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The rebellion that broke out in September did not have much impact on Western Sichuan. After the war subsided, Western Sichuan once again entered into rapid development. After a year of intense construction, the railway from Guangyuan, Sichuan to Baoji, Shaanxi has been completed.
After it was opened to traffic, the Ministry of Transport is now stepping up the construction of the railway network in Shaanxi. Although the construction of a large number of railways has caused Western Sichuan's fiscal revenue to be spent like water, it has also stimulated the rapid economic development of Western Sichuan.
The smelting of various building materials, especially steel and non-ferrous metals, has achieved tremendous development. Guizhou's iron ore, manganese ore, etc., with the investment of the Western Sichuan Government and Xihua Group, have begun to build smelting plants. In Liupanshui, Guizhou
, a large-scale steel enterprise with an annual output of 200,000 tons of iron and 100,000 tons of steel is under intense construction and is expected to be officially completed and put into operation in the middle of next year.
The same is true in Guangxi. Aluminum ore, manganese ore and other non-ferrous metal mining are all accelerating development. With the completion of the railway from Guiyang to Yongning, Guangxi's development speed will become faster and faster.
Wang Yuze was very satisfied with the prosperous development of western Sichuan, which represented the vigorous development of national power. When everything was on track, Wang Yuze began to change his governing style. Wang Xiao would personally take care of every detail, although this made
Problems rarely arise in the development of western Sichuan
But at the same time, he also made himself very tired. Wang Yuze began to hand over all major government affairs to the cabinet, while military affairs were handled by the General Staff Headquarters and the Ministry of National Defense. Every day, he only listened to reports on important matters. The rest of the time
, he focused on his family and visiting various places.
Wang Yuze's son Wang Zirui, who is only a little over a month old, has now become the darling of the entire ambassador's house. Several of his wives hang around this little guy every day and even spend a lot of time caring about him.
Well, this made Wang Yuze very depressed and even a little jealous.
Prime Minister Liang Xingrong had raised opinions on Wang Yuze's "lazy" behavior more than once, but Wang Yuze refused to change despite repeated admonitions. However, when he found that the government affairs in western Sichuan had not been affected by this, Liang Xingrong had no choice but to turn a blind eye.
Only one eye.
Time passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was December 1892. Last month, the Russian Minister to China was changed from Kuoleiming to Cassini. After Cassini took office, the first thing he did was to pay a visit to Gong.
Prince Yixin proposed to the Qing government on behalf of Russia
Negotiating the demarcation of the Pamirs required that all the land west of the Pamirs be transferred to Russia. Of course, the rulers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty would not pay attention to these barren and barbaric lands. Since
If Russia's allies want it, then give it to them
That's all. After Wang Yuze learned about this, he immediately ordered the troops in Xinjiang to prepare for battle. A garrison brigade stationed in Kashgar stationed in these areas before the Qing Dynasty signed a treaty with Russia. This caused Russia to issue a serious attack on western Sichuan.
anti-
However, Western Sichuan remained unmoved. A low-intensity conflict even broke out between the two sides. If Western Sichuan had not had strong troops in Xinjiang, there might have been a possibility of a war between the two sides. However, this also made Western Sichuan and Russia completely
Got a grudge.
On December 10, Wang Yuze left Chengdu and went to Wuhan to attend the completion and commissioning ceremony of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group. After Western Sichuan occupied Wuhan, he expanded investment in the Hanyang Iron Works newly built by Zhang Zhidong, the original governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and established the current Wuhan Iron and Steel Group.
Group. One of the two sets of steel smelting equipment that Western Sichuan obtained from the United Kingdom is placed here. Plus Hanyang
The original equipment of the iron plant, as well as the equipment subsequently purchased by Western Sichuan, enabled Wuhan Iron and Steel Group's annual pig iron production to reach 300,000 tons, and steel production to reach 200,000 tons, surpassing Panzhihua and becoming the largest steel base in Western Sichuan.
Of course, after the expansion of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group is completed, the glory of the largest steel base will still belong to Panzhihua.
After inspecting all the way, it was not until December 20 that Wang Yuze arrived in Wuhan. Wang Yuze met with Ren Feiyu, Governor of Hubei Province, and Chen Ye, Mayor of Wuhan City. He expressed his affirmation of the development achieved by Hubei and Wuhan over the past year and hoped that they
Keep up the good work. The next day, Wang Yu
Ze Ze met with the garrison. He asked the garrison to prepare for battle and be ready to deal with the outbreak of war at any time. Now it is about to enter 1893. In more than a year, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 will break out. By then, the Western Sichuan Army will
It’s time to sweep the whole of China.
The commissioning ceremony of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group was held on the 22nd. Although the weather was not very good that day, with light rain and a bit cold, the atmosphere was very warm. After Wuhan Iron and Steel Group is put into operation, it will change the situation of insufficient steel usage in western Sichuan in one fell swoop.
