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- ish Chapter 21 The commander-in-chief has a plan, and the president also has a plan
"The commissioning of the battlecruisers "Pinghai" and "Dinghai" and the long-range artillery drill off the coast of Lianyun means that China's maritime power is once again heading to the ocean after 31 years of silence. It also means that The new maritime power of the Republic of China faces the challenge, and as this challenge unfolds, the balance of maritime power in the Pacific also changes!"
"The New York Times, September 28, Peace in the Pacific"
Because of the crisp autumn air for many days, Beijing still has a golden autumn atmosphere. //www.//
The sweet-scented osmanthus in the Summer Palace is in bloom, and the fragrance spreads from Wanshou Mountain to Kunming Lake. It is a rare calm day with fresh air and the fragrance of flowers. Most of the men and women in Beijing walk out of the courtyards and go to places with trees and flowers to relax their tight chests and breathe in the fresh air. But in the capital, large and small In the teahouse, people were talking about the artillery drills outside Lianyun. For the old and young men in the capital who rarely heard anything new, they finally found a good topic to talk about.
"Hey, dear, as soon as the cannon started firing, the British consul was frightened out of his wits. Do you know what?"
"What's wrong?"
"The cannon was accurate. It was more than 20 miles away. One cannon hit the chimney first, then another hit the waist of the ship, and then another one. Do you know what?"
"What happened?"
"The ship was sunk!"
At this time, in their words, it seemed that they had witnessed the bombardment with their own eyes, and each of them spoke vividly and excitedly. In fact, this is not surprising. After fighting in the Beiyang Navy, on this Chinese sea, who has seen China? The only battleships we saw were foreign ones. The "Jiangsu Army Marine Corps" suddenly appeared, and they also had two big ships with 12 12-inch cannons. How could they not be excited when the British Consul General made a show of force?
"Hey, I said, don't blow the cowhide to the sky!"
A sudden tea guest said something loudly, and his words immediately caused a burst of dissatisfaction. Someone immediately lifted it up with him. When the man saw someone lifting it up with him, he put down his cup and said seriously.
"Qingliu, do you know that my brother-in-law was working there on business?"
"Third Master, you are Master Xuan. Isn't he in the Navy Department?"
Someone immediately answered, it was obviously a very familiar group of people. In fact, these people often hang out in teahouses, how could they not be familiar with each other? As soon as this person finished speaking, someone immediately mocked him.
"Master Xuan, aren't you going to Tianjin Wei to carry aniseed now?"
For this group of banner people, although the government of the Republic of China is still distributing their money and food, not everyone is waiting for the money and food that cannot be seen tomorrow. There are always some people who are looking for help in order to maintain their families. After the planning and construction of Binhai Industrial Zone in Tianjin, it not only attracted the extremely poor people in Hebei to work, but also attracted the urban poor in Beijing and Tianjin, including many banner people with large families and difficulties in food and clothing. , but there are still people who look down on these people, especially some of them who used to be "respectable people" among the banner people.
"It costs twelve yuan a piece to carry aniseed. It's okay to support the family. Of course I can carry this aniseed. I don't want to be like some people who ask my wife to spread her thighs to earn some meat money for her to smoke." !¡±
The tea guest sneered, but he just stopped. After all, life is not easy for everyone. Naturally, he changed the topic to the previous topic.
"My brother-in-law is a man who has studied abroad. He has spent several years in the Admiralty. How can his experience be compared to those of you who can only carry a bird cage?"
He snorted proudly and said after taking a sip of tea that the tea guest, who was not looking at this group of people, said.
"It was a coincidence that my brother-in-law received his monthly payment and happened to go home yesterday. He looked at the warship mentioned in the newspaper. What do you think he said?"
"How to say?"
"Obviously, his words attracted everyone's attention. After all, they were just joining in the fun. Mr. Xuan was a master who had been in the Navy Department, so what he said was definitely true.
