Seven Seas Beacon Fire

To put it bluntly, a country's reputation should be earned through its own strength. The current Crown Prince seems to be pursuing superficial things too much, just like the seemingly authoritative tone he is using now.

However, the Crown Prince's reprimand did have some effect; at least the Navy Minister and the Army Minister shut up and stopped arguing. Prime Minister Takahashi also knew it was time for him to step in and mediate. He was aware of the Navy's ship purchase plan, so he stood up, bowed to Emperor Nisshin, and then bowed to the Crown Prince.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Navy recently purchased two more battlecruisers. These two battlecruisers are quite expensive, and we really cannot afford to buy artillery for the army right now."

"You bought two more?"

"Didn't we just acquire four Leitanian warships?"

"The navy is going to empty our national treasury."

Among the officials present, a considerable number had never heard of this plan before, so when they learned that the Navy had purchased two more battlecruisers on top of the four German-made capital ships it had already acquired, they felt that the Navy had indeed gone too far this time.

In just a few short months, you've acquired six capital ships in one go???

While this has transformed the Kingdom of Kii from an obscure, marginal nation among the world's navies into a naval power with nearly 15 tons of capital ships, and everyone here hopes for a better future for the Kingdom of Kii, this has been a bit too hasty and too fast.

"Gentlemen, Yingzhou is ultimately an island nation. In the past, when our relationship with the Ming Dynasty was harmonious, things were fine. But now, facing the Tang Empire, we must use a powerful navy to protect our safety. Compared to the army, our navy is the one that charges into battle on the front line!"

"What's the use of you charging into battle on the front lines? It's as if you can defeat the Tang Dynasty's Royal Navy."

Inukai, standing to the side, suddenly said something that provoked Saito Juichiro, who was unusually irritable that day, to blurt out:

"It is indeed impossible for us to defeat the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire on our own, but with the arrival of these two battlecruisers, we will have a total of four battlecruisers, and we will become the eyes of the entire fleet."

Mr. Inukai, the reason our navy is purchasing so many ships is not because we want to expand our navy without restraint, but because our dear ally—the Navy of the United States of Colombia—currently lacks enough high-speed ships!

Our navy is essentially a special reconnaissance fleet of the United States of Colombia's navy. These two ships are not something we need, but something our dear allies need! Are you trying to prevent our dear allies from acquiring these two ships?!

Chapter 256 The News Leaked (1)

Saito Jujuro's words made Inukai Eisaku's face turn a deep purplish-red, yet he still couldn't help but retort.

Just as the Jin Dynasty seized power because the Sima family broke their promise, the emperors of the Sima family throughout the Jin Dynasty greatly admired Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, emphasizing what they lacked most.

As a nation that once betrayed its suzerain state, the Kingdom of Kii now places great importance on its relationship with the United States of Colombia. Both His Majesty the Emperor and the Prime Minister have repeatedly emphasized that the Kingdom of Kii must be "absolutely loyal" to the Colombia-Kii Alliance Treaty.

Therefore, when Saito Jujuro directly stated that these ships were purchased by their Colombian allies and that the Yingzhou Navy needed to assume more of the responsibilities of an ally, Inukai Eisaku, no matter how much dissatisfaction he had with the Navy monopolizing most of the military budget, could only swallow all his dissatisfaction.

After all, at present, the Kii Kingdom's navy and army can be considered allies to the United States of Colombia, while the latter are simply cannon fodder.

When the Colombian army attempted to seize the Silla Peninsula, some troops from the Kii Kingdom accompanied their Silla Expeditionary Force northward. Although the United States of Colombia did not arm these Yingzhou troops according to the configuration of their front-line combat troops, and these Yingzhou troops mostly used Ming-made cannons and firearms, in the actual course of the battle, the Colombians discovered that the Yingzhou troops were basically useless except for their basic infantry.

Their artillery doesn't know any firing methods other than direct fire. At best, their artillery technology is stuck at the end of the last century; at worst, it's no different from that of the Bonaparte War era.

