Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 428 "Zhenhu" Ironclad Ship

Since May 1877, relations between the United States and Chu were improving. Some detained American merchant ships were tried, and the captains and white sailors were either fined or sentenced to imprisonment of three to five months, and would be released soon.

This indicates that diplomatic efforts have worked. After this incident, American press and public opinion have become much more restrained and no longer dare to speak out.

The San Francisco and Los Angeles branches of the Nanyang Telegraph Office reopened one after another. Although they did not cause much sensation in the local area, business was visibly booming.

January 5st

A coup d'état took place in Honduras, Central America. A group of coup troops, mainly composed of mixed-race white officers, occupied the presidential palace and parliament, and looted the property of local Chinese businessmen, smashed shops, and injured people, causing considerable social unrest.

Some Chinese in Nicaragua were also involved, which immediately aroused strong dissatisfaction from the Nicaraguan government, which issued a warning to the Honduran coup forces.

Five days later, the situation in Honduras not only did not calm down, but became more chaotic.

Mobs were rampant in the streets, looted shops were set on fire, and corpses could be seen everywhere on the roadside, including Chinese and Native Americans. It was a doomsday scene.

On May 1877, 5, Nicaragua officially declared war on Honduras, mobilizing troops to advance from multiple directions and march directly into Honduras.

Over the next two weeks, the Chinese troops from Nicaragua divided into several groups and penetrated deep into the cities and villages of Honduras and El Salvador, carrying out a dragnet-style crackdown on local bandits and thugs, and carrying out a ruthless attack.

The related battles lasted intermittently for more than ten days and did not attract much attention from the outside world.

Central America is a place far away from the center of the world stage. It consists of several remote and weak countries, with relatively little information and few people care about it.

By early April
After a referendum, the three Central American countries of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador unanimously agreed to submit to the Great Chu Kingdom and seek ways to develop and become stronger in the future.

This proposal aroused strong dissatisfaction from neighboring countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Colombia, who believed that the Chu State had annexed the region through some means.

However, the opinions of these Central and South American countries were of little use and hardly caused much waves.

Even the American and local news media, which always like to act as "protectors of Central and South America" ​​and make comments, have all fallen silent and have not spoken a word of justice.

In this way, Central America was annexed by the State of Chu and became a part of its sacred and indivisible territory.

Chinese immigrants from Hawaii poured in like a tide. In just two or three months, nearly 30 Chinese Hawaiians arrived in Central America and took full control of the region.

The number of Chinese in Hawaii dropped sharply from 146 million to around 115 million, marking the first significant population decline. It will take two to three years to replenish the population.

The Chu State immediately established the Governorate of Central America, with its seat in Maragua. The first governor was Viscount Wang Hai.

At the same time that the Chu State conquered Central America, the Balkan War in Europe was in full swing. The Tsarist Russian army was frantically besieging Pleven, and lost 1.5 Tsarist Russian soldiers in a single battle.

The Ottoman army was equipped with advanced weapons from Britain, France, the United States and other countries, which dealt a severe blow to the besieging Russian soldiers, forcing them to stop their offensive frenzy.

Due to the huge casualties that were unbearable, the Tsarist Russian army changed its attack to siege, and the two sides were temporarily deadlocked.

The fighting was intense at the front. Officer observation groups from various countries, including officers from the State of Chu, watched the war and felt that they had gained a lot.

First of all, the scale is astonishing. Tsarist Russia and its allies including Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc. have a total strength of more than 90 troops.

Tsarist Russia alone sent more than 74 troops, and the number of Ottoman troops was no less than 40. More than one million troops from both sides fought on the battlefield, and the scale was quite astonishing.

Secondly, there are huge casualties. After a large-scale battle, the casualties of officers and soldiers on both sides can easily reach tens of thousands. This shows the cruelty of modern warfare.

Another factor was the huge consumption of materials. A large amount of war supplies were sent from the State of Chu to Europe in an endless stream, which also made a huge fortune from the war, worth up to millions of pounds.

Subsequent orders have required larger quantities, with the total amount exceeding tens of millions of pounds.

This greatly boosted the prosperity of some related industries in the Chu State, such as the tobacco industry, sugar industry, traditional Chinese medicine for traumatic injuries, etc.

