"With a displacement of 50,000 tons, I don't know how much precious steel will be consumed to build such a super warship, and with Germany's national strength, I am afraid it will not be able to support it." Gustav secretly thought that His Majesty the Emperor, who was so overjoyed, was bound to win this, and Germany would have to pay a lot of money to obtain such a national weapon!

Karl Benz, who had already communicated with Gustav, walked up behind Tipilz, who was concentrating, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered: "I'm afraid we Germany can't afford this kind of battleship!" ”

"What exactly?" Tipiltz, who had been interrupted, turned around and asked with a frown.

"We have no experience in producing Taishan ships (dreadnoughts), and the largest tonnage warships have not been built more than 15,000 tons before, and the launch of this 50,000-ton warship is a huge challenge for design capabilities and industrial capabilities, even if we have obtained all the drawings and manufacturing processes from China. You must know that the manufacture of such a super warship requires the system capabilities of the industry, and with technology, it is impossible without the corresponding materials. Even if we have the manufacturing capacity, this kind of warship will deplete our country's steel, resulting in insufficient preparation for other aspects, in the country, the army still has the greatest right to speak, plus the pursuit of armored combat vehicles, how much share of steel do you think the navy can allocate? Karl Benz and Tipiltz discussed in a whisper in a corner, and Karl Benz expressed himself as calmly as possible, because he knew how much the vice admiral on the other side expected of the battleship.

"There will always be a way, the German Navy needs such ships to break through the British blockade, and if you don't defeat the British, there is no point! Your Majesty said before we set out that even if we get nothing, we will get this kind of warship! ”

Tipiltz's voice grew louder and louder, and was heard by everyone nearby, and no one reproached him for his recklessness. The national mission is heavy on the shoulders of these people, looking at the giant ship in front of them, there is a voice in everyone's hearts, that is, she must be obtained!

The delegation did not carefully study every corner of the Tarzan, but only took a turn around the deck, the main guns, the power room, etc. Lu Hai's introduction has been very sufficient, and they are not here to steal teachers. Instead, I want to get this class of battleship, and there is no need to sneak around like a thief.

After getting off the Taishan, the solemn Hohenlohe said to Hua Guo Lu Yi, who was in charge of the whole reception: "Your Excellency, Chief Adviser (Lu Yi's official title), I think the inspection itinerary of the delegation can end here. ”

"Is it because we didn't entertain well?"

"No, Your Excellency misunderstood, we think that the purpose of the expedition has been achieved, and now we can't wait to start negotiations."

"In this way, there is one last stop in the inspection itinerary, which happens to be in Zhoushan Military Port. Don't you want to see our submarine base? Lu Hai tempted.

"Submarines? What's noteworthy about this toy? A voice emerged from the expedition, and this person was Admiral Prince Heinrich, the current commander of the German ocean-going fleet and the younger brother of Wilhelm II. Heinrich did not agree to come to China to inspect China, and he was afraid that if the news leaked, it would greatly irritate the British.

"That's not the case, the role of submarines is not well known to the world, and its tactical use and submarine performance have yet to be explored, but I don't think this weapon is as unbearable as everyone thinks." Tipiltz retorted loudly. The operations of China's submarine forces in the Battle of Tsushima are not known to the outside world, so the world's navies still disdain submarines at present.

It is worth noting. The relationship between Tipilz and Heinrich was very strained, and the two had a huge conflict over the idea of the development of the German Navy. Tipilz is currently the German Minister of the Navy. In 1898, he promulgated the new Naval Act, which began the formation of the First Fleet, which was completed around 1905, with 17 battleships, 9 large and 26 small cruisers, and other small ships, a size that put the German navy on a par with France and gave it the initial ability to challenge the British. Later, Tipilz organized the construction of the Second Fleet. The scale of the project, if not ambitious, greatly stimulated Britain to develop dreadnoughts, and thus began the arms race between the two navies. Plus the excitement of the Huaguo super battleship. The arms race between the two countries has become white-hot.

Heinrich, on the contrary, strongly opposed Tipilz's expansion plan and did not advocate provoking Britain. Unfortunately, Tipilz was fully supported by Kaiser Wilhelm II, an emperor who deeply admired Mahan's theories and was full of zeal and desire for naval expansion.

Now it is inconvenient for the two of them to reorganize on foreign affairs occasions, so Hohenlohe mediates, and the delegation continues to move forward to the last destination of the investigation -- the Zhoushan submarine base.

