Jiang Ning, official residence of the Eastern Song Dynasty.

The high-ranking East Song Wenwu officials sat down, and everyone looked at the briefing just sent.The wartime cabinet prime minister, Wein, turned his back on them, looked at the huge map that hung up high and did not move.

Outside the window is the first good Jiangning city in the East Song Dynasty, and the high-rise buildings in the city center are scaly.The storefront in the commercial area is next to one, mostly decent.The industrial area is lined with chimneys and machines roaring.The dock was berthed with inland merchant ships full of goods, and the smoke-filled steamboat on the river tugged a string of wooden cargo ships, going east to west.

Everything is so beautiful, so full of energy... No one can think that the disaster of the top has arrived.

The main force of the Eastern Song Dynasty Grand Fleet was severely damaged in the Battle of Longshi Island!

Lost three first-class battleships, ten second-class battleships, twenty three-stage battleships... a total of thirty-three capital ships, all of them sinking!

This is the capital ship of the Eastern Song Navy!

And with these capital ships and more than 30 sinking class four, five, and six class ships lost, there are more than 30,000 trained naval officers and men ... and the determination and confidence of the United States of Eastern Song to maintain war.

Due to the friendly relations between the East Song and the Great Week, as well as the "Chinese priority" policy of the Great Zhou Republic for more than 100 years, and the ultimate unified ideology believed in by the Chinese nation, the capitalists and the people of the East Song Dynasty have a good feeling for the Republic of the Great Week.

In the view of most of the East Song people, the decisive battle between the three Xia Xiongsong was not a national war, but a civil war.

A unified war that ended more than two hundred years ago!

The U.S. system of the Eastern Song Dynasty also put the Jiangning court at a very disadvantageous position in this unification war.

Because the Jiangning court and the United States Conference were not the superiors of the United States.The orders given by the court and the United States to the states of the United States were not mandatory.And the states of the United States can also be separated from the United States in legal sense...

In fact, since the founding of the Eastern Song Dynasty, the factor maintaining the unity of this "confederate system" is the Royal Navy that belongs to the Eastern Song Dynasty.

The East Song Dynasty was politically close to the "confederacy" and was economically a typical outward-looking maritime nation.The prosperity of the domestic economy depends on the wealth of overseas markets and colonies...that is, the prosperity and prosperity of the East Song Dynasty must rely on strong maritime forces.

The defense of the East Song Dynasty is dependent on the Navy's Yangtze River fleet.

That is to say, without the navy, there would be nothing in the United States of East and Song.

In order to maintain the strength of the navy, the United States of Eastern Song had to give the "naval power" to the central government, and used the financial resources of 50 states to build a maritime power that could fight the navy of the Great Zhou Republic.

Therefore, the East Song Navy is the basis for the unity of the United States.

Now that the Navy has suffered heavy losses, the foundation of the unification of the East Song Dynasty has ceased to exist.

The sunset of the United States is naturally close!

"Prime Minister," said the voice of the household department of Dongsong, trembling, "we, will our shipping be interrupted soon?"What can I do?But what to do... or else, we suggest that your majesty take the royal family to avoid the new Song.

Now the home fleet is still complete, can escort His Majesty and the royal family away from Jiangning to the new Song."

Shen Wansan is the richest man in this cabinet, and his family's property in the whole East Song can be ranked in the top ten, claiming to have several "small goals", which is called a rich and enemy country.However, his still book is not donated, but is recommended by the very influential Gangnam Business and Industry Alliance (Party) in the "Suhang Xiuming Yue" area, representing the interests of Jiangnan industry and commerce.

For Jiangnan industry and commerce, the loss of sea power is tantamount to facing the disaster of extinction.

Oh, and it won’t necessarily be over...and it’s decent to surrender!

Disengage from the United States of the Eastern Song Dynasty and join the Great Zhou Republic.

Although after joining the Republic, Jiangnan Industry and Commerce could no longer have the right to speak in the United States of the East Song Dynasty.But it is still possible to maximize its own interests under the guarantee of the law of the Republic.

The Republic may deprive the United States of the Jiangnan United States of its autonomy, but it must also protect the autonomy of the Jiangnan states and the citizens of the people of Jiangnan.

While local authority is inevitably weakened (de jurely, local autonomy under the republic derives from the decentralization of the Supreme Council), it is not unacceptable.

The plan now put forward by the local fleet to escort the emperor and the royal family to escape the new Song is actually to implement the "royal family to give up the mainland of the East Song Dynasty" asylum plan.

As soon as the royal family left, the United Government of the Eastern Song Dynasty and the executive government of the Great Zhou Republic were able to carry out peaceful reunification negotiations.

“We can still fight!”The army of Dongsong, the army of the army, Zhao Liangzhong, shouted loudly, "Chou Guo's losses in the battle of Longshi Island are also very large, and they have lost at least 15 capital ships!"