After the summer harvest at the end of July
Correspondingly, the planting area of ​​crops such as tobacco, coffee, cocoa, and sugar has increased by more than 30% compared with the previous year, resulting in a gratifying situation of rising prices and volumes.

Big traders from Britain had deposited large pound sterling checks in banks early on, and big farmers and plantation owners' associations in Chu State had placed large orders.

After the outbreak of the Balkan War

Britain spared no effort in supporting the Ottoman Empire. Although it had not yet sent land troops to the battlefield, its resource support in other aspects was very powerful.

The British also saw very clearly that since the Crimean War, Tsar Nicholas II had been silent for 24 years and had painstakingly prepared for the unswerving war of revenge he launched, and it was not so easy to get involved.

Without their old partner France, and without the participation of major European powers such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the British Army alone could hardly stop the offensive of the Tsarist Russian army.

The total number of British Army is only more than 27, and its size ranks only between sixth and seventh in Europe as a whole. It is far less deterrent than the Royal Navy.

Even if we join the Balkan battlefield, nothing will change.

The Tsarist Russian army could easily double its numbers, forming a formidable army of gray beasts.

Early September
The second 8,000-ton new ironclad ship of the Chu Royal Navy, the "Zhenhu", was officially completed and put into service. A grand commissioning ceremony was held in Manila Port. Senior military and political officials of Chu and many foreign envoys and their wives attended this grand ceremony.

The two huge ironclad ships, "Zhenhai" and "Zhenhu", were quietly anchored in the Manila military port. Their huge black hulls looked like small hills, hiding the amazing power of monsters.

The subsequent "Zhenjiang" and "Zhenhe" are being built intensively in the slipway, and are scheduled to be launched in early and mid-next year respectively, and put into service after being fitted out.

After the completion of these four main ironclad ships, the Chu Royal Navy had a total of 10 main ironclad ships, forming a powerful ironclad fleet that could dominate the entire Asia and had unparalleled combat effectiveness.

At this point, the transition of the Chu Royal Navy from a sailing fleet to an ironclad fleet will come to an end.

Except for a few sailing training ships, the Chu Royal Navy will be composed of ironclad warships, which will put great pressure on the surrounding Dutch, Fuso and French fleets.

I envy you, but I can't imitate you.

A powerful ironclad fleet at sea requires a huge amount of money to build. The focus of the French fleet has always been in the Mediterranean, while the fleets of other countries are unable to follow and can only watch the Chu Royal Navy disappear into the distance.

At the commissioning ceremony of the HMS Zhenhu, Admiral Huo Haisheng, Chief of the Royal Naval Staff, announced a shocking piece of news before the eyes of the crowd. The Chu State would officially begin preparations for the construction of a 1878-ton Manila-class ironclad warship. Construction of the new ship was to begin in late 1880, with its launch in early .

As soon as the news was announced, it caused an uproar.

Looking at the shocked expressions on the faces of the foreign envoys, Admiral Huo Haisheng felt extremely proud. This would be the most formidable and powerful warship for the Chu State to dominate the Pacific.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. This news has a better effect than we imagined. The reaction of the foreigners speaks for itself."

"Hehehe... Our Chu State is a nation of ten thousand islands. Unwaveringly developing our navy is a vital barrier to safeguarding our vast maritime borders. We must never let our guard down."

"Your Majesty's insight is far-reaching, and we, the ministers, can only admire him."

"Let's go aboard and take a look."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu also noticed the reactions of the foreign envoys, and he couldn't help feeling pleased with himself, with a smile on his face.

Surrounded by his ministers, King Zheng Guohui of Chu boarded the spacious and solid deck of the ironclad ship. Feeling the twin 305mm breech-loading main guns in the armored gun room, the officials were all talking about it.

His words revealed his sincere love.

Sure enough, there is no man who doesn't like big ships and big guns. This is simply the ultimate dream.

Compared with the earlier six ironclad ships, the new Zhenhu ironclad ship has a significantly higher technical level and uses hydraulic devices and electric motors to assist in combat.

The twin-mounted 305mm main naval guns are more compact and have more intensive firepower. The shells use Nobel yellow high explosive gunpowder with stronger explosive power, and their power is incomparable to that of the previous ones.

