() "Your Excellency, you are so rude. You only state your own opinions without letting others talk about them. Isn't this bad?" Makanov, who had always been like an old monk in trance, said calmly, with hidden words hidden in his low voice.

The pressure forced Rozdvinsky to sit back on the stool and listen to the Navy veteran's views.

"I admit that the failure of the Far East Fleet in the last war was due to the inadequacy of the main fleet. Therefore, in the first phase of the Navy's expansion plan, I proposed a construction plan for eight new battleships. The purpose was to bring the two sides as close as possible.

There is a gap in strength. But this is still

It’s far from enough, the gap between capital ships has narrowed, but in terms of fast fleet, we almost have to rebuild the empire’s cruiser fleet. Although it is in a secondary aspect, because of the losses in previous battles, we have to pay even more.”

Makanov said.

"In up to 5 years, the Chinese Navy will have 2 fast battleships, 2 battlecruisers, 3 King-class armored cruisers and 2 Pisa-class armored cruisers, plus 2 Garibaldi-class ships. By the way, there are also three 5,000-ton ships.

-class light armored cruiser. Are you looking at us? In previous battles, the Azov, which is the basis of the Imperial Navy’s armored cruiser,

The sea-type armored cruiser and the armored cruiser leader suffered heavy losses. In fact, we have no battleships available now. Although we still have a few Azov sea-type cruisers left, it would be fatal to drive over them, even if we face the pisa-type armored cruiser.

The odds of winning are slim, let alone facing the more ferocious new fearless fast battleships." Makanov said with a red face.

..

"So, Mr. Vice Admiral, can you imagine how a battleship without cruisers to provide cover and vanguard can win in future naval battles? The opponent's fast fleet can easily occupy the battle position without any hindrance, forcing our army to pass

Turn early and then dive headfirst into the opponent

On the battle line, or during the decisive battle between the capital ships of both sides, the opponent's fast fleet covered the lightning strike force and easily defeated our small and medium-sized cruisers, and then launched a pincer attack on our fleet. No matter what the situation, it will be

Fatal," Makanov continued.

"And the situation now is very different from that then. If we can get the Dutch's base, then we will have the advantage of the forward base. The difficulties we faced at the beginning will be transferred to the Chinese Navy, and the difficulties they faced will

The difficulties are greater than ours. The local main fleet cannot

It is possible to easily cross long distances to fight us decisively. And we can lock down all Chinese ships passing through the South China Sea. Time is on our side, we need cruisers to implement the plan to break diplomatic relations, and we also need fast warships to attack the Chinese navy.

Fast fleet." A smile appeared on Makanov's face.

In Makanov's mind, he does not think that he is worse than Xu Jie, the leader of the Chinese Navy, and his senior naval officers. Although he has suffered repeated defeats, Makanov believes that the fundamental reason lies in the huge strength gap between the two sides.

And the miserable geographical location. Needless to say the former, in the first battle, Makanov fought against the entire Beiyang Fleet. Among them, there were 6 new cruisers alone, plus his own long-distance and heavy voyages

There is no shame in losing to the foreign. As for the second time, Makarnov admitted that the Beiyang commander was superior in the battle in Japan's offshore waters, but Makarnov also believed that it was due to the strength gap and proximity between the two sides.

The distance of the battle and the situation on the battlefield led to the final defeat of the Russian Navy. The three Ninghai-class ships were an eternal pain in Makanov's heart. He tried every means but could only let one of them temporarily leave the battlefield.

Now, with the Russian Navy occupying a strategic location and able to easily break diplomatic ties, Makanov believes that as long as the Russian Navy builds according to his plan, he will have at least a 70% chance of winning the naval battle in the next war.

The reason for victory is very simple. In his opinion, Batavia is nearly 3,000km away from the opponent's base, and his fleet is like a sharp knife against the opponent's traffic artery. The opponent has no choice but to fight hard.

spell.

"So, Lieutenant General Rozdvinsky, we need to rebuild a powerful fast fleet. Maybe it can't guarantee to defeat Beiyang's fast dreadnoughts and cruisers, but at least it must be able to delay the opponent, and then allow our main fleet to

to annihilate Beiyang's fast battleships. And under the right conditions, a

Once we have a decisive battle with the opponent, our vanguard fleet can give us an advantage in situation awareness, and can forcefully occupy positions or cooperate with the main fleet to attack. Although fast battleships are not suitable for head-on conflicts with battleships, it does not mean that they are unimportant.

"Makanov concluded after taking a deep breath.

