As Mikhail had guessed, Nanhua was not ready to intervene at the moment.

After all, intervening in other countries' wars is a very sensitive issue. War will break out if you are not careful, and Nanhua's power is relatively scattered.

Mainly reflected in the strategic objectives, the easternmost point of Nanhua is located at 34° east longitude, and the westernmost point is located at 178°75′ west longitude, spanning more than 200 degrees and half of the earth.

To a certain extent, Nanhua is also an empire on which the sun never sets.

With this breadth, Nanhua can only learn from the United Kingdom. The core strength-large fleets are gathered in Southeast Asia, and small ships patrol or garrison back and forth.

Being able to maintain deterrence and strike capabilities at a relatively low cost, and with the dense archipelago archipelago in Nanhua's core Southeast Asia region making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, it has been fine so far.

"Your Majesty, the cruise fleet has all returned and is expected to arrive in Manila before the 18th. The Xuchang has also entered the dock and started maintenance work, which is expected to take 15 days." said Naval Chief of Staff Gu Fan.

Zhao Jiaxing went to Guinea Island half a month ago, where there is a submarine research base. He went to study submarines and has not come back yet.

Nanhua's first-generation submarine was independently developed. Liu Yiming's biggest help was to draw a shell, and then the submarine sank directly to the bottom when it was launched...

The designer hopes that the submarine can run at a speed of 20 knots in order to keep up with the fleet. He hopes to install artillery to enhance surface combat capabilities, and also install armor on the submarine...

If it were a gunboat, then this design would still be excellent, but this is a submarine.

After that, Nanhua obtained two submarines from France through an alliance, one Mermaid class and one Elf class. There was not much difference between the two.

The Mermaid has a displacement of 213 tons, a speed of 97 knots/surface, 56 knots underwater, a range of 970 kilometers/7 knots, and its weapons are four 450mm torpedoes.

The Elf has a displacement of 207 tons, a speed of 61/surface, 48/underwater, a range of 213 kilometers/5 knots, and its weapons are four 450mm torpedoes. However, this submarine uses a variable-pitch propeller and can retreat without reversing the engine.

France transferred corresponding technology, design drawings, etc., and also helped Nanhua establish a production line.

After absorbing the French submarine concept, the test model of Nanhua's new submarine has been manufactured at the Guinea submarine test base. Zhao Jiaxing was worried and went to supervise it personally.

The job fell to Gu Fan, who had just become chief of staff. After all, Zhao Jiaxing did not expect that as soon as he left, the battle in Mesopotamia would end, and Nanhua would soon have to deal with the north again.

"How is the manufacturing work of the new main battleship going?" Liu Yiming asked.

"It is being outfitted and is expected to join the navy next year. Speaking of this, there are only two shipyards in the country that can build ships of the same level. We hope to expand it to six."

Gu Fan already belongs to the new generation of navy. They are more professional, have stronger strategic and tactical abilities, and weaker political abilities. Moreover, meetings with them no longer have the relaxed atmosphere of seniors.

"We will not build too many large cruiser-level ships, but dock expansion is also necessary. With the development of technology, ships are getting bigger and longer... At Machen Shipyard, Surabaya Naval Shipyard, Coconut City

The shipyard and the Manila Naval Shipyard will each build one." Liu Yiming nodded.

The grand patrol set the tone as early as 1902, and construction officially started in 1905, with two ships started at once.

It is 186 meters long, 256 meters wide, has a full load draft of 78 meters, and has a displacement of 27,500 tons/standard and 31,000 tons/full load.

The weapon configuration is relatively rich, with 3 305 mm 50-caliber 3-gun main turrets, 2 in the front and 1 in the rear.

There are 12 127 mm 42 caliber profile guns, 4 twin 152 mm 50 caliber secondary guns, and 10 762 mm secondary guns.

The main armor belt is 270 mm, extending to 100 mm forward and aft, the horizontal deck is 100 mm, and the front and rear decks are 55 mm.

The front of the turret is 305 mm, the top is 102 mm, and the sides are 254 mm.

