"Really? Is this true? Can you say it again? Great, great, this is good news..."
As the commander of the mainland fleet, Lei Minghui said that it was extremely complicated when he put down the phone in his hand.
I couldn't tell whether his expression was happy or depressed...in short, it was complicated.
Navy Chief of Staff Zhang Guoyong looked at Lei Minghui with a complicated expression and asked curiously:
"Minister, how is the situation? We...won?"
"Win, win..."
When he said these words, Lei Minghui's bald head reflected the sunlight. As he said "win", his expression became more complicated.
You've already won, so why do you have this expression?
Zhang Guoyong and Deputy Chief of Staff Cheng Bichen looked at each other. Deputy Chief of Staff Cheng then asked:
"Minister, what was the result of the airship unit?"
"The results of the battle...ah, big, huge!"
Lei Minghui said without knowing whether he was crying or laughing:
"A great victory, a great victory! The airship force sank a "Riachuelo"-class battleship..."
"What? The airship actually sunk the battleship?"
The two chiefs of staff both opened their eyes wide in shock and said in shock.
"Yes!"
Lei Minghui nodded and said.
"The other three ships were severely damaged, two were sunk, one was listed seriously, three cruisers were sunk, and one cruiser was listed seriously!"
"This, this... the "Riachuelo" class battleship is not much worse than the Nanhua class, with a displacement of 6,800 tons, and defeating four ships in one battle... This is really a great victory!"
Both of them had a look of astonishment on their faces... However, as navy soldiers, they had no time to be "joyed", and the "surprise" came first!
Dozens of airships achieved such brilliant results. Four battleships were sunk in one battle. There was not much difference between the three that were not sunk and those that were sunk.
What does this mean?
The battleship that the airship surpassed overnight!
Compared to a battleship worth two million yuan, airships are now so cheap!
Rubber today is five or six times cheaper than it was five years ago. Each airship only costs a mere 100,000 yuan. This means that building one combat ship can build twenty or thirty airships, and the combat effectiveness of twenty or thirty airships is far greater.
Far more than a battleship!
They are all navy soldiers. Could it be that the navy is going to lose its job?
"What's the loss on the aerial force side?"
Cheng Bichen, who recovered from his shock, continued to ask.
"To put it simply, there is almost no loss."
After a moment of silence, Lei Minghui said,
"Basically speaking, the aerial troops did not suffer any losses during the battle. They directly used bombs to wipe out eight warships of the Brazilian Navy in Montevideo."
The expressions of Zhang Guoyong and Cheng Bichen became complicated, with rather strange looks on their faces...
What a big “surprise”!
"this……"
Pursing his lips, Zhang Guoyong said:
"After this battle, our Ming Dynasty floating troops will be famous all over the world!"
How can it not be world-famous? This was the first time in history that an armored battleship was sunk from the air!
This was even the first battleship to be sunk!
"navy……"
Cheng Bichen said:
"From now on, the Navy must consider how the fleet can prevent air attacks. Otherwise, the Navy fleet will be a living target in front of airships."
His words made the other two people silent for a while. After a long time, they spoke.
"The combat effectiveness of airships is so powerful. For navy soldiers like us, I really don't know if it is a good thing or not!"
While shaking his head and sighing, Lei Minghui felt mixed emotions in his heart. Of course he was happy for this victory, but he also felt unprecedented pressure!
Tremendous stress!
Do we need warships when we have airships?
"What the minister said is absolutely true,"
Cheng Bichen held a cup of tea in his hand and said while tasting the dishes,
"Judging from the results of this battle, the Navy's warships may be a little behind the times. They must be transformed accordingly, and new warships must be designed and built. If the air defense problem cannot be fundamentally solved, then the Navy's warships will not be able to compete with airships.
You are completely vulnerable in front of me."
"Indeed, this problem must be solved."
Zhang Guoyong said while lighting a cigarette.
"After this battle, the whole world saw the powerful attack power of airships against sea targets. I feel that the person who is under the greatest pressure is not me, but the British. Their airship technology was imported from us back then, and they are almost behind us.
If they don't catch up, their Royal Navy will most likely become a target at sea, and the biggest headache now is definitely the UK!"
"Indeed!"
Cheng Bichen blew out a puff of smoke, looked at Lei Minghui's worried face with a smile and said:
"Minister, we don't have to worry about this. Since the threat of airships is great, then we will find a way to deal with the airships. But now that the advantage of airships is in our hands, it also means that against the British Royal Navy, the advantage lies entirely with me!"
Isn’t this my advantage?
As naval officers, they certainly know that the Imperial Navy's first imaginary enemy is Britain. In the past, how to defeat the British Royal Navy has always been the Imperial Navy's biggest issue. Now, they have another trump card!
Nodding, Lei Minghui said:
"Having said that, airships can be our trump card, and they can also be our enemy's trump card. We must be prepared for this in advance!"
"Indeed."
Zhang Guoyong thought for a while and then said.
"After the Battle of Montevideo, the biggest issue for navies of various countries is how to defend against air threats. They will definitely do everything possible to research anti-aircraft weapons!"
"Um!"
Cheng Bichen nodded vigorously and said.
"However, I think that while they are strengthening their air defense weapons, they will definitely build more airships. After all, the airships have fully demonstrated their powerful combat effectiveness."
"The combat effectiveness of airships is powerful, but we cannot rely solely on airships!"
Lei Minghui said:
"You two, airships are only part of the Ming Dynasty's armed forces, and so are our warships. Airships have the function of airships, and warships also have the function of warships... We not only have those that fly in the sky, those that float on the water, and those that swim underwater.
. What we have now are only airships in the sky and warships on the water. However, our warships have not yet had a chance to show their power in actual combat. As for the underwater trump card, they have not yet been put to use. I thought about it, the navy...
…Shouldn’t be eliminated by the airship!”
Lei Minghui, who was worried about the future fate of the Ming Empire's navy, mentioned that the underwater trump card was naturally the submarine!