Chapter 152: The Soul of the Navy

Xie Baozhang's name can't be found in history textbooks from another time and space, and he doesn't even have a name in the historical figures of the Republic of China compiled by the National Academy of Social Sciences. Well, there are many such people, and Zhang Xiaohuai is also treated in this way. (I don't know if it is.

It’s not related to ideology, in short it’s quite speechless.) However, Xie Baozhang has a very impressive daughter, and his daughter’s name is Xie Wanying.

Regarding the history of Xie Baozhang, there is an unforgettable period, that is, the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, when he was the second officer of the ship Laiyuan. Regarding this naval battle, many people know Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, and Zhiyuan. They know Ding Ruchang, Lin Yongsheng, and Liu Buchan.

, Deng Shichang. Does anyone know that the warship Laiyuan was hit by more than 200 bullets during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 and still fought to the last moment? Who knows that the battleship piloted by Xie Baozhang rushed out of the battle group when the fire burned more than a dozen cabins?

, went to put out the fire near Dalu Island, and then turned around and returned to the battlefield. The Qing government was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1894, but the Beiyang Navy was not defeated.

After the Nanjing Provisional Government entered the city, Huang Zhongying recommended Xie Baozhang to come out. Unfortunately, the Nanjing government was short-lived, so Xie Baozhang had to go to Beijing and became a director of the Navy Department of Yuan Shikai's cabinet. After the decisive battle between the North and the South, Xie Baozhang unexpectedly received a task, Jiangnan Navy

When the school reopened, it needed a principal and asked him if he was willing. Without even mentioning the conditions, Xie Baozhang packed up his luggage and headed south to Shanghai, landing on Changxing Island. Here, a brand new naval school was waiting.

, and a dozen German instructors.

After taking office, Xie Baozhang quickly learned that his friend Zheng Rucheng had also become the principal of Yantai Naval Academy.

The conditions of the new naval school are much better than those of the previous Yantai Maritime School, and the living facilities are minor problems. The key is the instructors, and there are enough training warships. Yuan Shikai paid for the Yongfeng ship ordered from Japan in the late Qing Dynasty.

This battleship is now used for teaching at the sea school. The first batch of students in the new Jiangnan sea school will be as many as 500. Judging from this number, Xie Baozhang felt that the pulse of the Chinese Navy's renaissance was beating strongly.

After taking office, Xie Baozhang left his family in Shanghai, only went to the island, and devoted himself to teaching. The quality of this group of students is also high. They are all recruited from new schools in various places. Everyone who goes out is a member of the navy.

Grassroots officers. According to the plan of the Ministry of the Navy, those with outstanding performance are recommended to the navies of powerful European and American countries for internship. As far as Xie Baozhang knows, there are currently more than ten Chinese trainees studying on board the German Qingdao Far East Fleet.

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, the entire Beiyang Navy on Liugong Island was annihilated. For every veteran of the Beiyang Navy, it was a wound that would never heal. Unless one day, the Chinese Navy sank Yoshino on the battlefield!

It is a good weather. On Changxing Island in the winter afternoon, the sun is very good, and the people who are shining on it are very comfortable. The students who were taking a lunch break were suddenly alerted by the sharp siren, and they gathered urgently! The young students rushed out of the station one after another,

Run to the playground as quickly as possible to line up.

Xie Baozhang was very nervous after receiving a telegram from Fang Jianxiong that he was going to visit the island. Fang Jianxiong is the actual number one person in China today. If he wants, he can even directly become the president. He is such a fierce man. He gave up his personal desire for power for the sake of the country.

Be willing to be a pure soldier. (The newspapers say so, just like the news broadcast.)

Although Fang Jianxiong is very young, as the supreme leader of the National Defense Force, he is worthy of Xie Baozhang's respect for his determination to revitalize the navy. Everyone knows that the navy burns money. The navy is not like the army. An army can take up to one year from establishment to combat effectiveness.

.As for the navy, it has not accumulated over ten or eight years. There is no need to mention combat effectiveness at all.

Fang Jianxiong was lucky. Although the former Qing Dynasty was a bastard, its investment in the navy still left the seeds of future revival for this country's navy. These seeds are precious and destined to take root and sprout on China's maritime borders and flourish.

When five hundred trainees rushed to the pier, the only new cruiser of the Second Fleet, the Zhaohe, was slowly docking at the pier. This is a new cruiser ordered from the United Kingdom in the naval revival plan of the late Qing Dynasty. It was just delivered last year.

Also returning from Britain in the same year was the Ying Rui, which was incorporated into the Fuzhou Fleet.

Zhaohe has a displacement of 2,600 tons, a length of 320 feet, a width of 39 feet, a draft of 14 feet, a displacement of 2,600 tons, a coal carrying capacity of 550 tons, and a fresh water carrying capacity of 250 tons. The warship is powered by 6 boilers and 4 Terben steam engines.

Power 6,000 horsepower, speed 20 knots, establishment of 230 men. Main weapons: 2 6-inch Armstrong main guns, 4 4-inch guns, 6 47mm Armstrong cannons, 2 1-pound Maxim cannons, 18-inch torpedo launchers

2 tubes.

This is the only cruiser of the Second Fleet. It actually belongs to the teaching warship of Jiangnan Sea School. Rear Admiral Xie Baozhang also serves as the captain of Zhaohe, instead of Huang Mingqiu in history, and Huang himself was assigned to the First Fleet.

