Chapter 72

Gao Yang rubbed his temples and fell silent for a moment before softly saying, "Origin, thank you. I would like to know about the information on the British Navy's decommissioned warships."

Lin Jianzhang and Du Xigui exchanged uneasy glances. Had the Governor-General Gao been silent for so long because the Navy was too eager, displeasing him?

Just as they were about to speak, Gao Yang moved. He turned to look at them, smiled, and gestured for them to sit down. Then, he looked at Sir Mackley and said with a faint smile, "Mr. Envoy, I am also interested in some other warships of the Royal Navy."

"Hmm?" Everyone present became excited. Sir Mackley's hand, holding a cigar, trembled slightly as he tried to suppress his excitement and said with a smile, "Mr. Gao, which ship are you interested in? Please say, everything can be negotiated!"

After saying this, he turned to look at the naval attaché, Major Parker, and said, "Major, please bring the Royal Navy's ship catalog for Mr. Gao to review! Please hurry!"

Major Parker immediately stood up and left. Not long after, he hurried back with a thick naval catalog in his hand!

Du Xigui and Lin Jianzhang, who had been sitting beside Gao Yang, were already so excited that their hands were trembling. It had been 30 years! Since the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, the Chinese Navy had not added any large warships for 30 years! This nightmare that had plagued the Navy for decades was about to be broken right before their eyes!

The two naval commanders unbuttoned their military uniforms, stood behind Gao Yang, and stared intently at the naval catalog he was flipping through, their eyes red.

Gao Yang felt their intense gaze and smiled slightly. He understood the Navy's thoughts. Since the time was right, they should make a big deal.

He carefully flipped through the catalog, although he had already seen the information from Origin and had some candidate warships in mind, he could still take a serious look. After all, it was necessary to put on a show.

Du Xigui and Lin Jianzhang, standing behind him, watched as Gao Yang turned each page, their hearts filled with anxiety. They really wanted every single one! There was no choice but to buy because the country was behind. The impoverished Navy really wanted everything!

When he reached the Iron Duke-class battleship, Gao Yang stopped, tapping his finger lightly on the catalog and smiling, he looked up at Sir Mackley, who had been staring at him, and said, "Can the Iron Duke-class battleships be sold?"

Sir Mackley swallowed and looked at Major Parker, who nodded slightly. Then, the envoy said seriously, "This requires the approval of the British government. However, I personally believe that as long as the price is right, there should be no problem!"

Major Parker stood up and smiled as he introduced the Iron Duke-class battleship to Gao Yang, "Mr. Gao, allow me to introduce the pride of the Royal Navy, the Iron Duke-class battleship! The Iron Duke-class is an improved version of the King George V-class battleship, making it even more powerful! Its standard displacement is 25,000 tons, and it can reach 30,380 tons when fully loaded! The ship is 198.8 meters long, 27 meters wide, and has a draft of 8.7 meters. It is equipped with 18 coal-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines, providing 29,000 horsepower through 4 shafts! Its maximum speed is 21.25 knots. At 10 knots, it has a range of 7,780 nautical miles, and at 19 knots, it can travel 4,840 nautical miles. It requires a crew of 995 men."

He paused, a proud look flashing across his face, and continued, "The Iron Duke-class has formidable firepower, with 10 twin 343mm 45-caliber main guns! It also has 12 152mm anti-destroyer secondary guns and 4 533mm torpedo tubes. In addition to its powerful firepower, the Iron Duke-class has excellent protection. The main armor belt is 305mm thick, the bridge armor is 279mm thick, the main gun turrets have 279mm thick front armor, the gun mounts have 254mm thick armor, the bulkheads have 203mm thick armor, and the deck armor is 64mm thick!"

As Major Parker explained the performance data of the Iron Duke-class battleship, Du Xigui and Lin Jianzhang, standing behind Gao Yang, were almost drooling. Gao Yang touched his lips and turned to look at the two commanders, asking softly, "How do you feel? Is it good?"

The two commanders nodded rapidly, so fast that they couldn't even speak. Gao Yang tapped his finger on the catalog and muttered to himself, "Four Iron Dukes plus three King George V-class ships make only seven. We still need one more for the Beiyang Eight!"

Gao Yang's soft murmur made Lin Jianzhang's heart tremble! His head buzzed, and he felt a bit dizzy. Gao Yang's words touched the deepest pain in his heart!

Lin Jianzhang had entered the Jiangnan Naval Academy in the sixteenth year of Emperor Guangxu and graduated right when the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, leading to the complete destruction of the Beiyang Fleet.