More importantly, the Battle of Longshi Island shows that the sail battleship without armor protection is completely vulnerable.The future belongs to new warships equipped with cast iron cannons capable of firing large-calibre flowering shells and armored protection, and perhaps some of the power should also be provided with waterwheels powered by “water heaters” (steam engines).

Zhao Liangzhong was the son of the East Song royal family, a naval engineer, and was the director of the Naval Shipbuilding Bureau before joining the war cabinet.

As a shipbuilding expert, after studying the report of the Navy's military drivers, he concluded that the era of wooden sail battleships was over.

The 60,000 stone-class battleships currently under construction, like the seemingly powerful battleships lost in the Battle of Longshi Island, are vulnerable to large-calibre flowering bombs.

Therefore, the loss of 33 capital ships is not necessarily fatal for the East Song Dynasty.As long as the East Song can start the construction plan of the new armored warships as soon as possible, and create an iron armored ship with steel armor that can withstand the bombardment of flowering bombs, it can regain the lost sea power!

In the race to build an armored ship, the East Song and Da Zhou should be on the same starting line.

“How long does it take for the Navy Yard to complete the construction of the first armored ship?”The Prime Minister asked.

“Two months!”Zhao Liangzhong replied, “The Navy is ready to transform three large steamboats with a displacement of 15,000 stones, which will certainly be completed in two months.”

Completely new armored ships must take a long time, in order to seize the time, naturally only to modify the old ship.

The difficulty of modifying large sail battleships is much more difficult than the transformation of small and medium-sized steam tugboats.

Because the wooden masts and sails of the sail battleship are too large, there is no way to protect them.Once the mast and sail were destroyed by the flowering bomb, the battleship lost power.

Moreover, the sails and ropes on the sail battleship are easy to cause fires, and the fire will spread to the artillery deck, causing a big explosion.

In addition, the size of the large windsurfing battleships is too large.If all the iron armor is installed, the ship is too heavy, and the speed will inevitably drop significantly.

Therefore, it is very difficult to transform the sail battleship, it is better to start the transformation from the steam tug.

Another reason is that the naval engineers of the Eastern Song Dynasty abandoned the sail battleship.That is the excess of the firepower of the sail battleship!

More than a hundred cannons of the first-class battleship were clearly surplus in actual combat.Because a first-class battleship is finished as long as it is hit with an 8-inch, 9-inch flowering bomb.Do you need more than 100 guns?More than a hundred guns have opened the flower bombs, and they must not bombard the opponent into scum.

And so many flowering bullets are dangerous to themselves!

Almost all the battleships that exploded in the Battle of Longshi Island were destroyed in their own ammunition... This is a suicide bombing ship!

So the naval engineers of the Eastern Song Dynasty agreed that the number of guns should be reduced, and more ships should be allocated to power systems, that is, steam engines and coal silos.

An armored battleship with a displacement of about 40,000 stone is enough with about 20 9-inch guns or 10-inch guns.

In the case of a reduction in the number of artillery guns, it is also possible to protect the artillery with a solid bulletproof gun bay.As long as the gun bay, the organ compartment, and the coal silo are not destroyed, the warships generally do not sink.

“Our steamboats are tugboats,” Shen immediately shook his head and wrinkled his eyebrows, “these tugboats are not very seaworthy and can only operate in the inland and offshore areas.”The transportation of the distant sea will still be blocked...it is blocked, not harassed!How can the country endure?There is no food and bird droppings overseas, and there is no food to eat!”

When it comes to eating, the ministers present sighed and echoed.

“Yes, the earth is big, the food is the biggest!”

"In recent years, the people's life is difficult (everyone has books to read, everyone has meat to eat, everyone has silk and satin, it is really difficult), if eating becomes a problem again, will the people's heart support us?" 」

“Yes, the United Government should be people-oriented ... Now that the land and navy have both lost their jobs and the domestic economy is difficult to maintain, or they should make peace early.”

The ills of the politics of the United States are unmistakable at today's meeting!

The cabinet ministers of the United War Cabinet were in fact representatives of the United States, who were first responsible to the States of the United States, and then the emperor and the court.

If it is the country of the military and gunmen of the West Song Dynasty and the gunman now against the East Song Dynasty, then the 50 United States will definitely support the imperial court to fight to the end.

Let a group of feudal military and gunmen take ownership, and the capitalists in the 50 United States are still so mixed.Shouldn’t all the house be handed over?So you have to fight to the end!

But the Great Zhou Republic is not the same as the Western Song, and the Great Week is also the country of the capitalists... The difference between the United and the Republic is not great, except that the supreme power belongs to the state assembly or the national parliament.

In addition, although the East Song and Da Zhou are two countries, the relationship between each other has always been very close, and it can be said that it is difficult to separate each other.

