Chapter 518 Liu Gong Island, a warship that is not sunk!

Weihaiwei, Liugong Island.

Zhang Zhun's first stop when he arrived in Weihaiwei was Liugong Island.

The terrain of Weihaiwei is very special, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there is only an exit on the east side. Liugong Island is right in the middle of this exit. It seems to be a downward U-shaped shape, and then there is a little more at the exit. This is the Liugong Island with a dangerous terrain.

The area of ​​Liugong Island is about four square kilometers, high in the middle and low in the surroundings. The highest Qiding Mountain is more than 100 meters above sea level. It overlooks the entire island and controls the two waterways around Liugong Island. Most of the areas on the island are dense forests, with fresh air and pleasant scenery. However, people who arrive on Liugong Island will not pay attention to the forests, air, and scenery here. What they pay attention to is only the military value of Liugong Island.

From a military geography, such a terrain is typical fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Since the Ming Dynasty, it has been a military fortress. At the beginning, the Ming army was stationed here. When the Japanese pirates were raging, they once tried to attack ashore at Beicaozui in the north of Liugong Island, but were burned to death by the Ming army guarding the island. From then on, the Japanese pirates never dared to invade Liugong Island again.

By the second year of Chongzhen, some Tartars who escaped from Liaodong crossed the ocean and occupied Liugong Island. Because the terrain here was easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Ming army's combat effectiveness was worse than tofu shit, so they had never been able to drive away the Tartars on Liugong Island. The Tartars on Liugong Island often went ashore to wash and loot, which caused headaches for the nearby Weihaiwei and Chengshanwei.

Later, Dorgon sent people from Dengzhou City to summon all the Tartars to Dengzhou City to strengthen the military strength of Dengzhou City. The Ming army regained control of the Tartars. After Ruan Dacheng surrendered, the Ming army on Liugong Island dispersed one after another and disappeared. After the Hu Ben Army entered Weihaiwei, Liugong Island naturally became the base of the Hu Ben Army's navy.

Because the Weihaiwei was in a dangerous terrain and there were fortifications like Liugong Island, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Japanese army did not dare to attack Weihaiwei from the front, but instead circled around Rongcheng Bay and launched an attack from the land. Because the Qing army's water and land coordination were too poor, the army's combat effectiveness was even worse than tofu. In the end, the Weihaiwei land base was conquered and the Beiyang Navy was wiped out.

For modern Chinese soldiers, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 is like a huge pillar of shame, firmly nailed to modern history. Zhang Zhun, in his previous life, went to Liugong Island to participate in patriotic education when he first joined the army and learned about that humiliating history from all angles. This is also the reason why Zhang Zhun disliked the Qing Dynasty very much. It was so frustrating! The equipment and training of the Beiyang Navy were much stronger than the Japanese Navy, but in the end it ended up like this.

With experience and lessons from previous lives, Zhang Zhun certainly would not repeat the same mistakes. In the future, whether it was to conquer Liaodong in the north, or to advance eastward, or even to capture Japan in the southeast, Weihaiwei was the most ideal naval base. Liugong Island guarded the gateway of Weihaiwei, and of course, he had to strengthen defense. He wanted to build Liugong Island into a non-sinking warship.

Forts are definitely needed. You must set up a fort in Qiding Mountain in the center of Liugong Island, Huangdao in the west, and Donghongdao in the east. The cannons used are of course the red-air cannons with a long range. The power and range of the red-air cannons are sufficient to block the waterways on both sides of Liugong Island. However, for the time being, these cannons have not been moved here.

When building the fort, Zhang Zhun introduced some concepts from later generations and built them into permanent fortifications. A protective top layer was built on each gun position. The top layer was made of cement steel bar structure, with a thickness of more than one foot. The maximum caliber of the cannon at that time was only about 200 mm. Such a protective layer was enough to withstand the direct shooting of a 200 mm bore gun.

Of course, passive defense definitely cannot guarantee the safety of Weihaiwei. The Qing Dynasty blindly retreated and defended, which ultimately led to the annihilation of the Beiyang Navy. Attack is the best defense. Only by actively attacking can any possible dangers be eliminated in its bud. Zhang Zhun actually did not want these forts on Liugong Island to be used when needed. He hoped that the enemy's warships would not have the chance to get close to the Weihaiwei Port.

"Occurrence! Attack! Attack again!"

Zhang Zhun has been repeatedly emphasizing the offensive theory.

What is the potential danger of Weihaiwei? Of course, it is the North Korean navy not far away from the opposite side.

With the strength of the Dengzhou Navy, it was obviously unable to pose a serious threat to the Hu Ben Army. Especially after Luo Kai and others revealed their thoughts on the need to be corrected, the Dengzhou Navy's threat to the Hu Ben Army had plummeted. While on Changsheng Island, Zhang Zhun was shocking the Tatars, he was also a great shock to other officers and soldiers of the Dengzhou Navy. Even the Tartars stationed on Changsheng Island dared to take the initiative to attack, let alone the rebellious Dengzhou Navy? If the Dengzhou Navy did not understand the current affairs, it might be sent to the bottom of the sea by the Hu Ben Army Navy to reflect.

