The impact of World War I on Chinese industry was very huge, and it was so great that it is difficult to estimate.
In the past 1917, although the United States formally joined the Allied Powers and intervened in the "Allied Reinsurance Treaty", as well as China's large-scale participation in the war, the growth of China's industrial exports declined sharply, but China itself did not suffer from the war after all.
Threatened by the threat, the country's total industrial output jumped to more than 40% of the gross national output. While Europe's steel production capacity declined sharply, China's steel production capacity doubled compared with 1914. The annual total of pig iron, crude steel and steel
Production exceeded 13.5 million tons.
The first Sinian-class dreadnought battleship built in China was officially delivered to the Navy in March 1918, becoming the centerpiece of the empire.
The new flagship of the yāng navy.
What an epoch-making moment this is.
After returning to China, the first thing Song Biao did was to go directly to the Jinzhou Shipbuilding Plant to attend the delivery ceremony of the Sinian dreadnought. Without even seeing the battleship, he was already filled with infinite pride because he
Knowing that this is a great start, from now on, China will continue to build larger battleships and other warships.
This is the real first step towards the rise of the Chinese nation.
In the future, China will further localize production until even steam turbines and main guns are made domestically.
While the European battlefield was in full swing, the Chinese nation was ushering in the greatest and most prosperous period of rejuvenation in history, a period known as the Golden Twenty Years. From 1914 to 1918, it was also the Golden Twenty Years.
During the war and prosperity period, the entire empire became more vigorous and full of youthful vitality.
Song Biao returned to China on the light armored cruiser Haiqi. He did not even return to the capital of the empire first, but went directly to Jinzhou Port. In order to welcome his return, the Navy Ministry delayed the delivery ceremony of the dreadnought ship Sinian for two days.
Zhou, as the greatest tribute and praise to the emperor.
The port was well prepared and newly decorated. White welcome tents were lined up hundreds of meters long along the port. Many media reporters had arrived long in advance. Some of them were reporters from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Imperial Army's large-scale victory on the European battlefield has greatly improved the Empire's reputation in the international community. Especially after the Imperial Expeditionary Force easily defeated the Austro-Hungarian Defense Forces, the world was officially convinced that the military strength of the Chinese Empire was really what it is today.
It is far better than the ordinary powers in Europe. It can also be said to be among the world's top army powers.
The empire only used an army of 1.1 million to defeat the 1.34 million Allied forces, mainly the Austro-Hungarian Defense Forces. Since the empire declared war on Germany, the empire has dispatched a total of 1.838 million troops, destroyed more than 2.7 million enemy troops, and suffered 435,000 casualties.
, its combat effectiveness is the highest among the four major Allied Powers of China, Britain, France and Russia. Currently, it still retains 1.3 million elite troops in the battlefields of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
It is precisely because the empire's reputation in the world has increased rapidly that the world is so concerned about China's first self-built dreadnought being put into service. Before this, although the Imperial Navy had a fleet of nearly 300,000 displacement tonnage, it had always relied on cruisers and destroyers.
and various auxiliary ships to support naval operations. The returned ironclad Zhenyuan and the two old armored cruisers purchased from France are the strongest battleships in the empire.
The Chinese Empire's status as the world's most powerful army is undisputed, but it is also undisputed as the world's weakest navy. This situation may be reshaped starting with the dreadnought ship Cathay.
For European and American journalists, the expansion of the Chinese Empire's naval power meant the overall superiority of the Allied Powers and would also completely end this war.
iThe protracted world war against the crowds at the port
For journalists in Japan, an incredible confusion and worry made them feel great.
The future of our empire is in doubt.
China is indeed developing too fast.
Especially when the dreadnought ship Sinian was launched, the great
The elites of our empire seemed to feel that China
iThe horn sound of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894.
At this stage, everyone at home and abroad already knows that the person commanding the Imperial Expeditionary Force on the European front is His Majesty Hua Huang. And His Majesty Hua Huang will also return to China in the next few days to participate in the handover ceremony of the Sinian, so at home and abroad
That's why the media came to report this matter so intensively, especially
This media generally has ulterior motives.
