Wei Chenghong still had 680,000 silver coins left. He would need 432,000 silver coins to buy six Heavenly Dragon Class cruisers. However, he did not want to buy all of them. He needed a sufficient number of destroyer to protect the battleships. If necessary, he could sacrifice the destroyer to block the torpedoes for the battleships.
In the end, Wei Chenghong purchased two Heavenly Dragon-class, one Wakatake-class, and three Seawind-class Destroyers for a total of 594,000 silver coins.
With this deduction, he only had about 90,000 silver coins left. After buying the battleships, Wei Chenghong instantly turned from a rich man to a poor man. He also found that the maintenance cost of the fleet, without the supply of ammunition and fuel, was about 3000 silver coins per day. Previously, when he had two battleships, he only had about 150 silver coins. He did not expect that he would need so much now. In other words, without income, the financial pressure would crush Wei Chenghong's fleet in a month.
Dragon Class Light Cruiser
[Water displacement: 3230 tons (standard), 4350 tons (regular)]
Main dimensions: 134.11m (length), 12.34m (width), 3.96m (draft)
Power: 8 heavy oil boiler on the ship, 2 coal and heavy oil mixed combustion boiler on the ship, 3 Braun Cadiz gear reduction turbine, 10 boiler, 3-axis propulsion, total horsepower 51000.
Speed: 32.5 knots
[Endurance: 5000 nautical miles/14 knots]
Firepower: Four 140mm/50mm Type 3 Single Cannons, 2 60mm Type 3 Triple 533mm Torpedo Launchers, 2 13mm/7693 Air Defense Machine Guns, 1 80mm/40mm Type 3 Single Air Defense Cannon.
Crew: 318.
Wakatake class destroyer
[Water displacement: 900 tons (standard), 1020 tons (regular)]
Main dimensions: 83.8m (length), 8m (width), 2.5m (draft)
Power: Brown Curtis single-stage reduction gear steam turbine, 2 sets, 2 shafts, Lü heavy oil water tube boiler, 3 sets, total horsepower 21500 horses
Speed: 35.5 knots
[Endurance: 3000 nautical miles/14 knots]
Firepower: 120mm/45 Type 3 Single Cannon (3), Type 93 Double 530mm Torpedo Launcher (2), 6.5MM/115 Type 3 Air Defense Machine Gun (2)
Crew: 110.
Sea Breeze class destroyer
[Water displacement: 1030 tons (standard), 1150 tons (regular)]
Main dimensions: 98.5 meters (length), 8.5 meters (width), 2.7 meters (draft)
Power: 3 Parsons steam turbine, 8 kerosene mixed boiler, total horsepower 20500.
Speed: 33 knots
[Endurance: 2700 nautical miles/15 knots]
Firepower: 2 120mm/40mm Type 41 Single Cannons, 5 80mm/40mm Type 41 Single Cannons, 2 450mm Torpedo Launchers.
Crew: 141.
The total number of sailors and officers in the entire fleet was almost 2500. Because he did not participate in the naval battle, Wei Chenghong's current military rank was very low. He was only one rank higher than Tatsumi Hengshan. He was a second lieutenant, so he could not recruit the Marine Corps.
Although Wei Chenghong played the game well, in fact, he didn't have much actual experience in commanding warships. He wasn't a qualified naval commander at all. He wasn't even qualified to be a captain. It wasn't easy to become the captain of a warship. Ordinary people couldn't be the captain at all.
Wei Chenghong was a navy fan. He knew all kinds of classics about naval warfare, but he was at most like Zhao Kuo, who only talked about military tactics on paper. Which navy general didn't fight their way through trials of blood and fire?
Seven warships, one battleship, two cruisers, and four destroyer.
Those who didn't have any naming talent were very straightforward. In the future, the battleships would be called Proud Sky, such as Proud Sky No. 1, Proud Sky No. 2, and so on.
Wei Chenghong named the cruisers Ritian No. 1 and Ritian No. 2 respectively. The destroyer was called Liangchen No. 1, the Wakake-class destroyer was called Liangchen No. 1, and the other three Seawind-class were called Liangchen No. 2 to No. 4 respectively. The names were simple and clear.
Through the phone, Wei Chenghong could clearly see the name and status of the warship. Of course, his flagship was naturally the Prideful Sky. The 20,000-ton Prideful Sky looked mighty and domineering. It was not comparable to a cruiser or a destroyer.
The Pride was different from the previous Hashimoto and Chikuma. This warship had a tall upper structure, and the mast was almost as tall as the George cruise ship. Wei Chenghong patted the armor of the turret and was very satisfied with the new Pride. Compared to it, the original Chenghong was like a baby.
The seven warships hung the Japanese military flag and lined up in a straight line. They cruised on the high seas, and the black smoke they pulled up could be seen from afar. It was a spectacular sight.
Wei Chenghong took a shower in his cabin and finally put on his white navy uniform with the help of Tatsumi.
The army's green, the air force's blue, and the navy's white had basically become the representative colors of the three branches of the army. The summer military uniform was very thin and airy. Because it was not a military suit, all the military uniforms and hats were not decorated. As the commander, Wei Chenghong had no difference except that he had an extra golden double sword anchor in his shirt pocket.
It was now 12:00 noon on August 17, 1937. Wei Chenghong had just come out of the restaurant with his female adjutant, Tatsumi Hengshan. The flagship, Aotian, received an urgent message from Liang Chen No. 4. They had encountered the vanguard fleet of the Japanese Navy. Because Wei Chenghui's warships were all flying the Japanese Navy flag, the other party came over to ask about their identity. Wei Chenghong's fleet was a fake Li Gui who met the real Li Kui.
Other than the battleship Prideful, the other ships were all in service with the Japanese Navy, so the other party did not suspect their identities at first. The Japanese Navy consisted of two cruisers, three Destroyers, and five troop-carrying ships. The troop-carrying ships were all pulling the Japanese Army, and they were all heading to Shanghai to reinforce the Japanese Marine Corps.
After hearing the broadcast, Wei Chenghong brought Tatsumi Hengshan to the bridge of the Proud Sky. He took out the binoculars to observe the situation. After a while, he handed the binoculars to Tatsumi Hengshan and said to Sun Wanghua, the captain of the Proud Sky," Get ready for battle. They are Japanese reinforcements heading to Shanghai. Don't let any of them go ashore."”
"Admiral, those two are both heavy cruisers. One is the Gaoxiong-class, and the other is the highest class.”As a Japanese citizen, Tatsumi could easily recognize the models of the two Japanese warships. They were not easy to deal with.
Wei Chenghong knew that in the world of warships, there were the Japanese VIII class cruisers. Although the Gaoxiang-class had not appeared, if they were to be classified, it would at least be a VII class cruiser. They were all new ships that had only been in the water for a few years. They were far more advanced than the Sun-Tian Tianlong class and the Proud Heaven Miaoyi class.
Moreover, both warships were equipped with reconnaissance aircraft. The main cannon of the Gaoxiong had a caliber of 203mm, and the number of turrets was 5x2. In other words, the Gaoxiong had a total of ten main cannons, which could not be underestimated.
"This is troublesome. We can't run away. We can only destroy them.”The enemy's new heavy cruiser was definitely faster than the Prideful Sky and the Sunsky. Wei Chenghong knew this better than anyone else. Since they had encountered each other, they would fight. The brave would win.
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