"Excessive forbearance does not guarantee the overseas interests of the empire, this is already a thing that history has proven, does the empire not even have the courage to fight?" Tirpitz asked.

"It's not a matter of courage, it's a matter of strategy and tactics, and brute force can't solve my problem! After all, the empire is still a land power country, how to build an efficient navy under the condition of ensuring the superiority of the army in both aspects is the most worthy of attention, one-sided pursuit of the strength of the sea power is not advisable, what else can you do except ask Congress for money? How to use this fleet, have you thought about it? Bismarck did not back down, and the irony in his tone became more and more apparent.

"No, but according to the tradition of the British in history, they will try to blockade the enemy fleet near the shore, if we rely on torpedo boats and fleets and coastal defense facilities, we can gradually wear down the opponent, if our fleet strength can be 70% of the opponent's at the beginning of the war, then in the end we will get a situation close to strength through attrition, and finally, we will decide the national fortune of the two countries through a decisive battle."

Tirpitz was a little hesitant to speak, after all, before the war began, Tirpitz himself was skeptical of the plans developed by the General Staff of the Navy. And the question of "what if the British don't come" was raised, and the last sentence turned into a prophecy, the British really did not play the nearshore blockade, so that the German Navy was blinded at once.

"What if the British don't come? Are you God? The British fleet will definitely blockade the German coastal seas? "This time it was Bismarck who raised the fatal question!

"This is not something we should be discussing in this meeting, you are off topic!" Frederick III said dissatisfied. After speaking, he also glanced at Crown Prince William, who was sitting on the side. The latter was expressionless, quietly watching everything that was happening in front of him.

"There is a reason why Tirpitz can reign for 19 years, this is obviously the thug of Crown Prince Wilhelm, but it is a pity that Bismarck is alone in this meeting, and Hoffmann is neutral. The prime minister who has no helper can only go into battle on his own, and after the meeting began to be reprimanded by the Kaiser, he was at a disadvantage, and how to develop in the future depends on the opinion of Crown Prince Wilhelm, and Wilhelm's hand is really beautiful. Ruprecht said in his heart.

However, Frederick III was not a fuel-efficient lamp, in order to prevent the parties from going together at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting was held very suddenly, Hoffmann was summoned directly from the port of Kiel, Tirpitz had just returned from the Far East, and he had arrived from Bavaria for less than 2 days, and he had not even had time to meet the crown prince, which was an unprepared battle for either side of the meeting, and the Kaiser seemed to understand that these people had their original thoughts, not those under the influence of external forces.

The current situation made the old emperor a little dissatisfied. Some of the topics are off-topic on the one hand, and on the other hand, His Majesty the Emperor wants to get a technical answer, such as how many warships to build, how many warships to build, what tasks need to be performed, and why they are built like this, but everyone has been talking for a long time, and they can't come up with a solution! There is not a single person in the navy of the empire who can do anything?

Of course. And this can't be blamed on the people below, the Kaiser came with a surprise attack. None of you are prepared! How is it possible to come up with a complete plan in this case? Of course, Prince Ruprecht is an exception, this dude has been thinking about this for a long time!

"Huh? What do you mean? Prince Ruprecht, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw that the Kaiser and the Crown Prince's target had been focused on himself. There was a glance, and Admiral Hoffmann, who was also silent next to him. The prince finally realizes it's his turn!

"To develop a plan for fleet expansion, it is first necessary to select a suitable hypothetical enemy, and for now. The most likely enemy of the Empire is France, so the Empire's battleship formation must be able to compete with the French battleship formation after the plan is completed. ”

"If France is taken as a standard, then France from 1889 onwards there were nine new battleships on the slipway and those that had been completed, while we only had two Brandenburg-class battleships under construction on the slipway. The French fleet was expected to be completed by 1900. Of course, it is possible that the French will start construction of new warships between now and 1900, but given the economic capacity of the empire, we cannot expect to catch up with their opponents in the field of pure battleships in just four years, which is unrealistic. ”

"Our new Caesar-class battleships have six 12-inch L40 guns with a high rate of fire, which are somewhat more powerful than the French battleships, but in order to maintain a basic balance of power, by 1900 we must have more than six battleships in service, which means that in addition to the Brandenburg-class battleships, we need at least four battleships. 6 ships is an upper limit. ”

"According to the fastest construction period of German shipyards, it will take us about 30 months to complete one such warship. In order to ensure that the fleet can be commissioned as soon as possible, we will start construction of at least one ship by the end of this year, two in 1897, and at least one in 1898, so that in 1900 we can hope to get four battleships, and the number of ships to be started in 1899 and 1900 will depend on the situation. ”

"Well, that's a good idea, and it's reasonable." Frederick III nodded in satisfaction. Select the adversary, assess the needs, and then develop a plan for the development of warships in line with the domestic economy. This TM is science! This level is much stronger than a bunch of guys in the Admiralty.

Again, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Bismarck were pleased with this statement. For the crown prince, Ruprecht put forward only a minimum requirement, which meant that the size of the fleet could be increased in due course. And according to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's understanding of Ruprecht, in the latter's thinking, capital ships included battleships and large cruisers, and the lack of battleships could be completely compensated for by cruisers.

And for Bismarck, this is also within the acceptable range, after all, the German Navy now has only 2 battleships, and it is a shame to say it, even if 4 new ships are completed, it can only maintain a general balance with France, not to the extent that it can arouse the vigilance of Britain, and at the same time ensure a minimum deterrent.

"What the Imperial battleship forces pursued was the suppression and balance of the French battleship formations. Then the cruiser formations of the Reich also demanded that they could suppress a potential adversary, except for the British, in a certain range of sea areas. As the prince expected, the battleship plan was approved by the vast majority of the people, and now the next step is the issue of maritime rights and interests that everyone is concerned about, how to ensure the safety of the German colonies, and how to ensure the interests of the open sea. Who could be Germany's enemies? And what should the ocean-going fleet do? This problem is ten times more complicated than the problem of coastal defense!

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