1627 Rise of the South China Sea

The Portuguese on another ship at this time did not have such an optimistic idea as Su Keyi.

Of course, Thomas and Simao also noticed the two escort fleets that appeared successively, but what they thought of was not the complicated relationship between Fujian and Taiwan, but the combat strength of these two fleets.

Thomas looked at the Haihan warship cleaving the waves on the sea not far away, and couldn't help saying to himself: "Haihan's military strength is really terrifying!"

Simao replied: "Do you know what is the scariest thing? It's not that the Haihan people deployed two armed fleets in the Fujian Strait at the same time, but that the strength of these two fleets is not even ranked high in the establishment of the Haihan Navy." !"

Simao's emotion is not groundless. He has visited Haihan troops in various places over the years, including the garrisons in Fujian and Taiwan.Through long-term contact, he has a very clear understanding of the strength of the troops stationed in Haihan.

As far as the navy is concerned, the most powerful is of course the South China Sea Fleet that Haihan is famous for.Choose one of the four fleets under it, probably stronger than the two Fujian and Taiwan fleets combined.

For example, the third detachment stationed in Xingdao and the fourth detachment stationed in Manila are all armed forces that can stand alone and have the power to destroy the country.

The naval force second only to the South China Sea Fleet in strength is the East China Sea Fleet with its headquarters in Dinghai Port, Zhoushan.

Although the area under the jurisdiction of the East China Sea Fleet is smaller than that of the South China Sea Fleet, thanks to the wealth of the East China Sea region, the fleet has always had a sufficient military budget, well-trained and well-equipped, and can be called the elite at sea.

The East China Sea Fleet not only designed and built the latest "Glory-class" warships on its own, but even had spare capacity to build an overseas station in Sasebo Bay, Japan, across the East China Sea, bringing western Japan into the fleet's supervision.

Compared with the East China Sea Fleet, the Northern Fleet started late, and even needed to go south to Dinghai Port to complete the repair and maintenance of warships in the early days.

However, the Northern Fleet relied on many natural harbors within its jurisdiction, successively built several naval bases in Zhifu Port, Lushun Port, and Qingdao Port, and now firmly controls the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea between the Liaodong Peninsula, the Shandong Peninsula, and the Korean Peninsula.

However, the jurisdictions of the Fujian Fleet and the Taiwan Fleet are basically limited to the Strait area. Whether it is the scope of activities or mission requirements, they are far behind the three major fleets. The scale of their establishment and the level of equipment are naturally not at the same level.

However, if one of these two fleets is randomly selected, there will be few opponents in the Far East.It is hard to imagine what kind of impact it will have on European counterparts if Haihan deploys these armed fleets all over the world.

Thinking of this, the two saw deep worry on each other's faces.If the executive committee really plans to expand the territory by sea, who else in the world can stop Haihan?

Two days later, the fleet arrived near the Taishan Islands at the junction of Fujian and Zhejiang, and joined the East China Sea Fleet here.

When they reached the border of the East China Sea region, the escort missions of the Fujian and Taiwan fleets ended. The flagships in the fleet sounded their whistles to bid farewell to the fleet led by the Executive Committee, and then turned around and returned to the station.

The number of warships dispatched by the East China Sea Fleet is not more than that of its colleagues, but the specifications are higher.

As the only glorious-class warship in service so far, Zhoushan served as the flagship of this escort fleet.

This is also Haihan's warship with the most advanced equipment and the largest displacement. This is the first time for most people, including members of the executive committee, to see this new warship with their own eyes.

Equipped with the latest steam power system, Zhoushan's mast and sails are greatly simplified, and its shape is no longer as complicated as that of traditional sail warships.The naval guns that were mainly deployed on both sides of the ship in the past have now been replaced by more advanced deck turrets with a larger firing range.

Such a battleship should not have appeared in this era, but Shi Diwen used the power of money to make it come out at least 100 years earlier.

The Zhoushan is a masterpiece of Haihan's existing industrial level. Many of the equipment installed and used on this warship have not yet been mass-produced. It can be said that it is specially customized for this warship, and the cost is high. Know.

Although the tonnage of the Glory class is only a little more than double that of the Majestic class, due to the impact of equipment and construction period, the cost of the first ship is nearly ten times higher.Perhaps after starting batch construction in the future, the navy can slowly spread the cost and reduce the cost through the quantity.

It is precisely because of the high cost, long construction period, and difficult maintenance of this large warship that the Executive Committee is still hesitant to use this type of warship as the main force of the navy in the next stage.

But at least one thing, everyone has reached a consensus, that is, the sense of oppression of this new type of warship is indeed very strong, and people can't help but associate its huge hull with combat power.

"It's really a beautiful battleship!" Even Ning Qi, who was not very interested in weapons and equipment, expressed sincere admiration after seeing this battleship.

Yan Chujie said: "When we arrive in Zhoushan, we can board the ship and visit."

Jozhia added: "Not only the ship, but also the shipyard has to be visited."

Although Zhoushan Shipyard's technical strength is not bad, it will definitely encounter many difficulties in building such a large warship.After the advent of the Zhoushan, it can be said that this symbolizes that the local shipbuilding level has reached or even surpassed the Sanya Shipyard.

Two days later, the fleet arrived in Zhoushan waters smoothly.

Even though this is the busiest shipping area in the East China Sea, the appearance of this huge fleet still amazes the locals who are accustomed to the world, and they all ask where the gods are driving.

There are many ships passing by in Zhoushan, and the waterway and docks have not been cleared in advance like Hong Kong. It took nearly half a day for the dozens of ships in the fleet to dock at multiple docks in Dinghai Port, Zhoushan.

As a landlord, Shi Diwen naturally attached great importance to the arrival of the Executive Committee, and specially came from Hangzhou two days in advance to welcome them.According to the itinerary, the executive committee will take a short rest in Zhoushan for two days before departing for Hangzhou.

Along with Shi Diwen to Zhoushan, in addition to a large group of local officials and gentry, there were Tao Hongfang and Ning Zijing who stayed in the East China Sea Region for a second post after going north for inspection last year.

It has been almost a year since the two young people left Sanya, and this is probably the longest time they have been away from home in their lives.After seeing their father in Dinghaigang, both of them were very excited, and hurried forward to say hello.

Tao Donglai looked at his son, nodded in relief, and said, "I've been out for so long, but my body has grown stronger."