"Colonel McGiffin, your opinion is really whimsical. What is incredible is that the U.S. Department of the Navy actually agreed to your request and allowed those defeated Japanese naval officers to come to the United States to teach their so-called experience?!" Dewey

There was obvious ridicule on his face.

"Sometimes failure is also a kind of wealth. It will make the loser more aware of his own weaknesses, and at the same time have a more rational understanding of the strength of the winner." Ma Jifen said calmly.

"Don't we have an officer like you who has participated in the Beiyang Fleet? Why do we need to find those losers?" Dewey asked with a puzzled face.

"I am not the top decision-maker. Even Lord Liu Buchan and Lord Ding Ruchang are not decision-makers. There is only one person who made an all-round layout for the entire Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, and that is Admiral Xu Jie. I have a hunch that when he was still a

I was already planning for this war when I was a designer." Ma Jifen said somewhat absentmindedly.

"Is he God? Can he predict when the war will begin? Mr. Colonel, please don't tell me you are serious." Dewey sneered.

"We can list the career of Admiral Xu Jie. Counting from the first day he showed up at Vittorio's house, in less than half a year, he and Vittorio became famous ships

The designer later returned to China and was reused in Beiyang. With his promotion, Beiyang decided to purchase new warships, although I have no information to prove it.

, but according to the previous construction progress of the Italians, the construction of three Garibaldi-class battleships and three Guiyuan-class battleships started almost at the same time! And because of this, they have just caught up with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. If Xu

Admiral Jie's plan is a little bit behind the scenes, and I can guarantee that the winner will definitely be Japan himself." Ma Jifen said seriously.

"If it's not a coincidence, then this Qing navy general is really terrible!" Du Wei couldn't help but shuddered. "But does this have anything to do with hiring someone from Japan to come to the United States of America?"

"Ryokan Inoue is considered a high-ranking member of the Japanese Navy. To be fair, they didn't make any serious mistakes, but their opponents were too smart. So smart that even a small mistake would bring disastrous consequences to the fleet.

Recovered losses. We can learn a lot from them. For example, why did the Beiyang Fleet win? Why did the Japanese fleet fail? Do you know what the biggest difference between the army and the navy is?" asked Ma Jifen.

"All ears." Dewey said with some dissatisfaction.

"The navy cannot be rebuilt in a short period of time like the army. The battle damage of each capital ship will have a serious impact on the entire naval system! With a huge national power, it is impossible to replenish a large number of capital ships in wartime. Therefore, any small

Any mistake will have extremely serious consequences, and may even lead to the loss of the entire war. Even though the United States is now stronger than Spain in every aspect, tell me, can the United States complete an armored cruiser in one year?" Magiffin asked.

.

"Of course not," Dewey replied.

"But if in a war, the United States may lose an armored cruiser in just one hour. This is the result of years of hard work by countless workers and designers and hundreds of companies!" Ma Giffin said seriously.

While Dewey and his new partner Ma Jifen were discussing these Japanese people who had come all the way, Inoue Yoshikazu and Uemura Hikonoshima, who were on the cruise ship heading to the United States, were also discussing the United States in the cabin. Speaking of these old Japanese navy

Senior officials now finally understand what it means to "lose their

Industry." They used to be the elites in Japan. The people of Japan spent a lot of money to buy warships for the navy, and their treatment was the highest. The naval officers and soldiers were also the most respected in the country, but now, everything is like

It disappeared like a flash of smoke.

At this time, Japan no longer needs a navy. The grand ambition of occupying North Korea and dominating the Far East ended with the passing of the combined fleet. And with the invasion of the Russians, Japan no longer needs those costly fleets. First

Not to mention that Japan's main opponent is the Russian Army, even if Japan can piece together a fleet, that is

The Japanese people still support the reconstruction of the navy, but in the face of the powerful Beiyang Fleet and the Russian Fleet, the Japanese Navy cannot play any role at all. In this case, the remaining Japanese naval officers and soldiers must either retire or enter the army.

The few remaining officers can only sit on the bench in the Admiralty, recalling how powerful they once were!

"Back then, Perry of the United States knocked on the door of Japan. Unexpectedly, now we are going to the United States to help the Americans build their navy." Uemura Hikonoshima said with a wry smile.

"It's a pity that our fleet is completely destroyed. The combined fleet in 1894 was so powerful. If Dongxiang and the others hadn't provoked the war without authorization, the assembled combined fleet would definitely have the capital to fight even if it faced the entire Beiyang." A

The staff member said angrily.

"There's no chance. The new warships of the Beiyang Fast Fleet can completely use their performance advantages to destroy Japan's maritime front. It's impossible for the fleet to divide its forces. If you want to find the opponent's main force to fight, just avoid them.

