Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Whether it was trying to integrate into His Highness the Crown Prince's life or reconnecting with him in the past, these were things I did first, but now...

Before this, you clearly told me you would support me in trying to win over the Crown Prince, and you even said you weren't interested in him at all... How can you go back on your word like that?!

While Mingzi was still in a state of extreme shock, she heard something fall to the ground. Turning her head, she saw that it was Zheng Guanyin, who had also come down to the first floor, presumably to greet Zhu Miaoyun.

The fourth princess of the Song Prince's Mansion was so shocked that she dropped the potted plant she was holding and shattered it on the ground.

For some reason, seeing that others were even less able to accept the reality before them than she was, Akiko suddenly felt... that it wasn't so hard to accept after all.

"Your Highness!"

Zheng Guanyin let out a mournful cry, her tone seemingly complaining to Zhu Miaoyun: "We were ready to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first?"

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Let's set aside the little incident that happened in the courtyard of the Naval Guest House for now. On the other side of the ocean, in Washington, the capital of the United States, President Wilson looked at Admiral Benson's resignation letter, leaned back in his chair with a sense of helplessness, and gently pressed his hand to his temples to relieve the headache caused by his high blood pressure.

President Wilson had a really tough time.

The navy suffered another defeat. Although no surface ships were lost this time, the Colombian Federal Navy is now stigmatized, and the whole world knows how the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy tricked the United States Navy.

Chasing after a group of modified civilian ships, and mistaking them for the enemy's main force, not only led to the Ming fleet, which was trapped in Surabaya Port, successfully breaking through the Federal Army's blockade and returning to its homeland, but also caused the balance of power between the Ming and the United States to return to equilibrium in the future Pacific theater.

This is clearly something the British would very much like to see, but something all Colombians would not want to see.

Admiral Benson must be held accountable this time. Although President Wilson believed that the root cause of the two naval defeats was not Admiral Benson, he did make a strategic misjudgment this time. In addition, the Army and Marine Corps suffered heavy losses due to enemy shelling. Someone had to step forward and take responsibility for this defeat, and Admiral Benson was the best candidate.

But who will replace Benson now?

Benson was already considered a rare talent in the United States Navy, where talent was scarce. Now, President Wilson was racking his brains trying to find someone to replace him, but he didn't know who to ask.

Besides the selection of the fleet commander, an even more pressing issue is that the Navy has indicated they need to acquire a batch of goods in the near future.

Yes, the Navy wants ships that can be put into battle immediately after purchase. Although the United States has many ships on its shipyards, the Navy is clearly getting impatient.

The sudden turn of events in the battle clearly disrupted the navy's original plans. What was even more troubling was that, according to the message sent back by the Colombian ambassador to Britain, the British indeed rejected their request to acquire the Leitania battleship.

Even though the Colombians were willing to offer to reduce or waive loans for the British, the British seemed to stick to their original stance after some deliberation, which naturally infuriated President Wilson.

But aside from venting his anger in the Oval Office, President Wilson had no other recourse, since the British side had a perfectly valid argument—these spoils belonged to all Allied members, and how to dispose of them was not a matter for the Victorian Empire alone to decide.

Sons of the Beach! I've never seen Britain treat other small countries with such respect before.

Chapter 124 Collecting junk all over the world?

"Great news! Great news! We've found the stock!"

On September 1, 1919, the first Monday of the month, the sound of the opening bell, reminiscent of the opening of the Wall Street stock exchange, rang out in the headquarters building of the Navy Fleet Operations Command in Norfolk, Virginia, in the Commonwealth Navy of Columbia.

The naval officer waving the telegram jogged up to Admiral Simpson and eagerly handed him the telegram: "General, our diplomats in Europe have sent back good news!"

Admiral Simpson looked at the telegram with some doubt, then reached out to take it, his voice tinged with disbelief: "The Britons are finally willing to hand over those Leitanian battlecruisers to us?"

