One hundred miles north of Zhangxiong Island on the sea.

"Kang Dang." A metallic harsh sound came.

"My goodness. What kind of ship is this?" a skilled old gunner stood on the pirate ship and exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't be surprised. Quickly reload the ammunition, or we will all be killed." A little pirate leader shouted loudly.

"Boom. Boom, boom." At this moment, the Qi State battleship Tiejiang, which had been aiming at the shooting state, had already aimed at a warship that had just passed in front of them.

A burst of violent artillery fire, which came from a large-caliber artillery.

"Oh my God. It's over." The gunner exclaimed in surprise. He saw with his own eyes that the Osmanthus pirate ship was broken into pieces in an instant. But their artillery could not pose any threat to the Iron General's ship. The three-inch caliber artillery on their ship could not penetrate those iron armors. Not only that, their five-inch caliber artillery was the largest caliber artillery equipped by the pirates. It turned out to be just a piece of iron armor. Under the huge impact force, the iron armor actually flew the cannonball, and the iron armor also fell into the sea.

Qi State's Tiejiang ship is completing the task of encircling and suppressing pirates, in the waters north of Zhang Xiong Island. They discovered that a slave ship of Chu State was besieged by five armed merchant ships, which did not fly a unique national identification flag. In order to distinguish between pirate ships and the taxation of normal merchant ships, merchant ships must be registered, and then must fly the flag of the registered country. The method of naming ships has become popular, and this is mainly for the convenience of effective management of merchant ships and the convenience of merchant ship tax registration.

"These ships are simply looking for death." said Qi Hai, the captain of General Qi Guotie. The captain of his Iron General, and his sister ship, Iron Cannon. The two warships were ordered to go south to search for pirates. As long as they encountered those that did not fly the flags of the navies of various countries, they thought they were pirate ships, so they discovered such a scene.

"Captain, the pirate ship seems to be retreating, you see." The chief officer came over and said.

"Well, we can't catch up with them, we can only give them the biggest blow." Qi Fei said. Because of hanging a lot of iron armor. The defense capabilities of Tiejun-class warships have been greatly improved. They can easily shoot directly from the opponent’s three-inch caliber artillery at a distance of 300 steps. This is a very impressive defense capability. General merchant ships are hit at such a distance. , The loss will be very heavy, but the General Iron-class warships can defend it, but such excellent defensive power greatly limits the maneuverability of the General Iron-class warships. Their movements are extremely slow and it is impossible to chase down the pirates quickly. . They can only engage in a head-on confrontation. The worst thing is that their artillery has a very large caliber. The seven-inch caliber guns are slow to reload and move slowly. They need to adjust for a long time and can only fire at stationary targets. They hit the Osmanthus Flower all at once because the Osmanthus Flower herself stepped forward and adopted the old gang jump tactics. One shot of a large-caliber artillery sent the Osmanthus to the bottom of the sea.

"Catch all those pirates. We are going to send them back to Qi." Qi Fei said while watching the pirates falling into the sea. One of the pirates was sunk and one was seriously injured. The other three pirates abandoned their prey and fled.

"His grandmother." On the pirate ship, the pirate leader scolded with a very annoyed eye.

"Head, we finally ate a slave ship. The most important thing is that they all bit it down. It turned out to be spit out." A little pirate leader also said with great dissatisfaction.

"Damn it. It's really irritating. These Qi State navies and their iron tortoise boats are powerful. The caliber of the artillery is bigger than Lao Tzu's head. After one round of shooting, they killed the Osmanthus." One eye Speaking of dissatisfaction.

"Head, the most important thing is that our artillery can't go through. I can see it with my own eyes. The cannonball hits and it actually bounces. My goodness. What kind of ship has such a capability." The little boss said.

"No, in the future we will encounter such a ship, we can only go around. But this iron general is very powerful, but he runs slowly, and when we encounter such a ship in the future, we will hide a little bit. Today is really **** unlucky. But we are like this. It's not a way to do it, you have to think of a way. Kill him a boat. Otherwise, I'm not convinced." The pirate leader said with one eye.

"Head, we can't do anything about it. This ship has iron armor up and down, and it can't beat the opponent at all. We have no way to solve such an iron armored ship." The little boss said helplessly. The pirate chief touched his chin with one eye and thought.

Chu State, Pengcheng. Inside the Staff of the First Naval Fleet.

"Qi's iron general warship looks very powerful. It is covered with iron armor. It would be difficult to sink the opponent if it were not for the use of seven-inch heavy artillery." said a navy lieutenant colonel. Xiang Yan sat in his seat without saying a word, listening to the report of the Naval Staff.

"Yes. Such an armored ship is very troublesome. It can't be hit and won't get in." Some naval staff officers said.

