The richest man in the world

Chapter 177 The New Future of Fuzhou Shipyard and Navy Next

Under the incandescent lamp, Hu Chuyuan was calm on the surface, but he looked at the spring rain horn in front of him with great excitement, which made people feel a strange beauty of steel.

Although it looks in front of us, because the outer layer of the hull is baked with a dark high-temperature oxide layer, there are also many rust spots near the water layer, like an ugly duckling, but the lines are still beautiful.

However, the ugly duckling will become a swan one day!

When Hu Chuyuan thought of that interesting fairy tale, he couldn't help laughing, with a sense of childishness.

After a while, he and Bai Laoyi around him asked, "Do you have any questions now? Can the steam turbine be matched? Is it reliable?"

Bai Laoyi smiled and said, "There will be some problems in the application of new technology, but I don't think the problem of steam turbines will be particularly big, and it will definitely not affect the safety and operation of the hull. At present, we are more worried about the new torpedo. According to the data given by the United States, the rate of fire of the new torpedo is too fast and the speed of falling into the water is too high, which is easy to expose itself.

Hu Chuyuan said, "Let the Americans consider this problem. What's wrong with you here?"

Bai Laoyi thought for a moment and said, "I can't say it for the time being. The real problem is that we have to go into the water first. We have made several different test ships and done a lot of model research. Theoretically speaking, there should be no problem, unless we have problems with theoretical design."

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly.

Before we really go into the water, no one dares to guarantee it. After all, too many new technologies have been used, and the design is too different, which is different from the general trend of the whole world.

The Battle of Mawei in 1884 was the first large-scale naval battle of ironclad ships in the history of the world. Several different ideas were immediately born, firstly, the theory of the useless theory of large ships, the secondly the theory of torpedoes, and finally the theory of the use of heavy artillery.

In the whole Battle of Mawei, the main guns of the Saint-Zenard class were hit only 14 times in total, and only one cruiser Yavu was sunk. Yavu was hit by a number of small guns in advance, causing the speed of the ship to drop, and then sunk by the main gun of Saint-Zenar.

The theory of the useless of the big ship has the upper hand in one stage. With the adoption of the design of the composite bottom of the ship in Britain and France, a layer of wooden shell is added outside the iron armor, a layer of wooden shell is added inside the iron armor, and the large ship regains the upper hand.

The function of the bottom of the composite ship is to be hit by a torpedo, and the outer wooden shell explodes first, which plays a good role in protecting the iron armor layer in the middle. Even if the iron armor layer in the middle is cracked, the innermost wooden shell layer can also play a waterproof role.

This design quickly spread, and most large ships adopted this change.

Also because of the Battle of Mawei, China and Japan also have different naval development strategies. Due to its long coastline and many ports, China can make small warships. At present, it is mainly equipped with light ships of less than 2,000 tons.

Jiangwei-class defense ships, tiger gunboats and 100-ton-class brave torpedo boats are the main procurement direction of Nanyang and Beiyang Marine Divisions in the past five years. There are 12 Jiangwei-class defense ships equipped by Beiyang Marine Division, as many as 57 gunboats and torpedo boats, and 17 patrol boats.

Defense ships, gunboats and torpedo boats produced by Fuzhou Ship Administration Mawei Shipyard are also exported to South America, Turkey, South Africa and other countries. The purchase quantity of Beiyang Marine Division, Nanyang Marine Division, Yangtze River Marine Division and Borneo Autonomous State is more.

With the development of the past few years, the total tonnage of the Qing Empire has reached 174,000 tons, with a total number of 280 ships, 19 ironclads, 37 cruisers, 44 defense ships, a total of 158 gunboats, torpedo boats and patrol boats, including troop carriers. There are 22 auxiliary ships.

The current total tonnage of the navy is 155,000 tons, and the total tonnage of cruisers accounts for 102,000 tons. If many main ironclads ordered from Britain and France are officially put into service and many domestically manufactured cruisers join the navy, the total tonnage of the navy will exceed 200,000 tons in two years and become the top five in the world. The navy.

Similarly, Japan will also have a real first Asian navy.

Generally speaking, the general strategy of coastal defense in the Qing Dynasty was the defense type of "mainly in the sea and the second in the ocean". The number of defense ships, gunboats and torpedo boats was particularly large. It was originally an ocean attack type. However, due to financial problems, we could only choose ironclad cruisers and dome cruisers to replace ironclad ships to assume the main warships.

According to the information held by Hu Chuyuan, the strategy formulated by the Admiralty is to use large-scale cruisers to match the new shells they are developing and a large number of rapid-fire guns, and use mobile energy and intensive artillery fire to defeat a main force in the Beiyang and East China Sea sailors in a key naval battle.

If... the naval battle still broke out in the year of the First Sino-Japanese War, then it will be the largest modern naval battle in the world so far.

Japan's scientific and technological progress is also very fast, especially relying on France. Its new types of smokeless gunpowder and bitter acid shells have made good progress, and the country can also produce French nickel steel and rapid-fire guns.