Wucha is the construction of infrastructure such as railways
The needs of both equipment and military industry can be met. The Ministry of National Defense is already planning to build another arsenal in Wuhan to replenish ammunition for the various troops in Wuhan nearby. At the same time, if a war breaks out, from Wuhan to
Supplies to the front line are also easier.
After the ceremony, Wang Yuze, led by the general manager of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, visited the smelting workshop and forging workshop of the steel plant. Wang Yuze was also very excited watching the red molten steel flowing and turning into pieces of steel or rails.
In this era, it is these steels that will support the backbone of a country. As steel plants are completed and put into operation one by one, the industrial strength of Western Sichuan will become stronger and stronger, and catching up with the established powers is no longer out of reach.
and.
After attending the commissioning ceremony of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, Wang Yuze did not return to Chengdu. Instead, he went to Guizhou via Chongqing and inspected the construction of Liupanshui Iron and Steel Plant and other non-ferrous metal smelting plants. Then he inspected the Guiyang Railway.
Reduction. After several months of intensive construction
, now the Guiyang Railway has completed more than half of the process, and is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in March next year. At the same time, after the completion of Beihai Port, the railway from Beihai to Yongning has also started construction. In this way, it can be guaranteed
Before the fleet returned home, the sea access in western Sichuan was basically open.
After that, Wang Yuze rushed to Beihai again in early January 1893. The shipyard has been initially completed, and the large-scale shipyard requested by Wang Yuze is still under construction. Now several thousand-ton shipyards have been built, and construction of the shipyard has begun.
It was the first warship in western Sichuan. Wang Yuze rushed to the shipyard in a hurry just to see with his own eyes the laying of the first keel of the warship.
"Commander, this is the first battleship we designed, the 'Leshan' class light cruiser. The 'Leshan' class light cruiser has a displacement of 3,100 tons, a length of 85 meters, and two twin-mounted 155mm ships.
The guns are placed at the bow and stern of the ship. There are also 6 105mm rapid-fire guns as secondary guns. In addition, there are 8 3
7mm rapid-fire cannons are installed on both sides of the battleship. The power will be 2 vertical 4-cylinder reciprocating steam engines, combined with 12 high-speed coal-fired boilers, to obtain a surging power of 15,000 horsepower. It is expected that the maximum speed after completion will be 25 knots
By 27 knots, it will far surpass the Yoshino ship purchased by Japan and become the fastest warship!"
Wei Han, director of the shipyard, explained to Wang Yuze with a smile on his face. Building a warship on his own has always been what Wei Han and the old people of the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau hoped for. After entering western Sichuan, they did not give up this idea. Although at that time
There is no outlet to the sea in western Sichuan, so their design can only stay on the drawings. However, Wang Xiao, the commander-in-chief at the time,
Still gave them great support. After Wang Yuze came to power, he even instructed the shipyards to step up the design and construction of their own warships in western Sichuan. Regarding the design of the 'Leshan' class light cruiser, Wang Yuze also put forward his own requirements, that is
The target of high speed is the "Yoshino" battleship that Japan is currently building in the UK.
Although the "Yoshino" has two more main guns than the "Leshan" class light cruiser, because the main gun installed on the "Yoshino" is a single gun, facing one direction, only four main guns at most can fire at the same time.
Therefore, in terms of firepower, the "Leshan" class light cruiser does not suffer. Moreover, in terms of speed, the "Leshan" class light cruiser
The light cruiser will also be significantly ahead of the "Yoshino". When the Western Sichuan Navy and the Japanese Navy go to war, the Western Sichuan Navy can gain a huge advantage. As for why it is named the "Leshan" class light cruiser, because Wang Xiao's birthplace is Leshan
.The cruisers of the Western Sichuan Navy will also be named after cities in Western Sichuan.
"When can we enter the water and serve?" Wang Yuze asked.
"It is expected to be launched in June this year and enter the fleet in September!" Wei Han replied.
"Enter service as early as possible. After entering service, make improvements according to the problems that arise! This is our first warship to stop. It is not terrible to have problems. What is important is that we must make improvements and design based on these problems.
A more advanced warship!" Wang Yuze said.
"Yes, Marshal!" Wei Han nodded. For the first time, the construction of two "Leshan"-class light cruisers will begin at the same time, namely the "Leshan" and the "Qijiang". After they are completed and put into service, another one will be involved.
For improved models, the number to be built will be determined depending on the situation.
On January 18, 1893, the keel laying ceremony of the "Leshan" class light cruiser was held. The gantry crane above the dock slowly lifted a keel weighing several hundred tons, and then placed it in the dock. This
It is a keel produced by Beihai Shipyard itself and cast by Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group.
After the crude steel is produced, it is forged by hundreds of tons of heavy-duty steam hammers and hydraulic presses installed at Beihai Shipyard. The steel plates required for the warships will also be confidently forged by Beihai Shipyard. Two 100-ton heavy-duty hammers imported from Germany
The steam hammer and two 7,000-ton hydraulic presses are placed here.
PS: The first update is here, and the third update is today! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe to (this site), give rewards, and your support is my biggest motivation.)