Another World: Naval Storm

In February 1903, the Bolivarian government entrusted the Yemelica Minister Bowen as a representative to hold an arbitration meeting with the representatives of the Drak Empire and the Kingdom of Talen in Washington. With the intervention of Theodore, the two countries accepted the Washington Protocol proposed by the Yemelica Republic, agreed to lift the armed blockade and return the seized Bolivarian ships. The protocol stipulated that for those debts that were considered to be due after review, Bolivar would pay with 2% of the tariff revenue from the ports of La Guaira and Cabello.

With the mediation of various powerful countries, Bolivar agreed to repay part of the debt, and the Yemelica government was responsible for supervising the progress of Bolivar's debt repayment.

When the order to return to the mainland was passed down, the entire Drake Empire fleet breathed a sigh of relief. They were not afraid of death, but they were afraid that death was worthless.

The whole Drake Empire was very angry about Yemelika's behavior. The emperor's exclusive office in the palace had to be renovated again. It was said that several of the emperor's favorite porcelains were smashed.

But Leo didn't have time to care about these things, he was now waiting for his childhood sweetheart in the church. Yes, Leo got married, not long after returning to his homeland, old Frank and Mia arranged the wedding.

Leo stood in front of the stage with a bouquet of flowers in his hands, waiting for the bride. As the music played, the bride slowly came in. The flawless white wedding dress set off the bride's delicate face, which was filled with happiness and expectation.

The father placed his daughter's hand in Leo's. "My dear daughter, I leave it to you!"

"Don't worry, Dad! I will protect her with my life!"

The priest stood in front of the two of them, with Leo on the left and Hannah on the right.

"Dear couple, today in this sacred and solemn church, in the presence of God and the congregation, we will hold a sacred wedding ceremony for you, Brother Leo Sivens and Sister Hannah Schneider. Marriage is extremely precious and was established by God. Therefore, it should not be neglected or rushed, but should be done respectfully, piously, and in accordance with God's will to accomplish this great event."

"Under the witness of God, we gather here to witness the wedding of the newlyweds. May God bless their love, protect their marriage, and fill their lives with happiness and joy."

"Leo Sivens, will you take Hannah Schneider as your wife?"

"I do!" Leo's determined expression was as if he was joining the party.

"Hannah Schneider, do you want Leo Sevens to be your husband?" the pastor continued.

"I do, I've been waiting for this for a long time!" Hannah was very straightforward. This scene might have appeared in her mind countless times.

"Are you willing to follow your marriage vows in the future, whether you are poor or rich, sick or healthy, beautiful or mediocre, you are willing to love her (him), comfort her (him), respect her (him), and protect her (him)? And are you willing to be loyal to her forever in your life?"

"I do!" They both said in unison. The mothers of both parties were sitting in the audience, wiping their tears, and were overwhelmed with emotion. Even the tough old Frank had tears in his eyes.

After exchanging rings, Leo and Hannah kissed each other. On this day, 28-year-old Leo married 25-year-old Hannah, and from then on Hannah Schneider became Hannah Sivens.

****

The sweet days are fleeting, and the international situation is turbulent. The Kingdom of Tarun is gradually declining, while the national strength of the Drake Empire has greatly increased. The power combination of the Onebaroa continent has undergone a historic change. The Kingdom of Tarun wants to maintain its vested rights and interests, while the Drake Empire wants to actively expand its national power. The contradiction between the two countries has become the main contradiction in the Onebaroa continent.

The Republic of Yemelica is deeply influenced by the Monroe Doctrine. At this stage, it only wants to protect its own territory and does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of the Onebaroa country.

The next time I saw Piltz was at the secret naval dock in Kerry.

"Look, this is the dreadnought that the Empire built according to your idea. Four ships had their keels laid in the same year!" Piltz said, pointing at the steel behemoth in front of him. "It is expected that the first ship will be launched in 1904. It will shock the world!"

"It's named the Empire's Dreadnought, with a speed of 20 knots and a displacement of tons. It has six main gun turrets arranged in a hexagonal pattern at the front, rear and sides, equipped with 6 12mm main guns with a fast rate of fire. There are also 280 12mm secondary guns, 150 on each side of the ship." Piltz, who was standing on the bottom of the ship, was a little short, and the military steel made a muffled sound when he hit it.

"The 280mm main gun is not powerful enough. What the dreadnought should need is a larger caliber main gun! Moreover, this hexagonal turret arrangement means that only 8 main guns on each side of the ship can fire simultaneously." Leo wants a dreadnought with a larger caliber main gun.

Leo always worried that the Imperial Navy was not strong enough to deal with the kingdom on the other side of the sea that had dominated the ocean for a hundred years. Relying on the national strength accumulated by the Kingdom of Talen over the past hundred years, although all the warships built in the docks now will be obsolete, as long as the Kingdom of Talen catches up, the speed of building dreadnoughts will not be too slow. Moreover, the large number of mixed main gun battleships and cruisers of the Kingdom of Talen are not without the ability to fight. Even a good tiger is afraid of a pack of wolves.

"There's no way. The Empire cannot compare with the Kingdom of Taren in the research and development of large-caliber naval guns. Kruber Military Industries is already working hard to develop the next generation of 305mm main guns. The 280mm naval gun is just a transition," Piltz explained.

Circling the ship, "Is the Dreadnought also equipped with underwater torpedo tubes?" I remembered that in the report Leo suggested that battleships should no longer be equipped with torpedo tubes because they played no role in naval battles and also affected the ship's defense.

"The Admiralty would prefer to keep them, and necessary compromises will allow the Dreadnought to be launched as soon as possible." Piltz was not completely in control of the empire, and other people's constraints were common.

"Did you know? The armor weight of the entire Dreadnought-class ship is about 5800 tons, accounting for 31.2% of the displacement. The thickest part of the middle armor belt on the side is 300 mm. At the same time, there are 203 mm thick side armor above and in front and behind the main armor belt. In order to ensure better anti-sinking performance, the Dreadnought-class ship has 19 watertight compartments longitudinally, and there are 200 mm thick partition armor between the watertight compartments." Piltz proudly introduced the armor performance parameters of the Dreadnought.

Leo was slandering the Dauntless in his heart, thinking he was an iron bastard, but he remained calm on the surface. If he hadn't told Piltz about the nickname of the iron bastard, he would have skinned Leo alive.

"Sir, where are the battlecruisers being built? How many will be built?" Leo asked the question he wanted to know most.

"I thought you could hold back from asking, but you're still so impatient!"