Just yesterday, I received the bad news from the President that the Britons were clearly unwilling to hand over these ships to the United States. How come the Britons have changed their minds in just one day? Could it be that His Excellency the President offered some price that the Britons could not refuse?

"No, General, the good news came from our ambassador in Syracuse."

Syracuse?

Admiral Simpson unfolded the telegram, glanced at it, and quickly understood the situation. The damned British hadn't changed their minds anytime soon; after all, these British were the type who wouldn't give up until they hit a brick wall. The telegram was from the United States embassy in Syracuse. Seeing it, Admiral Simpson remembered that the Allied forces controlled far more than just the ships in the High Seas Fleet!

The Habsburg Empire also had some ships.

In this world, the Habsburg Empire built eight dreadnoughts, and six of them survived the war.

It sounds like the Habsburg Empire has suddenly become powerful, with twice as many dreadnoughts as the Habsburg Empire in another world?

In fact, this was simply the Habsburg Empire building two of the Radetzky-class pre-dreadnoughts, which had been under construction since 907, according to the dreadnought design. They replaced the original two twin 240mm secondary main guns on each side with one twin 305mm main gun on each side. The four 305mm turrets were arranged in a cruciform pattern, which could simultaneously fire up to three main guns at the bow, stern, or sides.

Therefore, the Radetzky, which could have been a contender for the title of the world's strongest pre-dreadnought, became the world's weakest dreadnought—even weaker than the Iberia-class battleships that Iberia purchased from Britain.

Besides these two dreadnoughts, there were also two of the Habsburg Empire's largest and strongest battleships, the Union Force-class. These battleships, representing the pride of the Habsburg Empire, were originally built in groups of four, but unfortunately, two of them were sunk by the Syracuses using frogmen and submarines during the war. Therefore, the Colombians were also aware that although the Union Force-class battleships looked imposing with their four triple 305mm main guns, they had quite a few problems, especially their poor underwater torpedo protection design.

Besides these four battleships, the Habsburg Empire also had two "battlecruisers." Now that the Habsburg Empire has been defeated and fragmented, the former Habsburg navy has been taken over by the Syracuse, and these warships are now in Syracuse's hands. Although these ships should theoretically be divided among the entire Allied Powers like the Letanian warships, the United States ambassador to Syracuse clearly knows that the Syracuse can be bribed, and they also know that what the country urgently needs now is warships, especially high-speed ships.

Admiral Simpson was naturally quite grateful for the efforts of these diplomats, but as for these Habsburg warships... Admiral Simpson really felt they were rather useless.

Why did the Colombian Federation previously overlook these two "battlecruisers" from the Habsburg Empire? The reason is that while these Habsburg battlecruisers were equipped with steam turbines and could reach speeds of 26 knots, they were only armed with two twin 12-inch main guns. Frankly, the Federation Navy, upon seeing these battlecruisers, couldn't tell whether they were battlecruisers with reduced firepower or pre-dreadnoughts powered by a new era of propulsion.

What can two twin-mounted main guns do? They can't even fire a half-salvo, so their accuracy in artillery battles is twice as slow, and their firepower density is far inferior.

Faced with these mediocre warships, and with the Syracuses taking advantage of the United States' urgent need for readily available goods and demanding exorbitant prices, Admiral Simpson shook his head. What use would these pieces of junk be?

Only two Combined Forces-class battleships are still usable for the Federation Navy, but does the Federation Navy need these slow-moving battleships now?

After the Ming army's Surabaya fleet broke out, the Colombians had already considered using some emergency measures to enhance the size and combat power of their navy. Although the Colombian navy's capital ships were slightly inferior in number in terms of fleet quality, their ability to fight to the death on the battle line was probably stronger. However, before leaving his post, Admiral Benson suggested that although the Colombian navy had an advantage in the average quality of its ships, it should still find a way to make up for its numerical disadvantage.

