Chapter 846: The Surprise and Joy of the Imperial Navy (First Update, Please Subscribe)

"Really? Is this true? Can you say it again? Great, great, this is good news"

Lei Minghui, commander of the local fleet, said the situation was extremely complicated when he put down the phone.

It’s hard to tell whether his expression showed joy or depression... In short, it was a complicated one.

Navy Chief of Staff Zhang Guoyong looked at Lei Minghui with a complicated expression and asked curiously:

"Minister, how is the situation? Did we win?"

"Win, win"

As he said these words, Lei Minghui's bald head reflected the sunlight. As he said "win", his expression became more complicated.

You've already won, why do you have this expression?

Zhang Guoyong and Deputy Chief of Staff Cheng Bichen looked at each other, and Deputy Chief of Staff Cheng then asked:

"Minister, what are the results of the airship troops?"

"The results of the battle... ah, so big, so huge!"

Lei Minghui said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"Great victory! Great victory! The airship unit sank a "Riachuelo" class battleship..."

"What? The airship actually sank the battleship?"

The two chiefs of staff all opened their eyes wide in astonishment.

"Yes!"

Lei Minghui nodded and said.

"The other three were severely damaged, two sank, and one was severely tilted. Three cruisers were sunk, and another cruiser was severely tilted!"

"This, this... The 'Riachuelo' class battleship is not much worse than the Nanhua class, with a displacement of 6,800 tons. Four ships were destroyed in one battle... This is truly a great victory!"

Both of them had a look of astonishment on their faces. However, as naval soldiers, they had no time to be "happy" before they were "shocked"!

Dozens of airships achieved such brilliant results. Four battleships were sunk in one battle. The difference between the three that did not sink and those that did sink was not much.

What does this mean?

The airship surpassed the battleship overnight!

Compared to a battleship worth two million dollars, airships are cheap now!

Today's rubber is five or six times cheaper than it was five years ago. Each airship only costs a mere 100,000 yuan. This means that for every battleship you build, you can build twenty or thirty airships. The combat effectiveness of twenty or thirty airships far exceeds that of one battleship!

They are all navy soldiers. Could it be that the navy is going to be unemployed?

"What are the losses of the floating troops?"

Cheng Bichen, who had recovered from his shock, continued to ask.

"In short, there is little to lose."

After a moment of silence, Lei Minghui said,

"Basically, the floating forces did not suffer any losses in the battle. They directly used bombs to destroy all eight Brazilian Navy ships in Montevideo."

Zhang Guoyong and Cheng Bichen's expressions became complicated, and both of them showed a rather strange look.

It’s really a big “surprise”!

"this……"

Pursing his lips, Zhang Guoyong said:

"After this battle, our Ming Dynasty floating army will surely become famous throughout the world!"

How could it not be famous? This was the first time in history that an armored battleship was sunk from the air!

In fact, this was also the first battleship to be sunk!

"navy……"

Cheng Bichen said:

"From now on, the navy must consider how to prevent air attacks on the fleet. Otherwise, the navy fleet will simply be a sitting duck in front of the airship."

His words caused the other two to fall silent for a while. After a long while, they spoke.

"The airship's combat power is so strong. For us naval soldiers, I really don't know whether this is a good thing or not!"

While shaking his head and sighing, Lei Minghui felt mixed emotions. Of course he was happy for the victory, but he also felt unprecedented pressure!

So much pressure!

Do we still need warships if we have airships?

"What the minister said is absolutely right,"

Cheng Bichen held a cup of tea in his hand and said while tasting the food,

"Judging from the results of this battle, the navy's warships may not be keeping up with the times. They must be modified accordingly, and new warships must be designed and built. If the air defense problem cannot be fundamentally solved, then the navy's warships will be completely vulnerable to airships."

“Indeed, this problem must be solved.”

Zhang Guoyong said while lighting a cigarette.

"After this battle, the whole world saw the powerful attack capability of airships against targets at sea. I think the one who is under the greatest pressure is not me, but the British. Their airship technology was introduced from us back then, and is about 10 years behind ours. If they don't catch up, then their Royal Navy is likely to become a target at sea. The one with the most headache right now must be Britain!"

"Indeed!"

Cheng Bichen exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at Lei Minghui who was full of worry with a smile and said:

"Minister, we don't have to worry about this. Since the airships are a big threat, we should find a way to get rid of them. But now we have the advantage of airships, which also means that when dealing with the British Royal Navy, we have the advantage completely!"

Isn’t this my advantage?

As naval soldiers, they certainly knew that the Imperial Navy’s first imaginary enemy was Britain. In the past, how to defeat the British Royal Navy had always been the Imperial Navy’s biggest issue. Now, they had another trump card!

Nodding, Lei Minghui said:

"That being said, the airship can be our trump card, but it can also be the enemy's trump card. We must be prepared for this!"

"Indeed."

Zhang Guoyong thought about it and then said.

"After the Battle of Montevideo, the biggest issue for the navies of various countries is how to defend against air threats. They will definitely do everything they can to research air defense weapons!"

"Um!"

Cheng Bichen nodded vigorously and said.

"But I think they will definitely build more airships while strengthening their air defense weapons. After all, airships have already fully demonstrated their powerful combat capabilities."

"The airship's combat power is strong, but we can't rely on it blindly!"

Lei Minghui said:

"You two, airships are only a part of the Ming armed forces, and so are our warships. Airships have their uses, and warships have their uses. We not only have airships that fly in the sky, but also those that float on the water and those that swim underwater. Now we have only airships in the sky and warships on the water, but our warships have not had the opportunity to demonstrate their power in actual combat. As for our underwater trump cards, they have not been used yet. I think the navy... should not be eliminated by airships!"

Lei Minghui, who was worried about the future fate of the Ming Empire Navy, mentioned the underwater killer weapon, which was naturally the submarine!

(End of this chapter)