Chapter 1345 Let Daying Hui castrate himself (First update, please subscribe)

"Humans always use the most beautiful machines to destroy each other."

Early in the morning of that day, a huge gray warship appeared at the dock of the Portsmouth Naval Dockyard in the UK. Its silhouette was so magnificent against the backdrop of the 12 triple-mounted 357mm cannons that people had never seen before.

"The commissioning of HMS Daring will ensure that the Royal Navy continues to dominate the world's oceans..."

On this day, with the commissioning of the "HMS Bold", the British Empire seemed to have regained its maritime hegemony overnight, so much so that British newspapers were praising this giant warship with a displacement of 30,000 tons and four triple 14-inch naval guns in a complacent tone.

Triple fourteen-inch naval guns!

To a large extent, it is regarded by the outside world as an outstanding engineering masterpiece of the British Empire. After all, before this, all countries in the world used twin turrets. But now Britain has opened up a new path. Of course, it also means that the arms race at sea has entered a new stage.

Almost immediately after the Empire ushered in the "Dreadnought" era, facing the reality that the dreadnought would dominate the ocean, countries around the world entered an unprecedented maritime arms race. Whether it was a traditional maritime power like Britain or a new maritime power like the United States or Germany, in order to ensure their own maritime rights, they tightened their belts and built their own dreadnoughts.

As a traditional maritime power, Britain relied on its strong shipbuilding capabilities and strong economic strength to catch up. With the launch of dreadnoughts one after another from the shipyard, the British Empire seemed to have once again defended its maritime hegemony.

"What a powerful warship!"

Li Pingan, who was on the cruiser "Xin De", put down his telescope, so he was still looking at the ship in the distance that was known as "the most powerful battleship in human history."

"Yes, just like the British say, he is the highest crystallization of human science and technology, the pinnacle of human science and technology."

When Xu Chengliang finished speaking, Li Pingan, a major in the Imperial Navy, chuckled.

"Perhaps it is indeed the pinnacle. His birth once again demonstrated the unparalleled maritime hegemony of the British Empire and is a new supreme glory for the Royal Navy. But...don't you realize? In this arms race, the British Empire is destined to be a losing player."

"What?"

"In fact, the reason why the dreadnought is advanced is not because it uses some high-tech that other countries cannot catch up with. It is because of its advanced design concept. It represents the future trend of warship development, but the concept can be copied. This is why after the Imperial Navy's dreadnought was launched, countries around the world began to build dreadnoughts one after another."

"They started building useless things because the unprecedented advancement forced all countries in the world to rebuild their maritime forces, and all the previous investments became waste and did not count..."

Xu Chengliang had only said half of his words when suddenly he seemed to have suddenly realized something and said.

"Before the Dreadnought, wasn't it Britain that invested the most in naval power?"

"If not him, then who else could it be?"

Li Pingan sneered.

"This is exactly the strategy of the Imperial Navy. They used advanced shipbuilding concepts to launch the dreadnought, and then the British destroyed their huge fleet with their own hands. Of course, the Americans were also included. Before the dreadnought, their fleet size had already surpassed ours. But what about us? Counting from the pre-dreadnoughts like the "Youzhou class", their ships were more than ten years old at the time. In fact, we were just eliminating old ships normally! Most of their warships were only 6-8 years old."

The "Dreadnought" was not just a warship, it was also a "maritime strategy". What was this strategy? It was to make those maritime powers that were more powerful than the Empire cripple themselves.

This is the true way of conquering the enemy without fighting.

"Furthermore, faced with the change in naval warfare brought about by the dreadnoughts, Britain, which had destroyed its own huge fleet, had to compete with the Ming Empire, whose industrial strength surpassed its own, in terms of economy and rebuilding its navy."

Nodding, Xu Chengliang, the captain of the "Xin De", said with deep agreement.

"The British have no choice. The dreadnought is an opportunity to reshuffle the maritime power. The maritime power of the British Empire has never faced such a severe test. No matter what, they must accept the challenge."

"Accept the challenge? Captain, I think the British are just making a desperate struggle. Now South Africa has consumed a lot of their financial resources, and the Royal Navy has never been able to get enough budget to support its reconstruction of maritime hegemony. What is the final outcome of the story? I personally think that the British will eventually be unable to bear the financial burden... Now..."

After thinking for a while, Li Pingan continued.

"Now is the best time for the Empire and Britain to engage in a naval arms race. Compared to Britain, the Empire has more financial resources, and unlike the British, we don't have wars to consume our wealth. If we build one ship and the British build one ship, Britain's financial resources will not be able to afford this competition at all. Soon, there will be no need to go to war, and Britain will be dragged down by us in this arms race."

"But the Empire seems to have no interest in engaging in an arms race."

Captain Xu Chengliang spoke in a very calm tone, holding his pipe in his hand.

"It was like this in the past, and it seems to be the same now. It seems that the top leaders of the empire have different views on maritime hegemony than we do."

Gazing at the giant ship in the distance that symbolizes the glory and dream of the British Royal Navy, Xu Chengliang, a captain of the Imperial Navy, said.

"For the British, the ocean is related to their maritime hegemony, but for us, it is also related to our national destiny, but..."

Why was the Empire unwilling to engage in a naval arms race?

After thinking for a while with a frown on his face, Li Pingan said.

"Perhaps this has a lot to do with the environment we are facing. We are not just facing Britain. We also need to consider the threat from the United States. The United States is a powerful country that is not inferior to us economically. It is difficult for us to build a fleet that surpasses both Britain and the United States. So in this case, we need to establish a closer alliance with the French and the Russians."

"Indeed, our confrontation with the British over the years was not just our strength. It was the strength of the entire alliance."

"But Captain, this opportunity is really rare. If we just carry on with this arms race in the current way, there will be no winner at all."

While expressing regret, Li Pingan said again.

"If we miss the dreadnought, then we can only look forward to the next naval technological revolution. But when, where, and how will the next naval technological revolution begin?"

As a soldier of the Imperial Navy, Li Pingan sighed, his eyes were still fixed on the huge ship in the distance. At least at this moment, he envied the Royal Navy. Perhaps the Empire had pioneered a maritime military revolution, but despite the heavy burden, the Royal Navy still accepted the challenge at all costs, the challenge from the Ming Empire.

The old group has been blocked, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.

(End of this chapter)