Chapter 23: Laying Cards on the Table with Old Dad

  "Dad, I've been working on these businesses not just to make money, but also for the future of our family and country." Liu Ye wiped the saliva from the corner of Liu Mingchuan's mouth, sent the two maids in the room out, then sat back down to continue speaking.

  "I've had more contact with foreigners, and recently I heard that there are many rumors in Japan that are targeted at our Great Qing. They regard us as enemies and have been secretly preparing for many years. Meanwhile, within our imperial court, there is still so much internal strife. If war were to break out suddenly, I fear that our Great Qing would be defeated."

  "Japanese? What did you hear?" Liu Mingchuan still had some trust in Liu Ye's information and understanding of the world. Whenever he encountered diplomatic or business problems, Liu Mingchuan would often ask Liu Ye for advice.

  "From the news spread by the British and Americans, it seems that the Japanese are getting impatient. It's said that even their emperor has reduced his expenses and is calling on everyone to donate money to buy warships. If they're not planning to go to war, why would they need to spend so much? Liu Ye had heard about the Emperor cutting back on his own spending as an example for Japan's naval fundraising efforts, but he didn't know which year it was. This time, he decided to use this story to persuade his father, and anyway, no one would go fact-checking."

  "Alas... Does the imperial court know about these things?" Liu Mingchuan muttered to himself.

  "The imperial court is afraid that it will not be able to take care of Taiwan, you have worked hard to drive the French out of Taiwan, are you willing to see the Japanese take it away again? I set up these factories in order to help the imperial court defend this island, at a critical moment they may still play a role. If given to others, within two years, they will be ruined and even if sold for countless silver coins, there is no significance."

  "Are you going to fight?" Liu Ming was very surprised, he didn't think that his strange and clever son had this intention.

  "I may not be able to fight myself, but I can train people who can fight, and equip them with the most powerful weapons. My factory is already producing guns that are better than those of the Germans. My shipyard is researching a vessel that can take on any warship. In two more years, I will no longer fear invasion by any country. I don't want to see all my efforts over the years go to waste." Liu Fei could only selectively tell some truths in order to persuade his father.

  "What? You... Cough, cough, cough." Liu Mingzhuan knew that his son was not one to exaggerate, and whatever he said usually came true. But this statement was a bit too frightening - the entire Qing dynasty couldn't even defeat a few British warships, and the Beiyang Fleet, which had been established just two years ago at great expense to the imperial court, didn't dare claim that no one was afraid of them, they could only defend their own doorstep. After taking a sip of tea to calm his racing heart, Liu Mingzhuan continued to press for answers.

  "Is what you just said true?"

  "In two years at most, I will have a fleet of such ships that can travel underwater and use large torpedoes to attack surface ships from a distance. I've seen the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan of the Beiyang Fleet in Hong Kong, and those big warships can't withstand my torpedoes - one hit and they're crippled, two hits and they sink." Liu Fei continued to reveal more information.

  "Alas..." Perhaps it was too inconceivable, Liu Mingchuan did not speak, he just let out a long sigh and fell into silent contemplation.

  "You rest first, I'll come back tonight, I'm going to pay my respects to Mother now." Liu Ye knew that this matter couldn't be rushed, these old people who had suffered at the hands of foreigners and walked out of a sea of blood and corpses had their own views, which needed to be changed gradually.

  "Alright, go ahead. Don't let others know about what was just said." Liu Ming also needed to calm himself down and adjust some of the ideas he had originally thought out.

  That evening after dinner, in Liu Mingchuan's bedroom, the father and son talked for several hours again. Then, for several days in a row, the Liu family father and son were secretly discussing every day, sometimes for half a day, sometimes for the whole day. It is unknown whether it was due to excessive stimulation or not, but Liu Mingchuan's condition improved slightly, and he could walk slowly with support.

  After several days of consultation, Liu Yi finally reached an agreement with Liu Ming. As for the illness, Liu Ming secretly did not report it and only told outsiders that he had a cold and fever, and after taking "inflammation tablets" he was cured, but his body was weak and needed rest. Now "inflammation tablets" have become a must-have medicine in the homes of court officials, and even slightly wealthy families will stock up on a few tablets to meet unexpected needs.