The next generation of battleships on the shipyards, whether the South Dakota or the Lexington, are significantly behind schedule due to the waiting for the development of 16-inch naval guns. The completion rate of these next-generation warships of the Federation Navy is very low, and they cannot be expected to be completed in the short term. The progress of subsequent batches of the Colorado-class battleships is also not ideal, because these ships are currently waiting for the British to 15-inch turrets on the shipyards in the country. The British explanation is that the current production capacity is insufficient, which makes the Federation Navy feel somewhat helpless. They have even considered whether to install 14-inch turrets on these hulls to supplement the Navy first.

Under these circumstances, some members of the federal government seriously recommended that the Navy purchase the main warships from the three South American countries.

Of course, it is well known that the main warships of the three South American countries are used as hypothetical enemies to each other. Purchasing from one country alone would cause an imbalance of naval power in the region, and the country in question may not be willing to sell. Therefore, from the perspective of a responsible major power for the balance of regional situation, the congressman suggested that the navy buy all the dreadnoughts in the hands of the three South American powers as a package.

This suggestion is indeed very feasible. The three South American countries have passed the stage of "youthful arrogance". The navies of the three countries have realized that they will definitely not be able to sustain the arms race if they continue. If they purchase the main warships of these three countries at the same time, it is possible to reach an agreement.

Moreover, among the battleships of these three countries, the Rivadavia-class battleships belonging to the Argentine Navy were actually sold to Colombia. With a displacement of 27,900 tons, 11-inch guns on the sides and 12-inch gun mounts, a speed of 22.5 knots, and six 12-inch 50-caliber main guns, twelve 6-inch guns and sixteen 4-inch guns, it demonstrated the conscience of the Federation in selling warships abroad. This was the strongest battleship in South America, even surpassing the Admiral Torrare, the super-dreadnought purchased by the Chilean Navy from Britain.

After all, although the Admiral Torrae-class battleships had a displacement of 28,600 tons and five 14-inch main guns, their main armor belt was only nine inches. In the early stages of the war, nine inches of armor was barely enough to deal with 12-inch naval guns, but it was far from sufficient in the face of the new generation of armor-piercing shells.

If the warships of Argentina and Chile can be described as having mediocre performance but still usable, then the Minas Gerais-class battleships of the Brazilian Navy, as the earliest dreadnoughts in South America, are extremely difficult to maintain in all aspects, except for having six 12-inch twin turrets, their displacement of less than 20,000 tons, and their mere 9-inch side armor. They lack protection, speed, and even endurance.

The debate over whether or not to pick up this South American trash had already raged within the Navy, and now there was another batch of useless junk from the Habsburgs... Admiral Simpson felt his blood pressure was rising again.

But as the saying goes, there's always a way out. Just when General Simpson was feeling down, the officer who delivered the telegram produced a second telegram as if by magic: "General, you should also take a look at this telegram."

General Simpson took the telegram, glanced at it, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he blurted out, "The Syracuses are really willing to sell?"

In this telegram, the Syracuses surprisingly indicated that they could sell the first ship of the Francisco Caracciolo-class battleships, which was already 95% complete, to the Federation.

This dream ship of the Syracuse Navy, which was never completed in another timeline, is now 95% complete in this world. It can be said that, apart from some interior furnishings and auxiliary facilities, it is basically finished.

The Caracciolo-class ships are 201.6 meters long at the waterline, 212 meters long overall, 29.6 meters wide, and have a draft of 9.5 meters. The class has a normal displacement of 31400 tons and a full load displacement of 34000 tons. The ships are powered by four Parsons steam turbines, with steam supplied by 20 Yarrow oil-fired boilers.

These 20 boilers will provide a powerful 105000 horsepower to the entire power system, propelling the 30,000-ton battleship to a top speed of 28 knots.

在此基础上，卡拉乔洛号和她的姊妹舰将装备四座双联装共八门381毫米主炮，并且采取前后背负式布局。副炮由装备在舰舯的炮塔集群中12门152毫米45倍径炮和8门102毫米45倍径炮组成。

It can be said that in terms of firepower, it reached the level of Queen Elizabeth. In terms of speed, it was obviously a level above the Queen, who could barely reach 25 knots. In terms of armor protection, although the thickness of the main armor belt was 300 mm, which was thinner than that of Queen Elizabeth, the height of the main armor belt was higher than the 330 mm thick part of Queen Elizabeth's gradient armor.

