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On the afternoon of February 12, 1901, the British Admiralty, Lord Admiralty Sir Fisher, did not enjoy his afternoon tea as usual, but was reading a document with his brows furrowed tightly. It was like encountering some problem. In the war two years ago, the British Royal Navy and its allies the Russian Navy and the French Navy were defeated by the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea. This forced the former Navy Minister Lord Walter Kerr to resign, and then He will take over the post of Minister of the Navy. It can be said that the current British Navy has reached the lowest point in strength in hundreds of years. If it were not for the smooth commissioning of six 'Old Man Star' battleships last year, the British Navy might not have Suitable battleships are needed to defend his maritime territory. The six 'Dreadnought-class' battleships on the slipway are also working quickly. However, the war between South Africa and the Boers swallowed up a lot of Britain's national strength, and even made the British Royal Navy The shipbuilding plan was affected, which made Sir Fisher very dissatisfied. After arguing with Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, the smooth construction of six 'Dreadnought-class' battleships was ensured.
The document in Sir Fisher's hand was intelligence sent back from China. The attaché of the British Embassy in China used many methods to obtain some information about the Chinese Navy's new warships. However, because the Chinese Navy is very confidential Gao, this information is relatively vague and somewhat specious, making it impossible for Sir Fisher to make a correct judgment.
"It has a displacement of 20,000 tons. It has four twin-mounted 305mm main guns. The maximum speed is more than 25 knots? How is this possible? How could the Chinese build such a terrifying warship?" Sir Fisher frowned tightly. Together. The 'Dreadnought-class' battleship being built by the British Navy has a displacement of only 21,000 tons and has five twin 305mm guns, but its top speed is only 21 knots. It is different from the Chinese new battleship In comparison, there is a difference of 4 knots. Even the 'Bellerophon-class' battleship under design is only at this speed, but the armor is thicker. In current naval operations, speed is also a very important factor. , a gap of more than 4 knots is enough to change the situation of the entire battlefield, which gives Sir Fisher a very headache.
"Your Excellency, a telegram from Vice Admiral Howard of the Mediterranean Fleet!" At this time, a female secretary came in, handed the telegram to Sir Fisher, and then left.
Sir Fisher took the telegram and read it. What the telegram described was undoubtedly the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Lieutenant General Howard, who had seen with his own eyes some of the situations of the Chinese Navy's battle cruiser "Bai Qi". Howard reported to Fisher Jazz, a new battleship of the Chinese Navy. The speed is definitely more than 25 knots. It also has eight 305mm main guns and its firepower is very fierce. However, the armor does not seem to be as good as that of a battleship.
Lieutenant General Howard's telegram suddenly made Sir Fisher realize. It turned out that the Chinese sacrificed the armor of the battleships in exchange for huge speed. He already knew that the Chinese Navy had begun to use advanced steam turbines on a large scale, which was faster than that of the British. The technology is still ahead of the curve. Coupled with the use of more powerful oil-fired boilers, there is no problem in accelerating a battleship of more than 20,000 tons to more than 25 knots. However, this makes him somewhat doubtful that this kind of battleship , is it really useful on the battlefield? The armor is weak, which means poor resistance to strikes. And the decisive battle at sea is undoubtedly like the medieval period, when cavalry in heavy armor hacked each other. The side with the weak armor is obviously You will suffer a loss.
"Perhaps, this kind of Chinese battleship is not used for decisive battles at sea. The high speed and powerful firepower are enough to easily deal with any battleship below the battleship. All armored cruisers and light cruisers are not this kind of battleship.
Although the opponent's battleship can defeat the opponent, it cannot catch up. Once the armored cruiser and light cruiser are lost, the battleship cannot escape from the opponent's siege.
Escaped. Moreover, this kind of battleship is very suitable for carrying out diplomatic-breaking operations, especially against countries like Britain with a large number of overseas colonies. Only a few such battleships are enough to paralyze Britain's overseas transportation."
Sir Fisher murmured that these were all analyzed by him based on the information he obtained. However, this result shocked him and made him break out in a cold sweat.
"These cunning Chinese, this new type of battleship, must be designed for the British Empire. Once they deploy this kind of battleship on the British Empire's overseas transportation lines, they will cut off the connection between the British Empire and its overseas colonies. Once the British Empire
Being cut off from overseas colonies, we had to
With the support of overseas colonies, the combat power of the British Empire will be greatly reduced!" Sir Fisher said through gritted teeth. He was very lucky that he had seen through China's vicious strategy. If he was not prepared, he would be attacked next time.
