Chapter 304: German Ambition

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The New Year's Day of 1866 was filled with an irrepressible joy for the Chinese Empire as a whole, after a year of hard work, the people everywhere, whether it was a worker in the factory, or a farmer in the field, almost all of them had spare money in their hands, and now the price of grain within the empire was very stable, and a piece of imperial silver dollar could buy a bag of 100 catties of rice or 130 catties of white flour, and the great material abundance made the empire priceless and stable. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE。 info

Tear a few pieces of cloth for your wife and children to make a few new sets of clothes? Buy some chicken, duck and fish meat that you can't think of before, and have a good fat year? Lin Haijiang not only expelled the Manchu Tartars who misled the country and harmed the people, but more importantly, he gave the people of all China a kind of hope, or a kind of hope!

For ordinary people, they don't have subjective patriotism, they don't know how to fight and sacrifice for the interests of the country and the nation, but they can dedicate absolute loyalty to Lin Haijiang, who gave them a new life, and they dare to fight any enemy in order to defend their current happy life and homeland.

As the ruler of the Chinese Empire, Lin Haijiang, the head of the empire, was given a grand and warm welcome when he returned to the port of Guangzhou, and many officials and generals within the empire were very helpless about the head of the empire commanding the main fleet of the empire to run rampant in the colonies of other countries, but everyone adapted to the führer's whimsical mode of thinking, and it can be said that the policy and military deployment of the Chinese empire at this time were completely carried out according to Lin Haijiang's personal subjective wishes.

Although many people of insight in the Imperial Council and the General Staff have seen the drawbacks, but for the miracles that have been created again and again, and the prestige has been swept far and wide in just over a decade? For any person, I am afraid that there is no such courage, let alone ability, Lin Haijiang has become a myth of the general existence of the Chinese Empire, and the Imperial Ministry of Political Affairs has been secretly implementing the so-called god-making plan and promoting the cult of personality, Lin Haijiang knows that this is a necessary condition for the country to read talents, and in order to meet the world's last colonial redivision, Lin Haijiang must have an unprecedented unity and fanatical country, Only then can he participate in this spoils conference that requires blood and life as a ticket.

At the beginning of July 1866, news came from the German side that the firmament-class battleship had secretly completed the preliminary work such as the laying of the keel at the Hamburg shipyard, and now the installation of the power system had been completed, and the German side hoped that the Chinese Empire would send designers who had participated in the design of the firmamen-class battleship to Germany to participate in the last test before the sea trials, so that the triple 380 mm naval guns required by Lin Haijiang were also a huge challenge for the Germans who were good at machining and metal smelting. In particular, forty times the diameter of the body tube in the technical parameters.

You must know that only 40 times the caliber of the 260 mm naval gun has reached the limit of German metal metallurgy, and the caliber of 380 mm and 260 mm is not simply a difference of 120 mm, because it involves many problems such as repeated forging and adjusting the alloy ratio.

Therefore, Lin Haijiang could only look back on the 380 mm twin-mounted turret of thirty times the caliber again, although the firepower of the firmament-class battleship had been weakened a lot, but the firmament class battleship that could be regarded as rough and thick was still a terrifying existence.

For welcoming the two ships back to China, Lin Haijiang formed a huge escort fleet, including two empire-class battleships, four Zhenyuan-class battleships, four Nanling-class battlecruisers, eight heavy armored protection cruisers and ten Yangtze River-class destroyers, Lin Haijiang regarded this welcome to the return of the two ships as a great expedition of naval strength in actual combat, the navy was originally an attack force, the navy is different from the army, and the surname of the navy determines its ultimate mission!

Almost 60 percent of the empire's revenues were spent on military expenditures, and the navy accounted for 78 percent of military spending, and many of the army's plans were forced to take a detour or simply dismount in front of the navy.

The Imperial Navy has become the military pillar of the Chinese Empire and the vanguard of expansion, Lin Haijiang knows very well that if there is no war to gain enough benefits from it, then the Chinese Empire's huge navy is difficult to maintain, perhaps the current Chinese Empire has been going from one victory to another in the Meiji Restoration, but in the end the battlefield was completely lost.

The rise of a great power is destined to be cast with blood, there is nothing to be tricked in this point, international politics is talking about deceit, looking at power, in this era when whoever has a thick cannon barrel is ruthless, Lin Haijiang's wanton behavior makes the whole of Europe tremble, just like a trip to the Indian colony of the British Empire some time ago to train troops in the Indian Ocean, the British side is calm and surprisingly did not react? Didn't even protest the most commonly used protests? Is it that the British are getting better and better? Or did the ferocious self scare the British? Or, in the words of the British themselves, not to erupt in silence, to die in silence, it is clear that the British are accumulating strength.