China's rapid development and the Hua Emperor's great success in tutoring government and commanding army operations made
i There are a lot of discussions in this country. The power of the Imperial Sect has expanded rapidly. Demands
The clamor for Japan's emperor to take charge of the government is getting louder and louder.
Under the protection of the cruisers Haitian and Glory, the cruiser Haiqi on which Song Biao was riding slowly docked. Amidst the cheers of the people on the shore, and accompanied by the Minister of the Navy Cheng Biguang, Song Biao walked out of the warship.
On the side of the ship, in the center of the body
Wearing the military uniform of the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Empire's Navy and Army, he looked even more heroic and majestic. The tough demeanor of a soldier-emperor made the people at this time feel an indescribable sense of security, especially for this weather-beaten and suffering country.
In terms of nation.
People need this real sense of security.
The port was crowded with gentry, celebrities and common people from the Sinian Mansion, as well as shipyard workers, navy officers and soldiers, as well as domestic and foreign media reporters. Song Biao stood here as an emperor who had returned triumphantly.
, watching tens of thousands of people and officers, soldiers and gentry crowded on the pier to warmly welcome him, with colorful flags fluttering, gongs and drums roaring, and even more than a dozen lion dance and dragon dance teams.
Song Biao took off his military cap at the side of the ship and waved it to the citizens at the port. People's joy became even more enthusiastic. Many people even cried with joy, crying and laughing excitedly.
Endless.
Song Biao then walked down the Banqiao passage under the protection of the Secret Service.
He doesn't have the habit of shaking hands with people, especially in such chaotic situations, even if the Secret Service, Secrecy Bureau, etc.
general investigation bureau, national intelligence bureau, zhong
Personnel from the Yangtze Military Intelligence Department, the Sinian Prefecture Patrol Detachment, and the Police Bureau have gathered here to be on guard against any eventuality.
There are many people who worship the emperor, and the forces that want to assassinate the emperor have never stopped. Don't think that the Manchus and the remnants of the previous dynasty are really willing to withdraw from the stage.
i Ben. People still have overseas governments
Fu and the emperor, Mr. Sun's followers cannot be lost in a day or two.
It’s not like this spy doesn’t have secret activities.
But compared with the intelligence agencies of the empire, they all seemed a bit childish. To put it bluntly, Song Biao generally knew who Mr. Sun met every day and what they had secret conversations with. Those people from Xuantong and the Zongshe Party hid.
He also knows where it is.
Just too lazy to start.
Under the protection of the Secret Service, Song Biao passed through the port and then transferred to the shipyard.\\..
\\
The emperor just returned home today, so it is impossible to hold the handover ceremony of the Aurora right away today. The formal ceremony will be held tomorrow. In the shipyard, Song Biao first met with Hu Weiqiao, Zheng Qinglian and others, as well as people appointed by the British Vickers Company.
the prison
After thanking the supervisory team, Song Biao immediately held a meeting in the shipyard conference room to listen to Zheng Qinglian’s report on his experience in the construction of the Aurora and the various achievements made by the Jinzhou Shipbuilding General Plant in the process.
Achievement.
Today is definitely a big battle. All the people in the Imperial Navy are present. Navy Minister Cheng Biguang, zhong
Sa Zhenbing, the First Chief of Naval Staff of the Yangtze Military Department, zhong
Song Wenhui, Commander of the Yangtze Navy, and Lin Baoduo, Chief of the Navy, were all present. Even Zhang Kangren, the Minister of Finance, and Cheng Daqi, the Director-General of the General Administration of Science and Technology, were also present. In any case, the Ministry of Finance allocated a huge sum of money for this purpose.
Song Biao sat in the chair of the long conference table and listened attentively to Zheng Qinglian's report. Such a report was definitely not a propaganda style, but had the charm of eight-legged style, but what Zheng Qinglian said was all the truth.
This Dreadnought Ship Sinian can be said to be the first Dreadnought Ship built by China, but it cannot be said to be the first Dreadnought Ship built by the Chinese themselves, because important positions such as dock director, project director, director, mechanical director, etc.
It was a British consultant team sent by Vickers Company. The Chinese could only say that they paid Vickers Company to do it.
