The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 880 Make Rome great again!

The Oval Office of the White House, Washington, summer 1876.

Thick cigar smoke rolled in front of the eyes of President Grant, the 18th President of the United States who was about to step down. He knocked heavily on the front page of The Times with his thick fingers that often played with guns. The ink headline "British Empire's Ten-Year Shipbuilding Plan" seemed so heartbreaking in the eyes of everyone.

The British Empire and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have both started a naval arms race, but what about the Americans? They didn't fight the last civil war well, so they have to "make up" for the American East-West War.
"140 steel behemoths." Grant's voice seemed to come out from the depths of his throat through gritted teeth. "Gentlemen, do you know what this means?"

Navy Secretary Robertson stood up suddenly, took out a roll of blueprints from his briefcase and spread it on the president's desk: "Mr. President, please take a look at our Navy Department's Constitution-class battleship plan! This is a battleship designed with the help of our British friends, and it is also the limit of the current technological capabilities of the US shipbuilding industry."

His fingers trembled as he traced the streamlined outline of the ship on the blueprint. "Standard displacement is 12500 tons, it uses a triple expansion steam engine, with a total power of 12000 horsepower, a deep V-shaped hull, and a designed speed of 18 knots!"

Secretary of State Fish narrowed his eyes: "This is 4-5 knots slower than the British 'Invincible Class'."

"We don't have steam turbines!" Robertson clenched his fists, looking helpless. "It's not easy to reach a speed of 18 knots with a triple expansion steam engine. After all, our ships are mainly active in the Atlantic Ocean, and it's impossible to build them as slender as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom warships in the Pacific Ocean."

He paused and continued, "In order to make up for the disadvantage in speed, the firepower and protection of this class of battleships are very powerful! There are three twin-mounted 254mm main turrets, arranged along the central axis. The thickest part of the armor belt is 228mm, but through the inclined design, it is equivalent to the British 305mm vertical armor!" He turned to Grant, "Mr. President, this type of battleship will be able to fight against the most powerful battlecruisers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the eastern Pacific!"

Secretary of War Belknap shook his head repeatedly: "The Navy Department is crazy! One such monster will cost the equipment funds of two army divisions! We need a strong army, not a useless navy. The British shipbuilding plan is the clarion call for war between the two world empires. The United States does not have much time left. We must build a strong army when the war comes, and use this army to drive all the yellow monkeys in the West into the sea!"

"Calm down, Mr. Secretary of War," said Secretary Fish slowly. "When the canal is completed in 1885, we will need warships with powerful firepower and solid armor. They will rush from the East Coast to the West Coast and cut off the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's maritime connection with the West of the United States."

Navy Secretary Robertson immediately added: "And we can form a perfect coordination with the British Navy. We are responsible for artillery battles, and they are responsible for detours and pursuit! The Navy Department has carefully calculated that the cost of a single Constitution-class ship is only $120 million. If we build a large number of them, we can reduce it to $100 million. I think we can build 10 ships in batches, with a total cost of $1000 million."

“荒谬！”贝尔纳普拍案而起，“陆军更需要这笔钱！30个新编师需要50万支改进型斯普林菲尔德M1873步枪，5000挺加特林改进型，1200门75毫米野战炮！一旦战争打响，我们需要这30个师去收拾西部那11个该死的黑红黄州”

Grant suddenly interrupted the Secretary of War in a deep voice: "Reunifying the United States and making this country truly strong is not an option, but a mission given to this country by God. So we need 10 "Constitution-class" ships and 30 new divisions! As for military expenditure, let the next government worry about it! But we must lay a solid foundation for the United States to win the war in ten or fifteen years!"

St. Petersburg, Imperial Study in the Winter Palace, June 1876.

A gilded paper cutter "dinged" into a map of the Black Sea, and the symbol of Constantinople was pierced by the tip of the knife. Tsar Alexander II gazed at the capital of the Second Rome that had haunted the tsars of all generations - he had thought that he would never be able to enter the former capital of the Second Rome as the Third Roman Emperor in his lifetime!
However, the "Ten-Year Shipbuilding Plan" just announced by the British Empire gave him hope - as long as the British Empire and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fight, Rome's chance to become great again will come!

"Your Majesty, please take a look at the new plan for the Black Sea Fleet." Navy Minister Nicholas Krabe unfolded a blueprint that smelled of tung oil. "The 'Emperor Nicholas-class' Black Sea-specific battleship is designed specifically for breaking through the Bosphorus Strait!"

Army Minister Milyutin took a closer look and said: "This is the draft."

"Only 7.8 meters when fully loaded!" Krabe's finger slid across the ship's cross-section. "Standard displacement is 11200 tons, but the wide-body design keeps the draft within the allowable range of the shallowest channel in the Black Sea." He pointed to the turret. "Two twin-mounted 305mm main guns, all arranged forward, ensure firepower projection in narrow straits!"

Foreign Minister Gorchakov pondered: "What about the armor?"

