Dominate the Country

The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, but the temperature in Guangzhou, the first city in the south, is still very high. However, if you are at the seaside, the sea breeze will somewhat reduce the discomfort caused by the hot temperature, but the scorching sun that day is too unbearable for Chen Ding. The strong sunlight not only irritates the skin, but also the eyes. When standing under the sun, a pair of sunglasses is an indispensable preparation, and a cool hat is also necessary.

After Chen Ding returned to Nanjing from the northwest, he was kicked to the south by his father Chen Ming without stopping. His mission this time was to inspect the combat readiness of the naval forces.

This was a kind of protection for Chen Ming. Since Chen Ming revealed the news that he would retire after next year, the Prince of Yu's Mansion has been too lively.

It would not be good for him to keep Chen Ding in Beijing.

Standing on the breakwater, Chen Ding wore a sun hat, a pair of black crystal glasses on his nose, a light blue shirt on his upper body, a pair of military trousers on his lower body, a pair of leather sandals on his feet, and a monocular telescope on his chest, and most of the entourage following him were also dressed like this.

Almost all the military and political leaders of Lingnan were present, plus their secretaries, attendants and security personnel, there were hundreds of people. Also present were the consuls of the consulates of Japan, Siam and other countries in Guangzhou. Before, everyone had gathered together to have a big party. After the banquet, everyone went to the scenic spots near Guangzhou to enjoy the mountains and rivers, which can be regarded as enhancing the friendship between countries.

Chen Ding arrived at the breakwater of the Baili Island Naval Base at exactly four o'clock in the afternoon. He has been wandering here for half an hour and is in high spirits.

Baili Island is one of the five major military bases in Lingdingyang. The island is 7.5 miles long and 6.5 miles wide, with a total area of ​​more than 10,000 acres. This is not small at all. It is the second largest island among the more than 100 islands in Zhuhai.

This island is located at the mouth of the Pearl River and is the first gateway to the Pearl River. In the two opium wars in the original time and space, the Western invaders first invaded from Baili Island at the mouth of the Pearl River. This place has very important strategic significance.

In the new China in the original time and space, this place can be said to be one of the three major military bases of the rabbit in the South China Sea. The entire project is very huge. Its main fortification is a 27-meter-high, 70-meter-wide, and 500-meter-long cave with sidewalks on both sides. The head and tail of the middle waterway are connected to the vast sea. The anti-nuclear attack speedboat hidden warehouse passing through the island can hide more than 20 speedboats and other ships in the cave, and there is a repair dock. The two stone doors in front and behind the main cave weigh 140 tons each. On both sides of the main cave, there are more than a dozen 500-meter-long auxiliary caves, including three underground caves that can store more than 1,000 tons of oil and one cave that can store 300 tons of fresh water, as well as a food cave that can feed hundreds of thousands of people for three years. The main cave and the auxiliary caves are crisscrossed, with command posts, soldier barracks, power stations and various supporting comprehensive facilities. If the gate is closed, it will be self-contained, relying on the auxiliary caves that are connected in all directions to transport military and daily necessities such as oil, fresh water, and food.

In addition, 4 docks and 65,000 cubic meters of fresh water reservoirs were built on the island. Countless barracks, as well as lookouts, office buildings, medical clinics, basketball courts, auditoriums, movie theaters, etc., are all hidden in the mountains and forests. Looking from the top of the main peak, Baili, it looks like an isolated island, but in fact, it hides thousands of troops.

Chen Ming personally signed the Baili Island Naval Base Construction, so of course it can't be as huge and magnificent as the Taizu period.

The water depth around Baili Island is only 6~8 meters, and it can still be used as a naval dock now - the draft of the Red Dynasty Navy ships at that time was enough, and in the future it can only park light warships. And with Chen Han's current strength, if the enemy really hits the doorstep, it doesn't matter whether there is a Baili Island or not. Chen Han is not the rabbit of the past. The rabbit of the past couldn't swim, but Chen Han now is a dragon in the sea.

The construction of the naval base on Baili Island is just a very ordinary base, and it doesn't have an overly complicated meaning. It is not responsible for preventing nuclear bomb attacks. It only needs to play the role of a proper naval base.

As a point of the navy at the mouth of the Pearl River, this is a "sea" post.

Let the passing navy warships have a place to replenish and settle down, and there are only four gun emplacements on the dock.

But Chen Ding was still very excited when he came to the island. As the Prince of Yu, he rarely had time to wander around, even though he had just returned from the northwest. But the trip to the northwest was more like a fresh attempt for Chen Ding. It was his first time to go out as a prince, so the outside world respected him much more than when he was the Prince of Yu.

Chen Ding was so old now. He had been the Prince of Yu for so many years. Although he stayed in Nanjing most of the time, it was not to say that he had never gone out once, but only rarely. And he did not get the respect he has now when he went out!

If the previous outings felt more like going out for a walk, then Chen Ding's feeling now was that he was truly patrolling on behalf of the heaven.

