Szczecin is 126 kilometers away from Berlin in a straight line. The railway from Berlin to East Prussia passes through it. Since the 12th century, the city has become one of the most important and powerful seaports on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It was also the site of the Empress Yeka.
Birthplace of Telina II.
Since this is an important seaport, the shipbuilding industry must be very developed, but the most famous one is the Vulcan Shipyard.
The factory is located on the banks of the Oder River, with an area of 100 hectares. The shipyard has nine large and small docks, the most eye-catching of which is No. 34, where the Saxony-class improved and Tranquility II ships are being built.
On this day, Liu Buchan got up early and after some exercise, he happened to see the figure of Wei Han who came with him.
"Brother Ji Qian, you got up so early."
Wei Han, who was stopped by Liu Buchan, looked at the sweat stains on his shirt and said with a smile. "It's not too early for me, but it's too early for you Zixiang. You've already practiced this."
"There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just used to it. If I don't practice for a day, I'll feel uncomfortable all over."
The two chatted for a while and then dispersed. After washing up, they started a new day's work.
Yes, the two of them are the people in charge of receiving the second ship Jingping. Liu Buchan is responsible for leading the selected naval officers and soldiers to familiarize themselves with the two warships, while Wei Han is responsible for supervising the construction of the warships.
So they need to go to the Volcan Shipyard every day to keep an eye on it, and they don't dare to relax at all.
When the two visited the Vulcan Shipyard, they found that the atmosphere in the shipyard was very wrong today. The workers in the shipyard were busy cleaning and not many people were working.
Both of them knew some German. Upon seeing this, they immediately pulled over a person in charge and asked, "What's going on?"
"Some big shots are coming to inspect today."
The news they received from the shipyard personnel did not make them pay much attention. It was not like they had never met important figures in Germany. They remembered that when they arrived, they were received by the German Deputy Minister of the Navy.
But it didn't take long for them to realize how naive their ideas were. Several carriages, accompanied by escorts, arrived at the shipyard. As the person in charge of the shipyard, Magoo Gilbert immediately led people to greet them.
"I've met His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson, and I've met His Majesty Carlo."
It was the emperor's eldest grandson and the king who came, which surprised them both.
Yes, these were William II and Carlo. After they got off the carriage, they chatted with Mr. Gilbert for a while. Carlo's sharp eyes saw two oriental faces standing aside, so he pointed at them and asked
Get up. "Is this a representative of the Qing Dynasty?"
"Yes, His Majesty King Carlo, they are Liu and Wei, the representatives of the Qing Dynasty in the factory."
"Can we invite them over? We just want to visit the battleship they built. How can we do this without the owner's consent?"
"Of course there is no problem."
So Liu Buchan and Wei Han saw Gilbert, the person in charge of the shipyard, waving his hands and shouting to them loudly, "Liu and Wei, please come over here."
The two people who were inexplicably called to the front had their eyes wide open when they heard that an Italian king and his eldest grandson were going to take a look at the warship built for them. However, Liu Buchan reacted quickly and answered immediately.
"Of course there is no problem. It is a great honor for our country to allow you two to visit the warship."
Although Liu Buchan spoke stumblingly in German, everyone still understood him, so Carlo then replied, "Thank you for your permission."
So after joining the two Qing representatives, the group walked toward No. 34 Dock.
"This is the Saxony-class improved ship No. 1 and No. 2 we built for the Qing Dynasty. Currently, the hull of the No. 1 ship has been completed and is ready to be launched and outfitted. The hull of the No. 2 ship has also been built 85%. It is expected to be completed in three months.
Get into the water.”
Arriving at the dock, Gilbert introduced the current status of the two warships to the two distinguished guests.
Looking at the two unfinished warships, Carlo asked, "Can we go up and have a look?"
Gilbert looked at Liu Buchan and Wei Han and immediately replied, "Of course."
So a group of people boarded the No. 1 Dingyuan Ship, which was about to be launched. Standing on the deck that had not yet been painted, Gilbert continued to diligently introduce its performance to the two of them.
"The ship has a standard displacement of 7,220 tons and a full load displacement of 7,670 tons. It uses a three-cylinder reciprocating steam engine. It is propelled by twin propellers and is equipped with eight boilers. The main guns are four 305mm breech guns produced by Krupp, and the secondary guns are Krupp
Two 150mm breech-loading guns..."
Then Gilbert introduced the fish, speedboats, armor and other information that the warships were equipped with. It was not expensive. Although Gilbert said it in a flashy way, it did not change the fact that it was a second-class ironclad. Among them, the main guns of the two ships were calmed down.
The design is very unreasonable. It is equipped with 305 retractable guns, all installed on the front deck. Although it adopts a left and right staggered design, it does not meet the needs of future naval battles at all.
This will reduce the accuracy of its firepower against the rear. If an enemy comes around to the rear, this class of warships will be difficult to deal with. Of course, this is also Carlo's perspective from later generations. In this era, there were no large-scale naval battles with ironclad ships. The designer
We still don't know what the armored ships need, which is normal.
"Your country's warship construction technology is not inferior to ours at all. I believe that in the future we will definitely see the German fleet dominate the oceans."
Of course William II, who came with him, knew that Carlo was speaking for his own ears, but just listen to this praise, he would not take it seriously. You must know that Italy has built a 10,000-ton first-class armored ship, and Germany is currently
But I don't have that ability.
"Carlo, you are exaggerating. The current strength of the German navy cannot do this."
No one else could get involved in the conversation between Carlo and William II, and could only serve as a backdrop. Of course, there were two more Chinese figures on the backdrop.
Of course, when Carlo and William II came to the Volcan Shipyard, they could not leave after seeing the second ship Tranquility. They still had to see other ships more or less, so the hard-working Sir Gilbert took the two of them to the shipyard.
Go somewhere else.
As for Liu Buchan and Wei Han, they naturally stopped following them.
Looking at the group of people walking away, Liu Buchan always felt something was wrong, so he asked Wei Han. "Ji Qian, why do you think the eldest grandson of the Kaiser brought the King of Italy to see the Second Ship Tranquility?"
Wei Han, who also had no idea why, opened his mouth to suggest something to him. "Zixiang, how do I know this question? How about you report it to Master Zhongtang?"
"Master Zhongtang is so busy, how dare you bother me with such a small matter?"
Liu Buchan shook his head like a drum. He would not report this matter. Maybe it was because someone else was interested and wanted to take a look?