Under the deliberate management of the agents of the intelligence headquarters of the Chinese Empire, another major leak occurred at the German Hamburg shipyard, and Kaiser Wilhelm I, Chancellor Bismarck, and the chief of the German General Staff Moltke all gathered at the Hamburg shipyard, and the Minister of State, Archduke von D. Doves Bowe, who was the actual owner of the Hamburg shipyard, also rushed back to the shipyard as soon as possible.

Wilhelm I hid his face and looked at Archduke von D'Dovis Bowe, at this moment William I was very curious? After the British stole the design drawings of the Zhenyuan-class battleships last time, more than 900 people under the command of Grand Duke von D. Doves Borwe were arrested at the Hamburg shipyard, and most of them were directly executed on suspicion of collaborating with the enemy.

Grand Duke von D'Dovis Bowe rubbed his hands helplessly and looked at Bismarck and Moltke from time to time, hoping that they could explain it for themselves, but today's atmosphere seems to be very strange, Bismarck and Moltke both kept silent, which made Grand Duke von D Dovis Bowe feel very embarrassed, in the face of the aggressive Emperor His Majesty, Grand Duke von D Dovis Bowe had to wait for His Majesty the Emperor to wait for the endless reprimand of His Majesty the Emperor.

After a long while, Wilhelm I turned to Moltke, the chief of the General Staff, and asked: "Is there any result of the investigation?" Was it a British spy again? ”

Moltke glanced at Bismarck and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, the houses, taverns, hotels, shops, etc. near the Hamburg shipyard have all been forcibly relocated since the last leak of the Zhenyuan-level drawings, and now the Hamburg shipyard is surrounded by a military camp, and it is hard for us to believe that anyone can steal the blueprints of the Imperial Firmament-class battleships of the Chinese Empire, which are classified as top secrets, and you must know that the custody of these drawings is far tighter than the drawings of the Imperial-class battleships, Each of the drawings that are divided into 178 copies requires at least six signatures and approvals from the masters, and the security personnel must follow them, and the drawings are absolutely not allowed to be taken out of the general design room. ”

When William I saw that Moltke was swearing, he was displeased: "Then my chief of staff, I would like to ask you, why are our drawings still stolen?" Could it be that those British spies had three heads and six arms? The Chinese Empire handed us the battleship design drawings for the second time before and after, and we have not yet figured out the true identity of the chief designer of the Chinese Imperial Ship Program! You know Feng. Did the Earl of Dwys tell me anything when he returned from the Chinese Empire? Those drawings were designed by Lin Haijiang himself! ”

Bismarck looked at Wilhelm I seriously and said, "Your Majesty, von . . . Count Dewis has a very close relationship with Lin Haijiang, Lin Haijiang is indeed a rare command talent in the navy, if he can design warships may be true, you know, Chinese especially like to engage in personality cults, especially Lin Haijiang, a figure who has almost become a legend, so I believe that Lin Haijiang may still have participated in ship design. ”

William I shook the information in his hand and said: "What I am most worried about now is that this data leak has become a fact, will this affect the cooperation between us and the Chinese Empire?" I have seen those two battleships in the dock, that is the real behemoth, the standard displacement of the firmament-class battleship is 35,000 tons, only this tonnage of the firmament-class battleship is a battleship in the true sense, and its speed will reach about 21 knots, the main gun is a triple 380 mm gun, the secondary gun is 150 mm twin gun turrets 16, a total of 32, the standard displacement is 35,000 tons, and the full load displacement is 42,000 tons! Although a certain degree of adjustment has been made in the installation of the main guns, I can guarantee that if the so-called Zhenyuan-class or Empire-class battleships encounter such a hunter in a naval battle, their chances of survival are basically equal to zero, and if the Imperial Navy can have about ten firmament-class battleships, then we can now directly attack North Africa and East Africa, without appeasing Russia to look at the colors of the British. ”

Bismarck interjected: "But Your Majesty, this giant ship is indeed a gold-swallowing monster!" It is difficult to achieve the purpose of strategic suppression and deterrence, and if too many ships are built, the economy of the empire will not be able to support it in any case. ”

William I glanced at Bismarck very depressedly, then looked at the shaded green outside the window, and said with great emotion: "My emperor is not as happy and open-minded as the so-called imperial head of Lin Haijiang, Lin Haijiang can do everything he wants!" If the Imperial Navy were as powerful as the Imperial Chinese Navy, then we would be able to make enough money from the colonies to feed the Imperial High Seas Fleet. ”

