Chapter 379: Strategic Direction

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“This is impossible, why would they challenge us?” Someone completely disagreed with this view.

“This gentleman’s words make me laugh. Does the world have to have friends forever? Especially the national side. You actually asked something like, how did you get into this room?” Wesley turned on the taunting mode again.

“Okay, gentlemen, that’s not what we’re talking about today. But I want to ask, how is our Navy?” the president asked.

“Mr. President, the Navy is developing very fast. The first destroyers have completed the sea trials and have been divided between the two fleets. At the same time, the light cruisers have been built for a total of 16 and have also been completed. Now the heavy cruisers are being fitted out and the battleships have laid down their keel,” said William Benson.

“Well, how long will it take to finish?”

Wesley said, “It can be fast or slow. The first four battleships were all produced by my shipyard. If they want to develop into the Pacific, they can be completed in six months at the earliest. All four battleships are deployed in the Pacific direction. They will be invincible.”

Since Wesley had received the follow-up order, the first four light cruisers had been built. They were very fast and were still built in three shifts. Wesley chose to enlarge the model of the destroyer and used some of the parts. The double main gun, fully loaded with a displacement of 8,000 tons and 210mm 50-caliber, was placed on the center axis. The others were basically unchanged and the dimensions were put in.

Four ships that had been built and immediately joined the Navy became training ships, and the Navy directly placed an order for 16 ships. The ships produced by Wesley Shipyard are currently all training ships, training the Navy in batches and not joining the fleet.

It took a lot of time to train the new battleships, but because Wesley used a fire control system and aimed uniformly, the Navy’s training was much simpler, and Wesley concentrated the workers to begin the construction of heavy cruisers. The development of the shipyard required a lot of skilled workers, and Wesley hit them to build uniformly, constantly honing his skills and rewarding the skilled, increasing wages while slowly increasing the number of workers.

The heavy cruiser was designed to have a tonnage of 18,000 kilotons and a 280mm/50 caliber main gun. This time, Wesley used a triple-mount main gun. The torpedo tubes and depth charges were canceled, and the dual-mount 180mm secondary guns were used. All the machine guns were increased.

At present, construction is about to be completed, and battleships have begun to lay their keel, design a fully-loaded displacement of 24,000 tons, 305mm 50-caliber main gun, and still use 180mm subguns. The reason why battleships of more than 300 million tons are not built is that it is unnecessary, and it is enough for now, and the U.S. Navy cannot afford these costs no matter how large the tonnage.

William Benson was pleased with Wesley’s design. At the same time, he was looking forward to the combat power of the new battleships. He could not wait to make a name for the U.S. Navy, but he could not sit like this yet because there were not enough of them.

However, with the addition of the old-fashioned battleship, it was also very strong. “Mr. President, I completely agree with Major Wesley’s development plan. Once the battleship is built, it can be assigned to the Pacific Fleet first and then to Asia.”

“I understand. I still need to think about this matter. Let’s call it a day.” The president needs time to think and gather information before he can make a judgment.

The meeting broke up. William Benson grabbed Wesley and said, “I’ll buy you dinner, young man. Let’s talk some more.”

General Pershing came over. “I also want to talk to him and have a meal.” William Benson did not refuse. Now that the Navy got what they wanted, it was not necessary to pull Wesley into the Navy, so the three of them went to eat together.

After ordering at the table, William Benson said directly, “Can the battleships be sped up? The cost is not a problem. Now our navy is completely impatient.”

“The heavy cruiser can be handed over immediately. You can use it for training first. It’s similar to a battleship. Many parts are universal. The main gun fire control system is the same, but be careful to keep it a secret!”

“Don’t worry about that. We are watching very closely now. At the very least, we won’t leak the news until we get the battleship. Since the Great White Fleet sailed around the world, we haven’t shown the power of the navy for a long time. After Japan defeated the Russian fleet, it became a threat to us again. This is what we don’t want to see. I hope Mr. President can adopt your plan this time.” William Benson said.

“It shouldn’t be a big problem. After all, it’s still about benefits. Now is the best time to fight for benefits in China. Britain and France can’t care about this. Just watch, Japan will soon jump out and cause trouble.”

On July 28, 1914, the war officially began. Wesley, who was far away in the United States, did not care about this, but he was now busy. One of his battalions was ready to be inspected.

This review was a joint review of the land and sea armies. The location was in their military camp. Because it was close to the sea, the review was very convenient. The review was just an excuse. It was very important to check the combat power. As the Marines’ Army, as a special experimental unit of the United States Army, the President also came here.

This assessment was important to Wesley. If he succeeded, he would be able to form a brigade of Marines. At the same time, he would be at least a colonel. He was confident of that. The United States of America at this time was very fond of special promotion of young officers, because the war was not far from them. And after World War I began, American businessmen were waiting for Wesley’s prediction to succeed. The war would last for a long time.