Chapter 2433

The most important improvement of the Warrior-class warship compared to the Majesty-class warship is that it has a rotating turret and iron armor, two powerful weapons for offense and defense. The two rotating turrets on this ship, one in front and one in the back, replace the old warship. With a large number of artillery deployed on both sides of the ship, the firepower output intensity seems to be greatly reduced. However, the ordnance industry department has equipped this warship with more powerful new artillery, and the operation of the rotating turret is more convenient. In fact, the ship The accuracy and intensity of cannon strikes have been significantly improved. Even if there are only two firepower points at the front and rear on the ship, it is enough to ensure that its combat effectiveness is better than that of traditional sail warships.

In the original history, warships with similar front and rear turret layouts actually only appeared in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. The cruisers "Yangwei" and "Chaoyong" purchased by the Beiyang Navy from the United Kingdom in the Qing Dynasty were both bow and stern. Each is equipped with a large-caliber artillery layout, and there are secondary guns on both sides of the middle section of the hull. However, the Warrior-class warship is a technical verification ship, and the ordnance department does not have the ability to do something big and fast, so The tonnage of this ship is limited, and its power equipment, hull structure, and firepower configuration are far less mature than those of the British ironclads. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

Even so, hull parts with relatively complex structures such as rotating turrets still have certain technical difficulties for shipyards without construction experience. Moreover, considering the existing maritime transportation conditions, it is difficult to build them in Sanya first. After completing the assembly of the fort and then shipping it over, the Zhoushan Shipyard can only try to assemble the received pile of parts onto the ship. If this difficulty cannot be overcome, then naturally there will be no talk of building the Warrior-class warship in Zhoushan. .

Zhang Qianxiang bowed and responded: "Before Beizhi came to Zhoushan, he had actually participated in the early development of the Warrior-class warship, so he also knew a little about its structure. This matter should not be difficult for Beizhi. If there is really any difficulty. , you can also consult my father via telegram, it should be okay."

In the end, Zhang Qianxiang did not speak too fully and left three points of room for maneuver to avoid having to explain to his superiors if there were any problems during the construction process.

How could Tao Donglai not notice the cunning hidden in Zhang Qianxiang's words, but in his opinion, this is harmless. Zhoushan Shipyard has delivered so many warships to the navy in the past few years, which means that at least the technical foundation is not bad, and The Zhang family and his son have all served Haihan for many years, and there is no need to question their loyalty.

"Let's work out the construction plan first." Although Tao Donglai did not relent, he decided to give Zhoushan Shipyard and Zhang Qianxiang a chance. As long as they can come up with a decent construction plan and pass the review of the Ordnance Industry Department and the Shipping Ministry, then It would not be a bad idea to arrange for Zhoushan to build another Warrior-class warship.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qianxiang quickly bowed and thanked Tao Donglai for his suggestion. Shi Diwen next to him was also quite pleased to hear this statement, thinking that this was a good start. The next problems that need to be solved are basically shipbuilding. It’s technical, and in Shi Diwen’s opinion, that is much simpler than applying for a construction permit and raising project funds. He believes in Zhang Qianxiang’s ability. If he can build a Warrior-class warship in one or two years, , then the strength of the East China Sea Fleet will be further enhanced as a result.

In any case, it is a good thing to improve Haihan's military strength. As long as the conditions are mature and the planning is proper, Tao Donglai will definitely not embarrass the Zhoushan authorities. Of course, the most critical point is that the Zhoushan authorities are willing to assume the responsibility for the warship themselves.

After all, as long as there is no need to consider the cost of construction and follow-up costs, the approval process will naturally be much easier.

When leaving the shipyard, Shi Diwen specially told Zhang Qianxiang not to reveal Tao Donglai's identity to the outside world, so as not to let the outside world know about his itinerary. Zhang Qianxiang did not dare to neglect and agreed repeatedly, but there was some feeling in his heart.

Secretly happy. He is now working as an errand in Zhoushan. Although the salary is really good, if he wants to move up in the future, he must make some achievements that attract the attention of the top management. If he can successfully win the construction of a warrior-class battleship in Zhoushan this time,

The opportunity to build a boat may become another milestone in his career.