The power system is provided with steam by 12 oil-fired boilers, driving two Nezhayi 4-type steam turbines, which can provide 75,000 horsepower, a maximum speed of 28 knots, and a range of 15 knots and 8,000 nautical miles.

A very advanced and powerful warship, more than 5 years ahead of Europe (many technologies are available in Europe, but they have never been used, because warships can only use "mature advanced technology", and the investment is not enough, and the maturity is slow.)

It was originally expected to start construction in March 1905, launch in 1906, and enter service before the end of 1907, a construction period of almost three years.

But until now, the outfitting progress of the new warship is less than half of the progress. Only the power system has been initially debugged, and the weapon system has not been installed, let alone integrated.

This kind of project cannot be hidden, so Nanhua announced to the outside world that it was building battleships. The British made a fuss. After the new German battleships were launched, they were no longer interested in Nanhua.

"This matter can also be discussed at a press conference, this time in terms of new battleships." Liu Yiming looked at the construction progress.

"Has the Chang'an arrived in Ryukyu? Did the Japanese react at all?" Liu Yiming looked at the pattern of the patrol.

The battle cruiser is a very unique type of ship. In the decisive battle of the fleet battle, it is at a disadvantage due to its weak armor, but this kind of maneuverability is indispensable in the series of activities before the decisive battle.

Liu Yiming thought over and over again about building this kind of warship, and finally built a level 1 warship on the grounds of deterring others, leaving room for upgrades so that it could be converted into an escort warship for the aircraft carrier fleet in the future.

"The Japanese have stepped up patrols, but they haven't done anything drastic. I heard that they haven't received any protests from the Japanese?" Gu Fan asked doubtfully.

Liu Yiming felt something was wrong, but it seemed reasonable. As long as you were stronger than him in Japan, he would be more obedient than anyone else.

But is he really surrendering so easily? Liu Yiming doesn't quite believe it.

"Your Majesty, Minister Jiang from the Audit Department is here." Secretary Wang knocked on the door gently.

"The staff department still has something to do, I'll take my leave first..." Gu Fan stood up.

Liu Yiming nodded: "Collate the data and beautify it. Don't be too exaggerated. Use it according to the standards of a battleship. It will be used at the press conference."

"Yes!" Gu Fan saluted, packed up the documents and left.

"Your Majesty, our informant in Japan sent back news that Japan is urgently recruiting supplies for an unknown purpose. We speculate that Japan may want to start a war." Jiang Wang handed Liu Yiming a document bag.

Director Lin had frequent conversations with the American and Russian ministers. There was a sudden material gap in the Japanese market. The transport ship received the news and was asked to gather at the port.

"It looks like it's about to face war." Liu Yiming doesn't quite understand. Does Japan want to take risks?

It's not impossible, but it's too hasty and the winning rate is not high.

bell……

"Hello...ok." Secretary Wang held the receiver.

"Chief Jiang, phone number of the audit department."

Jiang Wang took the call.

"What happened? When did it happen? Are you sure? Okay... pay close attention." Jiang Wang's face darkened a little, nodded, and hung up the phone.

"The Russian army has made preparations for the attack. It currently has 100,000 troops stationed north of Longjiang. The material preparation has been completed. Our people lack communication equipment and the news is delayed." Jiang Wang said seriously.

He knew Liu Yiming's idea of ​​deterrence and trying not to use force - this attempt should be above Nanhua's bottom line, and Nanhua would not join the fight.

Nanhua is preparing to "advocate peace" at the press conference on the 18th and is gathering strength for this purpose, but now it seems that Nanhua's strategic intentions have been seen through.

Liu Yiming didn't react much, he just clenched his fists and looked at the sun, moon and stars flag on the table.

"Notify Qing Empire, and the rest will proceed as originally planned."

It is impossible for Liu Yiming to gamble on Nanhua for the old witch. Maybe the Qing Empire also needs these sufferings to promote the awakening of some people and overthrow this decadent dynasty.

"Recall the military attache Sun Zairen from the Embassy in Thailand to establish an intelligence system in the Qing Empire and expand some weapons." Liu Yiming clasped his hands together.

Since it cannot be avoided, it is better to speed up.
Chapter completed!