The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 569: Building Submarines

"They may even be very worried that we will buy more products from other countries, especially between two countries with hostility. This situation will be more serious and more obvious."

Teng Yuzao continued, "Because this will allow their opponents to make more money, and then they will be more powerful to compete with them, and even more powerful when they strike them."

"If the great powers want us to buy more of their products, they have to offer better products and purchase conditions than others. This can be called a buyer's market."

"That is to say, as buyers, we can pick and choose among these powerful countries. We will buy from those countries whose products are better and cheaper, and who offer us better and more favorable conditions."

"In a word, it is to make the great powers compete to sell things to us. This is the result we want. It is also called the fisherman benefits from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam. The great powers are the snipe and the clam, and we are the fisherman."

"As for how to achieve such a level, it still requires relevant means."

Teng Yuzao looked around at everyone and said, "In order to better coordinate the purchase of naval vessels, I plan to set up a temporary naval procurement leadership group."

Teng Yuzao looked at Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing and said with a smile.

"Tong Hou, Ding Ming, you are not only the elders of the Beiyang Navy, but also among all of us present here, except for Lord Zhou, you are even the elders of the Beiyang Navy. Logically, this naval arms purchase should be handled by you, but you are good at naval warfare, but you are novices in diplomacy and business."

"So, this time you will only participate in the Navy's arms procurement team as consultants. You will be in charge of the specific technical parameters. I will appoint someone else to be in charge. Do you have any objections?"

Upon hearing that Teng Yuzhao was willing to spend huge amounts of money to purchase new ships for the navy, Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing were already grinning from ear to ear, so how could they have any objections?

Ye Zugui, overjoyed, smiled and said, "Marshal, as long as you can add new ships to our navy, we will not have any objections even if we are not involved at all. Don't worry."

This time, the purchase of new ships must be done in accordance with Teng Yuzhao's ideas. We must focus on the long term rather than the present. We must not only keep our eyes on the Russo-Japanese War more than two years later, but also on the First World War more than ten years later.

In the context of limited military expenditure, for the development of the navy, Teng Yuzao must ensure that the purchase of new ships is in accordance with his ideas, even if it seems that the new ships he requires are a bit out of place at the moment, but this is the only way, he cannot take everything into account.

Therefore, Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing can only have the right to make suggestions this time, but not the right to make decisions.

Teng Yuzao nodded and continued, "Qiong Lin will be in charge of the military purchase this time, and Tang Shaochuan, Liang Songsheng, and Zhou Shouchen will be in charge of the specific negotiations with the powers and the operation."

The Tang Shaochuan that Teng Yuzhao mentioned was naturally Tang Shaoyi.

Zhou Shoushen was also a Chinese student studying in the United States, and Shoushen was his pen name.

Zhou Shoushen was from Xin'an, Guangdong, which is what we call Shenzhen in later generations.

However, he was born in Hong Kong and was part of the third group of young children to study in the United States, along with Tang Shaoyi and Liang Ruhao.

Before returning to China, he studied at Columbia University in New York.

Since Zhou Shoushen studied law in the United States, after returning to the country, he was soon sent to Korea by Li Hongzhang to handle customs and taxation.

Afterwards, he served as the acting consul of the imperial court in Incheon, and after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he stayed at home and did nothing.

Before coming to Zhili this time, he was waiting for selection in Zhili, so he was almost the first one to report to Teng Yuzhao.

Zhou Shoushen had served in history as the general manager of the Tianjin Steam Navigation Company, the general manager of the Beijing-Fengtian Railway Bureau, the Fengjin Shanhaiguan Commissioner, the Jinxi Yingkou Military Commissioner and the Shanhaiguan Supervisor, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Councilor.

After the establishment of the Republic of China, he returned to Hong Kong to do business and participated in the establishment of the University of Hong Kong.

He was successively appointed as a member of the Hong Kong Cleanliness Board and a Chinese non-official member of the Legislative Council. He vigorously promoted Chinese education in Hong Kong and was awarded the title of Honorary Member of Parliament for Life by King George V of England.

Especially during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he served as the director of the "National Salvation Bond Hong Kong Branch" and actively participated in fundraising for the war, which is even more commendable.

And that Liang Songsheng was the aide Liang Dunyan whom Teng Yuzhao asked for from Zhang Zhidong. Liang Dunyan's courtesy name was Songsheng.

After returning to China from the United States, Liang Dunyan was not very happy. Because he went home to attend a funeral, he was misunderstood by Li Hongzhang, who thought that he was dissatisfied with the assigned position and left secretly, so he ordered a wanted warrant for him. That's how he ran to Zhang Zhidong.

However, Teng Yuzao knew very well that Liang Dunyan was one of the first batch of young children from the Qing government to study in the United States. He was a classmate of Zhan Tianyou, Tang Shaoyi, Zhou Shouchen, etc.
Moreover, most of the first batch of children were admitted to Yale University.

