Chapter 518: Liu Gong Island, Unsinkable Battleship!

WEI Haiwei,.

Zhang Zhun's first stop in Weihaiwei was Liugong Island.

The topography of Weihaiwei is very special, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and only the east side has an exit. And Liugong Island is right in the middle of this exit. It's like a U-shaped shape that has been put down, and then at the exit point, there is a little more. This point is the dangerous terrain of Liugong Island.

The area of Liugong Island is about four square kilometers, high in the middle and low on all sides. The highest mountain, Qiding Mountain, is more than 100 meters above sea level, overlooking the whole island and controlling two waterways around Liugong Island. Most of the island is densely wooded, with fresh air and pleasant views. However, people who come to Liugong Island will not pay attention to the woods, the air, and the scenery here. What they pay attention to is only the military value of Liugong Island.

From the perspective of military geography, such terrain is a typical easy to defend and difficult to attack. Since the Ming Dynasty, it has been a military fortress. In the beginning, it was the Ming army stationed here. When the Japanese were raging, they once tried to sneak attack on Beicaozui in the north of Liugong Island, but were set on fire by the Ming troops guarding the island. From then on, the Japanese no longer dared to invade Liugong Island.

In the second year of Chongzhen, some Tartars who fled from Liaodong crossed the ocean and occupied Liugong Island. Because the terrain here is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the combat effectiveness of the Ming army is worse than that of tofu dregs, it has never been able to drive away the Tartars on Liugong Island. The Tartars of Liugong Island also often go ashore to loot, causing headaches for nearby Weihaiwei and Chengshanwei.

Later, Dolgon sent people from Dengzhou City to Dengzhou City and summoned all the Tartars to Dengzhou City to strengthen the army of Dengzhou Fortress. The Ming army regained control of the place. After Ruan Dacheng surrendered, the Ming troops on Liugong Island dispersed one after another and disappeared. After the Tiger Army entered Weihaiwei, Liugong Island naturally became the base of the Tiger Army's navy.

Due to the dangerous terrain of Weihaiwei and the fortifications of Liugong Island, during the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army did not dare to attack Weihaiwei from the front, but bypassed Rongcheng Bay and launched an attack from the land. Because the Qing army's water and land cooperation was too poor, the army's combat effectiveness was also inferior to tofu scum, and in the end, the Weihaiwei land base was conquered, and the Beiyang Naval Division was annihilated.

For modern Chinese people, the Sino-Japanese War is like a huge pillar of shame, firmly nailed to modern history. In his previous life, Zhang Zhun went to Liugong Island to participate in patriotic education when he first enlisted in the army, and learned about that humiliating history from all angles. This is also the reason why Zhang Zhun dislikes the Manchu Qing very much. It's so embarrassing! The equipment and training of the Beiyang Naval Division were much stronger than those of the Japanese Navy, but in the end they ended up like this.

Having learned the lessons of his previous life, Zhang Zhun will certainly not repeat the mistakes of the past. In the future, whether it was to go north to conquer Liaodong, or to go east to Korea, or even to the southeast to capture Japan, Weihaiwei was the most ideal naval base. Liu Gongdao guards the gateway of Weihaiwei, and of course it is necessary to strengthen the defense. He wants to build Liugong Island into an unsinkable warship.

Batteries and the like are definitely wanted. Forts should be set up in Qiding Mountain in the center of Liugong Island, Huangdao in the west, and Donghong Island in the east. The cannon used, of course, is the ultra-long-range Hongyi cannon. The power and range of the Hongyi cannon were enough to block the waterways on both sides of Liugong Island. But for the time being, these cannons have not been moved.

When building the fort, Zhang Zhun introduced some ideas from later generations and built it into a permanent fortification. On top of each gun emplacement, a protective roof was built. The top floor is made of cement and steel and is more than a foot thick. At that time, the maximum caliber of artillery was only about 200 mm. Such a layer of protection was enough to withstand direct fire from a 200-mm breech gun.

Of course, passive defense will certainly not ensure the safety of Weihaiwei. The Manchu Qing Dynasty blindly retreated and blindly defended, which eventually led to the annihilation of the Beiyang Naval Division. Offense is the best defense. Only the initiative to attack will nip any possible danger in the bud. Zhang Zhun actually didn't want these forts on Liugong Island to be used when they needed to. He hoped that the enemy's warships would not have a chance to approach Weihaiwei Port at all.

"Attack! Offensive! Attack again! ”

Zhang Zhun has been repeatedly emphasizing the offensive theory.

What are the potential dangers of Weihaiwei? Of course, there is a North Korean sailor not far from the opposite.

With the strength of the Dengzhou Naval Division, it was obviously unable to pose a serious threat to the Tiger Army. Especially after Luo Kai and others revealed that they wanted to do it anyway, the threat of the Dengzhou Navy Division to the Tiger Ben Army plummeted. When he was on Changsheng Island, Zhang Zhun not only deterred the Tartars, but also greatly deterred the other officers and soldiers of the Dengzhou Naval Division. Even the Tartars stationed on Changsheng Island, the Tiger Ben Army dared to take the initiative to attack, let alone the renegade Dengzhou Naval Division? If the Dengzhou Navy Division did not know the current affairs, he might be sent to the bottom of the sea by the Tiger Ben Army Navy to reflect.

