Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

"Is there anything that can't be said at the meeting?" Liu Buchan sat on the chair and motioned for Lin Jianzhang to sit down and talk.

"At the meeting, I heard that the emperor will spend 1 million yuan to build four super warships?" Lin Jianzhang asked with a worried face.

"En." Liu Buchan nodded, gently blowing on the tea leaves in the teacup, as if he didn't care much about it.

"My lord, I don't know if I should say something in humble office or not?"

"Zengrong (in the words of Lin Jianzhang), we have been friends for so many years, and today you are hesitant to speak, so just say what you have to say."

"I am naturally happy that the emperor wants to make a big effort to strengthen the navy, but I can't announce the shipbuilding plan to the world with great fanfare. I heard that I have to purchase parts from the world's major arms dealers. This... what the hell is going on? What’s going on? I’m really worried, so I’m here to ask you for advice.”

Liu Buchan smiled, put the teacup on the table, looked at Lin Jianzhang and said, "Zengrong, you are one of the masterminds of the Ministry of the Navy and an old friend of mine. Since you asked this question, I have nothing to hide. To tell you the truth, the emperor has a lot of meaning in doing this."

"Oh? How do you say that?" Lin Jianzhang knew that the matter was serious, so he got up and closed the door.

"Let me tell you this, a while ago we got a very important confidential information from a German, which is a blueprint of a future warship designed by the British Admiralty. With this blueprint, we can follow the picture. The importance of this kind of warship...how can I tell you...that whoever owns such a warship first in the future will dominate the world's navy. The emperor means that we must build this kind of warship before the British, However, it is still difficult to build this ship with our country's current industrial and technological strength. Only by taking advantage of the shipbuilding technology advantages of the world's powerful countries can it be possible to complete this unworldly feat. So the emperor came up with a bold method , not to let other countries know that we are building this kind of warship, but also to make up for the technical disadvantages of our country's shipbuilding by combining the strengths of various companies, and even to reduce the cost through the advantages of global procurement..." Liu Buchan said, The admiration for the emperor in his heart is beyond words.

"I don't quite understand this. Can purchasing parts be cheaper than importing whole ships?" Lin Jianzhang's doubts have obviously not been eliminated.

"Hehe, look, what the emperor said has never fallen to the ground." Liu Buchan seemed very confident.

In fact, before that, Guan Xuqing summoned Liu Buchan to the palace and conspired on this matter.He and Liu Buchan mainly discussed the detailed requirements for the construction of the aircraft carrier and the naming of the four battleships used as a cover, in order to make the show look more realistic.Guan Xuqing requested that orders for these four battleships be issued this year, and the order period was limited to one year.Because all parts need to be assembled after procurement, this is a complex technical problem that requires practice and research, which may be a rather long process.But Guan Xuqing still set a deadline, three years, and the construction must be completed within three years.This is undoubtedly a huge challenge to China's shipbuilding industry, and it is also an impossible task!

Soaring Front: The First World War Chapter 3 British and German Bidding

The ridiculous thing is that with Japan's national strength, if it maintains an annual military expenditure of 70.00% of the seventh, and then faces the Chinese aircraft carrier after three years, the country will not collapse.At that time, the servility of the Yamato nation will be completely exposed.

Guan Xuqing also gave Liu Buchan the names of the four battleships he had proposed: Qinhuang, Hanwu, Tangzong, and Songzu.He also requested that the supporting training of personnel, naval command personnel, and maintenance personnel, as well as future ship design and manufacturing personnel, should be carried out at the same time. Liu Buchan should organize the existing navy to train promising commanders as soon as possible. , sent to the UK and Germany in batches and stages for training, and the talents of the shipbuilding industry must be sent to the UK to study continuously.In this way, we will be able to build some auxiliary ships to match the aircraft carrier in the future.

Of course, whether this global bidding procurement is for the British or the Germans, it must be completed by the joint venture shipyards of the two countries in China.This has also prompted the shipbuilding industries of the two countries to move large slipways, high-tech and supporting industries to China as soon as possible, thereby driving the growth of China's talents and the completion of supporting industries.

A Fujian Shipping Bureau is far from being able to meet the huge construction demand. It seems that Liu Buchan and other major ministers should think carefully about the industrial layout.

Within a week, orders have been sent to major arms dealers and shipyards around the world.

Guan Xuqing wanted to use this order to send a signal to the Europeans that China has money, and China wants to use a lot of money to buy a powerful fleet. If it wants to make money, it can exchange technology!

Sure enough, within two days, the British side had been asking China to return the important German prisoner, but now it suddenly stopped.And Lord Bachait's running location was changed from the Foreign Office to the Admiralty, and he personally visited the Governor of the Navy Liu Buchan.

Overnight, Liu Buchan became a popular figure in the world today.Germany has also sent high-level officials from Europe, and they will arrive in Beijing within ten days.

