Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 249: Bombarding Dinghai! The general attack begins
Ever since the attack ship "Storm" went out to sea and robbed Seymour's fleet.

Simon Hall now has abundant funds.

The Cao Gang and other forces that had defected to Ximen Tang began to operate at full capacity, mobilizing supplies from other provinces into Shandong.

Simultaneously,

'Simon Tang Manufacturing' is also going smoothly.

The entire Shandong team has been completely established.

Anyway, he left all administrative matters to Zeng Xuanhuai.

As the Governor of Shandong, he began to become leisurely.

Now that Ximen Tang's development is on track, he has much less to do.

Therefore,
In addition to practicing martial arts, Chen Jie devoted all his energy to the construction of Ximen Hall's army and the production of the arsenal.

In troubled times, if you want to gain a foothold, you must have sufficient firepower!

Only when you have guns and cannons can you speak loudly.

Others dare not mess with you!

This is not only true for the Daqian Dynasty, but for any dynasty.

Whoever has the bigger fist is right!

If you don't have fists, no matter how rich you are, you will become someone else's leek and be harvested at will.

Chen Jie knew very well that Ximen Tang’s army was the foundation of his foothold in this world.

If Ximen Tang does not have a strong army under his command, then everything is in vain.

Therefore,
Now that we have money, we naturally need to expand our military.

The Ximen Hall currently stationed in Shandong has expanded its army to 100,000!
The War Division, Eagle Division, and Bear Division expanded their military forces to 30,000.

The 'Navy Department' has expanded to 5,000 people, and the other 5,000 people are Ximen Hall's special operations team!
The number of imitation AK47 automatic rifles produced so far has reached 3000.

There are as many as 10,000 mortars of various specifications and models!

Although compared with the army of the Daqian Dynasty, the firepower of the Ximen Hall garrison was able to form an absolute crushing force.

but,

Compared with Ximen Tang’s 100,000-strong army, there is still a huge gap in weapons and ammunition.

Currently, each of the core departments of Ximen Hall can only be equipped with 500 imitation AK47 assault rifles to form a special operations battalion.

Each artillery battalion was equipped with 3000 guns.

Other newly added soldiers can only use muskets.

Because Ximentang has established a complete training system.

These recruits can quickly become elite troops after a period of special training.

of course,

From all the recruited martial arts masters, Chen Jie selected a group of those with high martial arts skills and added them to the Guards Battalion.

He was very cautious about the safety of the entire Ximen Tang Qingzhou headquarters and the Governor's Office.

Top priority,
The most severe one is the 'Ammunition Factory'!
Whether it is artillery shells or bullets, production capacity is limited.

Trying to supply an army of 100,000 people seemed very difficult.

but,

There is no other way around this, the ammunition production line was moved here.

If you want to move another set of equipment over, you will need to consume too much [Martial Arts Merit Points].

In terms of funds and materials, Ximentang's 'fundraising' is proceeding normally.

At the same time, he robbed Seymour and got nearly 6000 million silver dollars.

Although as Ximen Hall expanded its army, money was spent like water, and almost five million silver dollars were spent at once.

But overall, with Ximentang's current funds, there should be no problem in supporting five years of development.

In terms of grain reserves, the Cao Gang and other gangs purchased grain from all over the Daqian Dynasty and continuously sent it to Shandong.

We have guns, money and food!

The situation in Shandong as a whole is very stable. The people have food to eat and can enter the newly opened Ximentang factories in various places to make money.

Therefore,
Not only Ximentang, but the development of the entire Shandong Province has entered the fast lane.

In terms of fleet construction, Chen Jie completed the transformation of twelve "Storm" fast attack ships one after another.

This batch of fast attack ships is the core of the Ximen Tang fleet's combat effectiveness.

Two "armored cruisers" were seized from Seymour's fleet and sent to Qingdao Shipyard for repair.

in addition,

The exploitation of the oil fields has already begun.

Although the output is not high at the beginning, the subsequent output will gradually increase.

Last week, Chen Jie went back to the "Urban World" and participated in the second round of the "Hell Blood" championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

With his current strength, it is natural that he will have complete control again!
The knife kick of 'Half Fox' has become an unbridgeable gap in the underground boxing world of South America.

No one can crack the 'knife kick'!
When the seven-day boxing match ended, Chen Jie once again obtained 50 [Martial Arts Merit Points]!
He moved the refinery equipment and four sets of welding equipment over.

