.“ Thanks to Your Majesty's continued understanding and support for the U.S. government and navy, the U.S. has been able to recover from the trauma of war so quickly! ”

This sentence sounded like a very ironic joke, but Vice Admiral Ernest Joseph King of the United States still used it as the opening line of his conversation with the Kaiser with a very serious and serious expression, and Chen Tian and Raeder, who were accustomed to the attitude of the Americans, did not have any displeasure, anyway, the loser of the last war was not Germany.

"Your country's resilience is truly amazing, which just shows that your country is a country full of life and vitality!" Chen Tian said politely. When the major industrial areas are badly damaged and the financial market is in chaos, the real reason why the United States can "revival" so quickly seems to be the good repair ability of the United States, but it is not!

Of course, Chen Tian knows the root of this, because he is the decision-maker of "economic aggression against the United States", and judging from today's situation, this Germany's most important economic strategy in the 20 s is undoubtedly very successful -- a large amount of German capital poured into the United States after the war, bringing vitality to the United States while also wantonly seizing control of the American economy and industry, and now although Germany has successively withdrawn most of its troops from the United States, the United States has 63 percent of its heavy industry, 47 percent of its light industry, and 59 percent of its financial industryEighty-eight percent of the military industry and ninety-six percent of the aviation industry were in the hands of the Germans. It is no exaggeration to say that the economic lifeblood of the United States is firmly in the hands of Germany at this time, and if the German government is willing, an economic crisis can paralyze the United States.

The two post-war U.S. administrations have been deeply aware of this obvious situation, but the great wounds of the 1924 war are still there, and in terms of military affairs, the US officers and soldiers have no confidence or ability to fight another battle with the elite German troops stationed in North America, not to mention Mexico in the south; In terms of economy, the United States at this time was not only competing with Germany, which had colonies on four continents and was constantly making a fortune through wars, but even the expulsion of an important German businessman could cause social unrest. Thereupon. It is not foolish that the heads of the US government have begun to change their roles for themselves and their own countries, and since it is no longer possible to confront Germany, they have actively cooperated with Germany's actions in the Americas and even in the Pacific, and have tried to gain some advantage for themselves by currying favor with the rich man. This is the main reason why the American delegation led by Kim came to Berlin.

"As far as I know, your country also maintains a powerful fleet of more than 120,000 tons of total tonnage, including three battleships, and many shipyards on the West Coast have also restored their shipbuilding capacity, and a few shipyards in Seattle alone are capable of building warships of 10,000 to 20,000 tons. Why now order cruisers from our country? ”

Chen Tian pretended to be very incomprehensible.

"Yes, Your Majesty, after receiving generous support and assistance from your country, several of our country's major naval shipyards have long since restored their ability to build small and medium-sized warships, but the designers of the shipyards seem to have been inspired by the war, and the cruisers and destroyers designed in the last two years have not been able to reach the level of satisfaction of the navy, and the Dolphin-class destroyers that have barely started construction have also been questioned and criticized by many parties after they entered service, and the Peace-class cruisers that were originally scheduled to start construction this year have not been able to produce drawings for a long time!"

Kim is full of helplessness at this time, in fact, the so-called "loss of inspiration", as we all know. This is all the consequence of Germany's wanton "plundering" of American human resources during and after the war.

At present, the traditional shipyards such as the Seattle Navy Shipyard can only rely on some inexperienced hairy young men and third-rate designers invited from abroad to support their façade, and these people can design and build civilian ships and small patrol ships quite well, and it is difficult to build good warships.

"Oh? It's a pity! Chen Tian shook his head regretfully. He glanced at Kim, who was sitting upright in a standard sitting position, and then looked at Raeder, who had a relaxed expression on the side, "Since our friend is in trouble, of course we can't sit idly by!" Right, General Raeder! ”

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Raeder replied affirmatively, and then took out a small document from the pocket that followed, "Your Majesty, this is the type of ship that the U.S. Navy is ready to order, please take a look!" ”

Chen Tian took the document unhurriedly. Taking the opportunity to glance at Kim, the American general pursed his lips slightly.

