Xinbei's actions in the South Seas did make the senior cadres of the Tongwei Society feel dissatisfied, and in the view of the Lan Chi, Zhao Bei's strategy in the South Seas might cause resentment and even retaliation from the foreign powers, and Hu Hanmin held a similar view. However, Xiong Chengji's views are somewhat different from his, at least not so radical.

However, Zhao Zhenhua now has the strength to challenge the colonial interests of the great powers. Last time I fought with Japan. Newspapers in Germany and the United States have said that the Chinese Army can already be proud of the Far East, but under such circumstances, the European powers still dare to organize a coalition to land in China? Cousin Zhan, your prejudice against Zhao Zhenhua is inevitably heavier. Although there are political differences, Zhao Zhenhua did achieve many benefits for China, and if it were not for him, the island of Taiwan and the Luda lease, as well as the foreign concessions and leases that can be found everywhere, would not have been reclaimed. ”

Xiong Chengji appeased Hu Hanmin's anger Although he did not agree with some of Zhao Bei's ideas in terms of political views, Xiong Chengji still admired Zhao Bei's ability, which was the main reason why he was willing to self-exile in South America, he believed that his strength was not enough to fight Zhao Bei.

"I was excited. That's right. The strength of the Chinese army is indeed stronger now, but what about the navy? Without a navy, China's coastline cannot be guaranteed to be safe, and once the coastline is blocked by the navies of the great powers, how will the country's economy develop? That's right. Zhao Zhenhua has indeed achieved many benefits for China. But if he despises the determination of the great powers to safeguard their colonial interests because of this, sooner or later he will suffer, and how can the great powers be so easy to talk about? This is also the reason why I said that Zhao Zhenhua is too gambling. ”

Hu Hanmin analyzed seriously, Xiong Chengji was also speechless for a long time, indeed, Zhao Bei's gambling is too strong, in the eyes of others, Zhao Bei has stepped into the center step by step from a local powerful faction, which seems to be the result of a series of gambling victories, although it looks very easy, but how many people can calculate the risks clearly?

Just when the two of them were stunned, some passengers on the foredeck who were blowing the wind suddenly shouted. Some pointed to the sea ahead, summoned their companions, and stood on the side of the ship to look out to the right front.

Hu Hanmin and Xiong Chengji also walked over, looked into the distance, and saw a black spot a few nautical miles away.

"Is it a submarine? Or a warship? "Xiong Chengji is not very sure.

"German submarines? I went to tell Mr. and Mrs. to get out of the cabin, and if they were torpedoed, they would be able to board the board as soon as possible. ”

Hu Hanmin hurried away, and now there are rumors that German naval submarines are infesting the South China Sea, so the passengers on the passenger ship are inevitably a little grassy and woody.

Soon, the foredeck was filled with passengers. And the whole ship of sailors was also assembled, armed with weapons, ready to deal with the contingencies, and as for the huge American flag, it also fluttered in the wind, and together with the whistle, it reminded the submarine that it was a ship, although the captain knew that the German Navy had long since resumed unrestricted submarine warfare.

Finally, the captain confirmed that it was a submarine, but it was not a German one, but an ocean-going submarine of the Chinese Navy, and although there was no port, or the name of the ship, the five-color flag flying on the control tower indicated the identity of the submarine.

With this cut, the submarine was floating on the surface of the sea, almost motionless, floating on the surface like a dead fish, and you could see sailors busy on the deck.

Since there is no danger, everyone on the passenger ship is relieved, and considering the friendly relations between China and the United States, the captain also intends to do his duty at sea and ask the sailors on the submarine if they need help, because in the captain's opinion, a submarine floats motionless above the sea surface in the sea area far from land, which may indicate that the submarine is out of order and needs help, so. At the captain's command, the American passenger ship headed for the submarine and ordered the flag to be waved and asked if the other party needed help.

When the ship approached, the flag-bearer of the submarine waved the flag. The answer was that there was no fault and the captain was advised to keep his distance so as not to collide. And the American captain of the passenger ship also accepted the suggestion and did not get too close, but it was not very far from the submarine, and the details of the Chinese Navy ocean-going submarine could be seen clearly without a telescope.

"Is this a submarine made by China itself? Zhao Zhenhua is indeed very good at industrial construction. ”

A familiar voice came from behind Xiong Chengji, it was the wife of Mr. Sun, the leader of the Alliance, a Song lady whom Mr. Sun had married in Tokyo, and had previously been Mr. Sun's secretary.

"No matter how well industry is built, it cannot achieve constitutionalism. After all, it is not a long-term solution. The country still needs to rely on system building, and cannot pin all its hopes on the shoulders of a great man. ”

Mr. Sun finally spoke, followed by the echoes of some of his followers.

Xiong Chengji also sighed with some emotion, in the past two years or so, he has conducted an in-depth analysis of the relationship between power and constraints, but he has never been able to grasp the balance point, whether it is better to hand over power to a genius, or to use the system to limit the ability of this genius, this question is not clear after all.

Just as Xiong Chengji was thinking about this, the submarine suddenly put away the five-color flag on the control tower, and then began to dive slowly. This immediately aroused the interest of the passengers on the passenger ship, many of whom jumped and shouted, and for many it was the first time they had seen a submarine dive.

While the passengers on the passenger ship were curiously watching the submarine's diving procedures, the captain of the submarine was cursing in the submarine's command cabin.