And because of the "Chinese priority" and the "opening of the Americas" implemented by the Great Zhou Republic for more than 100 years, there are many transnational capitalists in the Gangnam region of the Eastern Song Dynasty - it is said that capital has no motherland!

So in the Gangnam area, there are many influential capital giants that do not matter whether they are the big week or the East Song... even, a unified Huaxia is more beneficial to them!

Because the market is larger and the barrier is less, the flow of capital, products and talents is faster and easier, and the internal consumption in external competition can be completely avoided.

From any point of view, peaceful reunification favors the great East Song capitalists who do not love the imperial court.

For the ordinary people of the Eastern Song Dynasty, is it important to defend the emperor, or is it important to eat meat?Unity is nothing more than the United People becoming a republic, the emperor changes the head of state, and the Jiangning language changes the Tianjin language... to insist on fighting, then there will be no food or drink!

Does the big guy really want to?

“Prime Minister, say a word.”Zhao Liangzhong turned to look at the back of Wen Dao Sheng, “The rise and fall of the country is between your old words!”

This is a sign that only looks at the back of the narrator, and then there is a sigh.

The old prime minister turned around, and there were tears on his face.He looked at Zhao Liangzhong and smiled bitterly: “The old man said a word?How can the old man, how can he decide?

Zhao Shangshi, don't forget that our country is a United people, not a kingdom of heaven... Now the food in stock can still be supplied, and the people's hearts are stable.Once the food is exhausted, there will be the United States back to the week.What to do then?“Soldiers of pressure?”

It is impossible to send a soldier to pressure... not without a soldier, but to do so would destroy the United States.

The United States is equivalent to 50 brothers and sisters, some people do not want to do, want to quit, at this time the remaining 49 people can kill him?

Therefore, the United system is not suitable for war at all - the world's hegemon in the future, the system of a united country, is actually not the 13 states of the United States at the beginning of the founding of the country, but the regime of the Civil War, the cohesiveness is quite high.

The United States of the East Song Dynasty has never experienced the baptism of the Civil War, and has always been based on the co-construction of the navy and the establishment of the Yangtze River.

Now that the navy has collapsed, the nation has been shaken.

As for rebuilding the Navy, the establishment of a steam battleship unit cloud, not a few years will not succeed at all.Who can be hungry for years?

And the Great Zhou Republic will also build steam battleships!The steam engine was invented.

The text grew sighed, "Or please ask the son of heaven to move the new opening."

“But can you save it by moving to a new opening?”Zhao Liangzhong's tone also softened.

Shen Wansan whispered: "The people of the new Song are all subjects of heaven, and the United States are different...

And there are millions of military gunmen in the Western Song."

Wencesheng also said: "After the son of heaven left, the United States will continue to resist, and if not a year and a half, how can we reach peace and negotiation?"50 things in the United States are not so easy to talk about.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, we can also transfer more talents and soldiers loyal to the Zhao family to the new Song.”

Zhao Liangzhong gritted his teeth, "Three months later, the Navy sent out iron armor to fight with them, if not, Tianzi left Jiangning!"

This is the last effort of Zhao Da Shang's book!

We exchanged eyes with the ministers present, and finally nodded: "Well, three months is three months... Peace talks can start, talk while you fight."

The three-month “probation” did not save the East Song.Because the Great Zhou Republic also urgently launched the construction and renovation of armored ships after the Battle of Longshi Island.

Unlike the Eastern Song Dynasty, the Republic of Great Weeks did not use inland tugboats to transform the iron armored ships, but used the cross-sea ferry as the basis, and transformed 10 steam armored ships at the same time!

The reason for this is that the mainland of the week includes many peninsulas and islands.Among them, the people and economy between Liaodong-Shandong, Korea-Japan, and the Japanese islands are very dense and require a large number of ferries.

And steam engine-driven sea ferries are obviously more valuable than sailing ships and paddle ships, so steam-ship ferries have long appeared, and there is a trend of getting bigger and bigger.

Therefore, after the war on Longshi Island, Da Zhou immediately transformed the iron armored ships with a displacement of about 20,000 stone steam ferries in Tianjin, Haizhou, Liaodong and Japan, and made 10 in one go!

Unlike the steam-iron-armed ships of the inland tugs in the East Song Dynasty, the ten ferry-renovated iron-armed ships are all sea-boat structures, which are of good airworthiness and can be sailed at sea.

The three iron-armed ships of the Eastern Song can only be used in the inland and offshore activities, which cannot be compared with them at all - they do not have to fight with the ships of the East Song, and cut off the trade route of the East Song in the distant sea!

So their appearance also announced the sunset of the United States of the East Song Dynasty...

In July 215, when the autumn wind began, after the Eastern Song Emperor Zhao Hao twice refused to leave Jiangning, he finally accepted the advice of the war cabinet, led the royal family under the escort of the local fleet, left Jiangning Province and went to the distant New Song continent.