The inner port terminal of Newport Naval Base in Rhode Island, a maritime survey ship, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and a submarine ship form a formation, preparing to leave the port.●⌒,.

The commander of this team was Chen Shaoyi, the former commander of the Navy Fleet of the Empire of China. At this time, his identity was the Minister of the Marine Investigation Department of the Empire of China.

Since the end of the Battle of the Solomon Islands, he has been reflecting on his position as commander of the Navy Fleet, applied to establish the Marine Investigation Department, and personally recommended himself as the Minister, providing precise charts for the Imperial Navy. He will never allow any situations that put the Imperial Navy in danger due to the mistakes in the chart.

"Minister Chen, should we wait for the Imperial Navy to send battleships over and then set out to the North Sea? After all, it is the British backyard. Our navy may have been troubled by the British Navy in the past, or even clashed with conflicts." Liang Wei, commander of the Rhode Island Naval Base, said worriedly.

Chen Shaoyi smiled slightly and replied: "Don't worry, we are not going to fight! We are just investigating the water marking information in Beihai!"

Looking at Chen Shaoyi's calm and gentle look, Liang Wei was also drunk.

But everyone knows the risks of going to Beihai. It’s just that some things must be done by someone and you have to be afraid of death.

The whistle cried, and the ocean survey ship No. 981 slowly sailed out of the port, and then four warships and a submarine left immediately.

The four warships are all the latest fearless heavy cruisers and fearless light cruisers in service in the Chinese Empire.

Among them, the heavy cruiser is named after the font of the moon, with a total of fifteen ships, namely the Spring Moon Ship, the Summer Moon Ship, the Autumn Moon Ship, the Winter Moon Ship, the Peach Moon Ship, the Lotus Moon Ship, the Ju Yue Ship, the Gui Yue Ship, the Lin Yue Ship, the Peak Moon Ship, the Peak Moon Ship, the Jiang Yue Ship, the River Moon Ship, the Lake Moon Ship, the Sea Moon Ship, the Chaoyue Ship, the Sun Moon Ship, and the Haoyue Ship.

The standard displacement of this class of ships was 10,000 tons. Due to the improvement and design during construction, although they were all warships of the same class, the tonnage gap was very large. The largest Qiuyue ship was 11,500 tons, and the smallest Juyue ship was only 9,100 tons. However, other military and armored systems were similar, all equipped with 3 triple 203mm 55-diameter main guns, 8 47mm rapid-fire guns, and 6 12.7mm bloody heavy machine guns; the main armor belt was 140mm, 85mm forward, 105mm backward, covering the length of the hull; 4 chimneys, 18-seat boilers, using a steam turbine system, four-axis and four-pads, a speed of 28 to 29 knots, and a cruising capacity of 6,000 nautical miles per 18 knots.

The light cruiser is named after the star symbol, with a total of fifteen ships, namely the Fuxing Ship, the Luxing Ship, the Happy Ship, the Fortune Ship, the Good Star, the Rixing Ship, the Rixing Ship, the Venus Ship, the Jupiter Ship, the Mercury Ship, the Mars Ship, the Saturn Ship, the Comet Ship, and the Meteor Ship.

The class ship's benchmark displacement is between 4200 and 5200 tons, and is equipped with three triple 155mm 55-diameter main guns, with limited coverage of 122mm armor. Steam turbine system propulsion, four-axle four-opause, speed of 30 to 32 knots, and a cruising capacity of 4000 nautical miles per 20 knots.

The people who followed the marine survey ship this time were the Qiuyue ship, the Xiyue ship, the Comet ship and the Meteor ship.

Finally, there is another submarine, the Great White Shark-class No. 3 ship Blackhead Shark.

When the six ships of the ocean survey ship No. 981, the Qiuyue ship, the Xiyue ship, the Comet ship, the Meteor ship and the Blackhead Shark sailed out of Rhodes Bay, they encountered the American Navy fleet.

As Sino-US relations are tense, the Chinese Empire has become very embarrassing in the two concessions in the United States. Be careful all day long, guarding against the American people during the day, and guarding against the sudden attacks of the US military at night. Similarly, the American government is also guarding against the Chinese Empire. Not only does it deploy heavy troops on the land border, but it also sends warships to monitor the entry and exit of the Chinese Empire's naval warships 24 hours a day.

At this moment, the USS Lexington armored cruiser was swimming outside the sea.

Captain Dewey saw the ship formation of the Chinese Empire leaving the port and immediately became hostile. He wanted to find fault and deliberately ordered the Lexington warship to be driven onto the waterway in front of the marine survey ship No. 981.

Investigators on No. 981 were immediately indignant and scolded the US Navy for being shameless.

Chen Shaoyi was also happy to see the US ship performing this behavior.

Since leaving the fleet, I seemed to have forgotten the fierce struggle in the army, but I was accidentally reactivated.

"Playing? Then see who can afford it! The course remains unchanged! Full speed!"