Before opening the document, Chen Tian said generously: "Since we are friends of Germany, as long as the warship does not violate the Treaty of Atlanta, we can consider selling it!" ”

Hearing the words "Treaty of Atlanta", a painful expression flashed on King's face, the "Treaty of Atlanta" signed in 1924 made the United States completely lose the war for hegemony in the Americas, it was a treaty that led the United States to decline, and it was also the most painful in the heart of every American citizen.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. We will never do anything against our promise! As Chen Tian skimmed through the document, Jin whispered a word, and quietly replaced the word with "promise" that he was extremely reluctant to mention.

"Scharnhorst-class ......" Chen Tian casually flipped through the famous cruiser information that the Americans carefully put in the alternative, the first battle of the Soya Strait made this kind of cruiser in the limelight, and now the Scharnhorst class has become a recognized blade in the world naval circles, its cost is only one-third of the Caesarfeteri III class battleship, but the near-perfect design makes it have the strength to shine in small and medium-sized naval battles and local wars, and it can be described as the most cost-effective secondary capital ship today, In particular, it was favored by those second-rate naval powers, so after the Battle of the Soya Strait, there were many countries that asked Germany about the possibility of selling such warships through various channels, such as Spain and Italy in Europe, Chile and Mexico in the Americas, and even China, Germany's current number one ally in Asia.

"Are you going to pay cash or take out a loan?"

Hearing Chentian's words, Jin was stunned for a moment, because what he was most worried about before was that Germany would be reluctant to sell the Scharnhorst class out of technical and political reservations, so the US Navy could only retreat to order the Boxer-class battle cruisers that Germany listed as export ships and the Schlieffen-class combat/escort cruisers that were put into production in 1920, and the performance of these two cruisers in the war in Oceania was also eye-catching.

"Your Majesty, it is so, since the financial situation of our government is still not very good recently, we hope to be able to purchase these cruisers in the form of partial cash and partial loans, and if we can, we also hope to ...... them in full loan" At this point, it was clear that King's confidence was somewhat insufficient, although Washington approved the purchase plan. However, only a small part of the funds can be allocated, which is also a small reason for the US Navy to order warships from Germany - the difficulty of building warships in its own country and borrowing from Germany can be imagined.

Chen Tian was neither surprised nor objected, but told Kim: "Oh, I can't make my own decisions about the huge loan, you still have to discuss it with our Admiralty, and finally have to be approved by our cabinet!" ”

Hearing this kind of saying the same thing as not saying it, Jin couldn't help but be a little disappointed. But he still thanked Chentian, and then looked at the document in Chentian's hand and said:

"Your Majesty, what about the types of ships mentioned in this document......"

"It's all some great ships!" Chen Tian unhurriedly put the documents on the coffee table in front of him, three cups of freshly brewed coffee were constantly exuding an attractive taste, and the aroma was getting stronger and stronger in this air-conditioned room.

Kim glanced at the "obscure" Raeder with a pleading gaze, and the atmosphere of the conversation would leave him with nothing.

Raeder was unmoved, although Kim regarded him as the first key to a breakthrough to play a friendship card, but Raeder, a traditional German general, was obviously not impressed by such a "public relations", and more importantly, he had a conversation with Chentian before Kim came here. An important conversation about the trip of the Americans.

The silence made Kim a little anxious. Just when he didn't know how to speak, Raeder spoke on the side.

"Your Majesty, before I came, I heard from General Kim that the U.S. government is very concerned about our actions in Japanese waters. The despicable actions of the Japanese government in the autumn of 1924 to take advantage of the danger of others had already made the United States angry, so the US Navy took the initiative to participate in and assist our ** team in attacking the Aleutian Islands! ”

Then, Chen Tian walked down Reddell's steps, "Oh? General Kim, do you mean that your country intends to take part in our operations in the Far East? ”

At this time, Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Back to Your Majesty, our government has indeed considered this, but our navy strength is limited......"

"Alas, it's a pity that the Japanese Navy is no longer glorious at the moment. The remaining ships can only hide in the harbor and survive! If it had been two months earlier, your navy would have had a chance to show its strengths, but now it ......"

