Chapter 92

In the historical First Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Fleet was annihilated by the Japanese at Weihaiwei, suffering a total defeat. After this, was the Chinese Navy completely wiped out? The answer is clearly no.

In another dimension, after the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the once-dominant Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed. The Manchu Qing Dynasty's northern defenses were wide open, and the capital region was directly threatened by the powerful warships of foreign powers. To protect the capital, the Manchu Qing government decided to rebuild the Beiyang Fleet, leading to a second wave of ship purchases. This phase of ship purchases lasted from the end of the First Sino-Japanese War until the early years of the Republic of China, with approximately 40 ships being purchased. These ships formed the new Beiyang Fleet after the First Sino-Japanese War, historically known as the "Post-Beiyang Fleet."

Due to the supermassive indemnity of 1.17 billion silver taels resulting from the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion, and the 4 million silver taels that Empress Dowager Cixi diverted from the naval budget to rebuild the Summer Palace, which had been destroyed by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the naval budget was severely lacking. Under these circumstances, the ships purchased by the Manchu Qing were far inferior in both quantity and quality to the first Beiyang Fleet, and could only serve as a limited regional naval force.

The 2 4,300-ton "Haitian"-class, 3 2,950-ton "Haichen"-class, 1 2,600-ton "Zhaohuo"-class, and 1 2,460-ton "Yingrui"-class cruisers, totaling 7 ships, which were already outdated in type, formed the core of the Manchu Qing Navy after the First Sino-Japanese War. These ships were not only small in tonnage and weak in firepower, but their armor was so poor that they could not even serve as the backbone of the fleet like the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan. They could only be used to intimidate rebellious civilians internally and bully countries like Cuba and Mexico, which had no navy (the Haiqi conducted a successful gunboat diplomacy mission in 1909, forcing the governments of Cuba and Mexico to apologize for anti-Chinese riots). If they were to engage the Japanese fleet, they would not last 5 minutes on the battlefield! The most ridiculous part is that the Hai Tian, the largest and most expensive ship in the Manchu Qing Navy, sank after only 5 years of service, a loss that was truly devastating.

Although the British and the Manchu Qing despised the Manchu Qing's stubbornness, Li Hongzhang's visit to Germany to purchase ships was still taken seriously. Historically, the first 5 of these 7 cruisers were ordered by Li Hongzhang during his 1896 world tour: 2 "Haitian"-class from Britain and 3 "Haichen"-class from Germany, with a total cost of 1.15 million pounds. In this dimension, the Manchu Qing only paid 100 million silver taels to Japan, which was only about 40% of the historical amount. The national treasury was much more affluent, and there were more funds available to build a stronger fleet. If the Manchu Qing could seize this opportunity to buy a few good ships, they would have the capital and confidence to stand on their own in the upcoming Russo-Japanese War!

However, the Manchu Qing's ship purchasing actions were likely to be a one-time event. Over the next 2 years, the naval strength of the Manchu Qing and Japan would remain roughly equal; but after that, once their mixed feelings of humiliation and determination cooled down, they would revert to their old ways. As the saying goes, "No matter how boiling the water, I remain a dead pig." The outside world had nothing to do with the Manchu Qing.

The Manchu Qing regime, being a foreign and barbaric rule, and having fortuitously seized the Central Plains for hundreds of years, saw the Han people as their greatest enemy, not external threats. The core interest of the Manchu Qing was not the development and prosperity of the country, but the maintenance of their ruling power, allowing these barbarians to continue to dominate the Han people.

The new Beiyang Fleet established on the ruins of the First Sino-Japanese War is a perfect example. The once-glorious Qing, which had been humiliated by the small Japanese, suffered a complete defeat, with the fleet they had painstakingly built over 20 years destroyed and a huge indemnity of 230 million silver taels demanded. The Manchu Qing rulers, enraged, decided to endure humiliation and seek revenge, leading to the purchase of 5 ships from Britain and Germany in 1896. However, their enthusiasm for national revival ended there. While paying the 230 million silver taels in indemnity, they also had to pay 7 million silver taels for the 5 warships, causing the Ministry of Revenue to complain bitterly. As their desire for revenge waned, they realized that their situation was not as dire as they had initially thought. They had only lost the Beiyang Fleet, ceded the small island of Taiwan, and paid 230 million silver taels. The Japanese did not have the strength to annex the Qing, and they could still rule the land, dominate the Han people, and live a life of debauchery. As long as their regime did not collapse, serving as the lackeys of foreign powers was not a problem.