A high-speed battleship like this would be the dream ship of the Federation Navy right now. If there is any shortcoming, it is that there is only one such dream ship.

The second telegram went into more detail about why the Syracuses were willing to sell their nearly completed new warships to the United States.

Of course, this is a traditional skill of the Syracuse Navy – they did it back when they sold the Garibaldi-class armored cruisers. Because the customer needed the land urgently, the Syracuse simply sold the Garibaldi-class armored cruisers they had built for their own navy to Argentina.

If the Syracuses could do something once, then they could naturally do it a second time.

As for the Francisco Caracciolo-class battleships, although construction began in 914, the work was intermittent throughout the war. Syracuse, a notoriously impoverished imperialist power, misappropriated the Caracciolo's construction materials on more than one occasion during the war.

However, since the Habsburg navy across the Adriatic Sea was stronger than that in the other timeline, Syracuse was able to maintain the construction of the battleship Caracciolo as much as possible, especially after the war in Europe had basically ended, Syracuse did its best to ensure the construction of this ship.

However, Syracuse was indeed exhausted during this battle. Although the Caracciolo battleship was already at such a high completion rate, Syracuse's finances were on the verge of collapse. As for the other three sister ships of the Caracciolo class, none of them were more than 50% complete.

Therefore, when the Colombians approached Syracuse to inquire whether they were willing to sell the Habsburg Navy's ships, Syracuse proactively asked the Colombians if they were willing to buy the Caracciolo. Syracuse also indicated that if the Federation needed them, Syracuse could complete the remaining Caracciolo-class battleships and sell them to the Federation as well.

But this was unnecessary for the Federation. What they wanted was the Caracciolo, which was now over 95% complete. Admiral Simpson immediately took the second telegram and called the White House. President Wilson hadn't known about this news much earlier than Admiral Simpson, so President Wilson was now equally amazed by the Syracuses' "shrewd business acumen."

Who would have thought that scavenging for junk around the world could actually yield gold!

The only drawback is that there is only one such ship, which is still a huge number compared to the fast capital ships in the Ming army's hands, and this number gap cannot be bridged by the performance advantage of the Caracciolo battleship.

But in any case, this is still a rare piece of good news.

Therefore, neither General Simpson nor President Wilson found anything wrong with the exorbitant price demanded by the Syracuseans.

After all, the current Colombian Federation is so poor that all it has left is money.

Chapter 125 The New Commander of the Pacific Fleet

Although the Federation's diplomats have done everything in their power to enhance the Federation Navy's strength in a short period of time, both to close the gap between the two sides in fast capital ships and to increase the size and overall strength of the Federation Navy.

It can be said that the Federation's diplomats did the best they could. In fact, apart from South America and Syracuse, the Federation's diplomats contacted every country they could possibly reach. They even had their eyes on the Onfaros Navy's battleship "Salamis," which the Onfaros Navy had ordered from Letania before the outbreak of war. However, in order to absolutely suppress the Ottomans in terms of firepower, the Onfaros did not choose Letania's 305 or 330 mm guns. Instead, they ordered four twin 14-inch turrets from the Federation.

Historically, this battleship could not be delivered due to the outbreak of war. The Leitanian Navy once wanted to complete the ship, equip it with its own cannons, and use it to supplement the High Seas Fleet, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

In this world, the changes made by the Onfaros to the details of the order contract allowed the ship to be successfully completed. After the Leitanians completed the hull construction, the ship without turrets would go to the Federation to have the main turrets installed. As a result, the ship successfully arrived in the United States before the outbreak of the world war caused by the Sarajevo incident, and returned to Onfaros after completing its construction in the United States.