In the army, the Japanese version continues to be based on the German theory. At the same time, it absorbs the equipment of the French army on a large scale, especially the French M1886 Lebel rifle. This new type of smokeless gunpowder step equipped with a Manlysia-style magazine can be loaded with five bullets at a time.

The Qing army mainly continues to use the Mauser 1884 rifle and the Winchester M1881 rifle, which is much behind the latter. The advantage is that it is self-produced and self-use, and the stock of ammunition is relatively large.

In a word... This is a war that even Hu Chuyuan can't predict. The scale is so large that it far exceeds the First Sino-Japanese War.

Especially on the scale of naval warfare.

At this moment, Hu Chuyuan did not dare to risk pressing all the bets on the spring rain level.

He calculated for a moment and could only say to Bai Laoyi and Wei Han, "After going into the water first, the news continues to be blocked. It turns out that the sudden emergence of new weapons can always determine many things, and can even save the fate of a country."

Wei Han nodded silently.

Bai Laoyi didn't say anything. Now, he just wants to use this stage to prove his value to the world's ship field, and also to repay Hu Chuyuan and Fuzhou ship administration.

If the spring rain level leads the future naval battle, he thinks that he will always engrave the name in people's hearts.

What is this called... Those who work in vain get the world?

Hu Chuyuan quietly thought of a very interesting question in his heart. After confirming the progress of the Chunyu, he went to other docks to visit two Fuzhou-class first-class ironclads under construction, as well as the Weikang-class ironclads in the overhaul.

Eggs can't be put in a basket, and Hu Chuyuan doesn't dare to rely on the spring rain class in the future. The old warships need to be renovated, and foreign ships also need to be bought.

After the end of the Sino-French War, most of the captured ships of the French Expeditionary Fleet were towed back to the Mawei Shipyard for overhaul. The three Saint-Zenard class were renamed Jingyuan, Fengyuan and Huiyuan, and remained in the East China Sea to serve.

After the renovation of two Baya-class first-class ironclads and two Lagari-class second-class ironclads, they were transferred to the Nanyang Marine Division. The Truan-class second-class ironclase ships and two repaired Peruz-class cruisers were "abolished" and three gunboats were secretly resold to the Autonomous State of Borneo.

Until now, the flagships of the Nanyang Navy are still the two old Baya-class first-class ironclads, renamed Zhenguang and Weiguang, and the two Lagari-Sannia-class second-class ironclads were renamed Wuguang and Jingguang. Since then, they have been ordered from the East China Sea Division, or bought some old cruisers and cannons abandoned by the East China Sea Division. Boats and defense ships.

The imperial court allocates 3 million yuan to Nanyang sailors every year, and 1.8 million yuan is allocated from the dividends and customs duties of the two Guangzhou commercial banks, adding up to only 4.8 million yuan per year.

The key to being able to build an army is to rely on the secret dispatch and transfer of the Fuzhou shipping government.

Relying on the military expenses of the imperial court and the dispatch of the Fuzhou ship administration, plus the dividends of Nanyang Commercial Bank, Fuzhou Shipyard, Fuzhou Iron and Steel Factory, and the allocation of Mei Qizhao, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, the total annual total expenditure is about 7.5 million yuan, and Hu Chuyuan will secretly increase the allocation of 5 million yuan.

Beiyang Marine Division can't do it. With the allocation of the imperial court and the dividends of Beiyang Commercial Bank, Li Hongzhang's transfer is about 5.5 million yuan of military expenses every year.

Compared with myself, this amount is really a big deal.

Other aspects do not count. The military expenses approved by the Japanese government axe to the navy every year continue to increase. This year, it is also because of the purchase of many first-class ironclad ships with Britain and France, which suddenly increased by 40% to 37 million yuan. Based on the current price of 0.685 taels of silver, it is about 50.69 million yuan.

Of course, compared with Britain and France, the two countries are small and big.

The total amount of British naval allocation in 1890 was about 140 million yuan, France was about 77 million yuan, Germany was 30.33 million yuan, Russia was 29.33 million yuan, and the United States was 40 million yuan.

In addition to Hu Chuyuan's private lending and donations, the total naval expenditure of the Qing Dynasty is about 22.8 million yuan. If the Yangtze River sailors and other sailors are calculated, the total expenditure can reach about 25 million yuan.

That night, Hu Chuyuan lived in the navy.

He called Ye Zukui, Deng Shichang, Lan Jianshu, Wu Zhengbing and Wei Han over, and together with his staff Yan Shizhang, Niu Yugeng and Miao Tsuen Sun, held a regular meeting.

Everyone got a detailed general intelligence book, which summarizes the current general international situation, saying that the military strength of Russia, especially the naval strength, and the naval strength of the Qing Dynasty, compared with each other. Finally, the Japanese "Qing Dynasty's Conquest Plan" and the information that Russia may form an alliance.

At this moment, Hu Chuyuan's expression was strict and indifferent.

He sat coldly on the chairman's seat and stared at everyone, and everyone else continued to look at the information in a cold sweat.

The more you look at it, the more surprised you are.