After finding an opportunity to take advantage of, the other party will give you a fatal blow! Teaming alone cannot solve the problem." Inoue Ryoxin said calmly, in his opinion, if you lose, you lose.

"But we can now use the American fleet to implement our new combat theory. We use this opportunity to cultivate Japan's own talents and lay a solid talent reserve for the future reconstruction of Japan's navy. By then, as long as

With warships, Japan's navy will eventually rise again in East Asia!" the staff member said with confidence.

"It's ridiculous. Will the Americans listen to a defeated general? They just want to learn about the performance of some Italian warships and the details of naval battles through us. As for rebuilding the navy? Even the Russians haven't been driven away, so rebuilding the navy is far away.

, as for the reconstruction of the fleet

But it is far from a problem of lack of battleships." Inoue Yoshihide said in his heart, but he did not intend to say it out loud. Rebuilding the navy has always been the spiritual pillar supporting the remaining Japanese navy. If even this hope is gone, I am afraid that the Japanese will

I will never be associated with the Navy!

"I heard that the Spanish hired Yang Yonglin as their instructor? If so, can we think that this Spanish fleet will be a weakened version of the Beiyang Navy? The same warships have generals from the Beiyang Navy participating in the command." Uemura

Yan Zhicheng said seemingly casually.

"Uemura-kun, hope you can use this opportunity to make up for your regrets?" Inoue Ryoxin asked.

"Don't you think, Mr. Inoue, that this situation is very similar to the Sino-Japanese War? The U.S. fleet is larger than the Spanish Navy, but the fleet system is bloated and inefficient. The warships are older. Even the design of new warships is relatively backward, while the Spanish Navy's warships are more

Advanced and

Moreover, it has a numerical advantage due to its short service time. If the Americans want to attack Cuba, they must annihilate the Spanish fleet while ensuring the smooth flow of sea lines of communication, and the Spanish fleet needs to destroy the American fleet in order to completely kill the U.S. strategic attempt on Cuba." Uemura Hikonoshima.

said.

"In addition, the Americans approached us, while the Spaniards approached Beiyang to help build their navy." Inoue Yoshikazu said with profound meaning.

"Then who do you think will win?" Uemura Hikonoshima asked.

"It's hard to say. Overall, the chances of winning are basically equal for both sides. After all, I personally feel that the level of General Lin cannot be compared with the current Beiyang Admiral. That Admiral Xu is too terrible. He will catch the slightest mistake!

" Inoue Liangxin said with lingering fear.

"Then let us use this opportunity to make up for the regrets in our hearts." Uemura Hikonoshima said.

Under such circumstances, the curtain of the Spanish-American War was slowly opened. Although it was only 1896, and many of the battleships of both sides were still on the slipways, such tactical and material preparations were already in full swing.

Four of the Spanish Navy's Genia-class light cruisers have been commissioned or completed, two of which are original dome-armored ships.

The cruiser has a displacement of more than 4,300 tons, two 8-inch turret guns at the head and tail, and eight 6-inch guns at the side. It has a speed of 23 knots. It was later named Pluto and Fury by the Spaniards. The other two ships were returned to the Northern Ocean.

Similar in shape, they were named Manila and Santiago to express Spain's determination to protect these two colonies!

The main force of the Spanish is two Pisa-type armored cruisers built in Italy, which are exactly the same as the Tianjin in the Beiyang. They are named Princess Maria and Oquendo. The third ship of this type was built in Spain.

The battleship was named Colon by the Spanish. Of course, the two most powerful Dante-type battleships of the Spanish

It is still on the Italian slipway and is expected to be completed in early 1897. The two most powerful battleships in Spain's history were named Spain and Madrid. This shows the hope that the Spanish placed on these two battleships.

!This is the vision of a former maritime overlord for the future and the will to rebuild the glory of yesterday!

In addition to these battleships, under the operation of Xu Jie, a German version of the Garibaldi-type battleship built by Germany for Beiyang will be completed in mid-1897. In order to allow this battleship to catch up with this history-changing war, in

Under Xu Jie's care, the Germans worked overtime and promised that, no matter what, they could complete the work before October 1897.

"In this way, the Spanish Ocean Fleet has two 14,000-ton battleships, four 10,000-ton armored cruisers, and four second-class cruisers as vanguards. The scale of our capital ships is no longer inferior to that of the Americans.

And the quality is even more advantageous." Severa said confidently.

"But the Americans still have more than a dozen protected cruisers. Their overall strength is still stronger than ours, and our capital ships can only defeat their opponents, but it may be difficult to sink them, which will be the last nail in the coffin for the U.S. fleet.

The final nail in the coffin is the Sturgeon-class lightning strike ship that is being mass-produced." Yang Yonglin reminded.
Chapter completed!