At the age of 21, Lin Jianzhang heard the officials of the Nanyang Fleet laughing about the money-grubbing Beiyang Fleet finally being finished. The young Lin Jianzhang was confused. Weren't the Beiyang Fleet their own people? With the Beiyang Fleet gone, the war was lost, and the country was defeated, leading to territorial cessions and indemnities.

The First Sino-Japanese War tore off the last layer of the corrupt Qing government's splendid facade. From then on, any foreign power with a bit of reputation could take a bite out of this ancient land! It became a second-rate colonial country because it had no naval defense!

From that moment on, Lin Jianzhang fought to make the Chinese Navy stand up again, step by step, reaching the upper echelons of the Navy, dedicating himself to its revival.

However, the country's strength had declined day by day over the decades. It was impossible to buy or build warships, let alone maintain the existing fleet! Lin Jianzhang, in pain, struggled for the Navy's revival until Gao Yang appeared!

When he learned that Gao Yang planned to purchase large warships for the Navy, Lin Jianzhang immediately abandoned his reputation and joined Gao Yang, which was very controversial at the time. But for the Navy, Lin Jianzhang didn't care about the criticism.

Until just now, when he heard Gao Yang planning to rebuild the Beiyang Eight, Lin Jianzhang felt that even if he died tonight, he would die with a smile!

Du Xigui graduated from the Jiangnan Naval Academy nearly ten years after the Beiyang Fleet had disappeared, so he didn't have the same deep-seated pain as Lin Jianzhang.

However, as a naval officer, watching the Japanese Navy grow stronger and become a world-class force while his own country's Navy continued to decline made him very anxious.

Until Gao Yang's generous plan to rebuild a powerful Navy made Du Xigui feel that his judgment was indeed correct. The plan to rebuild the Beiyang Eight would make this ancient country boil with excitement, as it would restore the country's dignity in East Asia and the people's pride in a strong nation, rather than being a colonial subject!

Gao Yang didn't realize that his casual words had deeply moved the two generals. He already had a target for the last ship of the Beiyang Eight.

Gao Yang flipped through the catalog, pointed to a ship, and looked at Major Parker, smiling, "Major, can this ship be sold?" Everyone leaned in to see which ship Gao Yang had chosen, and even Sir Mackley stood up to look.

Major Parker glanced at the catalog and immediately knew which ship it was. He looked at Gao Yang with a strange expression and said, "Mr. Gao, that is the Royal Navy's HMS Eagle aircraft carrier. It was originally built for the Chilean Navy as the Almirante Latorre, but the construction was interrupted by World War I. It was purchased by the Royal Navy on February 28, 1918, and then sent to the shipyard for further construction, completing its conversion to an aircraft carrier on June 26, 1924. Are you really sure you want an aircraft carrier?"

Du Xigui, hearing that Gao Yang wanted to buy an aircraft carrier, became anxious and quickly advised, "Governor, battleships are the way to go. Aircraft carriers are only useful for reconnaissance and can't compare to battleships, especially as one of the Beiyang Eight!"

Lin Jianzhang, equally anxious, added, "Governor, aircraft carriers are just a nuisance. We should buy another battleship!"

Gao Yang shook his head slightly and said calmly, "These are the main warships. The number of sailors in the entire Navy is not large, and these battleships are enough. I think we will be required to join the Washington Naval Treaty, don't you think, Sir Mackley?"

The envoy smiled and said, "Mr. Gao, if your ship purchase plan is implemented, the total tonnage of your main warships will reach 169,900 tons! This is close to the tonnage limit for France and Italy, and they are only allowed to have five main warships each. Your plan exceeds theirs! I believe your country will definitely be included in the Washington Naval Treaty."

Gao Yang smiled lightly, lit a cigarette, and said slowly, "Mr. Envoy, as far as I know, Article 18 of the Washington Naval Treaty stipulates that the signatories guarantee not to gift, sell, or transfer their warships to foreign navies in any form, especially if the warship could be used as a combat force after the transfer. Do you think our military purchase can be completed? Will the other signatories agree to this purchase?"

Sir Mackley laughed loudly and, after a while, said with a proud look while holding his cigar, "Mr. Gao, any treaty is made by people! Therefore, it can also be modified by people! I can assure you that if your large-scale military purchase plan is truly implemented, the British Empire will not oppose it! As for the United States, given your good relationship with the U.S. government, there shouldn't be any problem, right? As long as the British Empire and the United States agree, there will be no problem!"