Inside Jiangnan Shipyard maybe it can only be called Jiangnan Shipyard now, because in the past 10 years, this factory, which has cost a lot of money to build a large 4,000-ton dry dock and two 2,000-ton shipyards, has never built any ship again. Warships and shipyards once had thousands of workers, but now there are less than 200 people. They are mainly engaged in manufacturing wooden-hulled boats to make a living. A few days ago, two rusty iron-hulled ships of the Nanyang Navy were dragged onto the dock. Today, Lu Jianzhang and Qi Fengyi were leading several officers to climb up and down the shelves outside the warships. "Jianzhang, aren't you in charge of Nan Rui? Your ship hasn't been painted for a long time, and the armor on the side of the ship is rusty and rotten!" Qi Fengyi did not forget to give her opinions as she walked away. He was originally a training ship. " "Junhe", these two German-made iron-hulled ships are the treasures of the Nanyang Navy, and I haven't had a chance to board them yet. Lu Jianzhang chuckled and stroked his moustache, "Brother Qi, this period is not something that I, the manager, can handle. Guo and Yuan, the two great masters, are not willing to spend this money. If you do this once, at least you will have to do it." "It's more than two hundred taels of silver!" "Jianzhang, do you think this is strange Why did Mr. Lu want to borrow the navy's warship! Logically speaking, if the imperial envoy goes on patrol and asks the China Merchants Steamship Bureau to pick up a large ship, then that's okay. It's much more comfortable than this boat! "Qi Fengyi is a rough and tumble man. He and Lu Jianzhang first met because of a fight between his soldiers in the army. They are also friends, so they don't have any scruples about talking about it. . When Lu Jianzhang heard this question, he also stopped and looked up at the blue sky. After a while, he said: "Brother Qi, I also find this strange. However, I happened to go to see Mr. Qin Tianmin yesterday. I heard him murmur that this rectification of the navy may have something to do with the Japanese! " "The Japanese" Qi Fengyi muttered in surprise, "A while ago, when I went to Weihaiwei Beiyang Military Port on business, I heard about Japan! People are building warships, and many people in Beiyang are also discussing this matter Are you afraid that the Japanese will rob the imperial envoys on the way This seems unlikely! " "Brother Qi, aren't you just guessing? What do the Japanese do? They have the guts to rob the imperial envoy's ship because I have always looked down on them and acted submissively!" Lu Jianzhang chuckled, showing an expression of disbelief. At this moment, someone next to him suddenly interrupted, "Lang Zhai (pseudonym of Lu Jianzhang), you have completely underestimated the capabilities of the Japanese Do you pay attention to the current strength of the Japanese navy on weekdays? Compared with I'm asking the navy, do you have any analysis?" Lu Jianzhang and Qi Fengyi looked at the sound. Indeed, Lu Hong, Qin Tianmin, and Rong Qing were standing at the bow of the ship. They were still in the same position just now, and suddenly they saw Lu Hong couldn't help but mutter in his heart, but luckily he didn't say anything bad The two of them walked a few steps closer. Lu Jianzhang bowed his hands and saluted, and then he answered: "My lord, I am a naval officer, so I naturally pay attention to Japan. Regarding the current situation of the navy, I heard from my brothers in Beiyang that Japan has purchased a large number of warships in recent years, especially the two ships Yoshino and Akitsusu, which are expensive to build and both use British fast guns! " "My lord, before next year, we will fight with the British! During the meeting with Far East Fleet Liaison Officer Heim, he also heard that the Japanese were carrying out large-scale modifications to their warships, and the old warships were being equipped with new fast cannons The British also admired this kind of fast cannons. I think the court should Let our navy get new guns as soon as possible!" Qi Fengyi on the side also immediately expressed his opinion! Lu Hong was quite satisfied with the answers given by these two people. For a Manchu Qing government that lacked domestic media and did not pay attention to diplomacy internationally, it was not easy for Lu Jianzhang and Qi Fengyi to learn this information. , however, it is obvious that they, like other Chinese, lack a sufficient sense of crisis regarding the urgency of the current situation! However, he immediately decided to make use of the topic, "The possibility that Qi Fengyi mentioned just now is unlikely, but it is possible. The Japanese invaded Taiwan 20 years ago and occupied Ryukyu 15 years ago. That time was not a lie or a fabrication. The reason is The situation in North Korea is unclear now. If something happens, it will definitely cause chaos. Therefore, you two need to worry about the manpower on this ship and train more diligently!" "Yes!" The two men agreed loudly, and Lu Jianzhang scratched his head and said: "Sir, in fact, there are still good soldiers in the Nanyang Navy, but it is difficult to select good soldiers on the Nanrui and Nanchen ships If you are so interested, I will I am drafting a list of all the good soldiers I know. It would be a lot easier if I could recruit them to escort the imperial envoy! " Unexpectedly, Lu Jianzhang turned out to be really dedicated. Lu Hong was naturally very satisfied and asked him to make the list. Do a good job and send Qin Tianmin to take care of this matter later, there will be no problem! However, the topic to be discussed at the moment is obviously not the problem of this soldier, but the 210mm Krupp heavy gun in the balcony gun at the bow of the Nari.! Lu Hong had no understanding of the gunnery techniques used by the Nanyang Navy in this era. Naturally, he wanted to see these two warships that had come ashore for repairs today. To be honest, after an on-site inspection, this ship The situation of the iron-hulled warships manufactured by the German Volcan shipyard really disappointed him. I originally thought that these two steel-armored ships were mentioned by the Nanyang Navy officer. Now it seems that the so-called steel armor is simply wrought iron armor. After his on-site measurement, the center part should have been the thickest armor. There is only one and a half inches of wrought iron armor, and other parts are one-inch armor. Even the fatal command tower is also one-inch armor. This thing can't defend against 100mm caliber artillery, but it can also deal with the Hotchkiss mechanism. The cone-shaped warhead of a cannon! This is really a genuine iron-hulled ship. Although the iron hull has many advantages over the old wooden hull, the Nanrui and Nanchen ships are not actually armored ships at all. Their protective power is really weak! However, now I can only watch the rice cooker. At least, through these two battleships, I may be able to control a small military force, although it will not be in my own name at the moment, but more with the imperial envoy Wang Renkan. Minister's flag, but this is already a very significant improvement. Thinking of this, Lu Hong pointed to the front main gun of the battleship, "Lang Zhai, you were a naval instructor before. You should be able to operate this kind of heavy artillery. If you train diligently, how big a hit can Nari's cannon achieve?" "Hit rate" Lu Jianzhang obviously didn't adapt to this term, but after thinking about it for a moment, he immediately understood Lu Hong's problem. Of course he knew gunnery, and he was in the Naval Academy at the time. He also specifically sought advice from British instructors and conducted professional training. After serving as the commander of Nari, he often participated in gunnery training. "Sir, this is a German-made 8-inch gun with a barrel diameter of 32 times, a maximum range of 6800 meters, a charge of 50 kilograms, an armor-piercing bomb weighing 140 kilograms, and a high-explosive bomb weighing 130 kilograms. If it hits, it can penetrate the 8-inch gun at 2000 meters. Armor, the Navy participated in the Beiyang exercise two years ago, and our gunners hit all three shots!" At this point, he suddenly stretched out his head and looked at the small thing on the front main gun with some surprise!