"France is ready to lend to our country again to support the reconstruction of the Baltic Fleet?" In the splendid and luxurious study room of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Nicholas II asked his confidants and ministers who were standing respectfully in front of him with an inexplicable face: "How can the French suddenly be so enthusiastic?" ”

In the case that Russia now owes France a lot of debt, and not long ago France lent a large amount of military loans in order to help Russia strengthen its defense, and now it is very strange that Nicholas II is enthusiastic about sending money to his door.

"Your Majesty, the news from the Embassy in Paris says that the vacancy of our maritime power in the Baltic Sea region is very dangerous, and that the French Government, considering the traditional friendship between the two countries, and the close economic and military cooperation between the two countries, is willing to help our country eliminate the security risks at sea, just as the military loan that was previously willing to be used to strengthen our defense forces." Foreign Secretary Izwolski said: "But I don't think that's what the French really amended. ”

"Oh, what do you think? Tell me about it? Nicholas II asked with interest.

"Although De Carce has stepped down and Rovier is in control of the French government, De Carce's political influence still exists, and although the anti-German policy within the French government has been suppressed, it will not disappear. Although Rovier did not want the conflict with Germany to intensify, Germany's successive tough attitudes and military threats against France also forced Rovier to consider the security of France.

Although France was allied with Britain, the British did not play a role in deterring Germany in these crises in France, and the alliance with Britain could only obtain a guarantee of maritime security, and France still had no way to contend with the German army on land. Therefore, France can only hope for our country. Izvolsky analyzed: "Formally based on this demand, France will vigorously support our country economically, so that our country can maintain its current army strength." In order to achieve the role of containing the German Army.

However, although our country is friendly with France, France and Russia are not allied, and our relationship with Germany is still quite stable. In this way, they can feel at ease, and for this purpose they have taken the initiative to help our country rebuild the Baltic Fleet. ”

"Well, I think that's the case too, the French are so proactive now when they ask for us." Nicholas II nodded.

"Your Majesty, I very much agree with His Excellency Izvolsky's analysis, and I have a few thoughts to add." Admiral Billilev, the Minister of the Navy, spoke cautiously to the side.

"Say." Nicholas II nodded.

"Your Majesty, the reconstruction of the Baltic Fleet is inevitable, and the work we are doing now has always revolved around this goal. We have already completed the plan and will be ready to implement it after just waiting for the approval of the Duma. Billilev said, but he did not directly say what he thought, but used words to try to impress His Majesty the Tsar. The various plans drawn up by the Admiralty were always blocked by the Defense Committee and the Duma, and Billilev wanted to let Nicholas II know that the Admiralty was always working on the rebuilding of the Reich's navy in order to gain greater support from Nicholas II.

Sure enough, such words made Nicholas II frown, and Billilev knew that his words made His Majesty unhappy with the obstruction of the Duma and the State Defense Committee. Knowing that it would be too traceful to continue, he immediately began the topic: "Since the reconstruction of the Baltic Fleet is inevitable." Then we have to go on with or without the support of France, and of course, without their support we may be limited in the speed of our progress.

And now with the help of France, the progress of the reconstruction plan will be greatly increased, which will make the Germans wary. Even if it were normal for our country to rebuild the Baltic Fleet, it would make the German Navy feel the pressure again. And if we were able to rebuild the Baltic Fleet so quickly because of the support from France, it would inevitably have a negative effect on Germany and our country. ”

"And unless we don't rebuild the Baltic Fleet. Otherwise, the adverse effects of the German navy on our guard would not have been resolved, but it would have been impossible not to rebuild the Baltic Fleet, and we really needed the French loan to us. Nicholas II sighed: "What a good idea for the French, even if we see it, we can't refuse it." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty. And France is willing to provide us with various systems and equipment for the construction of dreadnoughts, which is also urgently needed for us. Bililev said.

The Russians are actually not late in the study of dreadnoughts, and it can even be said that they are relatively early. In April 1906, Billilev convened a committee of about 20 people, including admirals, captains, and ship designers, to discuss plans for the construction of new battleships.

In May, the committee came up with a proposal to use steam turbines, equip 12 305-mm naval guns, 20 120-mm secondary guns, and install 254-mm main armor belts. After handing over the proposal to a team of designers represented by the chief designer of the St. Petersburg shipyard Skvosov and the director of shipbuilding at the Baltic Shipyard Gulyaev, the designers came up with their own designs within two weeks.

