"The Ottoman ambassador has offered us a new battleship." Tirpitz smiled and shook his head: "It seems that the Greeks' deal irritated them a lot." ”

"What else can they pay for now? It seems that the order for 2 light cruisers, 8 destroyers, and 8 submarines has not yet cleaned their money bags. Jochen mocked: "As soon as the Greeks are stimulated, they will forget the advice we gave last time, and besides, it is too late to order new ships from us now, the Greeks' ships will be delivered next year, and it is already an inevitable result for them to fall behind on the capital ships, and it is better to continue to strengthen the investment in light ships with that fund, because the light ships are built quickly, and the time it takes to form combat effectiveness is short." ”

On July 19, 1913, after a month of negotiations, the Greek and Brazilian governments reached a deal to acquire the battleship Rio de Janeiro, which had just been launched on January 22, for a total price of 2.725 million pounds. But it's clear that Jochen didn't really want to help.

"The Ottomans wanted to make up for the lack of combat power by buying the Tyrol before the new battleships we built for them were completed." Tirpitz also mocked: "The Ottomans are not stupid, but unfortunately I dare not sell them." If I really sell the Tyrol, the old man of Montecucori will come to me for a duel!" ”

"Buying a dreadnought and a super-dreadnought at the same time? Were the Ottomans ready to bankrupt the government? Jochen became serious: "A bankrupt Ottoman can't help us keep the Russians in the Black Sea. ”

Jochen knew what the Ottomans had done in history to buy the relics of the Seven Turrets, first taking turns "begging" in the banks of Britain, Germany, France and Italy, and then taking the crown of the former sultan as collateral to borrow 4 million pounds from the French. Then, in order to repay the loan, various new taxes such as wool and tobacco were added in the country. In a situation where the Ottoman Empire was already in decline, this would only put a heavier burden on the country.

You really have to be rich. Why don't you go and continue to build the army, and beat Serbia and Bulgaria on land, what can Greece do to you? Moreover, a strong army in Armenia can also help Germany share the pressure of Tsarist Russia.

"Then how should the Ottomans be replied to now? I'm afraid it's not good to refuse directly, right? Tirpitz asked, "I can't listen to them now that explaining the strategy of naval construction for coastal defense is the most appropriate, right?" ”

"Of course we can't refuse, lest the Ottomans think that we are not on their side in their naval race with the Greeks. The name the Greeks gave their battleship was much to the displeasure of the Ottomans. Jochen frowned and said, "Well, the Tyrolean cannot be sold to them." And the Greeks' battleships will take more than a year to be delivered, allowing the Ottomans to strengthen their near-shore defense capabilities during this time period. You can sell some destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines to them.

As for the battleships, they can buy them if they want, and if the Ottomans can continue to replenish the light ships needed for the defense of the near shore according to our requirements, then we can equip the new battleships with 380 mm naval guns. Before the new ships are delivered, I want the Ottoman Navy to be able to improve the naval system of coastal defense. I don't think the Ottomans would have refused. ”

Anyway, from now on, the technical indicators of the new ship must be set, and then the design is estimated to be completed, and then the construction will be close to 3 years, and the Ottomans only need to pay a deposit in advance for this new ship, and the next money can be raised slowly. There is no need to ask your father to sue your grandmother for a loan as in history, so that the financial pressure in the country will not be too great.

By using the bargaining chip of building super-dreadnoughts equipped with 380-mm guns for the Ottomans, Germany could further intervene in the affairs of the Ottoman navy, and it would be even better if the Ottoman navy could take on more responsibilities in a possible major war.

"The Greek Navy will be able to run rampant in the Mediterranean for quite some time." Tirpitz snorted lightly: "The strongest warship in the Mediterranean? It's a shame that they shouted out. ”

"Think that having a cutting-edge warship is considered a naval power? Such a large and inappropriate thing did not meet the needs of the Greek Navy at all. Those fools are still grateful to the British for their matchmaking, and they should really show them that it is really for the sake of people that we can help the Ottoman Navy plan a suitable naval construction plan in this way. Tirpitz said with a tone of disgust

"For the sake of this strongest, you didn't see the pitiful appearance when the Greek government begged banks from various countries to give them loans some time ago." Jochen was rather unimpressed. "Don't worry, Alfred," he teased lightly. If this 'strongest ship in the Mediterranean' had been killed by a torpedo by the Ottomans, then our hard work would have been understood. ”

The Greek Navy's purchase of the Seven Turret Relic was a complete loss in Jochen's view, and the British were doing Armstrong a favor rather than the Greek Navy.

