The morning in London is foggy, and although the gloomy weather is depressing, the residents of London have long been accustomed to it, and the cosmopolitan city has not changed its rhythm because of the weather, and the streets of London are already full of people, and busy Londoners have already started their day's work or are on their way to work.

The crisp sound of bells pierced through the faint morning mist, and then the horses' hooves rose and fell, striking on the bluestone pavement, making a staggered sound. Suddenly, there were two horns from the side of the carriage, and then a car passed by lightly.

Viscount Miliband in the carriage frowned, feeling a little unhappy in his heart, how many years have it been, these strange things with black smoke have been seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, and the people driving these things are rude in the eyes of Viscount Miliband, the carriage decorated with family decorations was lightly overtaken by these things, and then let the noble lords eat the black smoke emitted by these things.

Of course, what made Viscount Miliband even more unhappy was that it was a German-made BMW. As a rubber merchant, Viscount Miliband had no affection for the Germans, and in his opinion, the export trade of the rubber grown by these damned Germans in Cameroon and the Philippines put a lot of pressure on His Excellency Viscount Miliband's business.

Cutting off one's fortune is like killing one's parents, so His Excellency Viscount Miliband, like his friends in the House of Lords, is one of those who either accuses the British Foreign Office of using pencils made in Bavaria, or accuses the importation of cheap brushes made by German convicts of taking away the jobs of the toiling masses of England.

Therefore, of course, Viscount Miliband was very unhappy to see the Germans' car, Britain now has its own car production plant, but high-quality and low-price German cars still occupy the majority of the British car market, even if the Anglo-German relationship has deteriorated now, the BMW in the hands of the annoying German emperor can still snatch the share in the hands of the British car manufacturers who are struggling to support through Guò's trendy high-end models and low-end models with declining prices.

In the eyes of Viscount Miliband, this is simply an enemy! Great Britain's wealth was being handed over to the other side, giving these belligerent Germans the opportunity to arm their armies. Build warships!

It is said that at the international peace conference in The Hague, the Netherlands, these damned Germans are constantly making trouble for Great Britain, and these guys who don't know anything about the sea also want to compete with the great Royal Navy for sea power? It's just overwhelming!

The carriage came to a slow halt in front of Viscount Miliband's office, and the coachman pulled the door open for His Excellency, put on his top hat, straightened his collar a little, and His Excellency stepped out of the carriage gracefully.

"Sell newspapers! Sell newspapers! The Times! What's new! The latest research report of the Royal Navy! "The newsboys walking the streets straddle a large canvas bag. There was a thick stack of newspapers in it, and it was running happily in the streets.

The clash of the newsboy aroused the interest of His Excellency the Viscount: "Little one, come here. ”

"Sir, would you like a copy of The Times? There's the latest news on it! The newsboy who was jumping up and running over excitedly sold the newspaper to the gentleman in front of him.

"Have one, little one." Viscount Miliband looked at the little guy in front of him and said with a smile.

"Yes, sir." The newsboy took a newspaper out of his bag and carefully handed it to the viscount: "Sir, 3 pennies." ”

"No need to look for it." Viscount Miliband fumbled in his pocket for a while and found only a five-pence coin, which he handed to the newsboy.

"Thank you. Kind sir. The newsboy bowed to Viscount Miliband and ran away happily.

Perhaps it was the latest research report of the Royal Navy that piqued his interest, and instead of tucking the newspaper under his armpit as usual, ready to sit in his office and read slowly while drinking Ceylon black tea, Viscount Miliband stood on the side of the street and opened the newspaper, and the front page of the newspaper wrote the eye-catching headline in bold font "The Great Crisis of the Royal Navy!!" Navy No. 47 document jiàn reveals heavy dà information! 》

Newspaper headlines were often exaggerated, and Viscount Miliband was no stranger to this, but he was intrigued by the Navy No. 47.

"This is the text of the Admiralty inside? Was it made public or accidentally leaked? Viscount Miliband muttered to himself. Then read on.

However, as the text was read line by line, Viscount Miliband's face became more and more ugly. The contents of the newspaper were difficult for him, a nobleman of the British Empire, to accept.

"What are you kidding? By 1912, the German Navy would have 1 more dreadnoughts than the Royal Navy, 2 more super armored cruisers, and 3 fewer new capital ships?! Viscount Miliband said angrily, crumpling the edges of the newspaper with both hands.

