"Have the fleet returned to port?"

Wufengjievic was a little strange. Before reporting the news, he thought his boss would be more excited because it seemed to be completely excited from the results.

The Russian Navy has been a joke since the Russo-Japanese War. When the Japanese dwarfs unscrupulously pressed the third-strongest navy power on the ground and beat it up, the whole world was watching Russian jokes.

After that shameful failure, Russia had no expectations for the navy, and it was not enough to change anything in just ten years. The most optimistic idea of ​​the Russians is probably that it would be thankful that the navy could defend the territory of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.

Today, the Russian Navy defeated the combined fleet of the world's first and second largest naval powers, and did not dare to defeat their plan to attack Szechin from the sea, and sank several main battleships. This is an unprecedented victory no matter how you look at it. How can you keep calm when facing such an exciting victory?

But Li Xiaofeng was very calm. This victory was nothing to him. Even if Basilev and Sukhoi got a crushing defeat this time, he would still be very calm.

Why? Because the battle at sea has nothing to do with the overall situation, it doesn’t matter even if Basilev sent half of his fleet into the sea. Anyway, a certain immortal felt that with the strength of the Soviet Union after the war, he could not support more than a dozen main battleships.

He had calculated the calculation before, but he was shocked after simply calculating it. Before the outbreak of the battle, the total tonnage of the main battleship of the Russian Navy after the extermination of the former Fearlessness was as high as 530,000 tons! This number is basically the share of the main battleships of the United Kingdom and the United States in the Washington Navy Arrangement Agreement. And it must be clear that the far Nicholas I, who was still outfitted in the Nikolayev Shipyard, was the one that was about to be renamed Poltava, has not been calculated yet. In addition, this ship will definitely exceed 550,000 tons!

Of course, the Russians swallowed the cheapest gains from the high seas fleet. The overall quality is still far from the 530,000 tons maintained by Britain and the United States. But no matter what, this number is quite amazing!

The problem immediately arose. These 550,000-ton main ships do not match Russia's national strength. It is not that there is less, but that there is too much! With Russia's national strength, it cannot afford such a huge fleet at all. Think about it, Lenin, the chairman of the People's Committee, has to hang himself for economic issues. Where can I invest extra money in such a huge fleet?

Russia's economy cannot afford it at all, so the reason is obvious. Russia cannot maintain such a powerful main fleet, and it is of no point in maintaining such a fleet. To fight for sea control? It cannot compete for Britain and the United States. Can it be just left in the port as an existence fleet?

In order to make the best use of things, Li Xiaofeng allowed Basilev to attack. He originally thought that Basilev's impulsive personality should be able to touch the main fleet of Britain and the United States, and it should consume half of the fleet. In that case, after eliminating the old Tsarist Russia fleet, the remaining ships would just be suitable.

Moreover, doing this can give Britain and the United States a little color, so that they can know that the Russian navy is not a corrupt, and they will choose to fight desperately without hesitation when necessary. Anyway, Britain and the United States must think carefully. They dare not use the navy to tease the Soviet Union like the 1920s in history. As long as this goal is achieved, Brazillev's attack will become meaningful.

Based on this idea, Li Xiaofeng naturally would not be shocked. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if he loses, and it’s good to win. What’s the point of making a fuss about?

However, the victory of this naval battle still surprised a certain immortal. Sukhoi's naval aviation surprised him and was able to sink and severely damage several British and American main battleships. It can be said that most of the results of this naval battle were from the Air Force. Basilev's fleet only sunk one Tiger and the Caradoc light cruiser, but for this, he paid the price of four Gangut-class destruction and four German combat patrols being severely damaged.

In short, the Air Force performed better. Apart from the results they achieved, the Navy can only say that it has achieved a tragic defeat.

However, it would be better for Li Xiaofeng to lose. At least Basilev helped him solve four Ganguts and solve nearly 100,000 tons of shares, which is worthy of praise.

