Chapter 1338: The Great White Fleet (3rd update, please subscribe)
May 13, 1893, outside the Xin'an River estuary in Yingtian.
Sixteen battleships with their sides painted white were quietly anchored in the outer harbor.
The warships are like mountains, the masts are like forests, and the huge cannons are towering into the sky.
The warships were hung with colorful flags from bow to stern, and huge American flags were flying on the mastheads and flagpoles at the bow and stern - this huge fleet came from the United States of America.
History will record the name of this fleet - the Great White Fleet.
Similar to the other world, the United States of America sent out their fleet to show its strength to the world...especially to Ming Dynasty.
A large fleet of 16 dreadnoughts, in groups of four, anchored and turned off, formed a several-kilometer-long steel wall in the outer harbor of Yingtian. Near this steel wall, there were also six large supply ships painted white and six inconspicuous torpedo destroyers.
"This United States can really do it."
Meng Qingen, the Imperial Navy Minister, Admiral, and the Imperial "Viscount Los Angeles", stood solemnly on the flying bridge on the port side of the "Yangzhou" battleship, gazing at the white Great Wall outside Haikou, and said solemnly.
"Are they demonstrating to the Empire?"
About two months ago, in the Chesapeake Bay, the newly-elected President Cleveland and the visiting British Crown Prince Edward boarded the yacht "Mayflower" and reviewed the 16 neatly arranged newest and best battleships of the United States.
On the same day, they not only reiterated the "indelible friendship between the United States and Britain", but also expressed "their joint determination to defend world peace". The so-called determination to defend world peace is actually to support Cuba.
Although the Cuban incident has remained at the diplomatic level, the United States, as its godfather, has already stepped forward. Not only has it solemnly declared its support for Cuba, but President Cleveland has also stated that he will send a fleet to cruise around the world.
A month later, the "Great White Fleet" with these 16 battleships as its core officially set sail and began a ostentatious global "parade" that shocked the world.
The huge sea fortresses responsible for this magnificent mission will leave their glorious names in the history books: "Kilsych", "Kentucky", "Illinois", "Alabama", "Wisconsin", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Virginia", "Georgia", "New Jersey", "Rhode Island". As for the flagship, it is the "New York", which has just been in service for less than three months, with a displacement of 28,538 tons and equipped with five twin 356mm main guns.
The first leg of the fleet's voyage was from the Chesapeake Bay to San Francisco on the west coast. The fleet stopped and visited "South America", that is, the Port of Atlanta in the Confederate States of America. This was of course also a demonstration of force against South America, and the United States was showing off its powerful maritime strength to them.
Then they sailed to the port of Havana in Cuba - which was the main purpose of their visit - to express their support for Cuba. After all, in the past few months, the Cuban authorities have been under pressure from the Ming Dynasty, which demanded that the Cuban government repeal certain "discriminatory" laws.
It doesn’t matter whether those bills are discriminatory or not. What matters is that Cuba has the support of the United States. In order to express its support, the United States has spent a lot of money this time.
After leaving Havana Port, this huge fleet headed south and finally arrived in Yingtian, the temporary capital of the empire.
Why did they come here?
Of course, it is to show off military power to the empire!
What will be waiting for them here?
Merchant ships from all over the world came and went near the fleet. What kind of looks did the sailors from various countries on the ships cast toward these dazzling white warships?
Was it surprise? Or shock? Or envy? Maybe jealousy? Of course, it could also be hostility! This hostile look must have come from the people of the Ming Dynasty. After all, everyone knew why the Americans came here to show off their power.
But no matter what kind of look you get, it doesn’t matter. No matter how you see us, our strength is unquestionable!
The US Navy officers and soldiers on the warships may have had this idea in mind, which is why they treated the sailors with arrogance and even a little pity.
Of course, when the sailors on the British merchant ships saw this huge fleet, they cheered excitedly, because they all knew that this huge fleet was an ally of the British Empire, and once a war broke out, they would become allies of the Royal Navy and fight against those hostile countries on the sea.
For the U.S. Navy, the purpose of their showing off their strength this time is to prove one thing to the Ming Empire through such a display of strength - the United States Navy already has the most powerful maritime force in the Americas.
Perhaps you created the dreadnought and ushered in the era of the dreadnought, but now the United States has the most powerful naval force in the Americas.
We have 16 dreadnoughts!
And it was built in just four years!
Look at what a true maritime power is! Open your eyes and see clearly!
Five years ago, when the Ming Empire's dreadnoughts sailed to the sea, they eliminated all ironclad ships overnight and ushered in the dreadnought era. At the same time, navies around the world were scrambling to catch up, trying to catch up with the Imperial Navy.
The same is true for the U.S. Navy. Faced with the threat from the Ming Dynasty, despite the huge cost, the U.S. Congress approved a huge shipbuilding plan - they planned to build 15 dreadnoughts within five years.
In just five years, relying on their powerful shipbuilding industry and strong economic strength, the Americans not only successfully implemented this plan, but even built an extra ship.
Did you see it?
What is the most powerful battleship in the world!
The American sailors on the battleship "New York" were showing off their battleship with a proud attitude.
With five dual main turrets, ten 14-inch cannons, and armor nearly 12 inches thick, the New York is definitely the most powerful battleship in the world, except for its slightly slower speed!
This is of course the reason why they are so proud. Even the "New York" covered up the embarrassment of the remaining 15 battleships changing from 12-inch to 13.5-inch main guns. After all, five years ago, the US arsenal could not provide 14-inch main guns. Therefore, the battleships built in the early days all used 12-inch main guns. From 12 inches to 13.5 inches, and then to the 14 inches of the "New York", in the past few years, the US shipbuilding and artillery technology have all made breakthrough progress. The promotion of this arms race to the US shipbuilding industry and military industry is obvious.
On this day, the bald eagle that came to North America was showing off their warships and fleet to the world, and of course, their strong national strength.
"They are all issuing a challenge..."
Admiral Meng Qingen, standing solemnly on the flying bridge on the port side of the battleship "Yangzhou", said in a cold tone.
"They are challenging us and the Imperial Navy. Do these naive Americans think that the Empire will not respond to the challenge? What a naive bunch of guys."
What a bunch of naive guys!
When saying this, Meng Qingen's tone was full of sarcasm.
So many countries have been dealing with the Ming Dynasty for so many years, but they still don’t understand what the biggest characteristic of the Ming Empire is!
When faced with challenges, the empire will never retreat. The empire will meet challenges unswervingly, which is the biggest difference between the Ming Empire and other empires.
Many times they don’t even know what they are awakening to.
But what is certain is that they will pay the price for their stupidity one day.
I have set up a book club: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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