Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 25 The embarrassing weapon of this era!
When Louis Bell told him that the first secret weapon was a Mauser and listened to the introduction, several people in the army were surprised at first, and then their faces showed joy. This was really an unexpected surprise.

After all, what was originally used to deal with the British Empire was naturally the navy, which the British Empire was good at. But the contrast was with the army firearms. How could this not be a surprise?

Especially after I heard that the average monthly production exceeds 5000 pieces, I was even more ecstatic.

With it, the threat on land will plummet.

The navy men originally craned their necks to wait for good news, but they did not expect this result.

Suddenly, everyone stared at Louise Bell, the Dutch Minister of Arms, with dissatisfaction, but the latter turned a blind eye. This made William IV laugh. He thought of a certain program in the top ten. When the results of the competition were about to be announced, The longer the delay, the more the audience and players cursed and cursed alternately.

The Louis Bell in front of him liked to do this, and William IV couldn't help but think that next time he would host a dinner or other press conference, he would be a good expert at creating suspense and creating an atmosphere.

"Sir Bell, don't you know what the secret weapon of our navy is?"

Yes, the Army's new firearms. Many people present have used firearms. They all understand that the power of such a Mauser gun is not much increased, but the interval between each shot is much simpler and faster. You must know that the battlefield is changing rapidly. , one second may kill you.

The emergence of the Mauser will bring about earth-shaking changes to the armies of various countries in Europe, and it will be even better news for the Dutch Army!

The weapons of the army are so surprising. Now that the powerful enemy is on the other side of the sea, secret heavy weapons are needed to intimidate the opponent. Everyone here realizes that the Dutch navy is no match for the British Empire. Then only a breakthrough approach can be used to maintain the cost of being tough on Britain.

"submarine!"

From the words of His Majesty William IV just now, Louis Bell knew that it was time to reveal his secrets to the political leaders and military officers and generals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

What His Majesty wants is to give these people information. For example, if a diplomat who has been stationed abroad has a clear understanding of the strength of his country, then when negotiating with the host country, not only will his waist stand up straighter, During the negotiation process, breakthroughs can also be found.

submarine!

This was a very embarrassing word, and everyone present suddenly felt cold.

Because submarines are really useless.

Even Chief of Naval Staff Joseph Karls and Minister of the Navy Jan Peter were dissatisfied. Apparently they didn’t think this was a secret weapon that they recognized, and they didn’t understand why Louis Bell put it in the category of secret weapons. ranks.

Louis Bell couldn't help but explain first:
"Everyone here knows that submarines began to appear in the United States in 1801, and they caused a sensation in Europe at that time.

At that time, the American Fulton built the world's first submarine, the USS Nautilus. The hull was an iron frame and a copper shell. It was 7 meters long. It carried two mines and was operated by four people. It used folding masts on the water and even used sails as a surface warship. Powered by a hand-cranked propeller underwater.

However, the speed is very slow, only 2 knots, and it can only last for an hour at most. It seems that it can only travel less than 4 kilometers in the water.

But last year, during the recent Civil War in the United States, the USS Henry submarine built in the South was about 12 meters long, almost as long as a cigar. Eight people moved the propeller forward, reaching a speed of 8 knots, and used mines to attack enemy submarines. On the night of November 4, 1861 last year, the Henry used a mine to transform into the Union warship Housatonic, setting the world's first example of an underwater submarine sinking a surface warship. This caused a global sensation and also caused a stir. There has been strong interest from countries large and small.”

This happened on the other side of the Atlantic last year. Everyone here knows that. However, although they were surprised by the results, its performance was so disappointing that these navy bosses did not show any interest.

Just when they were about to express their dissatisfaction, Louis Bell continued: "On November 1861, 11, France built a submarine named Diver. The hull was designed to imitate the shape of a dolphin and was about 2 meters long. It displaces 42 tons, uses a 420 kilowatt (59 horsepower) steam engine as power, can travel underwater for 80 hours, dive to a depth of 3 meters, and has a speed of 12 knots."

Seeing the disappointed expressions on several people's faces, Louis Bell continued speaking without any influence before stopping.

At this time, the Minister of the Navy, Jan Peter, couldn't help but said dissatisfied: "You also know that increasing the ballast to make its buoyancy equal to zero will cause the submarine to lose control when it dives, making the underwater navigation very unstable, and it also requires a lot of air. But the problem cannot be solved. Such a submarine may actually be a burden to our navy, rather than a secret weapon."

Jan Peter spoke “frankly” without any hesitation.Others couldn't help but nodded, obviously they all thought so.

However, Louis Bell is now one of the Privy Council members. In addition to the two directors of the Intelligence Bureau, Bill Charlie and McKay Sean, he is one of the earliest people to follow William IV. He is a minister of the Dragon and is also in charge of William IV. A celebrity with many secrets in the world.

Therefore, no one asked directly.

Especially when you see the other person's face that is always smiling and full of wisdom, you can't figure out the other person's true and false intentions.

Otherwise, why would William IV remain silent throughout the entire process, apparently watching their performance.

Even Prime Minister Tolbeck.

"Who said that the problem has not been solved?" Without waiting for the drastic change in the expression on Jan Peter's face, Louis Bell first gave a respectful salute to William IV, and then said in shock: "Your Majesty has solved it for everyone. In order to improve this problem, in the last month of last year, Dutch submarines had already broken away from the historical navigation mode of submarines in fresh water areas, and could now expand to operate across the ocean."

"What? You Bell, are you telling the truth?" Jan Peter stepped forward, regardless of the man's etiquette, and directly took Louis Bell's hands, grabbed them hard, and asked with shining eyes.

This news was too timely and powerful for him, although he had not yet asked about the speed and battery life after the solution.

He is also a smart man. Louis Bell dared to "leak" it so openly at this time. He has obviously evaluated the role it played in the current predicament faced by the Netherlands. So, has the Netherlands' submarines really developed to this point?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the high-spirited Arms Minister Louis Bell in front of him, and cursed in his heart, you kid is still so proud of yourself.

But he thought of his former rival in the Navy Department - Theo Feng.Lyndon.

At first, both of them competed for the position of Lord of the Admiralty, but he won, and he was complacent about it for a long time.

But now it seems that the other party is doing well in East India now, because the Netherlands' submarine development is deployed in the East India Navy in Makassar in the Far East and Shrike Bay on the island of New Guinea. This secretly developing navy , which was handed over to Theo von Linden for management.

Depend on!
This former strong enemy originally thought he had been left behind, but now it seems that he is living a more prosperous life in the Far East than he is in the Netherlands.

Especially when he was reading the newspapers recently. Every day they were reading the news about the Dutch Far East Navy in the South Pacific, capturing a reef today and an island tomorrow. He felt itchy and envious of that guy Lyndon's good luck. But I am happy that the Netherlands has expanded its territory there.

He was really contradictory at that time!
William IV looked at the ever-changing expressions on his face, and his thoughts were as clear as a mirror.

The Netherlands directly begged his father William III to do this in 1857. After arguing with reason, he finally persuaded William III and handed over the entire Far East Dutch East Indies to his management.

From then on, he actually became the regent directly, developing East India into his sphere of influence. Based on this, he finally completed many plans, whether in terms of human and financial resources, etc., all for the present and at the beginning. An important step has been taken.

This is how he became what he is today.

Only then did Jan Peter remember the question he had just "forgotten".

"How's the battery life?"

　Chapter 1.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)