lame. At that time, when the warships of the great powers proudly carry the short-barrel main cannon and run to Asia to come proudly, the scene of the battle between the two sides will become very exciting!

The main gun cannot be done with a caliber, and the ammunition technology must be kept up to the standard. The British's latest 45-diameter 305mm main gun has a range of only 17,200 meters. In order to pursue further shooting to 50 times, the spread is enough to discredit the reputation of hundreds of years of naval power. Even Elizabeth's 42-times 380mm cannon is still not enough to use. Without the bonus of American capped armor-piercing bullets in World War II, their armor-piercing ability is far from keeping up.

Yang Hao is very much looking forward to the day when the shipbuilding competition between the great powers was misled by him and fell into the ditch. (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, the novel is better and faster!
Chapter completed!