But even so, the remaining 450,000 tons is also a big problem. Taking advantage of the opportunity now, Li Xiaofeng decided to think about the way to deal with the remaining fleet.

The Black Sea Fleet now has two Queen Mary-class ships and an unfinished Nicholas I (later called Poltava). After retiring those useless former fearless, the Black Sea Fleet may be a bit thin and may need to be supplemented, so there is no big problem there.

As for the Ocean Fleet, well, it was originally the weakest there, and it has been lame since the Russo-Japanese War. As the Allies interfered with the Russian Revolution, the Pacific Fleet was divided up by the Allies. It can be said that it was in a vacuum state, and there was no need to consider the issue of cutting, and it may also need to supplement its strength.

However, considering that the European direction is the focus in the next twenty years, and the industrial and naval supporting facilities in the Far East have never been able to keep up, it is meaningless to transfer the main battleships in the past. Anyway, it is not an opponent of the Japanese Navy after the transfer. The Pacific Fleet will temporarily play with air and submersible fast, and be a near-shore defensive force!

To be honest, Li Xiaofeng was speechless about Russia's geographical environment. The Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Pacific Ocean were all involved. It seemed to bloom from all sides, but in fact it completely dispersed the power of the navy. The connection between these seas is completely divided. Unless you spend money and invest wildly, you will not be able to gain any advantage in any sea area. Instead, there are hidden dangers that they will be defeated by others. At least the Russo-Japanese War proves this.

Therefore, for the future planning of the navy, Li Xiaofeng could only focus on building a fist force, rather than intervening everywhere like the Tsarist era.

The focus is definitely not on the Pacific direction, and that direction cannot ensure the interests of the Soviet Union in the future. Objectively speaking, although the Japanese are hateful, they are not the biggest enemy of the Soviet Union for the time being. The Soviet Union's enemy is in Europe, and the fleets that are focused on building must be only on the European direction.

However, in Europe, the Russian navy also has three directions (to put it bluntly, three sea estuaries). The first is the Baltic Sea. Peter the Great sacrificed his life for this sea estuary. The second is the direction of the Black Sea, where the Russians have caused many bloody seas. The third is the direction of the Arctic Ocean. This direction has always been ignored in the Tsar era due to the relationship between latitude and climate.

So where is Li Xiaofeng going to start? Let’s analyze it one by one. First, let’s talk about the direction of the Black Sea. To be honest, this is a bathtub. The Bosphorus Strait blocks the path of polar bears to the Mediterranean. Previously, the polar bear also tried to defeat the sick man in East Asia and then rushed to the warm Mediterranean. However, under the restraint of Britain, France, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the full resistance of Türkiye, it was not very successful.

After World War I, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Ottoman Turkey were both crippled, neither the British nor France and Italy, which always regarded the Mediterranean as their territory, would have allowed the Russians to step on the Mediterranean. Moreover, after Kemal came to power, Turkey was not a soft persimmon, and it was not something that could be controlled at will.

And even if it can open up the Bosphorus Strait? The Mediterranean is just a slightly larger bathtub. Li Xiaofeng is not interested in tossing in the bathtub, nor is he interested in pulling the hatred of the four countries of Britain, France, Italy and the Turkish country on his body at the same time. That is a death. Someone also wants to get some technology from Italy like in history. The wisest choice is not to trek into the muddy waters of the Mediterranean, let the three countries of Britain, France and Italy go toss and struggle in the Mediterranean bathtub!

Excluding the Black Sea. The Baltic Sea can basically be eliminated, because it is also a bathtub. Although the outlet of this bathtub is a little wider, the ones guarding the outlet are giants like the Royal Navy, with a very small chance of winning. Moreover, there are Germans at the outlet of the Baltic Sea. Although the Germans are crippled, their potential cannot be underestimated. If they are too strong in the direction of the Baltic Sea, they may have a very stalemate with them.

