Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 485 Shipbuilding cannot stop

After visiting the British Royal Naval Dockyard, it was already late. It was already dark in Portsmouth around 5 pm, and the King of Chu and his entourage prepared to return.

At this moment

I heard a commotion outside the shipyard building, and soon a guard officer came to report:
A group of people claiming to be Tsarist Russian envoys attempted to break through the cordon, but were blocked by a line of defense consisting of English police and guards officers, and a physical conflict broke out between the two sides.

The diplomatic department confirmed that these people were indeed diplomats from the Tsarist Russian Embassy in the UK, but they had no appointment and no permission to meet with the king.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu seemed to understand something and turned to look at the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Henry. Lord Henry shrugged helplessly and explained:

"Due to certain policy changes, the interests of the Tsarist Russian royal family have suffered considerable losses. These Eastern Slavs carry the heritage of the steppe barbarians in their blood, and are indeed rather crude. We regret this minor incident."

"That's totally understandable. Let's forget about these unpleasant things." King Zheng Guohui of Chu didn't say much about these minor troubles, as they were on British territory after all.

If you stretch your hands too far, you will annoy people.

The King of Chu's convoy left the British Royal Naval Dockyard as planned. Among the separated crowd, several angry white people were waving their fists and shouting loudly, but they were blocked from a distance.

The Chu State launched an oil trade war to compete for the European market. It was a fight between the eldest and second-in-command, which directly destroyed the third-in-command.

Germany was greatly tempted by low-priced crude oil and directly abandoned its former trading partner, Tsarist Russia, and instead embraced the cheap and high-quality Bandar Seri Begawan crude oil without any regrets.

This left Tsarist Russia dumbfounded, as all its export crude oil products that earned hard currency were unsaleable.

The Baku oil field in Azerbaijan within the territory of Tsarist Russia is the world-class oil field with the largest reserves and the best quality discovered in Europe today. It has been industrially developed since the 19s.

The Baku oil field has low production costs and large reserves, and was originally the best crude oil resource for export to Europe.

But the biggest problem is
Azerbaijan is landlocked and separated from Europe by thousands of mountains and rivers, making transportation extremely inconvenient. Baku is located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, a completely enclosed inland sea, and there is no way to transport resources to Europe by ship.

The only channel
This is the railway from Baku to Tbilisi, Georgia, which was built at great expense by Tsarist Russia. If you can reach the Mediterranean from here through the railway in the Ottoman Empire, it would be the most convenient route.

However, since the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia were sworn enemies, there was no possibility of this happening at all.

If Baku crude oil is transported from Tbilisi via the Black Sea port, it would be a more economical option.

However, because the Ottoman Empire controlled the Bosphorus Strait, it could directly seize passing oil tankers, which made Tsarist Russia furious but there was nothing it could do.

A huge amount of money was spent to build the railway from Tbilisi to Moscow, which was connected to the mainland railway network and transported from Moscow to Germany via Belarus and Warsaw.

Such a long railway line, plus more than 1,300 trains transporting oil tankers each year, has an astonishing cost, which is much more expensive than sea transportation.

Less than two years of good times passed before the State of Chu suddenly launched an oil trade war, which completely confused Tsarist Russia and left it with no room to fight back.

After all, the transportation costs are high and cannot be saved in any way.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not care about these things. Tsarist Russia posed no threat to him. He was just furious and powerless. The military force that Tsarist Russia could deploy in the Far East was extremely limited.

Not bragging
The Chu Royal Navy could completely annihilate the Russian Far East Fleet stationed in Vladivostok with just one hand behind its back.

Through the huge surplus in oil trade over the years, the Chu royal family and government have accumulated a total surplus of more than 33 billion silver dollars, which is an astonishing wealth.

The total value is equivalent to US$33 billion, or £6.6 million.

The money was invested in a diversified manner through royal and government funds. Part of it was used to expand the capital of the eight major banks of Chu State and to hoard a large amount of gold to enhance the ability to issue currency.

Enhance market circulation, promote investment through the issuance of loans, promote the further development of the industrial and agricultural economy, and steadily enhance national strength.

Another part of the industrial investment fund is used to incubate and lead industrial development, such as in emerging automobile and agricultural machinery industries, national railway development projects, 5-ton deep-water terminal projects in Manila, Batangas, Davao, Pontianak and Aceh ports, -ton dock projects, new steel plant projects and other major engineering fields, with continuous investment.

Another part of the investment is diversified through companies under various names in the financial markets of London and Paris, purchasing government bonds, shares of gold mining companies, and equity in some European ports and important facilities.

The annual dividend income alone amounted to nearly 20 million pounds, of which 65% went to the Chu royal family.

Through its vast financial resources, the Chu royal family's funds acquired and controlled numerous important ports. They also held significant stakes in major ports in major European powers like Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, gradually developing a world-class merchant fleet.

The returns on these infrastructures are generally not high, with most below an average annual rate of 6%, but they are stable, with clear ownership and long-term positive financial conditions.

Through some white gloves, the six major funds under the Chu royal family also secretly controlled a large amount of land and fixed assets in California on the west coast, arguably the largest landowner in the United States. This was just the tip of the iceberg hidden under the water. The outside world said that the Chu royal family was rich enough to rival an entire country, and it was really not an exaggeration.

