Kornilov and Nassimov were shocked just thinking about this amount. This amount was really amazing to them, especially after hearing Li Xiao’s introduction to picric acid. Tens of thousands of them were filled with bitters.
Just thinking about how lethal acid mines can be is scary!
They even couldn't help but feel that this was a bit too exaggerated?
Is it an exaggeration? It is not an exaggeration at all for Li Xiao. For him, who has experienced the baptism of large-scale wars in later generations, tens of thousands of mines are just a trivial matter. How many mines did the US imperialists use to starve and trap Neon to death in World War II?
?Millions are good!
More than ten thousand mines are really just drizzle! What’s more, although the Black Sea Strait is not very wide, if you want to completely paralyze it, tens of thousands of mines may not be enough. After all, no matter how reasonable the mines are, they will not be able to be completely paralyzed.
Waves and tides will still cause drifting.
What's more, in such a busy strait, there must be a lot of ship activities, and these ships will inevitably consume a lot of mines.
It can be imagined that if we really want to seal the Black Sea Strait, it will definitely not be a one-time mine-laying task. It will definitely require continuous mine-laying, so the amount of mines will definitely need to be more.
Following Li Xiao's explanation, Kornilov and Nassimov, who are experts in the navy, naturally reacted. If the mine blockade is to be effective, it is really not possible to use a small number, so let's start with 10,000 mines.
Place your order!
However, Li Xiao stopped the two brothers again. He reminded: "If you want to paralyze and block the Black Sea Strait, you must act in advance. Once the Turks are prepared, it will become very difficult to lay mines. And with such a large number,
It is definitely not a job that one or two ships can complete, and the Black Sea Fleet will definitely need to cooperate. The question is, can you guarantee that the higher-ups will definitely agree?"
Kornilov and Nassimov were both stunned because they couldn't understand what Li Xiao meant, but they were also smart people. After thinking about it for a moment, they immediately understood Li Xiao's subtext:
If you want to block the Black Sea Strait with mines, you will definitely need the cooperation of the Black Sea Fleet, but whether the Black Sea Fleet is willing to cooperate is a question. After all, neither Kornilov nor Nasimov are the commanders of the Black Sea Fleet, even if they support Li Xiao.
You still have to convince your superiors.
What's more, for people with traditional naval thinking, the dirty tactics of mine blockade are a bit out of place. After these years of development, the Russian Navy also has a kind of blind self-confidence. It really thinks that it is one of the best maritime forces in the world.
With enough strength, we are qualified to face off against powerful enemies like Britain and France.
To these people, Bray's dirty tricks are very despicable, and they will never agree to it! So Nassimov and Kornilov must first do this work.
Get the Black Sea Fleet to agree to the mine-laying blockade strategy.
This is only one of the difficulties. Li Xiao did not explain the other difficulty very clearly, but the meaning is very clear. Turkey cannot ignore the strategic existence of the Black Sea Strait. In fact, Turkey has built top-notch buildings on both sides of the strait.
The shore artillery fortress, not to mention the Turkish navy, although useless, is not completely incapable of fighting.
You have gone to lay a mine in front of someone's house. Do you think the Turks will just sit back and wait for death?
Perhaps the Turkish fleet is definitely no match for the Black Sea Fleet in other waters, but it is still possible to disrupt the Black Sea Fleet's mine-laying operations with the support of its own shore artillery fire.
If you want to successfully lay a large number of mines to block the strait, you must mine them before Turkey and Russia officially start a war. But if you do this, you will undoubtedly face dual moral and legal problems. For Nicholas I, who was obsessed with saving face.
, he may be able to accept being unable to defeat the enemy on the frontal battlefield, but he can never accept being morally condemned by the enemy.
Therefore, the risk of creating public opinion in this way is quite high. Even if the goal is successfully achieved, it will not be appreciated by Nicholas I in the end. Naturally, Li Xiao must make it clear in advance.
Fortunately, Kornilov and Nasimov are not pedantic people. After understanding Li Xiao's tips, they still feel that mine tactics are advisable, and as long as they reach a tacit understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is not impossible to play a side ball.
.
On the contrary, they are more concerned about the manufacturing of mines. After all, Russia's industrial capabilities are really limited, and tens of thousands of new mines may not be manufactured.
However, Li Xiao is already prepared in this regard: "The necessary equipment and materials have been purchased in advance. The problem that needs to be solved now is the factory for manufacturing picric acid. I think it is more appropriate to build this factory in China. This requires enough
Skilled workers and land..."
In fact, land is not a problem at all. Kornilov immediately said: "It will be built in Sevastopol. I will help solve the land problem. As for the workers, you have to figure it out yourself!"
In fact, Li Xiao also knows that it is difficult for the Black Sea Fleet to solve the worker problem. Fortunately, this is not a particularly sophisticated chemical plant. Although the safety requirements are very high, it can still be started by local methods. As long as the raw materials of nitric acid, sulfuric acid and phenol are solved
Question, everything else is pretty easy to talk about.
However, he still reminded: "The rules and regulations of the factory must be strictly implemented, not only to prevent leaks, but more importantly, picric acid is too sensitive and explodes easily. If the safety system cannot be guaranteed, it will explode at any time! I don't want to work hard to build it."
The factory and the picric acid produced were all wiped out overnight!”
Kornilov immediately slapped his chest and promised: "I will personally follow the rules and regulations to ensure that nothing happens!"
Li Xiao nodded and said to Kornilov: "Then you have to worry more, because your task is the heaviest. After all, you need to work harder to strengthen Sevastopol's defense projects!"
Kornilov was stunned by what Li Xiao said and asked in confusion: "Aren't we preparing to block the strait with mines? Why do we need to strengthen the defense facilities in Sevastopol?"
Li Xiao smiled bitterly and said: "You don't think that the mines can keep blocking it forever, do you? With the financial resources of Britain and France and the manpower of Turkey, as long as they force their way in at any cost, they can open a passage through the minefield even if they fill it with ships.
The mine blockade can only last for a year and a half at most, and it is impossible to block it for a lifetime!"
Kornilov and Nasimov were shocked again, because according to Li Xiao, it seemed that once a war started with Turkey, the war would probably not be a matter of a year or a few months, but a protracted and fierce battle, but