In the war, Britain would definitely suffer heavy losses.
"Come here, prepare the car, I want to see the Prime Minister right away!" After thinking about this, Sir Fisher immediately ordered. Since the Chinese navy once walked in front of the British, then they must quickly get it
He can only take countermeasures. And for this, he must get the support of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.
British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour has also been having a lot of headaches recently. He finally ousted the Marquess of Salisbury, but what he inherited was a mess. Because of the Boer uprising in South Africa, Britain had to make a hasty peace with
The Chinese signed an armistice agreement, paid a huge price, and shifted their focus to quelling the Boer rebellion. However, the British army was defeated again and again in South Africa.
The cabinet had very strong opinions, which made him miserable.
At this time, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom passed away. The death of the queen who had ruled the United Kingdom for more than sixty years undoubtedly made the current situation in the United Kingdom even worse. Fortunately, the powerful emperor in the East said that he would personally come to attend the Queen's visit.
The funeral made Britain very proud. Prime Minister Arthur Balfour had decided that when the Eastern Emperor came to visit, he would go to Portsmouth Military Port with the future King Edward VII to greet him.
As an emperor, give him the highest courtesy.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister, the Minister of the Navy is here to visit!" At this time, his secretary came in to report.
"Well, let him in!" said Arthur Balfour.
Soon, Sir Fisher came in with a hurried look, but his expression was a little ugly, which made Arthur Balfour a little strange. The battleship military expenses promised to the Admiralty have been fully allocated, right?
Is there anything else the Lord of the Admiralty is dissatisfied with?
"Sir Fisher, how long will it take for the Emperor of China to arrive in England?" Arthur Balfour asked proactively.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, in three days at most, the Emperor of China will be able to arrive at Portsmouth Military Port!" Sir Fisher replied.
"Very good. The Emperor of China came to attend the Queen's funeral in person. This undoubtedly gave us Britain a great face and was very helpful in easing our relations with the Chinese!" Arthur Balfour said with a smile.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I don't think so. On the contrary, I think the Chinese are planning some kind of conspiracy against Britain!" Sir Fisher said.
"Oh? What's going on?" Arthur Balfour was shocked. He just thought that the Chinese were going to ease their relations with Britain, but he didn't expect Sir Fisher to say this.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this is the information we have obtained about the new battleship that the Chinese Emperor is riding on!" Sir Fisher handed the information to Arthur Balfour.
Arthur Balfour took it and looked at it. Although he didn't know much about the navy, it could be seen from the data that this new type of battleship of the Chinese Navy was very powerful.
"Sir Fisher, there is no doubt that this is a very powerful battleship. Is this battleship more powerful than the Chinese 'Qin-class' battleship? Will this pose any threat to us?"
Prime Minister Sir Balfour asked.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, if the Chinese really equip a few of these battleships, we will definitely lose the war with the Chinese in the future!" Sir Fisher said.
"What? How is this possible? Sir Fisher, you are being alarmist! This battleship is indeed good, but besides being faster, does it have any other advantages? The main gun is even better than our 'Dreadnought'
Can a battleship with two fewer ships pose a fatal threat to Britain?" Arthur Balfour did not believe what Sir Fisher said at all.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the most vicious thing about this type of battleship is their high speed. The maximum speed is more than 25 knots, which is more than 7 knots faster than our current battleships. Even the 'Dreadnought-class' battleship is faster than
The opponent is 4 quarters behind
Our 'Dreadnought-class' battleships have stronger firepower than the enemy's new battleships, but the enemy will definitely not fight us head-on. This will result in that, except for the new battleships, no battleship in our navy is their opponent.
.beatable
Battleships can't catch up with each other. Those who can catch up can't beat them. I think the reason why the Chinese designed such battleships is to target our British Empire. Your Excellency, Prime Minister, think about it, if the Chinese were on our overseas routes
Go up, deploy a few of these ships
Don't say too much, just four or five of these battleships can definitely paralyze our overseas transportation lines. This kind of battleship can sail from the Far East to the UK, and its endurance must be very terrifying!" Fisher said.
Sir Sir Analyzes.
"These vicious Chinese!" After listening to Sir Fisher's analysis, Prime Minister Arthur Balfour also uttered these words. (To be continued. Mobile phone users please go and read.)