King of Beiyang

"Admiral, the second phase of the Dalian Shipyard project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. At that time, there will be a total of 12 slipways in the shipyard. There will also be a third phase of the project."

Besides building six "Tiangang-class" protected cruisers and upgrading the warships of the Beiyang Fleet, there are still many slipways available.

At the same time, there are still many workers available.

We can make full use of the remaining workers and slipways.

Wei Han suggested.

Li Jingyuan nodded, acknowledging that the Beiyang Fleet's strength was not yet sufficient.

In order to strengthen the Beiyang Fleet as quickly as possible, it was undoubtedly necessary to mass-produce troops.

"How about this, we can design another warship that's a bit smaller, around a thousand tons. It needs to be fast, have powerful firepower, and its defenses don't have to be too weak. This kind of warship is easier to build and less expensive, making it suitable for large-scale production. We might build a large number of these warships in the future."

Li Jingyuan suggested.

"Admiral, this is relatively simple," Zheng Qinglian replied.

For Dalian Shipyard, building such a warship would undoubtedly be very easy.

The warships that Li Jingyuan wanted to build were naturally the destroyers that would later become popular.

By this time, destroyers, also known as torpedo ships, already existed.

However, destroyers of this era had relatively small displacements, only a few hundred tons, or even three or four hundred tons, and primarily used torpedoes as their weapon.

In comparison, the destroyer that Li Jingyuan wanted to build would have a displacement of over a thousand tons, which was already quite large.

  

Li Jingyuan's arsenal was also located in Dalian.

The location offers convenient transportation, making it easy to transport various goods.

Of course, it would be very dangerous if the enemy came from the sea.

But Li Jingyuan believed that as long as they could defeat the Japanese in the next battle, the security of the entire Liaodong Peninsula would be guaranteed.

The Beiyang Fleet will become increasingly powerful in the future. It will also become increasingly difficult for the enemy to launch an attack on the Liaodong Peninsula by sea.

"Admiral, the first and second phases of the arsenal project have been completed. We have now begun manufacturing rifles, heavy machine guns, and various artillery pieces."

However, current production capacity is still relatively low. Many workers need training. At the same time, there are still many things we need to learn from the experts of the German Empire.

Cai Xiyong, the general manager of the arsenal, reported.

Li Jingyuan nodded repeatedly. The arsenal had just been established. Although it used all the machinery and equipment imported from the German Empire, it also received guidance from engineers and technicians from Krupp and Ludwig Lewes.

However, it will take a considerable amount of time for the entire arsenal to truly get on track.

However, this is undoubtedly a good start.

"At the arsenal, we can gradually master the technologies provided by the Germans, and then ramp up production. Once we have fully understood those technologies, we can develop even more advanced weapons on our own!"

Director Liu will need to put in more effort in this regard.

Li Jingyuan said.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will do my utmost!" replied Liu Qing'en, the technical director of the arsenal.

Cai Xiyong, the general manager of the arsenal, was originally the general manager of the Hanyang arsenal planned by Zhang Zhidong.

However, the Hanyang Arsenal project was shelved for various reasons.

Through Li Hongzhang, Li Jingyuan recruited Cai Xiyong to his side, appointing him as the general manager of the Dalian Arsenal.

In another timeline, Liu Qing'en was the second director of the Hanyang Arsenal, making outstanding contributions to military technology.

More than 20 years later, the first semi-automatic rifle was developed. Although it still had many flaws, its unique design was widely adopted by the American M1 semi-automatic rifle.

Li Jingyuan even thought that if he could provide Liu Qing'en with more support and guidance on design concepts in this timeline, then perhaps in another ten years or so, the Beiyang Army would be able to be the first to equip itself with semi-automatic rifles.

This will inevitably lead to a further improvement in the firepower of the Beiyang Army.

"Admiral, we are currently organizing manpower to develop the mortar and infantry gun projects you provided. We have already made breakthroughs in many key areas."

It is expected that the research and development will be completed soon and the project will enter the testing phase.

Once the trials are complete, mass production can begin.

Liu Qing'en reported.

Developing mortars and infantry guns was the first task Li Jingyuan assigned to the arsenal.

Li Jingyuan purchased a considerable amount of other rifles, heavy machine guns, field guns, and howitzers from Krupp and Ludwig Lewey, enough for the Beiyang Marine Corps and even for future expansion.

However, Li Jingyuan still intends to develop and produce mortars and infantry guns independently.

On the one hand, these two artillery pieces do not present significant technical challenges and are relatively easy to develop and produce.

On the other hand, Li Jingyuan also hoped that these two cannons could become unique weapons of the Beiyang Army.

Even if these two artillery pieces are eventually copied by other countries, or even if that is absolutely inevitable.

However, in the short term, these two types of artillery could still provide the Beiyang Army with extremely powerful combat capabilities.

Especially the upcoming war with the Japanese devils will give them a real taste of their power.

"Excellent! Complete the development of mortars and infantry guns as soon as possible. The Marine Corps is waiting for them to be deployed!" Li Jingyuan was very satisfied with this.

As per Li Jingyuan's request, three models of mortars were developed directly: 60mm, 80mm, and 120mm, which were deployed to the platoon, company, and battalion levels, respectively.

The infantry guns are currently 37mm in diameter and are mainly deployed at the company and battalion levels.

Afterwards, the caliber of the infantry gun was increased to 70 mm, specifically for use by battalion-level units.

In this way, the infantry support firepower of the Beiyang Army was further strengthened.

It can be said that once the entire plan is completed, the Beiyang Army will have an easy time defeating the Japanese in the ensuing war.

Even compared to the armies of Western powers, the Beiyang Army possessed an absolute advantage in firepower.

Li Jingyuan's first target was the Japanese. But behind the Japanese were the British. He might have to face them head-on at any moment.

Besides, the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia has already started construction.

The Russians' target was undoubtedly the entire Far East region.

The vast Northeast and the Menggu Grassland will become targets for the Russians.

Once the Beiyang Army defeats the Japanese, a conflict, or even war, with the Russians is inevitable.

Therefore, Li Jingyuan had to make these preparations in advance.

Only in this way can one break free from the perilous situation of being surrounded by wolves.