Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> chinese fourth empire

Piaotia Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 624: Preparing to attack Siam

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    ps: The second update is here!  Please subscribe, please give me a monthly pass!  Thanks to book friends PLA Eagle, Extreme Deep Sea Diving, and Glorious Charter for their tips!  Thank you to the book friend Zhan Gu for your monthly pass!

    According to Wang Yuze¡¯s requirements, the ¡®Han Xin-class¡¯ fast battleship must be faster than a battlecruiser, and at the same time possess the powerful firepower and armor of a battleship. It can not only compete with battleships, but also suppress battlecruisers.  Therefore, this makes the design of the 'Hanxin-class' fast battleship very troublesome.

    To improve the protection capability, the armor must be thickened, which will inevitably increase the displacement of the battleship and thus affect the speed of the battleship.  In order to increase the speed of the battleship, the power must be increased.  And this will also increase the hull and displacement.

    How to unify the two to meet Wang Yuze's requirements has become a headache.  Also, the Academy of Sciences has come up with the design of a new oil-fired boiler. This new oil-fired boiler will provide 20% more power than the previous boiler.  After solving the power problem, the design of the 'Hanxin-class' fast battleship will be much easier.

    Finally, the Naval Battleship Design Institute came up with the design drawings of the ¡®Hanxin-class¡¯ fast battleship.  The ¡®Han Xin class¡¯ fast battleship has a standard displacement of 29,300 tons and a full load displacement of 36,500 tons.  It has a total length of 177.6 meters, a width of 29.5 meters, and a draft of 10.5 meters. It is powered by 24 new oil-fired boilers and four latest steam turbines with a power of 48,000 horsepower. It is propelled by four axles and has a maximum speed of more than 28 knots (successfully built  In the subsequent test run, the maximum speed was 29.5 knots), the cruising range was 10 knots/9000 nautical miles, and the armament was three triple 343 mm 50-caliber naval guns.  Uses a backpack turret.  Two in front and one in back.  This allows the nine main guns to fire on the same side, and the secondary batteries include 10 155mm rapid-fire cannons and 10 37mm rapid-fire cannons.  The armor uses new domestic armor, and its performance is completely comparable to Krupp's latest armor. The armor of the main turret and bridge is 356 mm, the deck is 120 mm, and the side belt is 305 mm.

    The ¡®Han Xin-class¡¯ fast battleship has the same firepower as the ¡®Han-class¡¯ battleship, but is faster.  Once faced with other countries' battlecruisers, they will have an overwhelming advantage.  Of course, when announced to the public, the 'Hanxin-class' will be the second battlecruiser of the Chinese Navy.  However, in order to meet Wang Yuze's requirements, the cost of building a 'Han Xin-class' battleship is also very scary. The cost of a single ship reaches 23 million Chinese dollars, and building six ships will cost 138 million Chinese dollars.  It is almost equivalent to the annual military expenditure allocated by the Ministry of Finance every year.  However, even if the cost is so high.  Wang Yuze gritted his teeth and signed the construction order.  After all, at a time when all countries are desperately building new battleships and battlecruisers.  If the Chinese navy wants to maintain its advantage, it must build larger and larger battleships.

    After the completion of the six ¡®Hanxin-class¡¯ battleships, the Chinese Navy will have 20 battleships and four battlecruisers. With the performance of the Chinese Navy¡¯s battleships, it can basically maintain its advantage over any country.  However, it still seems a bit stretched when facing two powerful enemy countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States.  To this end, Wang Yuze proposed that the Naval Design Institute should come up with a design plan for the next level of advanced battleships within two years, which is the design plan for the 'Tang-class' battleship.  The 'Tang-class' battleship will be equipped with a more powerful main gun, thicker armor and faster speed.  Wang Yuze also knows that this requirement is somewhat difficult to achieve with current technology.  However, it is still necessary to prepare early.

    Indeed, as the Chinese Navy hoped, after foreign spies discovered that the Chinese Navy had begun building a new second-class battlecruiser, and that the speed of this battlecruiser was as high as 28 knots, various countries once again started building battlecruisers.  of**.  The British Navy has come up with a design plan for the 'Indefatigable' class battlecruiser.  The German Navy will also build the ¡®Devogel-class¡¯ battlecruisers.  The United States also obtained the design drawings of the "Invincible-class" battlecruiser from the British Navy and will build an American battlecruiser.  When countries invest their limited resources into the construction of battlecruisers, the purpose of the Chinese Navy will be achieved.

    After the establishment of the Entente, the entire world was almost divided into two camps aligned with each other.  The Entente and Central Powers were in opposition to each other, and this opposition was not only manifested in military terms, but also in economic and political terms.  Economic flows among the member states of each alliance are rapid, but economic exchanges with opposing countries have almost stagnated.  However, this is very beneficial to the Allies.  The Allies had huge colonies, and their economic development potential was obviously much better than that of the Allies.  Fortunately, the Allies still have China as a quasi-ally, and China has the largest market in the world.  Moreover, because China only married Germany, but did not join the Allies.  The Allies did not dare to force China too much. China's "neutral" stance was more able to have both sides and was of great benefit to China's economic development.