No matter what, Russia and Germany had broad space for cooperation after World War I, and in World War II, it was necessary for the Germans to bring Britain and France off the enemy. There was no need to put too much pressure on the Germans in the direction of the Baltic Sea. Moreover, not only Germany, but also Sweden here, this country should not be underestimated. Although it is a neutral country, it is also the leader of the Nordic group. Too strong in the Baltic Sea will cause uneasiness among the Swedes, and it would be bad to push them into the arms of Britain and France. How to say that Swedes have made achievements in heavy industry, especially in the military industry, and can cooperate.

In short, whether it is the Baltic Sea or the Black Sea, they are all closed seas. If you want to stand out, you must first challenge the British. Secondly, there are a number of second-rate powers who are eyeing each other. The risk of breaking through toughly is too high, and it is easy to become a lonely person and it is not worth it at all.

After thinking for a long time, Li Xiaofeng turned his eyes northward and stared at Murmansk and the Arctic Ocean. Compared with the closed state of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, the Arctic Ocean is much better. It can be said to be a smooth road. The only problem when you want to enter the Atlantic Ocean from here is the climate. In addition to the ice-free state, it is the only one that stands in front of the polar bear.

It seems that there are still strong enemies here, but there is only one strong enemy. Norway and Denmark are not military powers at all. At least compared with France, Italy, Turkey, Germany, and Sweden, it is simply not a problem.

For the Russians, the only enemy they have to face is Britain. In this direction, there are no other powerful countries to help the British block bullets. Its trick of joining and connecting vertically is not easy to use. Moreover, with the arrival of the 1930s, with the rise of Germany and Japan, the Royal Navy's attention will be greatly dispersed, and there is no way to do its best to encircle Russia in the direction of the Arctic Ocean. As for the Americans, they are not very interested in Europe for the time being, and the navy's focus is on the Japanese.

It can be said that when choosing the Arctic Ocean as a breakthrough, the resistance is minimal. Of course, there are many troubles, first of all, the harsh climate and geographical conditions. The ice in winter is too restrictive for an ocean fleet, and the construction of the Arctic Ocean has never been the focus of the Tsar's construction. The infrastructure is quite weak, everything has to start over, and the investment is not ordinary.

Of course, problems that can be solved with money are not problems, and it is also beneficial to future World War II as soon as possible, at least you don’t have to think about moving after being blitzed by the Germans.

To be honest, sometimes Li Xiaofeng was speechless about the choices of Peter the Great and Catherine II. One was satisfied with snatching St. Petersburg and gaining the Baltic estuary, while the other was buried in the pit of the Black Sea. Can you go north in one go and sweep the Scandinavia Peninsula and completely incorporate Norway and Finland into the territory. Isn’t it much more comfortable to come?

After occupying Norway, it will have an outlet directly facing the Atlantic Ocean, without going south to collide with Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Turkey and Britain and France. With the Scandinavia, the entire western wing of Russia will be fully expanded, and no one can block Russia in the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. It will not allow NATO to use Norwegian air bases to directly threaten the northern fleet during the Cold War.

Of course, these are also hindsights. After all, the technological conditions were limited at that time. After all, the bitter and cold north was not as attractive as the warm and humid south.

However, Li Xiaofeng decided to correct this mistake. Anyway, it was nearly twenty years before the victory of World War I and the outbreak of World War II. Russia's power could not develop in Western Europe or Southern Europe. It could prepare for the future and focus on strengthening the direction of the Arctic Ocean. Once the bearded attacks Norway, the Soviet Union could seize the opportunity to get a share of the pie.

Even if it is done properly, it is not impossible to include the entire Scandinavian into the Soviet sphere of influence after the victory of World War II. In that case, the Northern Fleet will face the British Isles directly and completely get rid of the passive situation of being blocked. At that time, it will be the British and Americans' turn to have a headache.

Of course, these are still too far away. For the time being, Li Xiaofeng can only make arrangements in advance and lay a solid foundation. He had already advised his tutor before. After the civil war ended, two important canals should be built after repelling the interference of the Allies!

