The predecessor of the German Navy, the Prussian Navy, was a weak coastal force subordinate to the Prussian Army, and its original mission was to prevent the enemy from landing and shelling Prussian coastal cities along the Prussian coast.

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the Reichstag, in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution, approved the independence of the navy from the army.

In Joey's previous life, this situation was maintained until 1888, when Wilhelm II himself appointed himself as the German naval marshal and established a naval cabinet parallel to the military cabinet.

However, on November 27, 1879, after Wilhelm I announced to the world that Germany had established the Marine Corps, the German Navy underwent different changes earlier than its own in history.

Originally, according to the "Ten-Year Plan for the Modernization of the Reichstag" approved by the Reichstag in 1872, the Reichstag allocated 120 million gold marks from the French reparations to support the German Navy in the construction of 8 ironclad battleships, 6 armored cruisers, 20 light cruisers, 7 mosquito gunboats, 2 armored floating batteries, and other auxiliary ships in the decade from 1873 to 1883.

By 1879, five ironclad battleships had actually been completed, and one ironclad battleship named "Baden" was being outfitted in the dockyard of the Kiel shipyard, and it was expected to be officially launched in half a year.

The construction of the remaining two ironclad battleships was planned to begin in 1881 and 1883 at the Volken shipyard in Stettin, but according to reliable internal sources obtained by the Pomeranians, the economic crisis that lasted from 1873 to the present day had already strained the empire's finances, and it was rumored that the navy might eventually reduce or even cancel the order for the last two ironclads under pressure.

So the Pomeranians had to rush to Kiel to make a deep and good impression on the emperor and the navy.

After all, the Reich had already approved a plan for naval spending of an additional 5 million gold marks over three years, which was a life-saving amount for many shipyards in Germany that had relied on Franco-Prussian War reparations.

In fact, not only were the armored battleships at risk of being reduced or even eliminated, but the other warships in the program were also at risk, because the German navy's decade-long modernization program had been subject to a variety of threats since 1878, in addition to the financial crisis.

First of all, subject to the backwardness of the German shipbuilding management level, the plan of 6 armored cruisers and 20 light cruisers was obviously not completed in 1883, and as of 1879, the ironclad battleships may be completed as planned, and the original 6 armored cruisers were only built, and the fourth armored cruiser was expected to lay the keel in the North German shipyard in March 1880, and the start of construction of the other 2 ships was still far away.

Of the planned 20 light cruisers, only 3 were built, 5 more were lying in the shipyard at Danzig, and the remaining 12 were nowhere to be found.

In Joey's eyes, the most useless 7 mosquito gunboats and 2 armored floating batteries were built as early as 1874.

Of course, under this poor level of management, the German shipyards still provided the Imperial Navy with 6 avisos, the name is the French way of expression, after all, the German Navy in 1879 was still based on the fleet of the sworn enemy French and was trying to learn, if according to the British or American expression, it should be called a surveillance frigate, or a small coastal gunboat, or a fishing boat, or a large patrol boat.

As well as eighteen gunboats, twenty-eight torpedo boats, half each of rod mineboats and real torpedo boats.

Secondly, it was subject to the number and quality of German naval officers.

With the development of civilian navigation, especially the early opening of the Hamburg-New York route, the small Imperial Royal Navy can still recruit qualified sailors.

However, naval officers are definitely a huge shortcoming for the Imperial Royal Navy, and even if the German shipyards really build the planned warships for the German Navy according to the huge plan set in 1873, the Imperial Royal Navy may not have enough officers to command or even operate the warships.

Admiral Stockch was aware of this problem early on, so he established the Imperial Naval Academy in the city of Kiel in March 1872, followed by the Naval Mechanical Engineering School and the Naval Medical School in May, and the Torpedo Engineering Academy in July of this year after torpedo boats entered the Royal Navy in 1878.

But according to the process of the British Royal Navy, even in the era of sailing, if the children of the nobility want to join the Royal Navy, they must first start as a candidate officer (midship), a group of children with an average age of 13 years old, both to learn from the officer and to work with sailors.

At least 8 years of working and studying on the ship in this way can you become a full-fledged officer, and you have to work for more than 13 years and perform exceptionally bravely and brilliantly to get the post of captain, and most likely not the main battleship yet.