The company built a dreadnought in China. The total allocation for the entire warship was 24.3 million Chinese yuan, which is approximately 36% higher than the cost of the dreadnought. In addition to the high cost of the steam turbine, boiler, main gun, and propeller purchased from the United Kingdom,
In addition, the consulting fees and design fees paid to Vickers alone reached 240,000 pounds.
Therefore, Zheng Qinglian proposed that the Ministry of Navy continue to allocate funds, continue to invite Vickers as a consultant, and have the Jinzhou Shipyard continue to build two dreadnoughts of the same class within three years, and gradually have the Jinzhou Shipyard itself complete all the construction work.
, and arranged concurrent observation and internship internships for various shipbuilding companies involved in warship manufacturing, such as Fuzhou Shipyard, Jiangnan Shipyard, Jinzhou Shipyard, Tangshan Shipyard, Guangzhou Shipyard, Zhenjiang Shipyard, etc.
In the four aspects of steam turbines, boilers, main guns, and propellers, the Ministry of the Navy and the Ship Technology Bureau of the General Administration of Science and Technology should organize unified research to complete this historic breakthrough in the heavy industry bases of the three eastern provinces and strive to build the third Sinian.
All of the above-grade dreadnoughts are domestically produced.
It is said that Zheng Qinglian's proposal shocked the Navy Minister Cheng Biguang. He was still very familiar with this aspect. If he really agreed to Zheng Qinglian's proposal, the Navy Ministry would have to pay an additional 35 million Chinese yuan per year, which is almost the equivalent of
1 of the Navy’s annual military expenditure
3.
This is still a war period. Once the war is over, it is unknown how much military expenditure the Imperial Navy can maintain.
Before the Cathay, it was a question whether China's shipbuilding industry could build a battleship. The Navy has still had some doubts about this dreadnought until now. It would be a bit risky to continue to invest in building new ships now.
Song Biao pondered for a moment, then asked Cheng Biguang, Sa Zhenbing and others: "What do you think?"
Cheng Biguang did not dare to make the decision without authorization, saying: "This matter is important, and we should ask the emperor for a sanction. I think it is reasonable to continue to build another ship at this stage, and we will look at the situation later."
Sa Zhenbing also said: "It's better to build another one first."
Zheng Qinglian hurriedly explained: "Now that the equipment has been updated and the techniques have been learned, the only thing missing is experience. If we don't continue to practice, where will the experience come from? The leap forward of Jinzhou Shipbuilding General Plant is a bit large, but right now
Because this span is very large, it is more necessary to strengthen the training while the iron is hot and consolidate the current results."
Song Biao thought for a moment.
This does not mean that we cannot support domestic shipbuilding. It is true that there is still a larger-scale war waiting for China, and military spending is limited.
The empire's military expenditure last year has suddenly increased to 100%
25% of the total fiscal expenditure of the yāng. Compared with the more than 40% in countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Austria, it is much lower. However, China is a fast-growing economic environment after all. The foundation is weak. Whether it is education, railways, waterways, or water conservancy, it still needs
A large amount of expenditure is required to maintain further development. The large increase in military expenditure last year still has an impact on the development of the domestic economy.
After thinking about it, Song Biao said: "Forging iron is indeed to take advantage of the heat. First continue to build another one in the shipyard to increase the accumulation of experience. After the two ships are put into service, based on the conditions of the two dreadnoughts, if there is any need to modify the design
. Then we need to make appropriate improvements, and the military will continue to support
The shipyard will build two more dreadnoughts, bringing a total of four dreadnoughts into service. Although speaking of this, military expenditure will be a headache for us. But don’t worry too much, I will figure out a solution for the next two ships, and
It’s not just about diverting the navy’s pitiful military spending.”
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but cheer.
Four dreadnoughts.
This was the age of the dreadnought.
Ever since the British built this damn thing, not only did it not prevent the coming of war, but it greatly caused the war to break out several years earlier. In South America and Asia, even a single dreadnought would make opponents shudder. On the battlefield of the Atlantic,
One dreadnought and two battlecruisers
A formation of foreign ships is enough to keep the whole of Britain awake at night. They are like the unbreakable God of Death wandering in the vast ocean, tearing apart all ships and warships crazily. They are the end of the ocean supply, for anyone
Countries that rely too much on the ocean are like the end of the world
i like yin shadow.