Later generations said that the reason why the relics were abandoned by the Brazilian navy was because British merchants brought Brazilian rubber tree seeds to Malaya for profit, and as the Malayan banana cultivation industry began to get on track, the rubber trade in Brazil declined in 1913. The Brazilian government suffered heavy losses, its foreign exchange reserves shrank to a quarter, and the Brazilian government could not afford to continue to pay for the construction of the relics and had to sell them.

But in reality this was not the case, and as early as the beginning of 1912, the large-caliber naval artillery party within the Brazilian Navy began to rear-rise. And the Times was idle, comparing the protection design concepts of the Americans' new battleships Nevada-class and the USS Rio de Janeiro, which had not yet begun, and even made the holy relic lie down and get shot.

Although there are still doubts about the practicality of the British design concept of key protection, the weak protection of the Rio de Janeiro has been exposed by The Times. As a result, the large-caliber naval artillery party began to counterattack again, fully criticizing the Rio de Janeiro.

In 1913, Alencar, the representative of the large-caliber naval artillery party, once again served as the Brazilian Minister of the Navy, and in order to order a real super-dreadnought ship equipped with large-caliber naval guns, Alencar decided to put the Rio de Janeiro on the shelves in exchange for funds. Although the decline in Brazil's rubber trade has led to a reduction in the Brazilian Navy's spending, it is only that it is no longer possible to purchase new ships.

Immediately after selling the Rio de Janeiro, Alencar used the funds to ask Armstrong for a new ship. In May 1914, an order was signed for a super-dreadnought with a standard displacement of 30,500 tons and equipped with four twin 15-inch naval guns, and construction was planned to start in September of the same year, named the Ria Shuerro.

Therefore, Jochen believes that if someone asks Alencar to buy the Rio de Janeiro, Alencar will definitely be very happy that someone will be the pick-up man.

Therefore, what Jochen quietly revealed to Konstantin was that the large-caliber naval artillery party in the Brazilian Navy may regain power, so the speculation that the Rio de Janeiro is likely to be abandoned by the large-caliber naval artillery party.

Although it was only a speculation, after Constantine brought this speculation back to Greece, the Greek Navy, eager to strengthen its naval power, immediately put the purchase of the Rio de Janeiro on the agenda as if it were grasping at a life-saving straw, and the news of Alencar's return to the post of Brazilian Minister of the Navy made the Greeks realize that the time had come.

The positive actions of the Greeks did lead to Alencar's quicker decision, and it was not until September 1913 that he decided to auction the Rio de Janeiro, but this time he made the decision only two months after he came to power. However, Alencar's decisiveness led to the interruption of the construction of the Seven Turret Relic. Because the Greeks could not come up with that much money at once, and the Brazilians had already cut off the subsequent payments, the relics were suspended, and the stopped relics received a new name that she had received only a few months later in her history, the Rust.

The impatient Greek government was only looking for loans from other countries, and its low voice became the object of Jochen's ridicule. Armstrong, who had left the Rust rusting there, was equally anxious, and the Royal Navy military advisers in Greece saw this as an opportunity to strengthen their influence in the Greek Navy. Finally, after a three-month shutdown, Armstrong and the navy put pressure on British banks, which eventually made a loan of £3 million to the Greeks. After 2 months of downtime than in history, the Greeks finally took the battleship in July.

This is also the reason why Tirpitz was disgusted with the relics, because this nominally "strongest warship in the Mediterranean" became a bargaining chip for the British to win over Greece. And the Greeks also looked like they were sold and helped the royal navy to "help" and put pressure on the bank, which naturally made this old man disgusted.

However, Jochen was overjoyed, because he had achieved his goal of trapping Greece, and the Greek government, which was not in much better financial position than the Ottomans, was saddled with a foreign debt of 3 million pounds, and in order to repay the debt, the financial situation must be even worse, and it was difficult to have spare financial resources to prepare for war.

As for the battleship itself, it was best for the British to seize it, and if it was not seized, it would be nothing more than a successful submarine sneak attack. Due to a clear understanding of its own lack of strength, the Mediterranean Fleet has been formulating war plans in accordance with the asymmetric combat ideas proposed by Jochen, and the situation in the Mediterranean Sea does not need battleships to play the leading role. (To be continued.) )