I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 721 Imaginary Enemy

"I deeply apologize, deeply apologize!" Miyamoto Jiro bowing repeatedly: "Please forgive us, we will definitely provide Mr. Shire with a satisfactory proposal."

Shire feigned ignorance:

"If you don’t have advanced technology, at least build ships with larger tonnage, right?"

"The reason we produce 2000-ton destroyers is not because we can’t produce larger warships, but due to wartime resource constraints."

Miyamoto Jiro repeatedly responded: "Yes, yes!"

He certainly did not dare to doubt the shipbuilding capacity of France.

Although currently the French Navy ranks behind Neon, the Battle of the North Sea has led people to question the validity of this ranking.

Shire sat in the chair, legs crossed and chest puffed, addressed the bowing Miyamoto Jiro in front of him, as if reprimanding his servant:

"As for the speed, aren’t they supposed to match our new types of destroyers?"

"You know, if the speed does not keep up, this type of warship will be meaningless to us!"

Miyamoto Jiro nodded again: "Of course."

Shire continued:

"It’s best to have oil-coal mixed combustion boilers."

"Now it’s wartime, resources are often scarce on the battlefield, and we don’t know what fuel might be lacking then."

"This directly affects whether the warship can go into battle at crucial moments. Mr. Ming Yuan, you understand its importance, right?"

At this period, warships are transitioning from "coal" to "oil," and oil-coal mixed combustion boilers can meet the requirements of both fuels, being a more advanced configuration.

Upon hearing this, Miyamoto Jiro’s heart sank, isn’t that just like the newly designed "Celestial Dragon"-class light cruiser?

Indeed it is Shire, with an excellent eye, casually mentioning the warship Neon plans to build in the future!

At the same time, he was secretly delighted, meaning the design of the "Celestial Dragon"-class light cruiser was correct, as Shire had recognized it.

Many at home are still arguing endlessly over this!

Perhaps knowing the "Celestial Dragon" can satisfy Shire, the internal panic in Miyamoto Jiro finally subsided.

"Mr. Shire." Miyamoto Jiro slightly raised his head, his eyes shining with excitement: "We might have a related design, however, I need approval from the higher-ups, what do you think..."

"Of course." Shire nodded slightly, with a hint of impatience: "But you’d better hurry, Mr. Ming Yuan, we don’t have much time to waste, including my time."

"Yes, yes!" Miyamoto Jiro, as if spared from a sentence, bowed repeatedly while exiting the door, taking a deep bow before leaving.

When only Shire remained in the conference room, he relaxed and resumed his posture.

Acting is quite an arduous task, even pretending to be unyielding.

Sometimes Shire found it hard to believe, why does Neon comply with this?

To integrate into European civilized countries?

To show loyalty to the strong?

To mutually learn from each other?

The last reason indeed needs concern, as Neon has strong learning and imitation capabilities.

Since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, in just a few decades, Neon has risen to rank 4th in global naval power.

However, Shire thought again and felt no pressure.

The reason being the Huaxia Navy is essentially "non-existent," they can only block the navy from advancing by sinking in the Yangtze River.

In this case, Neon Navy’s strength is largely irrelevant to Huaxia.

Neon Navy will mainly compete against the United States on the Pacific battleground in the future.

The United States relies on its terrifying production capacity, which one or two advanced technologies or tactics from Neon cannot solve.

Just as he was thinking, Miyamoto Jiro returned, his face full of excitement as he said to Shire: "Wonderful, Mr. Shire, we happen to have a design that almost perfectly meets your needs."

Shire asked nonchalantly while sipping coffee:

"Oh, really?"

"New design? You should know new designs are often immature, right!"

"We need a warship that can be immediately deployed to the battlefield, can I trust your design and craftsmanship?"

Miyamoto Jiro smiled and handed over the plan: "Of course, you can trust us. If there are any shortcomings, we will continue to follow up and improve until your country is satisfied."

Shire adopted a conceited expression, took the plan from Miyamoto Jiro’s hand, and casually flipped through several pages.

Indeed it was the "Celestial Dragon"-class light cruiser, detailed down to the caliber of the main gun and armor thickness.

Miyamoto Jiro leaned closer, diligently explaining:

"The firepower from the upper layers of this warship is mainly targeted at enemy destroyers, using torpedoes to attack enemy battleships."

"Considering that no matter how it is designed, warships can’t defend against torpedoes fired by enemy destroyers."

"This warship armor uses double-layer high-tensile steel to form a hollow armor belt, reducing weight while providing defense against roughly 100MM artillery fire."

Shire replied with discontent: "Mr. Ming Yuan, you know most destroyer guns now exceed 100MM, right?"

"For example, Britain’s ’Medea’-class destroyer has a main gun of 4 inches (102MM)."

"Is your armor designed to be penetrated by the enemy precisely?"

Shire was nitpicking.

Reaching the point of nearly being penetrated is already remarkable, in combat, as long as the shell and armor have a slight angle, it can’t be penetrated, achieving a better defense effect.

Increasing the armor thickness would definitely sacrifice speed.

Miyamoto Jiro sweated nervously, habitually apologizing before softly reminding: "Mr. Shire, our design mainly targets Germany, the Germans’ ’V25’ type destroyer’s main gun is 88MM."

(Above image: German V25 type destroyer, referred to as "Torpedo Boat" by Germany, with a displacement of 812 tons, 3 88MM main guns. The ship already uses oil as fuel.)

Shire glanced knowingly at Miyamoto Jiro.

Miyamoto Jiro understood, quickly nodding and bowing: "I understand, I understand. Rest assured, Mr. Shire, I heard nothing."

He spoke with unexpected pride.

No wonder it’s Shire, his imaginary enemy is not Germany Navy, but the world’s number one, Royal Navy.

It seems striving for friendly exchanges with Shire is absolutely correct!

Finally, Shire placed the documents on the table calmly and asked: "Then, Mr. Ming Yuan, how much does this warship cost per unit?"

Miyamoto Jiro answered without hesitation: "180 US Dollars per unit!"

Shire looked at Miyamoto Jiro in shock, such a low price was hard for him to imagine.

The self-produced new warship by France, with a displacement of 2000 tons, costs 1.5 million US Dollars per unit, Shire thought Neon’s 3250-ton displacement would cost over 2 million, yet it only asked for 1.8 million?

Miyamoto Jiro misinterpreted Shire’s shock as dissatisfaction, quickly added: "If Mr. Shire is not satisfied, we can still negotiate..."