The sudden smile on Chentian's face made Jin tremble, and that smile matched the words just now...... Does Germany really not need the help of the US Navy? It is an indisputable fact that the German main fleet defeated the Japanese main fleet, but was the German navy in the Far East really strong enough to blockade the entire Japanese archipelago?

Kim thought very worriedly, but the US intelligence network in the Far East has never really been strong, how many ships are there in the main German fleet? Was the main fleet of the Turks assisting in the blockade of the Japanese archipelago? Did the mighty Oceania Alliance also send troops to Japanese waters? This is all information that King desperately needs to know, but he has not been able to obtain this valuable information that would allow him to take the initiative at the negotiating table.

Raeder on the side may know better than Tatsuten that the Japanese archipelago has lost its naval protection. However, this did not mean that Germany could blockade Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, Hokkaido, and many other islands with more than 300 warships, including submarines, as evidenced by the fact that the Kwantung Army was able to obtain some important supplies from the mainland every week.

"However, Germany has never lacked allies!" Chen Tian said word by word, "I never refuse allies!" ”

While Kim was still pondering the meaning of this sentence, Raeder spoke again at the right time:

"Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain have all sent warships to the Far East, and if your government is willing to help, it will be beneficial and good for our blockade against Japan!"

With the ships that survived the German-American War, and the ships built over the next five years, the U.S. Navy at this time could not be compared with the size of Germany, but there was one thing that Germany valued very much - a considerable number of light ships. The U.S. Navy lost most of its capital ships in the last war, but a large number of minesweepers, minelayers, patrol ships, and submarines were preserved, and the German capital fleet in the Far East was not short of battleships and aircraft carriers, but it was precisely these light ships that were missing, and the range from the German mainland was too long.

"While these still require the approval of the administration and Congress, the United States has never refused to do what it can for its allies!" Jin imitated Chen Tian's tone just now and said in a very "righteous" tone, and he was really happy in his heart.

"If your government is willing to send a fleet to war as an ally, how can we refuse to provide these cruisers to our allies?" Chen Tian pointed to the document on the coffee table and said.

Schliefen-class cruisers, Boxer-class cruisers and Germany's strongest Scharnhorst-class cruisers, these are all "dead things", and it will take at least a year and a half from the start of construction to the formation of combat effectiveness, Germany's current manpower, material and technical strength is undoubted, and it is not difficult to build a better warship at that time, in contrast, it is more valuable to end the war as soon as possible at the smallest possible cost, not to mention that in the concept of Chentian, every German soldier is the most valuable wealth.

"Your Majesty's breadth of mind is admirable!"

At this time, the word "deal" had been written on King's face, as a simple admiral, he certainly hoped that his country's navy could become strong in his own hands instead of declining, although a group of cruisers was not enough to change the situation in North America and even the world, it was a significant beginning for the US Navy, whose capital ships were seriously aging.

At this time, Chen Tian couldn't help but say a compliment, "Your government's sense of justice is also admirable!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty! In addition, dare to ask Your Majesty, when is it more appropriate for our Navy to send troops? ”

With the premise already negotiated, Kim showed his little shrewdness, and if the Germans' needs were more urgent, the higher the bargaining weight would be.

"Well...... "Chen Tian dismissed the other party's attempt to raise the price on the spot with a mature, restrained carelessness, "I think it's okay before the end of the war, right, my Chief of the General Staff of the Navy!" ”

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Raeder nodded, "We will formally negotiate with the US delegation on specific matters, and the results will be reported to Your Majesty as soon as possible!" ”

"General Kim!" Chen Tian stood up and stretched out his right hand, "It's a pleasure to talk to you!" I hope that the military cooperation between our two countries will be successfully reached! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! With your support, our two countries will continue to cooperate on the road of alliance for a long time! Kim's answer was a dream that would never come true, as relatable as it sounded.

"Then, General Raeder, treat General Kim well for me!" When Chen Tian and Raeder made eye contact again, they were satisfied with each other's eyes, and soon the officers and men of the American Navy would be going to the Far East for a group of cruisers, where there were countless Japanese mines, suicide planes, suicide submarines, and maybe suicide fishing boats loaded with bombs, where they would experience what it means to be the craziest people in the world!