If the delegation doesn't go, Lu Hai will also pull them there. Submarines are more important to the German Navy than China, and if this traditional continental country wants to break through the blockade, it is too risky to use surface forces alone, and the cost of submarines is much smaller, not to mention that China has advanced submarines that are ahead of their time. For countries with relatively weak navies, submarines are the most effective means of undermining sea power.

In fact, it is not to blame that Heinrich was dismissive of it, he represented the opinion of the majority, and even Tipilz did not expect much from the submarine newspaper, at least not yet. German shipbuilders were designing and building U-1 submarines for the German Navy, although they were not yet completed, but the naval studio was very disappointed with them, two kerosene engines and two propulsion motors, a torpedo tube, very poor seaworthiness and huge flaws in performance.

In the open dock of the submarine base, the two submarines were parked quietly, through the reality of the submarine impact on the vision of the expedition group, through the explanation of the performance to stimulate their desire, Lu Hai tried his best to complete the task delivered by the chief, but unfortunately the expedition team lacked interest, and Lu Hai, who listened to the gushing Lu Hai who coped with business, did not arouse their interest even if the endurance reached 4,000 nautical miles and 42 nautical miles per section of the water.

Battleships, only battleships are what they want, Tipilts has long been caught in the frenzy of ship-building projects, and even in the world not many people attach importance to such weapons.

On November 28, the delegation returned from their tour to Wuhan, where they would negotiate with China to obtain the capital needed for Germany's rise.

On the eve of the negotiations, the proposals collected from the members of the delegation were gathered in Hohenlohe, and after deliberation by Crown Prince Wilhelm, Moltke Jr., Tipiltz, Heinrich, Gustav, Karl Benz and others, a preliminary decision was made, and sent back to China by telegram, which was personally examined by His Majesty the Emperor and then handed over to the delegation.

It was 8 p.m. local time in Wuhan, just after noon in Berlin. By eleven o'clock in the evening of Wuhan time, the telegram from Berlin had been sent back, and the efficiency of Wilhelm II was amazing, and the preliminary resolution sent by the delegation had not been modified much, or even reduced, but only increased, which showed the enthusiasm of Wilhelm II.

At 9 a.m. on the 29th, the talks officially began. Similarly, for the sake of secrecy, the talks were not held at the presidential palace or at a hotel, but were located at the General Staff of the Chinese Army in downtown Wuhan, and once the cooperation between Germany and China is made public, it will cause panic around the world and is very likely to cause unpredictable changes in the international situation.

"Your Excellency, this is our purchase intention, please take a look." Lu Liang took the document in Hohenlohe's hand, spread it out and looked at it carefully.

Ten minutes later, Lu Liang put it on the table and said with a smile: "I believe that after investigation, you can already affirm China's technical capabilities and industrial capabilities, and the purchase intention also shows the sincerity of your country's cooperation, but before I want to ask, how do you want to buy these things?" "Arming Germany does not mean giving it away for free, and China has not yet been generous to such a point.

"I agree with Your Excellency, after all, it is a fair deal, and I ask your country to offer the price of those things."

"As far as the objects themselves are concerned, they are priceless to any country, and their significance is not only reflected in the amount of currency, but also in the strategic sense. Take the battleship as an example, there are few countries in the world that can produce this kind of weapon, and few countries will sell this kind of weapon to the outside world, it is a strategic force, and having it means having a strategic deterrent force. ”

"You mean there will be no sale to Germany, or a restricted sale? To tell you the truth, the Gotsugaku-class battleships are our number one target, and you can bid as much as you can. ”

"No, Your Excellency misunderstood what I meant, the things on the list of intent are not measurable by price, and besides, even the Gotsugaku-class battleships are not impossible to sell. In general, it depends on what kind of price your country can pay. ”

Hohenlohe pondered for a moment, what Lu Liang meant was that they didn't need currency, then heavy metals such as gold and silver, but the German treasury reserves could not all be used to buy those things. What else is needed in addition to this?

"Why didn't Your Excellency the President say anything?" Hohenlohe decided to let Hua put forward conditions, and since they had attracted Germany and arranged inspections and negotiations, it showed that they were willing to sell those things to Germany, and they were ready to make their own conditions.

"I appreciate Your Excellency's candour, then I will say it with all due respect." Lu Liang smiled slightly, he was already ready for the lion to open his mouth, in this world, the great powers have a strong desire to sell their industrial products, but for some products, it is a seller's market! (To be continued.) )