Marcal's method really worked, and after promising Schlieffen that he would take 100 million from the more than 650 million marks of windfall as the army's funds for the army to purchase more new equipment, Schlieffen immediately parted ways with Kster and waited for the money to be collected with peace of mind.

Of course, Machar said that the funds would not be handed over to the army at one time, but would be divided into five years, with 20 million per year, so as not to waste them at one time by the army, and Schlieffen also said that he had no objection.

But this can make the Kist pit, Kist ran to find the Mashal theory, and the Mashal used the scale of the "Navy Law" to gag him, and the Caster alone can only say that the diplomat-born Mashal, after being speechless once or twice, he knew that it was useless to find Mashal.

So he dragged Tirpitz to Jochen, hoping that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would speak for the navy. Although Jochen left the position of Minister of Personnel of the Navy after he began to handle state affairs for his father, there is still a sense of incense. Although he knew that the crown prince would naturally agree to do this, as long as he could open the back door with emotion and let the crown prince help open his mouth, then it would be easy to do.

"Your Highness, Your Excellency the Prime Minister has gone too far this time, and our navy has also made great efforts in this matter, although the main credit belongs to their army, but without our navy, this gold would not have been transported out unharmed under the noses of the British. It would be unfair for His Excellency the Prime Minister to subsidize the Army with 100 million marks from it, while our Navy has nothing.

If the Navy can get the same treatment as the Army, we can build 4 more battleships! Based on the debates in the British House of Commons and the public information leaked from the newspaper reports, we have reason to believe that the British have increased the number of battleships they have built, and in this particular situation, we have reason to think that this is directed against us.

Therefore, we have made this decision purely out of practical considerations, and I hope that Your Highness, you can go and communicate with Your Excellency the Prime Minister. Kerst pleaded with Jochen.

"Hans, it's not that I'm reluctant to speak for the Navy, but what His Excellency Chancellor said is not wrong. The Naval Act regulates the plans and size of our navy, and we cannot change them at will just because the Imperial Government has the financial means to do so. If the Navy wants to build more battleships, then let Alfred draft the Second Amendment, and then let Congress pass it, there is no second way. Jochen refused.

"Your Highness, of course I understand what you said, as you said. No matter what the others do, we need to be prepared to deal with it ourselves, and the British are targeting us right now, and it is difficult for us to be prepared to deal with the strength we have, so we need to speed up the pace at which we can build up our own strength.

Alfred will try to figure out how to amend the Naval Act, and if he really can't get it, then he will have to deduct it from the appropriation at that time, but in any case we need to speed up the growth of our fleet now. Kerst said.

"So what do you think? Alfred, you agree with Hans. Even if the funds are deducted in the future, will the number of battleships be increased now? Instead of answering Koster, Jochen smiled and threw the question to Tirpitz.

Although he didn't understand what Jochen meant, Tirpitz replied honestly: "Yes, Your Highness, I agree with Lord Koster's opinion, we need to increase our strength now. ”

"Then Hans, Alfred, the battleships of our country have been following a different course of development than other countries. The rate of fire and the amount of projection of the main gun are the compromises we have made to compensate for the accuracy of the shot. Therefore, the Wittelsbach class, as our newest first class battleship, still uses a smaller caliber and is equipped with 6 main guns to meet our requirements.

So this design idea is compared with the design idea of equipping a first-class battleship with a second-class main gun. Which is more reasonable. Jochen suddenly asked a completely unrelated technical question.

Although I didn't understand why Jochen suddenly asked such a question, Köster still replied: "Although our 283 mm naval guns are smaller in caliber, they have an absolute advantage in terms of rate of fire compared to the current naval guns of various countries above the 300 mm level, and the new shells we use are far more powerful than the old ones."

I believe that with the advancement of technology, a larger caliber, but the same high rate of fire naval guns will definitely appear in the future, so our choice is the right one. Koster said categorically.

"So. Hans, have you ever wondered what kind of changes this design idea will bring if it continues to evolve?

We tried, 6 ship guns of the same model, ballistic unity in the case of firing at a single target. Only one set of sight number jù and one set of shooting parameters can guide 6 guns to shoot, and the correction of the shooting point only needs to modify a set of sight number jù, a set of shooting parameters. The hit rate of this shot is higher than that of each turret fighting separately, with separate corrections and parameters.

Of course, this meant that we had to wait until all 6 guns were ready before firing, which would affect the maximum rate of fire, which was more pronounced on our 260mm naval guns. But it will not be so noticeable on 283-mm naval guns, which have heavier shells and a slower rate of fire.