Furthermore, the Colombian frontline troops had little trust in the Yingzhou Army, which had previously been in the enemy camp and had defected midway. Therefore, in the eyes of the United States of Colombia, the ideal approach for the army was for Colombia to send independent artillery units to provide support firepower from the rear, while the Yingzhou Army only needed to provide a continuous supply of cannon fodder.

In any case, the Yingzhou Islands are full of low-ranking samurai who have nothing but a broken sword and a worthless life. There are also a large number of unemployed vagrants and landless farmers. These low-ranking samurai serve as junior officers or non-commissioned officers, and these unemployed vagrants serve as cannon fodder. During the battle, these cannon fodder troops only need to fill in the gaps, while the Colombian artillery providing support firepower in the rear has a lot more to consider.

In contrast, the Yingzhou Navy held a much higher status. The United States of Colombia originally intended to arm Yingzhou to counter the Tang Empire, since the Yingzhou Islands were only a short distance from the World Islands. Moreover, the torpedo boat force that the Tang army had deployed in large numbers during the Battle of Yuanshan had greatly shocked the Colombian army.

From that time onward, the United States of Colombia considered supporting Yingzhou in establishing a relatively strong Yellow River Navy. Of course, according to the Colombian Navy's plan at that time, the Yingzhou Navy would inherit their past status in the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy system. The composition of the naval combat force would consist of some cruisers responsible for long-range escort and a large number of small coastal destroyers and long-range torpedo boats.

In the original strategic plan, the small ships of the Yingzhou Navy would swarm to attack the landing fleet crossing the strait during the Tang army's cross-sea landing operation, while their cruisers would participate in the regular operations or escort operations of the Colombian Navy.

However, when the United States of Colombia learned that the Victorian Empire had directly given its capital ships to Bharat, the Colombian Navy, inspired by this, suddenly broadened its horizons.

With countries about to negotiate naval arms control treaties and clearly discussing the tonnage of their main warships, what is most important for an ambitious navy?

Of course, the goal is to produce the highest quality fleet possible within the tonnage quota granted by the treaty. Naturally, all countries will scrap their old warships and retain the newest and best warships they have.

At this time, for the Western countries, the main battleships that had just been divided up by the Second Leitanian Empire's high seas fleet became something that brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

For the two second-rate naval powers, the Kingdom of Gaul and the Kingdom of Italy, the legacy of the Second Leitanian Empire's High Seas Fleet was an invaluable prize. The Kingdom of Gaul, for example, did have battleships like the Normandy-class, and on the shipyard was the Lyon-class battleship, a relic of the Church of the Multi-Barreled Battleships equipped with 16 340mm guns. They were indeed quite confident in their capital ships.

However, after they acquired the Caesar-class battleships of the Second Leitanian Empire's High Seas Fleet, these seemingly unremarkable super-dreadnoughts with only four twin-mounted 330mm guns were evaluated and deemed to have significantly superior performance to the Brittany-class battleships. Even the Normandy-class battleships with four more guns could not be said to be guaranteed to win.

The Gauls deeply realized how ridiculous their battleships were in this era. (There will be a dedicated section later to answer various questions about the battleships built by the Gauls during this period. It's fortunate that their battleships were not tested in actual combat during World War I, otherwise...) Moreover, even disregarding the performance problems of their own super-dreadnoughts, the Gauls still had a bunch of dreadnoughts at their disposal. This even included the last two Danton-class battleships, which were made halfway through their development, replacing the 240mm twin-mounted secondary main guns with single-mounted 305mm guns.

Therefore, for the Gauls, discarding their own junk and retaining the Caesar-class battleships acquired from the Leitanian high seas fleet was a shortcut to improving the overall combat power of their navy.

However, the situation is quite different in the United States of Colombia.

It's worth noting that they had previously negotiated and obtained seven Leitanian battleships and battlecruisers from the Victorians. Among them, two were of relatively high quality, including the Dörlinger and two were battlecruisers and the King-class battleships. The two were of relatively lower quality, including the Heligoland-class battleships and the Von der Tann-class battleship.

The latter three ships need no further explanation. Before the war ended, they could be considered a supplement to the fleet's combat power. After the war, these three ships were simply useless. The two Heligoland-class battleships need no further explanation. The standard 45-caliber 305mm guns of the Leitania were actually only equivalent to 42-caliber. At present, the firepower of this ship was weak and it could not even fire all its guns in the same direction.