"The other party’s artillery is equipped with heavy artillery. They have more than 30 seven-inch artillery, and the rest are artillery over five inches. Such artillery is a great threat to us. . Our ship can’t get close at all, because once it gets close, it will be sunk by the other party, and our loss will become very large. However, such a ship has great problems.” said the navy lieutenant colonel. .

"The first is their iron armor. As a result of the increased protection, their maneuverability is severely reduced. Qi's warships did not improve the effectiveness of their sailing ships. They were only converted from ordinary merchant ships. They just added some iron armors. ." said the navy lieutenant colonel.

"Secondly, they have the caliber of their artillery. There are too many large-caliber artillery pieces, while the small-caliber artillery pieces are very few, almost none. We have checked the three-inch artillery caliber artillery. There are almost only two. They are in the front and rear positions, despite their artillery. The caliber is very large and powerful, which makes us feel very stressed. However, this large-caliber artillery is extremely troublesome to operate, and the shooting speed is not high. It is difficult to react in a short time. If we can take advantage of the rapid speed of our ships If they are sexually offensive, they will be easily attacked," said the navy lieutenant colonel.

"The last point is that their speed is very slow, they can't catch up with us at all, but we can catch up with them easily. In this way, we have the initiative, because they are passively beaten." The school said.

"However, we still can't eat these armored ships." Xiang Liang said.

"It's very simple, sir, we can use a small boat, that kind of large-caliber artillery, it is difficult to target those small boats, if we can fill the small boat with gunpowder, and then get close to them, as long as there is a bang. Those boats will sink. It's under the sea," said the Navy Lieutenant Colonel.

"Is it really that simple?" Xiang Liang asked incredulously.

"Sir, in fact, it's very simple. Because these iron-clad ships are effectively protected on the upper layer, they wear thick iron armor, but on the lower layer, below the deck, they can't hang heavier because of sailing. It’s iron armor, and it’s not allowed to be draped. In this way, that place becomes the weakest place. As long as we attack there, we can complete the task of sinking the other party.” said the navy lieutenant colonel.

"It's just that the Qi State Navy will really let us sink their warships so easily?" Xiang Liang was a little skeptical.

"Sir, they are all heavy artillery. If our boat is fast enough, they can be easily hit. The most important thing is that they do not have such protection. However, I think that with the growth of time in the future, they You may be aware of this." The lieutenant colonel said helplessly. Ironclad ships are indeed very powerful, but this is only the main battleship of Qi, and they also need some **** battleships. As a result, the performance of various battleships began to become a little strange.

"Okay. Specific problems still need to be solved concretely, and technical support is still needed to solve these technical problems." Xiang Yan said. he knows. To solve such problems, we still need to solve the problem technically. After all, strategies and plans can no longer accomplish such things.

"But we have no advantage in technology at all." Xiang Liang said in a low voice.

"That's why we need to cooperate with the Koreans. They will have a way to solve such problems, and we must also make effective improvements. In this way, we can solve our disadvantaged position in future naval battles." Xiang Yan said.

Qi State, the Navy Department under General Tian Heng's Mansion.

"Iron General is very powerful, but it still has big problems. For example, the heavy artillery equipped is too heavy, it is very troublesome to use, and the rate of fire is relatively low. On average, one shot in five minutes is considered fast. In actual combat." A navy commander put forward his opinion.

"In addition, the speed of the Iron General ship is very slow. If the speed is not fast enough, it is easy for the opponent to use a clipper to fill it with explosives and sink it. Such a thing is very likely to happen." said the navy lieutenant commander.

"Yeah. You are right. What should we do if something like this happens? We can't afford to lose. An Iron General class warship is very expensive. Those large-caliber artillery, plus iron armor, are very expensive to build. I can't afford it." At this time the Secretary of the Navy said.

"So, sir, we must find a way to change this situation. The only way is to build some small **** ships." The Lieutenant Commander suggested.

"Escort vessel?" the Secretary of the Navy asked.

"Yes, sir, this kind of **** ships is medium or small merchant ships. They are not expensive. They are equipped with light artillery, with a caliber of two to three inches, mainly because of the fast rate of fire. Artillery, such artillery ships, are fast, light artillery, and quick to aim. They can solve many problems. For example, they can easily sink small ships. After the opponent's large-scale decisive battle, these ships can also solve many problems. Attack quickly," said the Lieutenant Commander.

"Escort vessel." The Secretary of the Navy thought.

"The most important thing is that this kind of ship is cheap to build and can solve our current dilemma. I think we should purchase such a ship." said the Navy Lieutenant Commander.

