The warships and "rebuilding the navy" are like a sweet dream, getting farther and farther away from him

In the "Jiao'ao Conflict", the reason why Liu Guanxiong ordered the naval cruiser fleet to "go all out" was very simple. Those warships were all purchased by the Qing Dynasty when they rebuilt their navy. Those warships had been in service for more than fifteen years.

Although it was the "cruise fleet" that Ye Zugui had worked hard to build throughout his life, it was already old and decrepit. It was even decrepit than the Beiyang Navy back then. Therefore, in his opinion, rather than letting it decrepit and interact with the port, it would be better to build it in a battle.

Died violently in a naval battle...

And more importantly, when that fleet is silent, everything in the Chinese Navy will have to start from scratch. At that time, as for the Navy's zero start, Yuan Shikai must give the Navy an explanation and give him a decent force.

fleet. However, the battle situation was unexpected. The navy's cruiser fleet only conducted a "fishing" in the open sea, bombarding Japanese damaged ships and merchant ships. The navy achieved an unprecedented victory. Overnight, the navy recovered what it had lost.

The soul.

But despite this, the government still has no money to buy new ships for the navy. Until a week ago, because two Japanese combat ships salvaged by the Jiangsu Army were launched into service, Yuan Shikai finally agreed to his request to purchase combat ships. At first, he

Proposing to purchase combat ships has the meaning of "binding". With two combat ships, naturally he also needs cruisers and destroyers. In this way, bit by bit, in the end, he can win a fleet for the navy to face the threat from Jiangsu.

, Yuan Shikai agreed, but in the end Yuan Shikai asked him to ask the Ministry of Finance for money, which was almost impossible.

The navy is not Li Zicheng's direct descendant. Is it possible for Li Zicheng to spend the money he worked so hard to win on the navy? Now Liu Guanxiong has begun to despair, that is, despair, because Li Zicheng has found his navy, maybe he will use "

In the name of "coastal defense subsidy" and so on, the central government invests huge military expenditures in the Jiangsu Army and Navy. As for the navy, as for the old ships of the Chinese Navy, they will slowly rust in the port.

"But neither the Chinese Navy nor Jiangsu has a good military port!"

The Prime Minister's question brought Liu Guanxiong's thoughts back to reality, and he replied in a low voice:

"Port Arthur is in the hands of the Japanese, Liugong Island is in the hands of the British, and Yantai Port is only suitable for cruisers with a tonnage or less. Lianyungang and Qingdao Ports are not excellent military ports. Military ports must be semi-enclosed bays, and the outer sea fleet cannot threaten warships in the inner bay.

This is a necessary prerequisite for a military port."

Then Liu Guanxiong thought for a while and added:

"Of course, if there is none, Lianyungang can also be considered. Setting up a military port on Liandao can block shelling from the open sea. However, because the harbor is open, you need to be careful about torpedo boats taking advantage of bad weather to attack. The Japanese Navy is very good at this, regardless of

Whether it was the Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy used torpedo boats to penetrate the harbor at night to carry out torpedo attacks. If possible, the defense at the mouth of Lianyungang can be strengthened. Of course, I am just a suggestion."

Liu Guanxiong's suggestion finally raised Li Zicheng's head, with some relief in his eyes. Although the Fujian clan has always been known for being "anti-foreign", at this time, Liu Guanxiong also proposed a proposal from the standpoint of the country.

Appropriate suggestion, looking at him, Li Zicheng thought of why he named the first warship of the Jiangsu Army and Marine Corps "Tongxin".

Li Zicheng has always had an inexplicable yearning for the ocean. Although he has almost never really understood the ocean and has only built three or four ships, this still cannot stop his yearning for the ocean. If, in

Many people in this era have a "continental dream", so as Chinese people in the 21st century, they naturally have an extremely complex and even somewhat angry "ocean dream".

This may be related to China's powerlessness on land in later generations. In later generations, tens of millions of tons of oil were exploited by small Southeast Asian countries on the occupied islands and reefs in the South China Sea every year. China silently or verbally protested, and the Diaoyu Islands were

The Japanese occupation was still a protest. Although there was a period of time when the turmoil to protect the Diaoyu Islands arose, what happened in the end?

There is even a joke in later generations: "As a neighbor of China, if you don't occupy a small island in China, you will be embarrassed to be a neighbor with China. If you don't detain Chinese fishing boats, you will be embarrassed to say that you know the Chinese."

It is precisely because of this that Li Zicheng, like many Chinese people, is full of longing and yearning for the ocean and the blue and vast ocean. His desire for sea control even exceeds that of others. When a mainland nation longs for the ocean

Sometimes, he may take detours, or he may be unsure, but nothing in the world can stop his yearning and desire!

Positively, no one can stop Li Zicheng's desire for the ocean now.

"But this is just an emergency measure. We, or China, China needs a real military port, a large, comprehensive military port! This problem must be solved!"

After that, Li Zicheng pressed the electric bell on the table, and a waiter brought two cups of tea. After taking a sip of tea, he looked at the sea and the island chain on the side of the map. Li Zicheng clasped his hands behind his back and talked.

