The Rise of the Empire

"To be honest, I don't think Lushun Port is suitable as the main military port of the navy. Although it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the location is dangerous, the port conditions are slightly poor, and it is too close to potential opponents, which limits mobility strategically." When Mainz Hipper, who used to be a full-time navigator, made a slight complaint when the No. 1 sailed to the berth with the help of the guiding ship.

The depth of Lushun's main channel is not very large, only about 7 meters. It was precisely for this reason that the draft of the Dingyuan-class ironclad ship was limited to more than 6 meters. If Mainz is heavily loaded, it is obviously impossible to enter the berth. Therefore, after removing a large amount of coal and other loads, this legendary battleship, which has been all-powerful in the Far East some time ago, was able to enter the port with a 1v3.

Ruprecht supports Hipper's opinion, at least Ruprecht believes that in the Russo-Japanese War, it was a wrong choice for the Russians to choose to deploy their main fleet in Lushun. The power of the Far East is weaker than that of Japan. And this already disadvantaged fleet was divided into two parts, the main fleet was in Lushun Port, and the Essen fleet composed of three 10,000-ton cruisers was in Vladivostok.

The main channel of Lushun Port is too narrow, so it can be blocked by mines and sunken ships. Makanov was killed by a mine. With the cooperation of the mine blockade, the Japanese fleet can easily lock the main force of the Pacific Fleet. Moreover, the Yellow Sea is too narrow, as long as you come out, you will probably encounter it. This kind of narrow sea almost makes it impossible for the weaker side of the fleet to play!

Compared with the performance of the Essen fleet departing from Vladivostok, the more powerful battle fleet did nothing. In the end, it was bombed and sunk in the harbor, which has to be said to be too ironic! I trapped myself to death! Of course, some people say that Vladivostok is an ice-free port, and it is impossible to go out in winter. Ruprecht didn't know the level of icebreakers at that time, but Ruprecht knew that the fleet in Lushun also didn't run out! In the end, the Russians decided to break out of the siege to Vladivostok, which shows that the Russians' idea of ​​focusing on operating Lushun was wrong.

When the Mainz finally passed the main channel and entered the berth area of ​​Lushun Port in fear, the main force of the Beiyang Navy finally appeared in front of Ruprecht. The Treasure of the Army, followed by the two German armored cruisers Jingyuan and Laiyuan, followed by the British dome armored cruisers Zhiyuan and Jingyuan. Then there was the Pingyuan, which was autonomous by the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau, and finally there were old ships such as Chaoyong and Yangwei!

"Except for the two ironclad ships, all other warships are unusable. Once the war starts, I am not optimistic about the Beiyang Fleet." Hipper looked at the Beiyang Navy warships that were welcoming them in the port. Sighed and said.

After experiencing the Toshima naval battle, Hipper also grew up rapidly and became more sensitive to naval technology. These products, which are more than one era behind, are naturally not as good as his foresight. The 3,000-ton and 4,000-ton new second-class domed cruisers are nothing more than chickens and dogs in front of Munich. And these battleships are even worse.

"Your Highness, are you not participating in the upcoming ceremony?" Hipper asked.

"I won't participate in the ceremony, which can easily arouse speculation from the outside world, but I will attend the subsequent meeting." Ruprecht said. As the Bavarian prince and honorary admiral, plus the actual commander of the Toshima naval battle, the significance of these auras is too great. Not to mention the unequal status, it will add some unnecessary troubles, anyway, it is just a ceremony.

Tirpitz and his group went to attend the grand welcome ceremony, so the north side naturally couldn't neglect the prince, and this time, Zhenyuan's first officer, Yang Yonglin, was in charge of receiving Ruprecht! Ruprecht still admires this general with outstanding abilities who committed suicide and died for his country in the end! Under the guidance of Yang Yonglin, Ruprecht and his party boarded the Zhenyuan ship.

"My war is over, and yours is about to begin." Standing in the huge twin 12-inch terrace turrets on the side of Zhenyuan's hull,

Ruprecht leaned on the cannon and said. Then he took a look at the armored cruiser Mainz in the distance and said: "The Beiyang ship has been changed, it is too old."

"But we have some problems with our funds." Yang Yonglin looked at the warship in the distance with envious eyes, but then said with a little regret.

"This is the matter of your Zhongtang, but I think he can tell the difference. I believe that this ship can enter the Beiyang." Ruprecht motioned the others to leave, and then whispered.

This time, the efficiency of Russia and Germany is still very high. The Russians expressed their willingness to provide emergency loans to the Qing Dynasty, and this time, the Russians also brought in the French! With the financial guarantee of the French, the Russians still have a lot of confidence. Of course, the Qing Dynasty must take customs duties and salt taxes as guarantees!

Li Zhongtang, who had money, naturally wanted to expand his army and prepare for war. Even before the loan was in place, Li Zhongtang took out the shares of Kailuan Coal Mine and Shanghai Spinning Mill as collateral to buy warships! Among the warships currently available in Beiyang, the Munich-class armored cruiser that just beat Japan up is naturally the best choice!

Long before the German fleet arrived in Lushun, the two sides had actually finalized the main content. The only problem was the handover of warships and the formation of combat effectiveness. Unlike history, it was impossible for Hannagan, who was born in the army, to serve in the Beiyang Fleet. This time the German fleet will send a "combat-experienced" commander to assist the Beiyang Fleet in combat!

"Pfft!" Ruprecht spat out half a glass of wine when he heard this. "Since the Lissa naval battle, there have been experienced naval officers in the world, but where does this rich experience come from?" Ruprecht looked puzzled and expressed his incomprehension.

"Your Highness, in fact, you already have rich experience in actual combat!" Tirpitz said half-seriously and half-jokingly. "If you could choose an officer from the Mainz, who would you choose?"

"Earl Spey and Hipper!" Ruprecht said without hesitation, these two are great people, if you don't choose them, would you still choose Ingenor? ? Earl Spey, among other things, is at least the best in the High Seas Fleet in terms of training gunnery! Just look at the gunnery results of the Shane sisters. As for Hipper? The grasp of the situation and the tactics are absolutely powerful, otherwise you will not be able to escape in the battle of the sandbar! Sometimes, escaping is also a skill!

The Germans are interesting enough for Beiyang, a future commander of the Far East Fleet and a commander of the battlecruiser fleet! What's not to like? So now the question is, who is the captain of Beiyang?

"It's probably Yang Yonglin!" With these words, Ruprecht won a sword with a black eagle on it from Tirpitz! Accurately guessing that Ruprecht, who was appointed by the Beiyang people, shocked Tirpitz even more! This TM is too powerful!

The third one is here~~~~~. This collection is not growing well....