The first canal is the canal between the Volga and Don Rivers. After this canal is built, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea will be opened. The Black Sea Fleet can fully support the closed Caspian Sea and ensure Russia's fishery and oil interests around the Caspian Sea.

The second canal is even more important, that is, the North Sea, which connects the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea - the Baltic Canal. This canal has been built historically, but the locks and scale are too small to be used to transport northern forestry resources to Petrograd.

In Li Xiaofeng's plan, the scale of this canal should be larger, and it must meet the needs of the Baltic Fleet to transfer to the Arctic Ocean. In this way, the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Ocean will be integrated, and the two major fleets can be fully integrated. The strategic significance of this is immeasurable!

Of course, the price to pay for building this canal is quite high. Historically, the Soviet Union built this canal with hundreds of thousands of counter-revolutionaries in the civil war (after the construction was completed, the counter-revolutionaries were almost resolved).

Of course, Li Xiaofeng would not waste manpower so much, and he could not build the canal of the size he wanted by relying solely on manpower. Fortunately, he had obtained a lot of gold before, otherwise this canal would not have been built.

Moreover, this is just infrastructure construction. Going back to the initial topic, in terms of fleets, especially battleships, what size of a navy Russia needs in the next twenty years is the key issue.

The existing fleet will definitely be cut off. Before this naval battle broke out, in addition to the three dreadnoughts of the Black Sea Fleet, Li Xiaofeng temporarily wanted to save only two Bavarian and four King-class ships, and the size of about ten should be enough.

However, this naval battle changed some of Li Xiaofeng's ideas. Looking at this naval battle, the Air Force was the most outstanding. In addition to the air force, the four German battle patrols were actually the four German battle patrols. Compared with the main fleet without speed behind, the four battle patrols were simply firefighters. Without their excellent performance, Basilev's fleet may have performed worse.

Judging from the performance of these four German combat patrols, the main ships with speed advantage are still useful, and judging from the performance of the main ships in World War II, it is only meaningful that high-speed warships can keep up with the aircraft carrier formation.

Obviously, although the old German battleships, including the Bavarian class, look good, are too slow to keep up with the aircraft carrier formation activities. Looking at the battleships of the Japanese Navy, the one who performed most actively was not the two Yamato built with the whole country's efforts, nor were Nagato and Muro of the seven giants in the Treaty era, but four slightly old-fashioned King Kong class. What is the reason? They are the only ones who have the speed.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng decided to leave four German war patrols and modernize them. He replaced the coal-fired boilers with oil-fired boilers. The problem was not big. And it must be seen that the German war patrol's base plate is still very good. Most of them have 300mm waterline armor, which is much stronger than the 203mm floor plate of the King Kong-level. At least when undergoing modernization, there is no need to use waterline armor, and strengthen the turret and horizontal armor.

Li Xiaofeng roughly consulted that the four German-made warships, Sederitz and Moltke, were troublesome, and there might be big moves when renovating - remove the two turrets in the middle of the hull and give way to the boiler compartment. If you don't want to weaken too much of the main gun fire, you have to remove the bridge and move it backwards, and then add a new main turret at the original bridge position. In this way, the two ships can increase the number of boilers, and the increased power can completely offset the weight of the increased horizontal armor and lightning protection protrusions.

As for Hindenburg and De Fringer, there is no need to be such a problem. The improvement time can be put in the 1930s. At that time, the old boilers on it will be replaced with the power of new boilers and steam turbines, which will be enough to offset the weight of enhanced armor and large amounts of anti-aircraft guns.

Such four fast battleships are undoubtedly more valuable than old slow battleships. However, if four battleships are retained, four battleships will be eliminated. So, should we eliminate four king-class or two Queen Maria and the unbuilt Poltava? (To be continued...)

ps: Bow to thank Comrade S and Comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!