The officers and soldiers on the cruiser Qingdao had cheered many times before they saw the Tianjin Port. They cheered for victory when they hit the enemy ironclads, cheered for pride when they annihilated the enemy fleet, and cheered for excitement when they learned that Qingdao was about to return to their motherland. Ever since they left the Tianjin Port for the Tsugaru Strait to carry out the military mission, the Qingdao had never docked in order to avoid being seen by others as this epoch-making warship. The North Pacific Ocean was windy and turbulent. One could imagine how difficult it was to carry out combat missions in such an environment for more than a month.
After passing through the Tsushima Strait and entering the Yellow Sea, the turbulence was obviously reduced. After entering the calm Bohai Sea, the officers and soldiers of the 4,000-ton warship felt as if it was sailing on flat ground. When the tall lighthouse outside the Tianjin Port appeared in the eyes of the officers and soldiers, the naval officers and soldiers who had no mission rushed to the deck and cheered for their motherland and their home port. Returning to their motherland and returning to a peaceful life, even without the upcoming evaluation and promotion, was enough to make these officers and soldiers yearn for it.
Not only did the political commissar and commander of the North Sea Fleet greet the officers and soldiers at the military port, but also Marshal Vézé of the Liberation Army and political commissar Ruan Xihao of the Northern Military Region appeared. After stepping on solid land, the naval officers and soldiers felt their feet were floating and they could not stand steadily. The troops still tried their best to stand straight and accept the inspection of the Marshal of the Liberation Army.
Seeing that the Qingdao had returned safely and listening to the captain proudly report that they had annihilated the Japanese fleet, Vézé felt a rare excitement in his heart. The achievement of the Qingdao was not the reason why Vézé was excited. He knew very well that as long as there were no special accidents, no warship in Japan could escape from the Qingdao. What made Vézé excited was that he felt that some things were still too conservative. The situation at sea was unpredictable, and the current wireless technology might be considered a breakthrough. But due to the principle of confidentiality, Vézé really did not dare to take out the gadget in his hands. This was a trump card that he was prepared to use during the Sino-British war. If the technology was leaked, the consequences would be dire. If he did not dare to use the new technology, he could only bear the risk. This was a dilemma.
Before he set off, he received Vézé's inspection, and when he returned, he was welcomed by Vézé. The comrades on the Qingdao were all very excited. They had just gotten off the ship and felt dizzy. Some of them were so excited that their heartbeats sped up and they couldn't help but vomit. While almost everyone on the pier was looking at the comrade with reproachful eyes, Vézé stepped forward and gently patted the comrade on the back. When the comrade recovered, Vézé handed him a handkerchief, then turned to the officers and men on the Qingdao and shouted, "Comrades, you have worked hard on the ship!"
"Serve the motherland! To serve the people! "The soldiers answered in unison.
Vézé listened to the orderly reply and looked at the orderly formation of the army with satisfaction. Regardless of whether they understood the standard answer or not, as long as the answer was the standard answer every time, coupled with political and ideological work, the concept of the People's Army would be rooted in the soul of the Liberation Army. The national army was stronger than the feudal army, and the people's army was far stronger than the national army. "History" had fully proved this.
The Qingdao was an experimental training ship, so they didn't talk about how good it was for the time being. After arriving at the base, the troops first discussed the main problems of the Qingdao. They had already summarized the problems on the way. The first problem was, of course, "the cannons are too small." The second problem was, "the quality of the high-explosive bombs is poor." The third problem was, "when can we get a new warship of the same model?"
After listening to the questions, Vézé immediately answered, "The first problem you raised is related to the machinery industry. The second problem you raised is related to the chemical industry. The third problem you raised is related to the entire shipbuilding industry. I don't have the relevant information for the first two problems, but I can answer the third problem now. The second ship will be launched for sea trials in January next year at the latest. "
The first two problems were related to improving the combat ability of the Qingdao, and the third problem was related to the status of the outstanding naval personnel on the Qingdao. Before boarding the Qingdao, because of the strict implementation of the confidentiality agreement, everyone thought that this was just a training trip. After boarding the Qingdao, everyone found that the captain was assigned with four deputy captains. The chief engineer of the other warships was responsible for the boiler, and the artillery commander of the other warships was responsible for the loading of the shells. For the few elite naval personnel, this kind of arrangement was extremely extravagant and wasteful. What was even more extravagant was that every post was double duty. The outstanding graduates of the Naval Academy had to have practical experience on a warship to be able to take the double duty on the Qingdao.
After a short period of discomfort, no one raised any objections. This warship, which was beyond the imagination of the Chinese Navy, was qualified to be so "extravagant." Every naval personnel who served on the Qingdao knew that they would be the seeds of China's new warships in the future. After the Qingdao was fully loaded, the Chinese Navy would no longer build old warships. The current batch of elite naval personnel would be the commanders of future warships.