Also moved in were core components and detailed technical data of production lines in textile factories, glass factories, cement factories, etc.

After moving these things over, Chen Jie's [Martial Arts Merit Value] hit rock bottom again.

The refinery is located not far from the oil field, only 30 kilometers away from the military camp in Dongying, Shandong.

Chen Jie invested another 20 silver dollars to ask Fu Cheng to expand the scale of construction.

The construction of the Ximentang fleet is the current focus of development.

After Chen Jie arranged the matters at the Qingzhou headquarters, he went to inspect the refinery.

He immediately rushed to the shipyard in Qingdao to inspect the progress of the repair of the two armored cruisers.

When he arrived at Qingdao Shipyard and saw the rows of newly built shipyard workers' dormitories, Chen Jie was very satisfied.

He did not bother with the politeness and, under the guidance of the newly appointed director of the shipyard, Hu Dahai, he watched the progress of the armored cruiser's construction.

Most of the technical backbones of Tianjin Shipyard began to transfer to Qingdao Shipyard.

Ximentang's development focus is shifted towards Shandong.

Hu Dahai brought Chen Jie to the repair production line of the "Raleigh-class cruiser".

The cruiser had its hull pierced by armor-piercing shells and needed to be repaired.

at this time,

Hundreds of people were working on the ship, it was extremely busy.

Hu Dahai introduced:

"Sir, this is the dock that our Qingdao Shipyard built before. It was designed for ships with a displacement of 8,000 tons."

"Most of the ships in the future can be repaired in this dock."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

Repairing a ship is a complex project.

It is completely different from the previous transformation of merchant ships.

Merchant ships have a small displacement and a simple structure.

The 'Raleigh-class cruiser' has a displacement of 5200 tons and is equipped with 42 guns.

It uses a steam engine powertrain and an inlaid design.

Therefore,
The cruiser's powertrain does not need to be modified, and the difficulty of modification is very great.

Chen Jie also had no plans to modify the armored cruiser's powertrain, as it was not cost-effective and had low cost-performance.

"Hu Dahai, how long will it take to repair this 'Raleigh-class cruiser'?"

"Do you have enough manpower? Do you want to transfer some more people over?"

Chen Jie asked.

Hu Dahai replied:

"Sir, it will take three months before we can get back into the water!"

"Sixteen shell holes penetrated the hull, and the damage inside was very serious."

"In addition, we need to increase the diesel tanks to ensure that the ship can carry 2500 tons of diesel, which requires a lot of effort."

"We already have enough manpower. There's no point in sending more people over. The venue is only this big!"

"After the restoration of this 'Raleigh-class cruiser', these craftsmen will have gained a lot of experience."

"The repair of the next 'Orlander-class cruiser' will be much faster."

The diesel tank is prepared for the "Storm" attack ship, not the power source of the armored cruiser.

In general,

One 'Armored Cruiser' requires six 'Storm' fast attack ships.

Then add transport ships to make it a complete fleet!

Six "Storm" fast attack ships, all of which require 480 tons of diesel to be fully refueled;
If you want to go out to sea, you must ensure that you can refuel more than three times, so as to ensure ocean operations for more than half a month.

Therefore,
Armored cruisers need to add 'diesel tanks'.

Chen Jie nodded and said with a smile:
"You go ahead and do your work. I'll go find Navy Master Deng Yonghe. Remember to report the progress of the ship repair every once in a while!"

"These two cruisers are very important to our Ximentang fleet!"

Hu Dahai stood at attention and said, "Yes, sir, I promise to complete the task!"

After leaving the shipyard, Chen Jiegang arrived at the Ximentang Fleet Headquarters.

suddenly,
I saw a guard coming to my side and whispered:
"Sir, there is an urgent report from Xu Shichang from the Ministry of War in the capital!"

Why did Xu Shichang look for me?

Chen Jie was startled when he heard this and said, "Let me see it."

The personal guards quickly brought a wax-sealed confidential document from the Ministry of War, which had the Ministry's seal on it.

It was originally sent to the Ximentang headquarters in Qingzhou, Shandong, but Chen Jie was not in Qingzhou.

When Thirteenth Aunt saw that it was an urgent document from the Ministry of War, she quickly ordered someone to send it to Qingdao.

Chen Jie opened the urgent letter with a puzzled look on his face, and it turned out to be a confidential letter from Xu Shichang of the Ministry of War.

The Western fleet left the Huangpu Port, and the original plan to attack Nanjing in southern Jiangsu was suddenly suspended.

