The old capital of the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City, and the Qianqing Palace.
In the study room of the emperor's palace, Emperor Zhu Zhongliang and Emperor Zhu Jianyan, father and son, were sitting and chatting.
Zhu Zhongliang held a big tea cup and asked his son very casually:
"Have you almost read the entire chapter of Shizu's legacy?"
Zhu Jianyan replied quite seriously:
"My son has copied it once and read it carefully three times. I have basically memorized the contents of the posthumous chapter."
Zhu Zhongliang took a sip of tea:
"So, you know why I didn't support the large-scale construction of old warships."
Zhu Jianyan nodded slightly and said:
"Because Emperor Shizu has made it known that aircraft carriers will dominate the oceans in the future, and gunboats will be eliminated sooner or later."
Zhu Zhongliang said with a smile:
"So you now have the right idea on how to decide next year's shipbuilding plan."
It's almost the end of the year again, and every government office in Ming Dynasty has begun preparing for next year's budget.
Among these budgets, Zhu Zhongliang is most concerned about the navy's shipbuilding budget.
However, he has retired and tries not to interfere with the court's decisions as much as possible.
But I can use my influence to influence my son's way of thinking to move closer to me...
When Zhu Jianyan heard this question, he reported the situation quite seriously:
“The continuous testing of the Dauntless and Dinghai has basically demonstrated the naval warfare model of the new era.
"Old-style battleships have been collectively referred to as pre-dreadnoughts by the Military Aircraft Department and the Governor's Office, specifically referring to the battleships before the Dreadnought.
"The Military Aircraft Department, the Ministry of War, and the Governor's Office all believe that the old pre-dreadnoughts and armored cruisers should be fully replaced with dreadnought battleships and aircraft carriers.
“The replacement of cruisers and destroyers has begun, and the replacement plan for battleships has finally been basically determined.
“The new ships will gradually replace the former dreadnoughts and armored cruisers at a ratio of two to three, at a rate of four ships per year.
"Among the new warships, the number of battleships and aircraft carriers will remain at a ratio of four to one for the time being."
Zhu Zhongliang listened to the previous report and nodded slightly from time to time. He had a general understanding of these situations, or could understand them.
The tonnage of the new warships has increased significantly, and the cost of a single room has also doubled.
Combined with the current rapid growth of the financial situation and the overall trend of the world becoming more peaceful, it is relatively reasonable to set the replacement ratio of old and new ships at two to three.
But when I heard the last sentence, I immediately felt unhappy:
"The ratio of battleships to aircraft carriers is four to one? Four battleships to one aircraft carrier? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Zhu Jianyan immediately continued to explain:
"The combat plan formulated by the Military Aircraft Department and the Governor's Office is to use battleships as the main force of the battle, with every four ships forming a fleet.
“Each fleet is equipped with an aircraft carrier as a reconnaissance and early strike force.
“The actual combat capability of such a fleet may be close to four traditional battleships plus four armored cruisers.
"I think this plan is quite reasonable..."
Zhu Zhongliang blew his beard:
"Don't you know that the future master of the oceans will be aircraft carriers, so shouldn't we build more aircraft carriers now..."
Facing his slightly excited father, Zhu Jianyan explained helplessly:
"According to Jingyuan, isn't it time yet..."
Zhu Zhongliang immediately tried to convince his son:
“Even if it’s not here yet, it will be there soon. Today’s aircraft are developing too fast.
“The latest aero engine produced by the mechanical laboratory in Jingyuan has a power of over one thousand horsepower.
"When installed on an attack aircraft, it is enough to carry 800 kilograms of torpedoes for attacking surface ships.
“According to Jingyuan, current aircraft carriers are just not good at dealing with certain special situations.
“So it’s enough to use aircraft carriers as the main force and build a small number of battleships to deal with these situations.
“So the ratio of aircraft carriers to battleships should be at least two to one, or even three to one.
"It can be used in two to four aircraft carrier formations, with one or two battleships in each formation."
Zhu Jianyan also tried to convince his father:
"Father, no matter how fast it is, it will still take several years. It will also take time for laboratory products to be put into mass production and service.
“So actually Erchen’s plan is to build more battleships before the aircraft carrier’s combat capability is fully stabilized.
“There are enough new warships to support the fleet’s combat power and replace the old warships.
“After a few years, when the aircraft carriers and aircraft become more mature, we will build more aircraft carriers.
"The final ratio of the number of battleships to aircraft carriers will eventually fall to around the one-to-one ratio suggested by Jingyuan."
