Chapter 323: Introducing his personal name, his name is Hays

What do the two battleships represent?

Just look at the deterrent power of the Beiyang Navy's "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" on Japan.

According to the original history, after the Beiyang Navy formed an army, it visited Japan twice, each time with two ships "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan".

The first visit was accidental.

On August 1, 1886, four ships including the Beiyang Navy, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Jiyuan and Weiyuan, led by Ding Ruchang, went to Nagasaki, Japan for overhaul during a long-distance cruise after the East China Sea exercise in North Korea. Unexpectedly, a riot occurred, known in history as the "Nagasaki Incident" (reviewed in another article). Afterwards, China and Japan held negotiations for several months through diplomatic and judicial channels. At the beginning, the Japanese side was tough, and China was not willing to be outdone, and even talked to China.

Some of the verdicts proposed the idea of ​​"withdrawing the envoy and breaking off diplomatic relations and threatening the troops". The negotiations were finally postponed until February 1887 in the UK and German ministers mediated, and concessions were made to be considered an agreement. Although the agreement claimed that the conflict was purely a misunderstanding and no accountability or right or wrong was held accountable. However, the Japanese side paid 52,500 yuan, the Chinese side only paid 15,500 yuan, and the medical and rescue fee of Nagasaki Hospital was also paid by the Japanese side. Therefore, although the number of deaths in the incident was more than that of Japan, they found face in the agreement.

Although the "Nasaki Incident" was peacefully concluded, under the instigation of the Japanese authorities, the people's hatred and anti-China sentiment was incited. When the Beiyang Navy first entered Nagasaki, there were rumors that the Beiyang Navy came to Nagasaki to negotiate the issue of Ryukyu's ownership; when Chinese sailors were attacked and forced to defend themselves, rumors of the Beiyang Navy's attacks were spread. The result of the negotiations, coupled with the incitement of rumors, even innocent and naive primary school children began to play the game of hitting the ** ship: that is, they divided the children into two groups, one as the Chinese fleet, and the other as the Japanese fleet, to capture "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan".

In March 1887, the Emperor specially ordered the allocation of 300,000 yuan from the inner treasury as a subsidy for coastal defense. The nobles and wealthy nationwide also competed to donate to coastal defense, so the donation reached 1.038 million yen at the end of September, and by the beginning of the following year, it reached 2.03 million yen. All of these funds were used to expand the naval armament.

In 1889, the 4,000-ton "Ischiao" ship ordered by Japan in France was completed and the naval military expenditure was increased by 1.07 million yen, bringing the naval expenditure to 9.3 million yen for that year, accounting for about 11.7% of the total fiscal expenditure that year.

The 4,000-ton "Matsushima" ship ordered in France in 1890 and the 2,000-ton "Kan Daitian" ordered in Britain were successively completed. In the same year, the joint navy and army exercises were held, with the Emperor personally serving as the marshal.

In 1891, the "Hashiri" ship built in the two ships of "Ischimao" and "Songdao" were launched. The "Songdao", "Ischimao" and "Hashiri" were collectively known as the "Three Scenery Ships", each equipped with a 32-centimeter caliber cannon. By December 1892, the latest 4,000-ton cruiser "Yoshino" built in the UK was completed.

So far, the Japanese Navy has 32 ships of various types, with a total displacement of 62,874 tons. Among them, the "Yoshino" has a speed of 23 knots, which is the fastest cruiser in the world at that time. Because of its short age, it absorbed the latest achievements of world science and technology at that time during its design, so it has surpassed the Beiyang Navy in many performances.

The Beiyang Navy's second visit to Japan was an invitation to formal visit:

In early 1891, in order to create public opinion on actively expanding naval combat readiness in China and conduct a survey on the combat capabilities of the Chinese fleet, Japan specially invited the Beiyang Fleet to visit Japan. In response, Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang was proud and personally arranged for Ding Ruchang to lead the essence of the Beiyang Fleet on June 26, the six ships of Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Jingyuan, Laiyuan, and the formation set off from Weihaiwei to officially visit Japan.

