Minister of the Navy Chen Shaokuan sat in the spacious conference room on the third floor of the headquarters of the Austro-Hungarian Far East Fleet at the mouth of the river, looking a little tired. He looked at the ships of the Austro-Hungarian detachment in the harbor, and there was a look of envy in his eyes. The Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy, which was not originally very strong, gradually grew into a giant that could compete with the British Empire in the European War, which is somewhat legendary and has always been a topic of conversation among the naval generals of the Republic of China.

In the hearts of every officer and soldier of the Chinese Navy, there has always been such a dream -- when will our own fleet be able to stand on top of the world like the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

In this respect, the Austro-Hungarian Navy has become an example for them.

Chen Shaokuan regretted that during the European War, he had been in the British Royal Navy for a long time to "watch the war", and followed the British fleet to participate in three naval battles, during the Battle of the Bay of Biscay, he also participated in the battle against the Austro-Hungarian fleet on the armored cruiser "Achilles", but on that occasion, the displacement of 13,500 tons, in his eyes can be called a large ship "Achilles" was driven away by the Austro-Hungarian war cruiser "Radetzky" at sea. Fortunately, the Austrians later went to encircle the main force of Betty's fleet, and they were able to escape.

He never imagined that the Austro-Hungarian fleet, which was unknown before the war, would be able to defeat the French and Italian navies, which were strong in the eyes of the Chinese, and become the new hegemon of the Mediterranean, leaving the powerful British Navy feeling helpless and helpless.

During the post-war peace talks, Chen Shaokuan, as a member of the Chinese naval delegation, finally had the opportunity to board the Austro-Hungarian warships and take a closer look at these warships, which were famous during the European war, but unfortunately, more than half of them were dismantled in the post-war disarmament. How much the Chinese navy wanted to get its hands on these huge fleets that had been demolished. It's a pity that the Beiyang government can't come up with that much money at all.

Later, under pressure from the Japanese, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor gave four "Cardinal" class battleships that were not completed during World War I to the Chinese Navy for 6 million yuan. During the "Northeast Incident", it was precisely because of these four battleships that the Japanese Combined Fleet was shocked. Their attempt to attack Shanghai failed. In the Battle of Zhoushan, the Chinese fleet, consisting mainly of four battleships, forced the Japanese fleet to flee, and for the first time since the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Chinese Navy had a sense of pride.

It was precisely because of this naval battle that the Admiralty finally had the same qualifications as the War Department in the government, and the government began to pay attention to the construction of the Navy, and the appropriation increased year by year. The Admiralty had drawn up a huge 10-year shipbuilding plan to build a fleet for the Chinese Navy that could compete with the Japanese Combined Fleet.

It's a pity that at a time when the Chinese Navy was just beginning to re-equip. The war once again interrupted the dreams of the naval people of "peaceful construction".

At the beginning of the war, the Chinese fleet was again attacked by the Japanese, and the First Fleet of the Navy in Yantai suffered heavy losses, and finally had to withdraw to Qingdao, nominally "detained" by the Germans, so that the main force could be preserved. The Second Fleet was bombed by the Japanese on the way to reinforce Shanghai, and it was also damaged. The capital ships could only flee to Guangzhou in the dark to avoid being bombed again.

In this way, the Chinese navy lost its guard and control of the coastal waters within a few days, drawing a chorus of scolding from domestic newspapers and the public.

Admiral Chen Shaokuan, who is now the Minister of the Navy, is maneuvering everywhere with the infamy of being a "wreck" and a "traitor," hoping that the navy's combat strength will be restored one day sooner.

In fact, since the beginning of 34, the Chinese Navy has been actively engaged in the so-called "naval defense construction program". In order to narrow the huge gap in strength between the Chinese and Japanese navies as much as possible, Chen Shaokuan, as the new minister of the navy, did his best together with his predecessors and colleagues in the navy. The Navy ordered one light cruiser each from Austria-Hungary and Germany, and at the same time in Shanghai and Fuzhou, under the guidance of the introduction of pillars and German-Austrian specialists, the construction of four light cruisers with a displacement of 6800 tons began in 1935. At the same time, the navy also ordered two new ocean-going destroyers from each of the two countries, and started the construction of six "Wuchang" class destroyers with a displacement of 2,870 tons in China with the drawings and technology provided by Germany and Austria.

More importantly, the Admiralty also collected donations from various provinces in China, raised a huge sum of nearly 86 million yuan, started to import drawings and technology from Austria-Hungary, and with the help of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, started the construction of two "Jiangsu" class aircraft carriers.

Due to the weak foundation of the domestic shipbuilding industry, it took only one year for Germany and Austria to build and put into service the "Leipzig"-class light cruisers and "Island-class" light cruisers, and it took two and a half years for Chinese shipbuilders to build and launch them, and before they could complete outfitting, war broke out.

Now, the two cruisers under construction at the Jiangnan shipyard were also attacked, and before the Japanese army occupied Wusong, they fled to Nanjing at night. The two cruisers built at the Fuzhou Naval Shipyard were withdrawn to the port of Qinzhou. At present, only two light cruisers and a few destroyers purchased from Germany and Austria are left to fight on the naval side.

Chen Shaokuan came to ask Austria-Hungary for help.

Since the Fuzhou and Jiangnan shipyards are very likely to fall, and the construction of the naval Qinzhou shipyard has not yet been completed, there is no suitable dock in the country to accommodate the two damaged battleships "Zhenhai" and "Jinghai" to dock for repairs, they can only contact the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which has the best relations with China, to see if they can help. At the same time, it is hoped that with the help of Austria-Hungary, the final outfitting of the aircraft carriers "Jiangsu" and "Fujian" will be completed.

After preliminary talks, General Yankel said that he would first consult the country, but agreed that the Chinese battleships could enter the estuary dockyard for simple repairs for no more than three days. This was in line with the conditions of the Neutrality Act, and in fact Austria-Hungary and Germany, which had nominally remained neutral after the outbreak of the war, had in fact been providing assistance to China.

The Japanese constantly protested to Germany and Austria, but they were all rejected by Germany and Austria on the grounds of normal trade. Anyway, the Japanese did not dare to risk war and forcibly intercept the German and Austrian cargo ships, and they could not confirm that the ships were loaded with munitions.

However, on the surface, the two countries still have to remain neutral, and repairing warships for the Chinese will definitely break the neutrality clause.

Now, Chen Shaokuan and his entourage are anxiously and uneasily waiting for the reply of the Austro-Hungarian side. (To be continued......) R1071