Zhu Zhongliang suddenly became a little unhappy and said loudly with a straight face:
"You think well, but I will be sixty-seven this year, and I won't be able to leave the house in a few years.
“By the time the aircraft carriers and battleships you build reach a one-to-one ratio, I will be dead.
"Anyway, you kid is just trying your best to keep me from feeling comfortable..."
Zhu Jianyan couldn't hold it anymore:
"Father, please calm down. I definitely don't mean this. This is all the advice of the Military Aircraft Department and the Ministry of War."
After Zhu Zhongliang retired, he became more willful and seemed to be even more angry:
"Do you just listen to what they say? Are you the emperor or are they the emperor?"
Zhu Jianyan was immediately sprayed and couldn't answer anything:
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have listened to their slander. How about we make it one to one now?"
Zhu Zhongliang replied with a straight face:
"That's more or less the same. Large ships like aircraft carriers can be used for decades.
“Build the ship first and use it for training and exercises to explore and verify combat methods.
“In the future, when newer, larger, and stronger aircraft are available, they can be directly replaced at any time.
"If you only have airplanes and no built aircraft carrier, where will you use them?"
Zhu Jianyan suddenly realized at this time that his father seemed to be playing himself just now.
But what dad said makes sense.
It takes time for aircraft to mature, and it also takes time to build aircraft carriers.
But aircraft are updated much faster than aircraft carriers.
Replacing an aircraft carrier with an aircraft is much simpler than replacing a battleship with a main gun, and is similar to replacing a naval gun with a new shell.
Therefore, it is indeed feasible to build and use the aircraft carrier first, and then continuously upgrade the aircraft.
No one in the Military Aircraft Department or the Governor's Mansion has read the Shizu's legacy, and they cannot predict what will happen in the future.
Their judgments are all based on existing experience and tend to make conservative choices.
They will not put the future of the Ming Dynasty on any new weapon that has not been proven in actual combat.
If the new weapon turns out to be very effective, continuing to produce the old weapon while testing the new weapon will ultimately be a waste of money and productivity.
If the new weapons turn out to be unreliable, and if the old weapons are abandoned now and fully switched to new weapons, the result may be a complete collapse of the army's combat effectiveness, which may lead to the overthrow of the world.
Between these two situations, the vast majority of military staff officers would choose the latter.
Sun Tzu said: Those who were good at fighting in the past were first invincible and waited for the enemy to become victorious.
The invincible lies with oneself, but the victorious lies with the enemy.
To put it more simply, make sure you don’t lose first, and then think about how to win.
Under this guiding ideology, the military's decisions tend to be conservative in most cases.
The staff did not dare to rashly believe that the aircraft carrier could become the main force in the fleet.
After all, there are still people who support an all-cruiser fleet, and some even support an all-destroyer fleet.
Most of the time, they add new elements to the existing mature battlefield mode to simulate new tactics.
It is basically impossible to break away from existing tactics and directly plan a brand new tactic.
The emperor who holds the legacy of his ancestors also needs to be cautious enough when making this choice.
At the same time, Zhu Zhongliang took another sip of tea, then sighed and said:
"In a few years, I won't be able to walk anymore, so I want to go out for a walk while I can still move."
Zhu Jianyan said something else:
"Don't you go out every year now, and you just came back this year?"
Zhu Zhongliang looked up and looked outside:
"I want to go to Mozhou to visit Jingyuan..."
Zhu Jianyan was shocked:
"Mozhou is too far away..."
Zhu Zhongliang waved his hand to stop his son's words:
"According to our arrangement, Jingyuan will go to Yinzhou in the next two years, and he will be even further away from home than he is now.
"In the next two years, I will go to Tiannan Continent, and in the next two years, I will be responsible for managing North Korea, Japan, and Eastern Xianbei.
"That is to say, in the next six years, he will not come back to his hometown again, but will train overseas.
"By the time he returns to the mainland again, I will be seventy-four years old, and I may have already gone to meet my ancestors.
"So I just thought that while my body is still okay, I would go to Mozhou and have a good chat with him."
Zhu Jianyan was silent after hearing this, and didn't know how to persuade his father.
Zhu Zhongliang stood up directly:
"That's it. I have to leave as soon as possible so that I can stay there for a few more days.
"It just so happens that the four new ships being built are all due to be launched now, and I can drop by to attend the launching ceremony.
“I took the Dreadnought directly there. This ship is currently the most defensive warship in the world.
"The key is that the interior is decorated like a luxury hotel. It can be used as a ship for me to travel."