After visiting the shipyard, it was already late, and it was already dinner time after taking a carriage back to Shi Diwen's official residence. After dinner, the two of them went to Shi Diwen's study, ready to look at the various news they had just received today.

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The transcribed messages were divided into two piles and placed on Shi Diwen's desk. On the left were newspapers, telegrams, documents, etc. sent from overseas, and on the right were various local written reports and documents.

"Mr. Tao, can you review this pile of news from other places for me first? I have to deal with these messy local things." Shi Diwen didn't notice, so he pushed these documents to Tao Donglai.

before.

Tao Donglai did not refuse. Although he was on a business trip, he did need to keep abreast of recent major international and domestic events. Each ruling district in Haihan would use telegraphs to inform them of recent major events within their jurisdiction, and some were not so timely.

Events will appear in newspapers in the form of press releases. When Tao Donglai was in Sanya, the various information he had to process every day would only be more than the pile of documents in front of him.

The recent incident that has attracted the most attention in Haihan is naturally the refugee wave caused by the war in Shandong. Haihan is a country that regards the introduction of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty as a national policy. All walks of life in the country are concerned about immigration matters.

The demand is very high. As soon as the news about Shandong came out, all regions that had the conditions were trying to organize materials and transportation capacity, and tried to transport immigrants from Shandong on their own to replenish the local population.

Tao Donglai browsed through it casually and found that half of the telegrams sent to and from various places were related to this. And more than half of them were local refugee news released by the colonial authorities in Fushan County, Shandong. For example, the release time was

In a telegram this morning, the Fushan Civil Affairs Department claimed that there were still more than 17,000 people in the local refugee camp. More than 3,200 people entered the refugee camp the day before, and those who took the boat as immigrants that day

More than 1,700 people left the local area, and most of them were transported to the south to settle.

The content of the other telegram is about various supplies that are urgently needed in Fushan County, such as food, medicine, labor tools, clothing, tents, etc. The telegram clearly states that immigration ships that can provide these supplies to the local area will be prioritized as appropriate.

Immigration transshipment. Of course, if you are not conscious enough and empty ships go north to load immigrants, they probably will not be rejected by the local area, but you may have to wait locally for other immigration ships that meet the "priority" standard to complete their operations before picking up the missing items.

The news in the newspaper is relatively dull. The content is mainly about events happening in Hainan Island and surrounding areas. Of course, there is also a certain amount of space devoted to reporting on the transfer process of Shandong refugees. But the news that the newspaper can get is basically official civil affairs.

What is released by the department and then printed as an article has no timeliness at all. It is just for the public to watch and understand the general direction of the situation.

Of course, most of these publicly released information come from high-level instructions. For example, regarding the recent large-scale shipment of war refugees from Shandong, a newspaper article called it "saving thousands of civilians from the fire and water."

"If Haihan hadn't rescued and resettled these war refugees, tens of thousands of refugees would have died of hunger and cold. Now all the costs of these refugees being sent to other places for resettlement are borne by Haihan, and they will be in a difficult situation in the future.

Under the protection of the Haihan Army, he will no longer face the danger of war spreading to his homeland. He is simply a living Bodhisattva who saves the world from suffering.

Since most of the citizens of Haihan are from the Ming Dynasty, articles like this can easily arouse the resonance of the people. After joining the Haihan Kingdom, the living conditions of most people have indeed improved significantly compared with before.

The immigration policy must have a positive attitude, and under the guidance of public opinion tools, these immigration measures will be understood as a sign of strong national strength.

If Ming Dynasty cannot do something, I, Haihan, will do it. If Ming Dynasty cannot save, I, Haihan, will save it. Which one is strong and which one is weak can be seen just from the attitudes of the two countries towards war refugees.

Shi Diwen is not as relaxed as Tao Donglai. What he is currently checking are all kinds of local official reports. He is not done after reading them. Many contents require his opinions and instructions, so it is also very taxing.

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The main local affairs recently are actually related to immigration. Immigration ships heading south from the north to Taiwan Island and other places will dock in Zhoushan for supplies, and all the necessary supplies must be organized locally. In addition, regarding the recent resettlement of immigrants in Zhoushan,

The figures Shi Diwen reported to Tao Donglai were somewhat discounted.

