Nanyang Storm 1864

The Spanish-American War in the Caribbean was fierce. From the outbreak of the war on April 1898, 4 to the beginning of June, when the US military assembled and began to attack Santiago and Havana, which were occupied by the Spanish.

After only two months, the Spanish defenders were defeated and on August 8th they requested an armistice and admitted defeat.

The Americans ignored the Cuban rebels whom they claimed to save, turned a deaf ear to the Cuban natives who paid a huge price in casualties in the war against Spanish colonialism, and secretly began armistice negotiations with the Spanish government.

January 10st

Representatives from the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, which was exactly the same as the original history.

According to the treaty:

Spain gave up its colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico and ceded them to the United States, and the United States compensated Spain with $1400 million.

This is slightly different from the original Paris Agreement, mainly reflected in the amount of compensation paid by the United States.

It shrank from the original US$2000 million to US$1400 million, a decrease of US$600 million.

The secret lies in the fact that the Philippines and Guam, which were originally included in the agreement, were lost 34 years ago and were not even mentioned in the contract.

This is now the territory of Chu State, and of course it is impossible to cede it to the Americans.

The Americans were also cunning and felt that Cuba and Puerto Rico were not worth that much money, so they lowered the price at the Paris Peace Conference to 1400 million US dollars.

In this way, the war would not have to continue.

The Spanish royal family could also achieve a decent ending, and the domestic propaganda was not a complete failure on the battlefield. Instead, it only reached an agreement to cede colonies, just like the Portuguese.

When the news of the United States' victory came, a group of senior generals of the Royal Army who participated in the war game simulation at the sand table of the Chu Royal Manila Advanced Infantry Academy expressed their regrets.

We had just warmed up, but who knew that the Spanish side had already backed down.

The Spanish-American War lasted for two months, and the war game simulations here lasted for more than two months. They were all presided over by the Deputy Chief of Staff and participated by the commanders of each infantry division, and the level was quite high.

The reason why it is given so much attention is that the Spanish-American War seemed to be a rehearsal for the war between Chu and the Netherlands, and there were too many similarities between the two.

This war in the Caribbean gave the Chu Royal Army greater confidence, and everyone from top to bottom was ready for a big fight.

As long as the king gives the order, the army will immediately march south...

Unfortunately, 1898 passed quietly, and several months had passed in 1899. All preparations for war were ready, but no order came yet.

"Why...are you anxious?" King Zheng Guohui of Chu smiled indifferently and asked casually.

Following him were the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Navy and a group of senior generals, including General Pan Tianshou, Chief of the Royal Army General Staff, and General Nie Tongsheng, Chief of the Royal Navy General Staff. It was truly a brilliant group of generals.

The former Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Huo Haisheng, is older and has been transferred to the position of Vice Speaker of the House of Lords, which is basically semi-retired.

Vice Admiral Robert has been dead for several years, and his son, Captain Robert the Younger, is now serving in the Royal Navy as the captain of a battleship.

Colonel Robert Jr. is not qualified to participate in such a high-level occasion today.

When the king asked this, General Pan Tianshou looked embarrassed and saluted quickly and replied:
"In reply to your Majesty, the soldiers in the army are eager to achieve success and are eager to fight. I... I have lost my temper. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was walking with his hands behind his back when he suddenly stopped and rebuked:

"Ridiculous, you are the commander of an army, how can you be controlled by your subordinates?

It is a good thing that the military officers and soldiers are enthusiastic about fighting. It needs to be guided correctly and transformed into the driving force for the training of the entire army, further strengthen the training results and enhance combat effectiveness.

To fight or not to fight?
This is not your concern; being prepared at all times and ready to answer the call of the kingdom is a soldier's duty."

Hearing His Majesty's reprimand, General Pan Tianshou's forehead suddenly broke out in cold sweat. He stood at attention and saluted with a panicked look and said:
"I, your humble servant, deserve death. I have failed your Majesty's trust. I respectfully request your Majesty to punish me."

The King of Chu said, "Deduct three months' salary, and record it. If it happens again, I will punish you together with the others, and will show no mercy."

"I accept the blame and will keep it in mind." General Pan Tianshou replied respectfully, lowering his body even lower.

The King of Chu looked around at everyone again and then said;

"Hmph, and all of you, remember this: lead your soldiers well, work diligently, abide by your duties, and do your jobs conscientiously. Don't think about those other things for me, just do your own duties first." The tone of King Chu Zheng Guohui became stern.