While the Von der Tann is a type of high-speed ship that the Colombian Navy is currently severely lacking, as one of the earliest battlecruisers in the Leitania High Seas Fleet, it was armed with 280mm guns with a 42-caliber barrel, and its speed is now barely 25 knots, just like the Queen Elizabeth II.

What is the Colombian Navy keeping these ships for?

As for the De Fringer and King, the performance of these two ships is indeed acceptable for the Colombian Navy. However, the problem is that the Colombian Navy prefers to allocate tonnage to the warships with 16-inch guns on the slipway. Aren't 406mm guns much more useful than these 330mm naval guns? Moreover, these warships are all metric, and the Colombian Navy would need to establish a separate logistics system to keep these four ships.

Therefore, the Colombian Navy followed the example of the Victorian Navy in dealing with the Bharat Navy, selling its four decent capital ships to the Yingzhou Navy for a total of four dollars. This greatly boosted the strength of the Yingzhou Navy, making it arguably even stronger than the Bharat Navy, which had just received a large gift from the Victorian Navy.

Although the Bharat Navy had two rather powerful Bavaria-class battleships, the König-class battleships were no less formidable in terms of protection, and the Dörlingerki battlecruiser was far superior to the Bharat Navy's two dreadnoughts in terms of both practical use and firepower and protection.

However, the Colombian Navy was not satisfied with this idea after it was opened up. It was as if they had found a bug in the game. Since we are going to negotiate a naval arms control treaty, why not just dump all of our ships on Yingzhou before the negotiations begin?

Of course, this idea was only proposed by the Navy Department before it was rejected by McGiffin. Nobody is stupid. If the Colombian Navy were to dump all its Dreadnoughts on the Chinese Navy and inflate its own naval tonnage to 200,000 to 300,000 tons, and then replace the freed-up tonnage with 16-inch gun warships, it would be a miracle if other countries were willing. At that point, everyone would be stuffing warships into their own navies and exploiting this loophole, which would essentially mean that the loophole didn't exist.

McGiffin asserted that during the upcoming naval arms control treaty negotiations, the two countries of England and Bharat would certainly be brought in to negotiate. England currently does not have the capacity to maintain a larger fleet, and the Colombian Navy should try to get England to build a relatively limited but more effective fleet.

This fleet would be best used as a piece of the puzzle to fill the gaps in the Colombian Navy.

So what is the biggest weakness of the Colombian Navy?

Of course, it's all about high-speed ships. Apart from the Lexington-class strategic cruisers still in the shipyard and the acquired Letania battleship, the mighty Colombian Navy has no other high-speed ships to offer.

Therefore, if Yingzhou is to establish a fleet, then they should establish a high-speed fleet, or at least a high-speed squadron, right?

The two King-class battlecruisers can serve as the backbone of their homeland defense and cooperate with the Colombian fleet stationed in Yingzhou. In addition, they should strengthen the strength of the squadron containing the two Derfrigate-class battlecruisers. If Yingzhou can produce a rapid deployment squadron with four battlecruisers, then this rapid deployment squadron can also become an important support force for the Colombian Navy in the future.

The next question is naturally quite simple: besides the Tang Empire, which other country in the world has readily available battlecruisers? This is the story of how the Lion-class battlecruisers embarked on their long journey. It can be said that these two battlecruisers were not acquired from the Victoria Navy because the Yingzhou Navy wanted to enhance its strength, but because the Colombian Navy needed an extra fast fleet to cooperate with them in future operations.

If the Colombian Navy were to find out that someone in the tiny Kingdom of Kii was trying to disrupt their plans and arrangements, and sabotage the Colombian Navy's ideal future fleet composition, then that guy would be lucky to escape with his post; he might even end up being shot seven times in the back and committing suicide!

Currently, whether these two battlecruisers can secretly reach Yingzhou has become the biggest concern for the Kii Kingdom and the Colombian Navy.

"Your Majesty, the two battlecruisers procured by the Navy are currently facing some minor troubles."