Bismarck glanced at Grand Duke von D'Doves Borwe and Moltke, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind: "Your Majesty, please don't be impatient, the nature of the Chinese Empire and the composition of the country are very different from ours, the Chinese Empire established by Lin Haijiang can be said to have been established by a group of bandits, pirates, and marauders, to put it nicely, they have no alliance diplomacy, no large number of nobles in the country, so there is also no vested interest class within the Chinese Empire, To put it mildly, they have killed all their enemies, redivided resources, and their so-called national interests and national interests are all advocating the concentration of all power in the Führer, and in a sense, the Führer of Lin Haijiang actually has far greater power than William I. ”

William I sighed and said: "I have to admit that the wisdom of the Oriental people is indeed very remarkable, the empire has now formed a dependence on the research and development of weapons in the Chinese Empire, and even some army generals openly say that the design of the Chinese Empire and the craftsmanship of Germany are the strongest in the world!" No wonder Napoleon once said that China is a sleeping lion in the East! Now that the lion has woken up, and it is now very hungry, and the German Empire is an eagle, an eagle soaring in the blue sky, one in the sky and the other on the ground forming a solid alliance, it seems that the time is ripe for us! ”

When Bismarck heard the words of Wilhelm I, his face suddenly turned a little pale and said: "Your Majesty, it is better for the empire to recuperate for a few decades, you have unified Germany, and you have been crowned emperor at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France, and your merits are enough for future generations to praise!" ”

William I waved his hand and said, "My Prime Minister, William I, you are wrong! What can really be praised by future generations is only Lin Haijiang's great achievements, which shaped an almost semi-colonial country into the world's first naval power in just a dozen years, constantly challenging the majesty of the empire on the ocean, and constantly attacking the greedy giant bear of Europe on land, think about what kind of emperor this is? What kind of martial arts will this be? As an empire, you should be invincible to Lin Haijiang's example, leaving enough living space for future generations! ”

Bismarck glanced at Moltke and Archduke von D. Doves Borwe helplessly, and as a result, two people were one, one with two eyes shining, and the other was silent, Bismarck knew very well what Moltke was thinking at the moment, and there were two or three years Moltke, the chief of the general staff of the Reich, the founder and perfecter of the imperial staff system, was about to withdraw from the military and return to glory, for a standard Junker nobleman, only war could bring him great honor.

And Grand Duke von Ddorvis Bowe, who had just been scolded by His Majesty, was probably blessing His Majesty not to see him, and even to forget his existence, so Bismarck had no choice but to say: "Your Majesty, it seems that we have to discuss this issue very carefully, after all, in Europe our firm allies are only Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, although the Kingdom of Italy is on our side, but the attitude of the Italians and their military strength are not very reliable, As far as we know, the army of the Kingdom of Italy is very ineffective and may not be able to cooperate with the German army at a critical moment, and Chief of Staff Moltke knows this much better than I do. ”

Since it was time to talk about military issues, Moltke was not good at pretending to be deaf and dumb, and nodded a little helplessly: "The Italians are not a fighting people, they spend more time singing and dancing, the only thing they are better than us is the military band, but you can't win the war by relying on the military band." ”

William I thought for a moment and suddenly said happily: "The Chinese Empire! Why didn't you, William I, mention the Chinese Empire? Lin Haijiang's Chinese Empire was the most solid ally of the German Empire. ”

Bismarck glanced at Wilhelm I, who had an excited expression, and immediately poured cold water and said: "It is also our farthest ally, in addition to being able to give the Russians an effective containment, the Chinese Empire has almost no influence on the war situation in Europe, although they have Wilhelm I's world-class navy and army, but they are too far away from Europe, even if the Chinese Empire is strong, it is beyond the reach of the whip!" ”

William I hesitated for a moment and said: "In a few years, I am afraid that my own ambitions will be worn out cleanly, people will become less bold as soon as they are old, there will be more achievements, and risks and benefits will always be proportional, so we can't wait endlessly, we have to strike first, we can temporarily give up on the ocean, after all, our high seas fleet is still very weak, even if there is twenty Chinese New Year's Eve, we may not be able to have the capital to fight to the death with the British Royal Navy, we will concentrate all our resources on the army." , completely defeat the old enemy of France on land, and then recuperate, vigorously develop the navy, and finally fight a decisive battle with the British, completing the empire's grand plan to dominate Europe. ”

Bismarck thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, if the Chinese Empire fully cooperates with your strategic plan, it is not impossible for us to succeed only in the French side, after all, France is still recovering, and we can't give them too much time, but we are facing a very huge problem, that is, the Russians, they and the British have made it clear that if we attack France, they will not sit idly by, although the Russians have suffered several defeats on the Far East Chinese Empire, But for the Russians, it has not yet reached the point of breaking the bones, it can be said that after several defeats, the dominance of Tsar Nicholas I has become more solid, and the powerful factions of the following principalities have been almost consumed by him through the war with the Chinese Empire. ”

(To be continued)