Chapter 725 Imaginary Enemy
"I'm so sorry, so sorry!" Ming Yuanjiro bent down and nodded like pounding garlic: "Please forgive me, we will definitely provide you with a satisfactory solution."
Charles pretended to know nothing:
"If you don't have advanced technology, at least build a larger tonnage, right?"
"The reason why we produce 2,000-ton destroyers is not because we cannot build larger warships, but because of wartime resource constraints."
Ming Yuanjiro responded repeatedly: "Yes, yes!"
Of course he did not dare to doubt France's shipbuilding capabilities.
Although the French Navy ranked behind Japan at this time, the Battle of the North Sea had already cast doubt on the rationality of this ranking.
Charles sat on the chair with his legs crossed and his hands propped up. He said to Ming Yuanjiro, who was bowing in front of him, as if he was scolding his servant:
"With this speed, it should be able to keep up with our new destroyers, right?"
"You know, if we can't keep up the speed, this kind of warship will be of no use to us!"
Ming Yuanjiro nodded again: "Of course."
Charles continued:
"It's best to use a boiler that burns a mixture of oil and coal."
"It's wartime now, and resources are often scarce on the battlefield. We don't know what fuel we will lack at that time."
"This is directly related to whether the warship can go into battle at a critical moment. Mr. Mingyuan knows its importance, right?"
The warships of this period were in the process of transitioning from "coal" to "oil", and the coal-oil mixed-firing boiler could meet the requirements of both fuels at the same time, which was a more advanced configuration.
When Ming Yuanjiro heard this, his heart skipped a beat. Isn't this the "Tenryu" class light cruiser that had just completed its design and was ready to start construction?
It’s indeed Charles, with a unique vision, who casually mentioned the warships that Japan will build in the future!
At the same time, he was secretly happy, because this showed that the design of the "Tianlong" class light cruiser was correct, and Charles approved of it.
There are still many people in the country arguing over this!
Perhaps it was because he knew that "Tianlong" could satisfy Charles, Ming Yuanjiro's panicked heart finally calmed down.
"Mr. Charles." Ming Yuanjiro raised his head slightly, his eyes flashing with excitement and excitement: "We may have relevant designs, but I need to get the approval of my superiors, you see..."
"Of course." Charles nodded, with a little impatience on his face: "But you'd better hurry up, Mr. Mingyuan, we don't have much time to waste, including my time."
"Yes, yes!" Ming Yuanjiro was as if he had been pardoned. He bent down and nodded as he walked out of the door. He bowed deeply before leaving when closing the door.
Only when Charles was the only one left in the meeting room did he relax and recover.
Acting is also a hard job, even if you have to act like you are the best.
Sometimes even Charles himself found it incredible why Japan was willing to fall for this.
To integrate into the civilized countries of Europe?
To show loyalty to the strong?
What can we learn from each other?
The last point is indeed a cause for concern, as Japan has strong learning and imitation abilities.
In just a few decades from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the present, it has become the world's fourth largest navy.
But when Charles thought about it, he felt there was no pressure.
The reason is that the Chinese Navy is basically in a "non-existent" state, and the only thing it can do is to sink the river to block the waterway for the Neon Navy to advance.
In this case, whether the Neon Navy is strong or not has little to do with China.
In the future, the Neon Navy will mainly become an adversary of the United States in the Pacific battlefield.
The United States, on the other hand, relies on its terrifying production capacity, which cannot be solved by Japan's one or two technological or tactical advantages.
Just as he was thinking about it, Ming Yuanjiro came back and said to Charles excitedly, "Great, Mr. Charles, we just happen to have a design that can almost perfectly meet your needs."
Ciel pretended not to care and asked while drinking coffee:
"Oh, really?"
"New design? You should know that new designs are usually not mature enough!"
"What we need is a warship that can be deployed immediately to the battlefield. Can I trust your design and craftsmanship?"
Ming Yuanjiro smiled and handed over the plan: "Of course, you can trust us. If there are any shortcomings, we will follow up and improve them until your country is satisfied."
With an arrogant look on his face, Charles took the plan from Ming Yuanjiro and flipped through a few pages at random.
It is indeed a "Tianlong" class light cruiser, with details down to the caliber of the main gun and the thickness of the armor.
Ming Yuanjiro came closer and explained attentively:
"The upper firepower of this warship is mainly aimed at enemy destroyers, and torpedo attacks are used when facing enemy battleships."
"Considering that no matter how it is designed, a warship cannot defend itself against torpedoes fired by enemy destroyers."
"So the armor of this warship uses double-layer high-tensile steel to construct a hollow armor belt, which can reduce weight while also defending against 100MM naval gun fire."
Ciel hummed, with dissatisfaction in his tone:
"Mr. Ming Yuan, do you know that most destroyers now have guns over 100MM?"
"For example, the British 'Medea' class destroyer is equipped with a 4-inch main gun (102MM)."
"Did you design the armor to be penetrated by the enemy?"
Charles was finding fault with everything.
It is very difficult to achieve the exact penetration. In actual combat, as long as there is a slight angle between the shell and the armor, it will not be able to penetrate, so a better defensive effect can be achieved.
If the armor thickness is increased, speed will inevitably be sacrificed.
Ming Yuanjiro was embarrassed. He apologized as usual and whispered, "Mr. Charles, our design is mainly aimed at Germany. The main gun of the German 'V25' destroyer is 88MM."
(The picture above shows the German V25 destroyer, which Germany calls a "torpedo boat". It has a displacement of 812 tons and three 88MM main guns. The ship has used oil as fuel.)
Charles glanced at Ming Yuanjiro meaningfully.
Ming Yuanjiro understood what he meant and nodded quickly: "I understand, I understand. Don't worry, Mr. Charles, I didn't hear anything."
As I spoke, I felt a little more proud for no reason.
As expected of Charles, his imaginary enemy is no longer the German Navy, but the world’s number one British Navy.
It seems that we were absolutely right to strive for friendly relations with the Shire!
Finally, Charles put the data on the table and asked calmly, "So, Mr. Mingyuan, how much does a warship like this cost?"
Ming Yuanjiro answered without hesitation: "1.8 million US dollars per ship!"
Charles looked at Ming Yuan Jiro in shock. The price was so cheap that Charles couldn't imagine it.
The new warship produced by France with a displacement of 2,000 tons is priced at 1.5 million US dollars each. He originally thought that the Neon warship with a displacement of 3,250 tons would cost more than 2 million US dollars, but it was only priced at 1.8 million?
However, Ming Yuanjiro thought that Charles was not satisfied, and hurriedly added: "If you are not satisfied, we can discuss it again..."
(End of this chapter)
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