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India, Mumbai, Grand Palace.

"His Majesty the Emperor, urgent message from His Majesty the Emperor's Temasek Fortress!"

In his office, Emperor William, who was looking down at the new battleship design plan submitted by Barrow Company that had just been brought by Marquis Nelson and George Elliot, heard Charles Elliot's words and was so excited that he didn't even care about the battleship plan.

He suddenly jumped up from his chair and walked towards Charlie Elliot, and then grabbed the copy of the telegram from the other party's hand. First he read it line by line, then read it again word for word, and frowned after reading it.

Wrinkled.

When the Marquis of Nelson and George Elliot saw the emperor's expression, they knew that the Temasek Fortress was in trouble. The Marquis of Nelson and George Elliot had already expected this - the rapid loss of the Malay Peninsula had already shown that.

The future of Temasek Island. And the frequent failures of long-wave radio stations on Temasek Island are even more ominous!

Precisely because they expected that Temasek Island might be lost soon, they repeatedly urged Barrow Shipyard to come up with a new battleship plan as soon as possible. The engineers at Barrow Shipyard were also very capable, and as expected, they made a new battleship in a very short period of time.

The plan for a 30,000-ton battleship seems quite feasible.

The battleship will use a 30,000-horsepower steam engine as the main engine, and will still use coal as fuel. Of course, with this configuration, the speed will not be fast, and it will only be 20 knots without forced ventilation.

The main gun of this class of battleships uses a relatively conservative five-mounted twin 13.5-inch 45-caliber solution. However, for the first time, the design of front and rear piggyback turrets will be adopted, and the five turrets will be placed on the central axis of the battleship. In this way, they will face the battleship.

When firing on one side, 10 13.5-inch cannons can be launched at the same time!

This firepower is definitely the best among known battleships!

In addition, Barrow Company will also reserve space for upgrades. Once the 14-inch main gun passes acceptance, upgrades can be arranged.

This battleship will also focus on strengthening air defense and mine protection. A large number of high-level dual-purpose guns and anti-aircraft machine guns will be installed on the deck. A large number of mine protection partitions will be installed under the waterline. Hundreds of waterproof compartments will also be designed to ensure that this battleship

The battleship can withstand 10 torpedo hits!

This defense is the best among known battleships!

In other words, this class of battleships sacrificed power in exchange for the dual advantages of firepower and defense. And because the 30,000-horsepower steam engine and 13.5-inch rapid-fire cannon are mature technologies, the design of the piggyback turret is also perfect, and it adopts the same design

The battleships of the Ming Army have already entered the battlefield!

Therefore, the production of this class of battleships should not be difficult. If construction starts immediately, the first ship will definitely be ready for sea trials in 15 months, the first ship can be delivered in 20 months, and 4-8 ships will be completed in 24 months. If the 14-inch main ship

As the guns are developed during this process, it only takes 1 to 2 months to complete the refitting of these 4-8 battleships. By then, the speed may be slightly reduced, but the firepower will be more powerful!

However, even if this plan is adopted, the British Empire will inevitably endure a period of 20-24 months of naval weakness.

I originally expected Temasek Island to be able to support it for 12 months, but now.

"The Temasek Fortress cannot be defended," Emperor William sighed. "Viscount Beresford is powerless. The 92,000 Indian soldiers under his command have no fighting spirit. They were also hit by the psychological warfare of the Ming army, so they collapsed at the first touch. Now Johor

The Strait defense line has been completely lost, and all the coastal defense forts on the south coast of Temasek Island have been abandoned. Only the core of the fortress can still hold on for a week or two, and there are only about 10,000 defenders left."

Marquis Nelson and George Elliot were both shocked.

"What? There are only more than 10,000 people left. Isn't this too fast?"

"That is, what do those Indians do for food? Are they stupider than pigs? Even if there are 90,000 pigs, the Ming army would have to capture them for ten days and a half, right?"