This made all the senior generals silent, and they accepted the order respectfully and said;

"I, your humble servant, obey your orders and will not slack off for even a moment."

"I humbly respect Your Majesty's wise judgment and prioritize national affairs. I will faithfully obey Your Majesty's command. Your Majesty's grace is so great that even if we were to die, we would never be able to repay it."

"I beg your Majesty to make a holy judgment. All the soldiers of this army are committed to serving the Lord with unwavering loyalty. Only heaven and earth can bear witness to this."

this moment

King Zheng Guohui of Chu demonstrated his absolute control over the army. He was originally from a military background and single-handedly created the current great situation of the Chu State.

His lofty prestige has become a myth among the people, and he has unparalleled appeal in the military.

Especially among the young military officers, there are quite a few who fanatically worship His Majesty the King. Many of them are second-generation immigrants who grew up listening to the legends of His Majesty the King's conquests around the world.

With just one glance, none of the generals dared to look at him.

Poor Chief of Staff General Pan Tianshou was severely scolded and dared not even fart. He could only respectfully pray for His Majesty's forgiveness.

This shows the absolute control that King Zheng Guohui of Chu had over the army.

Seeing a group of senior generals apologizing one after another, King Zheng Guohui of Chu snorted lightly and did not say anything.

Instead, he walked forward with his hands behind his back, and the others followed closely.

Today we are inspecting some gadgets, which are considered new scientific research projects in the Royal Navy, called submarines.
In today's world, technology is advancing rapidly. Wooden submarines, which appeared over 216 years ago, have evolved into submarines. Before King Zheng Guohui of Chu was a small submarine with a displacement of tons, which could just as well be called a submarine.

for a long time
The State of Chu has always pursued a strategy of closely following the development of advanced technology in Europe and the United States. It has teams that track the development of technology in real time in industry and commerce, in cutting-edge technology centered on electricity and chemistry during the Second Industrial Revolution, and in education.

Many modern technologies originating from Europe were first developed and applied in the Chu State, and were promoted and developed on a large scale in society, with profound connotations.

In many aspects, China has developed better, faster and more widely than Europe, and the government's conscious guidance has played a key role.

For example, in submarine technology, the United States is at the forefront of the world.

The United States is one of the earliest countries to develop submarines. It has invested the most money in this field, achieved the greatest results, and was the first to build modern submarines.

The groundbreaking "Holland" was launched in May 1897. It used a 5-horsepower gasoline engine for water navigation and a 45-horsepower electric motor for underwater navigation.

The main weapon of this submarine is a 1mm steam torpedo with a capacity of 2 to 457 rounds. There is also a 214mm Mizelinsky explosive gun on the bow for surface attacks.

The Chu State attached great importance to the Royal Navy's technology and had been closely following its development. It had already noticed it when the Americans proposed the concept of the "Holland".

The U.S. Navy's budget is fixed, and for any key research and development direction, there is a corresponding congressional appropriation, which must be approved by the House Appropriations Committee without exception.

After understanding this link, as long as we place people in the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, the major U.S. military development directions and key projects will be almost unilaterally transparent to the Chu State.

In this era of weak confidentiality awareness, you can get a lot of sensitive military information by pretending to be generous and buying a few drinks in a bar.

The development plan of the "Holland" submarine was leaked in this way. Relevant intelligence personnel from the Ministry of the Interior obtained a replica of the "Holland" submarine for only $450.

on the basis of

This led to the development of the "Leigong" submarine by the Chu State in early 1899. This type of submarine has a displacement of 216 tons and uses domestically advanced internal combustion engines. It can reach 72 horsepower and a speed of 11 knots when sailing on the sea.

When sailing underwater, it can use a 105-horsepower electric motor, with a speed of 7.5 knots, and can travel continuously for two hours.

The bow of the ship is equipped with two 457mm torpedoes in parallel, and its shape is like a big-nosed sea fish. The cannons originally used to attack armed merchant ships on the sea have been removed, making it a rare type of sea assassin weapon in the world.

The Royal Navy showed little interest in the small craft.

The "Leigong" submarine project was a scientific research project that King Zheng Guohui of Chu specially selected from numerous scientific and technological projects and invested heavily in, with a total investment of 460,000 to 470,000 silver dollars.

