"Mr. Xu, Mr. Vittorio is here." Just when Galine was a little dissatisfied because of Xu Jie's blunt refusal, an Italian bodyguard walked in.

"So fast? I had expected him to arrive as soon as the day after tomorrow. Xu Jie muttered to himself.

"As long as they can make money, businessmen are always very efficient." Garin snorted coldly. "Shouldn't I be recused from it?" Seeing the figure at the door, Gaylin asked.

"It's best to avoid it, what we're talking about isn't of interest to you." Xu Jie said with a little embarrassment.

"As you wish, if your designs can be endless, I'm afraid that Italy or other European countries can pay for the warships in the Beiyang, right?" Garin laughed.

Twenty minutes later, Xu Jie's study. Looking at the drawings piled up on the table, Vittorio asked suspiciously, "What?" You want to change the design of the original **-class dome cruiser? ”

"There is this idea. Personally, I think that the Dome cruiser is almost obsolete, and with the massive installation of rapid-fire guns, a battleship without waterline armor will sink due to too much water in naval battles, even if the core compartment is not penetrated. Watertight cabins only slow down the process, but they don't solve the problem at the root. Xu Jie's reasons are very ..........

"Tell me what you think." Vittorio asked.

"The experimental data for the new hardened armor should have been handed over to you, right?" Xu Jie asked.

"How do you know?" Vittorio was shocked.

"Because not long ago, when I was writing a check to Beiyang...... I have an extra £7,000 on my account, and if I'm not mistaken, the Italian Navy is probably ordering new armor in large quantities. And all this can only tell one thing. The Italian military was very pleased with the new armor. This must be supported by measured data. Xu Jie said with a sigh and said: "I have always been an outsider, so the Italian Navy will only hand over the data to you." ”

"Xu, I'm very sorry, this is related to the interests of the country, and I can't help it." Vittorio said with some embarrassment.

"But that's okay, I have a rough estimate of these." XU JIE SMILED AND SAID: "AS LONG AS THE THICKNESS OF THE NEW ARMOR CAN REACH 70MM, IT CAN FULLY COPE WITH THE ATTACK OF THE 6-INCH ARMSTRONG RAPID-FIRE GUN." (THE ARMOR THICKNESS OF THE GARIBALDI-CLASS IS TO BE IMMUNE TO 6-INCH RAPID-FIRE GUNS, AND ITS ARMOR THICKNESS IS 80MM)

"So you're going to cut the dome armor and install the waterline armor?" Vittorio asked.

"That's right. THE DOME ARMOR WAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED, AND THEN PROTECTED WITH 70MM ARMOR IN THE WATERLINE OF THE CORE COMPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE MAIN ENGINE AND AMMUNITION DEPOT, AND THE DOME ARMOR WAS GREATLY WEAKENED. It is still protected by dome armor at the beginning and end. Xu Jie pointed to the drawings and said..........

"That's all?" Vittorio asked.

"There is also an increase in armament, and I plan to install a twin 8-inch turret in the bow of the battleship, and replace the bow with a flying scissor head. At the same time, the power was increased to reach a speed of 23 to 24 knots. Xu Jie said.

"That's a far cry from your previous equilibrium. When you designed the Class-Vault cruiser, you were strongly opposed to overpowering. Vittorio was a little puzzled.

"When the **-class dome cruiser was designed, there was no new armor, even if it had a higher speed, because there was no waterline armor. In naval battles, the speed of the ship will also be reduced due to the waterline being partially penetrated into the water. In this way, there is no point in having too high a speed. Xu Jie thought for a while and continued: "In addition, in terms of mission, the role of the **-class dome cruiser is to engage the opponent's avant-garde and defend the capital ship against lightning strikes. But with the mass entry into service of new high-speed cruisers or high-speed first-class dome cruisers. The **-class dome cruiser will become more and more powerless even as an avant-garde, and in this case, the 4,500-ton battleship will not even have a chance to run once it meets the opponent's new outfit in the avant-garde battle. Xu Jie said a little gloomily.

"And now that you have the new armor, and at the same time, in order to allow the **-class cruiser to escape from the attack of the opponent's fast battleship, all you decided to add waterline armor and speed? Defend against 6-inch guns with waterline armor to buy time to escape, and escape the pursuit of the opponent at high speed? Vittorio asked..........

"That's right, that's what it means." Xu Jie nodded and said. In fact, Xu Jie didn't say all his thoughts. If Beiyang can escape the catastrophe of the First Sino-Japanese War. That would inevitably lead to a direct conflict with Russia in the future. In a future conflict, it will certainly be useless for a 4,500-ton dome cruiser to participate in a fleet decisive battle, and a forest of rapid-fire guns of more than 6 inches can definitely beat the dome into a sieve in a very short time. And if it is immune to 6-inch guns, with a higher speed, the new light cruiser still has a chance to complete the reconnaissance mission and escape from the blow of the opponent's 6-inch rapid-fire gun. And this improved version of the **-class cruiser will become the reconnaissance core of the fleet in the future. …。

"This needs to be systematically demonstrated, and everything can only be done in Italy. And the cost and tonnage will be provided. The original price is unacceptable. Vittorio thought for a moment and said.

"I know this very well, the tonnage is estimated to be 4,750 tons, as for the cost? Beiyang reported 300,000 pounds. Xu Jie said with some pride.

"Xu, did you have this plan for a long time? Only the best for your own homeland? Vittorio reacted suddenly.

"It cannot be said that this is for the Beiyang and Italian Navy. Since the ships were produced by Italian shipyards, Italy also acquired the technology for new ships. In this regard, Beiyang and Italy are equal. Xu Jie explained..........

"Okay then...... I'll try to get in touch with the headquarters. Hopefully, we can usher in a new era in the history of warship design. Vittorio said, waving his hand.

"Do you have a back hand for your X-class outfit, too?" Vittorio suddenly realized something and turned around and asked.

"There are no concrete plans at the moment, but there are assumptions, but it will take time to test. I need to know if the turret system of the new 10-inch gun is suitable. I want to know how effective the rangefinder is. Without this data, I would not be able to schedule future design work. Xu Jie sighed and said, after all, the turret designed by Xu Jie for the X-class patrol only appeared around 1900. Xu Jie could not guarantee whether he could really do well with Italy's industrial power in 1889, which is why he did not dare to order X-class equipment directly. And as for the rangefinder? If the rangefinder is more accurate, it is possible to design a process that goes far beyond engagement for later use, and even has the opportunity to increase the effective range of the main gun from the current 2500 to 3000 meters to about 5000 meters. The outlook is promising, but the risks are also enormous. Xu Jie didn't dare to take risks.

"Xu, I can only tell you that although the construction of the X-class installation patrol has not begun, the testing of the subsystem is underway. But. If you want to get first-hand, you have to get Secretary Brin's permission. Vittorio said a little lonely, and the two who are now playing for the two countries have unconsciously had an invisible barrier. Although both sides tried their best to cover it up, both realized that it would be difficult for them to be as frank as they were in ......... future.

"It doesn't matter, Beiyang needs warships of Italian production, and Italy needs funds from Beiyang. We are mutually beneficial. Helping one is helping the other. We will always be good friends and good partners. Xu Jie said sincerely.

"Well, we will always be good friends and good partners." Vittorio said with a smile.

(New book recommendation period.) Let's give more collections and recommendations~~).