With Chen Shaoyi's order, Deputy Guan ** was also shocked.

"Director, if the course remains unchanged, it will hit the US ship!"

"That's right! I'm just going to hit it!"

Not only was the deputy Guan** stunned, but the other investigative bureau personnel next to him also had the same expression.

Only a few officers who had been following Chen Shaoyi from the Navy to the Investigation Bureau were very calm, but they knew the temper of the former Chinese Empire naval commander.

At the same time, Dewey, who was proud of the Lexington, was stunned for a moment.

"Captain, who is the commander of the Chinese Empire? Are you crazy? Is he going to hit us?"

"He dares not! This kind of ship hits our warship purely for death!"

Dewey shook his head, not believing that No. 981 really dared to hit Lexington.

However, Dewey soon frowned. Not only did the other party slow down, but instead accelerated.

As he was about to run into it, Dewey suddenly became nervous.

He is indeed not afraid of No. 981 hitting Lexington, but once it really hits, it is not a small matter and may cause diplomatic disputes.

At this moment, Sino-US relations are tense, and if you are not careful, you may have a chance to break out of war.

Especially at the back door of No. 981, there are four Chinese Empire warships. Once No. 981 sinks, the four Chinese Empire warships will definitely open fire on Lexington.

After all, Dewey was just a small captain, so he didn't dare to take on the responsibility for the Sino-US war, and he finally gave in.

"Avoid! Avoid immediately!"

Hearing Dewey's order, the US military officers and soldiers on the Lexington breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the Chinese crew members on the No. 981 Marine Survey Ship heard warm cheers, which clearly mocked the US military for being cowardly.

All the US troops on the Lexington, including Dewey, were suddenly furious and embarrassing.

As Lexington took the initiative to avoid it, No. 981 drove directly from next to Lexington in a majestic manner. The Chinese Empire sailors above immediately raised their middle fingers to the US military, looking contemptuous.

Dewey suddenly turned black with anger.

Then, four warships of the Chinese Empire suddenly raised their main guns and aimed at the Lexington.

Dewey was shocked and hurriedly shouted for combat preparations. The US military suddenly became nervous.

It turned out that the Imperial Chinese Navy was just scaring the US military, but it made everyone in a cold sweat.

Those who were originally going to be angry with the Chinese Empire were eventually slapped in the face! After Dewey realized this, his face turned red and he regretted his previous mischief!

Isn’t this a joke?

Seeing the Chinese Empire fleet moving into the North Atlantic Ocean in a mighty manner, Dewey suddenly became very bad and ordered his return without any worries.

The Chinese Empire Navy entered the North Atlantic Ocean. Not only the American Navy was nervous, but the British Empire Navy was also very nervous. It quickly sent warships to follow and monitor from afar.

Chen Shaoyi was not afraid of being monitored, so he did whatever he should do. He collected ocean water traces and climate information on the Atlantic route every day until he entered the North Sea.

The Chinese Empire fleet entered the North Sea, which was the backyard of the British Empire!

The entire British Empire suddenly became nervous. Although the Chinese Empire only sent four warships and no battleships, it was the first time it entered the North Sea waters and tested the water traces and climate data of the North Sea.

What does the Chinese Empire want to do?

The British can figure it out even if they use their butts!

Two British battleships quickly dispatched to show off their power in front of the Chinese Empire's Navy, trying to prevent the Chinese Empire from surveying, mapping and collecting intelligence in the North Sea.

However, Chen Shaoyi ignored the other party and just pissed the British Navy to death under the banner of free navigation.

Like the American Navy, the British Empire's Navy did not dare to attack the government ships and warships of the Chinese Empire on the high seas. It could only choose military confrontation to interfere with the investigation of the Chinese Empire's marine surveying ships.

However, the British army had only two battleships. Although they were powerful, they would have no use if they did not dare to fire their guns. They confronted four cruise ships of the Chinese Empire Navy, and suffered a loss in speed and could not interfere with the other party. They could only watch the Chinese Empire's marine survey ship surveying and mapping in the North Sea.

However, soon the British Navy sent a large number of cruise ships and frigates to circle around the Chinese Empire's marine surveying ship No. 981, interfering with the surveying and mapping of No. 981.

Fisher also arrived at the scene. He was not here to play a pediatric game such as military confrontation, but to observe the new cruise ships of the Chinese Empire with his own eyes.

"Three triple-mounted 203mm caliber main gun, no second-level secondary gun at all, only a 47mm caliber near-prevent rapid-fire gun!"

"It's true! In addition to four triple-mounted 305mm main guns, there were 8 additional 203mm secondary guns on the new battleships of the Chinese Empire. I suspected that it was fake at the time and deliberately misled us. Now seeing the artillery layout of these new cruise ships really confirms my previous inference!"

Hearing Fisher's words, the Navy Minister Earl Newcastle next to him also had a sudden enlightenment and said angrily: "Damn Chinese people will be conspiring and tricks. Fortunately, we have the smart Fisher so we will not be deceived by the Chinese Empire."