The Japanese side did their best to be etiquette for the arrival of the Beiyang Navy. Wherever they went, they either salute or greeted each other, and showed "ritual spirit" on various occasions, hoping to express their kindness to China. On July 9, the Japanese side also specially arranged for the emperor to meet Ding Ruchang and the Beiyang Navy's ships in Tokyo, and the etiquette was very grand. On July 10, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Natsumoto held a garden party in the back garden of Koishikawa, Tokyo to entertain the generals of the Beiyang Navy. The Japanese Navy also welcomed Beiyang officers and soldiers in the form of a reception, especially Japanese Navy Minister Shiki Karayama, a special welcome banquet to entertain Chinese naval generals.

The Qing Dynasty also showed the style of a country of etiquette, made necessary thanks, and felt very happy about the increasing friendship between the two countries. On July 16, Ding Ruchang held a reception on the Dingyuan flagship, which was docked in Yokohama Port, and invited Japanese people from all walks of life, including members of parliament and journalists to attend. Through this event, the Beiyang Fleet once again showed off its might to the Japanese while politely thanking the Japanese side for the reception.

For Japan, the visit of the Beiyang Navy was another exciting. After visiting the 7,000-ton Dingyuan that Japan lacked, the Zhenyuan ship was generally ashamed. The thick iron armor and the strong artillery fire of these two warships greatly shocked the Japanese and induced fear in Japan. The Japanese Legal Director Miyaosaki Saburo, who had boarded the Dingyuan ship, recorded afterwards:

"Dingyuan launched a small boat to greet the guests. Ding (Ruchang) and Li (Jingfang) welcomed the guests at the gate and shook hands one by one. Then the guide led the inspection of the upper and lower rooms in the cruise ship. Four giant cannons, 1 foot in diameter and 25 feet in length, which was unprecedented in our country at that time... The ship was clean, no less than Europe. At 12 noon, lunch was held at 1:30 pm and farewell at 1:30 pm. At this time, 21 salutes were fired to see them off and landed. Several people watched the ships and talked on the way back to Beijing, saying that China had become a great power after all, and was equipped with such an advantageous fleet, and would fly to the East Ocean. In contrast, my country has only three or four cruisers of three or four thousand-to-many ton class, which cannot be compared with that. Those who watched the ships were all flew up their tongues and were frightened and uneasy."

The visit of the Beiyang Navy made Japan see the strength of the Chinese navy. It also greatly stimulated the Japanese political arena and military circles, which have regarded China as the number one imaginary enemy. Just the day before the Japanese emperor met with the Beiyang Navy's management, the Japanese cabinet proposed a naval expenditure plan of 58.6 million yuan, and planned to build four 10,000-ton ironclad ships and six cruisers within 9 years, which were approved by the Congress.

In 1892, Japan's newly-employed Ito Cabinet announced a plan to build a 100,000-ton warship, which was quickly implemented under the emperor's ruling. In 1893, the Japanese Emperor issued another edict: It was decided to allocate 300,000 yen from the treasury every year in the next six years, and draw one tenth of the salary of civil and military officials as shipbuilding fees to pay the national treasury.

At this point, from the two visits to Japan by the Beiyang Navy in 1886 and 1891 to 1894, the Japanese Navy took only seven or eight years to take shape, with a total of 55 warships of various types. The ammunition reserve exceeded the amount that could be consumed by a war against China, and quickly developed into a Far East naval force that could compete with the Beiyang Navy and even surpassed the Beiyang Navy.

At this time, the Beiyang Navy was a different scene. When he visited Japan for the second time, the navy itself was deeply uneasy about the rapid development of Japan's navy in recent years. Right-wing general Liu Buchan, Chen, Chen's combat effectiveness of the Chinese navy was not as good as that of the Japanese navy, so it was urgent to add ships and replace guns in the Beiyang Navy. Ding Ruchang believed that the scale of the Chinese navy had certain advantages compared to Japan, but there were also problems. The main reason was that the ships purchased before had been outdated for many years, and the machines were somewhat unfunctional, and they were far away from the new Japanese clutch, and the fast guns were not ready, so it might be difficult to support them if there was anything. For this reason, he asked for additional ships to purchase ships in preparation for defense.

