"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, my lords, Germany, the great enemy of the empire, has become even more powerful after defeating Austria-Hungary. Now, their Pacific Fleet has officially entered the Lion City, and the warships have begun to cruise in the western Pacific. Even the traces of German * warships appeared along the coast of the Reich, which was definitely a great threat to the Reich. Admiral Yuzaburo Kato, Minister of the Sea, said at a cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Masashi Terauchi and the high-ranking officials of the domestic cabinet of Ichiganjima all had serious faces. The previous German strikes on the island nation are fresh in the minds of all of them. The collapse of Shigenobu Okuma's cabinet in the previous term is undoubtedly inseparable from this.

"The Germans are now the world hegemons, and they are known to be powerful. The empire wants revenge, and I don't know when it will take! Masaki Terauchi sighed.

The other cabinet ministers all nodded their heads one after another. Mighty Germany, like a mountain, weighed on their heads, making them almost out of breath.

"Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, Germany is very strong. However, the main enemy of Germany was not the Reich, but the United States on the other side of the ocean. Therefore, even if we go to war with Germany, we will not face the main forces of the Germans, and we should deal with the German Pacific Fleet, at most plus the Indian Ocean Fleet. If we try harder, it's not that we don't have the strength to deal with them. Admiral Yuzaburo Kato continued. He didn't say anything about the Mediterranean Fleet, otherwise, it would definitely make these high-ranking cabinet officials even more desperate.

"Kato-kun, the Pacific Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Germans alone are probably not easy to deal with!" Masaki Terauchi said.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. However, we must have the courage and confidence to catch up. As long as we continue to increase our investment in armaments, we will one day be able to surpass theirs. In the future, it was not impossible to defeat these two fleets of the Germans. Admiral Yuzaburo Kato continued.

At this moment, the intentions of General Yuzaburo Kato were undoubtedly revealed. The other cabinet ministers also knew. Obviously, Senior Admiral Yuzaburo Kato hopes to further increase the navy's budget.

Terauchi Masatsuki thought for a moment, and then asked, "Kato-kun, if the navy is to have the strength to confront the German Pacific Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet, how much do we need to continue to invest?" ”

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Navy's 'Fuso-class' battleships have been commissioned, and the 'Ise-class' battleships have also begun construction. However, there were only four battleships of these two classes, which was only half the size of the Pacific Fleet of the German Navy, which was far from enough. In addition, in terms of the performance of individual ships, our 'Fuso-class' and 'Ise-class' are also quite different from the battleships of the same class in the German Navy. Therefore, we urgently need more powerful capital ships. The design of the next 'Nagato-class' battleship has been completed, and it will be a battleship with a displacement of more than 30,000 tons, equipped with four twin 45 times caliber 410 mm guns, and its performance will be able to compete with the advanced battleships of the German Navy. The Navy hopes that the construction of the 'Nagato-class' battleships can begin as soon as possible, preferably next year. The subsequent design of more powerful capital ships also needs to be carried out as soon as possible. In the next ten years, the Imperial Navy must have more than 16 powerful capital ships. In this way, it was possible to ensure that the Imperial Navy would be able to confront the German Navy. If you want to defeat the German Navy's Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet, it would be better to add four more capital ships to bring the number of capital ships of the Imperial Navy to 20! General Yuzaburo Kato talked eloquently.

However, after several other cabinet ministers listened to his views, their faces had become less pretty. After all, that's 16 or even 20 capital ships! The cost of each capital ship is very high, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is piled up with money.

In addition to the Fuso-class battleships already in service and the Ise-class battleships that have already been budgeted and construction has begun, 12 to 16 ships are needed. That's undoubtedly a lot of money.

"Kato-kun, the plan of 20 capital ships is too huge. The empire simply did not have so much money. If it's about 16 capital ships, we might want to think about it. Masaki Terauchi said.

Yuzaburo Kato nodded, being able to get 16 capital ships, the island navy is already very satisfied. After all, their battleships can all be regarded as newly built cutting-edge capital ships. The capital ships of the German Navy, after ten years, can only be regarded as old warships. At that time, the strength of the navy of the island country will undoubtedly be stable and superior to the Pacific Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet of the German Navy. If there is a real fight, the navy of the island country will undoubtedly have more advantage.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to raise such a large amount of money." The Tibetan Prime Minister Fujita poured cold water on them.

The economy of the island country is not as good as that of another time and space. In the First World War, not only did they not gain much, but they suffered huge losses. The war ended, and Germany also gained British colonies, further squeezing the island nation's overseas markets.

"In terms of funding, find a way to get another loan from the United States! Didn't the Americans want us to go and fight the Germans? They provide part of the funds to the Empire, and that is a matter of course! Masaki Terauchi said.

"Hi, Your Excellency Prime Minister." Foreign Minister Ichiro Motono nodded.

"Also, let's find a way to raise more money from the country. For example, to further increase the price of rice! Masaki Terauchi continued.

The price of grain in the island country is undoubtedly very high. This is because the vast majority of the people of island countries buy grain. This allows the island government to exploit the wealth in the hands of the people by manipulating the price of rice. As long as the price of rice is raised, all the hard-earned money of the people can be scraped away. The governments of the island countries can then use the money to develop armaments.

However, the ministers of the Cabinet of the island believe that if the price of rice is further raised, it may cause a revolt among the people. However, this is already the only way for them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of the future of the Empire, not only the navy must be strengthened, but likewise, the strength of the army must be strengthened. In the next ten years, the Imperial Army will have forty standing divisions and regiments, and be ready for war! Masaki Terauchi said.

This is undoubtedly preparing for war.