A hero may not mention his courage in those days, but he cannot forget it.
Should they also reflect on it? Everyone should reflect on how many people have been blinded by money and have fallen.
This time, the parliamentary inquiry against Temple was successfully stifled by Temple's move of retreating instead of advancing.
But the reckoning over the naval battle did not stop.
The Lord Admiralty was forced to resign. The captured General Blake will enter a military court upon his return.
A major purge was carried out throughout the navy.
The Imperial Navy was originally divided into two factions. The conservatives believed that the broadside gun structure should be used, while the reformers believed that a new layout similar to that of the Prussian ironclads should be used.
Not only that, the navy's tactics must also be reformed.
The reasons for the failure of this naval battle were also discussed within the navy. In the end, the reformers won based on the facts of this naval battle.
The role of the new, more flexible ironclads and the role of powerful naval warfare weapons such as torpedoes have been fully affirmed.
Some veteran generals left the field, and junior officers were sent to the top ranks of the Navy.
The Great Empire began to allocate all resources to overcome technical problems.
Major newspapers are also following up on the matter.
Temple once again manipulated public opinion and blamed the failure on the policy of appeasement of the Baath Army in recent years.
He advocated a more proactive attitude in confronting the Renaissance Army.
He will select part of the information sent back and make it public.
Let the people know that the war with Donghua is actually a war with the Renaissance Army.
The calls for war against the Renaissance Army in the Great Empire are getting louder and louder.
The parliament quickly issued a resolution to increase military spending and speed up the construction and installation of new ironclad ships. Such efficiency was unprecedented, and no one was arguing anymore.
The newspapers of the Great Empire also began to publish various reflective articles. Selfish capitalists became the target of criticism.
They enjoyed the dividends brought by the great empire, but were unwilling to spend an extra penny to build new warships.
Her Majesty the Queen also stood up. She publicly stated that she would take the initiative to reduce one-third of the royal family's expenses and support the construction of the fleet.
On the streets of London, a young child wearing a sailor uniform carried his piggy bank to the Admiralty, asking for a donation of his pocket money.
The workers in the shipyard no longer made trouble, but actively asked to work overtime. No one mentioned the reduction of working hours and the improvement of work remuneration.
In order to cope with public opinion's condemnation of themselves, capitalists rushed to donate generously.
The entire Great Empire seems to have become young again.
The previous hundred years of glory seemed to have turned them into a fat man with a big belly. But now, a huge and shameful failure seemed to wake him up all of a sudden.
He started to cheer up again, he wanted to exercise and lose weight, and the lost energy seemed to have returned.
War blocks social progress.
It is lamentable that the workers of the Great Empire were so easily deceived by the tricks of the capitalists.
The capitalists used war and narrow nationalism to successfully divert the main contradictions of society.
In just one month, Temple's cabinet received another huge sum of 200 million pounds.
This time the Temple cabinet will change its original approach.
Blindly sending armies to colonial battlefields not only consumes a lot of military expenditures, but also achieves little results.
The Great Empire relied on its navy to rule the world.
In recent years, it seems out of date that he has been able to hold on to his original naval fortune.
So Temple is going to invest this money in the Navy.
He wants the navy to replace it with ironclad ships.
He wanted every sea area from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean to be filled with the activities of the Imperial Navy.
He wants to impose comprehensive sanctions on the Renaissance Army.
This year, 53-year-old Vice Admiral Terry Butt became the new Lord of the Navy. This is a young admiral.
In the Prime Minister's residence.
Terry Butt, who had just sworn allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, came to meet the Prime Minister.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, thank you for nominating me to be the Minister of the Navy. I will lead the Imperial Navy of Great Britain to glory again."
"General Butt, I don't want your guarantee. The people of the Great Empire only believe in victory, and the cabinet will fully support you, but you must first formulate a comprehensive plan to contain the Renaissance Army."
"Prime Minister, if this would lead to a declaration of war with the Ba'ath Army, would you not hesitate to do so?"
"Yes, General Bute, but the prerequisite for declaring war is that the navy must be able to guarantee our trade routes."
"Your Excellency, General, we are sure to control the main trade routes in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but the ironclad ships need ports for replenishment when sailing. And now the Pacific Ocean, especially the ports in the north, are already controlled by the Renaissance Army."
Butt was chosen as Lord of the Admiralty this time because of his in-depth research on new ironclad ships.
Ironclad ships have higher requirements for supply ports along the way.
Large warships can travel long distances and carry large amounts of supplies.
But if it is not repaired midway, it will seriously affect the battleship's combat effectiveness.