The only thing Tatar can rely on at the moment is the North Korean sailor, who has always been very mysterious. The reason why it is mysterious is because the current intelligence agency of the Tiger Ben Army has not yet been able to penetrate into North Korea, so Zhang Zhun knows nothing about the strength, establishment, station, and personnel composition of the North Korean naval division. Since I don't know anything, it's naturally mysterious.

"How's the construction of the dock?" Zhang Zhun asked.

"There are five berths that are already ready for use." Zhang Haibin replied.

"Too little, not enough, to speed up the intensity of construction." Zhang Zhun frowned and said.

"Understood!" Zhang Haibin replied.

Since the end of June, the Navy has been vigorously building a naval base on Liugong Island. Transport ships brought large quantities of cement, pig iron and other building materials from the rear. A large number of young men recruited from the vicinity of Weihaiwei joined the construction of the naval base. The salary offered by the Tiger Benjun is 30 wen a day, and he also manages two meals a day, which is very popular with local military households.

The most important measure for the naval base, of course, is the port. Weihai Weijun Port is planned to have 50 berths, which can berth 50 large warships at the same time. So far, a total of five berths are ready for operation. The warships that carried out tasks around Huangcheng Island took turns to return to Weihaiwei to unload, rest, and replenish supplies, which could barely meet the needs of use for the time being.

However, in the long run, five berths will not be enough. It's the end of August, and in three months, twelve saber-tooth ships will be launched. These saber ships are the main warships of the Tiger Navy. If there is no accident, most of the saber ships will be arranged to be on duty in Weihai Weijun Port.

The saber ships, with a displacement of close to three hundred tons, have relatively high requirements for the port. The berths should be larger, wider and deeper. At the same time, the requirements for maintenance are also higher. Every time the saber ship is dispatched, it needs to replenish a large amount of materials, and in order to speed up the replenishment, it is necessary to set up a gantry crane and more pulley groups. Therefore, whether it is the Partridge Bay Military Port or the Weihai Weijun Port, it is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive construction of the ports.

When it comes to comprehensive construction, there are so many things to do. Weihai Weijun Port, originally almost a blank sheet of paper, now, to depict all kinds of beautiful ideas, without a large amount of silver, it is absolutely impossible. Zhang Zhun feels that spending money is like flowing water, the silver spent in vain is constantly spent, and buildings are constantly popping up. When all the buildings are popped up, the rate of spending money slows down.

As a supporting facility, the Department of the Interior has built a cement kiln directly near Weihaiwei to provide enough cement for the construction of Weihaiwei on site. At the same time, a large ironworks were built near the hot spring town, and iron was made on a large scale using nearby iron ore. The daily output of pig iron in this ironmaking plant is more than five or six hundred catties.

In general, Weihai Weijun Port is far from being truly perfect, and it still needs a lot of time and money. However, once all the ports, batteries, repair plants, barracks, and training bases are all built, Weihaiwei Port will become an unsinkable warship. With the combat effectiveness of the Tiger Army, it is absolutely impossible for the enemy to attack from land. Therefore, the humiliation of the Sino-Japanese War will never happen again. In other words, only the Tiger Army Navy will bully people, and others will not think of bullying the Tiger Army Navy.

"Let's go!"

After seeing Liugong Island, Zhang Zhun immediately got on the boat and came to Weihaiwei in the west.

There are only a small number of military installations on Liugong Island, and a large number of military facilities are still in the coastal area of Weihai Bay in the west. For example, military barracks, maintenance shops, naval training bases, army barracks, etc., are all located here. Weihaiwei was originally a place where military households lived, and after the arrival of the Huben army, it became a gathering place for all soldiers.

"Your Excellency!"

The Marine Corps is Zhu Chengtai coming up to greet him.

According to the plan, Weihaiwei Military Port is a common military base for the Navy and the Marine Corps. The navy is mainly located on Liugong Island, and the marines are mainly stationed in Weihaiwei. In the nearby Fushan and Wendeng, a battalion of the infantry of the Huben Army was stationed in each, which happened to be safe on the road to Weihai Weijun Port from both wings.

The Tigerben Army Marines have a total of five squads stationed here, totaling about two hundred and fifty people. Every time Zhang Zhun expanded the army, the marines had no share. It's not that Zhang Zhun is unwilling to expand the army, but the current conditions are not very mature. The Marines in this era are not yet able to fight. In other words, the Marine Corps relies heavily on the Navy. Therefore, in terms of the priority of army building, the Navy will undoubtedly be ranked further ahead.

"I heard that you have seized too many materials and can't put them in the warehouse?"

Zhang Zhun asked with a smile.

"That's true."

"My lord, please come this way."

Zhu Chengtai replied excitedly and took Zhang Zhun to the warehouse area behind.

Zhang Zhun looked up and saw that in the more than twenty large warehouses, all the materials stored were all kinds of materials seized from the hands of the Tartars. Good guy, the Tiger Benjun has indeed made a lot of money this time.