This amount of money is enough to build an armored cruiser with a displacement of more than 4800 tons.

Both the Royal Navy and the Royal Army showed little interest in the HMS Thunder submarine program.

Nowadays, the battles for supremacy at sea all focus on large cannons and warships. The main ironclad battleships are up to 15,000 to 16,000 tons in size, and the ocean-going battleships are even over 18,000 tons in size, like moving hills on the vast ocean.

In this context
A submarine of only two or three hundred tons is not worth the attention of the Royal Navy, let alone the Royal Army.

Only in the budget funds directly allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs was a plan for submarine research and construction arranged, and the level of attention given to it was not high.

At the pier
There was a large black fish moored there. Its overall body was streamlined, wide in front and narrow in the back. The narrow hull, weighing a total of 216 tons, was equipped with two 247mm fixed steam torpedoes.

These two steam torpedoes are placed in the launch tube and cannot be reloaded, which is like a cowboy with only two bullets in the chamber.

The remaining weapon for self-defense is the newly produced Maxim miniature machine gun from the Manila Arsenal, which is considered the last line of defense for the submarine.

The Chu State has been keeping a close eye on the development of European technology, especially new weapons and equipment.

Any new technologies and equipment that appeared in Europe could soon be widely used in Chu State, even ahead of Europe.

When King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw the submarine, he was very interested. He listened to the technicians' explanations, expressed his opinions from time to time, and even entered the narrow submarine cabin to experience it for himself.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu expressed many expectations for the next step of technological improvements.

For example;
I hope that the internal combustion engine equipped on the submarine will be more powerful, not just 70 horsepower, but more than horsepower, and directly apply the latest internal combustion engine technology to strengthen the submarine's power equipment.

The latest diesel internal combustion engine has a power of 320 horsepower. If used on a submarine, it can triple the current displacement of more than 200 tons to more than 700 tons, which is more than enough.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu also suggested that it was not necessary to arrange two torpedoes. Since the displacement had increased, wouldn't it be possible to equip four torpedo tubes?
Since it is equipped with 4 torpedo tubes, let's study whether it is possible to install a valve like a gun ring at the rear of the torpedo tube, and install a slide rail and torpedo bracket at the rear to double the torpedo ammunition supply?
Today's periscopes are very primitive and non-retractable, so can they be improved?
As the displacement of submarines increases, is it possible to set up a separate power compartment, separate it from the torpedo compartment and officers' and soldiers' living quarters with sealed water gates, so as to reduce the environmental impact of power noise?
King Zheng Guohui of Chu made many very novel suggestions such as these.

This opened the eyes of the submarine engineers. They felt like they had opened up another world and were able to travel freely, which gave them more confidence.

The most crucial factor in the emergence of submarines was the 427mm steam torpedo, which gave this fantastical naval equipment a terrifying destructive power that struck fear into the enemy.

The 427mm steam torpedo is the latest technological invention of our era. It has been widely equipped in the naval fleets of various countries in the world and is one of the indispensable main combat weapons.

Whether it is a battleship, cruiser, light frigate, or even a torpedo boat of two or three hundred tons, it cannot be without 427 mm steam torpedoes, more or less equipment.

This 427mm steam torpedo can now fire at a range of 800 to 1100 meters. It has a strong destructive capability and is a cutting-edge weapon in modern naval warfare.

Naval powers such as Britain and France are developing new torpedo destroyers that, in addition to a 152mm main gun, are also equipped with six to eight 427mm torpedo tubes.

The most deadly weapon of this new torpedo destroyer is the 427mm torpedo. Even if a main battleship is hit by one, it will suffer heavy damage.

A typical example of "using the small to defeat the big" is that it can show its power more when it launches a surprise attack.

Driven by the second wave of the industrial revolution, the world's science and technology are changing with each passing day. The old generation of naval weapons are withdrawing from the center stage, and new naval equipment is constantly emerging.

The large ironclad warships that were put into service just over a decade ago are now outdated.

The subtext is

The ironclad fleet that was developed at great expense in the past can no longer keep up with the development of the world situation, and we have to continue to invest huge amounts of money into this bottomless pit of naval equipment.

Updating warships, developing new weapons and equipment, and keeping up with the development trend of the world's naval forces all require a lot of money.

This shows that the rapid development of science and technology often makes people feel at a loss. (End of this chapter)