Resettling thousands of refugees in a small place like the Zhoushan Islands in a short period of time is certainly not an easy task. Fortunately, the Zhoushan authorities are in good financial condition. As long as they are willing to spend more money, whether it is materials or accommodation,

You can still get a better solution.

Of course, Shi Diwen does not need to personally direct the specific resettlement work, but he must understand the relevant progress, how many people have been resettled, what supplies are urgently needed, and whether there is remaining resettlement capacity in each township. After understanding this information, he must

Only then can he make the next decision. So when faced with the boring numbers listed in these official documents, he must slowly digest them to ensure that there will be no major deviations in the information he has.

After two cups of tea, Shi Diwen finally finished processing the official documents at hand and could share with Tao Donglai the results of today's visit.

"The current trade environment in Zhoushan is hard-won and is also a very important foreign trade window for our country. Therefore, the Executive Committee hopes that the environment here can remain as stable as possible, just like the Pearl River Basin in recent years. But I

When I came here this time, I feel that your thoughts have changed recently, and I hope this will not affect the local trade environment." Tao Donglai trusted Shi Diwen, so he did not beat around the bush, but explained his thoughts directly.

The "changes" Tao Donglai mentioned naturally meant that Shi Diwen was trying every means to organize joint military exercises and hoped to build more advanced Warrior-class warships in Zhoushan. Tao Donglai knew very well that the costs required for these measures would be

It is not a small amount, and Shi Diwen is willing to use Zhoushan's local finances to bear these expenses, which is enough to show that he has some ideas and plans for military expansion.

Of course, Shi Diwen has also taken the initiative to mention it before, hoping to make some necessary preparations for taking over the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the future, and to use as strong a force as possible to intimidate the local officials of the Ming Dynasty into submission, so as to avoid the huge losses that large-scale fighting will cause in the local area.

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However, Shi Diwen seems to lack the corresponding judgment on whether such an approach will affect the current stability of Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and this is what Tao Donglai is worried about.

"I can't say that there is no risk, but I still insist that compared with the benefits we can get in the future, the risks we are taking are worth it." Shi Diwen explained: "We have indeed gained through trade.

There are many benefits, but if we want to control the market and make the situation develop in a direction that is beneficial to our country, then I think force deterrence is still necessary. We must first control the situation in reality, so that we can get ideas at the negotiating table in the future.

The desired result, whether it is a fight or a draw, is up to us, and we cannot leave too much room for choice for Ming. You may think that my current thoughts are a bit radical, but this is also my true thought all along."

"It is indeed a bit radical, but I personally like it." Tao Donglai did not mean to object to Shi Diwen, but he still wanted to make the other party understand the current problem: "But these ideas and plans of yours may not be achieved. The recognition of the Executive Committee. You must know that the Executive Committee attaches great importance to the trade role of the Zhoushan area. After all, the trade volume here has accounted for 20% of my country's foreign trade. No one wants the trade environment here to fluctuate. And These ideas of yours may have a negative impact and even affect the relations between the two countries."

"But the task you have to complete this time going north may also affect the relationship between the two countries." Shi Diwen said with some dissatisfaction: "This is also the decision of the executive committee, right? This is a double standard!"

Tao Donglai was not angry because of his accusation and patiently explained to him: "The situation in the north has a greater impact on our country, so we have to deal with the situation in the north first before it is Zhoushan's turn. If the situation in the north really affects our country,

Regarding the relationship between our country and the Ming Dynasty, these measures you took in Zhoushan are just going along with the current, and there will be no problem. But you cannot take the initiative here, because this may cause the Ming Dynasty to misunderstand our country's attitude towards the situation in the north."

Shi Diwen thought silently for a moment, and then spoke again: "Mr. Tao, you want me to wait and see for a while, wait until the matter in the north is finalized, and then see if I can take the measures I proposed in Zhoushan."

These measures?”

Tao Donglai nodded slightly and said: "That's it. If the order is wrong, the results may become very bad. Be patient and don't rush."
Chapter completed!