Although the deal for the Ottoman Navy to order a dreadnought has been basically negotiated, it is not yet possible to implement it concretely, and after receiving a promise from Jochen that the German military advisory group will assist the Association for Progressive Unification, Mahmoud said that he will do everything possible to launch a second revolution to force Hamid II to abdicate, make Hamid II's younger brother the new sultan, and promote the constitutional monarchy of the Ottoman Empire.

Mahmud, who was in power, then came forward to negotiate with the Croatian-Slovenian kingdom the ransom price for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and formally signed a cooperation agreement with Germany, and ordered dreadnoughts. Therefore, when Jochen left the Ottoman Empire, he did not conclude any treaties or agreements with the Ottoman Empire, except for the title deeds of the land donated by Hamid II.

So apart from the acquisition of the land in the Holy Land and the pilgrimage to the Holy City, which brought Jochen great fame on European soil, the German Empire did not seem to have received anything substantial from politics.

Thus, while Britain, France, and Russia were wary of the possibility that the Ottoman Empire might throw itself into the arms of Germany, the three countries, which had not heard any rumors, could only ask "Has the diplomatic journey of the Germans failed?" But doesn't it look like it? Such suspicions continued to wait and see, but they did not know that another round of political earthquakes in the Ottoman Empire was already brewing at the moment of the departure of the German Emperor.

However, this did not mean that the Royal Navy would relax its shipbuilding competition with the Germans, on the contrary, the shipbuilding plan that hoped to completely overwhelm the Germans was proposed.

"We must revise next year's shipbuilding plan!" Fisher stressed to Prime Minister Asquith.

"John, I think you should be aware of how much financial pressure the government is on right now?" Asquith replied slowly: "Our support for your proposal of 4 battleships and 2 armored cruisers is already the limit, and it is very difficult for us to propose to revise the plan now. ”

Fisher didn't care about this, and continued to instil in Asquith that the need for the navy was necessary: "We have information about the design of the battleship that the Germans built for the Argentines, and it will be a huge ship with five triple turrets and 15 12-inch guns!"

The Germans used 12-inch naval guns on their new battleships, which we expected. But they made another improvement in the artillery layout to our surprise, with the use of triple turrets, even if their own battleship had 4 turrets, it would have 12 main guns! As a result, all our battleships, which have been built and are ready to be built, will fall behind in firepower! At this point, Fisher's voice was almost shouting.

"Wasn't it possible for the Germans to install only 3 triple turrets? Just like the Braunschweig class before them. Asquith asked.

"This is impossible, we calculated that the weight of 3 triple turrets is less than that of 4 twin. If the layout of the Braunschweig class was adopted, the tonnage of the new battleships of the Germans would probably only be about the same as that of the Deutschland-class, and it would be impossible for the Germans to build only such ships! ”

Although this inference is a little arbitrary, Asquith still accepts this statement, after all, when their own battleships are getting bigger and bigger, there is no reason for the Germans to build smaller and smaller. However, Fisher's loud voice and tough attitude made Asquith, who was a standard gentleman, frown, and then asked lightly: "Then how is the Navy going to modify the plan?" ”

"The design of the battleship that we were going to build next year was to install five twin 12-inch naval gun turrets, but now it seems that it is no match for the Germans! So we want to cut the number of ships built by 2 and build 4 new and more powerful battleships! ”

Fisher's mouth is to continue to increase the number of ships built. Asquith frowned again, but instead of having a seizure, he continued to ask, "A more powerful battleship?" Are you going to use the same triple turret as the Germans? Or is it ready to increase the number of twin turrets? ”

In fact, Asquith's tone was already a little bad at this time, the Royal Navy was technically repeatedly robbed of the position of the frontrunner by the Germans, triple turret? God knows how many years the Germans studied? Now the British have only time to study the possibility of loading on new ships? And to increase the number of twin turrets? It's not that you don't know anything, and increasing the turret means that the tonnage of the battleship will be greater, and you don't need to know what technical difficulties you are not interested in, but the cost of the battleship will inevitably rise!

But Fisher, who was immersed in excitement, did not hear the slightest dissatisfaction in Asquith's tone. Instead, he continued: "No, although the triple turret is a great idea. However, it is difficult to keep up with our new ship building plan in terms of the progress of developing this kind of turret, and the increase in the firepower of the battleship by adding twin turrets is limited, even if the Germans are only equipped with 4 triple turrets, we are only equal to them, if they install 5 turrets, we cannot install 7 turrets on the battleship, and such a battleship is also a mobile powder magazine. Fisher, who said this, did not know that the British would really build such a powder keg in the future.

Speaking of which. Fisher began to dance and make gestures, because the new plan of the Navy was indeed a very powerful design: "So we are not ready to entangle with the Germans in terms of the number of main guns, we are going to overwhelm them in terms of quality!"