The standard displacement of 23,500 tons was unbearable for the Russian Navy at that time, and the committee had to draw a red line again, requiring the standard displacement to be less than 20,000 tons, the main gun was at least 8 305 mm naval guns, the speed was 22 knots, and the protection was greatly reduced.

Later, the standard displacement of 20,700 tons, equipped with 10 305-mm guns and 20 120-mm secondary guns, the main armor belt of 203 mm, and the speed of 21 knots from the Admiralty Shipyards Design Bureau led by Skvosov were adopted by the commission, and the construction work was randomly prepared.

However, with the cancellation of the appropriation by the Duma, the construction of the two battleships, which had been ready for work in November, came to an end.

If these two battleships had been able to start construction, Russia would have become the second country after Britain to start construction of dreadnoughts, ahead of the United States, Germany, and France.

However, the General Staff of the Russian Navy and the Technical Committee of the Navy did not abandon their studies because of this. However, as the research deepened, they also realized the technical shortcomings they had to face when building this new warship, so although France has not started construction of dreadnoughts, its own strong technical strength is still very valuable to Russia. Such conditions are really difficult for Russia to refuse.

"I don't think it's that simple." Prime Minister Stolypin, who had been silent on the side, said with some hesitation.

"Do the French have any other plans? My Prime Minister. "Nicholas II was a little curious and a little worried, now that such a calculation has made it impossible to refuse, is there a deeper plan?

"Nope. Majesty, I always feel that there should be a shadow of the British in this. Stolypin wasn't quite sure what he thought.

"What does this have to do with the British?" Britain and Russia have a long history of not dealing with each other, and Nicholas II will not give the British a good face.

"Your Majesty, Britain and France are now allies, and if France wants to establish an alliance with our country, it will be difficult to bypass the attitude of the British." Stolypin pondered.

"You mean the French have the British involved in this overture?" Nicholas II was somewhat unpleasant, when was the Russian-French relations going to let the British dictate?

"It's just my speculation, Your Majesty. After all, France wants to form an alliance with our country regardless of Britain's attitude, and I am afraid it will not be so smooth. And the present situation in Britain does need to find a helper to deal with the pressure from Germany, so I think it is likely that France has the aim of helping the British to test our attitude. Stolypin said: "If this is the case, it is not without benefits for us. ”

Seeing that Nicholas II did not get angry. Instead of looking at himself in silence, Stolypin began to explain the benefits of good relations with the British.

"Your Majesty, first of all, if Britain intends to make friends with our country, then we can reach an understanding with Britain on the issues of Central Asia, West Asia, and the Far East, so that our country will have less pressure from the outside world, and more energy will be devoted to reform, and our strength will be quickened; Second. Britain is more mature than France in the field of dreadnought technology, and Vickers participated in the design of dreadnoughts in our country at the beginning. The proposals they submitted were also the best. Speaking of which, Stolypin looked at Billylev.

Billilev immediately helped: "Your Excellency Prime Minister is right, at the beginning, the Vickers company was very eager to get an order to build battleships for our country, so their chief designer Thomas? George? During his visit to St. Petersburg, Mr. Owens submitted a large number of draft designs, of which the 260 proposal was evaluated and considered to be excellent, and Mr. Owens promised that such a design would be completed by Vickers in only 20 months. It was only at that time that the plan of the Admiralty Shipyard Design Bureau was chosen for the sake of training our own construction capabilities. ”

"Therefore, through France to liaise with our country and Britain, then we can also obtain the British's shipbuilding technology and equipment through France." Stolypin said.

Reform and the navy are now at the forefront of Russia's national policy. Stolypin said these two reasons that moved Nicholas II, and of course he still had something he couldn't let go: "But if we reach an understanding with Britain on the Far East, what about the yellow-skinned monkeys?" They are allies of the British, so how can I stand a chance of revenge? ”

"Your Majesty, the greatest threat to Britain now is Germany. Therefore, our attitude on the Far East can be tougher, Britain will make certain concessions in order to get the support of our country, and our country is now in a period of recovery, and the reform has just begun, and it does not have the ability to go to war with those yellow-skinned monkeys again in the Far East, so it is necessary to tolerate it now. When our strength is restored and we become stronger than before, the initiative will be in our hands. ”

“…… Okay, so let's talk about the French first, and if the British really let the French help them match, then we might as well give them a chance. "After thinking for a while, Nicholas II made a decision. (To be continued......)