Generally, the bottom of a warship must be cleaned once it travels five thousand nautical miles. Otherwise, a large amount of attachments will seriously affect the speed of the warship.
After the failure in the Strait of Magellan, the result of internal discussions within the Navy was that old warships were completely unable to meet the needs of current naval warfare.
Now the Great Empire already knows the parameters of the Renaissance Army's armored ships, including the thickness of the armor, the speed of the battleship, and firepower output, etc.
On the Baath Army side, they were unable to penetrate, but on the Prussian side there was a breakthrough.
The principle of the triple-expansion steam engine, including the "Zhenyuan" class ironclad, has been obtained by the Great Empire.
The Great Empire's original industrial base was the best in the world. After obtaining the blueprints, they were not only able to build this new type of steam engine, but also made improvements.
Those ironclad ships under construction have been urgently replaced with this new steam engine.
"No problem, first consolidate the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and then use Malacca as a springboard to compete with the Renaissance Army for the Pacific. We can still maintain trade in Africa and West Asia, but the Renaissance Army will definitely not be able to sustain us."
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I still have some requirements here. We also need to build some small high-speed destroyers. This is not difficult for our shipyard and can be launched in just a few months."
The British have secretly built four "Ajax" class ironclads, which is more than ten years earlier than in history. Naturally, it is the result of the evil wind fanned by Dong Shuheng.
This kind of warship has a displacement of about 8,500 tons. Although the tonnage is smaller than the "Warrior", it has adopted an all-steel structure. Instead of covering the wooden ship with a layer of iron armor.
It uses two new steam engines to provide power, outputs 12,000 horsepower, and can reach a speed of 16 knots. The waterline armor is 15 to 18 inches thick, and key areas have been strengthened. The main weapons are four 12.5-inch cannons, which are installed on both sides.
There is a rotating turret, and they are all breech-loaded guns.
Compared with the historical "Ajax", this warship is more advanced and has a large number of built ones. Whether it is armor or artillery, it has even surpassed the historical Titan-class.
The Great Empire itself called it a "battleship".
There is also a warship similar to the "Zhenyuan" class. A total of eight ships were built this time. This kind of warship was designated as a "cruiser" by them.
Only the Great Empire can build so many warships at the same time.
Why the Renaissance Army has not yet built its own cruisers or battleships is not because of its weak industrial base.
You can only build them from small battleships and slowly accumulate technology and experience.
The Great Empire does not have these concerns. What they lack is that their creativity, technology and industrial base have been accumulated to a certain extent.
"I understand what you mean. You want to use this small fast warship to restrain the opponent's fast torpedo boats."
"That's right, Your Excellency Prime Minister. In addition, the military intelligence department must increase its spying on the intelligence of the Ba'ath Army, otherwise we will be led by their noses every time."
"I will arrange this."
"In this case, if these warships can be delivered on time, I guarantee that our armored fleet will be able to form combat effectiveness before June next year. Before that, we will not take the initiative to target the Renaissance Army to prevent a passive situation."
"Okay, you can do your own thing, and I will arrange everything else for you," Temple said.
He was a pragmatic and efficient man. The reason why he chose Terry Butt as Navy Commander was because Butt was such a person.
The two discussed the naval issue.
Abandoning the army and returning to using the navy to fight the Renaissance Army was the Meiji choice made by the Great Empire.
Military retaliation cannot be launched immediately.
Economic and diplomatic sanctions can be launched first.
At the end of August in the fourth year of the Lunar Calendar, Lord Clarendon, the Foreign Secretary of the Da Ying Empire, announced to the public evidence that the Renaissance Army was directly involved in the war between Donghua and the Da Ying Empire.
Then they used this as an excuse to expel the Renaissance Army's diplomats stationed in the Great Empire.
At the same time, it was announced that the merchant ships of the Renaissance Army would be strictly inspected in all ports of the Great Empire to prevent them from carrying "prohibited" items.
This actually means that Chinese merchant ships can hardly enter the Indian Ocean.
Wang Tao in Vienna soon learned of the incident via telegram. He immediately spread the news to the country through fast communication channels.
Dong Shuheng was eating watermelon at the foot of the Flame Mountain in the Western Regions.
After receiving the news, Dong Shuheng was not surprised.
Because he already knew the outcome of the Battle of Magellan in advance.
The response made by the British was completely unexpected.
To say that it has suffered such a big loss, it would be a fool for the Great Empire not to respond in some way.
Economic blockade is the same old thing again.
The Great China Circle established by Dong Shuheng, in addition to political and military considerations, was to get rid of economic dependence on European exports.