The only thing the Tartars can rely on is the Korean navy that has always been very mysterious. The reason why it is said to be mysterious is that the current intelligence agency of the Hu Ben Army has not yet been able to penetrate into North Korea. Therefore, Zhang Zhun knew nothing about the strength, organization, resident, and personnel composition of the Korean navy. Since he didn't know anything, it was naturally mysterious.

"How is the construction of the wharf?" Zhang Zhun asked.

"There are five berths that can be put into use." Zhang Haibin replied.

"Too little, not enough, we need to speed up the construction efforts." Zhang Zhun frowned.

"I understand!" Zhang Haibin replied.

Since the end of June, the Navy has vigorously built a naval base on Liugong Island. One transport ship after another transport ship transported a large amount of cement, pig iron and other construction materials from the rear. A large number of young and strong men recruited from near Weihaiwei joined the construction of the naval base. The wages paid by the Hu Ben Army were thirty cents a day and two meals a day were taken care of, which was very popular among local military households.

For naval bases, the most important measure is of course the port. Weihaiwei Port has planned to have fifty berths, which can be anchored fifty large warships at the same time. So far, a total of five berths can be put into use. Warships carrying out missions around Imperial City Island take turns to return to Weihaiwei, unload, rest and replenish supplies, which can barely meet the needs of use for the time being.

However, in the long run, five berths are far from enough. It is the end of August, and there are still three months left, and twelve sword-tooth ships will be launched. These sword-tooth ships are the main battleships of the Hu Ben Army Navy. If there is no accident, most sword-tooth ships will be arranged to be on duty at Weihai Guard Port.

The sword-team with a displacement of nearly 300 tons has higher requirements for the port. The berth must be larger, wider and deeper. At the same time, the requirements for maintenance are higher. Every time the sword-team is dispatched, it needs to supplement a large amount of materials. In order to accelerate the replenishment speed, a gantry crane must be set up and more pulley sets must be set up. Therefore, whether it is the Quail Bay Military Port or the Weihai Wei Military Port, the comprehensive construction of the port must be strengthened.

When it comes to comprehensive construction, there are too many things to do. Weihai Wei Jungang Port used to be almost a piece of white paper. Now, it is absolutely impossible to describe all kinds of beautiful ideas without a lot of silver. Zhang Zhun's feeling is that he spends money like flowing water, and white silver is constantly spending, and buildings are constantly emerging. After all the buildings are all out, the speed of spending money will be reduced.

As a supporting facility, the Interior Department directly built a cement kiln near Weihaiwei, providing sufficient cement for the construction of Weihaiwei on site. At the same time, a large iron smelting plant was built near Wenquan Town to use nearby iron ore to smelify on a large scale. The daily pig iron production of this iron smelting plant is more than 500 and 600 kilograms.

In general, it will take a lot of time and money to truly improve the Weihaiwei Army Port. However, once all ports, forts, repair factories, military camps, and training bases are all built, the Weihaiwei Army Port will become a non-sinking warship. With the combat effectiveness of the Hu Ben Army, it is absolutely impossible for the enemy to attack from the land. Therefore, the shame of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 will never happen again. In other words, only the Hu Ben Army Navy will bully people, and no one else can bully the Hu Ben Army Navy.

"Let's go!"

After seeing Liugong Island, Zhang Zhun immediately got on the boat and came to Weihaiwei to the west.

There are only a small number of military facilities on Liugong Island, and a large number of military facilities are still in the coastal areas of Weihai Bay to the west. For example, military camps, maintenance factories, naval training bases, military barracks, etc. are all distributed here. Weihaiwei was originally the residence of military households, and after the arrival of the Hu Ben Army, it became a gathering place for all soldiers.

"grown ups!"

Marines Zhu Chengtai came up to greet him.

According to the plan, Weihaiwei Army Port is a common military base between the Navy and the Marine Corps. The navy is mainly distributed on Liugong Island, while the Marine Corps is mainly stationed in Weihaiwei. In the nearby Fushan and Wendeng, there is a battalion of the Huben Army infantry, which is just safe on the way to guard Weihaiwei Army Port from both wings.

The Tiger Army Marine Corps has a total of five squads, with a total of about 250 people. Every time Zhang Zhun expands his army, the Marine Corps has no share. It’s not that Zhang Zhun is unwilling to expand his army, but that the current conditions are not very mature. The Marine Corps cannot fight independently in this era. In other words, the Marine Corps has to rely on the navy to a large extent. Therefore, in terms of priority in military construction, the Navy must undoubtedly be ahead.

"I heard that you have seized too much materials and the warehouse can't even put them down?"

Zhang Zhun asked with a smile.

“That’s true.”

"Sir, please come here."

Zhu Chengtai answered excitedly and took Zhang Zhun to the warehouse area behind.
Chapter completed!