Historically, when Li Hongzhang purchased warships in Europe, Germany once promoted small dreadnoughts to the Qing Dynasty, that is, the pre-dreadnought scheme of the Haiqi class.

The size of the scheme is similar to that of the Dingyuan-class ironclad ship, with a displacement of 7,600 tons, and the firepower can choose from 2 283 mm naval guns or 4 240 mm naval guns, 10 150 mm secondary guns, 6 105 mm rapid-fire guns, the main armor belt is up to 250 mm thick, and the upper armor belt is 150 mm.

However, the high cost also made the Qing Kingdom finally choose the British protective cruiser design, and the Haiqi-class battleships became Haiqi-class cruisers, and the Chinese missed the opportunity to have their own battleships.

So the 7,600-ton plan is unacceptable, and what about the 5,600-ton plan? The design of the monarch-class small battleships taken back from Austria-Hungary fully met the task needs of the coastal defense of the Qing Navy.

Equipped with 4 240 mm guns, 6 150 mm secondary guns, and 16 47 mm rapid-fire guns, it has a 200 mm thick main armor belt and a speed of 17.8 knots.

There is hardly any problem except for short legs, and of course there is no problem at all for the Beiyang Fleet, which now does not even dare to penetrate into the waters of the Yellow Sea.

Moreover, give her a further reduction in speed, and strengthen the protection of the extra tonnage, the price is cheap and sufficient, and a small fleet of three or four ships will have no problem besieging a current top battleship.

It's just that the people in the German Admiralty now have long since thrown this useful little thing into the memory of a big accident, and they don't know where they are.

"I understand the needs of your country, and we can come up with a design that meets the needs of your country." Jochen said to Li Hongzhang: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, we used to have a design that met your requirements very well, but then we didn't start work because of a new plan, and tomorrow you can see her basic plan." ”

As soon as I heard that the Germans had ready-made designs to refer to. Li Hongzhang was overjoyed and immediately inquired about the ship's performance. After Yoheng finished his introduction, he sighed repeatedly: "Such a strong ship and a sharp cannon, as long as it is only more than 5,000 tons, it is really a rare weapon, and it is very suitable for my Beiyang Naval Division." Such a high-quality and inexpensive thing. If I can buy a few, I can regroup my Beiyang Naval Division. ”

"We are very willing to help your country rebuild its navy, and it is also a happy thing for our country to regain its prestige. Although this ship is small, except for the range, it is not inferior to the ironclad ship of more than 8,000 tons. The caliber of the artillery is not large, but the advantage in the rate of fire does not disadvantage it in engagement, and since you take into account the range of activities of your navy, you can consider reducing the speed and increasing the thickness of the armor. This should better meet your country's coastal defense needs. ”

"Thank you, Your Highness, for mentioning it, the old man is grateful." Li Hongzhang is very happy, the 5,600-ton ironclad ship, even if it is not good, he can buy two back, so that he can also make a smooth delivery.

In this way, Li Hongzhang, who had a lot of concern, was even more interested in befriending the German crown prince, while Joheng was satisfied because he could conclude that the bulk of the Qing warship order would fall into Germany's pocket, and both of them took what they needed. Naturally, they talked happily and were satisfied.

Day 2. Jochen asked the Admiralty to turn over the design sketches of the monarch-class battleships that had been pressed to the bottom of the box, and Li Hongzhang also asked to reduce the speed and improve the protection according to Jochen's construction.

This was not a difficult task, and the German side proposed to reduce the speed to 16 knots, and all the excess weight was added to the protection, and Li Hongzhang agreed. Of course, Li Hongzhang can't stay in Germany and wait until the design is completed. Therefore, the two sides signed a contract of intent to build two small battleships, and after the German side completed the design drawings, the minister in Germany came to formally sign the contract.

Later, after visiting Bismarck, Li Hongzhang set off for England, although Li Hongzhang very much hoped to order three such small battleships, but the current Qing State was not like before. Able to put all orders in the hands of the Germans.

Considering its own situation, Britain, a powerful country with great influence in the Far East, must also maintain good relations. Therefore, Li Hongzhang was also preparing to order two cruisers of smaller tonnage from Britain.

After Li Hongzhang left Germany, the Germans were in full swing preparing for the construction of warships in the Qing Dynasty. At this time, the news from the Philippines brought the German military department into operation.

In August 1896, an uprising against the Spanish colonizers broke out in Tawak, Bahrain, in the Philippines, and then a response began to take place everywhere, and the scale of the rebellion quickly expanded to the whole of the Philippines. And for Germany, the long-awaited opportunity to intervene in the Philippines has finally arrived.

