Chapter 875 Navy After-Sales
Of course, East Africa will not stop Germany and Belgium from "cheating". After all, in Ernst's view, as long as the non-black population in the buffer zone between East Africa and West Africa can be increased, it will be beneficial to the future of East Africa.
…
While the Jiaozhou Consulate was promoting the Sigmaringen royal territory, the former "East Africa" warship was also conducting military training in Jiaozhou Bay.
After receiving the East African warships, the size of the Far East Ocean Fleet was further expanded, and two ironclad ships were deployed in Jiaozhou.
In history, the Beiyang Fleet had only two naval bases, namely Weihai and Lushun. But now, with the increasing importance of Jiaozhou, it was positioned as the third largest base several years ago.
Especially after the replenishment of retired warships in East Africa, the shortcomings of this third base, which was originally "only in appearance", were made up. Of course, there is still a certain gap compared with the previous two.
East Africa sold three ironclad ships and seven gunboats, which was a relatively large scale, so after-sales service was naturally provided. Therefore, a military advisory group was sent to conduct exercises, daily maintenance and other training for the sailors of the three ironclad ships.
"If we take a certain island country in the east as our imaginary enemy, although your navy is larger than theirs, the overall quality and performance are not much different, especially the warships we exported from East Africa, some of which are even more than a decade old, so you must be more careful in the maintenance of the ships."
There is no such thing as a cheap product, and this is especially true for the warships sold at a discount in East Africa, but the price is indeed an extremely low price that the Far Eastern Empire cannot refuse.
Moreover, the warships sold in East Africa are sufficient to form a combat system. Their combat effectiveness has been proven in the East African naval battle. Technically, they cannot be compared with British warships, but if operated properly, they can still fight. If maintained properly, there will be no major problems in using them for another 20 to 30 years.
Thanks to Ernst's "partiality", these warships underwent major overhauls in the East African shipyard before departure, and some equipment was upgraded, so there were basically no major problems.
As for some "minor problems", even the most advanced warships today cannot avoid them. Overcoming the difficulties still depends on the specific operations of the Far East Empire sailors.
"Lieutenant Claire, why do you always treat Japan as our imaginary enemy in every exercise?" Liu Fulong, the captain of the Wuwei ship, couldn't help but ask.
After all, in Liu Fulong's opinion, Japan is just a small island country. How could it have the courage to engage in a large-scale military conflict with the Far Eastern Empire? Although there had been many maritime frictions between Japan and the Far Eastern Empire before, in his view, they were all acts of "taking advantage" of a small country.
In other words, the Far Eastern Empire did not care, otherwise it would have defeated the Japanese pirates with a "thunderous" force. After all, the Japanese pirates were a historical problem that had existed since the Ming Dynasty. No one dared to imagine that the island nation of Japan had the huge ambition of "a snake swallowing an elephant".
Claire: "I never said it was Japan. I just said a certain eastern island country, and it's all over the Far East. Only your navy and Japan have decent-sized navies. But Japan is so small, but its navy is as developed as yours. Shouldn't that be a cause for concern?"
Liu Fulong shook his head and said, "Perhaps Japan is weak, so it can only rely on strong ships and powerful guns to maintain its sense of security."
Claire denied it, "I don't think so. The development of the Japanese navy has seriously dragged down the country's economy. No matter how unsafe it is, it must ensure its economic problems. Looking around the world, the only country as militaristic as Japan is the former Prussia. Their high military expenditure cannot be sustained, so they can only relieve pressure through external expansion. If it goes as expected, their first target must be North Korea. As North Korea is your vassal state, will you save it or not?"
Of course, although Claire's words made sense, Liu Fulong still insisted: "Our navy is much stronger than Japan's. Even if they have ambitions, they can't defeat us."
Regarding Liu Fulong's stubbornness, Claire said, "You should have some understanding of the Battle of Lissa. At that time, the Austro-Hungarian Navy defeated the strong with its weak side. In the more recent East African naval battle, our military strength was far inferior to that of the British, but the two sides also fought a tie. The gap between the Japanese Navy and the Far Eastern Empire Navy is obviously smaller, so as the old saying of your Far Eastern Empire says, it is better to be safe than sorry."
"Moreover, as the main military force of our time, the navy must be taken seriously no matter what, so the necessary training must not be missed."
"We in the East African Navy have a saying that we should take care of our warships like we would our family members. All the soldiers in the East African Navy are talents who have at least received secondary education in China, and there are also many talents who have received higher education."
"Under these circumstances, the East African Navy was able to perform well in the East African naval battle, while your navy's problems are obviously bigger, especially the quality of its personnel is far behind that of East Africa."
"As far as I know, Japan is also a country that values education. They have implemented compulsory education. Although it is not as good as East Africa and Germany, compared with the Far Eastern Empire, Japan's level is definitely first-class."
"In terms of cultural knowledge, I am not optimistic about you. After all, it is difficult to become a talent in a short period of time without scientific and systematic education. However, there is a saying that practice makes perfect, so the amount of naval training cannot be reduced at all, and you must master the necessary ship knowledge. In this regard, our military advisory group members will fully cooperate with you."
It is impossible to keep secrets. As for the Far East Navy, the East African Military Advisory Group taught almost everything they knew. After all, the warship technology was constantly improving in the 19th century, and what is popular now may be outdated in a few days, so the East African Navy itself has to keep learning and exploring.
Of course, for the East African Navy, if East African ships can perform well in the Far East Empire in the future, it will also be beneficial to the country's warship sales business. Britain has a clear understanding of this.
If it weren't for the Royal Navy's great reputation, who would buy British warships? The Far Eastern Empire also wanted to purchase British warships with all its strength at the beginning, but the British were too cautious and were finally intercepted by Germany.
Liu Fulong was still deeply touched by what Claire said. He actually didn't quite understand the true level of these military instructors in East Africa compared to the rest of the world.
But in his opinion, they all have real talents and skills, and there is a saying that goes "strict teachers produce excellent students." The training and workload of the entire Jiaozhou military base is the highest in the Far East Imperial Navy.
In fact, this is also the result of the competition between East African instructors and German instructors. East Africa is a German country, so the people of East Africa always want to compare themselves with Germany, which ranks first in national strength among the German countries.
Especially after the end of the South African War, the self-confidence of the East African people was further raised to a higher level, and the competitive mentality became even stronger.
Especially the navy. The East African Navy used to be ranked first among the three major German countries (East Africa, Germany, and Austria). However, since the 1980s, the German navy has developed rapidly, especially after William II came to power.
This makes the East African Navy feel a little unbalanced. Of course, the fact that the East African Navy is no longer expanding rapidly is due to the economic development of East Africa. Whether it is adjusting the agricultural industrial structure, developing new territories, upgrading industrial technology, or building national infrastructure, it all costs money.
The proportion of funds received by the army naturally decreased, but of course the overall military expenditure of the East African army continued to grow steadily.
(End of this chapter)
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