At the same time, the British Foreign Office also issued a strong statement, severely denouncing Russia's hostile actions against China during the Sino-Russian War as a serious provocation to the Chinese Empire.At the same time, news also came from the foreign affairs department of the British Empire. In order to show respect for China, it is hoped that China will allow the Sino-British joint fleet to transfer its home port to Taiwan Island. If allowed, the British will send people to Taiwan to find a suitable home port.Of course Guan Xuqing agrees with this point. This should be a matter of killing two birds with one stone. One is that Russia’s threat to the Far East no longer exists for the time being, and Britain needs to shift its strategic focus to the south.The second is that the German joint venture shipyard is in Fujian, and if necessary, it can also exercise control over it.

The German lobby group also found another way in Europe, telling the Chinese embassy that the speed of the development of the Chinese navy has added the best footnote to the friendship between the Chinese and German peoples, but they avoided talking about warship orders, and expressed their willingness to Organize a German army officer corps to provide some necessary help to the Chinese army.And China can also send military officers to Germany to be incorporated into the life training of the German army to feel the friendship of the German army to the Chinese people.

The temptation of commercial interests is so great.Even France is just around the corner, hoping to produce new types of warships for China.Regarding this movement, the newspapers of Britain and Germany, the two deadly wartime enemies, laughed at the same time: the headline of the "Berlin Times" was "French warships, there are already many under the sea." Starting from national feelings, he published a review topic on the Sino-French war a few years ago.Let France's already low competitiveness be completely reduced to zero at once.

"The Chinese are crazy." The Ministry of the Navy has been busy recently. When it came time to announce the order requirements, the originally confident German and British shipyard designers and business negotiators shook their heads and muttered, exchanging sarcasm while talking. .When the British passed the news to Minister Ogner, Ogner couldn't help spitting angrily, and cursed angrily: "Which son of a bitch made this request? Let them go to the Martians." Shipyard."

When he heard that the emperor of China personally proposed the technical details, Ogner was taken aback, shrugged his shoulders and muttered: "Military blind emperor, no wonder, but it's still bold and crazy. Have you ever calculated this deal? price?"

"If the Chinese emperor agrees, after changing the design, the price of the whole ship will probably be around 2000 million. If it is to build parts, the price of a warship must be at least 1000 million. I really don't understand what the Chinese think , Do they have the ability to assemble such a super battleship?" The British business representative shrugged and reported the figures.

"Oh, God, this price is not competitive. You must know that the Dingyuan ship built by the Germans back then was only 620 million marks, which is less than 120 million taels of silver. Although the current ship is higher than the [-]-ton Dingyuan The cost has tripled, and the time has been delayed for many years. But the business purpose cannot be changed: our price must not exceed that of the Germans, and the cost must be found in terms of design. In addition, this pig-brained plan of the stupid Chinese It's ridiculous to send designers to give design lessons to their grown-ups! My God, it seems that these Chinese people really don't have the information of the goddamn German, so weird, so weird."

It's not just the British who feel strange, the Germans are also at a loss. The Chinese have introduced Western naval ships and training for more than ten years. Why do they still propose such an idiot-level construction method?Could it be that they want to deliberately embarrass Germany, so as to completely hand over the business to their ally, the United Kingdom, for irrefutable reasons?However, even Britain is simply not capable of building such a warship.

With such doubts, the negotiators and design engineers of the two countries were received by the Chinese emperor two days later.A wooden board was placed in the consulting room of the Imperial Army, and a few paintbrushes were placed under it. The first to enter was the representative of the United Kingdom.Accompanied by Xu Shichang, the anxious German went to the lounge next door to drink tea.

Dozens of students majoring in ship design came from the Tianjin Naval Academy together in the room. Such an opportunity today is very rare. Not only did they meet the honorable emperor, but they also heard the news from the top naval powers. The designer will teach some principles of ship design.

"Your Majesty." The British engineer drew a large ship shallowly on the wooden board: "This is a ship. The reason why the ship can move forward is because there is such a set of boilers. The specific number depends on the output power you need and It depends on the size of the ship. The boiler is a steam boiler, and to generate steam, there must be water. Therefore, we must also have a space on the ship to store fresh water. Of course, your crew also needs fresh water. In addition, we also need There is a storage room to store the coal for combustion. Well, the boiler plus coal and water will generate steam, so how to convert the steam into the power of the battleship to move forward?" The designer explained, while in the empty ship Add the corresponding device on the section diagram: "We also need a set of steam engines. Similarly, the number of steam engines is related to the power you need and the size of your hull."