  After the Spring Festival in 1892, Liu Mingchuan appointed Liu Yubai as the Taiwan Sea Defense Supervisor, responsible for building sea defense facilities throughout Taiwan, and handed over a part of the Huai Army's Mingzi Camp stationed in Tamsui to Liu Yubai's command. Later, Liu Mingchuan telegraphed Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, reporting Japan's recent movements and suggesting that the imperial court pay attention.

  According to Liu Mingchuan's proposal, Liu Mingchuan continued to build two railways, one from Keelung to Hualien Port as the Eastern Line, and the other from Hsinchu to Tainan Dagang Port as the Western Line, with a total length of over 400 kilometers. The plan was to hire a large number of civilians and complete it within 2 years. From now on, three military ports will be established throughout Taiwan, namely Xiangshan Port, Dagang Port, and Hualien Port.

  Liu Ming originally wanted to set up artillery batteries in all the important ports, but Liu Fei persuaded Old Dad that those batteries had some effect for defense, but consumed a lot of money and required a large number of people, which was not cost-effective. With that money, it's better to build more submarines and speedboats, and not let the other side's ships approach the port on a large scale, which is the best defense.

  For the Huai Army's Mingzi Camp in Taiwan and the local garrison troops, Liu Yi did not have much trust, but it was not good to go against his father's face, so he could only tactfully suggest disbanding some of the weaker battalions, saving on personnel and rations, and training new troops. The new army was a joint decision made by the father and son, which would be based on the protection team, expanding its scale, with a strength of around 30,000 people, fully equipped with AK-01 semi-automatic rifles after formation, as well as newly developed "Xianggua" hand grenades, armored vehicles converted from Dongfeng pickup trucks, and Changjiang 750 motorcycles.

  Just as the father and son were busy strengthening Taiwan's defenses, the institute sent a message that after multiple tests, the torpedo had been finalized. This type of torpedo is thermally powered, with a total length of 3500mm, a diameter of 450mm, a speed of 35 knots can travel 2300 meters, a speed of 25 knots can travel 4000 meters, a total weight of 400 kilograms, and a warhead loaded with 35 kilograms of explosives.

  In addition, the shipyard also built the first complete torpedo boat, which met Liu's requirements after several trial voyages. This torpedo boat is 19.7 meters long and 3.7 meters wide, with a single-hull fully submerged wing design, equipped with two diesel engines, 1700 horsepower, maximum speed of 37 knots, crew of 7 people, endurance of 300 nautical miles/13 knots, and equipped with two 450MM torpedo launchers, with 2 spare torpedoes.

  Liu heard the news and rushed back to Keelung from Taipei, personally boarded a torpedo boat, and conducted a shooting exercise. The result was that in the face of a slow-moving target ship 1000 meters away, two torpedoes were fired at high speed during the sprint, hitting the target once, and the high-explosive explosive directly blew the 200-ton cement target ship into several sections. Then he practiced attacking high-speed moving target ships and long-range launches, with a slightly lower hit rate, but what was encouraging was that as long as he hit the target, all torpedoes detonated normally, and the power was very great in Liu's eyes.

  Liu Fei named the new torpedo "Type I" torpedo, and the torpedo boat was designated as "Seagull-class", and immediately put these two new equipment into production.

  With his own naval armed forces, Liu immediately added 400 new sailors to the water patrol team, some of whom were selected from the disbanded battalion and others were recruited from workers. After all, most workers had gained some culture through training over the years and had a deeper understanding of mathematics and mechanics.

  Liu Ming continued to recuperate in the governor's mansion, while Liu Ye was busy with his feet not touching the ground. Not only did he have to focus on repairing railways and building ports, but also arrange production, inspect the training of new troops and water patrols, and even take time out to organize the research and development of submarines at the shipyard.

  The submarine has solved most of the problems after several trials, but encountered some difficulties on the double hull. The hardness and toughness of the steel materials at that time were not enough, and it was necessary to wait for the new special steel production from the steel mill. Liu didn't understand this steel material, so he had no choice but to wait.

  Due to Liu Ming's illness, Liu Ye deeply felt his own vulnerability and intensified the sense of crisis he already had. Liu Ye decided to go all out, taking out the last batch of "anti-inflammatory tablets" in his hand and transporting them to the United States, letting David exchange them for various materials that Taiwan lacked. He also ordered the management team to put the entire Keelung Industrial Base into a state of war preparedness, producing various weapons and ammunition with all its might. Warehouses were established near the three military ports throughout Taiwan, dispersing the weapons and ammunition to be stored in different places. The new army followed suit, training and arming itself at the same time.