Jochen was a little surprised by the efficiency of the Admiralty, and the design of the royal yacht was completed only a few days after returning home? When did the designers of the German Navy become so efficient? Flipping through the text sent up, Joheng was embarrassed, are you sure this is a royal yacht? Jochen looked at it as an enlarged version of the 5,300-ton Irene-class heavy cruiser that he saw in his office in Monds last year. No wonder the speed is so fast, the feeling is to dismantle the main gun and redesign the superstructure.

When Frederick III was in England, he proposed to build a 3,000-ton royal yacht because the largest royal yacht in Britain at this time, the Victoria and Albert (second generation), was a 2,470-ton paddle wheeler, well, everyone was a paddle wheeler, but the Hohenzollern was a whole circle smaller than others. Therefore, in line with the idea of living within his means, Frederick III decided that the new yacht did not need to be too big, and that it was enough to build a royal yacht that could reflect the status of the German royal family in terms of tonnage. However, Jochen told his father that things like royal yachts could not be as fast as the replacement of warships, and that the 3,000-ton boat should be phased out after 20 years. So it's better to spend a little more money, build better, and take longer.

Jochen is also well-founded, as in 1899 the British started construction of their new 4,700-ton yacht, the Victoria and Albert (third generation). The more extravagant Kaiser Wilhelm II, who began construction of the 4,200-ton Hohenzollern (second generation) in 1891, began construction of the third generation in 1914, although the construction of the third generation was terminated due to the war. Therefore, if Germany built a 3,000-ton ship, it would have almost been replaced around 1910, and the Germans, who were busy playing a shipbuilding race with the British, would have time to build any yachts. Therefore, it is better to build a new yacht that is bigger and faster, and it will last for 40-50 years without changing. You know, the British's Victoria and Albert (three generations) was used until 1954, when it was replaced by the larger Britannia. Of course, this is definitely not because the British are frugal, the Alexandra, which they built in 1907 to replace another 1,800-ton paddle steamer Osborne, was decommissioned early in 1922. This is definitely because after the First World War, the country is broken and has no money, Jochen speculated maliciously.

Frederick III also felt that it was feasible to build Jochen's construction after weighing it, and if a new one was to be built in 20 years, it would be a pity that the ship built now would be abandoned, and if it was not replaced, it would be too backward. In the end, Frederick III spread his hands, anyway, his son paid for it, and if you are willing to build it, I will not stop you. Seeing that his father was so neatly pushing the matter to himself, Jochen said that he should let go of his hands and feet

Jochen is planning to build a new ship of about 5,000 tons, and the royal yacht has more space, so Jochen is also ready to use her to try a stronger power system. The Crown Prince is willing to pay for the construction of a big yacht, and the Congress is very happy, knowing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has made a lot of money from Cameroon digging gold and diamonds, and he can't get it by himself by depositing it in the royal treasury. Now take it out and buy a ship, it's a good thing, this gold has finally come out for circulation, isn't it; The shipyard is very happy, the royal yacht of about 5,000 tons, not to mention the size of the ship, the decoration inside must be the top, this is a big business. The Navy is also very happy, the royal yacht also belongs to the Navy series, more than 5,000 tons is big enough, it is really good to use her to try new designs and new technologies.

Jochen also wanted the new yacht to contribute to the navy in terms of power system, but Jochen clearly underestimated the Admiralty's lower bounds. What does it mean to come directly with the design drawings of the cruiser? What does it mean that there are 8 50-mm 40x radial rapid-fire guns on a royal yacht? The ship also has gun emplacements that can be increased to 4 105-mm 35-fold naval guns and 12 50-mm 40-diameter rapid-fire guns, if necessary, what does it mean? What does it mean to have a dome design inside the ship? What does it mean that the superstructure has only one low floor? Not only do you expect this ship to do power tests for you, but if necessary, you can also put on naval guns and make a cameo appearance as an auxiliary cruiser, do you? In this case, how can 4 105-mm naval guns be enough? With this tonnage, you can't install more than 10 doors, it's simply sorry for the displacement.

