"From a technical point of view, from a demand point of view, and from a strategic point of view, we should not be equipped with larger cruisers in the short term. This will cause tension and hostility among certain powerful countries. Ruprecht said meaningfully.

"Damn the British! Damn the British fleet, they're bandits! Think of the world's oceans as your own backyard! Sooner or later, one day I'll give those arrogant Britons a little color! "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince naturally knows who Ruprecht is talking about. As a result, William felt that he and Ruprecht had found one thing in common, that is, they both hated the British!

"That's for later, and we have to think about these things until we're strong enough. We want profits, not momentary pleasure! "Ruprecht knows the fighting power of Wilhelm II's broken mouth! That's definitely a taunt MAX! If the Kruger telegram was suspected of diverting the attention of the British government from home, then the 1st World War to provoke Mexico to attack the United States was a complete broken head! William II didn't look at what country Mexico was, what country was the United States? The difference between the two sides is N grades, why is the United States so big now? Just because of this weak chicken next to Mexico!

"Our cruiser fleet is almost the strongest cruiser formation except for the British, the French and the Russians are inferior to us, and 6 Munich-class armored cruisers are more than enough for us to contain the ocean-going sea forces of other countries except the British! That is, to some extent, our cruiser formations are temporarily enough! Ruprecht said.

"But the Russians will soon overtake us, and the French may also expand their cruiser formations, and the United States on the other side of the ocean, and their number of cruisers of all kinds will exceed a dozen in the next 3 years!" Wilhelm II said.

"That's right, so our cruiser program had better start in 1898, and if everything goes well, Russia will have 3 10,000-ton armored cruisers and 2 Munich-class cruisers, and the Americans will also have a cruiser formation that is enough to surpass ours, and if we make another effort at this time, it will not arouse the vigilance of some countries! We need to turn Britain's attention to the Far East, so that our plans can develop smoothly without external interference. ”

Wilhelm II belongs to the kind of person who does things as soon as his head is congested, and often regrets it after doing things, he is not a reckless man who does not know the severity and cannot distinguish the situation, he can only say that his self-control is poor, and sometimes it is difficult to turn back without hitting the wall once. And historically, Wilhelm II was still a little afraid of England, otherwise he would not have confessed immediately after the Kruger telegram affair.

"Is there a way to update our cruiser fleet as early as possible without irritating the British too much?" Although the outcome of the events in the Far East was not very perfect for Germany, it was more of a face-saving affair, and the lining was not bad. The strong combat effectiveness of the cruiser in ocean-going operations still made Wilhelm II excited. And for a man who has a strong desire for the colony, he also intends to reap some new benefits with this fleet!

"There is an immature way, we now have 6 Munich-class cruisers, and after the end of the Qing-Japanese War, it is very likely that the Qing country will rebuild its navy, and with the performance of the Mainz, they will choose to buy Munich-class armored cruisers! And they will be relatively short of money, we can completely sell them two Munich-class armored cruisers at a reduced price! Ruprecht said.

What if you want to buy good things but don't want to spend more? That's easy! Just buy thrift! A Munich-class armored cruiser is about 650,000 pounds, and Qing Guo can't afford it, so buy old goods that have been used for a few years, and they are in stock! It's cheap, and both parties are happy!

"If that's the case, we can start work on new armored cruisers next year." Wilhelm II is not stupid, if there are only 4 Munich-class armored cruisers, then no one can say anything about expanding the cruiser fleet by himself!

"You're too anxious, Qingguo hasn't ordered yet, so you'll start work first? Besides, I'm just saying maybe, not certainly! Ruprecht grumbled inwardly.

"This, actually, there is another way, the Russians ordered 2 new armored cruisers, but I am afraid that they may give up in the end, can these 2 half-built battleships be handed over to the German Navy to receive? I guarantee that the turrets and weapons of this class of cruisers are compatible with German-made weapons! Ruprecht thought about it, and finally confessed to Wilhelm, and Ruprecht also prepared a backhand, if the German Navy asked for a reduced price, it would be okay, after all, the Russian Navy also paid a third of the payment. If William wants some benefits, it's okay, just use it as a PR fee!

In an instant, Wilhelm II figured it out. "It turned out that he was going to let the German Navy be the pick-up man!" If you think about it carefully, the German Navy will not suffer a loss, first of all, Ruprecht has promised to make relevant reservations, the main guns of the battleship can be replaced with German guns at any time, and the 4 second-level main guns can also be replaced with the main guns of the city alone. It's basically the same as option one, and the price is very cheap, after all, even if the Russians give up, they will definitely pay part of the payment, and the Imperial Navy can even buy it at a cost lower than the cost price!

If you look at it purely from the point of view of cost performance, there is no problem for the German Navy to buy such a battleship, not to mention that everyone is a friend, and it is okay to help each other. And the Bavarian prince will definitely give a certain benefit fee! But there is a problem with the procedure!

There is no Navy Act yet, so what is the greatest use of the Navy Act? That is, the annual funds allocated to the Navy for the construction of ships are fixed in accordance with the legal situation, and there is no need to pass the parliamentary examination every year! And now there is no such bill, then every year the military expenditure of the German Navy has to be reviewed by the Parliament, if in 1897 the Russians refused to accept these two warships, then the German Navy could not have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds to continue to complete these two warships! There may be a surplus in the budget, but it will definitely not be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds!

And there is also a risk that these two warships may become obsolete if during this time there are better designs from other design bureaus, or if the Admiralty makes higher requirements! GERMANY WOULD NOT ONLY HAVE A DESIGN BUREAU IN RUPRECHT, BUT IF THERE WAS A DESIGN BUREAU THAT WOULD HAVE LAUNCHED A BETTER BATTLESHIP (FOR EXAMPLE, A CRUISER WITH 6 260MM OR 280MM GUNS IN THE CENTRAL AXIS). So following the principle of merit-based selection, Ruprecht can't be shoehorned, right?

The Russian is really good, but after all, it is only a takeaway, Ruprecht still has reservations, and the plan for the second cruiser has already been spread. If the German Navy wanted Plan No. 2 by name, then Ruprecht would have no way at all! Now Ruprecht has limited regrets, and his own step seems to be a bit big?

"It's hard, both in terms of design and program. All I can say is do my best! "Wilhelm II gave a very vague answer!

Thanks to the book friends of the First Tank Guards Brigade, old students, lamplighters, and Bolin God Venerable for their rewards~~~. The second is more ~~~, ask for collection, ask for reward~~~.