The Royal Navy's record for the fastest rise from an alternate officer to captain in the sail era was that of Georges Parcival, son of the Earl of Ardennes, who served as an alternate officer at the age of 11 and captain of a gunboat at the age of 20, also based on the brilliant achievement of forcing a French battleship to land.

Don't think that a candidate officer can eventually mix with a regular officer after ten or twenty years of work, this is absolutely non-existent in the Royal Navy, and only senior backup officers can apply for an interview for a regular officer (lieutenant promotion) after they have the ability to serve as acting lieutenant.

The interview is conducted by three or more senior captains of the Royal Navy, involving navigation, astronomy, mathematics, physics, etc., in addition to the knowledge accumulation of the candidate officer, but also the ability of the candidate officer to adapt to the situation.

After passing the exam, it is natural to prepare to be promoted to a full-fledged officer, and then step by step by virtue of military merit and seniority. If you can't pass the test, then go back to the warship, continue to study with the officers and work with the sailors, and prepare to come back next time.

A legend like Nelson can naturally pass the test in one go, but there are also a large number of backup officers who can't pass the test in a lifetime, and for this kind of backup officers with rich seafaring experience but almost luck, their only way out in the Royal Navy is to serve as the ship's chief navigator, gunner, and military picket.

It was with this strict, harsh and even harsh mechanism of selecting officers from among the nobility that the Royal Navy was guaranteed to be invincible for more than 200 years.

Even in the age of steam, it would take 15-20 years for the Royal Navy to go from an average 13-year-old to a qualified captain of the Royal Navy after establishing a naval academy on land.

However, the current German Imperial Naval Academy has only been established for seven years, and the first batch of qualified cadets has not yet graduated, and the most important purpose of the Grand Fleet's round-the-world voyage is to give the warrant officer cadets of the Naval Academy (equivalent to the British alternate officers) the opportunity to train.

Not to mention, the level of the current captains of the Imperial Royal Navy, even if there is another German-French war, the Imperial Royal Navy in 1879 is estimated to still be blocked by the French in the military port and unable to move.

The absence of qualified junior officers and captains is even more terrible than the absence of qualified warships.

Finally, it was subject to Germany's backward ship technology, according to the facts of 1879, Krupp's naval guns were not as good as the British Armstrong in terms of range and penetration, and it was not until after 1885 that it was really comparable to Armstrong.

Moreover, in the battle for the caliber of naval guns and the weight of ammunition, Germany has always been a catch-up.

In terms of battleship armor, except for the nickel alloy Harvey armor developed by Joy and the Grusen Iron Works in advance, which is beyond the course of history, in actual history, it was not until after 1895 that Krupp invented nickel-chromium alloy steel armor that the Germans were ahead of the world in ship armor.

In terms of ship tonnage, the average tonnage of the capital battleships of the British in 1880 was 7,046 tons, while the average tonnage of the capital battleships of the Germans was less than 4,000 tons, only 3,856 tons, and the French fleet, which competed with the British Royal Navy, both had 5,837 tons.

In this indicator, the Royal Navy of the German Empire has never surpassed the British Royal Navy in history.

In 1880, the Royal Navy's fleet could run an average speed of 12.86 knots, the French Republican fleet ran an average speed of 12.45 knots, and the Royal Navy's average speed was only 11.44 knots.

The best steam power of this era was the reinflection steam engine in the hands of the British.

There is absolutely no possibility of building a ship today, going to sea tomorrow, and defeating the invincible opponent of the world the day after tomorrow, without at least 50 years of hard work and the patient accumulation of two or even three generations, we should not pretend to call ourselves the blue navy, nor should we try to challenge the world's maritime hegemon.

Of course, it may be somewhat certain to spend 20 or 30 years desperately smashing all your net worth to gamble on a national fortune and challenge a regional maritime power, such as the dazzling Imperial Japanese Navy in the historical First Sino-Japanese War and the Battle of Tsushima.

The time left for the Royal Navy of the German Empire, or for Joey, is only forty years at most, and whether it can finally change the fate of the German Navy and even the whole of Germany is just these forty years.

In Joey's view, any supreme leader of the Navy who has the courage to build a military academy first and solve the most critical "people" problems in the navy, rather than pursuing crazy shipbuilding, is the real founder of the navy.