"Okay. Just do what you said." The Secretary of the Navy decided. The Qi State Navy also discovered the weakness of the Tiejun-class ship. Although the firepower and protection were strong, the speed was too slow. It is easy to cause a great threat. The only way to face such a warship is to find a way to make up for such a fault. Use some light **** ships to make up for it.

Tian Heng's General Mansion.

"Sir, Zhao Guo plans to dispose of a batch of retired artillery, all of which are infantry artillery. These artillery can still be used and the price is also very suitable." An official of the Ministry of National Defense said. The functions of the General Mansion are very large, but it is easy to confuse the management. In desperation, Tian Heng reorganized the General Mansion and divided the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the General Staff. In fact, this It's the same as Qin's change. But the difference is that several military departments all have a general mansion under their jurisdiction. In fact, the situation is still chaotic.

"The question is, what do we buy these artillery for?" Tian Heng asked.

"Well, we can sell people from other places. At present, muskets are relatively flooded everywhere. Many places have muskets, but there are no artillery. We can export them to them. For example, I heard that the Karachi people controlled by Koreans , There is such an idea, and the Korean artillery production capacity has not been very sufficient, this is an opportunity. "The Defense Ministry official suggested.

"In this way, our navy's funding is also relatively sufficient." Ministry of Defense officials said. Like Qin, Qi State has also become interested in cutting military expenditures for the army because the army is very large and its defense capabilities are insufficient. The most important thing is that the large army cannot bring benefits. In contrast, the scale of the South Korean march One is not very big, and their navy is expanding, but the navy can bring great profits. This is where they can't compare. This is the most difficult place for Qiguo.

"Yeah. That's right. We can also reduce a part of the army to meet our trade export needs. Just do it, don't hesitate, seize the opportunity, and do it boldly." Tian Heng encouraged. Because of the shortage of navy funding, Tian Heng could only do it this way. The navy's funding is very large. And if time cannot be reduced, then funding must be sufficient. But the Qi government can't come up with that much money. Therefore, the problem is still very serious. In order to solve the problem of insufficient military expenditure, the only solution is to sell some weapons to make up for their insufficient funding.

Outside Karachi.

"Yue's army has exceeded two battalions. Only after they came, they began to dig tunnels. To defend, do they have more troops to attack?" At this time, General Hasi put down his hands. Asked the telescope.

"This, I don't know. But we should worry about some things. If the other party digs a tunnel and lays a lot of explosives, our situation is also very bad. The most important thing is that we can't expel the other party." Zhang Si said helplessly. .

"Yeah. There is no way." Hasi nodded and said. For the role of the tunnel, General Hasi still knows. By digging tunnels, the people of the Yue family buried a large amount of explosives and exploded the Ram Fortress in one breath. Such a thing must never happen again. General Hasi decided to arrive. They decided to dig a larger anti-tunnel trench.

On the Yueshi position, the Fifth Engineer Battalion.

"Damn it. There are Karachi trenches above. We need to dig tunnels as deep as five feet below. If necessary, it may be deeper." A Yueshi engineer lieutenant said.

"Sir, this is a huge amount of work. We can't complete it in less than three months or half a year. I think you know this." An engineer sergeant estimated the amount of work.

The Karachi people dug many trenches in order to defend against the Yueshi people. The depths of these trenches are different, and it is impossible for them to further dig a slightly shallower tunnel closer to each other. Therefore, things are still more troublesome.

"I have no choice but to do this. Now the army is very inadequate. With the bond issue. Really **** it." The engineer lieutenant scolded helplessly. The people below had to continue digging.

The commander of this battle was General Sharp, but he did not actually arrive here. He was still commanding his troops to accept more areas. Regarding what happened here, he just knew they were in trouble. An infantry battalion and an engineer battalion came here to fight, and General Sharp lacked the necessary artillery units, and the Yueshi people began to become a little absent-minded in combat.

Qin State, Prime Minister's Mansion.

"This is the situation. The North needs some professional technical talents, especially blasting talents in the field of engineering and soldiers, because they want to open mines, so they need talents in this area." Meng Yi said.

"But our technical talents are not sufficient, and the talents in this area are mainly concentrated in the army engineers." Shang Wen said helplessly.

"But the army will not let go of so many technical talents. This is a problem. We can only adopt training methods to cultivate talents. However, in this way, our explosive production will need to be further accelerated." Meng Yi Speaking to Shangwen.

"Well. A single expansion of production scale is different. What I know is that there are still many such factories in Qin State that have such production capacity, but recently merged companies have been a bit serious. Many such companies with special technology have been merged. Those technologies have also spread out by the way. Should we restrict it?" Shang Wen said with some worry.

"Not so good. In this case, the capital of various countries will not be able to concentrate on us." Meng Yi said.