Around 9:00 am the next day

The local upper class nobles and Chinese business groups who came to see her off at Portsmouth Dock, as well as thousands of local residents, witnessed the huge figure of the Ocean Shuttle cruise ship slowly leaving the dock, blew a long whistle, and headed out of the bay.

Standing on the side
As the cold and salty Atlantic breeze blew in his face, King Zheng Guohui of Chu looked sternly at the densely packed British Royal Navy ironclad fleet stationed in the vast bay, feeling awe in his heart.

In Portsmouth Bay
There are more than 140 ironclad warships quietly stationed there. Among them, there are more than 40 -ton ironclad battleships of the "Manila" class. Their huge figures as towering as mountains make people's scalps numb.

From the largest armored battleships, to the slender armored cruisers, to the smaller armored frigates, they are all moored in the harbor in an orderly manner.

This does not include the capital battleships stationed in other British ports, the Fourth Battle Fleet stationed in Istanbul, the Third Battle Fleet stationed in Calcutta, and a dozen squadrons stationed around the world.

Just one order

This astonishingly powerful Royal Navy will launch a fierce attack and tear apart any enemy that dares to challenge it.

After witnessing the formidable power of the British Royal Navy, King Zheng Guohui of Chu could better understand the desperation of Tsarist Russia. Although they had won the war, they had to give up most of the fruits of victory under the strong suppression of Britain.

After witnessing the maritime power of the European powers with his own eyes, King Zheng Guohui of Chu gripped the railings so hard that his knuckles turned white, and he felt an even more urgent sense of crisis.

The development of the Chu Royal Navy's main combat power can be slower, but it must never stop.

It was already early October 1884. In the Chu state, the sixth Manila-class ironclad battleship, the Lan Fang, had been launched and put into operation, marking the completion of the construction plan for this series of main battleships.

The new level of ocean-going enhanced models must be approved as soon as possible and put into production one after another.

After arriving in Paris, he issued an edict, specifically approving the construction plan of a new class of main battleships, this time a class of four ocean-going reinforced ships.

Compared with the "Manila" class ironclad ship, the new class of battleship has a hull lengthened by seven meters and thickened bulletproof armor, providing stronger protection for important parts such as ammunition depots and command towers.

The coal bunker was also enlarged, and the improved triple-expansion horizontal steam engine had enhanced power. While the displacement increased by more than 17.5 tons, it was still able to maintain a maximum speed of knots.

The Chu Royal Navy had already planned to use the original ten old-style "Zhen"-class ironclad ships, which was to send them to the frontier governor's area to guard the border, and this plan could also be approved.

The ironclad ships "Zhendong" and "Zhenyuan" belonged to the Pacific Fleet, leading a group of ironclad cruisers to guard the Governor's District of Hawaii, with their home port in Pearl Harbor.

The ironclad ships "Zhennan" and "Zhenwei" belonged to the Atlantic Fleet, leading a group of ironclad ships to guard the Governorate of Tuscany, with its home port in Blanca.

The ironclad ships "Zhenhai" and "Zhenhe" belonged to the Caribbean Fleet, leading a group of ironclad ships to guard the Governorate of Central America. Their home port was located in the Port of Colon on the Caribbean coast, which was only 72 kilometers away from the famous Port of Panama on the Pacific side.

The ironclad ships "Zhenhu" and "Zhenjiang" belong to the Indian Ocean Fleet. They lead a group of ironclad ships to guard the island of Sumatra. Their home port is located in Aceh, which is also the easternmost port in the Indian Ocean.

The ironclad ships "Zhenxi" and "Zhenbei" belong to the Red Sea Fleet. They lead a group of ironclad ships to guard the East African Governor's District. Their home port is located in Dinghai Port. They actually control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait channel and further strengthen their influence on the Eurasian shipping routes.

Thus

The ten "Zhen"-class ironclad ships, which were originally a bit old, can be sent to the frontier governor's district to make use of their remaining energy to further consolidate and strengthen the maritime power of the frontier colonies. This is also a geopolitical need.

Especially for the fleet stationed in the Red Sea region, Deputy Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Pan Tianshou communicated effectively with the British side, gained the British side's understanding, and the last obstacle to far sea deployment was eliminated.

According to the latest news
The British warship HMS Perseverance, which ran aground on one side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has been demolished and dismantled, which is quite fast considering the British administrative efficiency, which has always been slow.

In just three months, this British warship, which had been launched just over seven years ago, completely disappeared, ending its short service life. It is really a pity.

For the sake of the British Empire's reputation, this stranded warship must not be allowed to continue to be disgraced.

Agreeing to Chu's plan to station warships was also a compromise made by the British side, just to make up for some of the debts.

This was roughly the deal under the table. The Red Sea coast was within the Ottoman Empire's sphere of influence, so the stationed fleet had to at least notify the Ottoman Empire or obtain permission.

But now the Ottoman Empire's power has declined significantly, and it has completely lost control of Yemen and the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula, so no one cares about the Ottoman Empire's ideas.

The weak have no voice; this is the harsh reality of the 19th-century international order.

(End of this chapter)