"In this way, Your Majesty, your ship will have its power plant." The engineer smiled slightly contemptuously: "According to these equipment, the living quarters of the crew, and the bomb bay for storing ammunition, the size of the entire ship is basically Be sure, Your Majesty, you know, the bigger your ship is, the more power it needs, otherwise it will run very slowly, and if you need more power, you need to add boilers and steam engines, so this is A complementary relationship. Every ship has its perfect size. Of course, there are great benefits. Big ships can carry more firepower and ammunition, which can inflict more damage on the enemy. Your Majesty the Emperor, I don’t know if I am so Explain, are you satisfied?" The engineer bent down, with a frivolous smile on his face, which did not match the respect in his tone at all.

Guan Xuqing nodded and said, "You mean you want to contract the power plant and artillery?"

"No, no, my dear Emperor. The British Empire's shipbuilding capabilities are number one in the world. If Your Majesty needs it..." The engineer looked at the business representative and said confidently, "I think we can build a ship for you. An unparalleled warship, the power and firepower can definitely meet your needs. For specific data, if Your Majesty has enough patience, we can provide you with a general design within two days."

"Mr. Engineer, I think you didn't know much about the bid before you came to participate in this bidding. Let me reiterate that this time our country's bidding does not require a whole ship. We have divided this warship into 64 bids. The power and vitality devices are just Part of it, if you are interested, there is a specific schematic diagram of the bidding in the conference room. But your lecture is very good, give another class to my students. I have a good impression of you." Guan Xuqing stood up and said to The British smiled and nodded, "Accept these students, they are very smart and need your help." Seeing that the British were hesitant to speak, he walked towards the door and said, "Think about it." Gentlemen, I'm going to listen to what the Germans have to say, excuse me." Immediately, he threw several British people into the conference room and came to the room where the Germans were staying.

The Germans said the same thing as the British, and they also wanted to directly win the construction order for the entire ship, but the rigorous Germans were more prepared than the British. They proposed a [-]-ton eight [-]-inch main gun The designed battleship plan also brought a summary design plan, listing the performance data of the entire battleship and a design sketch.

PS: Thank you for the flowers, finally entered the top 15, just keep it up, thank you

Soaring Front: The First World War Chapter 3 Crazy Japan

In the design of the Germans, it is believed that the main gun with a diameter of 240 inches and 150 times the diameter has four double-mounted turrets, and the armor thickness is [-] mm, which can fully meet China's requirements for large firepower.The order revealed by the Ministry of the Navy also made the Germans guess China's strong demand for firepower. Therefore, the secondary guns include eight [-]mm guns, twelve three-pound guns and two quadruple-mounted one-pounder barrels. gun.

The Germans' emphasis on protection is also reflected in this data. The waterline armor has reached 380 mm, which is 75 mm more than that of the second Dingzhen ship, and the other parts are also more than 200 mm in armor. .German engineers also specifically noted that this type of protective armor is limited to local production in Germany, because China does not have the ability to produce this type of armor.

In terms of power, two reciprocating steam engines provide a power of 1 horsepower, making the theoretical maximum speed of the entire ship reach 490 knots.In order to meet the requirements of high endurance, the coal loading capacity was specially expanded to reach [-] tons, so the number of crew members was reduced to [-] and seven.

Guan Xuqing nodded with a smile, and was not in a hurry to make a statement. The rigorous German couldn't sit still, and spent a long time explaining that if the power system is increased, it will inevitably expand the coal loading area, which will affect the Firepower and crew and more.

"What is the price of such a ship?" Guan Xuqing asked the German commercial representative directly. The commercial representative made a simple calculation and said that the price was between 300 million and 500 million. He also explained: "That's right. Yes, the previous price refers to production in Germany, and the latter price refers to production in China."

Guan Xuqing asked in surprise: "Why is it so much cheaper to produce in Germany than in China?"

The German smiled and explained: "Back then, the Jiangnan Shipyard needed to produce a ship, and you could buy two ships in Germany and add some rifles for the army. The reason is that the quality of Chinese workers is not high, the waste is serious, and The additional cost of sending German technicians to China, of course, requires a group of highly qualified German industrial workers to lead the Chinese workers to work together in the work group. Such a large-scale import of manpower from Germany that lasts for one or two years will of course cost a lot .”

Guan Xuqing was silent for a moment, then said: "Money is not a problem, let me tell you clearly that the Imperial Savings Bank has reserved more than 4000 million yuan for this project, and the Ministry of Economics and Trade has also set aside 5000 million yuan. Special financial subsidies. From your introduction, I can fully feel the sincerity of your country. But there is one thing that needs to be stated, that is, this bidding is not to order the entire ship, but to ask you to pay attention to the 64 main ships on the warship. Part of the bidding, and it must be built in full accordance with the technical parameters provided by the Ministry of the Navy of our country."

The faces of the German business representatives turned purple. They gathered together and discussed in a low voice for a long time before one representative said: "Your Majesty, there is no problem at all. Germany's shipbuilding strength is obvious to all the world, and we have also carried out We have had many friendly cooperations, and we believe that this cooperation will give a greater annotation to the friendship between the two parties."