Most of these students studying in the United States studied engineering and law. In addition to their excellent academic performance, they also loved sports. Liang Dunyan was no exception. He studied law at Yale University and was good at baseball.

However, when Zhang Xun restored the monarchy, Liang Dunyan for some reason lost his mind and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State Council by the deposed Qing Emperor Puyi.

He was therefore put on the wanted list and was only released in July of the following year.

When Teng Yuzhao mentioned Li Yulin, given Li Yulin's position and status in the New Beiyang Army, there was naturally no need for him to stand up.

But it was different for Tang Shaoyi, who was sitting behind Teng Yuzao, and Zhou Shoushen and Liang Dunyan, who were sitting opposite the group of former Chinese students studying in the United States. They all stood up when they heard Teng Yuzao mentioned him.

Tang Shaoyi obviously already knew about this. After standing up, he just smiled and nodded to everyone, then sat back in his seat.

Zhou Shouchen had served as acting consul and was a fifth-rank official. Although he was happy that Teng Yuzhao had assigned him such an important task, he just stood up, bowed deeply to Teng Yuzhao and said.

"Thank you, Marshal, for your cultivation!"

But Liang Dunyan was different. Among the more than 80 former Chinese students who studied in the United States, he was the last one to arrive, having arrived just half a month ago.

Liang Dunyan was unwilling to go to Zhili to report on the matter issued by the Grand Council requiring the Chinese students studying in the United States.

Because there were four groups of a total of 120 children who went to the United States, and this time they were recruited in large numbers in Zhili. Liang Dunyan thought that he might not stand out among so many people, so it would be better for him to stay with Zhang Zhidong, who had a good reputation in both the government and the public, as an aide. In a few years, he might be able to make a name for himself with the help of Zhang Zhidong.

Even Zhang Zhidong suddenly came to his senses and felt extremely regretful when he learned that Teng Yuzhao had loudly summoned these former Chinese students from the United States to work in Zhili and vigorously promote Westernization. After consulting Liang Dunyan, he was determined not to release them.

In the end, it was Teng Yuzhao who stepped forward and asked Mr. Qian, who was still in Wuchang at the time, to deliver a handwritten letter to Zhang Zhidong, promising to give Zhang Zhidong a locomotive and twenty carriages.

At the same time, the money-returning lawyer also handed over letters from Le Tang Shaoyi and Cai Shaoji to Liang Dunyan.

Liang Dunyan, Tang Shaoyi and Cai Shaoji were all classmates in the first batch of students studying in the United States. It was Tang Shaoyi's recommendation that gave him and Cai Shaoji the opportunity to serve in Korea.

However, Liang Dunyan was eventually misunderstood by Li Hongzhang, so he had no choice but to go to Zhang Zhidong to work as his aide.

A locomotive and twenty carriages were worth a lot of money, and with Teng Yuzhao's personal letter, Zhang Zhidong finally reluctantly gave them up.

After reading the letters from Tang Shaoyi and Cai Shaoji, Liang Dunyan finally made up his mind to come to Zhili.

However, Liang Dunyan was somewhat disappointed that Teng Yuzao handed him over to Yang Shixiang after only meeting him once, asking him to temporarily help Yang Shixiang deal with some complicated matters. Unexpectedly, today, with almost all the bigwigs of the Beiyang faction present, Teng Yuzao suddenly named his name, and even put him, Tang Shaoyi, and Zhou Shouchen in charge of the purchase of warships worth tens of millions of taels of silver, which clearly showed his extreme trust in him.

Seeing Tang Shaoyi smiling and nodding at him behind Teng Yuzhao, Liang Dunyan thought that it must be the help of this fellow villager and good friend that made Teng Yuzhao ready to support him.

Although Liang Dunyan was thinking about Tang Shaoyi's help in his heart, he said.

"Thank you for your grace, Marshal. I will live up to your trust and do my utmost to help Shaochuan and Shouchen complete the negotiations with the foreigners."

Tang Shaoyi had been a prefect, a fourth-rank official, while Zhou Shoushen was a fifth-rank official. When the three of them were together, Liang Dunyan took it for granted that he would assist the two of them.

Teng Yuzao looked at Liang Dunyan, whose eyes were shining with excitement, and said with a smile.

"Songsheng, sit down and talk. I have something else to tell you."

After seeing Liang Dunyan sit down again amid the envious gazes of many Chinese students studying in the United States, Teng Yuzao continued.

"Songsheng, I want to correct your statement."

Seeing Liang Dunyan sitting down, Teng Yuzao said with a smile.

"Although the three of you are in charge of Shaochuan this time, how to talk to the foreigners and what to do specifically are still things that need to be discussed by the three of you. There is no distinction between superiors and subordinates."

"Even if you submit your suggestions to me and General Manager Li at the end, you must also sign your names together. If you have different opinions, you can also write a separate report to us."