"I can understand your thoughts, and I also acknowledge the important position of the armored cruiser fleet in a navy, but I must emphasize that our money and resources are limited, and judging from the information currently available, the new

Battlecruiser's

The tonnage will be close to 20,000 tons. In the Far East, the Dutch military port can only guarantee the parking of warships of about 18,000 tons at this stage, and the displacement of 20,000 tons is already somewhat excessive." Rozdvinsky said.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his sore glasses and said.

"Damn it, it's a funding problem again." Makarnov cursed in a low voice. Faced with this obstacle called money, even Makarnov couldn't do anything. Makarnov is a soldier, he only needs to follow the rules of war

If you need to, you can just put forward your own naval construction concept, and then command this fleet to defeat the enemy. But Rozdvinsky cannot do that. He represents the Navy Ministry, and he must take into account the navy's budget and the procurement of warships.

"Money is only one aspect of the problem. You must know that the manufacturing of new warships depends almost entirely on foreign countries, especially France and the United States, and they cannot produce all warships for us. As early as the beginning of the first phase of the naval armament plan,

The fundamental reason why I insist on building four quasi-dreadnoughts is that we can make quasi-dreadnoughts ourselves, but it is a bit difficult to produce dreadnoughts. Turbines, new boilers and

Fire control and optical equipment and even large bearings need to be imported. If the battleships of the Chinese Navy use first-class British turbines and boilers, first-class German bearings and Guangxu equipment, then the battleships we build in France and the United States are

Second-rate equipment. And what we produce ourselves is third-rate products. It depends on whether those guys at the naval shipyard can be less greedy!" Rozdvinsky said with a wry smile.

"The Chinese navy plans to build its own dreadnought battleships. Are we not as good as that backward country in the Far East?" Essen asked dissatisfied. Although he was very aware of the various shortcomings within the Russian army, Essen still had doubts at this time.

A hint of fantasy.

"What China calls construction is just making the hull and then assembling it. They focus on accumulating experience. If it's just assembly, we can do it, but the problem is that neither the British nor the Germans will sell us parts.

.In other words, we don’t even have a chance to assemble it.” Rhodes

Devinsky said. And this is also a historical fact. During the Russo-Japanese War, it was not until shortly before the war that the British handed over a batch of new fire control systems to Russia. This was also left behind to prevent Japan from becoming too big.

Foreshadowing, the Russians were really ineffective, and in the end they were massacred in Tsushima.

"The most we can give you is an armored cruiser of no more than 50,000 tons. This is already the limit. In order to implement the first phase of the naval expansion plan, the empire has already incurred a foreign debt of up to 7 million pounds. And I also want to tell you by the way.

position, the top brass of the navy are also inclined to build

Build a new type of battleship instead of a cruiser. The tonnage of 50,000 tons is the result of my many efforts." Rozdvinsky waved his hand, indicating that this was a decision made by the Navy and would not be based on the opinions of others.

And if a change occurs, all he needs to do is tell Makanov so that he can take care of himself!

"I still have a few questions to ask. If it's convenient for you, I will delay your time for up to 20 minutes." Makanov also signaled that it was impossible, but decided to ask a few more questions. As for this naval veteran,

At the request, Rozdvinsky, who was about to leave, nodded in agreement.

"We are almost certain that the port we rented from the Dutch will reach the destination. In the future war that will affect the fate of the Far East, what do the Dutch think? Is it possible for us to join forces?" Makanov asked seriously.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the question you raised is a bit difficult, or a bit out of bounds. It is no longer something I can answer. This is the top secret of the country. Only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and His Highness the Tsar know the full details." Rhodes Devin

Ski said with some embarrassment.

"There are only three of us in this room, and this building is also full of Navy colleagues. Now that our meeting is actually over, if possible, we can treat this as a chat or an exchange in an aristocratic salon. I just need

It’s just a relatively reliable message. But this message is very important for the future naval strategy and development direction. Thank you." Makanov begged.

"The Dutch have agreed to our request in principle, and they are also re-armament now. It is said that they have obtained some information from France and the United States. They should be high-speed warships, which can make up for our shortcomings to some extent."

The situation of Davia Port has also been improved. It can barely accommodate 20,000-ton ships, but there are not many berths. As for maintenance,

In terms of repair capacity, the maximum dry dock in the Dutch East Indies is 16,000 tons, and even if it is modified, it can only reach 18,000 tons. Therefore, 18,000 tons is a threshold, and it is best not to cross it. As for the issue of ammunition, don’t

I thought about it. We will send most of them away ourselves." After Rozdvinsky finally finished speaking, he picked up the military cap beside him and left the venue, ignoring the remaining two people.
Chapter completed!