Chapter 7

"Three fundamental elements constitute a warship: firepower, protection, and speed. Additionally, there are some minor factors such as stability and seafaring capabilities. However, from a design perspective, no warship can excel in all aspects; compromises must be made in certain areas. You know this, right?" Tirpitz asked.

Qing Ying nodded slightly, signaling Tirpitz to continue.

"‘Considering our national conditions.’ Your statement is very well put. In fact, all the warships of the major powers are designed and built around their own national conditions or hypothetical enemies. Our German Navy has always considered the French Navy as the hypothetical enemy. Due to the limited number of warships in the German Navy, the operational areas of the main warships are confined to the relatively narrow waters of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, so seafaring capabilities are not a priority. Similarly, due to the insufficient number of warships, our main warships must prioritize armor protection and survivability. After all, only by staying alive can one continue to fight! If the ship sinks, even the most powerful weapons are useless!"

Tirpitz tapped the table with his knuckles and said, "Therefore, the main warships built by the German Empire prioritize protection! Only with solid armor and excellent damage control can we reduce our battle losses below those of the enemy and hope to outlast the second-strongest French! Every warship we build now is guided by this principle; if our ships sink faster than the French, then the war is already lost."

Qing Ying looked at the middle-aged man with a center part and a goatee in front of him, speechless for a long time. Although historically the High Seas Fleet was indeed built according to this standard, he never expected that Tirpitz had already planned the development direction of the German Navy's battleships before the First Sino-Japanese War! From a modern perspective, Tirpitz's concept seems like a common idea that anyone could come up with; but in the late 19th century, a time of great transformation, various new technologies and concepts emerged like a geyser: the torpedo boat party, the big gun battleship party, the green water chaos party, the high-speed cruiser party... each leading the trend, a hundred schools of thought contending. In this myriad of ideas, Tirpitz's ability to find a path suitable for his country was indeed a remarkable achievement!

Seeing Qing Ying remain silent for a long time, Tirpitz guessed that he had finally impressed the prodigy. A hint of satisfaction appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but stroke his goatee with both hands.

"Good protection, detailed watertight compartments, and excellent damage control are indeed crucial for German naval vessels. They can greatly ensure the survival of the warships and conserve the limited resources of the Imperial Navy." Qing Ying carefully chose his words and finally spoke about the biggest flaw of the historical German High Seas Fleet, "However, we develop the navy to compete for space under the sun, not to create an unsinkable target. Without powerful firepower, how can we destroy enemy ships and win naval battles?"

Tirpitz's eyes lit up. But after a moment, he seemed to think of something and gradually fell silent. He sighed lightly, a hint of helpless smile on his face: "Your Highness, do you think I haven't considered this? Theory is one thing, but practical implementation is another. To balance firepower and protection, there are two major issues that are difficult to solve!"

Qing Ying's spirit was invigorated, and he said earnestly, "What are the issues? I would like to hear more."

Seeing Qing Ying's eagerness to learn, Tirpitz nodded in satisfaction. Although he knew that the young boy in front of him might not understand what he was about to say, he still decided to explain to help his student understand the essence of the navy and stimulate his enthusiasm for learning. He cleared his throat and said, "Since you want to know, I will tell you."

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The moonlight mingled with the lamplight, illuminating the entire study. A young boy and a middle-aged man sat across from each other at a table, with two freshly brewed cups of coffee on it, the steam rising and the aroma filling the air. In the room, apart from the ticking of the clock, only the deep voice of the middle-aged man could be heard.

"First, the issue with the guns themselves. In fact, the high command of the Imperial Navy all wish to mount more powerful guns on our warships, but unfortunately, the largest modern gun that Krupp can currently produce has a caliber of only 283 millimeters. The old 305-millimeter guns, although larger in caliber, are far inferior in single-shot power and armor-piercing capability." At this point, Tirpitz's tone became slightly bitter, "Krupp's military industry has done its best, but due to limitations in materials and metallurgy, we still lag behind Britain and France in large-caliber guns. This is a technical issue, not a design issue; without a breakthrough in technology, even the best design will remain on paper."

Qing Ying nodded silently, without saying a word. He was not an expert in metallurgy or artillery, and he had no way to solve this purely technical problem; he could only rely on Krupp's artillery engineers.