Nowadays, silk, tea, and porcelain, the traditional commodities exported to Europe, no longer have such a high proportion in the system of the Renaissance Army.
On the contrary, textiles, steel, and machinery account for an increasing share of exports within the Greater China Circle.
Dong Shuheng is confident that even if the Great Empire cuts off the economic and trade between the Renaissance Army and Europa, they will definitely suffer the greater damage.
Moreover, the Great Empire does not represent the entire Europe.
They are too confident.
Although he was far away in the Western Regions, Dong Shuheng still responded.
First, he expelled the envoys of the Great Empire to China. Bao Ling, who had always wanted to return to China, finally got his wish.
Secondly, the strictest inspection system will be implemented for the merchant ships of the Great China Empire entering the Great China Circle. This is also a reciprocal countermeasure. Even if the Great Empire wants to enter Australia and New Zealand through this way, it will be more difficult than before.
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Third, order the Southern Military Region to send troops to Kowloon Town to threaten Xiang Island and stop the delivery of fresh water, food and vegetables to the island. At the same time, let the offshore patrol fleet strengthen patrols there.
At the same time, Dong Shuheng also announced to the outside world that he would not recognize the "Treaty of Jiangning" signed between the Qing court and the Dayang Empire.
Public opinion was created in domestic newspapers to demand the return of Hong Kong Island.
Not only that, Dong Shuheng also ordered the West Pacific Company to start exploring the land in northern Australia.
Declare that they will not recognize the occupation of Australia unilaterally declared by the Great Empire. This will undoubtedly further stimulate the Great Empire.
Currently, among the major colonies of the Great Empire in the world, only Africa has not had any involvement by the Baath Army.
At the same time, France, another big country in Europe, was very quiet.
Palace of Versailles.
Nathan was walking in the palace gardens with his queen Eugenie.
Surrounded by neatly trimmed shrubs and lawns, the sound of water splashing in the fountain covered up the chirping of insects in the lawn.
The emperor and empress were both wearing bright formal attires and walking elegantly. In the distance, the guards in blue military uniforms stood as straight as their rifles.
"Your Majesty, why did you reject the British request and go with them to operate in Amelia? Isn't this inconsistent?"
There is no saying in France that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics.
On the contrary, the men in the Napoleon family are more obedient to women.
Queen Eugénie is also an extremely smart woman. She is a good helper for Nasan in his career.
"Haha, nine out of ten British sentences are traps."
"When dealing with them, it's best to take the initiative. We follow our plan. When he doesn't come to us, I will take the initiative to do it. But if they come to visit me, I just ignore him."
Nathan also spent a lot of time living in the Great Empire. He knew the British very well.
And he himself is a very politically commanding person.
Over the years, under his leadership, France has restored its domestic economy that was destroyed by the anti-French war and once again became the most powerful country on the European continent.
"Haha, then my Majesty, what are you going to do?"
"I don't do anything. We only do our own things, such as joining forces with Austria to suppress Prussia, or going to Moxico to collect debts and repay debts. It is only natural and reasonable. If Juarez wants to default on his debts, he can rely on his Yin Di
Anren? It’s simply a wishful thinking. If they don’t have money to pay back, we’ll let them use land to pay back.”
"Your Majesty wants to use force against Moxico?"
"Why not? Amelia is such a good raw material supply place. I have to find a stable cotton supply place for our spinning mill. Moxico is the origin of cotton."
"Well, Your Majesty really thinks about those capitalists. They should really be grateful to Your Majesty."
"Of course, those people are smart people. They know who to treat them well and who to support."
"But if Your Majesty does nothing to the Fuxing Army, won't you take revenge on Yin Di China?"
"My queen, there is no hatred between countries. Last time in Yin Di China, who said we lost? We just had a conflict. Didn't the navy come back?"
Eugenie took a look at her husband's face and saw that it was indeed very thick.
"Your Majesty, I heard that a civilian president in Milijian will soon be elected."
"Abraham Lincoln?"
"He just wrote me a letter, saying that after he is elected, he will have a good relationship with France."
"hehe……"
"He is a very enlightened man!" said Eugenie.
"Of course he is a good candidate for president, but he is not France's best choice."
"Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
"An industrial Milician will only increase our competition in the international market, while a Milician with plantations can not only provide us with raw materials, but also purchase our goods."
"Which one do you think is better for us?"
"I understand, that Lincoln supported industrialization? Didn't that mean he was against slavery?"
"Opposition to slavery is just their appearance. In fact, the factory owners do not want to see the southern plantations develop like this."
"Queen, this is politics, never be deceived by his appearances."