The Waldersee coalition was very cautious, as they seemed to know that the Daqian Dynasty was constantly increasing its troops in Nanjing, making Nanjing difficult to attack.

Therefore,
He changed his location, left the Huangpu Port, suddenly docked at Haizhongzhou in eastern Zhejiang, and landed at Dinghai.

A burst of bombardment completely destroyed Dinghai's defense line.

The Daqian Dynasty's garrison in Dinghai was completely vulnerable under the fierce Western artillery fire.

When Xu Shichang got the news, he was very anxious.

At present, the defense of eastern Zhejiang is weak. Once the Waldersee coalition launches a general offensive, Hangzhou will be in danger.

Island in the sea!
It is the general name for the Zhoushan Islands in eastern Zhejiang, and Zhoushan Island is Dinghai!

This is the largest archipelago in the Daqian Dynasty, with nearly 1,400 islands and reefs of various types.

Among them, there are 58 islands and reefs with an area of more than one square kilometer.

Dinghai has a large area, exceeding 500 square kilometers.

The Waldersee coalition suddenly chose to land in Dinghai and station troops!
His purpose, needless to say, was to prepare to launch a general offensive from eastern Zhejiang.

Chen Jie looked at the confidential documents from the Ministry of War and fell into deep thought.

It seems that Seymour was right. Waldersee has always been suspicious and fickle.

Originally, the main target of the Western Allied Forces was Nanjing, the capital of southern Jiangsu.

but,

Unexpectedly, Waldersee made a feint and directly gave up Nanjing, and transferred the Western fleet to Dinghai in eastern Zhejiang.

Judging from the aggressive look of the Western fleet, after landing in Dinghai, they planned to occupy Dinghai and stay there for a long time.

At present, the strength of the Waldersee coalition has reached 130,000!
These 130,000 people, not including the colonial troops, are the elite of the Western Allied Forces.

In particular, the soldiers of the British Empire were all elites mobilized from the base in India.

Ximen Tang’s base was in Shandong, too far away from eastern Zhejiang.

and,

Simon Hall's fleet was established not long ago and currently only has twelve 'Storm' fast attack ships.

In terms of combat capability, the "Storm" attack ship can easily defeat a medium-sized fleet by using a sneak attack.

but,

Facing the Waldersee coalition, the "Storm" simply did not have the strength to fight head-on.

In the Sea Continent, Waldersee's fleet has hundreds of warships.

Not only is there the 'Elizabeth' battleship, but there are also twelve armored cruisers.

There are countless other gunboats, transport ships, armored ships, etc.

Although the "Storm" attack ship is very fast, it can be easily sunk once it enters the attack range of Waldersee's fleet.

Therefore,
If they fight from the sea, Ximen Tang will have absolutely no chance of winning.

If they were on the shore, in Dongying, Weihai, Yantai and other places in Shandong, Ximentang had built heavy artillery for defense, and the Waldersee coalition would never gain any advantage.

However, in eastern Zhejiang, Ximentang's light artillery alone was needed to repel the 130,000-strong Waldersee coalition.

Even Chen Jie lacked confidence.

Offense and defense are two completely different concepts.

If the Waldersee coalition forces continued to defend Dinghai, they would use Dinghai as a stronghold of the Western coalition forces.

Then,

For the entire eastern Zhejiang, it will be like a thorn in the back, and may suffer a fatal blow at any time.

He wanted to attack Dinghai by force and defeat the Western coalition forces.

Not to mention the military department of the Daqian Dynasty, even if Ximen Hall sent out all its elite troops, it would still cost a huge price and the casualties would be very large.

Therefore,
The safest way to cripple the Western coalition forces is to let them land.

The chances of winning if we fight on Dinghai Island are not high.

Currently, the most powerful part of Ximen Hall is the army, the artillery battalion.

Only by severely damaging the Waldersee coalition forces will their fleet retreat and leave the waters of the Daqian Dynasty, and the maritime blockade can be lifted.

How can we allow the Waldersee coalition to land?
This requires careful planning.

in addition,

After the Waldersee coalition landed, how would Simon Hall defeat them?
However, Shandong is too far away from eastern Zhejiang, and the situation has changed dramatically.

Chen Jie didn’t think so much about it for the time being.

How could it be so easy to ask Ximen Tang to send troops to eastern Zhejiang to resist the Western coalition forces?
Without huge benefits, Ximen Tang would never send troops!