So for Admiral Stosch, Joey's founder of the Imperial Navy, the above difficulties were well known, so finding a way to keep the German Navy moving forward became a priority.

The change of the royal army within a monarchy, in many cases, was transferred by the will of the monarch, and the long-term friendship with Crown Prince Frederick was, in a sense, a long-term management of the future of the navy.

The will of the monarch is of course important to the navy, but throughout history, many things have risen and died because of people, and the rise of the navy of the Portuguese, Dutch, and Spaniards was due to the support of the monarch, and the decline was also due to the greed and corruption bred by the unbridled ambition of the monarchs.

At the end of November, when General Stockch visited the Imperial Palace to thank Joy for securing a new branch of the Marine Corps for the Navy, General Stockch raised his concerns with Frederick and his sons.

What General Stockch was worried about was exactly what Joey was worried about.

Joy, who had been talking for a long time, finally found an opportunity to talk about General Storsch's words, and began to talk endlessly.

"Uncle Elben, our navy should not be an object of study from the French, but should follow the example of the Royal Navy."

"It is true that the French navy is our biggest threat now, and it is also the goal that we must catch up with, but if we only regard the French as the target to be surpassed, then our navy is too realistic, and there is no dream of reality."

"Jojo, what do you mean?" General Storch asked hesitantly.

"As strong as the Royal Navy, Uncle Elben, even if what I said is like a dream, then we also have to have a decent dream, since we have worked hard to create the navy, we must work hard for the best, we must be the protagonist on this ocean stage, not as a background to set off the success of others."

"Dreams have to be like dreams....." Crown Prince Frederick smiled and nodded at General Storsch, "Elben, we do have to have a dream, even if we dream, we must know where we are dreaming, haha!" ”

"Well, it seems that the dream is not wonderful, and it can't be done!" General Stockch also laughed.

"The Imperial Constitution has guaranteed the status of the navy, and if it can first protect the expansion of overseas colonies, seek overseas resources and markets for domestic capital, and then combine with the power of capital to vigorously develop overseas trade and overseas expansion, in the end, capital will in turn demand that the development of the navy keep pace with them."

"This not only prevents the navy from becoming a gold-swallowing beast in the minds of the councilors, but also prevents the navy from becoming a meaningless fleet of existences that exists only for the sake of existence."

What Joy wants to express is that the power of sea power combined with capital and the interests of Germany is far greater than the power of sea power and monarchy.

"The British did not like, and would not allow anyone to challenge their sea power, especially on the European continent, where a force could challenge the Royal Navy. In case it really appeared, they would do whatever it took to destroy their opponents, even by provoking a war, I wonder if the empire and the population were willing to make enemies of the British for the sake of the navy? General Stockch asked with a frown.

"Elborn, although I admire the British, I am still a German-supreme person, and one day the Imperial Royal Navy will be as strong as the British Royal Navy, which is also my hope, and of course the German-British friendship is also my ideal." Crown Prince Frederick clearly saw the concerns in his old friend's heart, and spoke out to comfort him.

"Yes, Uncle Elben, besides, we must not be afraid of war and not become strong, especially if a strong navy is, in a sense, to contain war."

"Of course, the goal of our navy is only to safeguard the legitimate interests of the Empire, and we also have our own red line, that is, we will only engage in friendly competition with Britain, and will never provoke malicious competition, let alone take the initiative to declare war on the British."

"The last thing the British want to see is that the navies of other countries are close to the Royal Navy in tonnage, so, Uncle Elborn, when there are so many difficult factors restricting the development of the navy in Germany, the last thing we should do is to quickly expand the size of the navy."

"Uncle Elborn, please believe me, in the era of great industry, building ships is actually the easiest job, and naval technology and personnel reserves are the most important factors in the strength of the navy.

After glancing at his father and Admiral Stosch, Joey finally said from the bottom of his heart, "If I can, I suggest that the naval expansion plan of 1873 be stopped, and those warships that are already in the dockyard should be cancelled, after all, they are already too old when they are on the drawings, and it is a complete waste to build them." ”

"Perhaps, we can think differently, we should combine the invention of new weapons technology to seek a breakthrough in the navy's tactics, follow the guidance of the new tactical thinking, use new weapons technology to manufacture, or modify one or two experimental warships, and finally use reality to verify whether the navy's tactical thinking and new weapon technology are correct."