He kept talking about stories and history about the ocean. This was the first time he told the story about the ocean to outsiders. In the eyes of others, it might be his past experience, but in fact, those stories about the ocean are nothing more than

He integrated what he learned about the history of the ocean into what he called "personal experience," but it seemed very real, just like what he had experienced.

"... It can be said that I have spent almost a quarter of my life on the sea. I long for the ocean, I yearn for the ocean, but..."

Turning around to face Liu Guanxiong and Li Zicheng, his expression darkened slightly.

"In various oceans, in one port after another, I have seen warships from all over the world, and I have also seen Japanese warships, but I have never seen Chinese warships. I believe that China has never been a simple continent.

Country·In fact, our ocean-going history is earlier than that of any country in Europe. We also have a glorious maritime history. However, now we do not have a powerful navy, a navy that is enough to make the world fearful. When our navy was at its peak

At that time, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the entire East Sea belonged to China. The Dutch also admitted that they could not defeat our fleet even if they assembled all the fleets in Europe. But now? We are silent. There seems to be no Chinese navy on the sea.

Is this reasonable? No, of course it is not reasonable. In fact, our ancestors have already injected us with the blood of the ocean. Our sweat is salty, our blood is salty, but we

It is absolutely unreasonable not to be able to taste the saltiness of sea water.”

Listening to Li Zicheng's narration, Liu Guanxiong felt his blood boil. For the first time, he heard about the ocean from a decision-maker, and he did so without any pretense. It was different from what others said: "China's problems are related to the ocean."

"In the eyes of those people, they established the navy to establish coastal defense, but Li Zicheng looked further and stood higher. What he expected was to share the world's maritime interests, to master the ocean, and to own the ocean.

, and all of this requires a navy strong enough to compete with Britain. Is this a luxury?

"China should have its own fleet. Our interests also need the ocean."

After confirming, Li Liocheng raised his head slightly. Then, he turned around, looked at Liu Guanxiong who was full of surprise, pointed at the map and said:

"You see, this place is located in the middle of China. We have conducted an inspection here. This is a large natural harbor and should be China's first good harbor. Its harbor area can accommodate hundreds of large warships, and deep water can enter nearly two kilometers.

Ten meters. This is not only a huge base leading to the open ocean, but also a pistol aimed at Japan. From here, we can march into Japan from the north and control the South China Sea from the south."

He tapped the map with his knuckles:

"We're going to build a big naval base here."

"Prime Minister……"

Just as he was about to speak, Liu Guanxiong was interrupted by Li Zicheng.

"Jiangsu Army, just Jiangsu Army, China must have a strong navy, and now the new treaty negotiations with tariffs as the core have begun. If successful, tariffs can be implemented independently, thus increasing tariffs. In addition, it is planning to implement

If all goes well, the salt tax rectification and the financial reform of "abolition of the two taxes and the reform of the Yuan" will be effective from the beginning of next year, and by then the central finance department will be greatly changed!"

As he spoke, Li Zicheng had a somewhat solemn look on his face. If he were to judge by later generations, he might have gone too fast. In the same Republic of China, what the Nanjing government took 5 years to accomplish, he had to use

It takes half a year to complete it, which is undoubtedly a bit counterproductive, but I must complete these things, otherwise...

"And next year, when the expeditionary force sends out troops, there will be at least about 300,000 army troops funded by the Allied Powers. In this case, this alone can save 50 million in funds. Taking into account the increase in fiscal revenue, well...

…”

Looking at Liu Guanxiong, who was a little expectant and a little unsure, Li Zicheng showed a smile on his face.

"The Navy can first formulate a corresponding naval expansion plan!"

Navy expansion plan!

His eyes opened suddenly. Liu Guanxiong could hardly believe his ears. How could it be... He didn't have any confidence when he came, but now the Prime Minister has taken the initiative to expand the navy!

"Well, it can be a five-year period. During these five years, the navy will build several combat ships, several cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and other auxiliary ships. Of course, what needs to be considered is how many officers the navy should train to meet the expansion requirements.

Demand, this must be seriously considered. If the quality of the personnel cannot keep up, it will be meaningless no matter how cutting-edge the battleship is! Do you understand?"

"Yes Yes……"

Facing the Prime Minister's instructions, Liu Guanxiong, who was still in his dream, just responded with a squeak. At this moment, he was completely stunned by this sudden surprise. He even pressed his fingernails on the palm of his hand to make sure.

I am not in a dream.

"As for funding, large-scale naval expansion and construction will inevitably cause the great powers to be suspicious of us. For diplomatic reasons, naval construction costs can be divided into the budget expenditures for the next two or three years. Well, the total amount is 30 million.

Yuan is the limit!”

There was a "boom" and the thunderous words stunned Liu Guanxiong. He looked at the Prime Minister and was speechless for a long time, but at this time he listened to the Prime Minister talking as if to himself.

"Okay, that's pretty much it for the Navy. The current negotiations are more important! Now that we have made a promise, if we want to fulfill it, we have to find a way to solve the money problem, right?"
Chapter completed!