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"General, I've heard some news lately." Before leaving for the Far East, Essen was given a chance to meet with Makanov, and during dinner, the young lieutenant commander voiced his concerns: "The two armored cruisers we ordered from Germany may be cancelled?" ”

"There is such a statement, and it is not only within the Navy, it is said that there is also a plan for this." Makanov put on a regretful, but helpless expression. Essen went to the Far East to prepare to serve as the commander of the cruiser formation, and the Russian-class armored cruiser ordered by Russia was originally intended for him, but now after the cancellation of the order, the most affected is naturally Essen, although the 10,000-ton Rurik is strong, but in the eyes of Makanov, the combat effectiveness of this ship may not be stronger than that of the Munich-class armored cruiser.

"And the reason? We have already paid for these two battleships, why cancel? So isn't our money the same as a waste? What do the heads of those guys at the Admiralty think? "With Essen's experience and level, I naturally can't understand some of the twists and turns. His thinking is very direct, he paid the money, and then canceled it, and the money and ship lost twice, what is the plan?

"The Admiralty's reasoning was that the Reich needed battleships, not cruisers, and that 1 Rurik and 2 Munich-class armored cruisers were enough. They say that we should spend our limited funds on decisive forces at sea. Makanov said.

"It seems to make some sense, but it's not enough, and we have to pay £400,000. No other interest would not have allowed the Empire to abandon the order. Essen retorted.

"Smart, in the end, it's still money! The French government is willing to provide an additional low-interest loan of 300 million francs. And willing to provide the Reich with two armored cruisers at an equal price, how about it, this price is okay, right? The £400,000 investment is nothing for that money. ”

And since the deep-pocketed French were willing to pay $300 million to persuade the Reich to sever its deal with Germany, it was natural that they would not hesitate to pay that little bribe. For a country, a little bit of it can flow through the fingers and benefit the ministers a lot. The empire is not at a loss, and the people below have all benefited, so the possibility of canceling this order is very large. The lieutenant general explained seriously.

"But this will make Russian-German relations worse! And if the Germans were angry, then these two ships might be sold to the Japanese, and we got the news that the Japanese government had sought to buy new armored cruisers from Germany before the end of the war. If the Japanese get it, it will definitely be a very bad thing for us. Essen was still a little puzzled.

"It is true that this incident will worsen relations between Bavaria and Russia, but as for Germany, it may not be, after all, it is the Bavarian royal family and not the Prussian royal family behind this matter. This is the case in Germany. And if it is the anger of the Bavarian royal family, then the impact is much smaller. ”

"As for selling to the Japanese? Our Minister of Finance believes that Japan cannot afford these two warships now, and that the war reparations can only barely pay off their debts, and that the reparations are to be paid in three years, and now even the first indemnity has not arrived. Unless the Germans were willing to leave the ships on the slipway for 2 years, they had no choice but to dismantle them. Although Makanov was very dissatisfied with the Russian plan to cancel the order for two warships, he had to admit that the French had a very good layout! So that no one can find the flaw.

"And let's not forget that the British may have given Japan loans, but it is also worth considering whether the Japanese can tolerate the Japanese buying warships of other countries in pounds. In addition, judging from the current situation, Japan has not ordered any new warships since it ordered two Centurion-class second-class battleships during the Qing-Japanese War, which shows that their funds are indeed very difficult. Makanov said.

"So everything is irretrievable?" Essen said disappointedly.

"Basically, the French offered very good terms, a lot of low-interest loans and two affordable armored cruisers, well, and support for the Russian shipbuilding industry. And the price is simply to abandon an order. Even without bribery and lobbying, His Majesty the Tsar would most likely abandon this order. But this matter will not affect you much, and the two French cruisers will also row to the Far East. Also, you don't have to say anything about it, it's not something you can get involved in. Makanov specially reminded.

"I always felt like it wasn't that simple. The Bavarian prince was not easy to deal with. Essen didn't know why he had come up with such a sentence at this time.

"Which is more important, France or Bavaria? There is no need to dwell on this problem, in fact, even from my point of view, these two battleships can be abandoned. Makanov said impatiently.

And while Makanov was talking to Essen, in the Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg, the matter had already been settled, and although the Russian conservative aristocracy was strongly opposed to the cancellation of the order with the Kingdom of Bavaria, under pressure from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and some high-ranking officials of the Admiralty, this resistance was nothing. Your Excellency the Prime Minister expressed his neutrality. And the army also said it didn't matter.

"What if the Germans stop selling armor steel to us? Does the empire still need to use backward steel-faced iron armor? "Former Russian Foreign Minister Gilles, who had promoted the Reinsurance Treaty, came up with the last killer move. He really didn't want to see the Russian-German relations turn bad.

"They don't do that, and we sometimes think of Bavaria as a businessman, and a businessman will never have a bad deal with a big customer because of the cancellation of a business, and such behavior has no effect other than anger. In the face of money, the so-called face is nothing more than a joke. Witt said with a smile.

"What's more, hardened armor can not only be provided by Germany, we can also buy Americans when necessary, although Harvey armor is a little worse, but it is enough to resist the current artillery, as for the cost of rising because of the problem of freight? It doesn't matter, the 300 million francs loan provided by the French is more than enough to bridge these gaps. Economically, no matter how you calculate it, we make it. ”

"Of course, the most important thing is that the Germans are not willing to give drawings, and the French are willing! They are willing to provide us with a full set of naval equipment and funds, and from this point alone, the French are asking much more than the Germans, and we can't refuse, can we? "Rear Admiral Rozhtestvensky made a clean last knife and directly suppressed the opinions of opponents.

"Then so be it, be tactful when negotiating this matter." Nicholas II commanded.

The second more present~~~, ask for collection, ask for reward~~~!

[It's about to be 515, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and the red envelope rain will be able to give back to readers and promotional works on May 15. A piece is also love, and it must be better! 】