"He said that the two warships were newly built by the Japanese, that is, the Japanese, three years ago. Although they were built, they were already slightly behind those of Britain and Germany. Otherwise, the Japanese would not have ordered from Britain. What to King Kong, it is King Kong, the warship sunk by the Jiangsu Army. The current warships of the Jiangsu Army are scary enough in our eyes, but they only have 12-inch main guns. Japanese warships are now at least 14-inch , British warships even have 15 inches. What does the navy fight? The fight is about whoever has more cannons and whoever has bigger cannons. The one with more cannons wins the one with fewer cannons, and the one with bigger cannons wins the one with smaller cannons."
While drinking tea, the tea guest looked like a naval expert.He seemed to be boasting.
"Not to mention the cannon, let's talk about the warship in Jiangsu. It was sunk by the air force first, then fished up again and made a few patches. You guys are all decent people. Do you think the clothes are new or better? Old ones are better? It¡¯s true that clothes are not as good as new, but it¡¯s also true that ships are not as good as new, not to mention that the ship is still patched"
"A patched battleship is also a battleship!"
In the office upstairs at Jurentang, Chief of the Navy Liu Guanxiong looked at the president who was sitting sullenly in front of him and said in an extremely affirmative tone. At the beginning, Lianyun salvaged the "Hanoi" and "Setjin" battleships. At that time, he didn't realize that there was anything. Anyway, Lianyun kept salvaging the turrets of Japanese warships, and even salvaged the wreckage and sent it to the steel-making furnace for steel-making. They wanted to salvage the "Hanoi" and "Settsu" battleships. It is also sent to the steel-making furnace.
Liu Guanxiong, who was in charge of the cruiser "Haitian" and caused the "Haitian" to run aground and become silent, naturally knew that salvage would be extremely profitable. Nowadays, the selling price of scrap iron is as high as one hundred taels per ton. The scrapped iron of a 10,000-ton warship alone costs two million, plus the machinery and equipment such as steam engines and boilers salvaged from the sunken ship. The sunken ship can earn millions of taels of silver, and the Lianyun side also needs to vigorously build the Lianyun and Qingdao fortresses, which also require a large number of artillery. The salvage of the sunken ship's artillery alone can save the Lianyun side tens of millions of yuan. He knew this very well, so he didn't pay much attention to Lianyun's efforts to salvage Liu Guanxiong.
If you are concerned about it, I am afraid that when it started to salvage, we negotiated with it in the name of the Navy Department to purchase 8-inch and 6-inch naval guns and artillery shells. However, that was because after the outbreak of the European War, the naval gun body The source of pipes and ammunition was interrupted, and the navy's cruisers were faced with aging guns and a shortage of ammunition, so they turned their attention to salvaging Japanese sunken ships. Misleading the cooperation between the two sides in the Battle of Arashiyama, the navy finally got Four 8-inch, 18 6-inch, and 38 12-cm naval guns as well as a large number of shells. Even two months ago, under the instruction of Li Zicheng, the salvage company sold two guns to the Ministry of Navy in the form of "scrap iron". A twin 12-inch turret, although it is an old-fashioned turret, it really shocked Liu Guanxiong.
"With these two combat ships, the sea of ??China will be owned by the Jiangsu Army and Navy"
Liu Guanxiong felt a twitch when he mentioned the "Army and Marine Corps". The majestic battleship was actually named "Army". This made him feel annoyed. What was even more irritating was that the so-called The officers in the "Army and Marine Corps" were actually all non-Fujian cadets studying in the Japanese Navy who were excluded by them. Now those people are proud of themselves, flying China's largest and most powerful warships.
"I know I know¡¡"
Except that he should say that he knew, Yuan Shikai, who was extremely bored, really didn't know what to say. After receiving the news yesterday that the two ships "Dinghai" and "Pinghai" were serving in the Jiangsu Army, he immediately realized that the Jiangsu Army had this What do two battleships mean? As long as they are willing, with these two battleships alone, Li Zhiyuan can threaten Tianjin in the north, go straight to Guangzhou in the south, and cross the Yangtze River in the middle. They originally wanted to use the excuse of sending troops to participate in the war to cut off Li Zhiyuan's arm. Yuan Shikai, before his arm was cut off here, he grew another arm over there.
But the most annoying thing is that once the Jiangsu Army sends troops to participate in the war, their military salaries will be paid by the central government, to be precise, by the French. This means that Jiangsu can save tens of millions of yuan a year, and these funds can be used appropriately. On the so-called "Army and Marine Corps".