Vézé told everyone that a new warship would be launched for sea trials early next year. Some of the soldiers on the Qingdao would become officers on that warship. Nothing could make everyone more excited than this news. Even though they were facing Vézé, they couldn't help but whisper to each other. They even contacted each other, hoping to stay on the Qingdao together or serve on the new warship together.
"You are all outstanding comrades in the Navy. The reason why you are serving on the Qingdao is not only for you to display the full potential of this warship. More importantly, you should be able to summarize the rules for operating and using this warship. With the rules, you can train according to them. "As soon as Vézé spoke, the noisy meeting room quieted down. Everyone listened to Vézé carefully. Everyone wanted to remember every word Vézé said, because they knew that it was Vézé who had proposed the overall design of the old warship, and Vézé who had proposed most of the improvements and new equipment on the old warship. The design of the Qingdao had also been proposed by Vézé.
The Navy had a Navy Commander, and the Army had a Army Commander. No one in the military regarded the two highest commanders as the founders of the Army and Navy. This wasn't because they were afraid of Vézé's position. Vézé was the founder of the Liberation Army, and he was the leader of the Army and Navy in terms of tactics and weapons. This was an undeniable fact.
"We have a strict confidentiality system, but there is always a limit to this kind of confidentiality. When our warships challenge the world powers, they will see our warships with their own eyes and experience the power of our warships. I believe that when you see the appearance of those broken ships in Japan, you can immediately imagine the internal structure of those ships, right? "Vézé asked at the end.
There was a burst of laughter. Even if they had not served on a paddle wheel steamer before, they could basically imagine everything about it after seeing the blueprints of the paddle wheel steamer.
Vézé did not laugh. It had not been easy for him to overcome many difficulties in his mind, so he did not want to continue to fall into the dream of being overwhelmed by equipment. "At least 40 years before our Liberation Army started building China's steamships, the British were already able to cross the ocean. We have to admit that they have more experience than we do. Even if they lag behind us in some aspects, it is only in terms of design ideas. After fighting with us, they can immediately see through many of our advantages and quickly learn the advantages of our equipment design. Therefore, our advantage in equipment cannot exist indefinitely. When that time comes, how can we still proudly claim that the Chinese Navy is still the world's number one navy? At that time, we can only rely on the combat training that our comrades have tempered, as well as the rules and methods of combat, as well as various emergency experiences. This kind of accumulation is the slowest, but I firmly believe that this kind of accumulation is the most fundamental, and this kind of accumulation cannot be surpassed. "
The USS Tsingtao had always implemented extremely high confidentiality standards. The Chinese Navy soldiers on the ship also understood why they had to implement such strict confidentiality standards. The USS Tsingtao, which was ahead of its time, had this value, and it was also necessary. Not only did Vézé feel the pressure of being caught up in technology, but his comrades on the USS Tsingtao had also discussed this problem many times. However, no matter how hard they tried, they could not come up with a perfect solution. The only solution was probably for their leader, the Military Governor Vaize, to continuously introduce new equipment and technology, forever leading the world. However, the USS Tsingtao itself had already exceeded the limits of the imagination of the Chinese Navy soldiers. No one could imagine how to continue to surpass it.
Only those who had an advantage could understand the weakness of this advantage. Many times, what seemed insurmountable was often a thin piece of paper. After listening to Vézé's explanation, some of the officers had a look of approval on their faces, while others had a look of disappointment on their faces. If it was in the past, Vézé would have used observation to determine the basis for the selection of talents. Now, however, he pretended not to see it. After the establishment of the system, those who could not pass the selection would be eliminated. The big waves actually did not care much about the feelings of the core. Those who did not meet the requirements would be eliminated, and those who did not want to be eliminated would work hard to improve themselves.
From this perspective, those who had a look of disappointment on their faces might be more motivated, so they were more eager for quick success. If they could realize in practice that it was not advisable to be eager for quick success, their achievements might be greater.
The last part of the USS Tsingtao's plan was to establish the Naval Academy in Lüshun. Although Tianjin was a good place, it needed to develop its industry, so it was more suitable to establish the Naval Academy in Lüshun. Lüshun would be the Yellow Sea Fleet's home port in the future, and the North Sea Fleet would set up a base in Vladivostok. The next thing Vézé had to deal with was the problems in the north. Once those problems were dealt with, the North Sea Fleet's area of operation would extend from the Korea Sea (Sea of Japan) north to the Bering Sea. In the future, the North Sea Fleet would truly become the North Sea Fleet.
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