"Second, the issue of the warship's balance. As I mentioned earlier, no warship can excel in all aspects; compromises must be made. If we emphasize protection while also wanting powerful guns, the result will be a significant reduction in the ship's power, making it as slow as a turtle. Even a battleship must have a certain speed to perform tactical maneuvers on the battlefield! If a ship has powerful firepower, excellent protection, and is not slow... " Tirpitz paused and smiled, "then it has only one flaw: it will sink like a lead duck as soon as it hits the water... just like the cruiser designed by His Majesty two weeks ago."

Thinking of the embarrassed and frustrated look on Wilhelm II's face for several days, Qing Ying couldn't help but smile. Seeing that Tirpitz had finished speaking, Qing Ying furrowed his brow and said hesitantly, "I think I have a solution to the second issue?"

"Hmm?" Tirpitz was greatly surprised. He thought for a moment and then relaxed, a casual expression on his face. This beautiful young boy must have come up with some impractical idea. After all, how could the three elements of a warship be perfectly balanced? Unless someone could overturn Newton's laws of physics or develop an anti-gravity device!

However, European education clearly did not stifle students' creativity like in China. Although Tirpitz knew it was impossible, he still said, "Is that so? Why don't you tell me your idea?"

Qing Ying said, "Why not make the ship larger? If the ship is bigger, can't it carry more powerful guns?"

"Ah, just increasing the tonnage. I thought it was some miraculous strategy!" Tirpitz remained calm on the surface but secretly sneered. Shipbuilding is a technical skill, and one change can affect everything; this approach of adding more water to more flour is short-sighted and will inevitably lead to numerous flaws in actual design, which is the most taboo in warship design!

But... isn't that actually the case? Although his statement was vague and simple, in practice, it would require adding boilers and armor, and a lot of complex calculations, but these are issues for the designers, not for this young boy. From the result, increasing the tonnage can indeed enhance firepower while maintaining protection and speed!

You got lucky! Tirpitz exhaled through his nose, somewhat resentfully, and said, "You are absolutely right. Increasing the displacement of the warship can indeed enhance firepower, but the cost will also increase significantly, without any discount. Additionally, the shipyards of the Empire have just completed the construction of main warships with a displacement of over 10,000 tons. If the tonnage is suddenly increased too much, it will be a significant challenge for our industry."

Qing Ying said stubbornly, "The cost will also increase significantly? There must be some common elements! If we combine three small ships into two large ones, can't we save one mast and two anchors?"

Faced with Qing Ying's childish behavior of not accepting rejection and trying to come up with something, Tirpitz laughed. Just as he was about to comfort the cute young boy, a flash of inspiration struck him!

"Wait... large warships, combined and common?" Tirpitz muttered, as if in a daze. Qing Ying felt relieved; after his guidance, Tirpitz finally recognized the key point!

Physical laws and numerous examples have proven that, at the same speed, the power-to-weight ratio of large warships is much lower than that of small warships. For example, two warships with a speed of 20 knots, a 22,000-ton warship only needs about 22,000 horsepower, with a power-to-weight ratio of 1 horsepower per ton; while a 6,500-ton warship needs 13,000 horsepower to reach 20 knots, with a power-to-weight ratio of 2 horsepower per ton, twice as high as the former! If the warship is appropriately larger, a significant amount of power weight can be saved and invested in weapons and armor.

Not only in power, but also in protection. When the tonnage of the warship is appropriately increased, the protection area does not increase proportionally. For example, a 10,000-ton battleship and a 15,000-ton battleship, the latter's protection area will not reach 150% of the former, at most 120%. If the protection strength remains the same, the armor weight of the latter is only 120% of the former, saving a significant amount of weight for other uses. Additionally, structural weight and auxiliary machinery can be combined, so the combat power of two 15,000-ton battleships will definitely surpass that of three 10,000-ton battleships!

Qing Ying did not directly explain these things to Tirpitz to avoid causing too much trouble, as his body was still that of a 10-year-old boy. If he acted too unreasonably or shockingly, it would only bring him trouble. The statements he made earlier could also be said by someone with a rigorous mind and some knowledge of the navy. With Tirpitz's expertise in the navy, he would definitely understand these key points under his guidance!