Chapter 143 Decision (Ask for a Monthly Pass!) Read! ）

"Japan-Russia peace talks were officially held today at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Building!"

With the clamor of the newsboys, people walking on the street stopped one after another, either to buy newspapers, or to read a newspaper with others, with a more or less trace of worry between their brows. ()

The streets outside the Imperial Council are bustling with pedestrians, the new Imperial Cabinet is about to start this year's special military session, and in the street garden outside the Council, you can see citizens enjoying the sun at any time.

For these citizens, they may be anxious about the future, but they seem to be hopeful about the future, and it seems to them that the Empire will be victorious, just as it was before.

"Is there going to be war again?"

When a young man with a baby in his arms suddenly let out a sigh when he looked at the Imperial Council, what was being discussed in the Imperial Council? I am afraid that the question of special military spending is still discussed, and for the first time the Imperial Council really has some powers.

"This silver must be spent, but ......"

Chen Moran, who was walking in the palace garden, said with a wry smile to the attendant military attache beside him.

"Hey, the Navy can't just buy ships and solve the problem."

The attendant military attache smiled helplessly, but he didn't say anything, he also understood that His Majesty had been trying to do too much. When he built the empire, he inherited too much mess.

After walking to the operational map room on the first floor of the government affairs building, the imperial navy officer who was saluting him hurriedly returned the salute, sat on the emperor's seat, looked around at everyone, and Chen Moran spoke.

"Time is not very abundant, everyone as soon as possible."

Ye Zugui, who was the Minister of the Navy, stood up first, bowed to the emperor, and then said.

"Your Majesty, Ministers, Marshals and Generals. One of the primary issues we are discussing today is that two days ago, Germany has agreed to sell five Wichelsbach-class warships to our country, and I hope that His Majesty will immediately approve the Navy to purchase these five Wiecchersbach-class warships! ”

Chen Moran nodded, he knew very well in his heart that the basis of his empire's existence was the armed forces of this empire, and now that he was facing challenges, he needed to strengthen the armament construction of the navy even more, and when his thoughts had not been completely withdrawn and he agreed to Ye Zugui's request, he listened to Liu Guanxiong stand up and object.

"Your Majesty, I personally do not approve of the purchase of Wicchersbach-class warships."

In fact, in the past two days, the fundamental reason why the Navy has not been able to make a decision is that there is a debate within the Navy about the Vicchersbach-class warship, which is difficult to meet the current needs of the Navy, and even at the Navy Armaments Conference, Liu Guanxiong and others directly called it a "garbage warship."

"Your Majesty, we need warships!"

When refuting it, Ye Zugui's words were slightly dissatisfied.

Chen Moran didn't say anything, and before the meeting, he had already gotten some news. The current dispute within the Admiralty is actually a dispute between the Admiralty and the front-line commanders, who think that it is better to be able to buy them than not to buy them, and the front-line commanders think that it is better not to buy them than to buy such a weak warship.

Seeing that His Majesty remained silent, Liu Guanxiong continued.

"Your Majesty, now we are facing a serious threat from Japan, our intelligence shows that Japan is now concentrating all its forces on repairing the warships, and it is expected that in four months, even if we succeed in salvaging three warships, it will still be 6 to 9 compared to Japan, and the armored cruisers are 0 to 9, and the absolute disparity in strength makes it impossible for us to win the naval battle. Therefore, I believe that if we buy warships from outside, we must buy enough advanced warships as much as possible, rather than old warships with low firepower. ”

And Ye Zugui immediately continued.

"Your Majesty, according to the calculations of the Naval Ship Administration Office, and in consultation with the German authorities and shipyards, we think that perhaps the class has insufficient firepower and other aspects, but it is possible to replace its 240 mm main gun with a 254 mm main gun, so as to achieve the same Zhenhai class to adopt a unified caliber cannon, and the Naval Staff thinks that for the time being, it is more appropriate, and our gunners are more accustomed to 10-inch naval guns!"

And Sa Zhenbing said immediately.

"Your Majesty, I myself do not agree with this."

As he spoke, he turned to Ye Zugui and said.

"Indeed, from the weight of the gun, the volume of the tail and other aspects, there is no problem in replacing the main turret of the Wiecchersbach-class battleship with the Armstrong 10-inch naval gun, and even the secondary gun can be replaced with the 6-inch naval gun that our army is more accustomed to, and the modification is very limited, perhaps our navy is used to 10-inch naval guns and 6-inch naval guns, but our enemy is very strong, we have to use a limited number of 10-inch naval guns to resist the attack of Japanese 12-inch naval guns, and the number of battleships is at a disadvantage. We are at a disadvantage in terms of firepower, and in this case, I really can't think of anything we can do to win a naval battle. ”,

But Ye Zugui said helplessly.

