Chapter 361 Navy Admission Ceremony

  Time is like water, and three quiet months passed quickly.

   Golden Autumn September 1883

  Red River Valley

  The large vacant undeveloped area on the north shore is very suitable as a vast ship manufacturing base. Relying on the relatively complete iron and steel manufacturing supporting industries in the Red River Valley and surrounding cities, it will become a new shipbuilding center.

Here, along the north bank of the wide Brisbane River, there are a dozen shipyards of various sizes lined up. The leading enterprise is of course the Honghe Shipyard, which is not only the largest in scale but also the strongest in technology, with the most employees and equipment. The most advanced and most influential in the international market, especially the 10,000-ton bulk carrier is a sought-after product in the international market, and has been enduring for many years.

Throughout Queensland, three shipbuilding industry centers, Red River Valley City, Songhong Town, and Beilun Town, have been formed. Among them, Red River Valley and Beilun Town are dominated by large and medium-sized ocean-going passenger and cargo ships facing the international market, and they have taken over from Europe and South America. With international orders from the United States, eleven powerful shipbuilding enterprise groups have been formed. Among them, Hongshan Shipyard is the largest and strongest, and it is a well-deserved leading enterprise.

  Dozens of shipbuilding companies gathered in Songjiang Town mainly build small and medium-sized ships along the coast and inland rivers, as well as special ships such as fishing boats, oil tankers, passenger and cargo ships, engineering ships, etc. The number of shipbuilding companies is large and the scale is generally small.

  There are more than a dozen large and medium-sized shipyards lined up along the river bank. There are various ocean-going ships under construction and repair on the slipway, mainly large freighters, and occasionally some three to five thousand tons of shuttle migrant ships.

  Hongshan Shipyard North Shore Shipbuilding Base

On the dock, there are 4 seagull-type 2 ocean-going frigates with a displacement of 2,250 tons. The officers and soldiers in the snow-white uniforms of the Coast Guard, who are full of flags hung on the warships, stand to help along the bridge, in the mighty and majestic military music. Completion of the warship enrollment ceremony in the sound.

The four main warships were named "Parrot", "Woodpecker", "Jay" and "Red-crowned Crane". After entering service, the "Parrot" and "Woodpecker" will join the Borneo Squadron in Samarinda. The Raven and the Red-crowned Crane will join the Shangri-La squadron in Moresby.

In addition to the previous two 2250-ton seagull-type ocean-going frigates "Cardinal" and "Pheasant" that have returned from the British mainland, they have joined the Queensland fleet. The Coast Guard has a total of 6 large-scale frigates over 2,000 tons. 24 frigates of various types ranging from 960 tons to 1,650 tons, the strength is second to none in the South Pacific.

The Seagull II is the ultimate model of this class of ships, and these four ships are the last batch production models, and they are also the seagull-class ocean-going frigates with the largest displacement and the strongest combat effectiveness. From then on, the production of ocean-going frigates will be announced. One paragraph.

A leading figure in Queensland. Under the leadership of Governor Li Fushou, he was seated on the rostrum. On his side were Brigadier General Geng Baogui, Commander of the Coast Guard and Commander of the Queensland Fleet, Brigadier General He Fang, Commander of the Borneo Fleet, and Li Jie, Commander of the Shangri-La Fleet The brigadier general, on the other side were Queensland State Speaker Xin Changjun, Red River Valley Mayor Fan Asheng, Brisbane Mayor He Shoutian, Zhi Gong Caucus convener and investigation director Tian Shan, etc., all gathered together, and it was really lively.

   "Master Yuanding, it seems that our fleet is getting bigger and bigger now, which is really exciting!" Xin Changjun twisted his beard and smiled, with a happy expression on his face.

  Li Fushou replied quietly; “It is a good thing for the fleet to grow. After the four Qinglong-class heavy cruisers are equipped, the current financial resources are almost at the limit, and the sea and borders can be guaranteed for the next 15 years.”

"Yes, as far as I know, the strongest battleship in the Far East Fleet of the British Empire is the second-class iron-clad battleship of more than 7,600 tons. The second-class Dingyuan Zhenyuan warship ordered by the Qing government is almost of this level, and our "Qinglong" The class heavy cruiser has a full load displacement of 8,800 tons. Both its combat power and ocean-going endurance are much higher, and it is enough to dominate the South Pacific and Far East."

  Xin Changjun is now Li Fushou’s deputy, taking over the overall work, and he also has a large-scale secretarial team to serve. The development of the relevant navy is naturally within his authority, and he knows this well.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of offering 4 first-class battleships for the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's accession to the throne of the British Empire, Queensland has planned and built 4 8800-ton heavy cruisers for the Coast Guard, which are purely private goods.

  This kind of strength looks at the entire Asia and Oceania, and only the 3rd Battle Fleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire stationed in Galgota can match it, and the others are younger brothers.

  This also includes the French Expeditionary Fleet and the German Far East Fleet. In terms of hard power on paper, they are far inferior to the Queensland Coast Guard, which is about to acquire 4 powerful warships.

  Speaking of which

  I have to mention the existing military and official systems in Queensland. One has a confusing name, and the other is nondescript. It is really a last resort.