He can't be a sucker, nor can he be available at any time.

It is impossible that Ximen Tang would send troops thousands of miles away to support eastern Zhejiang just because of an urgent letter from Xu Shichang.

Isn't this a joke?
Chen Jie and Deng Yonghe, the leader of the Ximen Hall's 'Sea Department', said:
"Xu Shichang from the Ministry of War sent an urgent message that the Western Allied Forces had left the Huangpu Port and stationed on land in Dinghai."

"It seems that Waldersee has given up Jinling in southern Jiangsu and wants to attack eastern Zhejiang!"

"The Ministry of War requests that our Ximen Hall send troops to support eastern Zhejiang and resist the Western coalition forces."

"I will mobilize the troops after I return to Qingzhou and see the situation first!"

"You, the 'Maritime Department', are temporarily keeping your troops in place. You are not allowed to send out troops without my order!"

"The most urgent task is to conserve our fleet and wait for the refinery to produce enough diesel to ensure that we can go out to sea!"

"Don't go out to sea easily during this period, so as not to run into the Japanese fleet!"

"Our 'Storm' attack ship is fast, but its armor is very thin and cannot withstand the attack of heavy artillery."

Deng Yonghe nodded and said:

"Sir, don't worry. I won't send out the fleet without your order!"

The cost of building the fast attack ship "Storm" is far higher than that of an ordinary gunboat.

It is not even much lower than the cost of a cruiser.

Currently, the Ximen Tang fleet only has these twelve fast attack ships. If any one of them is sunk, it will be a huge loss.

But you can see it.

Deng Yonghe, Zhang Wenbo and other backbone members of the Western Fleet's eyes lit up when they heard that there was going to be a war.

The last time we went out to sea and robbed the Seymour fleet, everyone in the Simon Hall fleet gained confidence.

Now whenever they hear about a war, they start screaming.

Therefore,
Deng Yonghe felt a little disappointed when he heard that the young master asked the Ximen Tang fleet to stay put.

Chen Jie heard Deng Yonghe's thoughts and laughed and said:

"Our Ximentang fleet was formed not long ago. We currently have a small number of ships and do not yet have the ability to fight in the open sea."

"Of course, the most important thing is that the diesel production efficiency of the refinery has not been improved and cannot meet our consumption."

"One day, our Ximentang fleet will become the overlord of the sea!"

"When the time comes, we will also go to the English Channel and the waters of the British Empire to show off our might!"

"The most important thing for the Ximentang Fleet at the moment is to train the backbone of the navy and train them well!"

Deng Yonghe immediately saluted and said:

"Don't worry, sir. I will definitely train the Ximentang fleet into the most powerful navy!"

Chen Jie nodded and said nothing more.

at this time,

Tang Feng from the Royal Guard came close to Chen Jie and whispered:
"Sir, the 'Qianbu' has sent out another urgent report. The Sixth Prince Li Lie of the imperial court has come to Qingzhou to visit in person!"

"Chief Ji asked the young master to return to Qingzhou immediately—!"

Chen Jie was stunned when he heard this.

The Sixth Prince Li Lie came to Shandong in person?

Depend on!
It seems that the battle front in eastern Zhejiang is tight, and the garrison troops of the imperial court’s Ministry of War can no longer hold out!

Is it appropriate to ask Ximen Tang to send troops when they are so far away?

Chen Jie muttered to himself, and quickly asked someone to prepare fast horses and return to Qingzhou with his personal guards.

-

Eastern Zhejiang, southeast of Haizhongzhou.

The sea is rough and warships are everywhere!
Hundreds of warships of the Waldersee fleet are now docked at Dinghai Island Harbor.

Waldersee, the new commander of the Western Allied Forces, wore a British aristocratic military cap on his head.

He was wearing a general's uniform and leather boots.

His slightly fat figure looked majestic at the moment.

I saw that he had a command knife on his waist and a British Empire pistol in the leather holster.

His mustache was blown into a mess by the sea breeze.

now,

He stood on the deck of the battleship "Elizabeth", looking up at Dinghai Island, looking very high-spirited.

It has been such a long time since I came to the Daqian Dynasty.

The court of the Daqian Dynasty had been delaying time and had even turned a blind eye to the conditions proposed by the party.

Since the Daqian Dynasty did not want to cede land or establish colonies, it also did not want to compensate the British Empire for its losses.

Then let’s just start a war and fight until everyone agrees!
(End of this chapter)