"Your Majesty, we will do our best to try to change the current situation that is unfavorable to us, but now, it is impossible for us to buy warships from Britain, we have also contacted the United States, France, and even Italy and Russia, but all parties have refused because of their own weak naval forces, and now only Germany has made it clear that it is willing to sell warships, and now our problem is time, if there is two to three years, we do not need to think about these problems at all."

Chen Moran nodded helplessly, these people are telling the truth, and they all have their own truths.

"Have we been in contact with the United States? Did you tell Roosevelt the reasons for the stakes? ”

Ye Zugui nodded helplessly and said.

"Your Majesty, we have already made contact with the United States, and Roosevelt also believes that it is right for us to increase our armaments, but he has made it clear that he cannot help, because the US Navy is still at a disadvantage in the face of the Japanese Navy, and perhaps their warships are already lagging behind, but before the new generation of warships are put into service, neither Roosevelt nor the US Navy agree to export warships to us, but they agree to sell us one or two light cruisers and some mine-striking ships, which can be regarded as some degree of support."

Chen Moran nodded, and Ye Zugui continued.

"Your Majesty, at present, the Imperial Guards Navy has a total of three battleships, and the "Laiyuan" will be commissioned in four weeks, so it can be counted as four "Zhiyuan ships" are our most powerful and advanced warships, which can barely fight against four to five Japanese warships, and the two "Zhenhai class" can barely fight against two battleships, and the other three battleships that may be salvaged, from the current situation, it is very likely that we can only salvage two, in this case, it can be said, Our battleships were barely able to compete with the Japanese battlefleet, but we were simply powerless against the Japanese armored cruisers. Our opponent currently has 9 armored cruisers, and they also excel in naval battles. Perhaps the Vicchersbach-class battleship, which may not be considered a real first-class battleship, has an advantage in firepower and armor compared to armored cruisers, so I will agree with the Germans' proposal! ”

Nodding, Chen Moran turned his gaze to Shi Tiange, perhaps he should listen to his professional opinion at this time.

"Shi Qing, in your opinion, should we buy the Wicchersbach-class battleship?"

Seeing that His Majesty was asking himself, Shi Tiange hurriedly replied.

"Your Majesty, I'm just a ship technician, so I can only give the corresponding opinion within my area of expertise, and in the end it is still you and the Admiralty who make the decision!"

Shi Tiange's words almost didn't bring him a look of contempt, this person is too tactful, what personal expertise, what can't make a decision. But Shi Tiange didn't seem to notice the contempt of others.

"Your Majesty, as far as the construction of warships is concerned, Germany and Britain can be said to have their own strengths and are indistinguishable, while the excellent quality and protection capabilities of German ** ships are well-known advantages!"

"Indeed, the German shipbuilding style of attaching importance to defense is fully reflected in every German ** ship!"

This is the consensus of everyone, after all, China's Beiyang Naval Division has been equipped with both German and British ships, compared with British ships, the biggest advantage of German ships is to attach importance to defense.

"Therefore, the advantage of the Wiecchersbach-class battleship is that we cannot ignore, according to the information provided by the German side, its turret can fully accommodate the British MK7 10-inch naval gun, which has no technical problems, and the ten-inch naval gun is also the main gun of the Zhenhai class, whether it is training or shells, body reserves, there is no problem."

Seeing that no one refuted him, Shi Tiange knew that it was because he hadn't said it yet, and it was His Majesty who was letting him speak.

"Your Majesty, if we don't have any other choice now, then the Vicchersbach-class battleship may be the best choice, not only can you save money, the most important reason is that we commissioned a French company last year to develop a new 10-inch soft steel cap armor-piercing bullet for our country, Jiangnan Navy Manufacturing Bureau has been successfully trial-produced five months ago, and has now been mass-produced, which can penetrate 12-inch Krupp armor at 10,000 meters, and Japan has not been able to produce qualified armor-piercing shells. It is also not equipped with a new type of armor shell, which is also the fundamental reason why it uses EJI tubes to seek damage from high-explosive shells. The MK7 10-inch naval gun has a shè speed of three rounds per minute, which is 3 times faster than that of the Japanese navy, and the weight of the projectile is about 1.9 times that of the 12-inch main gun of a Japanese battleship! The two are similar, so I think that in terms of firepower, compared with the Japanese battleships, the Wicchersbach class may have the shortcomings of slightly thinner armor and weak firepower, but if it is replaced by the Armstrong 10-inch naval gun, not only is it not backward, but its firepower is stronger than that of Japanese battleships! ”

Shi Tiange's words made Chen Moran nod, and after another glance, Liu Guanxiong Sa Zhenbing glanced at it, and saw that the two did not continue to object, so he spoke.

"Well, let's do it, buy them back from Germany."