21: Chapter 21 System Production Base Expansion

The deterrence effect of the three Pre-dreadnoughts was significant, but Li Ling knew clearly that this was only temporary.

Japan would not give up, and the great powers would not stand idly by. He had to possess greater power before the enemy launched their next attack.

And that greater power was the Dreadnought.

This morning, Li Ling was eating breakfast in the military camp when the system suddenly popped up a notification.

"Host, the Production Base expansion is complete. Three large dry docks have been added, capable of constructing Dreadnoughts and various vessels below that class."

Li Ling almost spat out the porridge in his mouth: "What? The expansion is complete?"

"Yes," the system said, "It was originally expected to take another half a month, but you completed several small achievements a few days ago, which accelerated the Production Base, finishing it ahead of schedule."

"That's great!" Li Ling threw down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, "I want to go see it!"

The Production Base was in a valley thirty miles outside the city. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary military camp, but in reality, a huge production facility was hidden underground. When Li Ling arrived on horseback, the person in charge of the Production Base—a virtual character named Old Zhao—was already waiting at the entrance.

"Young Master Li, please come with me." Old Zhao led Li Ling into the underground Production Base.

The scale of the Production Base shocked Li Ling.

The underground space was as large as dozens of football fields, divided into several areas: weapon production area, ammunition production area, equipment assembly area, raw material storage area... Every area had a large number of machines running, emitting a buzzing roar.

The three newly added dry docks were even more spectacular. Each dock was over two hundred meters long and dozens of meters wide, deep enough to build ten-thousand-ton class Battleships. Although the docks were empty now, Li Ling could already imagine that, before long, three huge Dreadnoughts would be born here.

"System, can these three dry docks build three Dreadnoughts at the same time?" Li Ling asked.

"Yes," the system said, "And the production speed of the Production Base is thirty times the normal rate. Under normal circumstances, it takes two years to build a Dreadnought, but here, it only takes twenty-four days."

"Twenty-four days?" Li Ling's eyes widened, "Less than a month?"

"To be precise, it is twenty-four days," the system corrected, "However, this is only the construction time, not including design, testing, and outfitting. In addition, the raw materials required for construction need to be provided by you."

Li Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

Twenty-four days to build a Dreadnought—what kind of concept was this? In this era, it took the great powers at least two years to build a Dreadnought, while his Production Base only needed less than a month. Even adding the time for raw material procurement and outfitting tests, it would not exceed two months.

This meant that he could build a Dreadnought fleet that would make the great powers shudder in a very short time.

"System, what raw materials are needed?"

"Special steel, copper, aluminum, rubber, timber..." The system listed a long list, "The core material is special armor steel, which requires rare metals such as chromium, nickel, and molybdenum. Most of these materials are not available domestically and need to be imported from abroad."

Li Ling frowned: "Import? Wouldn't that mean being at the mercy of others?"

"For now, that is the only way," the system said, "Once you have enough resource points, you can use them to exchange for raw materials. But right now, your resource points are insufficient, so you have to buy them from abroad."

"Where to buy?"

"The German Empire," the system said, "The German Empire's steel industry is world-class, and the quality of their special steel is very good. Moreover, you already have an arms cooperation relationship, so negotiating raw material procurement with them shouldn't be difficult."

Li Ling nodded, already having a plan in his mind.

After returning from the Production Base, Li Ling immediately began to plan the raw material procurement.

He sent a telegram to Ambassador Hermann of the German Empire, saying that there was a new cooperation intention and invited him to meet for a discussion.

Ambassador Hermann replied quickly, saying he would arrive in three days.

Taking advantage of these few days, Li Ling began to secretly plan the construction scheme for the three Dreadnoughts.

The Dreadnought was a brand-new type of Battleship that appeared in the early 20th century, characterized by an "all-big-gun" armament, unifying the main caliber and eliminating secondary main guns, which greatly improved firepower concentration and firing efficiency.

Li Ling asked the system to provide a design blueprint for the Dreadnought: a standard displacement of twenty-one thousand tons, equipped with ten 305mm main guns, twenty-four 76mm secondary guns, a maximum speed of twenty-one knots, and a main armor belt thickness of 305mm.

"System, how is the level of this Dreadnought?" Li Ling asked.

"Slightly stronger than the most advanced Dreadnought of this era," the system said, "But not too strong, so as not to cause excessive vigilance among the great powers."

"That's good," Li Ling nodded, "Build three first, and when there are more resources, build more advanced ones."

"Wise," the system rarely praised him.

Three days later, Ambassador Hermann arrived as promised.

The two sat down in the study, and Li Ling went straight to the point: "Mr. von, I need a batch of special steel, and I hope the German Empire can supply it."

Ambassador Hermann was slightly stunned: "Special steel? What does Young Master Li need it for?"

"To build warships," Li Ling did not hide it, "I need to build a few warships, but the quality of the domestic steel is not good enough, so I have to import it from abroad."

A flash of surprise crossed Ambassador Hermann's eyes. He did not expect that Li Ling actually wanted to build warships himself.

"Young Master Li, building warships is not an easy task," Ambassador Hermann said, "It requires a large amount of capital, technology, and talent. Are you sure you have this ability?"

"Certain," Li Ling took out a list, "This is the type and quantity of steel I need. Mr. von can take a look first."

Ambassador Hermann took the list and looked at it carefully, his expression gradually changing.