Realizing this, the Manchu Qing's enthusiasm for national revival quickly cooled, reaching a freezing point. After purchasing 5 ships in 1896, the Manchu Qing's naval development stagnated, just as it had 10 years earlier. For the next 10 years, they did not order a single destroyer or larger ship from foreign countries. It was not until 1909, when the Manchu Qing's economic situation improved, that they reluctantly ordered the "Zhaohuo" and "Yingrui" from Britain, two cruisers with a top speed of only 20 knots. In 1909, a speed of 20 knots was already outdated; battleships 10 times their size could reach 21 knots!

Therefore, due to the class limitations of the Manchu Qing, they would never continuously and massively order warships from abroad like the Japanese to strengthen the country. The Manchu Qing's sporadic naval development could not compare to the Japanese Navy's consistent and substantial investment year after year. By the eve of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan had a powerful fleet consisting of 6 battleships and 8 armored cruisers, surpassing Austria-Hungary and Italy to become the world's sixth-largest navy. Even with better finances and a 120 million mark loan from Germany, how much could the Manchu Qing spend on warships? A few years later, the Beiyang Fleet would again be surpassed by Japan, placing it in a passive defensive position. However, their situation in this dimension would be much better than in history.

In this situation, the Manchu Qing could only build an "existence fleet," using a few main warships in port to tie down the Japanese fleet and then using smaller ships to implement a commerce raiding strategy. During World War I, there was no naval aviation, and effective long-range reconnaissance was impossible in the vast Pacific, making it an ideal stage for raiders. As long as the captains commanded well and maneuvered skillfully, capturing dozens of merchant ships, like the "Oriental Swan" in history, was entirely possible. If the Manchu Qing could buy a few raiders, they would play a significant role in the war against Japan.

On June 19, a joint sales delegation from German shipyards appeared before Li Hongzhang. With the intentional hints from the British, the designs they presented were mostly fast, long-range warships, rather than heavily armored battleships. Although the Manchu Qing was still basking in the glory of the victory at the Battle of the Yalu River, the subsequent raids by Japanese cruisers on the Manchu Qing coast left a deep impression. Now, seeing the German designs that could retaliate in kind, the Manchu Qing focused more on these.

After careful comparison and deliberation, a ship purchase contract completely different from history was officially presented. The Manchu Qing, with a total price of 2.1 million pounds, ordered 1 battleship, 1 armored cruiser, and 3 long-range raiders from German shipyards. With the indemnity for the First Sino-Japanese War being less than half of the historical amount, the Manchu Qing's purchasing power was far greater than in history, and with the loan from Germany, Li Hongzhang had the confidence to complete this transaction.

Among the 6 ships purchased by the Manchu Qing, the battleship was undoubtedly the star. It adopted a low-freeboard, long-bow design typical of German ships, with a standard displacement of 10,700 tons, a speed of 18 knots, and 2 twin 283mm/42 caliber main guns, with 250mm thick belt armor. Although its tonnage was less than the Fuji-class, and its 4 11.1-inch guns were slightly less powerful than the 4 12-inch guns of the Japanese, its main gun rate of fire and armor protection area were 2.5 times greater. The new German 283mm/42 caliber guns had a projectile weight of 300kg, with penetration capabilities not inferior to the British 305mm/40 caliber guns, making its actual offensive and defensive capabilities far superior to the enemy.

In addition to the battleship, the other 4 ships were all long-range vessels capable of overseas raids. The armored cruiser was almost a copy of the historical Italian Garibaldi-class, but with reduced secondary armament and armor to increase range. It had a standard displacement of 7,800 tons, a speed of 20.5 knots, and 2 twin 210mm/40 caliber main guns, with 150mm thick belt armor. By converting some of the space for secondary armament ammunition and armor into coal storage, the coal capacity increased to 1,400 tons, allowing it to travel 8,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 9 knots. The other 3 raiders, though smaller with a standard displacement of 2,880 tons, had a top speed of 23 knots and a coal capacity of 790 tons, providing a range of 8,250 nautical miles, sufficient to operate freely around Japanese shipping lanes.

Of course, this came at a cost; the raiders were only equipped with 4 105mm guns, and their 20mm deck armor could only protect against shrapnel from near misses. However, they were intended to bully unarmed merchant ships, so this was not a significant issue.

Steel poured, furnaces roared, and 1897 quietly arrived amidst the clanging of metal in German shipyards.

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