Emperor William did not pick a fight with these two men, but said to them: "After the Ming army captured the coastal defense fort on Temasek Island, they were not in a hurry to attack the fortress. Instead, they sent people to contact Viscount Beresford."

In fact, by capturing the forts on the south coast of Temasek Island - even the forts that have blown up the cannons, the Ming Dynasty has already opened the Strait of Malacca. Therefore, there is really no need to storm the Temasek Fortress. It is most advantageous to persuade them to surrender and take them all. Although the fortress

It is seventy or eighty years old, but the various facilities in the fortress are still very complete. If it can be completely captured, the headquarters of the Nanyang Fleet or the Western Fleet can be stationed immediately.

"Your Majesty," asked Marquess Nelson, "what do the Chinese want?"

Emperor William's face turned livid, "They want us to retreat with honor!"

"From Malacca?" George Elliot asked.

“From India and Malacca!”

The Marquess of Nelson asked: "Did they say anything about Australia and Oregon?"

"No," Emperor William gritted his teeth, "but once the empire loses India, the crown jewel, Australia will definitely not be able to hold on."

Emperor William was right about this. After losing India, it would be difficult to maintain contact between Britain and Australia. If the Ming Dynasty attacked Australia, the British Royal Navy would have to start from its homeland, bypass Africa, and run more than 20,000 troops

The fleet has to travel so far to reach the rescue fleet, and there are no ports in the middle that can be maintained, so it is difficult to maintain the state.

In another timeline, the reason why Australia remains in the Commonwealth is because of the intention of the United States, the rebellious son of the United Kingdom. But Australia is actually still a vassal of the United States, not a pawn of the United Kingdom.

"Margrave," Emperor William said, "perhaps we can abandon Australia to preserve India."

"No," Marquis Nelson quickly shook his head, "Your Majesty, we should not choose between India and Australia! Because if we lose India, Australia will definitely be unprotected. And if we lose Australia, we will also lose the key stronghold to contain the Ming Empire.

Ming Dynasty will use all its main naval forces in the Indian Ocean after acquiring Australia. This is by no means a multiple-choice question!"

George Elliot also quickly echoed the Marquis Nelson: "Your Majesty the Emperor, our Australian colony is not just the Australian continent, but also includes many surrounding islands, including Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the New Britain Islands, and from there to the north.

There are only 2,000 nautical miles to the coast of Japan. As long as we deploy a fleet there, we can pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty's Pacific routes and even harass the coast of Japan. If we abandon Australia, the Pacific Ocean will become the inland sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty.

, they will be able to concentrate all their efforts on attacking India!"

Emperor William seemed to be convinced by the two of them, he nodded and said: "Yes, this is indeed not a multiple-choice question.

Moreover, Australia is a colony of the United Kingdom, not a colony of the Indian Empire. I have no right to abandon Australia to protect India...

However, when it comes to how to defend, the focus should undoubtedly be on India. Because without India, it is impossible for Australia to defend.

On the contrary, as long as we can defend India, we have the possibility of counterattack and regaining Australia."

George Yilu immediately offered his compliments and said: "Your Majesty, you are so wise."

Marquis Nelson also said: "Yes, Your Majesty, we should indeed use our main force to defend India...but we must also use Australia as a base to launch a counterattack.

Only in this way can the pressure on India be reduced, after all, India is the most important!"

"Yes, India is the most important." Emperor William nodded, "So, how should we reply to the Chinese who want to liberate India?"

"Well..." Marquis Nelson said, "I suggest you adopt a delaying strategy."

George Elliot said: “Yes, we need time, and every day from now on is very precious!

In order to buy time, I think we can first hand over the Temasek Fortress to show our sincerity, and then ask the Jin Kingdom, Austria, and the Rakshasa Kingdom to mediate and convene a peace conference in Vienna."

"Okay! Just do it!" Emperor William nodded heavily, "Now we must find ways to drag all European countries into the water, and the Vienna Peace Conference is an opportunity."
Chapter completed!