Speaking of this, Newcastle was also afraid that the British Navy was forced to join the large-scale naval arms race by the Imperial Navy, and started construction of 12 new battleships to imitate the latest Chinese Empire's Fearless Class battleships.

However, during the design and actual construction, it was found that after equipping with four triple 343mm giant cannons, when installing the 4mm secondary cannon, the entire hull seemed to be too crowded, and it seemed to be back to the layout of the wavy guns of the early Sail Battleship era. The worst thing is that installing so many cannons consumed a lot of displacement. If the total displacement is not increased, the armor weight, turbine weight and endurance supply tank position had to be sacrificed. For the British Empire, it was obvious that such a big sacrifice could not be made, so the displacement could only be increased, from the original plan of 16,000 tons to 21,000 tons. It was soon discovered that this was not enough, because after the displacement was increased, the length and width of the hull also increased accordingly. Naturally, the armor coverage length had to be increased, which also squeezed a large amount of displacement, and the speed of at least 16 knots had to be guaranteed, and the boiler cabin had to be increased on a large scale.

As a result, the British Navy suddenly discovered that they seemed to have entered a vicious cycle. No matter how they designed, the relationship between firepower, armor, power and displacement was unreasonable. The budget soared from the initial 4 million pounds per ship to 5.5 million pounds per ship, which made the British Finance Department so angry that it almost went to the fire to ignite the building of the Admiralty.

Until today, Newcastle and Fisher discovered the real problem.

From the very beginning, the new battleships of the Chinese Empire did not have second-level secondary guns. When they deliberately showed their faces outside, they probably used paper shells to temporarily forge the second-level secondary guns, deliberately asking British intelligence personnel to send the photos back to their homeland, misleading the British Empire Navy.

"After removing the second-level secondary gun, everything becomes very reasonable!"

Fisher took out a new battleship design drawing and removed the 4mm second-level secondary gun on it. This was originally planned to fight against the new battleship of the Chinese Empire's new battleship 203mm second-level main gun. After removing it, the layout of the entire battleship looks much more reasonable.

"I'm afraid that the hull that we have started construction for almost a year will have to be dismantled again!"

Newcastle said with a wry smile that he had been deliberately misled by the Chinese Empire, and the British Navy's designers could not find the reason. In addition, the Chinese Empire had started construction of 12 new battleships, and the British Navy felt imminent military pressure, so he could only let the British Navy designers design and shipyards start construction of the warship hulls. As a result, they were built and demolished and built. This year has passed, and the British new battleships in the shipyard are still being demolished and built, while the main hull of the new battleships in the Chinese Empire has been completed, and the power system has begun to be installed, and it is about to be launched.

Whenever Newcastle thinks of this, he is so angry that he overturns the table and curses.

"This is the tuition fee we have to pay!" Fisher said with great emotion: "I can't understand why the Chinese Empire was able to design such advanced battleships. The layout of this new battleship is too clever. Why can't our designers think of it? Twenty years ago, the Chinese Empire could not even build sail battleships, and had to learn technology from us, but now it has surpassed us!"

Newcastle didn't want to mention this sad thing, and tears were pouring down whenever he mentioned it.

"Okay, since you have discovered the key to the problem, please return to the shipyard and quickly modify the design plan. Now the construction progress of the new battleships of the Chinese Empire has been almost a year past ours. This will bring unprecedented military pressure to our British Empire, and we must hurry up."

Fisher also knew the urgency of time, but he still had a question in his heart and had to say it.

"Sir Earl, I still have another problem here. I just estimated that the number of main guns has been increased and the secondary guns have been cancelled. Although it has become reasonable overall, there is still a huge hidden danger!"

Newcastle was stunned and asked hurriedly: "What hidden danger?"

Fisher then said: "The number of main guns has increased, and the attack power of large enemy warships in the distance has increased. But how can we defend against the enemy's fast cruise ships and frigates from close range? You should know that during the Battle of Solomon, the speed of the Zhongning-class armored cruise ship of the Chinese Empire had exceeded 24 knots, while the speed of our battleship was only 16 knots. If we encounter the Zhongning-class armored cruise ship, our main gun could not sink the opponent at a long distance as soon as possible. Without the secondary gun, if the opponent approached and the opponent attacked us with fish radium, we would definitely not be able to avoid it!"

Newcastle frowned and said, "You mean this gun must be available? Then your inference was nonsense!"

Fisher is also confused!

This damn sub-cannon is unreasonable to put it on, but it is also unreasonable to remove it!

What spell did the Chinese Empire use to turn this unreasonable into reasonableness!

Unless the power system problem is solved, the speed of the battleship is greatly increased, and there is no need to worry about being attacked by the enemy's fish and radium!

It’s impossible! No matter how powerful the Chinese Empire is, it will not be able to solve the motivation problem in such a quick time!
To be continued...