"What is the situation in the Philippines now?" Frederick III asked Caprivi about it.

"Your Majesty, from the telegram sent back by our personnel in the Philippines, the Spanish Governor's Palace, which first took place in the Tawak region of Bahrain, has basically lost its ability to control it. Although the rest of the places have responded, it is not yet a climate for the time being. ”

"These Filipinos are quite well prepared." Frederick III said with some derision.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. These Filipinos were well prepared under the noses of the Spaniards. The man who led the riots in Bahrain's Tawak district was called Andre Bonifaxiu, the founder of an anti-Spanish group in the Philippines.

The name of this organization is Katipnan, which means the most honorable association of the sons and daughters of the Philippines. The group had about 100,000 native Filipinos and was associated with some colonial government officials and local landowners. This organization is also supported by funding from here.

Their uprising was not without warning, and our intelligence agents in the Philippines gathered information that they had secretly purchased tens of thousands of rifles and hundreds of artillery pieces from the Japanese earlier this year.

Therefore, they should have at least a few thousand armed men at the time of the Tawak uprising in Bahrain, which may also explain why the Spanish authorities lost their ability to control the area so quickly. ”

Caprivi explained a little about the situation in the Philippines at this time, and then continued: "If the rebels from all over the country are united with the actions of Catipunam, I am not optimistic that the Spanish army in the Philippines will be able to suppress these uprisings on their own. ”

"The Spanish Governor's Office is unaware of such a large-scale preparatory operation, it seems that this is not only the Spanish Governor's Palace is a waste, it seems that this organization has penetrated deeply into all strata of the Philippines." Frederick III rubbed his eyebrows, and then said, "But that's fine, the Spaniards won't be able to clean it up for a while." But Leo, this is not an uprising, but a riot."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, it's a riot." Caprivi immediately apologized, and the difference between how you let the Spaniards deal with themselves and what kind of interface you let Germany intervene in is very different.

"So do we have any plans for dealing with them?" Frederick III asked.

"Your Majesty, I don't think it's too early to intervene, at least not before the situation in the Philippines gets completely out of control. Moreover, the Spanish army is powerless to suppress the current level of riots, and I believe that at least until the situation in the Philippines is completely eroded, the Spanish mainland will not send reinforcements. So we can wait and see what happens. "Caprivi built yì to

"Your Majesty, according to the schedule, all the capital ships of the Far East Fleet will go to Hong Kong at the end of this year to carry out comprehensive maintenance using the facilities of the British, which is expected to take two months.

And before that, we can mobilize the Marine Corps from home to Moresby. As soon as the time comes, or if there is a move on the Spanish side, we can land immediately.

So I agree with His Excellency the Prime Minister that we don't need to rush now. Muntz said on the side.

"It's easier to draw attention to the Marines, we have a regiment in New Guinea, and if it's just to carry out our first plan, one battalion of it will be enough. How could those indigenous Filipinos confront the Imperial German Army? Schlieffen did not see the need to draw too many troops from the mainland to New Guinea at the moment.

Naval movements can also be explained by long-distance training, historically the Germans sent all their battleships, all 4 Brandenburg-class ships, to the Far East and ran away without any reaction from the Europeans, but it is too conspicuous that you draw thousands of troops to the Far East.

"I think His Excellency Schlieffen has a point, and it is not necessary to bring in too many troops for the first phase of the operation, but I think that since we are not in a hurry to start the operation, we can let the merchant ships going to Moresby transport some marines and KSK over in batches.

Of course, if the army wants to train its hands, it can also shoot a small number of troops to go, as we did last time in Chile. This should ensure sufficient concealment. Jochen was on the side.

"In addition, in order to justify our actions, we need local intelligence officers to collect some of the inhumane acts of the riots, which obviously do not show restraint during the riots, and loot against the Spaniards. The rape and the massacre will not stop.

Collect these, publish them, advertise this as a humanitarian catastrophe, and then our citizens 'die' in this riot, then it is natural for us to intervene under the pretext of protecting the diaspora. It's just that if we do this, our intelligence officers need to be very careful about their safety, and those Filipino monkeys probably can't tell the difference between the Spaniards and the Germans. ”

"Filipino monkeys? Ha, because they haven't evolved into humans yet? Frederick III, who was somewhat amused by Jochen's words, laughed and made everyone smile.

In the eyes of everyone present, this was not a plan that was too difficult to achieve. (To be continued......)