"It uses the latest composite armor!" Krabe explained excitedly. "The thickest part of the waterline is 280 mm, but the key parts use the new carburized steel from Krupp of Germany. In addition," he pointed to the bow, "a 3.5-meter-long ram, designed to hit Turkey's old wooden warships!"

The Tsar asked anxiously: "How much will it cost? How long will it take?"

"The cost of a single ship is equivalent to 550 million rubles. In ten years, the Black Sea Fleet will have ten such behemoths!" Krabe's eyes flashed with fanaticism, "By then, no Turkish fortress can stop us from marching into Constantinople!" Milyutin suddenly slammed the table: "But the army also needs funds! In order to capture Constantinople, the army needs to form the Balkan Army and the Caucasus Army. Each army has 25 people and needs to be equipped with a large number of artillery."

"That's enough!" The Tsar impatiently stopped the two men, and then said to Finance Minister Reiten: "Cut the court expenses, suspend the Siberian Railway project, and give priority to the construction of the 'Emperor Nicholas Class' with all resources!"

He turned to look out the window and saw the steam ironclad ship "Peter the Great" which had just been commissioned this year anchored on the Neva River. Although it was a new ship that had just been commissioned, it was an entire era behind those "monsters" being built by Britain and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

The Tsar suddenly said in a deep voice: "Work hard! The Third Rome will become great again in these ten years!"

Mount Lu, the "summer capital" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office, June of the 26th year of the Tianli calendar.

Luo Yaoguo gently placed the secret message from London on the desk, tapped lightly on the words "British Ten-Year Shipbuilding Plan" with his fingers, and a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The British have taken the bait. But their industrial foundation is still very strong!" He whispered in a calm voice, but it made the atmosphere in the entire conference hall suddenly tense.

All the people from the National Defense Industry Commission had already gathered together. Ma Baocai, Wang Yan, Xu Shou, Zhang Bao, Zhu Ba, and Chen Yucheng - the core figures in the military and military industry of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - were all staring at Luo Yaoguo.

"A 1.5-ton ship can run at 22.5 knots using a steam turbine and can be equipped with 2*3 305mm main gun turrets." Luo Yaoguo frowned slightly, "Tell me what you think!"

Ma Baocai, director of the National Defense Industry Commission, spoke first in a low and solemn voice: "Teacher, the test results of the Hailong-class verification ship are out." He spread out a report with dense data and sketches on it that were dazzling.

"A standard 1.5-ton ship with five twin-mounted 5mm turrets. Its firepower is a bit weak, and" he paused, "the base ring of the gun mount cracked when it was firing at a speed of 203 knots. The 18mm armor on the waterline was penetrated by a new 228mm caliber armor-piercing shell at a distance of 240 meters."

Wang Yan slammed his fist on the table, causing the tea in the cup to splash out. "This is not a battleship at all! It's a coffin floating on the sea!" He looked up at Luo Yaoguo, his eyes flashing with anxiety. "Teacher, the British battlecruiser will have a speed of more than 22.5 knots, and the main gun caliber is 305 mm. Our Hailong class can't stop it at all!"

Xu Shou pushed up his glasses and spoke calmly but helplessly: "The steam turbine project of Shanghai Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau has encountered a bottleneck, and the blade breakage problem cannot be solved in the short term. French experts estimate that with our current material technology, it will take at least five years to slowly overcome it."

If the materials are not good, you can only explore slowly and try and error over and over again. There is no other way.

Zhang Baoze said: "Teacher, the difficulties that the 1.5-ton Hailong class cannot overcome, such as insufficient defense, the impact of the 5-turret layout on the hull, and the increase in the caliber of the main guns, can only be solved on the 2-ton battleship. With an additional 5000 tons of standard displacement, many difficulties can be solved. But..."

Zhu Ba snorted coldly and interrupted Zhang Bao, "Does the navy want to empty the national treasury? They haven't even finished building a 1.5-ton battleship yet, but they want to build a 2-ton battleship! How many infantry divisions does a 2-ton battleship cost? Do you still want to form an American expeditionary force?"

Chen Yucheng held Zhu Ba's shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Without the fleet, the British battlecruisers will cut off the Pacific route! No matter how strong the army is, it can't swim across the Pacific!"

Luo Yaoguo was silent for a moment, his eyes fell on the report of the Sea Dragon class, and suddenly said: "Then let's go for the 2-ton project. Is there any pre-research project using a triple expansion machine?"

Of course, it is possible to build a dreadnought using a tricycle engine. Both the Germans and Americans have built them in history. The Americans even used the tricycle engine to build a super dreadnought - the second ship of the Nevada class, the Ohio, was propelled by a tricycle engine.

"Yes!" Xu Shou replied, "Using a triple expansion machine + a fuel boiler, theoretically a 2-ton battleship can reach a relatively ideal speed. If the ship is carefully designed, the speed should be able to reach 20 knots, but the fuel supply..."

(End of this chapter)