Chapter 155 Remediation

An autumn rain took away the bright autumn sunshine in London, making there fewer pedestrians on the streets of London. With a black umbrella, a gentleman in a glued Egyptian cotton windbreaker walked in the rain. The rain hit the umbrella and slipped to the ground. When it hit the roadstone on the sidewalk, it splashed. The water splashed on the black leather shoes again.

Despite the unique and slow steps of a London gentleman walking on the sidewalk wearing a top hat, Western-style clothes, and even a London gentleman, anyone who passes by will still notice that the "gentling" is an oriental.

A patrolman by the roadside glanced at the gentleman.

Is it me?

Or Chinese?

For the British, there are only two countries in the East in their eyes, one is China and the other is Japan. In the past, there was only China in their eyes, but now, they value Japanese more in their eyes.

A country with a small territory but forging ahead.

As for China? For the British, there may be only dirty men with braids, women with small feet, ignorant and ignorant, arrogant and inferior... and so on. In short, they can hardly find any good words.

Of course, that was in the past. At least now, these ignorant and ignorant, arrogant and inferior Chinese have an open-up ruler. Of course, when it comes to that ruler, the British will also mention the queen. The Chinese queen is a British nobleman. With the help of the queen, maybe one day China will Become a civilized country.

Ignorant Englishman!

Li Muqiu held an umbrella and felt the occasional sight. He could guess what they were thinking. While mocking in his heart, he turned to the stairs extending out of a building on the roadside.

"D Dong Dong..."

After knocking on the copper door buckle, the black wooden door opened, and it was a blonde European.

When the wooden door was closed again, passers-by occasionally saw a copper hanging on the dark wooden door.

"Wilson Maritime Trading Company"

"Would you like some wine?"

Despite what he said, Wilson? Charlie didn't mean to get up and walk to the wine cabinet. He just looked at Li Muqiu in front of him.

It's finally here!

Finger taps on the knee, Wilson? Charlie looked at the five-pound note on the table, which was divided into two halves. Before that, the two confirmed each other's identity with this five-pound note.

"Sir, if you need anything, just let me know!"

He nodded his head, with compliments in Wilson's words.

After enjoying a ten-month rich life in London, Wilson knew that he could not abandon his current life and return to the life of the third-class white man who survived on the concession street of the Concession.

Wilson knows his identity. He is just a white person. Even now, others respect himself as "Mr. Charlie", but in fact, this Mr. Charlie is the identity given to himself by the Chinese. They can give it to themselves, and they can also take it back at any time, and may even take back their own. Little life.

"We need three coal carriers!"

Li Muqiu casually spit out a sentence and hit the armrest of the sofa with his right hand, looking extremely flat.

Coal ship?

As soon as he heard this request, Wilson immediately contacted the well-known "carbon-cutting incident". Britain and Japan jointly cut off the supply of Welsh anthracite from the Chinese fleet. If the fleet wanted to return home, it could only use German bituminous coal.

But why do they need a coal ship?

Obviously, there are coal ships of German shipping companies that bear the coal and water supply of the fleet. How can they still need coal ships?

"Three Italian coal carriers, preferably the kind of coal carriers belonging to shipping companies that have direct contracts with the Italian military, and also need a complete set of official documents!"

While making a detailed request, Li Muqiu took out a check from his pocket and gently pushed it in front of Wilson.

"Mr. Charlie, this is your reward!"

Looking at the check, Wilson's eyes lit up, showing greed in an instant. He did not hide Li Muchu's eyes and smiled contemptuously. He had never had much affection for this kind of white-looking intelligence agent. They were completely engaged in this kind of work under the ** of money.

If it weren't for Asians, it would be difficult for them to integrate into the white people's circle, and perhaps they didn't need these greedy white people to be the intelligence officers of the Imperial Intelligence Agency at all. Although he knew that in most of the time, intelligence collection mainly relied on money**, in his opinion, it is undoubtedly one of the use of these white people as intelligence personnel. A blunder can even harm the entire intelligence network.

When Li Muqiu appeared on the street again, the rain had stopped. Walking on the street, Li Muqiu was thinking about the remaining problems in his mind. The ship would soon get it. Although Wilson was a greedy white man, he had a good relationship with most shipping companies in Europe in the past ten months. In business relations, there is no problem in hiring three Italian coal carriers. The biggest problem now is coal. Unless the intelligence agency risks exposing a "company" again, it is not easy to get British charcoal.

"I hope..."

The name came to his mind. Li Muqiu knew that perhaps at this time, only he could help the navy obtain enough Welsh anthracite.

"... The use of triple turrets affects the shooting accuracy. The projectiles are scattered too large and the hit rate is not high. Therefore, in order to maintain a relatively high hit rate, we use five double 12-inch main guns. Of course, at this point, it is consistent with the Chinese Zhiyuan. The most prominent feature of the "Jiyuan Ship" is the unified caliber main The cannon mode is second..."