"Phew! What a bullshit snorkel! Almost sank Lao Tzu's ship! I have to talk to the Admiralty when I go back! ”

The submarine commander who scolded was Rao Guoliang, and the reason why he was so angry was mainly because of the "secret equipment" that the submarine was equipped with was not because of Najie. If the "secret equipment" fails, his ocean-going supply submarine will not float on the surface of the sea and be half dead. The American passenger ship would not have come over to ask for warmth.

That "secret device" is called a "snorkel", which is two steel pipes connected to the diesel engine

in, the root is responsible for sucking with. One is responsible for platoons after having such equipment. Submarines can move forward with diesel engines driving propellers than floating on the surface of the sea. As long as the snorkel is exposed above the surface, the submarine can rely on diesel power to navigate underwater. and charge the battery. It is able to guarantee a longer underwater range.

At present, there are only two submarines equipped with this new type of equipment, and Rao Guoliang's ocean-going supply submarine is one of them, and the snorkel equipment codenamed "Grouper" has only been installed on this submarine for more than ten days. One of the tasks of the "Grouper" was to further test the new type of motorized underwater aerator.

After Rao Guoliang commanded the "Grouper" submarine to leave the base on Hainan Island, it sailed to the South China Sea at a high altitude; at the beginning, the snorkel worked quite well, the submarine has been in a state of underwater navigation, and the diesel engine worked smoothly, but when the submarine sailed close to the North Borneo state, the diesel engine suddenly failed, and the exhaust pipe leaked. The engine compartment was filled with toxic gas, and then the air intake pipe also failed, and began to suck the air in the cabin, if it was not dealt with in time, the officers and soldiers in the submarine were either poisoned or suffocated, and for a while, Rao Guoliang almost heard the footsteps of death.

In Rao's view, this snorkel design may be a typical example of "thanklessness", if you use a sonic tube state to sail. Although the hull of the submarine is hidden under the surface of the sea. However, the intake and exhaust pipes of the snorkel are still exposed above the sea, so it is impossible to achieve completely concealed navigation, and this navigation procedure itself also hides risks, so. Rao doesn't appreciate this new technology.

However, since this is the arrangement of the Admiralty, Rao Guoliang must test the reliability of the snorkel, and if the motive is not faulty, he may still have reservations, but since the motive is faulty and almost sank his ship, then don't blame him for the harsh wording in the test report.

But on the other hand, Rao Guoliang must also admit that this snorkel navigation technique is indeed a rather surprising technique, and it is said. In other words, if it were not for the president's whim, there would not have been this adventure of the "Grouper", and the reason why the president came up with the idea was that he was worried that in the future, there would be an "out-of-sight detection technology" that would scan ships at a great distance with some kind of electronic equipment, so the submarine would have to reduce the exposed area, so this snorkel design appeared.

To be honest, Rao Guoliang admires the president's long-term vision, but he can't imagine what kind of technology the "out-of-sight detection technology" is, maybe it is simply Mr. President's imagination.

Rao Guoliang didn't dare to complain about the president's lack of consideration, he was only complaining about the designers and shipyard mechanics, because in the overhaul process just now. The officers and men have basically figured out the main reason for the failure of the snorkel, and in the design process, the designers do not seem to have taken into account the difference in the expansion rate of the metal, so the material of the snorkel is slightly different from the material of the submarine diesel engine, so that when the motor runs for a long time. The interface between the engine and the snorkel will swell in different sizes, and if the vibration is too large or the metal is fatigued, if the welding technology is not too hard, the connection between the engine and the snorkel will break, and the motor will inhale from the cabin while exhausting the exhaust gases into the cabin.

Although the motive and snorkel of the submarine are made of alloy steel, the ratio of alloys is different, and therefore the coefficient of expansion is also different, which is only a small design mistake, but the possible consequences are very serious, and the navy cannot afford the consequences of such an irresponsible design. Therefore, Rao Guoliang's case will definitely be sued to the center.

Rao Guoliang was a little afraid, after all, he had a "criminal record", if it wasn't for the president who raised his noble hand and let him pass, I am afraid that he, the submarine commander, would have to mess around in the navy's logistics unit, where could he continue to command the submarine to attack? Speaking of which, the sinking of the Port Arthur submarine is still an "unsolved case" to this day, and there are still black materials on the Admiralty side. If there is a failure in the snorkel test, even if he spares someone's life, he will not be able to escape the trial of the military court, then it will not be as easy as last time.

Understand this, you can understand why Rao Guoliang plans to sue, whether the designer ignores the details, or the construction personnel cut corners, someone must stand up and take responsibility for the failure of the snorkel, in the military manufacturing industry, the central government has long implemented a system of accountability.

Of course, the matter of the complaint can be put aside for a while, because Rao Guoliang has more important things to do, and that is the main task of his command of the "Grouper" ocean-going supply submarine to come to the Nanyang Islands.

Originally, the "Grouper" could have sailed on the surface of the sea, but since it was already watched by the American passenger ship like a dead fish, then. Rao Guoliang was not stunned and hid the submarine's whereabouts first, so he gave an order, and the submarine immediately dived, diving 50 meters below the sea surface for an hour, and then floated to the periscope depth, Rao Guoliang raised the periscope and observed the sea, there was no ship, the American passenger ship had already been thrown away without a trace, so Rao Guoliang ordered the submarine to float on the surface of the sea. Sailing with a diesel engine, by the way to charge the battery, of course, the snorkel he did not dare to use.

"Course, course. Report to the base and inform us of the current location of our ship. ”

After giving the order to sail, Rao Guoliang took an adjutant to board the shell of the submarine control tower and took the telescope to look south, which was the destination of the "Grouper" mission.