Thinking that everything he had worked hard for was easily eliminated by Li Zicheng, and he even helped him solve the financial problem, Yuan Shikai felt even more depressed, but there was no way to resolve the anxiety in his heart.
"Ziying,"
Before it was over, Yuan Shikai said to Liu Guanxiong in a very solemn tone:
"What do you think about setting up a battle fleet?"
Hearing the words of the President, Liu Guanxiong immediately sounded the alarm in his heart. The President's meaning was very clear. He wanted to "legalize the Jiangsu Army and Navy Corps with China". He thought that after entering the Navy, it might be the same as the funds that were not generous in the first place. The navy was competing for military spending, he replied quickly.
"President, if we can acquire two ships in the center and form a battle fleet, it would be perfect. However, if they are still controlled by the Soviet Union and they are included in the navy, we will only create trouble!"
Listening to Liu Guanxiong¡¯s objection, Yuan Shikai knew in his heart that what he said was the truth. However, he still said seriously:
"Ziying, this is difficult to handle! Zhiyuan used cannons to shock the British, and they were clearly trying to shock me!"
The president's annoyance was seen in Liu Guanxiong's eyes, which only made him sigh in his heart. He knew what the president was worried about. What he was worried about was that Li Zhiyuan's teeth had not been removed but claws appeared again, and the president was unable to deal with these sharp claws. .
Looking at the president, Liu Guanxiong suddenly asked tentatively:
"President, it's actually very easy to deal with his naval team!"
"oh!"
Liu Guanxiong¡¯s words only made Yuan Shikai suddenly happy, but after he was happy, he couldn¡¯t be happy again. Before Liu Guanxiong could speak, he knew what he wanted to say. I¡¯m afraid what he wanted to say was
"President, building a navy should have been on the agenda long ago. Now Jiangsu Province can show off its power to China with just two combat ships. If there are no combat ships in the center, I'm afraid"
The reason why Liu Guanxiong dared to say such a big thing now was that he knew in his heart that the president seemed to be "intimate" with Li Lianyun, but in fact he was extremely wary of him and was constantly planning behind his back in order to hit the target with one hit! Now! Li Lianyun's throwing of two battleships was a perfect opportunity for the navy. Since the beginning of the Republic of China, the reason why the army's military expenditures have been huge is because Yuan Shikai needs the army to suppress local forces in the country, and now the emergence of the army and navy , it means that someone is challenging the President on the sea. Although he understands the President's thoughts, Liu Guanxiong is a smart man after all. He does not want to expose the secrets that Yuan Shikai does not want to expose. Therefore, he just said in an extremely serious tone:
¡°I¡¯m afraid that by then, people will only know about Jiangsu and not the central government!¡±
Although Liu Guanxiong did not speak plainly, Yuan Shikai could not hear the meaning behind his words. Although he understood the importance of the navy, when he thought of the navy's shipbuilding, it could range from millions to tens of millions or even The huge expenditure of hundreds of millions still made Yuan Shikai's eyebrows, which had been unable to open, tighten even more, and his somewhat stiff body added to the sense of stupidity.
The sun is turning west, and the shadows of the branches on the ground have slowly moved to the white walls; starting from the far east, the sky gradually pulls a huge gray curtain to the west, and the bright Jurentang also enters from the bright side. It became hazy, and the lights in the room also turned on.
At this time, Yuan Shikai was still silent, thinking about whether to engage in an unprecedented "arms race" with Jiangsu, or to be precise, Li Zhiyuan. Deep in his heart, he never wanted to engage in this arms race, but if The Central Navy does not have its own capital ships, so how can it offset its influence? How can we force it back to "on track"?
For Yuan Shikai, who is already 57 years old, he has already felt "too old".