"Under the condition that all tactics and technologies are mature, combined with the number of qualified naval officers, the size of the navy will be appropriately expanded in the end."

"In short, start small and fine, and finally big and strong."

"Qiaoqiao, what you said is very good, but as an old navy, I need to remind you that you have missed one of the most critical factors, it is true that compared to people and technology, shipbuilding is the fastest."

"But the speed of shipbuilding is based on the fact that the empire has a huge shipyard and skilled shipbuilders, and without warship orders to help shipyards maintain skilled skilled workers, we cannot build qualified warships quickly and well." General Stockch shook his head, and there was a dead knot in his heart, feeling that Joey had not solved all his problems.

"Uncle Elben, you are right, as you said, firepower, armor, tonnage and ship speed, these are the four key points of the navy."

"I believe that Krupp and Grusen, and even steel giants like Thyssen, Rheinland, and Good Hope, will not be worse than the British in naval artillery and armor technology in the end, and all we have to do is give them a little time."

"In terms of tonnage, although the Imperial Royal Navy needs to control the scale, but the empire cannot reduce the number of shipyards and fire skilled skilled workers, then, the only way out is to vigorously develop civilian ships, and by expanding the number of civilian ships, to ensure the number of shipyards and skilled shipbuilders."

"There is a basis for my proposal to develop civilian ships, this year alone, nearly 800,000 people have emigrated to the American continent in Germany, and the number of immigrants from Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and even Russia throughout Europe is even higher, and with the intervention of the empire in Chile, the demand for passenger and freight on the American continent will surge in the next empire and even in Europe as a whole."

"Uncle Elben, in May you sent a warship to accompany Professor Richthofen to Africa, and with the development of the African colonies, the German route to Africa will also rise."

"My first suggestion, if you are willing to reduce the shipbuilding plan for the remaining five years, let my father subsidize the construction of the civilian ship industry with the saved funds, and seize the upcoming civil ship market, so that the empire can fully support a large number of shipbuilding industry and feed a large number of shipbuilders."

"In the end, it's the speed. We can test fire armor on land, but speed can only be tested on the sea, so in this matter, as I said before, we have to have a friendly race with the British. ”

"If it is friendly and not malicious, then the competition can only be limited to the civilian field, so my second suggestion is that the Royal Navy of the Empire should fund the research on the power and fluid mechanics of civilian ships, and require private shipyards and shipping companies to introduce more powerful engines and faster ship types, and use civil competition to accumulate advanced ship technology for the navy."

"Of course, in addition to the funding of the Imperial Royal Navy, I also asked my father to give rewards in taxes and national honors, and to encourage civil society and individuals to come into contact with and research new naval technology." Joy turned to Crown Prince Frederick and said.

Crown Prince Frederick smiled and nodded, indicating his acceptance of Joey, this military attempt to hide in civilian cloak.

"The last piece of advice is sailors, and qualified sailors should not come from land, but from the sea. What I want to say is that the sailors of the Royal Navy should come from the children of fishermen's families, and the Empire should strongly encourage the distant-water fishing and whaling industries. ”

"The first advantage is that deep-sea fishing is not something that a ship can do, but the result of a fleet's efforts, and similarly, a decisive battle at sea is not something that can be completed by a ship, and it is also the result of a fleet's efforts."

"A sailor who learns to work as a team from fishing and whaling is far more qualified to be a sailor than a kid from an inland farm."

"The second advantage is that there is more protein in the ocean than on land, and the next generation of children in Germany must have a lot of protein supplementation to be strong, so ocean fishing affects the physique of the next generation of Germans, and if we want to have stronger sailors, we must promote ocean fishing and whaling."

"The third advantage is that to promote the size of the distant-water fishing fleet is to promote the shipbuilding industry, and to study the powerful distant-water fishing vessels is to promote ship technology."

"Also." Joy looked at his earnest father and General Stockch, and continued, "Maintaining the safety of the fishing industry is an important duty of the navy, and no one will see this as a military competition to build some large notification ships to protect the fishing in the ocean. ”

"The navy can build more advanced communication vessels to protect fishing in the open sea, on the one hand, it is familiar with the sea areas of various places, and on the other hand, it can naturally practice all kinds of new tactics during the voyage."

Serving the army and the people, not talking and doing more, and accumulating strength bit by bit, this is Joey's plan for the German Navy.