, that is, under Liu Guanxiong. How should I put it, Marshal Fang divided the Fujianese into two, which was quite a despicable move. But there is nothing that can be done about it. There are too many Fujianese in the navy. The Fujianese are the only ones in the navy.

The big picture is related to the history of the development of the navy. Fuzhou Shipping School has had a great influence on the history of the Chinese navy.

Since Wusong Military Pier picked up Marshal Fang, Xie Baozhang has been standing next to Marshal Fang like a javelin. After Fang Jianxiong boarded the ship, he did not show much affection to Xie Baozhang, but simply followed the routine, and then went to command

cabin, and stood inside watching the battleship weigh anchor and sail to Changxing Island.

When approaching Changxing Island, Fang Jianxiong walked to the deck and looked at the place that held the future of the navy in his mind. Regarding Xie Baozhang, Fang Jianxiong got some information from Liu Guanxiong, as well as Tang Xiangming, Chen Fu and others. For

Fang Jianxiong didn't like the phenomenon of Fujianese cliques within the navy, so he split the navy into four fleets. The main support was Tang Xiangming's second fleet.

In Fang Jianxiong's mind, the future of the navy is definitely not the model of giant ships and cannons. Of course, battleships are a must. Not only must they exist, but they must also be able to build them themselves. This is not a question of whether to waste or not, but a technology.

Accumulation. The construction of a battleship involves more than a thousand supporting products, and each product is an accumulation of technology. Fang Jianxiong does not understand the navy, and does not need to touch the details of the navy. He only needs to understand what kind of development the navy should take.

The road is enough.

The warship docked at the pier, and Fang Jianxiong stepped off the warship unhurriedly, boarded the pier, and walked towards the future of the Chinese Navy.

The entire inspection process was not too long. It took about three hours. Fang Jianxiong visited the entire sea school, visiting every corner, from the cafeteria to the dormitories and even the toilets.

Fang Jianxiong's carefulness all fell into Xie Baozhang's eyesight. I heard that Marshal Fang was not very satisfied with the dominance of Fujianese in the navy, so Xie Baozhang had to deal with it carefully. The last item of the inspection was Fang Jianxiong's speech to the sea school cadets.

"Every student must know the past of the Chinese Navy. If you don't know, you can read the first part of the naval textbook. In the Sino-Japanese War, the corrupt Manchu Qing government failed! Standing here, what I want to say is that in Dadong

The Beiyang Navy who sacrificed their lives to defend the dignity of the Chinese Navy, the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy who fought bloody battles to the end, they! We are not defeated! We can stand here today because the soul of the Chinese Navy is still there. This soul! It is the Dadonggou bomb

It is the Zhiyuan that rushes towards Yoshino after all; it is the courage to fight until the last moment; it is the fearlessness of one enemy with four, and the sinking of the port side is like a fierce battle; it is the show of power of the battleship while sinking and still firing; it is the show of power of two enemies with five

Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, who still calmly responded to the battle with only five main guns left; Laiyuan, who was shot by more than 200 bullets and set off a raging fire, broke out of the siege to extinguish the fire and returned to the battlefield to continue fighting. Deng Shichang and Lin Yongsheng, who died for their country

, Huang Jianxun, Lin Duzhong..."

When Fang Jianxiong heard that Lai Yuan was coming, Xie Baozhang puffed up his chest subconsciously. A wave of heat surged in his heart unconsciously, and his thoughts flew back to Dadonggou where the smoke obscured the sky. Ding Ruchang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taizeng..., one by one

Familiar names have returned to him after many years away. In fact, these figures have never left Xie Baozhang's heart, but are deeply engraved in his heart. Xie Baozhang does not dare to forget, nor will he forget it because of the passing of time.

Many years later, Xie Baozhang said in his memoirs: When Marshal Fang Jianxiong, the supreme leader of the National Defense Forces, said sonorously and forcefully in front of 500 trainees, "The officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy who fought bloody battles to the end did not fail, and the soul of the Chinese Navy is still there."

, I firmly believe that I have seen the hope of naval rejuvenation. I firmly believe that under the leadership of Marshal Fang Jianxiong, the Chinese Navy will definitely avenge its past humiliation.

Fang Jianxiong stayed on Changxing Island for a day and a half, staying with the students without any pretensions, talking to them, playing ball with them, and doing morning exercises together. When asked by a student, "Why does the commander want to do exercises together?" Fang Jianxiong

The answer is: Only by understanding the life and study of the navy can we know what is needed for the development of the navy.

Xie Baozhang knew very well what Fang Jianxiong's series of actions meant. It was a gesture. It was trust in Xie Baozhang and expectations for the future of the Chinese Navy! At the same time, it was also a heavy pressure on Xie Baozhang's shoulders!

Before Fang Jianxiong disembarked from the Zhaohe ship, he held Xie Baozhang's hand and said to him very solemnly: "Brother Jingru, the soul of the Chinese Navy must be passed on!" Xie Baozhang's lips were trembling slightly at this moment, unable to speak, and his eyes were moist.

Fang Jianxiong left, and he left very simply, but he left behind a seed, the seed of the rejuvenation of the Chinese Navy! The soul of the Navy!
Chapter completed!