¡°If it doesn¡¯t happen this time, all the hard work in this life will be in vain.¡±
At this time, Yuan Shikai tacitly thought of the legend that the old Yuan family would not live to be sixty years old. Because of this, Yuan Shikai believed that God would not give him time. Although Yang was 50 years old, his heart was still young at that time. He predicted that the situation would change in an instant, and he had room to maneuver. Now, the Qing Dynasty no longer exists, and the revolutionary army and the Kuomintang have also been wiped out. The war has temporarily subsided, and all major national affairs are resolved politically, relying on the support of the people. Because of this, he had no choice but to make concessions to Li Zicheng. Although it was due to his strength, Yuan Shikai was more willing to regard this as his own It is the symbol of "Mingjun", but now
"If there is no battleship, by the time the fight breaks out, Li Lianyun's battleship has arrived at Dagukou? What should we do then?"
Although political struggle is different from fighting for a city or a place, and the barrel of a gun cannot completely solve the problem, whoever holds the barrel of the gun will be able to achieve the final "political victory". Yuan Shikai will not have any doubts about this.
"But a combat ship costs tens of millions!"
Thinking about the astronomical cost of purchasing a battleship, Yuan Shikai hesitated and thought, tapping the armrest with his hand from time to time, but he kept trying not to be cruel.
While the president was meditating, Liu Guanxiong sat there without saying a word. Knowing Yuan Shikai, he naturally knew that the president was weighing the pros and cons of purchasing a combat ship. Otherwise, he would not have thought about it for so long. Liu Guanxiong, who is familiar with the president's style, knows that once the president seriously thinks about that matter, it will be decided in 10% chance.
"Ziying, how much does a combat ship cost?"
Sure enough, after Yuan Shikai pondered for an hour, Liu Guanxiong heard the question he wanted. When he heard the price, he quickly suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and spoke in as calm a tone as possible.
"President, it depends on the tonnage of the battleship and the size of the artillery!"
Yuan Shikai frowned.
"In naval battles, big ships are better than small ships, big guns are better than small ones, more guns are better than fewer guns! If you want to buy one, of course you have to buy the best one!"
Unlike other people who have many considerations after making a decision, Yuan Shikai is decisive and will stick to it once a decision is made.
¡°Returning to what the President said, before the war, all countries purchased warships from the British andFor procurement by Germany and the United States, Japan, Brazil and other countries purchase combat ships equipped with 14-inch naval guns from the three countries as an example. The purchase price is mostly around 2.5 million pounds"
2.5 million pounds, isn¡¯t that 25 million silver dollars!
Listening to this price, Yuan Shikai felt his heartbeat suddenly accelerate, and he even felt dizzy. If he bought two battleships, it would be 50 million. Fifty million, and equip a division, it would only be a few hundred. Ten thousand yuan, if you buy two combat ships, you can train at least ten army divisions.
But even though he was shocked by the price, even though he was shouting "too expensive, too expensive" in his heart, he still looked at Liu Guanxiong after thinking for a moment and said.
"Ziying, please let the embassies abroad and the naval students studying abroad pay attention. First, collude with foreign shipyards and see how much it will cost. As for the money"
After thinking about it, Yuan Shikai finally said helplessly.
¡°Let¡¯s see if we can get the Ministry of Finance to think of a solution!¡±
When he spoke about the Ministry of Finance, Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up and the beard on his lips turned up slightly.
Let the Ministry of Finance find a way?
In an instant, Liu Guanxiong, who was originally excited, was blinded by the president's words. If nothing else Li Zhiyuan was a fool and knew that the warship must have been bought to deal with him. Ask the Ministry of Finance to find a way to buy warships for the navy. Is it possible for him, Li Zhiyuan, to agree? If Li Zhiyuan doesn't agree, is it possible that the Ministry of Finance will find a way to squeeze money for him?
Having been in the officialdom for so many years, Liu Guanxiong is well aware of the so-called "official struggle" or the current "political battle", but the president's words made him only sigh in his heart! I am afraid that this is the dream of a battleship in the Navy. It's going to fail! Just as he sighed in his heart, he heard the president say.
"Ziying, you should handle this matter yourself and go directly to Zhiyuan!"
Seeing Liu Guanxiong's expression change from joy to ugliness, how could Yuan Shikai not know what he was thinking, and was afraid that he would not go to the State Council, so he gave serious instructions.
"Remember, when Li Zhiyuan comes back, you have to go find him as soon as possible, do you understand?"
!dt
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