The first iron-clad fleet of the Qing Dynasty appeared on the Huangpu River. As soon as the news spread, the people rushed to the riverside to see it. The dozens of miles long river avenues were crowded with people coming to watch. Of course, the personnel of the consulates in various countries in Shanghai would not miss this rare opportunity. The iron-clad ships of the Qing Dynasty were as secretly as ladies kept in the boudoir. They were rarely seen after using all their means. Now they are showing them openly, so they are naturally very excited.

The embassy staff in the British Geely who were fighting with the Qing Dynasty in South Africa were ecstatic. Consul Mai Huatuo led a group of embassy staff to take photos and record, and were very busy. The shape of the ironclad ship of the Qing Dynasty was somewhat similar to that of the flying cutter ship. The bow of the ship was sharp and the line was smooth, but there was only one chimney. I wonder how fast it could reach?

The most interesting thing is the firepower of the warships. The large ones should be more than 8,000 tons of main warships are all distributed on the deck. The three main guns are arranged in front, two and one behind, and they use semi-enclosed gyro turrets, and six secondary guns. All guns are covered with cannon jackets, which do not see the size of the exit. There are four more wrapped in cannon jackets, but they don’t know what they are. From the size, they should not be cannons.

What Mai Huatuo is most concerned about is naturally several large main warships. As for the small ones, he lacks interest. However, he still asked everyone to take photos of each warship. After all, this is a very rare opportunity to fully understand the Iron Crafts of the Qing Dynasty. It is hard to say whether there will be any chance in the future.

Obviously, the Qing Dynasty's ironclad ship had completely broken out of the sail warship mode. Not only did the sails completely cancel the sails, but the iconic side guns of the sail warship were also cancelled. However, what made him wonder was that the main ironclad ship of the Qing Dynasty had a total of 9 artillery pieces. How to ensure the firepower output of the warship?

However, the British Empire's ironclad ships often have dozens of artillery guns. Even small ironclad ships have more than ten artillery guns. Compared with the two, the gap is too big. Logically speaking, the Qing people could not lose the firepower of the ironclad ships in order to seek innovation. There is only one explanation: the Qing Dynasty's artillery technology has made a breakthrough, and the 9 artillery guns are enough to meet the firepower needs of the ironclad ships.

Embassy staff from France, America, Russia, Germany and other countries also had many speculations about the scarcity of the number of artillery artillery in the Qing Dynasty. However, they were not in a hurry. In the World War of South Africa, the real combat power of the Qing Dynasty's iron armored ships would undoubtedly be exposed.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Bookstore.

"Dingling" a crisp sound of the phone rang out. Zhao Liewen quickly put down the newspaper in his hand and went to answer the phone. The Iron Armored Fleet came and caused a sensation in Shanghai. He had seen the Iron Armored Fleet in Qingdao for a long time, so he naturally would not join in the fun. He picked up the phone and reported the name. Then he heard Yi's voice coming from the microphone, "I heard that the Iron Armored Fleet appeared in Shanghai, Brother Huifu didn't go to watch it?"

Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "The King Gong is very informative, so I ask the shopkeeper to answer the phone."

What I heard was King Gong Yi? Yi Zhizu got up and took the phone and said lightly, and then Yi said, "Is Brother Guocheng sure of the battle in South Africa?"

"No." Yi Zhizu said very simply: "The unforeseen factors of naval warfare are far more than those of land warfare. How can you say you are sure? However, the dispute between South Africa is a battle between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and Giriya. No matter what, this war must be fought!"

After a moment of silence, Yi said slowly: "Brother Guocheng should know better than anyone else. As long as the Qing Dynasty develops steadily, it is only a matter of time before it surpasses England. Why bother betting on national destiny with England in South Africa?"

"This is not an era of peaceful rise. If you want to rise, you must prove your strength through war. Only in this way can you be recognized by major powers in the world." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "For the Qing Dynasty, it is better to fight early than to fight this battle late. Now is the most suitable time. Yuan Qi has long known the gold mine in Transvaal, South Africa. He chose to mine this time because this is the best time!"

Yi? I made this call just to make the final effort. Although the Qing and Britain had fought hard in South Africa, neither of them publicly declared war. It can be said that they still left enough room for maneuver. Once the naval battle begins, the scale of the war may continue to escalate, and even develop to an uncontrollable level. If you win, everything is easy to say, but what if you lose? The Qing Dynasty cannot afford to lose!