The battleship Salamis had a standard displacement of 19800 tons, was equipped with three AEG steam turbines and 18 Yarrow boilers, and was designed to reach a speed of 24 knots.

武备除八门呈前后背负布局的14英寸主炮外，还包括12门6英寸副炮，12门3英寸速射炮和5具鱼雷发射管。

The armor protection design of the Salamis incorporates some elements of the concept of primary protection. A 250 mm thick main armor belt and a 73 mm thick main armored deck form an armored box to protect the engine room and ammunition magazine, while the bow and stern sections have a 98.4 mm thick armor belt and a 37 mm thick armored deck as secondary protection.

The Colombians had only one reason for wanting this ship: it could reach 24 knots. In their eyes, this was a true high-speed ship, since the Federal Navy also referred to the "Dingyuan"-class battleships, which had a speed of just over 23 knots, as "high-speed battleships."

However, the Onfaros resolutely rejected the Colombians' request because their arch-enemy, the Ottomans, possessed the "Yavos Selim Sultan" from Letania! The Onfaros navy not only refused to sell the ship, but also intended to complete the "King Constantinos" battleship (a Gaulish Brittany-class export version) from the Gauls, whose construction had been interrupted by the war, to ensure a two-to-one absolute advantage over the Ottoman navy.

Even when the Federation Navy offered to exchange a New York-class battleship for an Onfaros-class battleship and pay an additional price, the Onfaros-class Navy resolutely refused. The reason was simple: the capital ship in the hands of the Ottomans was the Goben, a battlecruiser from the original Leitanian Navy. In this world, the Goben had four twin 12-inch guns and a speed of no less than 26.5 knots. For the Onfaros-class Navy, the Salamis was already a bit slow, let alone exchanging it for a slower Federation battleship.

As for the capital ships of other countries, the Colombians didn't even want the few ships the Iberians had, and the Gauls, limited by the length of their docks, didn't have a single fast warship. The Netherlands did have two Decade VII battlecruisers, which were scaled-down versions of the Tiger-class battlecruisers (with one 13.5-inch turret removed). The Colombians coveted these two ships, but unfortunately, the Netherlands Navy's status in this era was like that of the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the 21st century in another world. Whether these two ships could be sold, and to whom, was absolutely impossible without the British's approval.

"...In conclusion, although I am grateful for the efforts of our diplomats, based on our current situation, we can only acquire a Syracuse fast battleship and two Habsburg battlecruisers, for a total of three ships that can be considered fast capital ships. In terms of strength, we are still significantly inferior to the fast ships in the hands of the Ming army."

Especially those two Habsburg battlecruisers, probably limited by the length of the dock, only had two gun turrets, meaning that in a gun battle, these two ships were probably only slightly better than the two Ming dynasty armored cruisers with six 240mm guns.

Admiral Simpson rushed back to Washington to report to President Wilson: "These three fast capital ships can only give us a fairly limited forward reconnaissance capability. The Ming army can even divide their battlecruisers into two fleets, and either of those fleets would still have a firm grip on our fleet."

As for the battleships acquired from South America, while they can indeed make up for the series of battle losses we suffered in the short term, as long as our disadvantage in fast ships remains unchanged, our current efforts will be relatively limited in terms of the overall situation. I think we will probably only see a change after the Lexington-class battlecruisers enter service.

When will the Lexington-class battlecruisers be commissioned?

"If the development of the 16-inch naval gun is not delayed again, I think we will probably be able to get the first one by the end of September 920."

"We haven't even reached the end of 919 yet... and you're already telling us we have to wait until the end of next year to get the Lexington-class submarine?"

"Yes, and that's the ideal scenario," Admiral Simpson stated bluntly. "Unless we can immediately acquire all the remaining fast capital ships in the Leitanian High Seas Fleet, our current significant disadvantage in the vanguard fleet will not fundamentally change until the Lexington-class battlecruisers enter service in large numbers."

