Although the power was used to force the nascent technology to be included in the Navy's equipment list, it was not easy to gain a foothold until the aircraft proved its role.

And Koster, the chief of the naval staff, has already expressed his desire to retire because of his age, so Jochen is ready to promote him to the rank of naval marshal next year, and let him take a back seat, and Tirpitz is already certain to become the chief of the naval staff.

Although he accepted Jochen's orders, Tirpitz even inadvertently expressed his dislike for the plane, and it was probably even more difficult for the plane to be approved by the German naval officers.

But in any case, at least the first step has been taken, and all that remains is to wait for the plane to come out of the road step by step.

Compared with the new equipment, which was not favored by the German Navy top brass from the beginning, the treatment of another new piece of equipment can be called a world of difference.

On June 1, 1904, at the Germania shipyard in Kiel, a brand new battleship began to lay its keel, and the start of the new ship was very low-key, except for the presence of Admiral Tirpitz, the head of the Naval Office, almost no other senior naval officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony, and no celebrities were invited to attend the ceremony.

The next day, in the Kiel daily newspaper, it was reported only in the corner of the third page that the Germania shipyard had begun construction of a new battleship, which, according to information provided by the Naval Office, was an improved version of the Braunschweig-class battleship. In the past few years, the construction of new ships one after another has become the norm, and it has not aroused too much interest among the German people, who have become accustomed to it.

The naval attachés or intelligence officers of various countries in Germany did not pay much attention to it, and although the Braunschweig was not yet in service, it was basically exposed, they also tended to report that this was an improved version of the Braunschweig class.

However, the workers of the shipyard felt the special treatment of the new ship. Although there were not too many senior naval officers at the groundbreaking ceremony, and it was not clear that there was anything special about the new ship, the frequency of the German Navy's progress reviewers, nicknamed "overseers", to the shipyard was obviously unscientific, which made the shipbuilders feel a little unusual.

Just 12 days after the riveting of the Germania shipyard sounded, the keel of the No. 2 ship was laid at the Volken shipyard in Szczecin, while construction of the No. 3 and No. 4 ships was scheduled to begin on 20 July and 18 August respectively at the Royal Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven and the STT shipyard in Trieste.

So far, the first dreadnoughts of the German Navy. In this way, the construction work began in an orderly manner with the extreme attention of the Navy, but also with a deliberately low-key profile.

At the same time that events were taking place in Britain and Germany that would have an important impact on the fate of their own navies, in St. Petersburg a decision that would determine the future fate of the Russian navy was slowly being implemented.

"My dear Werther, the Germans still don't want to let go, do they?" Nicholas II asked his chairman of the Council of Ministers.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Germans still insist that if the Kiel Canal is to be used, our navy must accept the arrangements of the German navy." Witt replied respectfully.

"Those stubborn Germans, will my fleet still attack them? Accept their arrangement? Actually escorted by the German Navy, right? Where does this put the face of my third naval power? Nicholas II said with some annoyance.

In the face of some self-talking questions from His Majesty the Tsar, Werther was very clever and lowered his eyebrows and did not answer. But there is some slander in my heart, and it is also the Germans who take the initiative to propose that Russia can borrow the Kiel Canal, if the Germans do not open their mouths, I am afraid that you yourself will not dare to think that you can borrow the Kiel Canal, right?

These Germans are also doing this too much, you don't even mention this stubble, Your Majesty will not make this nameless fire now, and now Your Majesty Xià feels a great frustration in his pride for this behavior of completely handing over his beloved toys to be supervised, and you Germans have helped. And was buttoned up with a stubborn hat, which was really thankless.

"Where's my cousin Jochen? Couldn't he have told the German Navy not to make such a ridiculous move? Nicholas II asked impatiently.

"I'm sorry. Your Majesty, the German Ambassador told me that His Excellency the German Prime Minister Marcial and the top of the Navy were all opposed to the opening of the Kiel Canal to our fleet, but His Highness Joachim was very resolute, so His Excellency Marcial and the Navy made concessions, but the present conditions were their final bottom line. Werther replied.

Werther understood the Germans' actions. After all, this kind of national strategic artery is already unprecedented for the armies of other countries to use, and if you are not careful, it can only be said that the Germans have a problem with their brains.

But Nicholas II could not understand this prudence, especially when he won a naval battle in the Far East, and Nicholas II's self-aggrandizement reached a new level. In his opinion, his fleet was to go to the Far East to destroy those hateful yellow-skinned monkeys. You Germans look like I could call at any time are you delusional about being killed? Am I insane? Will the Russian fleet take the opportunity to attack Germany? As everyone knows, in fact, many people see him and his Russian Empire in this way.