Seeing Yi was determined to be determined. He knew that it would be useless to persuade him. He sighed lightly and said, "It is related to the fate of the country. Brother Guocheng is determined to fight, and the court can only support him. If you have the need, just speak."

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Justice Gong can have this attitude!"

After putting down the phone, Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "The ironclad fleet came to Shanghai to alleviate the run, and the run situation in the past two days has been significantly alleviated..."

"Let the Iron Armored Fleet come to Shanghai not entirely to alleviate the pressure of the run." Yi Zhizu walked slowly and said: "The Fleet came to Shanghai to go around to tell the British people clearly that our Iron Armored Fleet of Qing Dynasty was going to recover Maputo."

Zhao Liewen reacted very quickly, "What the big shopkeeper means, put the battlefield in Maputo Bay?"

"Not bad." Yi Zhizu said: "The sea surface near the Mozambique Strait and Cape Town is complicated, with high winds and high waves, which is not suitable for naval battles. Maputo Bay has small winds and waves. Most of the time the sea surface is relatively calm, and the bay is not large. For us, it is the most ideal battlefield. For the British army, Maputo Bay is also a good battlefield."

Having said that there was still this meaning, Zhao Liewen pondered for a while before saying, "Will the British see something strange about the appearance of the Iron Armored Fleet?"

"You can definitely see something strange from the gun configuration of the warship." Yi Zhizu said distractedly: "But our trump card this time is torpedo."

Five internal combustion engine cars were driving fast on the open road. Zai Zhao, who was riding this kind of car for the first time in the second car, was very novel and couldn't help asking: "Is this driven by the steam engine? Why is the sound of the machine so small?"

"The sound is low because a silencer is installed." Yi Zhengxing, who represented Yi Zhizu, came to greet a group of generals, replied with a smile: "This is not driven by the steam engine, but an internal combustion engine, a power machine that is more advanced than the steam engine. It will be gradually applied to trains, ships and ironclad ships in the future."

Zai Zhao was Yi Zhengxing's uncle, so he was naturally very casual and immediately asked: "How fast is this?"

"The speed is 40 kilometers per hour." Yi Zhengxingdao: "The fastest speed can reach 60 kilometers per hour. However, my father was not satisfied with this and asked them to continue to improve it, saying that the speed of at least 8 kilometers per hour must reach more than 100 kilometers per hour."

Zai Zhao said in surprise: "Isn't that faster than a train?"

"This is for sure." Yi Zhizu smiled and said: "In less than a few years, cars will replace trains and become the main means of land transportation. At present, the two highways from Shanghai to Jiangning and Shanghai to Hangzhou have begun surveying routes, and construction will start this year..."

"Highway?" Zai Zhao hesitated: "It was built specifically for this car?"

"Yes." Yi Zhengxing smiled and said, "Yuanqi is building a factory and is preparing to produce cars in large quantities. In addition to this kind of car, there are trucks that can carry cargo, which can carry four or five tons of goods at a time. In the future, there will be no need for horses to pull the cannon."

Zai Zhao said with emotion: "The changes in the Qing Dynasty over the years have been too great. The rapid development speed makes us feel overwhelmed. Many things are something we never dreamed of before."

Xiao Mingliang and Guo Zhongmu were also very moved in the car behind. Shanghai’s changes are changing with each passing day. Almost every time I come to Shanghai, I can see new things. The driver said that these five cars are the only five in Shanghai, and both of them were very warm.

The car stopped directly outside the yard of Changle Bookstore. When he got off the car, Xiao Mingliang and others sorted out the military appearance before entering the yard. Seeing Yi Shizuo, Zhao Liewen and the others stood on the steps outside the door waiting. The few of them quickly walked forward and saluted, "Student Xiao Mingliang and others have met the principal."

Yi Zhizu smiled and nodded, saying, "Let's go into the house." After entering the house and sitting down, he asked about the situation of the fleet, and then he said slowly: "The Battle of South Africa is aimed at making a name for itself, so that England will retreat in a difficult situation, and dare not get involved in Transvaal and Orange.

To be honest, our country's current industrial strength, economic strength, financial strength and naval strength cannot compete with England and we must try our best to avoid expanding the war infinitely. Similarly, England is also unwilling to expand the war in order to protect our interests.

Therefore, in this battle, we must master the right measure, not only to hurt the British army, but also not to let the British army suffer too much casualties and be forced to expand the war."