However, the Ministry of Revenue of the Qing Dynasty compressed the naval funds on the grounds of shortage of funds and banned the Beiyang Navy from purchasing foreign guns, cannons, ships and equipment within two years, and even allocated the cost of replenishing equipment. It even misappropriated the naval funds to build the Summer Palace for Cixi. In the following years, the development of the Beiyang Navy entered a state of stagnation, and there was no major improvement in strength compared with the initial construction, and even the equipment was aging and disrepaired.

In 1894, after only three years after the Beiyang Navy's second visit to Japan, the Beiyang Navy, known as the "No. 1 Fleet in Asia", was defeated first in the Battle of Toyoshima in a head-on battle with the Japanese Joint Fleet, and then in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, three defeats by Weihaiwei and the entire army was wiped out.

...

The Beiyang Navy was defeated. But it is undeniable that it was precisely because of the two visits of the Beiyang Navy, especially the huge deterrent power of the two ships in Ding and Zhen, that greatly stimulated Japan's sense of crisis and self-esteem as an island country, which made Japan tilt its originally poor finances toward the navy on a large scale, directly or indirectly promoting the rise of the Japanese Navy.

Therefore, battleships are a reflection of a country's comprehensive national strength.

Now, according to the agreement, the British had to hand over the two most advanced battleships in the world to Tangzhou... With these two battleships and controlling the Panama Canal at the same time, Tangzhou will immediately become the well-deserved top spot on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean. Even if only one of them is needed, Tangzhou can sweep the Pacific coast of North and South America. Because this is a battleship. Even the 7,000-ton "Dingyuan" was shot in more than 200 shots during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it did not lose its combat effectiveness, not to mention that this is more advanced and even more huge "Defensible" class?

The British originally agreed to these two battleships in exchange for Tangzhou's advanced technology, welding and burning steam turbines... Now, the two battleships have been built, and the British have already understood these two technologies and are even more innovative. Will they allow Tangzhou to have such powerful force? Especially after Tangzhou has reached into South America, which was regarded as a wallet by the British, will the other party follow the agreement to deliver the battleship?

Not only did Cheng Degui not have confidence, but even Guo Jinzhang and others who were far away in Seattle were worried. Even Cleveland and others who were hiding in the White House in Washington were a little worried... Although they can obtain the core power technology of the new "Dreadnought" class battleship from Tangzhou and can also obtain welding technology, the British must have summarized a lot of experience in the process of building this new type of battleship, and maybe some drills have been conducted before the warship was delivered. Even the "John Bulls" have built more dreadnoughts and have formed combat power... If that is true, the already powerful Britain will further consolidate its position as the maritime overlord.

, and certain current policies will inevitably change due to the increase in strength. The United States' maritime power is already weak. Once this conjecture becomes a reality, the gap between them and the British will further widen, and there will be no room for them to speak in the Atlantic. Although most Americans nowadays pursue "isolationism", once the British Royal Navy regards you as a target, it will not care whether you are isolated or not... Therefore, these two Tangzhou warships have become an important pillar of American maritime power and must not be missed, especially after Guo Jinzhang promised to deliver one of them to the navy for use and Ma Han became the commander of Tangzhou's coast guard, this idea has become the mainstream of the US senior management.

"You guys, don't do anything!"

Almost everyone has the same mind. In addition to worrying, they are also worried...

Cheng Degui and his group arrived at the Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth with such a nervous mood.

Then...they successfully completed the handover with the British.

The British didn't even play tricks?

Cheng Degui was shocked at first, then overjoyed... But he was not overjoyed, and as soon as he completed the handover, he immediately sent a telegram to Seattle.

"It's time to go to the next step?"