Although he had been busy since he put on the hat of the prince, Chen Han now had a lot of information and details that Chen Ding needed to understand and know. This is like a large group with a large family and a large business. The previous candidate for president was just a manager of a small department. Now he is determined to be the candidate for the future president and promoted to the general manager of the group. The information, intelligence and various secrets that came over at once overwhelmed Chen Ding.

Although Chen Ding likes to be "overwhelmed" like this.

"This breakwater is so neatly built, and such thick cement is specially laid on it. Do you want to use it as a reserve dock?"

Chen Ding noticed the flat road surface of the breakwater, the white lines drawn on the road surface, and the hangars on the shore, so he asked Ye Tingyang who accompanied him on the inspection. This guy is now the right deputy governor of the Chen Han Navy and the admiral of the Nanyang Navy. And his "lifelong enemy" Zhu Fu has been the governor of the Chen Han Navy for almost five years.

One step wrong, every step wrong, this is really true.

"Replying to the prince, this was exactly what we planned at the beginning. This section of the breakwater originally used a very long reef, which was later gradually widened with boulders. Now it is not only reinforced with steel bars, but also paved with cement. Once necessary, the navy can use it as a dock.

The water depth of Baili Island is limited. If the tonnage of the iron ship is really as your majesty said, more than 5,000 tons or 10,000 tons, Baili Island is obviously unable to dock such a large warship, but as far as the current situation is concerned, it can still be used by the navy within 20 years, and even military use can be changed to civilian use in the future."

This is another major trend that has emerged within Chen Han. A large amount of military land has been changed to civilian use, including fields, mountains, islands, docks, etc. This trend was rejected by the military at first, but the huge benefits kept hitting the nerves of the military. At this time, even the most stubborn soldiers have to face up to the "military to civilian" trend.

Ye Tingyang's answer satisfied Chen Ding, because he was the beneficiary of the "military to civilian" trend and one of the flagship figures of this trend.

Ye Tingyang certainly knew these things. Baili Island is located near the mouth of the Pearl River. There are islands on both sides. There are abundant freshwater resources on the island, which has a strong development prospect. Many people in Guangdong Province have already set their sights on Baili Island. But as for Ye Tingyang himself, he has other plans in mind.

The military significance of Baili Island has disappeared, but this does not mean that Baili Island has no value. Just look at its location. It is the main link to block the mouth of the Pearl River. If some small motor sails are arranged there, will it curb the increasingly rampant smuggling in the mouth of the Pearl River?

With a water depth of six to eight meters, Baili Island can completely dock motor sails.

With the success of the "Chengtian" experiment, in the future China, a considerable number of propeller ships will be launched in three to five years. They may not be purely steam-powered, but a change that affects the entire naval battle rules has begun.

Why did the previous paddle steamers not have a fatal impact on sailing warships? Or does it mean that the influence of steamships has not really threatened the status of sailing warships on the sea?

That is because of the large wheel of the paddle steamer that is not easy to cover and is easily damaged.

This point cannot be overcome - even if a solid iron plate is used to make a shell for the wheel, it will eventually limit the practicality of the paddle wheel warship.

But now the propeller has appeared, the propeller suitable for naval warships has appeared.

It is like a ray of light illuminating the dark time and illuminating the future path of naval warships.

In Chen Han's list of propeller warships, the small steam speedboat has made him burn with fighting spirit. It is difficult to change one's nature. Ye Tingyang has been with "small and fast" all his life.

On the seawall, in front of everyone, Chen Ding, Ye Tingyang, and Guangdong Provincial Governor Shen Yuan and others talked about public military and livelihood issues, but after dinner that day, Chen Ding and Ye Tingyang talked about real military secrets.

In this East-West War, the Nanyang Fleet has a huge burden on its shoulders. Chen Ming asked the Nanyang Fleet to select an elite force, and together with the Ryukyu and Japanese squadrons under the East China Sea Fleet, which had been renamed the East China Fleet, they rushed to America, crossed thousands of miles from the Strait of Magellan in the southernmost part of America, and fought to the east coast of America. [The Strait of Magellan is more than 500 kilometers long]

"Now all the naval powers in Europe are vigorously developing new warships such as steam battleships. Although replacing the old with the new is a very slow process, the longer the time is delayed, the more disadvantageous it will be for our country." Chen Han is the country with the most steam battleships nowadays, although many steam ships are hybrid powered by engines and sails, and more of them are transport ships, not serious warships.

However, for a hybrid powered by engines and sails, the paddle wheel is dismantled and the rear propeller is modified. Although the action is not small, it is much faster than building a new ship. It is expected that when the ships of the Nanyang Fleet and the East China Fleet arrive in South America, the modification of these motor sailing ships will be almost completed.

The Chinese warships rushing out of the Strait of Magellan will be a large fleet led by motor-sail warships and followed by sail warships.

Perhaps the navies of Japan, Siam and other countries will also send warships to see the world, which is not a big deal. What is really important is that this will be a key battle for whether Chen Han’s navy can be recognized by the world.

It will be when the gap between the naval power of the East and the West is the greatest.