Zhu Jianyan was immediately speechless. The luxurious hotel-style decoration that Zhu Jingyuan originally requested was originally intended for use after retirement.
Unexpectedly, it has only been in service for one year, and it has not even been incorporated into a special combat fleet, but it has been directly used by my father.
And this usage seems very reasonable.
The most cutting-edge battleship currently in service in the world and the battleship with the best internal space decoration, it is just worthy of the status of the Supreme Emperor.
Can I also build a whole boat and use it as a travel vehicle?
Zhu Zhongliang doesn't have any job now, and he still has a large number of dedicated caregivers, so he can basically leave at will.
The Dauntless has just completed a round of tests and inspections and is currently parked at the Golden State Base waiting for new orders.
Zhu Zhongliang took his wife and set off the next day, first taking a train to Tianjin, and then taking a boat from Tianjin to Jinzhouwei.
Three hundred kilometers of land and sea were reached in less than ten hours.
Zhu Zhongliang rested in Jinzhou Acropolis for a day, and the next day he went to Jinzhou Acropolis to attend the launching ceremony of two high-speed battleships.
Zhu Jingyuan presided over the design of the new 40,000-ton high-speed battleship. The first ship was named Fearless, so it was collectively called the Fearless type.
The first batch of two ships of the same type started construction at the same time in the first month of the first year of Ankang. After one year and ten months of construction in the dock, it was finally time to launch them.
The launch of the battleship is almost equivalent to the completion of the house itself, and the subsequent outfitting is almost equivalent to decoration.
Some renovations were completed simultaneously during the construction process.
In some shipyards and warships, the scope of simultaneous decoration is large during the construction process, while in some cases the scope of simultaneous decoration is small.
Some had not yet installed turrets when they were launched, while others were actually almost completed.
The two different modes of dock construction and slipway construction will also affect the extent of simultaneous decoration during the construction process.
The shipyard's deployment plan for docks and slipways, as well as the shipyard's construction habits, will also affect these data.
If you are anxious to use the slipway to build other ships, you will launch the current ship into the water as soon as possible and transfer it to the dock to continue construction.
If you are not in a hurry, you can even build it in the dock until it is completed, launch it into the water and start trial sea trials directly.
Therefore, the construction period and service time of different ships, and the gap between each time period, may be very large.
However, overall, the normal construction cycle of a 40,000-ton battleship, plus the testing time of equipment performance and reliability, takes about three years in total.
At present, almost two-thirds of the construction period has passed, and it is expected to be delivered to the Navy by the end of next year.
When Zhu Jingyuan first started designing, he only named the full main gun technology verification battleship and the first target exploration battleship Fearless and Fearless respectively.
After the design of the target battleship and aircraft carrier was completed, Zhu Jianyan took into account the cost issue and placed an order for two aircraft carriers and two battleships at the same time. The second ship was not named immediately at that time.
Now that Zhu Zhongliang came to participate in the launching ceremony of the two fearless battleships, he continued the format of the first two battleships and conveniently named the second fearless ship "Wuwang".
The two ships launched now have some differences from the original designs.
Mainly due to Zhu Jingyuan's promotion, small water tube oil-fired boilers with fully enclosed three-dimensional spray combustion were officially adopted. The power density of the power system increased significantly beyond the initial estimate.
Neither of the two Dauntless battleships actually built used the most radical double-layer boiler arrangement originally conceived.
They all used only sixteen new boilers arranged in a single layer, directly increasing the total power to 160,000 horsepower.
A fearless battleship designed with a full load displacement of 40,000 tons actually only needs between 120,000 and 130,000 horsepower to run 30 knots.
Now with a total power of 160,000 horsepower, it is expected to increase the speed to more than 32 knots.
After the power system design was updated, the hull tonnage had a larger margin, and the designers also slightly modified the armor design.
The thickness of the side main armor was further increased from the originally planned 280 mm to 300 mm.
Coupled with some other design adjustments, the actual displacement after completion is expected to be slightly more than 40,000 tons.
After the two battleships Wuwei and Wuwu were launched, the Jinzhouwei Shipyard no longer had large battleships under construction.
Both Wufear and Wuwang were started at the beginning of the first year of Ankang. It has been 22 months since construction of a capital ship started.
Facing the slightly worried shipyard manager, Zhu Zhongliang revealed a little bit of "inside information" to him.
Tell them that the emperor has decided that there will be an order for two battleships next year, and normal construction may begin.
Allow shipyards to maintain workers and equipment and be ready to build more new ships at any time.
The shipyard manager finally felt at ease after receiving reliable information.