The British did not do anything randomly. Everyone was relieved to receive the news sent by Cheng Degui. You know, the British recently encouraged Ethiolio Payan to drive Tangzhou out of Colombia, and they were obviously dissatisfied with Tangzhou's expansion in South America. However, Tangzhou did not fulfill their wish. Not only did the Qing army go to war with the Spaniards in Colombia in advance, but instead took advantage of the situation to let their agents seize the military and financial power of Colombia, and also carried out a major purge across the country... With the British's methods of doing things, how could they

Can you swallow this anger? But apart from the warships that are about to be handed over, the British and Tangzhou do not have much intersection, so everyone naturally worried about warship matters. However, it is obvious that the British still attach great importance to their credibility. Perhaps they attach great importance to the endless products and science and technology in Tangzhou in recent years, and are unwilling to cut off their ties with Tangzhou, or they still hope to earn money from the remaining three cruisers... In short, these guys "gentlemen" and delivered the two battleships.

"The British are so generous, among other reasons, I think they may hope that we can compete with you with these two battleships, thereby restraining the development of America's externally, and even increasing our internal friction... Of course, this may also be that we hope to obtain orders for warships from you. So, we cannot let them know that we have also cooperated in the navy."

In Seattle, Morgan Villa, Guo Jinzhang sat face to face with an old man with long and thin short hair and thick mustache. Both of them looked solemn.

"Of course, it's not for them to know now. We can let the Atlantic Fleet meet with them after they arrive at the designated location... I believe that the British on those two battleships will definitely not express their objection at that time." The old man said.

"The actions of the Atlantic Fleet were not discovered by the British, right?" Guo Jinzhang asked in a deep voice.

"Of course not." The old man stood up with a thin chest. "We had announced this training plan a few months ago. The British would definitely think that we were preparing for the war with Spain... They would not be prepared for the war."

"Of course I won't worry about your plans." Guo Jinzhang smacked his lips, "I just wondered whether the British would use this incident as an excuse to interfere in our war with Spain."

"I don't deny that there is such a possibility." The old man nodded, "Although you pretended to hire a group of British sailors and gunners on the warships, the British felt relieved to us a lot. However, if they knew that these two most advanced battleships would eventually become an integral part of the US Navy, they would definitely be very dissatisfied. The Royal Navy is extremely powerful, and although there is no news that there are the same battleships in their fleets, in the past two years, they have several battleships that have not been in service for a long time for maintenance... Now it seems that they are upgrading and renovating the battleships."

"It's expected." Guo Jinzhang nodded, "The British attached great importance to the navy. How could they be indifferent to seeing more advanced ships? In fact, even without us, they would sooner or later develop their own "Dreadnought" ship."

"But the 'Dreadnought' ship is theirs now." The old man sighed.

"That's right. What's right." Guo Jinzhang smiled bitterly.

"We have always been hostile and have always been guarding against each other... This has restrained most of our strength and also made the advantage we originally occupied through cooperation a strength for others!" The old man sighed again, "We should be alert."

"We have never wanted to be enemies of America." Guo Jinzhang also sighed, "It's a pity that we are like children and adults with Washington, and the strength of both sides is not proportional at all, which has caused the current situation... It's not that we think, but that we have no choice."

"I'm very happy to hear you say this." The old man looked at Guo Jinzhang solemnly, "I will convey these words to the White House. Similarly, I hope that there will be no more cases of third parties benefiting from the hostility between us."

"I am a poor man. If I were not for love, I would not have given the money to others if I was full." Guo Jinzhang smiled bitterly again.

"We should work hard to eliminate this hostility, and in order to eliminate this hostility, I want to recommend someone to you." The old man thought for a while and said.

"Can a person eliminate this hostility by one person?" Guo Jinzhang said strangely.

"Of course it cannot be completely eliminated, but he will definitely play a very good role, because this person is very principled and very fair." The old man said.

"Who?"

"Actually, you should be familiar with this person. His name is Rutherford Burchard Hayes!"

...


Chapter completed!