Since mid-June, the German General Staff has been paying close attention to this matter since it learned that France had sent a military and political delegation to inspect the Kingdom of Lanfang. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

When the embassy in Lanfang reported back that France was going to buy Lanfang-class battleships, the Germans could not sit still.

First, an internal meeting was held, the sworn enemy France bought the Lanfang-class battleships, the rival Britain had launched similar Dreadnought-class battleships, and all the German battleships were outdated compared to these new battleships, and Germany had to catch up, no matter how much it cost, to shorten the gap with the two countries.

In particular, Alfred von Tirpitz, the Minister of the Admiralty, in order to realize his First Fleet plan as soon as possible, proposed that it was necessary to purchase new battleships, introduce new technologies, and shorten the development time of Germany, otherwise the gap with the British and French navies would become wider and wider.

Tirpitz gave you an analysis, Germany's economy is developing rapidly, is already the world's second largest economy, in the manufacture of warships, in addition to steel technology slightly better than Britain, whether it is large-caliber artillery, power systems and other technologies, or the overall shipbuilding capacity, there is a big gap with Britain, if not the introduction of technology, this gap will last for a long time, and even the gap is getting bigger and bigger. Buying the battleships of the Lanfang Kingdom, then digesting them internally, and then developing new battleships on this basis, this is the fastest way for Germany to catch up with the British Navy, and the old British battleships are also outdated, and now they are on the same starting line, this is the best and only opportunity left for Germany.

Moltke Jr., Chief of the General Staff, supported Tirpitz's opinion.

In the end, the Kaiser took everyone's opinion and thought that this was a good opportunity to strengthen the naval strength of the German Empire, so he immediately contacted Yu Xiangmin, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Lanfang to Germany. Of course, Yu Escort took a welcoming attitude towards this kind of good thing, telling them that warships are to maintain world peace, and the Lanfang Kingdom is willing to contribute to the maintenance of world peace, as long as it is a legitimate business dealing, the Lanfang Kingdom is welcome.

After receiving a definite answer, on 20 June, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent Tirpitz to immediately set out to visit the kingdom of Lanfang and purchase warships.

The emergence of this new type of battleship made the original battleships obsolete overnight, and those who had technical reserves were better in the past, and those who did not have technical reserves were immediately anxious. France bought two Lanfang-class battleships, and Britain claimed that Dreadnought-class battleships with similar technology had been launched and were being equipped. Buying ready-made battleships now is the best time to catch up.

The appearance of new types of battleships and battlecruisers hit Japan the hardest. Japan's financial resources cannot be compared with those of the world powers, and now all of Japan's previous battleships and cruisers are outdated, even the four battleships and four battlecruisers under construction or planned to be built are also outdated at the same time. The battleships and battlecruisers, which had been concentrated on the production of the whole country, had become obsolete before they had been produced, and the emperor had to eat only one meal a day in order to produce these battleships.

But no matter how big the difficulties are, you have to face them.

After discussion, the Japanese Admiralty decided to continue the production of 2 Katori-class battleships; The Satsuma-class battleships stopped the Yasui, which had just begun production, and only produced the Satsuma battleship; Production of 2 Tsukuba-class battlecruisers continues and will be completed as soon as possible; The Kurama battlecruiser just continued to produce the Kurama, but fortunately the Ibuki battlecruiser had not yet started construction, so it did not need to be put into production again.

The Japanese military department discussed the introduction of new technologies, or the purchase of battleships to study on their own, and then design their own battleships and battlecruisers, or on the basis of existing ones. The Japanese are very confident in their designers, but it is difficult for them to cook without rice, and the accumulation of artillery systems and power systems is far from enough, and the technology of the old battleships has not been digested yet, and it is even more difficult to start with the new battleships. Coupled with the lack of steel in Japan, the existing steel is already good enough to meet the needs of the warships under construction, and there is no more capacity to make new battleships.

After discussion, it was finally decided to make a report, buy two new battleships, introduce new technologies, and design a battleship suitable for Japan after digesting it yourself. What can be sold now is the Lanfang-class battleships and battlecruisers of the Lanfang Kingdom, and the Dreadnought-class battleships of the British Empire have just been launched, and there is definitely no way to sell them, and now I just don't know if the Lanfang Kingdom will sell them.

The emperor quickly approved the purchase and agreed to the purchase. The battleships that they announced at the beginning that they were tightening their production are now obsolete before they are completed, this is a direct slap in the face, and they must change their impression among the masses as soon as possible, and buying new battleships is the fastest way.

When intelligence reported that France had purchased 2 battleships and 6 destroyers from the Kingdom of Lanfang; The German Admiral was on his way to the kingdom of Lanfang, also to buy Lanfang-class battleships.

These two pieces of news made the Japanese Navy ecstatic. Immediately telegraphed the Japanese ambassador to Shangjing to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lanfang, hoping to purchase battleships and battlecruisers, as well as related technology.

At that time, although the Lanfang Kingdom established diplomatic relations with Japan, it had not sent an ambassador to Japan, and the general diplomatic affairs were handled by the Lanfang Kingdom's ambassador to the Great Qing Dynasty on a part-time basis.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lanfang Kingdom quickly replied that Lanfang-class battleships and Lanfang-class battlecruisers could be sold, but in order to purchase relevant technology, two or more warships of each specification must be purchased.

The telegram was sent back to Japan, and the Admiralty agreed to purchase two Ranfang-class battleships after discussion, and on July 2, a delegation composed of Togo Heihachiro, head of the Naval Command Department, Admiral Yahachi Shibayama, and Kiki Kondo, a shipbuilder, was sent to the Ranfang Kingdom to purchase battleships.

The United States, Russia, and other countries are in a wait-and-see state, but they have given orders to their navies to speed up the design of new battleships and battle cruisers.

Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire were either stepping up their designs or discussing plans to purchase battleships. Battleships that other people have must have in their own countries that can compete with each other, otherwise the sea frontier will not be safe.

A worldwide race for the production of new battleships suddenly began. And that's exactly what Zhang Wei wants to see.

When Li Zhaoshui asked whether he would sell the Japanese battleships, Zhang Wei's reply was to sell them, and he would collect the money first, but the goods would be delivered after half a year. For Germany, then give him the No. 1 battleship first, and then give him another one after half a year, and the other countries will collect the money first and deliver the battleship after half a year.

Zhang Wei thought to himself, it will not take half a year, wait for Japan to pay the money, and then declare war with Japan, and after Japan is down, he will deliver the battleships used to fight Japan to the country that paid the money, and the naval battle with Japan will just be advertised.