    Although Germany is industrially developed,Apart from coal resources, many other resources are in short supply.  Had it not been for the seizure of Alsace and Lorraine from France during the Franco-Prussian War, Germany would have needed to import all its iron ore from abroad.  Germany also felt that war was coming. Faced with increasing pressure, Germany began to frantically accumulate various rare minerals.  China, which is rich in products, has given Germany a lot of help in this regard.  Germany lacks funds to purchase these minerals, so it uses technology in exchange. These advanced technologies that China needs have once again greatly improved China's industrialization level.  Moreover, by helping Germany and improving Germany's war potential, Germany will be able to play a greater role in the war and consume more of the national power of Britain and France.  For China, this is undoubtedly a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

    After Wang Yuze returned to China, the domestic political situation became more stable. Under the leadership of the government, various plans were quickly implemented in accordance with previous plans.  In May, China carried out financial reforms and implemented the ¡®gold standard¡¯.  From now on, the circulation of gold and silver is prohibited. The gold and silver in the hands of imperial citizens need to go to the bank and be exchanged for Chinese dollars according to the current price.  Because of the extortion of Russia and the plunder of Japan.  There are already more than 3,000 tons of gold in the vault of the Central Bank of China. This gold is enough to support China's financial reform.

    With Wang Yuze¡¯s current prestige, there is no problem at all in China to forcefully implement financial reforms.  Although, gold and silver have been the currency of the Chinese for thousands of years.  Ordinary people are also accustomed to mastering this kind of precious metal, so they can feel more at ease.  But Wang Yuze gave the order, and most people still chose to cooperate.  Besides, using paper Huayuan is more convenient in economic life.

    After entering June, the Imperial General Staff became busy.  A large amount of various materials and intelligence about the Nanyang region were sent here.  Hundreds of staff officers began to analyze the information they had and at the same time come up with the best combat plan.  That's right, the Imperial General Staff is preparing to take action against Siam, the only remaining country on the Indochina Peninsula!

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????Except for Thailand, all Indochina Peninsula is already Chinese territory.  South-Central Province of China is a vast province.  Now, South-Central Province is mainly divided into seven regions.  The northern part of Indochina was named the Cochin region and the southern part was named the Champa region.  The Cambodian region was named the Khmer region.  Myanmar to the west is directly divided into three regions: northern Myanmar, central Myanmar and southern Myanmar.  There is also the Malay region where the provincial capital Singapore is located.  Thailand has fertile soil, a large population and rich resources. China will obviously not let this country go.

    Besides, there is a very ready-made reason for China to attack Siam.  The current King Rama VI of Siam, whose Chinese name is Zheng Bao.  But in fact, they are Siamese natives pretending to be Chinese.  Starting from Rama I, they pretended to be descendants of Taksin, King of Thonburi, Siam.  But Rama I was actually a military commander under Zheng Xin. He killed Zheng Xin during the coup, and then conspired to usurp the throne.  However, at that time, Rama I was afraid of the Qing Dynasty's revenge, so he claimed to be Zheng Xin's son and asked the Manchu Qing Dynasty to canonize him.  But in fact, Rama I was older than Taksin.  But the mediocre Manchus didn't have any doubts.  Therefore, the Siamese dynasty, which was originally established by the Chinese, was usurped by the local natives of Siam.

    "Your Majesty, according to the information we have now, Siam has a population of 8 million and an army of 250,000. The current King of Siam, Rama V, named Chulalongkorn, can be considered a capable king.  During his reign, he launched a modernization reform movement seeking self-improvement and wealth. Among the modernization reforms in the Asia-Pacific region at the same time, its influence was second only to Japan's Meiji Restoration. The British and French colonists were watching like wolves and tigers.  Under such circumstances, he struggled to maintain national sovereignty, and Siam was also the only sovereign country in Southeast Asia at the same time." Chief of General Staff Xiong Wu introduced to Wang Yuze.

    Wang Yuze nodded, no matter how capable Chulalongkorn is, so what?  Siam is just a small country with a population of less than 10 million.  And it is completely surrounded by the Central and Southern Province of the empire.  Although Siam was able to maintain independence in the past, it was because Britain and France were fighting against each other. Siam was able to have both sides, and it also acted as a buffer.  Now, Burma and the Indochina colonies belong to China, and Siam naturally cannot rely on external help.  It would be effortless for China to destroy Siam.  Besides, Siam¡¯s land and resources are also coveted by China.  After taking Siam, the empire can at least immigrate to Siam between 10 million and 20 million!  (To be continued)
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report