Of course, this may lead to a decrease in projection, so if the projection and hit rate of the 6 main guns are not satisfactory, then what if we add a twin turret and bring the side fire to 8 283mm naval guns? Jochen asked with a smile.

In addition to the unification of the ballistics of the unified main gun, it is convenient to share the number of sights and shooting parameters, and it is convenient to correct, but also has the advantage that the shell landing point is easier to judge, and the water column splashed by the shell landing point of the unified large-caliber main gun is completely different from the water column splashed by its own medium-caliber secondary artillery shells (the secondary gun is simply not used in long-distance engagements), so it is very easy to identify.

However, it is more difficult to distinguish between the water splashed by the first and second main guns of battleships with secondary guns, which the British have actually encountered in history. This situation will bring huge trouble to the observation of the impact point, and it will not be able to effectively distinguish the impact point, so the correction of the shooting parameters will become a joke.

Koster was first stunned by Jochen's words, but quickly reacted: "If this is the case, such a battleship will have an overwhelming advantage in the artillery battle, and the 8 first-level main guns have a projection far superior to those ships with mixed first- and second-class guns, and the power of the cannonballs also has a greater advantage." These are not the most important things, but more importantly, our advantages in sighting, calibration, and correction will further amplify the advantages of artillery. As a result, all battleships with mixed primary and secondary guns will become obsolete scrap metal. ”

Tirpitz also reflected: "And our country has the possibility of turning this design into reality, our 283-mm naval guns themselves are lighter than the 305-mm naval guns of other countries, with lower recoil and a faster rate of fire." In this way, the requirements for the hull of the ship will be reduced, so that the power system will not be overburdened because of the excessive tonnage, and the battleship will become a slow turtle.

Moreover, we have certain technical advantages in observation and sighting, fire control and other systems, and the navy also has a certain research accumulation of this shooting method. So there is no other country other than us that can achieve this design! ”

"But the emergence of such warships will inevitably bring about a major change in naval technology, and the rise in the cost of a single ship is also huge, so do you think that more funds should be urgently needed to build old battleships now?" Jochen asked with a smile.

"That's why Your Highness, you agree with Your Excellency the Prime Minister's decision, don't you? Do you want to wait for the Wittelsbach-class battleship to enter service, and use her to gain more practical experience before carrying out the construction project of this new type of battleship? Tirpitz asked.

"That's right, but not only that, but I also hope that the shipyard can build the Braunschweig class through Guò to accumulate more construction experience, and the construction experience of the tail piggyback layout." Jochen said: "My idea was to build on the Braunschweig class, with another turret in the hull of the ship, in the manner of the Wittelsbach class. ”

In order to control the displacement, the German first-class all-heavy gun battleships were not prepared to adopt a frontal piggyback layout, because the increase in the center of gravity and the decrease in stability caused by this would need to be compensated for by additional tonnage.

Not only is it a little conservative in terms of layout, but the choice of power for the new warship is also based on stability.

Historically, dreadnoughts have been judged by steam turbines, all-heavy guns of uniform type, speeds of more than 20 knots, and unified fire control, which is easily overlooked.

Unified fire control and don't talk about it, because this thing is not seen on early dreadnoughts. In terms of power system and speed alone, there are some extreme arguments that the German Nassau-class and Helgoland-class battleships could not be considered dreadnoughts.

But in fact, this criterion is incorrect, because the first class of American dreadnoughts, the South Carolina class, also used a three-expansion reciprocating steam engine, and the same is true of the Delaware-class Delaware, and the New York-class, which is a super-dreadnought, and even the Nevada-class Oklahoma, which has left a strong mark in the history of battleships with a key protection design, all use three-expansion reciprocating steam engines.

In terms of speed, the South Carolina class naturally did not use much, only a pitiful 18.5 knots, and the Spanish class with steam turbines was only 19.5 knots.

Therefore, now Germany is preparing to open a generation of unified all-heavy artillery using a three-expansion reciprocating steam engine is also a more prudent and wise move, as for the speed, there is no need to worry, the same use of the three-expansion reciprocating steam engine Blücher armored cruiser can run a high speed of 25.4 knots, and the arrangement of the center line of all main guns can also lengthen the hull and increase the length-to-width ratio, which is conducive to increasing the speed.

Therefore, this class of warships is not prepared to use steam turbines to drive, but is still prepared to use three-expansion reciprocating steam engines as power, for Germany, where steam turbines have not yet been used on large ships, and the technology of three-expansion reciprocating steam engines is quite excellent, such an option can reduce the risk. (To be continued......)