Suddenly, Deng Shichang slapped the table angrily and said, "These little Russian old men are simply bullying...!"

Hu Chuyuan looked at him coldly, so that he could continue to look at it at ease and think clearly before talking.

Lan Jianshu silently put down the general intelligence book and asked Hu Chuyuan, "Your Excellency, have you informed the court of this news?"

Hu Chuyuan shook his head slightly and said, "As soon as I got this information, I went south to Fuzhou to discuss with you. Can you fight? You can give me a voice first and give me the bottom line. I have a countermeasure before I can report to the court.

Lan Jianshu sighed and said silently.

Ye Zuyu said, "It is possible to fight. The problem is that we can't fight head-on. We can't fight at sea. We don't have much chance. If we fight with Russia, it will be even more ridiculous. If we fight with Russia at the same time, and the French will pay for it later and send troops from Vietnam, we will definitely be defeated.

This is true.

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly and sighed, "A... The chance is half each. The longer it takes, the more beneficial it is to us. It is said that I and the Russians can't afford it. If we play two at the same time, we will have a big problem.

Yan Shizhang has been thinking deeply about these things for a few days, and he has been thinking about them before. He said, "Your Excellency, we still have to find a way to alienate Russia at present. We can't let them work together, at least we can't really work together. French? They probably don't really do it, just waiting for it to get dirty. If it really doesn't work, the court must make a plan to temporarily move the capital. Otherwise, once the Russian coalition forces approach the northeast, the court will be in danger.

This said to Hu Chuyuan's heart.

He once asked Liu Jintang about the possible surnames of the Xiang army to go to the northeast. Liu Jintang said at that time that the Xiang people were not good at fighting in the north and may not be able to adapt to the local climate. Unless they were stationed there a few years in advance, they eliminated those who did not adapt to the cold in the northeast in advance.

Therefore, the main force of the First Sino-Japanese War was the Huai Army after all.

Huaijun... Forget it.

Hu Chuyuan basically doesn't have much hope.

He considered from the beginning that once the Russian coalition forces entered the northeast, they would immediately transfer the capital to Luoyang and Xi'an, and use the continuous transfer of materials from the Beijing-Han Railway to enter Yanjing, and fight around Yanjing in Hebei.

At that time, the Xiang army entered Hebei from Shanxi, and the Jiangxi army entered Hebei from Shandong. The three armies worked together, coupled with the regimental training in Hebei, at the cost of the general's strength to expand to 300,000 people, and beat him to death for three years and five years.

Hu Chuyuan was not in a hurry to take a statement, but asked Lan Jianshu, "What do you think I should do?"

There are many talents in history who may lack space to play. For example, Ye Fu and Lan Jianshu are also typical of this.

Hu Chuyuan had always thought that Sa Zhenbing was a good person before. Looking carefully, he felt that he was still worse than Ye Fu. Lan Jianshu was a good person. He didn't say anything and thought a lot about.

Lan Jianshu then said, "Your Excellency, the general trend of the world, what is the situation? These things are your own, and they are also yours. We have no knowledge, and we know less. As far as this matter is concerned, it is still necessary to concentrate on the two divisions of water and land, choose their elites, and kill them with one blow when their troops are scattered, their supplies are difficult, and they are weak and tired.

Hu Chuyuan praised that Lan Jianshu's strategy was basically to have a Sino-French war. First, let the opponent expand the scope of the battle. When the opponent's troops were deployed, the supply was more difficult. When the carriages and horses were tired, he suddenly fought to the death with elite troops.

If it is such a tactic, Hu Chuyuan feels that it is more reasonable to take advantage of the situation and fight a three-year war with Russia in Northeast China and North China.

The problem is that it is better to postpone the war until 20 years of Guangxu, that is, around 1895, to ensure the connection of the Jinghan Railway.

I am shrewd. At present, they only need to wait three years to complete the military deployment. It is impossible to wait for the Beijing-Han Railway to be connected, unless the railway is connected within three years.

After thinking about this clearly, Hu Chuyuan roughly made a preliminary decision.

Then, he turned to the issue of the Sino-Japanese naval battle and the Sino-Russian naval war.

Everyone's meaning is basically the same. In the case of naval warfare, they can only fight alone. Even so, it is only a half-open winning rate.

The current total tonnage of the Russian navy is 270,000 tons, but it is also a defensive navy. There are too many small boats, many old ships, and a longer coastline than China. It needs to pay special attention to the defense of Northern Europe. Its navy stationed in the Far East is not strong.

Even if Russia moves all its navies to China and fights him alone, China has a greater chance of winning.

The most urgent thing is to step up efforts to rectify the East China Sea Division, provide support to the Nanyang and Beiyang Sea Divisions, carry out the rectification of rapid-fire guns, and send old ships to various countries one after another, or overhaul in Fuzhou.

The overhaul of the warship is very important. Take the earliest ironclad Weikang of the East China Sea Division as an example. The initial design maximum speed is 16 knots per hour. With the aging of the boiler and steam engine, the maximum speed has been reduced to 13 knots. After this year's overhaul, it is expected to recover to about 15 knots.

(to be continued)