The designers at Vickers pointed to the model to John? Abanoster? When Sir Fisher, the British First Navy Secretary and his committee introduced the design of the "Dreadnought" battleship, everyone could sense the unhappiness in Sir Fisher's eyebrows.

Looking at the model, Fisher did not hide his unhappiness. Since he became the First Secretary of the Navy last year, he has led the establishment of a committee and put forward a design plan for a new battleship. The unified model of 10 12-inch caliber main guns can maintain a speed of 21 knots for a long time. Gas turbine.

When the scheme was proposed, he was very clear about the requirements for maximum speed - 21 knots, and it can be maintained for a long time. At present, the maximum speed created by battleships in various countries is 19 knots, and it can only be maintained for a short time. The cruising speed that can be maintained is 14. 5 knots, and can only be maintained for less than 8 hours. Exceeding this time is fatal to the reliable surname and life of the relatively complex steam engine. At the same time, the spindle is overheated and the engine is overloaded. Even the most experienced turbine soldiers have nothing to do in the face of these failures.

Before that, the Royal Navy had begun to experiment with this new engine on smaller warships to test and accumulate experience. The steam turbine can ensure that the "Intrepid" continues to travel for 13 hours at a speed of more than 20 knots and maintain a good reliability, which is in The combat status is particularly important.

In Fisher, he saw that the unified large-caliber artillery and speed advantage would be the dominant of the future naval battle, and in his eyes, this kind of warship is a "cooked old egg" and he could not be crushed.

After the appearance of the battlecruiser Zhiyuan, Fisher saw the "perfect battleship" he dreamed of from the Zhiyuan-class battlecruiser, the most powerful and practical perfect battleship with firepower, speed and integration.

"The first factor in winning the naval battle is always the firepower of the ship!"

Fisher said affirmatively, and then added.

"The second is the speed! It can be said that Zhiyuan is a truly perfect warship! But now we only have the "indauntless"! And it's still on the platform!"

Fisher's words were somewhat dissatisfied. He tried to get the drawings of the Zhiyuan ship by selling the old warship, at least most of the development data, but the reality was always unsatisfactory. In the end, Zheng Axe refused his request.

"Gentlemen, what will happen if the dreadnought encounters the Zhiyuan ship at sea?"

With a rhetorical question, he hugged his hands, and Fisher's expression became more and more serious.

"If he encounters the Fearless, he can bombard the Fearless with a 13.5-inch gun from afar. If he encounters two Fearless or more Fearless, he can use the higher speed to escape from our fleet!!"

Fisher stared at the crowd in a serious tone.

"And you can also use the stern main gun to bombard us. Don't think it's unrealistic!"

Put the cigar in the ashtray, and Fisher's tone was a little heavy.

"Now, the self-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet is trying to challenge the status of Britain. We didn't get Zhiyuan, but they got it. Therefore, we can say without hesitation that in the future, we are likely to encounter Zhiyuan ships in the future, not one, not two, but the whole fleet. This is not It can not arouse our vigilance!"

At this time, Fisher's tone was full of chagrin. In his opinion, the alliance with Japan itself was the biggest mistake in the British Far East policy. On the one hand, it deteriorated the relationship with Russia. Although Britain is now making every effort to repair its relations with Russia, and finally, coupled with the stupidity of the German emperor, Russia became There is no doubt that Britain's ally supports a potential opponent in Asia.

The Japanese version is different from China. The Japanese version is like the United Kingdom. The reality of a small island country is destined to expand in order to obtain overseas colonies. With the strength of China, the Japanese version will eventually choose to break through to the south. At that time, a war between Britain and Japan will break out sooner or later.

But China is different. China has enough resources and a large enough market. They have no reason to expand, even desires and ambitions. Moreover, China's queen is a British aristocrat. In any case, at least in the next few decades, China is more willing to become an ally with Britain than an opponent.

He once argued with the Prime Minister, but in the eyes of the Prime Minister and London politicians, compared with the powerful Japanese, a strong China is more terrible and worrying. Therefore, when this conflict is increasingly likely to break out at any time, Britain still chose Japanese and gave up. China. .

This choice made him very helpless. He could only watch the Chinese provide the drawings of the Zhiyuan ship to Germany in order to obtain the warship, and then the Germans built the Zhiyuan ship on the basis of learning from the Zhiyuan ship.

Of course, Fisher's words were heard in the eyes of others, but he only got an evaluation that was confused by the gorgeous appearance of the Zhiyuan ship. After the birth of Zhiyuan, after the initial surprise and shock, it began to be criticized by European and American publications. Most of the criticisms were due to an article in the last article in the magazine Engineering in September 2005. This anonymous article is very familiar with the relevant information of Zhiyuan, and a series of accompanying plans are also It is quite accurate, and some people even suspect that the author may be written by engineers from Anglo-American and other countries who participated in the design and construction of the Zhiyuan ship.

