World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"This turret layout... two in the front and two in the rear? Not the traditional superimposed type?"

"Yes, all arranged along the centerline. Turrets A and B are on the same deck, as are turrets C and D." Chen Feng pointed to the blueprints. "This design reduces the ship's length and increases structural strength."

"But the shooting range will be affected..."

"Therefore, the turret base has a special design that allows it to rotate 360 ​​degrees. Of course, it won't be used like this in actual combat."

Liu Yongfu flipped to the next sheet, which was an armor layout diagram. He stared at it for a full minute, then looked up: "Commander-in-Chief, this armor's angle of inclination... and this thickness distribution... who designed this?"

What do you think?

"I..." Liu Yongfu pushed up his glasses, "I can't design it. At least not right now. This concept... is too ahead of its time."

Chen Feng did not answer, and opened the second box.

This time it's a submarine.

The U-IX type had an underwater displacement of 1,200 tons, six torpedo tubes, and a range of 8,000 nautical miles. The drawings even indicated the periscope's magnification, battery capacity, underwater speed, and endurance.

"Eighty submarines," Chen Feng said. "I want to build at least eighty of these submarines before 1914."

The venue erupted.

"Eighty ships?"

"How much will this cost?"

"Where are the workers? Where are the materials?"

Chen Feng let the discussion continue for half a minute, then tapped the table.

"The third box."

Cruisers and destroyers. A simplified version of the Omaha-class was named the "Nanyang-class" cruiser. An improved version of the Minekaze-class was named the "Petrel-class" destroyer. Each drawing is marked with detailed parameters, from main gun muzzle caliber to engine power, from armor thickness to range.

Liu Yongfu had already sat back down, but his eyes remained fixed on the blueprints. His fingers tapped lightly on his knees, a habitual gesture when he was thinking.

"Commander-in-Chief," Liu Yongfu finally spoke, "may I ask you a question?"

"Excuse me."

"Where did these blueprints come from?"

The room fell silent instantly. Everyone looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng remained silent for three seconds.

"They should come from where they're needed," he said. "Chief Engineer Liu, what you should be concerned about now isn't the source of the blueprints, but rather—can we build them?"

Liu Yongfu stood up again. This time, instead of looking at the blueprints, he took out a small notebook and a pencil from his pocket.

"Then let's do the math," he said. "President, please give me a time."

"By the end of 1914," Chen Feng said, "I want four Bismarck-class battleships, five Omaha-class cruisers, twenty Minekaze-class destroyers, and eighty U-boats. All of them must be in service."

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

Liu Yongfu's pen flew across the paper. He was writing engineering equations, reciting them as he wrote:

"Four battleships, with a standard displacement of 41,000 tons and a full load displacement of 50,000 tons... let's say an average of 45,000 tons. Four ships would require 180,000 tons of steel."

"Five cruisers, the Omaha-class, with a standard displacement of 7,000 tons and a full load displacement of approximately 9,000...45,000 tons."

"Twenty destroyers, the 'Minekaze-class' with a standard displacement of 1,300 to 26,000 tons."

"Eighty submarines, each weighing 1,200 to 96,000 tons."

He looked up: "The hull steel alone will require 347,000 tons. That doesn't even include armor steel, gun barrel steel, and special steel for the engines."

Chen Feng nodded: "Continue."

"Our steel production capacity last year was 350,000 tons," Liu Yongfu said. "Of that, about 150,000 tons were special steel that could be used for shipbuilding. At this rate, it would take more than two years just to gather the steel."

"What if we increase our steel production capacity to one million tons?"

"That would require expanding the steel plant, adding steelmaking furnaces, and training workers... for at least a year."

"A year is too long," Chen Feng said. "I want to increase the special steel production capacity to 300,000 tons within six months."

Liu Yongfu smiled wryly: "President, this isn't magic. It takes eight months from construction to commissioning of a steelmaking furnace..."

"So we don't use the traditional method." Chen Feng walked to the blackboard and drew a simple flowchart. "Oxygen top-blown converter. I've put the design drawings in the blueprint box; you can take a look when you get back. This type of furnace has only one-third the smelting time of an open-hearth furnace, but its output can be doubled."

Several engineers from the steel plant gathered around to take a closer look.

"Where does oxygen come from?"

"Build an air separation plant. Linde of Germany has the technology; we can buy it."

"What about temperature control?"

"Automated instrumentation. We're already developing it."

Liu Yongfu stared at the blackboard for a long time before asking his second question: "Where are the workers? Shipbuilding isn't like laying bricks; it requires skilled welders, riveters, pipe fitters, and electricians. We currently have 8,000 shipyard workers, working in three shifts."

"Training," Chen Feng said. "Starting today, all technical schools will expand their enrollment. We will implement an apprenticeship system, with one master craftsman mentoring three apprentices, and a reward of fifty pounds for each successful apprentice. All immigrants with skills will be given priority for assignment to shipyards."

"How can we guarantee the quality? Novices might cause accidents..."

"So we need to standardize." Chen Feng opened another blueprint, which was the detailed process of the "segmented construction method." "The hull is divided into fifty modules, which are built simultaneously in different workshops. Each module has a standard interface, and finally they are assembled in the dock like building blocks. This can shorten the construction time by 40%, and novices only need to master the process of one module."

Liu Yongfu's eyes lit up: "Segmented construction...that's a great idea! But what about transportation? How will we transport the large modules?"

"Dedicated tracks and heavy-duty trailers. The designs are all in the blueprints."

"Welding process? How do you control welding deformation on such a large module?"

"Pre-deformation design and sequential welding method. Our welding research institute has been conducting experiments for six months and has a mature solution."

The question-and-answer session lasted for twenty minutes. Liu Yongfu asked increasingly detailed questions, while Chen Feng answered faster and faster. Later, several engineers joined in, and the questions expanded from steel to marine engineering, from fire control to carrier-based aircraft—indeed, the blueprints even considered the deployment of seaplanes for reconnaissance.

Finally, Liu Yongfu stopped. He took off his glasses and wiped them vigorously.

"Technically...it's possible," he said, "but President, it takes money. A lot of money."

"How many?"

Liu Yongfu did the math again: "Conservatively speaking, the construction cost of these ships alone will be over 30 million pounds. Add to that the supporting steel mill expansion, shipyard renovation, worker training... it won't be less than 40 million pounds."

The room was deathly silent.

Forty million pounds. Lanfang's total revenue for the entire previous year was only eight million pounds. (This is not revenue from arms sales.)