President Wilson remained silent for a while, then asked Admiral Simpson with a somewhat helpless expression, his face showing signs of weariness: "General, now that Admiral Benson has resigned, we need a new fleet commander in the East. Are you willing to take on this role and lead us to victory?"

When faced with President Wilson's question, Admiral Simpson remained calm—and there was really no need for him to show much surprise, as he was now the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, and this was merely a lateral move.

When asked about the president's question, he slowly shook his head. When President Wilson saw that General Simpson was about to refuse, he quickly said, "General, you are the only person I can think of who can lead us to victory. I am ready to push for the establishment of the rank of Marshal."

President Wilson's meaning was clear—as long as you take on this heavy responsibility and perform reasonably well on the battlefield, the position of Admiral of the Navy, the first Admiral in the history of the Federation of Colombia, will be handed to you.

However, General Simpson still shook his head and refused: "Your Excellency, I do wish to become the first Field Marshal of the United States, but I know I am not qualified, because I am well aware that my personal abilities are not even as good as Benson's. Benson did not achieve victory in the East—although a large part of the reason for this was not his personal ability, but the negative effects of our transoceanic expedition. However, I know that my own abilities are not sufficient to deal with these problems. What you need is a more capable commander. Please allow me to recommend someone to you."

"Who?"

“Felio Norton McGiffin is a very responsible fighter, highly professional and willing to take on responsibilities. No one is more suitable for this position than him.”

“McGiffen?” President Wilson recalled briefly. “I remember he’s only a major general now?”

“You can promote him to admiral, which is why he is currently a rear admiral. The reason he is only a rear admiral is because he is too straightforward and has offended too many people in the navy. But whether people like him or hate him, they can’t deny that he is a very capable person.” Admiral Simpson said, “Instead of giving this important position to me, you should give it to him. I believe he will not let you down.”

After a moment of contemplation, President Wilson finally nodded slowly. When it came to making decisions on such professional matters, President Wilson always chose to trust the advice of professionals.

Moreover, he had indeed heard of Rear Admiral McGiffin's reputation. This man was considered an anomaly in the United States Navy. He was extremely serious about his work, but he always offended his colleagues and superiors. Therefore, even though some of Rear Admiral McGiffin's juniors had been promoted to higher ranks than him, he still held that lone general's star.

In the face of the current situation, "social skills" are definitely not of any use.

What's needed is exactly someone like Filho Norton McGiffin.

"I will have someone expedite the process of promoting and appointing Major General McGiffin," President Wilson said.

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"It seems our President intends to continue the war?"

In the shadows of a luxurious villa's study, an elderly man with a hunched back sat on a sofa, sipping Darjeeling tea while gently shaking his head. It was unclear whether the tea didn't suit his taste or whether the old man was somewhat dissatisfied with President Wilson's actions.

"It's not surprising that Your Excellency wants to continue this war. Countless crowns have been shed from Europe to Asia because of this war. If we can wipe out the Victorian Empire from the world in another 10 years, I believe Your Excellency would be willing to fight for 10 years."

And some of us would probably be willing to continue this war for another 10 years, for example…”

At this point, a middle-aged man who looked younger and was standing behind the old man chimed in: "Take the Morgan family for example, their excessive pursuit of wealth made them forget many things."

At this point, the middle-aged man behind the old man began to pace up to him: "President Wilson is a man who puts national interests before his own personal interests. When he was running for election, his slogan was to keep war away from us. But shortly after he became president, our President chose to join the war to gain more benefits for the country, although such a move has made him quite controversial."

"Can our navy still take over Borneo, on the edge of the World Island?"

Faced with the old man's question, the middle-aged man spread his hands helplessly: "Looking at it now, our chances of getting Borneo are getting smaller and smaller. After all, for our opponents, they don't actually need the navy to defeat the United States Navy on the ocean. Even if they maintain the current balance of power, they can still continuously send ground troops to Kalimantan Island. I have consulted some professionals, and under these circumstances, they are not optimistic about our original plan to further seize the entire Borneo."

"Among these professionals, Mr. Rockefeller, what?"