That article allows countries to truly understand Zhiyuan for the first time and put forward many valuable points, but it is extremely biased. It is mixed with the armor of Germany, Britain, France and the United States. The keel comes from 30 factories in six countries, uses small tube boilers that have not yet been adopted by various countries, and it is from China. In the United States, the steam turbines are made by the United Kingdom and the United States. In short, from that article, it can be seen that the "Zhiyuan ship" is basically a Chinese worker. Under the guidance of British, American and German technicians, they use parts from many countries to "assemble" a warship, and the only thing the Chinese has created is the Zhiyuan ship. The construction miracle, 3,500 workers, working day and night, built the warship in ten months.

When he realized that he mentioned the Zhiyuan ship, the contempt in the eyes of everyone, especially the designers from Vickers, couldn't help sighing. Didn't they realize the dramatic change of the revolutionary surname caused by the Zhiyuan ship against the battleship?

"Sir, it is difficult for many people to realize the revolutionary significance of battlecruisers. In their eyes, prejudice often dominates consciousness!"

After the meeting, sitting in Fisher's office, Jericho said to Fisher with regret.

"Jerric, I will definitely strive to build more battlecruisers. If you have time, please write a letter that I can show to the cabinet members. Of course, don't say that it was written at my request, and don't write it as an official document. No warship in the Royal Navy now has the speed needed in future naval battles, Germany People are preparing to build more powerful battlecruisers, and the speed is definitely more than 25 knots, so our warships must have a speed of 27 knots, so that we can have greater initiative at sea and catch up with the enemy at a speed of 25 knots. Speed is everything!"

Fisher, who was sitting at his desk, spoke while checking the letters on the table. Suddenly, a letter with the Chinese royal emblem attracted his attention. He tore open the envelope, and the familiar font accurately told him that this was a handwritten letter from the Chinese emperor.

"Dear friend, for several years, I have been inviting you to come to China at the right time for our friendship..."

The letter is very long. In the first half of the letter, it talks about the friendship between the two. In the middle, I thanked myself for my support for him and China. At the same time, I expressed my regret that Britain chose Japan, and at the end, I mentioned another thing. Although the letter did not directly ask for his help, but From the meaning revealed between the lines, Fisher knew that this friend he had never met needed his own help, otherwise his second fleet would become another second Pacific.

"Your Excellency..."

Looking at Fisher, who seemed to be meditating after folding the letter, Jericho asked hesitantly.

Looking up at Jericho, Fisher hesitated for a long time before he said.

"Jericho, do you think we are right to choose Japan?"

Jericco was stunned by a question, and he didn't answer until he was silent for a long time.

"Sir, this is the decision of the political axe. Of course, as far as the strong are concerned, I think the choice should have been right!"

Aware of the frown of the Minister of the Navy, how could Jericho not know that the First Minister of the Navy in front of him was a pro-China faction, so he quickly said with a remedy.

"However, as far as the strategic balance of the Far East is concerned, I think we should provide appropriate support to China and maintain the balance of the Far East, which is the most in line with the interests of the United Kingdom. A strong China can help Britain contain a strong Japanese version, so that the United Kingdom can ensure the interests of the United Kingdom between the two countries!"

Jericho's remedy made Fisher nod with satisfaction. Why can the so-called political elites see the problem clearly?

"They, many people, call me pro-China, but they forget that in my eyes, what they value is the profits of the United Kingdom. If China harms the interests of the United Kingdom, I will be the first to support the war against the Chinese. But now, maintaining balance, at least the appropriate balance, is what we should do. Love, but they can't understand this at all!"

Regretfully shrugged his shoulders, Fisher picked up a cigar, handed it to Jericho, and then personally reinted a cigar for him, took a sip of cigar, and exhaled smoke. He stared at Jericho in front of him.

"Of course, we may not be involved in politics, but..."

After a little silence, Fisher continued.

"Sometimes, we can do something to remedy the mistakes of political axe in some aspects of work!"

"Your Excellency, you mean..."

"Don't get me wrong!"

Spitting out smoke, Fisher glanced at the letter on the table again.

"The reason why I ask Britain to sell a few light cruisers to China, on the one hand, is because China needs help, and on the other hand, because when the whole UK shows his hostility to China, we must make a mouth to shake the olive branch to China, at least, at least Let them believe that we are actually subject to treaties, not hostile to China. Appropriate goodwill can sometimes play an unexpected role, so..."

Looking at Jericho, Fisher said almost word by word.

"We need to provide coal to China's Second Fleet! Enough coal! Can you think of a way?"

(to be continued)