In these short ten years

The world's industrial revolution has brought about earth-shaking changes. The rapid development of technological inventions has greatly promoted the development of the world's navigation and shipbuilding industries, and also greatly promoted the technological iteration of naval ironclad warships.

The new Zhenhu ironclad ship adopts an irregular gun room setting, namely two armored gun rooms on the front left and the rear right. Each armored gun room is equipped with a twin 305mm main gun turret, which can simultaneously carry out main gun salvo attacks 220 degrees to the front side, and can also carry out four-gun salvo attacks to the side, with a relatively wide and free firing range.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu knocked on the solid armored gun room with his hand and said to the ministers accompanying him with a smile:

"A warship is a mobile territory. With big guns and big ships, it is more convincing.

As a typical offensive military force, the Royal Navy shoulders the heavy responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the kingdom. It is also the vanguard in promoting the mighty power of the Great Chu Kingdom overseas. It has a long way to go.

When necessary, we should organize a voyage to Europe, go out and communicate with the world's naval powers, and learn more useful experiences.

If you always stay at home, you won’t make much progress.”

"Your Majesty's edict carries deep expectations, and the Royal Navy will live up to its mission. We will carefully study the European trip and submit it to the Emperor for approval as soon as possible." Admiral Huo Haisheng quickly agreed.

Such a major naval visit cannot be decided in a short period of time.

From planning to final implementation, a high level of military cooperation with countries along the way is required. The organizational work is extremely cumbersome and involves many diplomatic issues.

It took at least a year or two, but there was no way.

Every aspect of a fleet's visit must be carefully arranged. Not every country is willing to receive such a powerful weapon from a great power. It implies a strong sense of deterrence and a show of force.

Countries like the Netherlands and Japan felt very uncomfortable after seeing this.

If there is no prior communication and the fleet is not allowed to enter a port along the way, it will cause an international dispute.

The group came to the tall command bridge, which was equivalent to the height of a seven or eight-story building and had a very wide view.

Standing here commanding the warship formation, I have a strong feeling that the world is under control.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang clapped his hands on the podium and said with heartfelt emotion:
"It's hard to imagine that humans could actually build such a powerful warship and sail across the vast ocean. Only a powerful enemy could withstand this cannonball."

"Master Zhongtang, the Zhenhu is not the most powerful battleship in the world today. Britain and France both have 8000-ton battleships, and Germany has also developed -ton ironclads. The focus of the world's naval arms race is in Europe. The British Empire already possesses dozens of main ironclads, with no fewer than nine under construction."

"Then at least in this Nanyang region, our Chu State's fleet is unmatched."

"That makes sense. If the Royal Navy is determined to catch up with the world's most advanced level, it cannot stop developing."

"Hmph, that's just a light talk. I don't want you to spend any money. Only those who manage the household know how expensive firewood and rice are. Even if the royal family of Great Chu is rich, it still has to live within its means."

"Hehehe..."

Seeing that the Prime Minister was worried about the money, the Royal Navy generals smiled and said nothing more.

Anyway, with the strong support of His Majesty, the Royal Navy generals are very confident. The development of the Chu Navy is in full swing and will continue to make large investments.

The direction of Chu's military development was very clear, which was to follow the example of Britain and focus on developing the Royal Navy fleet, which continued for decades.

The development of naval construction is a bottomless pit, and no matter how much money is invested, it is not enough.

The focus of the Chu State now is to develop a type of main ironclad ship, which was previously the "Zhenhai" class and will be the "Manila" class in the next few years. This is a typical naval development strategy of a regional power.

The Chu State did not have the economic strength as strong as the British Empire. It could not develop three to four types of ironclad ships at the same time, and it was building seven or eight main ironclad ships at the same time, which far exceeded the capabilities of the Chu State.

Specialize in one type of main battleship and appropriately extend the development cycle to 3 to 4 years. In this way, the annual naval funding will be much lower and within an affordable range.

After more than ten years of accumulation, the Chu State has developed a fleet of 8 main ironclad ships, which is large enough to dominate the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.

This size of the main fleet is more in line with the current economic development level of the Chu State.

(End of this chapter)