Er Mingbulai pulled the navies of the great powers over, intending to use the Pacific World Arms Race to alert the president to the threat of the great powers, but he obviously miscalculated, and Zhao Bei has always taken a firm stance on the naval issue.

"What you said is indeed very reasonable, the exhibition of the Navy must not lag too far behind the advanced level. Otherwise. It will be very difficult to catch up in the future, and it is precisely because of this. I have approved your Admiralty's plan for the construction of aircraft carriers, and now the seaplane carriers "Donghai, and" Bohai, have been towed into the dock. Refit is being intensified, and soon the Chinese Navy will have its own aircraft carrier, and as for other warships, the construction program is also underway. For the technical groping of the Chinese Navy. There is absolutely no need for your Admiralty to worry, now. The first batch of shipbuilding technologists from Germany have already started their work in earnest, and with them, China's naval construction will certainly advance by leaps and bounds. ”

Zhao Bei nodded, but did not follow Tang Xiangming's train of thought, but patiently introduced the other party.

"However, aircraft carriers alone are not enough, not to mention that the two converted aircraft carriers have a small displacement and are only experimental aircraft carriers, and the Admiralty insists that for a period of time to come, battleships and armored cruisers will still be the main warships of the Navy, and they will be very helpful in defending the sea frontier and declaring the sovereignty of the sea. We can build these two new warships on our own, so that we can save at least half of the cost of building ships, and we can also provide military orders for steel mills, so why not do it? ”

Tang Xiangming continued to work hard and persuaded Zhao Bei to approve his plan for additional funds for building ships.

"Well, in your opinion, how many battleships and armored cruisers does China need to be on an equal footing with the Great Powers?"

Zhao Bei did not answer Tang Xiangming's words, but asked rhetorically.

"This"

Tang Xiangming immediately realized the purpose of Zhao Bei's question, indeed, with China's current national financial resources, it is impossible to maintain the construction of a large army and a large navy at the same time, not to mention the air force to divide military expenses, in this way, which branch of the military should be preferred, is indeed a difficult choice in front of the center, in this regard, the Admiralty is not incomprehensible, but it is not convinced. There are also some people who are troubled by the psychology of building the navies of the great powers, after all, the navy is the most direct embodiment of national strength.

"Chief Xiaotang, it's not that I don't attach importance to naval construction, but I really can't afford to spend so much money to support the rapid development of the navy. On the one hand, it has to deal with the armed rebellion in Central Asia, on the other hand, the world economy is in recession, industry and commerce are in recession, and the center must speed up the implementation of the policy of immigration. The center has invested a lot in this, but for what purpose? This is the only way to improve the quality of the people as soon as possible and to enhance their physique. in order to gain the upper hand in the future international competition.

Let me tell you the truth, in order to strengthen the construction of education, the central government is planning to comprehensively promote the five-year compulsory education and technical education state subsidy system, and in order to ensure the spread of these new systems in the next fiscal year, the central government is now discussing with the War Department the matter of the army's major disarmament, and once the plan is finalized, the total strength of China's army will be maintained at a low level for some time to come. For the sake of the country's future, the Army must also make sacrifices. Why can't your navy make sacrifices? The center is not to ask your navy to stop building warships, but to let you build as few warships as possible, and use limited funds to build world-class warships, once there is a war in the future, the Chinese navy can have sufficient technical reserves, and although the center has not increased the funds for building ships, it has strengthened naval education to ensure the training of naval technical personnel. ”

didn't wait for Tang Xiangming to think of a good rhetoric. Zhao Bei had already stood up. paced back and forth in front of Tang Xiangming and made an analysis. Speaking of which, this tone is already a little unkind, and the reason is very simple, the Admiralty is just a subordinate agency of the center, but it dares to bargain with the center, which is simply a bit of a mess, if it weren't for Tang Xiangming's face that still has a little bit of work, Zhao Bei would probably have driven him out a long time ago, where is he messing around here? In all fairness, the Admiralty's request is not entirely unreasonable, China, as a large country in the Far East, has a long coastline, and does need a strong naval force, but this matter is really not urgent, the navy is not like the army, a civilian undergoes several months of military training, and then gives a rifle Even if it is a qualified soldier, the small navy and the air force are all technical services, officers and soldiers must undergo long-term rigorous training, although the so-called "hundred-year navy" is a bit exaggerated, However, the training of the navy does require the accumulation of time and experience, and if we take the Japanese navy as an example, if we count from the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese navy finally became a climate after more than 30 years of development, so in this sense, it is not entirely unreasonable for the Admiralty to ask the central government to increase investment in naval construction, which is taking a long-term view.

But it is not appropriate to just look at the long term and ignore the present, as a time-traveler of history, Zhao Bei is very clear that there is a larger world war waiting for China in the future, in order to meet that war. He must be prepared that in the case of limited funds, Zhao Bei can only give priority to the most "investment-worthy" branches of the military and arms, and obviously, this "most investment-worthy" branch of the military is the air force, considering that China also has a long land border, then, the advantage of the air force is comprehensively ahead of the navy, which is basically unable to fight ashore.

Therefore, under the condition of maintaining the second scale of the Navy, Zhao Bei deliberately strengthened his investment in the construction of the Air Force, and it was not without reason, perhaps, there was also this reason for the Navy's dissatisfaction.