Guan Xuqing nodded and said: "After I receive the order from the British, I will make a trade-off comparison. However, in order to thank your country for its long-term cooperation with our country, I assure you that at least this The armor construction task of the project is entrusted to you. In other words, I guarantee that you will receive orders of more than 3000 million yuan. Of course, I also wish you success in bidding for other projects."

Amid the applause of the Germans, Guan Xuqing left the Admiralty.Two days later, the British also submitted their outline design. Basically, the firepower is similar to the German design, but the power system is better, but the disadvantage is that the hull is small, only more than 500 tons, and the armor protection It is also thinner than the German design, and there is no advantage in the price, which is 200 million more expensive than the German.

Under such circumstances, Liu Buchan was ordered by the emperor to bargain and challenge the negotiators of the two countries respectively. After several rounds of back and forth contests, he finally handed over the orders of armor and main steel beams to the Germans and transferred the power to the Germans. The order for the firepower system was given to the British, and the most critical aircraft ejection deck of the aircraft carrier was jointly developed and built by Fujian Shipping Bureau and other domestic shipyards.Orders for other relatively trivial parts are divided among countries such as France, the United States, Greece, Norway, Italy, and Australia.

However, the Ministry of the Chinese Navy clearly stipulates that both Britain and Germany must place the order items in their respective joint venture shipyards in China to complete.After some calculations, the order fund released this time is about 4000 million yuan, and there will definitely be more in the future, but the total amount should not exceed 7000 million yuan.At the same time, the leading role of various related industries and downstream industries was gradually reflected. The Germans applied to open an iron factory in Shanghai at the same time, and the British also requested to invest in the construction of an iron factory in Mawei.

And the subsequent orders for supporting ships brought about by this order are also the coveted targets of various countries. Businessmen from various countries active in Beijing travel to the office of the Ministry of the Navy every day, and Liu Buchan is very busy.

The most ironic thing is that Guan Xuqing used the British to build an aircraft carrier for himself, and the British thought they were getting a big deal, and desperately sought political and economic capital from China, but gradually turned their attention away from the German spy Messerschmitt. The body was moved away, and later the Security Bureau claimed that Messerschmitt had committed suicide in prison on the grounds of ineffective custody, and displayed a bloody corpse.This incident was gradually forgotten by people.

Under the instruction of Guan Xuqing, Wang Fengzao in Japan also disclosed China's shipbuilding plan to the Japanese press. After the disclosure by "Asahi Shimbun", there was an uproar in Japan's political, business and military circles, and Japan set off a wave from top to bottom. Donation craze.Emperor Meiji announced that after saving 30 yuan from the internal treasury last time, he once again announced that he would save [-] yen and put it into the special military expenditure fund. Before surpassing China, he only ate one meal a day.If the subjects are moved by the emperor's actions, please donate money and materials to the National Assembly. Whenever the donation exceeds [-] yen, the emperor will have an extra meal on the day to thank the subjects for their support.

And the business newspaper National Congress has launched a new wave of fundraising activities, claiming to increase the fundraising target of 500 million yuan proposed last time to 500 million yuan.The press called on the government to issue an additional 5000 million yuan in bonds to fight China's money with money and to fight against China's unreasonableness.

And Japanese society, from men to women, from old to young, has also fallen into a new wave of madness. Working men should not exceed their wages to support their families, while working women are completely unpaid labor.The press also appealed to unemployed young women, for the sake of the emperor and Japan, that they should exchange their youthful bodies for military expenses for Japan. A transportation company even set up a fleet of righteous ships, free of charge to voluntary or Involuntary women are transported to countries such as the Philippines, where the Spaniards, the Dutch, etc., will exchange money for the right to enjoy the precious bodies of Japanese women.

Japan has fallen into madness. Prime Minister Masayoshi Matsukata has completely lost his way to the country. The whole country pins its hopes on a war that does not know when it will come and does not know whether it will be won or lost. This makes him gradually lose his original strong confidence. .If this situation is allowed to continue, he does not know how long the Japanese people can last.

Soaring Front: The First World War Chapter 3 The Emperor's Daughter

"A shipbuilding plan can drag Japan down. Meiji will drag Japan into the quagmire sooner or later. Hmph!" On the way to Zhongcui Palace, Guan Xuqing heard that Meiji even saved food in order to mobilize the Japanese to save money. , couldn't help laughing up to the sky.Wang Shang watched from the sidelines again, feeling furious in his heart: "Your majesty... the slaves often think that if the emperor continues to work so diligently, China will surely be revitalized, but the emperor, you should take good care of the dragon's body." Wang Shang thought that the emperor was overworked So that the mind is blurred.