It turned out that in the newspaper, this research report called Admiralty No. 47 Jiàn said that the German Navy would start construction of 4 dreadnoughts and 1 super armored cruiser per year. By 1912, the number of dreadnoughts in service and under construction would reach 22, and 5 super-armored cruisers.

According to the current pace of shipbuilding, the Royal Navy will have only 21 dreadnoughts by 1912, while the super armored cruisers will only have 3 Invincible class ships in service and under construction due to opposition from the Admiralty and Parliament. As a result, the Royal Navy will fall behind in the number of new capital ships.

It is precisely for this reason that those Germans are making a fuss at the International Peace Conference, and are resolutely unwilling to accept the British Empire's proposal to stop the arms race that can avoid conflict and maintain peace, because those Germans want to surpass the Royal Navy in the number of capital ships and take away the sea power belonging to the British Empire! This is already the greatest threat to the British Empire since the Napoleonic Wars!

Since the victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, Britain has been the only absolute hegemon in this sea, and more than 300 years of maritime supremacy have made the British deeply believe that the sea was originally the private property of the British Empire!

In the eyes of the British, the Germans were nothing more than the stupidity of a group of arrogant war maniacs, and the great Royal Navy would not be afraid of any challenge and would easily crush these stupid challengers. But the contents of the newspaper gave a resounding slap in the face to an Englishman like Viscount Miliband, and the sea power was about to be snatched away!

Now the English were furious when they learned that this private property was about to be taken away by a group of mud legs who were digging in the fields, which they despised at all, and that the market was seized, the trade volume was taken away, and the wealth that should have been turned into the pound became the worthless mark!

At this time, the Britons like Viscount Miliband had all forgotten that the Royal Navy and the most powerful former dreadnought fleet in history, the armored cruiser, which had made all countries almost desperate, had countless overseas bases, and they only felt that what belonged to them was about to disappear, panic, unease, anger and madness.

"Master, if you don't have anything to do, I'll leave first, and I'll pick you up when the time comes." The coachman, who was supposed to wait for His Excellency to enter the door of his office, saw that his lord had been standing on the side of the street and had not left, and he could not drive the carriage away, so he could only ask.

"Nope! Wait a minute! His Excellency Viscount Miliband, who had been awakened from his own thoughts, rarely shouted so loudly at his coachman, and the cries of some panic and anger made the people around him stare at the gentleman curiously, not knowing what could make him so out of shape.

"Sir?" Some frightened drivers asked cautiously.

"Nope! Take me to the House of Lords, I'm going to see Lord Pound! Without waiting for the driver to react, His Excellency Miliband pulled the car door himself, and then quickly got in, closed the door and hurriedly shouted: "Quick! ”

The coachman reacted, it turned out that the master wanted to see his friend in the House of Lords, but what made the master so anxious? With a hint of doubt, the coachman shook the reins, and the horse ran briskly on the bluestone road again, and the crisp sound of bells and the sound of the horse's hooves falling to the ground sounded again, only this time it sounded a little more urgent.

Whitehall, Admiralty Building.

"That's the effect you want?" Marchbanks stood in his office, opened the curtains slightly, looked out, and then turned to his First Sea Lord.

"That's right, it's only the first day, so many people have protested in front of the Navy department, and when the news continues to ferment, I believe the scene will be even more lively." Fisher said with some triumph.

"It must be the same scene at 10 Downing Street." Marchbank shook his head helplessly, he also had a headache for Fisher's move to have such a big reaction and subsequent development.

"Actually, the Admiralty and Downing Street are not the most crowded places, and I think a lot of people will follow the guidance in the newspapers and run to the House of Lords and the House of Commons to protest, because in the end the problem has to be solved by them." Fisher smiled and shook his head, repudiating the Admiralty's words.

"As long as the press continues to report and the public sentiment grows, the pressure on Congress will grow, and the obnoxious Liberals will have to heed the public's demands and throw their unrealistic ideas of a balanced budget in the dustbin, and His Excellency Bannerman will not be hindered from submitting our plan to Congress."

"John, you're a fraud!" Marchbanks said.

"Your Excellency, no one cares, the public will only know the truth we give them." "And the Royal Navy is still the most powerful force in the world, and that's what the public wants to hear about what we tell them," Fisher said with a smile. (To be continued......) R1292