Teng Yuzhao's words surprised Liang Dunyan again, but he still nodded in agreement along with Zhou Shoushen.

Teng Yuzao took a deep breath and said, "Well, now listen carefully, I have some requirements for the negotiations."

Teng Yuzao started talking only after Zhou Shoushen and Liang Dunyan took out their notebooks and pens.

"This time, the military purchase will be conducted through bidding, divided into two batches."

"Moreover, the target is not just warships, but also four torpedo boats and their blueprints, submarine blueprints, and help us build two 100,000-ton, 30,000-ton, and 8,000-ton docks, six 4,000-ton docks, and eight 1,000-ton docks."

"There are also two 10,000-ton ocean-going freighters, one 5,000-ton ocean-going passenger ship, two second-hand 2,000- to 3,000-ton cargo ships for offshore use, and two 3,000- or 4,000-ton passenger ships."

Upon hearing that Teng Yuzao was going to build more than 20 docks of various sizes, each with a maximum capacity of 100,000 tons, Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing were overjoyed. They looked at each other and saw hot excitement in each other's eyes.

Building a shipyard is naturally for building ships. Although the shipyard can build civilian ships, it can also build warships!

Teng Yuzao's voice interrupted their excited fantasies.

"The first batch of bids includes two 10,000-ton large ships and six 6,000-ton fast cruisers, four torpedoes, and the torpedo boat and submarine drawings we need to introduce."

"The second batch of bids includes fourteen 6,000-ton fast cruisers and ten 2,000-3,000-ton destroyers, as well as docks and passenger and cargo ships. These passenger and cargo ships also require blueprints, and we need the winning bidder to have a certain amount of loans to follow."

"For a 10,000-ton ship, 10,000 tons is just the bottom line. 12,000 tons is not impossible."

"The same goes for the 6,000-ton fast cruiser. 6,000 is the bottom line, but a little more is fine."

"But there must be no compromise on speed and gun firing rate. The only thing allowed is that the final speed will be faster, the gun firing rate will be faster, and the full steel armor will be stronger. These cannot be changed."

"For armor of the same thickness, of course we have to choose better ones, and the deck steel must also have stronger protective capabilities."

"Of course, all warships also require a complete set of construction drawings."

Teng Yuzao smiled slyly and continued, "Of course we will also buy the second batch of targets. This is mainly to whet the appetite of the great powers."

"We must make it clear to the powers in advance that we will give priority to the first batch of bidders in the second round, unless a power can offer more favorable conditions in the second round of bidding."

"There is another important point. All warships must be completed before July of the 29th year of the Guangxu reign, while ensuring quality."

So many warships had to be taken back within two and a half years, and everyone felt that Teng Yuzhao was in a very urgent situation.

However, these people did not know the reason why Teng Yuzhao was in such a hurry.

Just when everyone was confused, Teng Yuzao's voice sounded again.

"According to my idea, we need to first maintain two 10,000-ton large ships, 20 fast cruisers of more than 6,000 tons, and 10 destroyers of 2,000 to 3,000 tons, so as to form a fast fleet. Once something happens at sea, it will be enough to deal with the enemy fleet."

"In addition, there must be at least twenty torpedo boats and dozens of the latest submarines, which can pose a sufficient threat to the enemy fleet."

After Teng Yuzao explained some more details, he said, "That's all. The rest will depend on you to negotiate with the powers."

Then Teng Yuzao said to Li Yulin, "Qionglin, we have to build the last ten fast cruisers ourselves, which is why we built these docks."

Seeing that Li Yulin still had questions, Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "You probably want to ask why we need large docks of 100,000 and 30,000 tons."

"We can't always rely on buying warships to make a living. We must first build some small-tonnage ships ourselves, like the Japanese did, to accumulate experience, and then we will build large warships ourselves in the future."

Seeing that Li Yulin still had a bitter look on his face, Teng Yuzhao hurriedly spoke.

"According to this calculation, although the total amount of silver needed is likely to reach more than 120 million taels, after deducting the silver given to us by the great powers, the silver we need to pay is only about 90 million taels."

Seeing Teng Yuzhao casually mention the amount of 90 million taels, not to mention Li Yulin, even Zhou Fu couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"We can probably borrow 40 to 50 million from this. We only need to take out about 50 million at once. As for the loan, we can pay it off in five years."

In order to prevent Li Yulin from speaking out to dissuade him, Teng Yuzao continued speaking.

"Qionglin, please tell everyone about submarines."

Seeing that Teng Yuzao didn't give him a chance to speak, Li Yulin knew that Teng Yuzao had made up his mind, so he could only sigh softly and stop arguing about the funds. Instead, he looked at Ye Zugui and Sa Zhenbing who were talking excitedly in a low voice.

"According to the Marshal's instructions, the Ordnance Department has organized a group of technicians and craftsmen to prepare to manufacture advanced submarines that are more advanced than those of the great powers."

(End of this chapter)