Xiao Mingliang was really embarrassed after hearing this. It was difficult to grasp the degree. What does it mean to have too many casualties? In the Battle of Pretoria, the British army suffered more than 10,000 casualties. Is this considered big or small?

He was hesitating here, but Zai Zhao had already spoken: "Captain, can't we just let the fight be restrained?"

After slowly looking at a few people, Yi Zhizu said: "It's not that you are restricted, but that you are not greedy for military achievements and not to kill them all."

This is easy to understand, Xiao Mingliang hurriedly said: "Student understand!"

Yi Zhizu glanced at Yi Zhengxing and said slowly: "Xingzhi wanted to increase his military experience and let him follow Zaizhao to go south with the fleet. If he negotiated with the British army, he would have the full authority, but in terms of military affairs, he would not be allowed to intervene."

Yi Zhengxing went south with the fleet? Xiao Mingliang couldn't help but hesitate. There were too many accidents in fighting. Yi Zhengxing was the crown prince and the successor Yi Qunsheng was the successor whom Yi was determined to train. In the future, he would definitely serve as the Prime Minister of the Qing Cabinet. If something happened at sea, the blame would be quite serious.

Before he could speak, Zai Zhao smiled and said, "The principal has been in the army for many years, and he should indeed practice in the military. Not to mention using troops, he can at least know the troops."

After hearing this, Xiao Mingliang was not willing to shirk responsibility, so he only expressed his opinion: "Don't worry, the student will definitely protect the prince."

"There is no prince in the army." Yi Zhizu said: "Let him take the title of combat staff to facilitate learning in the army."

Even Zhao Liewen didn't know about Yi Zhengxing's journey south with the fleet. He thought about it again and again, this was reasonable. Yi Zhengxing really needed to go to the army, otherwise it would be difficult to control the army in the future. Xiao Mingliang and others were waiting for him to take a break, and he said, "The shopkeeper also said that there are too many unforeseen factors in naval battles. This time, the Iron Armored Fleet went south with few enemies, and he followed the fleet..."

Yi Zhizu waved his hand and chuckled: "It is impossible to have absolute security when practicing on the battlefield. Compared to the army, the navy is safer. It is time for him to go to the army to experience it. At his age, I have led the army to fight head-on with the British army."

Maputo, South Africa.

After the British army captured Maputo, they organized officers and soldiers to actively dig trenches to build positions. Although they were harassed by the Qing army from time to time, they still built a considerable position around Maputo for nearly a month, and a batch of artillery was dismantled and transported from the warships, which was completely arriving.

The British army ignored the line of defense outside the city. For the British army, their purpose was to capture Maputo and cut off Transvaal's estuary, rather than destroy Maputo's Qing army. Of course, the British army also knew that it was impossible to eliminate the Qing army. It would be great to occupy Maputo steadily.

As the number of times the Qing army harassed less and less, Maputo gradually calmed down. However, the naval fleet has not stopped for a while, and has carried out various formation drills and live-fire drills in the bay. As the commander of the fleet, He Bu knew very well that the Qing naval fleet would definitely come, but it was a matter of time sooner or later.

That afternoon, Hebu was watching the live ammunition drill of the warship on the flagship. A communications officer rushed over and reported: "General, London Telegram--."

Since the Crimean War, wired telegraphs have begun to be used on a large scale in the war. The British army sent troops to South Africa and began to lay wired telegraphs from Cape Town to Band Port, which is only more than 200 nautical miles away from Maputo. After occupying Maputo, wired telegraphs were also laid.

He Bu was stunned when he received the telegram. It was too long. The telegram was sent by the Navy Department. He introduced the situation of the warships of the Qing army's ironclad fleet in detail and told the Qing army's ironclad fleet that it had gone south, and the target should be Maputo.

Finally here! He Bu was both excited and worried, so he forwarded the telegram to Arthur Hood. He took out a cigar and slowly pointed it. The Qing army had only twenty-four iron armored ships, only four of the main warships with large tonnage, and only nine artillery pieces on the main warships, which really surprised him a little.

After reading the telegram, Arthur Hood said in confusion: "Why did the Qing army ironclad fleet delay until this time to move south?"

"The Qing people had the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival." He Bu said contemptuously: "Often the Spring Festival, there will be no troops sent during the Spring Festival. Maputo's Qing army was particularly quiet during this period, and this factor is also included."
Chapter completed!