We are going to equip the new battleship with a more powerful 13.5-inch gun, still using the gun layout of the existing design, with a twin turret that can be enlarged from the turret of the 12-inch gun. This will result in significant savings in R&D time and costs. Ten 13.5-inch guns will put an end to our rivalry with the Germans, whose ships are vulnerable to such firepower! ”

The excited Fisher did not find the dissatisfaction in Asquith's eyes getting stronger, but continued, in this way, the projection ability of the new battleship is 80% higher than that of the St. Vincent class, even if the new battleship of the Germans is equipped with 15 12-inch naval guns, it will not be able to match it, and our battleship will use a longer range and greater power to tear the Germans apart where they can't reach us! ”

"Before that, these ships will bankrupt Great Britain at a more expensive price!" Asquith interrupted Fisher's words in dissatisfaction, which made Fisher, who was full of excitement, stunned as if he was stuck, and a smile froze on his face.

Asquith did not trust Fisher as much as his conservative predecessors. As a Liberal, he came to power under the banner of a balanced budget, and his predecessor Sir Bannerman was left with a terrible financial situation after approving the Navy's frenzied shipbuilding program.

After the prime minister came to power, he had to tear down the east wall to fill the west wall to make up for various financial gaps, which made him resentful of the undue demand for the navy, and Fisher's tough old military stick was completely incompatible with Asquith's character. In addition, this frenzy subsided after the influence of the British people's insane antagonistic consciousness on the government was borne entirely by Sir Bannerman.

Therefore, Asquith did not feel the enormous pressure of public opinion that he had been subjected to in 1908 in history, of course, taking into account the reaction of the people. Asquith didn't dare to cut the navy's budget too much, and the construction plan of 6 capital ships was already the limit of what he could afford.

But now Fisher's demand to continue building eight capital ships, four of which were more expensive 13.5-inch guns, made him angry at the Navy's insatiable greed.

Asquith, who finally couldn't help it, couldn't care about his gentlemanly etiquette, and began to refute after interrupting Fisher's words rudely: "We have already started construction of 8 capital ships this year, and the financial situation is already very unoptimistic, but considering the needs of the navy, we have approved the construction of 6 capital ships next year." But you are still demanding the construction of more and more expensive warships, and the purpose of the government's support for the navy is not to go bankrupt! There will be no change in the shipbuilding plan for next year, and we will build your super battleships until our financial situation improves! ”

"If so, the German naval power is still superior to that of the Royal Navy! If the Royal Navy is unable to resist the enemy. Waiting for Great Britain is bankrupt! Fisher shouted angrily: "And the decision you make will lead to the defeat of the Royal Navy!" ”

Asquith was equally annoyed by such accusations, and although he did not shout as much as Fisher, his counterattack was just as sharp: "However, in your report to Edward in 1907 it was not written, that you said that half of the battleships of the German Navy could only be equal to the armored cruisers of the Royal Navy, and that the Royal Navy had 7 dreadnoughts and 3 armored cruisers built, under construction or planned, while Germany did not have a single dreadnought. And it will not be possible to build equivalent warships in the next 18 months!

You claim that the Royal Navy is 4 times stronger than the Germans. This is an absolute fact, and the Royal Navy will always remain that strong. Why, however, in just a year and a half, has the situation become that the Royal Navy is facing defeat?! Isn't this a failure of the Royal Navy and your decision as First Sea Lord?! ”

After listening to Asquith's rebuttal, Fisher's face turned pale, which was indeed a stain that he could not erase.

Around 1906, hysterical panic had begun to erupt in Britain against the German Navy. After the outbreak of the Moroccan crisis, Muriller of the Coventry Arsenal declared to the media with some malicious intentions based on some speculation and gossip that the German navy had completely defeated Britain in a war that might be triggered by the Moroccan crisis. This caused an uproar in British public opinion.

For this reason, at the urging of Edward VII, Fisher wrote this report on the comparison of British and German naval strength, which estimated his own strength quite highly, but was not objective to his opponents.

However, just a few months later, the appearance of the German-class battleships slapped Fisher in the face. It became a major mistake of the First Sea Lord, who has been efficient and correct since he took office. Fortunately, Fisher, who had the support of the king and the prime minister at the time, was not attacked for a report.

But now, the prime minister who supported Fisher no longer exists, and the series of backwardness of the Royal Navy has caused Fisher's prestige and energy to suffer a huge setback, and the crazy shipbuilding plan supported by Sir Bannerman before began to taste the consequences of Fisher at this moment. (To be continued.) If you like this work. You are welcome to come to the www.biquge.info (qidian.com) of Biquge to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, your support is my biggest motivation ......)