P.S.: First update, as usual. The second update will be at midnight. I said I'd add an extra chapter, and I mean it (I'm sure of it).

I'm asking for your monthly votes and recommendations here. I'll continue writing the next chapter. I'm not trying to keep you in suspense, I just don't have any drafts saved up.

Chapter 257 The News Leaked (2)

The Navy has encountered a minor problem with the two battlecruisers it procured.

Saito Juichiro's words aroused everyone's curiosity. What could possibly go wrong with these two ships? After all, these were two "hot ships" of the Royal Victoria Navy.

What is a "hot warship"?

These are warships that have been in normal service and maintenance in the military without needing upgrades, modifications, or maintenance, and can be put into use directly.

In contrast to the hot-fired ships are those that are decommissioned and mothballed—such as the ships in the American naval graveyards, or those that are unusable due to serious malfunctions or accidents—for example, the Vikramaditya, which India bought from Russia, was in its original state when it was called Baku.

The earliest of the two Lion-class battlecruisers, HMS Lion, was laid down at Davenport Naval Shipyard and commissioned the following year. It has only been about 10 years since then. For a capital ship that normally serves for 20 or 30 years, this battlecruiser is in its prime. Although it participated in the Battle of Scadrak, it underwent a year-long overhaul and maintenance afterward. The ship should be in its peak condition now.

What problems could possibly arise with a ship like this?

Although Saito Jujuro said it was a minor issue, it's unlikely that something brought up at a court meeting would be considered a minor issue.

Surely it couldn't have been bumped or knocked over while crossing the Central American canal?

"What happened?"

Upon hearing of the incident involving the two battlecruisers, Crown Prince Akihito appeared even more anxious than Emperor Nisshin. After all, the more intelligent and capable Crown Prince Akihito understood that the most important thing now was the relationship between Yingzhou and Columbia. Since the United States of Colombia had specifically requested these two ships, Yingzhou had to handle the matter of these two ships properly.

"After passing through the Central American Canal, the two battlecruisers headed to Chile as planned, since these two ships were ostensibly warships purchased by Chile. However, what we did not expect was that the day after these two ships entered the port of Iquique in Chile, while they were carrying out coaling operations... they encountered a Tang Dynasty cruiser flying the dragon flag."

"A cruiser from the Great Tang Dynasty?" Saito Juro's words surprised an official sitting next to him as if his wife had been caught cheating by her husband. He even subconsciously used a respectful term when referring to the Great Tang Dynasty.

"Is there some mistake? That's Chile, on the other side of the ocean. What are Tang Empire's warships doing in a Chilean port?" Prime Minister Daisuke Takahashi thought Saito Juichiro's words were a bit too outrageous. What were Tang Dynasty cruisers doing in Chile?

Although the war is over, it doesn't mean that the Tang Dynasty's cruisers will be sailing all over the world. He seriously suspected that the crew members who exposed him might have misread the flag under high tension.

"I'm not mistaken, am I? This whole thing should have been a joint conspiracy between our country, Colombia, and Chile. The Chilean authorities wouldn't have leaked the information like this."

Saito Juichiro shook his head: "I also hope that our sailors were mistaken. Although it was nighttime and the cruiser left the port that night, we are quite certain that it was a cruiser of the Tang army, because there was also a patrol ship belonging to the Dominion of New Zealand of the Kingdom of Victoria in the port."

The crew of this patrol vessel told our sailors that they spotted the cruiser in the Coral Sea and followed it south, sailing over 200 nautical miles along the east coast of Australia before turning back to Chile. Furthermore, the New Zealand seaplanes told us they had identified the cruiser as an older model that had been in service before the outbreak of war.

Saito Jujuro's explanation puzzled Prime Minister Takahashi Daisuke even more: "An old cruiser that sailed off the east coast of Australia before the war broke out, and then came to Chile and bumped into our ship?" Takahashi Daisuke shook his head. Although his expression was serious, his choice of words was full of humor and irony: "What was this cruiser doing sailing out alone? It couldn't be that it was shipping iron ore exported from Australia and then wanted to go back to its hometown to visit relatives, could it?"