In response to Werther's answer, Nicholas II shook his head, and actually expressed his feelings quite sympathetically: "Those courtiers of Cousin Jochen dare to oppose his orders, and it seems that he, the crown prince of the German Empire, really has no prestige. ”

If Yoheng heard this, I don't know if he would laugh angrily, do you think that those courtiers under your command really agree with your orders, but they don't dare to say it, they don't dare to speak if they have a little brain, and they all talk nonsense without brains.

In fact, at this time, Werther also expressed similar feelings in his heart, but he felt more that the professionalism of the German courtiers was much higher than that of these wine bags and rice bags in Russia.

"Continue to talk to the Germans, I resolutely cannot accept the situation of the Imperial Navy being escorted by the navies of other countries, even if the Kiel Canal is not used, this situation cannot be allowed to happen!" Nicholas II ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Werther responded.

For the sake of his temper, Witte could not laugh or cry at the orders of Nicholas II, and for the sake of pride, he let the fleet have a shortcut and had to take a long detour for hundreds of nautical miles. This kind of behavior is too capricious, and the Germans still take great care of the word accompaniment, which is already very good for the face of the Russians.

But when I think about it, anyway, this great expedition will run 18,000 nautical miles, and it doesn't really make much difference if you run a few hundred nautical miles more and a few hundred nautical miles less.

Conveying his will to Werther, Nicholas II turned his head and asked: "My commander, how is the preparation of the Second Pacific Fleet, and when can it leave?" ”

Vice Admiral Rozhestwinsky, commander of the Second Pacific Fleet, who was standing on the side, immediately replied: "I'm really sorry, Your Majesty, the Second Pacific Fleet is not ready to sail, the battleships Duke Suvorov and Eagle have not yet been outfitted, and the fleet must wait for the two ships to complete the addition of troops to the fleet before setting sail." ”

On April 30, just after the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the original Pacific Fleet was renamed the First Pacific Fleet, and most of the main forces of the Baltic Fleet were reorganized into the Second Pacific Fleet.

Its main mission was not to run to the Far East to find a place because the First Pacific Fleet had been destroyed, but to be sent out as reinforcements for the First Pacific Fleet from the beginning. It's just that because the First Pacific Fleet died too quickly, the Second Pacific Fleet changed from reinforcements to mourning teams, and then died with it.

And the builder who proposed to let the Baltic Fleet reorganize the Second Pacific Fleet and go to the Far East as reinforcements was the builder of Vice Admiral Rogerstvinsky in front of him.

In every respect, Rogerstinsky fits the criteria of a "favored courtier", with German roots, with a slender figure and detailed features, not too rugged like a traditional Russian.

Under the influence of a slight inferiority complex for one's own ruggedness and a slight envy for the races of Central and Western Europe, people like Roger Stevensky were very favored in front of Nicholas II.

The Second Pacific Fleet he offered to the Far East to fight with the First Pacific Fleet against the yellow-skinned monkeys immediately won the joy of Nicholas II.

In the eyes of Nicholas II, it is unforgivable that the Far East, especially Manchuria and Korea on the Russian border, was originally given by God to the Russians, and now an uncivilized yellow-skinned monkey is competing with himself. Especially when he was still the crown prince, on May 11, 1891, during his visit to Japan, he was stabbed by a hateful yellow-skinned monkey in Otsu, and this kind of national hatred naturally made Nicholas II want to crush Japan severely.

And for the victory, Nicholas II was full of confidence, the war between Russia and Japan, was there any suspense about the winner? Especially now when there is also a naval victory worth hype.

Therefore, the desire for the Second Pacific Fleet to set sail for the Far East and bury in the sea those Eastern infidels who had destroyed the peace of Russia became more and more intense.

However, the construction of the two most important battleships in the formation of the Second Pacific Fleet was delayed, which made Nicholas II very anxious.

Nicholas II believed that victory was just around the corner once his fleet had set off, but it is not known whether His Excellency Vice Admiral Rozhestvinsky, who presented him with this construction, really believed in his own construction. (To be continued......)

PS: Yesterday's PS part deliberately left a slot, but no one complained

Among the 4 ships of the Lin Xian class, only the Goddess of Dawn is not equipped with a seaplane, but I prefer to use the Goddess of Dawn as the title

Don't complain?

Actually, at first I wanted to use Chongqing as the title, haha