The types of steel on the list were numerous, the specifications were extremely high, and many were special steels used for building warships. What shocked him even more was the quantity on the list—enough to build several large Battleships.

"Young Master Li, you... exactly how many warships are you going to build?" Ambassador Hermann's voice even changed a little.

"It's not convenient to disclose this," Li Ling smiled, "Mr. von only needs to tell me, can these steels be supplied? What is the price?"

Ambassador Hermann was silent for a while and said: "They can be supplied. But the price is not cheap. The total price of this batch of steel will cost about two million taels of silver."

"Two million taels?" Li Ling frowned, "Too expensive."

"This is the cost price," Ambassador Hermann said, "Young Master Li should know that the production cost of special steel is very high, and the transportation costs are not low either."

Li Ling thought for a while and said: "One point five million taels. If your country agrees, I can provide another batch of new weapon samples as a gift."

Ambassador Hermann's eyes lit up: "What kind of new weapons?"

"Heavy Machine Gun," Li Ling said, "A rate of fire of six hundred rounds per minute, an effective range of one thousand meters, lighter and more reliable than the Maxim machine gun you are currently using."

Ambassador Hermann was tempted. He knew that Li Ling had good things; the previous qingyun-1 rifle had surprised them. If he could get samples of the new Heavy Machine Gun, it would be of great help to the German Empire's military industry.

"One point eight million taels," Ambassador Hermann bargained.

"One point six million taels, no more," Li Ling said.

"One point seven million taels, deal."

"Deal." The two shook hands, and the contract was finalized.

After Ambassador Hermann left, Li Ling immediately began to arrange for the transportation and receipt of raw materials.

The first batch of steel was expected to arrive in a month, at which time the three Dreadnoughts would start construction simultaneously. Li Ling named the three Dreadnoughts "dragon soar", "dragon leap", and "longxiang dreadnought", symbolizing the take-off of the Chinese nation.

"System, do you think the German Empire will guess that I am building Dreadnoughts?" Li Ling asked.

"They will definitely guess it," the system said, "You bought so much special steel; anyone with a brain knows you want to build warships. However, it doesn't matter if they guess it. The German Empire is your partner now; they are eager for you to become strong so you can contain Britain and Russia."

"That's good," Li Ling nodded, "As long as they don't make trouble."

"They won't make trouble," the system said, "But other countries might not. Britain, the United States, and Japan will not sit idly by and watch you build Dreadnoughts. You must be prepared to respond."

Li Ling sneered: "Let them come. I'll meet every challenge as it comes."

After the raw material procurement was settled, Li Ling went to the Production Base every day to take a look at the construction progress of the three Dreadnoughts.

Although he knew that the Production Base was running automatically and did not need him to worry, he just couldn't help it. Every time he saw the huge ship hulls gradually taking shape in the dry docks, he was as excited as a child.

"Old Zhao, how is the progress?" Li Ling asked the person in charge of the Production Base.

"Young Master Li, the progress of the first dry dock is 15%, the second dry dock is 12%, and the third dry dock is 10%," Old Zhao reported, "Everything is normal, and it is expected to be completed in forty days."

"Forty days..." Li Ling muttered, "A little later than expected."

"It is mainly because the raw materials have not arrived yet," Old Zhao said, "Once the first batch of steel arrives, the progress will speed up."

Li Ling nodded and patted Old Zhao on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Not hard work at all," Old Zhao smiled honestly, "It is our honor to work for you."

Leaving the Production Base, Li Ling went to the naval port again.

The three Pre-dreadnoughts were quietly anchored in the port, and the naval officers and soldiers were training on the deck. The gunners were practicing aiming on the virtual training system, and their movements were becoming more and more proficient.

"Captain Lin, how is the training of the officers and soldiers?" Li Ling asked the captain of the warship, Lin Yongsheng.

"Reporting, Young Master, the basic training has been completed, and we are now conducting tactical training," Lin Yongsheng said, "In another month, all three warships will be able to form a complete combat capability."

"Good," Li Ling nodded with satisfaction, "When the Dreadnoughts are built, you will be the seed force of the navy and will be responsible for training officers and soldiers for the new ships."

"Yes!" Lin Yongsheng stood at attention and saluted.

In the evening, Li Ling returned to the mansion and went to bed early for a rare occasion.

Lying on the bed, his mind was still thinking about those warships.

Three Pre-dreadnoughts, three Dreadnoughts under construction—this was all the family property of his navy. Although it could not compare with the fleets of dozens of Battleships of the great powers, it was enough for self-preservation in this East Asia region.

"System," Li Ling said.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I am a bit too hasty?"

"What is too hasty?"

"Developing too fast," Li Ling said, "It has only been two months since I transmigrated, and I have gone from nothing to three hundred thousand troops and six warships. Will it cause an excessive reaction from the great powers?"

"Yes," the system said, "But you have no choice. If you are not fast, you will be eaten by others. The great powers are not philanthropists, and Japan is not a good sort. If you are not strong, they will trample you under their feet."

Li Ling was silent for a while and nodded: "You are right. If I am not strong, I will be bullied. Instead of being beaten passively, it is better to take the initiative."

"That is the truth," the system said, "So don't think too much, just do it."

Li Ling smiled: "Okay, just do it."

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water. In the Production Base, three Dreadnoughts were being built day and night. In the naval port, the officers and soldiers of the three Pre-dreadnoughts were training hard. In the military camp, the three hundred thousand troops were sharpening their swords and guns.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

Li Ling closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day.