Tang Xiangming didn't dare to take over immediately, he also understood Zhao Bei's temper, if he collided with him at this time. If you can't say it, Mr. President will immediately issue an expulsion order, and the "mad president" will never tolerate his subordinates questioning his decision, and exhortation is loyalty to the president, but if the exhortation becomes a sprinkling, it is ignorant of elevation.

Seeing that Tang Xiangming was silent, Zhao Bei's heart was slightly smoother, so he continued to say some truths. "It's a good thing that the Admiralty has seen the shipbuilding race of Britain, France, the United States, and Japan in the Pacific, which shows that the Admiralty has not eaten idle and knows how to keep an eye on those potential competitors, but the problem is that the Admiralty does not seem to take into account another basic fact, that is, even the great powers like Britain and the United States cannot afford the current crazy shipbuilding race in the Pacific. It is simply impossible to continue to maintain this crazy shipbuilding race, and as for the United States, although it has war money and rich money, it cannot hold on to the big guys in the US government in the face of the same crazy Japanese naval exhibition plan. Now, the U.S. government is preparing for an international disarmament conference, and is ready to bring countries together to have a good talk and see how we can prevent the naval arms race from cripping down their finances.

According to the U.S. Government, the international disarmament conference will finalize a ratio of naval strength and then determine the types and numbers of warships that each country can have, in such a way as to avoid a further arms race and reduce the smell of gunpowder in the Pacific.

The British and French governments are not interested in this idea of the US government, but I am very interested, and the Japanese government seems to want to limit the strength of the US Navy, and now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country is negotiating with the US and Japanese sides. Perhaps soon, a Pacific disarmament conference will be held in Washington, D.C., at which China, the United States, and Japan will put forward corresponding disarmament proposals to reduce not only the navy but also the army, even if Britain and France do not participate. ”

Hearing Zhao Bei say this, Tang Xiangming was stunned. Then he asked: "But if Britain and France do not participate in this disarmament conference, it will not be possible to reach an agreement at the conference." Britain and France also have strong colonial naval forces in the Pacific, so what can the U.S. government do about it? ”

"Don't forget, a large part of Britain's foreign debt is owed to the United States, and as long as the United States puts pressure on it, will Britain not comply? After Britain surrenders, will France be able to stand up to the international community's call for peace on its own? I am afraid that the quarrel within the League of Nations will make it impossible for the French government to step down. ”

Zhao Bei walked behind Tang Xiangming and patted him on the shoulder.

Hearing this, Tang Xiangming suddenly woke up. I think of Gu Weijun, who has not been back to China since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Conference, and now, he is in the United States.

"No wonder Gu Shao" went to the United States, presumably he was busy with this international disarmament conference, right? Tang Xiangming guessed.

Zhao Bei nodded and said: "In a few days, Gu Weijun will serve as China's ambassador to the United States, and during the disarmament conference, he will have full authority to preside over the reception of our delegation. ”

"Me? Going to the United States? Tang Xiangming was stunned for a moment, and he was about to stand up.

"Exactly. The Central Committee has decided that once the international disarmament conference is held in Washington, China will send a diplomatic mission to guide the meeting. So, I have decided to make you the head of this diplomatic mission. Gu Weijun assists you in your work, and as for the affairs of the Admiralty during your stay in the United States, I will hand it over to the Vice Secretary of the Navy to act as an agent. Don't worry, I still keep the position of chief of the navy for you, and no one else can take it away. ”

Zhao Bei patted Tang Xiangming's shoulder again. Motioned for him to sit back on the sand.

Tang Xiangming's heart fell back, so shocked, he finally stopped mentioning the issue of additional funds for naval shipbuilding, and immediately dispelled the situation of coveting the gold reserves of the Tsarist Russian government, he always felt that this was Zhao Bei's warning to him, and he was not allowed to mention the topic of additional funds for naval shipbuilding.

At this time, Zhao Bei picked up the hot tea and took a few sips, and then a secretary of the Supervision Office walked up to him and whispered a few words to him.

I heard that the British ambassador and the French ambassador have brought a naval attaché here, and it is said that they were your classmates during your study in Britain and France, so you may take this opportunity to have a good chat, probe the bottom of the two countries, and see if the British and French governments are ready to accept the proposal of the US government and participate in the Washington International Disarmament Conference?"

Zhao Bei stood up, said a few words, and followed the secretary first, while Tang Xiangming was stunned for a moment, and then left the lounge with Qin Sihu, the captain of the guard.

Walking in the corridor to the reception room, looking at the guests from all over the world who shook hands with the president along the way, Tang Xiangming was a little dazed, and he suddenly appeared, as a soldier trying to show himself to politics, he was still far from the quality of a politician, and the president obviously did not want him to show to politics.

"After you go back, how do you explain to those navy veterans?"

Thinking of this, Tang Xiangming was distressed for a while, in the past, he was still uncomfortable with the decision of the center to reorganize the Admiralty, but now, he is very eager to hope that the center will carry out a drastic reorganization of the Admiralty, and remove all the "Beiyang remnants" who are vegetarian and do not do their jobs but nagging in his ears all day long. Maybe it will really be his turn to show someone's fists.