"It's a big ship." After hearing what the prince said, Makanov couldn't help but wipe a cold sweat, if the 13,000-ton displacement of the Asama-class armored cruiser is almost at the limit of the construction of the Russian Navy, the only problem is that the length of the hull and the internal design cannot meet the construction needs, then this 18,000-ton battleship is not in any way that Russia can build now.

The first Russian warship in history with a tonnage of 17,000 tons, the Quasi-Dreadnought John, which was equipped with 4 12-inch guns and 12 8-inch guns, was started in 1903 and commissioned in 1910! It took 7 years to build! From this point, it can also be seen that the level of the shipbuilding industry of the Russians has a coffee table. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the tonnage of Russia's largest warships was generally around 13,000 tons. So Russia is absolutely not capable of building such a huge battleship!

To be honest, the tonnage of warships built by the Germans in history is not very high, even if this plane has the relationship of the traverser, and the construction capacity has improved, but the construction of such a warship was started around 1899, and the traverser himself was a little empty! So the decisive Russians became guinea pigs.

However, I have to say that His Royal Highness the Prince is still very worthy of this guinea pig, whether it is equipment or design, it is more brilliant than the original, and it is definitely worthy of the cost of up to 1.8 million pounds! You know, the Russians historically spent 1.56 million pounds on the Rurik 2-class armored cruiser from the British. (Because I bought it with a British loan, the cost will be inflated.) Considering that the Russians in history have endured buying a 15,000-ton warship for 1.56 million pounds, then it's not too much to buy an 18,000-ton warship for 1.8 million pounds, right?

To be honest, His Royal Highness the Prince intends to offer a high price of at least 1.85 million, but considering that there are still some things that need to be dredged up with the Russians, so his subordinates will be merciful and press 1.8 million pounds for the time being, anyway, there are still many reasons to increase the price. This time, the Russians did not dare to break the treaty again.

"18,000 tons is a bit too big, this tonnage is almost 5,000 tons larger than the Asama, what is the reason for such a battleship to increase the tonnage to such an extent?" Makanov thought for a moment and asked.

"The battleship is more than 160 meters long! The width of the battleship is 22 meters! The nose and tail are equipped with two twin 12-inch L40 guns. THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE HULL ARE EQUIPPED WITH 4 TWIN 254MM SECONDARY GUNS. AS WELL AS WELL 20 105MM SECONDARY GUNS. The thickness of the armor of the main turret was 10 inches on the front, 6 inches on the sides and back. The thickness of the main gun mount is 8 inches. The thickness of the turret of the secondary main gun is 8 inches in front, and 6 inches in the sides and rear. The thickness of the gun mount is 7 inches. EACH 105MM GUN IS PROTECTED BY AN ARMORED GUN GALLERY OF AT LEAST 4 INCHES.

"The thickness of the armor belt is 8.5 inches. There is also a back plate of a certain thickness in the back. The height of the main armor belt reached 3.8 meters. (Moderately weakened below the waterline.) The thickness of the upper armor belt is 6 inches. Covers the entire Gun Gallery area. And the thickness of the head and tail armor belts reached 4 inches! Fully immune to high-explosive shells up to 8 inches! The propeller shaft part of the battleship was protected by 6-inch side-chord armor, and the wheelhouse was protected by a full armor box. THE HORIZONTAL ARMOR THICKNESS OF THE BATTLESHIP IS 75MM, AND THE SECONDARY PART ALSO HAS 50MM HORIZONTAL ARMOR!

Reserve 1,500 tons of coal, 750 tons of fuel oil! Moreover, it has a complete underwater defense system, and the underwater protection system of the warship has a total of 2 layers, the outermost is the empty compartment, and then the middle is the liquid tank, which is used to store fuel. And with the subdivision compartment design, there is no horizontal connection between all the watertight compartments. THE INNERMOST LAYER ALSO HAS A 45MM LAYER OF HIGHLY ELASTIC STEEL. It is guaranteed that 2 18-inch torpedoes will still survive after being hit! ”

"In order to better adapt to ocean-going operations, the battleship has a larger ammunition storage, with 150 rounds per main gun and 200 shells per secondary gun and secondary gun, and there is plenty of space for more ammunition. The living conditions of officers and soldiers will also be improved to a certain extent. It is very suitable for ocean-going operations, and in the face of the Asama-class armored cruisers of the Japanese, it is enough for your country to completely suppress them with three new armored cruisers. The prince gave a succinct introduction to this class of warships.

"But to fight in the Far East, we don't need such a long voyage." Makanov thought for a moment and said.

"Don't need it? Hehe. If that's what you think, then I have to lower my opinion of you, and you still think about the war in the same way you used to think about Japan, or you think about Japan in the old way. The prince's words were filled with a hint of contempt.

"I remember that you said that Japan bought these two warships to deal with Russia, but now it is against the United States, and you were very confident at that time. But it turns out that your prediction was not accurate, or was you misleading us at the time? Parikin said calmly.

"Nonsense, of course misleading you!" His Royal Highness said in his heart. Of course, this is not entirely the case, after the Japanese get the Philippines, the Americans will not be able to go to the Far East for the time being, so the biggest enemy is still Russia, and these warships bought by Japan are still to be used in the war against Russia, how can it be wrong?

"So since it's not for Russia, tell me, what is the purpose of your coming here?" The prince seized on a loophole in Parokin's words.

"Of course, you may still be unconvinced, but believe me, when the dust settles on the Spanish-American War, Japan will immediately target you, as early as the second half of this year, and at the latest in the first half of next year, Japan will already make a move in Korea! And the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been repaired, and the Navy is absolutely inferior. I do not think that Russia today can rely on its forces in the Far East to contain Japan's actions. If you don't believe me, we can wait, but when the time comes, given my mood, the price may go up. Of course, it's up to you to decide whether or not to buy it. After speaking, the prince waved his hand and signaled that the negotiations were over, and you can go!

"Your Excellency, what do you think of what this prince said?" On the way back, Parikin asked in a whisper.

"Whether he is right or wrong, but Japan is ultimately our enemy, and the Imperial Navy will eventually have to face a powerful fleet of 4 Asama-class armored cruisers, and it is enough to know this! Do we have any other options? 4 Asama-class armored cruisers! Even if we pull up all the cruisers we have now and are under construction, it will not be enough for the Japanese to fight. ”

"I'm a soldier, so I don't think about whether every word the other side says is right or wrong from a political or negotiation point of view, I just need to know that from a military point of view, we have no choice but to be enough, we have to buy this warship, as for how many to buy, it depends on the government and finance, but the Bavarian prince is right, we need at least three!" Makanov replied.

Thanks to the book friend First Guards Tank Brigade, Hai Youbian, and bighill1982 for their tips~~~, as well as the book friend Dragoon Feifei, recommender 77, a small soldier who loves to use Thomson, JJ belly, and [Ma Liang] for their monthly ticket support ~~~! Yesterday's subscription was less than the day before yesterday, but because of the reward from nickky's book friends, today is still three more!! Ask for a subscription and ask for support!! (To be continued.) )