Many years later, except for nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered giant aircraft carriers, no other weapon can be more awesome than the dreadnought. Even nuclear weapons cannot have the tactical and strategic suppression power of both sides like the dreadnought, which can be used.
By traveling around a country, you can easily suppress everything in that country.
China has intervened in the Middle East. In order to firmly occupy the interests there and maintain the development of the empire, China needs more dreadnoughts, not just one but two.
However, for such a shipbuilding plan, Song Biao still reminded everyone that they can only announce the plan to continue building one ship for the time being. It is okay to build it slower, but it must be made as locally as possible.
He had a premonition that the British Empire's frontal suppression of the Chinese Empire would begin immediately after the war.
After this meeting, Song Biao officially visited the USS Sinian, the dreadnought that led the empire. This type of dreadnought was actually a miniaturized and improved design of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, taking into account the needs of the Pacific Ocean.
Due to wind and wave characteristics, Vickers adopted a flying shear bow design that was different from that of the Queen Elizabeth class battleships. Its shear bow floated outwards, while the bow of the Queen Elizabeth class battleships was vertical with no outward flares.
This is also a general judgment of the Imperial Navy. The 6,500-ton displacement Xuanzhou light armored cruiser built by the Empire itself adopts a flying shear bow design for the first time. Compared with cruisers of the same level, it is better in both wind and wave resistance and wave resistance.
It has improved to a great extent, so much so that when Vickers was invited to design the Sinian-class dreadnought, Vickers was also asked to consider the design of a flying shear bow.
Since there was no previous experience in building battleships and lack of relevant equipment and capabilities, in addition to the time spent on importing equipment from Britain and the United States and expanding the dock, it still took two years to complete the Cathay, except for Vickers
In addition to the company serving as all consultants and shipbuilding supervisors, the Far East Consortium, through its controlled San Francisco Shipbuilding Company, has hired more than 40 chief shipbuilders and engineers from several U.S. warship shipyards.
It was during this difficult tempering process, even though Song Biao was somewhat skeptical, that the Jinzhou Shipyard built the ship completely with the support of the consortium and the entire empire.
On the day of the handover, the warship was painted pure white, with vermilion on the sides and chimney. It is 172 meters long, 25.5 meters wide, and has a draft of 8.3 meters. Vickers initially planned to install 10 305mm 50-door doors.
Main guns, but in order to save money and leave enough room for later modernization and modification, the Sinian-class battleships only installed eight 305mm 50-caliber main guns.
Because there are only eight main guns, the design adopts a balanced arrangement of four guns in the front and four guns in the back. The disadvantage of this is that the forward firepower is not strong, but for the Imperial Navy which does not even have a battleship, this is simply not possible.
Even if it is not a shortcoming.
The huge battleship is anchored in the port, people are celebrating here, and reporters are still taking pictures. The iron monster lying sideways here conveys not only a huge deterrent, but also the patriotism of the entire nation and the spirit of restoring prosperity.
Accompanied by Zheng Qinglian and Cheng Biguang, Song Biao boarded the warship to see every detail of the dreadnought. He couldn't believe that this was a dreadnought built by the Chinese in 1918. At least he couldn't see any of it.
flaws, industrial technology has
i is becoming more sophisticated, and various technologies introduced from Britain, Germany, France and the United States have been cleverly applied to this warship. In terms of the use of ship steel, they chose special steel developed by Bethlehem Steel Company in the United States, and used cold oil mist spray
Cold forging surface hardening technology, this is the method of the German Krupp Company. It is not the same as the British, but it can also make the surface of the steel plate harder.
The entire warship is full of hard lines of real steel, so beautiful that it is almost breathless. Standing here, facing the cold sea breeze, what Song Biao can feel is the eyes of this nation looking forward to the future, perseverance and endurance.
Fearless, passionate and persistent, fearless.
This is our Chinese battleship.
Standing on the vast deck, standing on the soul-stirring and magnificent "12-inch" main gun, he sighed in his heart and was extremely excited, as if his entire life's mission was praised and proved at this moment, and he gained
Unprecedented sublimation.
Navy of the empire, set sail and start flying from this moment!
Fly, ride on the vast and boundless sea.
In the Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic Ocean, let's show the new era of the Chinese Empire's cannon and giant ship doctrine.
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