Although the analogy is quite amusing, most people held back their laughter today. Although they didn't know why this cruiser was in Chile, it felt like Pan Jinlian had killed Wu Dalang and then met Wu Song. Although Wu Song didn't know the cause and effect of the matter for the time being, Pan Jinlian was very guilty!

"Discussing why that cruiser was there is pointless." Foreign Minister Kunio Uchida, who had been silent until now, cut to the chase: "Did that cruiser notice anything amiss with our two battlecruisers? Weren't we flying the Chilean naval ensign?"

“Theoretically speaking… we shouldn’t have given anything away. The two battlecruisers flew the Chilean Navy’s ensign as required after leaving port, and we didn’t even lower it when we entered port. But…” Saito Juichiro admitted, “but that Tang Navy cruiser left in a hurry at night, which is abnormal for the port!”

Saito Juro's words made many people want to roll their eyes. He said you shouldn't have given anything away, but then he said that the Tang Dynasty cruiser acted as if it had discovered a flaw, hastily leaving in the middle of the night...

So, is there a problem or not?

"After discussion, the Navy Ministry's opinion is...we should organize the return of these two battlecruisers to the homeland, as the intelligence has already been leaked and known to the Tang Empire."

Saito Juichiro forced a smile and said, "So the Navy's idea is to send a group of elite officers and soldiers to Chile to take over these two ships, equip them with all the weapons and ammunition, and then let them embark on their return journey. If they encounter the Tang Empire's interception forces on the way, our two battlecruisers can deal with them as properly as possible."

Now everyone understood: the Navy was actually there to give them a heads-up. Even though they didn't know where the problem lay, it couldn't hurt to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"What you said about sending more men is..." Although Emperor Nisshin's mind was sometimes not very sharp, he immediately sobered up after hearing the words "Tang Dynasty cruisers." Those words were like a hangover cure and a stimulant.

"To equip these two ships with personnel, there are currently about 200 sailors on each of these two battlecruisers, and some of these 200-plus people are officers and men of the Colombian Navy."

Saito Juichiro bowed to Emperor Nisshin and said, “The Navy’s plan is to equip these two battlecruisers with all the necessary personnel. That is, to send about 1400 officers and men to Chile to take over the two battlecruisers, equip them with weapons and ammunition, and then bring them back directly.”

However, what Saito Jujuro didn't expect was that Emperor Nisshin, upon hearing that troops would be dispatched to take over the two ships and to equip them with weapons and ammunition, became unusually agitated, repeatedly shouting something like, "It's going to be a fight again...it's going to be a fight again...it's going to be a fight again..."

Seeing that Emperor Nisshin's mental state was becoming increasingly unstable, Prime Minister Daisuke Takahashi and Crown Prince Akihito disregarded court etiquette and immediately ran forward to support him.

It was only then that the Crown Prince noticed that His Majesty the Emperor's body was beginning to tremble violently—this was not out of fear, but because His Majesty the Emperor was already ill. The Prime Minister, who was already quite adept at dealing with such situations, immediately took a medicine bottle from the Emperor's pocket, had a glass of water brought up from the side, and hurriedly made the Emperor drink it.

Chapter 258 Stop it! (1)

"There won't be a fight, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Emperor Nisshin's emotions were becoming unstable again, the courtiers could only try to appease the emperor. Saito Juichiro quickly stepped forward and said to reassure him: "The war is over now. We have signed an alliance and mutual assistance treaty with the United States of Colombia. Sending personnel is only to be on the safe side. As long as the Tang Empire considers its relationship with the United States of Colombia, it will not dare to easily take action against us!"

Saito Juichiro's words temporarily calmed Emperor Nisshin's agitated state. Having witnessed the powerful Colombian navy and the massive expeditionary force sent across the ocean by the United States of Colombia, Emperor Nisshin slowly nodded: "What you say is very true... very true... Colombia is a first-rate and powerful country in the world. Out of respect for the United States of Colombia, the Tang Empire will not easily touch us... will not touch us..."

Although the Emperor has calmed down for the time being, the courtiers are very clear about his personality and mental state. They know that they cannot expect the Emperor to make any decisions at the court meeting today. Otherwise, it is hard to guarantee that the Emperor will not roll up his memorials into a telescope to demonstrate that he is "as virtuous as ever".