Well, it would be unreasonable to expect these stiff-minded Germans to jump out of the rules, and the Royal Yacht is classified as "Aviso-fur-grosere (Note 1)-Kommandoverbande" in the German Navy, and it is a simple, unarmoured ship that is generally fast and used for command and reconnaissance purposes. This classification existed during the Prussian naval period, and royal yachts were also classified under this classification. So it is only logical that these people will directly take the design of the protective cruiser. Thinking about the historical Hohenzollern (second generation) with bow ramming angles, Jochen is calm, at least now these people are using a vertical bow and a three-axis propulsion design.

didn't get angry, directly put the design sketch on the table, and threw out a faint sentence: "For this kind of thing, it's better to order a Victoria Luiser, which is a real yacht." ”

Seeing that the crown prince didn't buy it, Muntz hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, royal yachts belong to naval vessels, so the design according to cruiser standards is also in line with the regulations of the navy, and even royal yachts have to undertake military tasks if necessary." ”

"And then who do you want the royal yacht to fight with 4 105mm guns? It is estimated that even the 400-ton ocean-going torpedo boat we are building now may not be able to fight, right? As a royal yacht, speed is the most important thing, running away in the face of any threat is the first thing, and engaging the enemy with naval guns seems heroic, but it is meaningless. And those who were sunk or captured lost the face of the royal family. ”

Yochen decided to brainwash the Navy now about the stupidity of using cruise ships as auxiliary cruisers: "This kind of ship, whether naval or civilian, whose main job is to carry people, is used as a hospital ship, and troop carriers are suitable for their work, and it is not worth the loss to be equipped with naval guns to be used as auxiliary cruisers." The tonnage is not proportional to the combat effectiveness, and in the face of a real cruiser, it can't be beaten, and it can't run away. In the future, don't hold the idea of letting such expensive auxiliary ships do what auxiliary cruisers do, the cruisers of our Navy are all combat ships with excellent performance, can it be that auxiliary cruisers are better than them? ”

"Yes, Your Highness, I see. So Your Highness, do you mean that the new yacht is built according to the standards of the Victoria Luiser? "Knowing for so many years that His Highness Joachim was stubborn enough in naval affairs, Muntz decided not to dwell on such minutiae and immediately brought the topic back to the design of the yacht.

"The Victoria Luiser is close to 8,000 tons, but there is no need to build that big, the displacement of the new yacht is limited to less than 6,000 tons. But not by the standards of a warship, but by the standards of a cruise ship. The only thing that is different from the cruise ship is the power system, and I ask you to install it according to military standards. ”

"You mean we can still do power tests with royal yachts?" Muntz was also a human spirit, and he immediately heard what Jochen meant.

"Yes, otherwise what would I do with your navy? Just go and buy a cruise ship. And it's not just for you to give the power system of the new cruiser a real thing. The Royal Yacht doesn't need guns and armor, so there's more room for the powertrain, so I'd like to be able to test the Royal Yacht for higher speeds, I want to be able to reach at least 23 knots, and you can even try a 4-shaft propulsion, side-by-side twin rudder arrangement, which can be compared to the new cruiser to see which arrangement is more efficient. "Pushing a 6,000-ton ship to 23 knots is definitely a technological lead at this time, and the practical use of high-speed ships will also allow the Admiralty to get a lot of valuable test numbers.

The Germans were too far behind the British in terms of speed, and the well-known Yoshino, which was built by the British in 1892 and had a speed of more than 23 knots, not to mention that her 4,100-ton hull was also equipped with a large number of naval guns and solid dome armor, and it was indeed difficult for Germany to achieve such a high speed under such circumstances. So it was better to take advantage of the opportunity to build a royal yacht with a lot of tonnage to waste, and it was far better to let the Germans try to build a top-of-the-line clipper to gain experience than to try it later on a warship that was calculating in tonnage.

The design of the new yacht was thus set, and the power system of the Navy cruiser was installed according to the standards of a luxury cruise ship, and the Admiralty had to take the design back and redo it. These guys, who can only design warships, have to find the two major shipping companies and the civilian shipbuilders that build cruise ships to measure how the cruise ship should be designed. It will take a lot of time to come and go.

Jochen was not at all anxious about his own ships, but the navy was very anxious about his own ships, and the navy, which had been stimulated by the British, sent two new light armored cruisers and two new light protective cruisers to the slipway at the end of the year; The redesign of the four new ironclad ships is also progressing faster and faster, and construction is expected to start early next year; Four ocean-going torpedo boats are under construction. It was foreseeable that by about 1894 the German navy would increase dramatically. The navy was full of expectations for the growth of power, the capitalists in the shipbuilding industry and related industries were full of confidence in the development of enterprises because of the large number of orders, and the workers were full of desire for a better life because of more wages.

Just when everyone was looking forward to the new year, the economic crisis swept in, which made Germany, which was on the fast track of economic development, slammed on the brakes. For a time, the German Empire, which was thriving in national strength, was in turmoil, and the economic and political situation was chaotic.

Note 1: The s in grosere is actually a German consonant ss, and the letter cannot be typed here