Chapter 2528
If someone else had encountered the Zhoushan, they would have just watched the excitement and sighed a few words, and that would probably be the end of it. But these young people on the ship were from the upper class, and their vision and knowledge were far beyond comparison with others. Naturally, they would not forget about it after reading it. All aspects of this new warship naturally became the topics they would discuss during their next trip.
As a military personnel, Ha Jianyi is most concerned about the impact this new type of warship will have on Haihan's military strength.
"There is no doubt that the strength of the East China Sea Fleet will be greatly improved due to the service of the Glorious Class, but this will probably make the naval fleets in other regions feel unbalanced..."
Ha Jianyi spoke eloquently: "...We should not worry about the scarcity but the inequality. I think everyone also understands that the East China Sea Fleet is the first to possess such a new type of battleship with powerful combat effectiveness, which will inevitably attract people's jealousy."
"You have to be strong to be jealous! It is said that the development of this Glory-class battleship was personally presided over by Mr. Shi. I don't know how much money was spent on the early stage of research and development. Most of the naval fleets in other places have to rely on the military budget of the Ministry of National Defense. There is no way to imitate Master Shi's methods!" Tao Hongfang was in the Ministry of Commerce, so he naturally knew how prosperous the area was under Shi Diwen's rule.
This Glorious-class warship project was promoted almost entirely by Shi Diwen's own money. Not only did it cost a lot of money, but it also required channels to integrate all aspects of technical resources. Such methods were indeed not that easy to imitate. Even if the Glory-class battleships have been officially put into mass construction, their high cost and long construction period are enough to dissuade most naval fleets with limited budgets.
"By the way, isn't there a similar new ship research and development project in Sanya? How is the progress? Can Brother Ha tell me something?" Bai Letong asked Ha Jianyi.
Ha Jianyi hesitated for a moment before responding: "This matter involves military secrets. I can't tell you the details, but the progress of the project in Sanya is indeed slower than that of the Zhoushan Shipyard."
Ning Zijing asked in confusion: "Why is this? Isn't it the Sanya Shipyard that has the strongest shipbuilding technology in our country? Moreover, the steam power system and weapons and equipment used in the Glory-class battleships are said to come from the factory in Sanya. It stands to reason The research and development process should be ahead of Zhoushan, right?”
Ha Jianyi said: "The reasons are very complicated... but to put it simply, it is still the role of money. Mr. Shi is more willing to spend money on related research and development work. This is the fundamental reason."
Ha Jianyi paused at this point and said: "Maybe you haven't noticed that the Navy is no longer a fragrant steamed bun, and the military budget is not as sufficient as before."
Since Haihan has taken over the rule of the East Asian continent instead of Ming Dynasty, there are currently large inland areas that need to be taken over and garrisoned by the Haihan army, which suddenly elevates the needs of the army to the top of military development. Under the premise of limited military budget, the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense can only compress the navy's budget in a planned way, which naturally includes the research and development and construction costs of new warships.
For the ordnance industry department responsible for the research and development of weapons and equipment, sufficient funding is undoubtedly an indispensable and important condition. If the navy cannot afford the corresponding research and development expenses, the progress of developing new warships will naturally not be accelerated. Moreover, objectively the Shanghai-Han Navy is already invincible in East Asia. The Executive Committee believes that there is no need to spend a large amount of military expenditures to build advanced warships that are not currently needed. Of course, Sanya has no plans to let the Guangrong-class battleship serve as a test platform for the "Wuzhishan Type C" steam engine. After all, such a new steam engine has just come out not long ago. There was no ship of this tonnage available for sea trials before. If Problems with the steam power system of the Glorious-class battleship were discovered during its service, so the battleship model developed by Sanya Shipyard still had time to make corresponding adjustments.
If other overseas garrison fleets want to raise their own funds to develop new warships, they must first have an environment and conditions similar to those under Shi Diwen's rule. For example, there are large shipyards with strong technical strength, naval forces with rich combat experience, abundant financial resources, and technical support from Sanya.
Of course, the most important condition is to have a boss like Shi Diwen who is knowledgeable and willing to spend a lot of money. The actual situation in most areas makes it impossible to fully meet these necessary conditions, so it is naturally difficult to develop new equipment such as the Glory-class battleship on its own.
Bai Letong asked: "Since the navy is no longer popular, why does Mr. Shi still invest a lot of money to develop such an unrivaled warship?"
Ha Jianyi responded: "This is probably related to the specific environment of the East China Sea region under Lord Shi's rule! After all, in addition to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he also included southern Korea, the direction of the Japanese archipelago, and the Ryukyu Kingdom. There is a long-term need to maintain maritime security. The service of the Glorious-class warship can also be seen as a signal sent by the East China Sea Fleet to demonstrate its absolute control within its jurisdiction.”
The service of just one Glory-class warship certainly cannot cover the entire sphere of influence in the East China Sea region. Even if the ship and the sailors on it operate continuously for 365 days a year, the range they can cruise is limited. However, the commissioning of the Zhoushan does symbolize that Haihan still has an absolute advantage in naval construction. Before any armed force in this region wants to challenge the authority of the East China Sea Fleet, it must first carefully weigh its own strength and that of the East China Sea Fleet. How big is the gap between flagships?
Tao Hongfang also responded: "I think this is for profit in the final analysis. Mr. Shi is willing to spend a lot of money and countless resources to develop the Glory-class battleship. Of course, he is also optimistic that this kind of battleship will bring more benefits to the area under his rule after it is put into service." Huge benefits. Who would dare to disobey him in the East China Sea if he has such a powerful maritime force? As long as he controls the maritime cross-border trade in this region, the wealth will come rolling in. ”
Everyone agreed and nodded in agreement. However, if their fathers were here and heard this discussion, they would definitely criticize them for being too short-sighted.
If Shi Diwen promotes the research and development and construction of the Glory-class warships, if he only considers economic benefits, it would be too underestimated for this big man who has been in charge of the East China Sea for more than 20 years. Shi Diwen came up with a plan to move the capital and sought to enter the executive committee. Each of these was a major event that could affect the future direction of the country. The development of new warships could be seen as a sign of Shi Diwen's ability to prove his means.
Compared with the influence of these major events, the economic benefits obtained through the East China Sea Fleet's military superiority are probably not the goals that Shi Diwen really cares about.
(End of chapter)