Inukai Eisaku, who had been observing all this from the sidelines, couldn't help but snort. He said to Uchida Kunio, who was sitting next to him, "What the Minister of the Sea said is basically that because the Tang Dynasty would consider the owner before beating a dog, they wouldn't dare to touch us. Such remarks by the Minister of the Sea of ​​a dignified empire are truly damaging to the country's dignity."

Kunio Uchida just chuckled self-deprecatingly: "In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty or the United States of Colombia, aren't we just dogs?"

"you.........."

There is an old saying in the East: "A person should know his own limitations." It is not shameful to be a dog for a great power. There are only a handful of countries in the world that are qualified not to be dogs. There are many countries that want to be dogs but cannot.

Inukai Eisaku snorted and turned his head away, clearly thinking that Uchida Haruko was so spineless that he was beyond redemption. Although the Prime Minister, who was supporting the Emperor, heard the whispers between the two below, the most important thing at the moment was the Emperor. He gave a look to the eunuch, who quickly helped the Emperor leave the hall.

After Emperor Nisshin left, the Crown Prince stepped forward and announced that he would preside over the next court session. The veterans of the Meiji Restoration sitting in the hall visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to Emperor Nisshin, whose fate was unlikely to change, these ministers still had high expectations for the Crown Prince. Perhaps the cultivation of a martial and capable emperor in Japan would begin with the Crown Prince.

"Alright, Lord Saito, I need your honest answer. Are you sure there was no leak about these two battlecruisers?" Emperor Akihito put pressure on Saito Juichiro right away. This Crown Prince was indeed smarter than his father. He could tell that what Saito Juichiro had said to his father earlier was just simple comfort. He wanted to hear the truth now.

Saito Juichiro's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It was nighttime, and the visibility in the port was not good. Our sailors and crew did not transmit the information to the sailors' club in the port for the sake of secrecy. I don't think that Tang Dynasty cruiser could have discovered that the two battlecruisers flying the Chilean Navy flag had Asian faces on board."

"After we discovered that cruiser, did we ask the Chilean authorities why the ship came to their port?" Foreign Minister Kunio Uchida asked Saito Juichiro.

"We had the Chilean officer on board inquire, and the answer from the port was that the Tang Dynasty cruiser claimed it was running out of coal and therefore requested to enter the port to refuel."

"What's going on with Chile?! How could they let this cruiser in? That Chinese cruiser was allowed in just because they said they were short of coal. Don't they know these two battlecruisers are supposed to enter port today? Don't they know how sensitive this is?"

Upon hearing that the cruiser had easily entered the Chilean naval port under the pretext of fixing eyebrows, Kunio Uchida, who had worked in diplomacy for many years, could hardly contain himself. Even as a diplomat, he knew the principle that "secrecy is the key to victory." Did these Chileans not know what was sensitive and what needed to be kept secret?

Your military struggle with Argentina has lasted for decades, hasn't it? Does that mean that intelligence sharing in South America is open source among everyone?

At this moment, Saito Juichiro's expression became quite subtle. Prime Minister Takahashi Daisuke noticed the micro-expression on his face and realized that there was definitely something going on. So the Prime Minister said seriously, "At this point, Saito-kun, shouldn't the Navy be absolutely honest?"

Saito Juichiro closed his eyes: "Our cooperation with Chile...the Chilean military was unaware of it."

"what?"

This is getting more and more outrageous. How could Chile, as a country, be unaware of such a major event as purchasing warships for Yingzhou?

“We were in contact with the Chilean president, and everything was arranged by him. After all, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. And the more people involved, the more kickbacks we need to pay them. In particular, how could Chile be willing to take the risk to buy these two ships for us if we don't feed them well?”

Upon hearing this, both the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince visibly bulged the veins on their foreheads. It turned out that what Chile thought was a business transaction turned out to be a private service.

No wonder the Chilean military was completely unaware of this! Now it seems that from the Chilean military's perspective, two battlecruisers flying the Chilean naval flag coming into their port is far more suspicious than a Tang Dynasty cruiser suddenly appearing outside their port requesting to refuel!