Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 803 The Prodigal Emperor (Fourth Update, please subscribe)
After entering the iron-clad ship era, for the rulers of various countries, they found a tragedy very helplessly-the warships that could be used for decades or even hundreds of years in the age of sails no longer exist, even if they cost a huge amount of money. Ironclad ships built with funds will also be eliminated in a short period of time.

How short is this time?
It may only be a few years, and the once cutting-edge warships are outdated.

For the Imperial Navy, their feelings are profound, just like the "Friendship Class" obtained from France. In 1870, it was still the giant ship of the Ming Navy, but only two years later, with the "In service, the once powerful "Friendship-class" ironclad ship became synonymous with obsolescence overnight.

Especially after the four battleships including the sister ship "Zhenyuan" of the "Nanhua" entered service one after another, in the battle sequence of the Imperial Navy, the "Friendship" and "Alliance" became more and more embarrassing.As an ironclad ship, its defensive firepower is not as good as that of the Nanhua class, or even inferior to the later Linhai class.

In a word, they are already behind the times.

But for the Ming Empire Navy, which has a small number of warships, although it lags behind, it is still a capital ship of more than 7000 tons.

Now facing the reality that they are completely outdated, Lin Yuehu, the Minister of the Admiralty, is a little embarrassed. Even if they are outdated, they are still warships!
Just a few days ago, he was still saying that others were prodigal sons!
Why is His Majesty now focusing his mind on naval training? Of course, he absolutely cannot use those three words to describe His Majesty.

The prodigal emperor... This thought is fleeting.

But then again.This matter is not bad for the Navy.If it is eliminated, wouldn't it be possible to replace it with a new warship?
Just when Lin Yuehu was hesitating, the palace called and His Majesty summoned him.

After arriving at the palace, but only after a short while, Lin Yuehu had the feeling that the navy had turned into monk flesh!

"Generally speaking, I thought that I could provide them with two to four warships first. Of course, it was not for free. It was a military aid in the form of a loan. Generally speaking, I just told everyone that he has our support! "

Emperor Zhu said very clearly,
"Only in this way can Li Xuzhou let go of his hands and feet, without having to worry about Zeng Shaved and Nanjing."

Why didn't Li Xuzhou dare to act rashly until now?

In fact, it is the same as the history that once shaved their heads and dared not act rashly, they were all afraid that if they moved, they would become a stepping stone to other people's glory and wealth.

loyalty!

Loyalty has a price too.Their loyalty is based on the mutual restraint of the Hunan, Huai, and Chu armies. Those old ladies can't do anything else, but they are quite good at playing tricks.

It's a pity that it's a bit late now, otherwise, it would be good to get to know each other and have a deeper understanding.

Pity……

As for Li Xuzhou who can't move right now, let's help him create the conditions!

Now that Li Xuzhou has gone so far in this world, I will help him to go further. As for how far, it depends on his ability!

"And if there are only warships, his threat to the kingdom of heaven and Huguang is also very limited. The fleet enters the Yangtze River? Wusong's fortress is enough for him, so the fleet will not play much role in the hands of Li Xuzhou, so what? I feel that this kind of assistance is more direct and effective than providing other assistance, but the Navy needs to sacrifice a bit."

"Your Majesty, the relationship between us and the United Kingdom is at a time of tension. Sell the warship..."

Facing His Majesty's request, when Lin Yuehu expressed embarrassment, he had his calculations in mind.

What if all those old warships were handed over to Li Xuzhou?Wouldn't it just be possible to free up a lot of ship names, and expand the "Phase II Military Expansion Plan" by the way.

As the Minister of the Navy, of course he wants to fight for the interests of the Navy.

"Will it affect our strength comparison with the United Kingdom?"

"There is indeed a possibility of this, but right now, it is unlikely that we or the French will go to war with the UK, and the growth of the Beiyang Navy will have a direct consequence-the British will definitely strengthen their maritime presence in Asia. Power, regardless of whether the Beiyang Navy will act or not in the future, is a potential threat to Britain."

Emperor Zhu thought for a while and said.

"Also, the navy can just take this opportunity to eliminate a batch of old ships and rebuild new ones. After all, Ming's interests lie in the sea. Without a strong navy, Ming will have no future!"

"Your Majesty, if that happens, the expansion plan for the second phase will have to be revised."

Lin Yuehu, who had achieved his goal, thought for a while and said.

"In my opinion, the "Friendship Class" and "Tianlong Class" can be sold to the Beiyang Navy, but the corresponding navy should build at least two more combat ships and two armored ships..."

Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Zhu laughed loudly.

"You, I'm afraid you have long wanted to deal with these warships."

Seeing that his thoughts were "punctured" by His Majesty, Lin Yuehu didn't hide it.

"I am the Minister of the Admiralty, so naturally I want to get as many new ships as possible for the Imperial Navy. Besides, from my point of view, the second phase of the naval plan seems to be quite large, but in fact..."

After a pause, Lin Yuehu said directly.

"The deterrent capability is still very limited. After all, the United States is also expanding its maritime power. The "Eighty-Eight Fleet" in the first and second phases of the plan simply cannot maintain an advantage over the United States while confronting the United Kingdom. It seems that the Navy needs at least 10 combat ships and 10 armored ships to maintain local maritime superiority and form a strong deterrent force against Britain and the United States!"

Facing Lin Yuehu's proposal, Emperor Zhu was silent for a while, and then said.

"For now, eight combat ships and eight armored ships are enough to form a deterrent. The current technology is improving with each passing day. According to the plan, the "Youzhou class" will be three years later, which is Sheng Germany will complete the project in nine years, how far will the naval technology advance three years from now?"

After asking back, Emperor Zhu said again.

"The technological innovation of the navy is very fast, especially in the past few years, rapid-fire guns, kerosene hybrid boilers, I heard that General Dynamics is developing a new type of main engine, maybe in a few years, even the "Youzhou class" To be eliminated, wait, the real competition is after Turkey."

What is a real competition?
Dreadnoughts of course!
Emperor Zhu's model room already has a dreadnought model, and now there are only some key technologies that are missing. As long as those technologies are solved, Da Ming will create a dreadnought time.

"The most important thing right now is to constantly explore new technologies for the future. As for the second phase, of course it needs to be expanded, but don't think about the Youzhou class anymore. The new capital ship should be more powerful, and a new type of ship can be redesigned. Capital ship! However, it must have more powerful firepower and faster speed!"

New capital ship!

When Lin Yuehu heard it, his face was covered with a smile that couldn't be concealed. There are better things than this.

"The minister obeys the order!"

With His Majesty's will, the navy can further expand its sea power. The new type of battleship is stronger and faster...

"By the way, what's the situation in West Africa now? How did the British respond?"

(End of this chapter)