  If the name is not correct, the words will not go well. Today, Queensland belongs to the Australian colonial nation of the British Empire. The Earl of Queensland is a hereditary aristocracy granted by Her Majesty the Queen.

  Two hundred years ago, European count-level nobles could still have their own feudal palaces, divided into courtiers, and one party was in charge of military and political power, and it was a separatist party's chief official.

  Into the middle and late 19th century

With the strengthening of feudal monarchy and social progress in European countries, the power of the great aristocracy at the level of earls has been continuously reduced. There are very few feudal courts and no power to subordinate court officials. At most, they can only grant knights and nobles who cannot be hereditary. The quantity is strictly limited.

When    goes up, it will touch the feudal kingship, which is a high-voltage line that can never be touched.

   Therefore, the knight nobles entrusted by Sir Queensland Burr are lifelong nobles, not the more respected hereditary nobles.

  Because it is not an independent country or a feudal duchy or a Hou State, Li Fushou’s army is nominally the Queensland National Guard, which is a paramilitary organization and a name for a militia organization, not a de facto national army.

  The same is true for the navy. It belongs to the National Guard Coast Guard. It cannot be called a navy. Warships are called frigates. All of these are the products of cheap operations and seem nondescript.

  For generals, the navy calls them captains, deputy captains, or command-in-chief, and the army is called commanders or commanders-in-chief, and the military ranks up to the commander-in-chief level. This is also the reason for this.

  Li Fushou leisurely picked up the binoculars and looked at it. On the 4 Seagull II modified ocean-going frigates that were just in service, the officers and soldiers were morale high and lined up. The black hole muzzle shot straight into the distant sky, revealing an invisible breath of killing.

  After more than three years of naval warfare, this naval force has shown its cutting edge. It has become a regional force that cannot be underestimated in the South Pacific, and has its own battle spirit and history.

"Yes, the spirit of the officers and soldiers is very good." Li Fushou nodded in satisfaction, put down the binoculars in his hand, and said approvingly; Sharpened in the fire, with the adventurous spirit of fighting the wind and waves and the unyielding spirit of fighting against the enemy, I think this is the core spirit that a strong maritime army must possess. Only an army with an unyielding spirit of war can truly be called a one. Support the world's strong army."

"Lord Earl, we have carefully worked according to your request and carefully forged the soul of war that belongs to our navy. That is, no matter how strong the enemy is, our navy will not be afraid of difficulties, meet the enemy, and sacrifice fearlessly. Spiritually defends the rights and interests of every inch of the sea and territory, and casts the soul of the navy's fierce army." Geng Baogui replied solemnly.

   "Very good, I am very satisfied with the performance of the navy." Li Fushou tapped the table with long slender fingers, and asked after a moment; "How are the preparations for the naval academy?"

  "Return to Lord Earl;

The Naval Academy is planned to be built along the Huangpu River in Songjiang Town. At present, the construction of the Huangpu Naval Academy’s site and housing school buildings is nearing completion. There are 7 naval majors, employing experienced instructors at home and abroad to teach, and have the ability to retrain existing naval officers.

  Our navy took the liberty to ask Lord Earl to serve as the honorary principal, and I still ask for your permission. "

   "Ha ha ha... You have another problem for me!" Li Fushou laughed when he heard the words, without a half-difficult look on his face.

It’s notorious that Lord Earl likes to hold the post of president concurrently. The Young Eagle School serves as the Honorary President, and the Red River Valley University serves as the President. The Baixi Army Officer Academy established at the end of last year also serves as the President of the Earl. All the talents cultivated by the Red River Valley are Earl. The adult's disciple.

  No matter from which way it is, there is nothing wrong with it.

  Because of Young Eagle School or Red River Valley University, whether for charitable purposes or private schools, Lord Earl is the only and largest funder, and he deserves to serve as the chairman of the school board and concurrently as the honorary principal.

  Baixi Army Officer School and Huangpujiang Naval Academy are also private schools. In fact, they belong to the place where Lord Earl trains feudal private military officers. He deserves to serve concurrently as principal, and there is no sense of disobedience.

"Our colleagues in the Navy have unanimously strongly demanded that Lord Earl should not favor one or the other. For the sake of the sincere heart of the admiral, it is my blessing to be appointed as the honorary principal of the Huangpu Naval Academy." There is a spirit of perseverance.

  He silently glanced at where he was, indicating where to say a few words.

  He Fang said, "Master Earl, Whampoa Naval Academy is the cradle of cultivating talents, and colleagues in the navy look forward to the appointment of Master Earl as the principal. People are sure. The whole school is proud of the teachers and students."

   "Um... well, I will do my part."

The two admirals took turns to persuade them to enter. Li Fushou hesitated and agreed and said: "Teaching and educating people is a century-old plan. The Huangpu Naval Academy must have its own characteristics. Students are selected from the outstanding talents of the Young Eagle School. To strengthen the ideological education of loyalty, the sense of honor and responsibility of soldiers, I do not require them to become handsome, but every officer must be loyal, obey orders as his bounden duty, and perform his duties out of a high sense of honor and responsibility. It has truly become a solid pillar for the defense of thousands of miles of sea frontiers."

   "Master Earl’s teachings, I will keep in mind that I will not dare to violate the high expectations at all times." Geng Baogui waited for the senior navy admiral to replied respectfully.

  (End of this chapter)