Hear British Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith said that the British Air Force should speed up the production of new fighters, Air Secretary Rossberid said confidently: "Prime Minister rest assured, according to our evaluation of several fighters, these fighters in the world, can be described as the most advanced fighters, and in the future for a long time, these excellent fighters will not be outdated, so our Air Force has allocated a lot of loans to several aircraft factories that produce these fighters to support the expansion of these aircraft factories. At the same time, a huge order has been placed for each of these aircraft factories, and by this time next year, our Royal Air Force of the British Empire will have 1,500 Gulls fighters, 400 Hellbird dive bombers, and 400 Tornado horizontal bombers, and this is only a conservative estimate. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

At this time, British Admiral Secretary Fisher said: "Prime Minister, several carrier-based aircraft of our Navy are developed on the basis of several types of fighters of the Air Force, and their performance is also among the best in the world. ”

As soon as Fisher's words fell, Air Force Minister Rossberid said urgently: "The coastal airspace of the British Empire, it is enough for our Royal Air Force of the British Empire to protect it, and I have always thought that the navy does not need to be equipped with any naval aviation units at all, in that case, it can also reduce the imperial treasury by a large amount." ”

When Fisher heard this, he immediately said angrily: "Rossberide, the naval aviation unit has the ability to conduct long-range operations and high-speed mobile assault, and its main task is to destroy enemy ships, and it can also cover and support the combat operations of surface ships and submarine forces, ensure the safety of naval bases, as well as conduct reconnaissance, patrol, anti-submarine, mine-laying, communications, guidance, and life-saving, so many professional things, can those fools of your air force be competent?" ”

Roseberry pouted and said: "What is not competent, you must know that the earliest pilots of your navy were all transferred from our Royal Air Force of the British Empire, if the naval aviation unit is handed over to the jurisdiction of our air force, I believe it will be able to do better than your navy!" ”

"Better than our Royal Navy do? Roseberry Reid, you're daydreaming! ”

"If you don't believe it, you hand over the HNA troops to our Royal Air Force to take a look!"

"Okay, why do you two talk and quarrel again, do you two have to quarrel every time you meet? The Imperial Treasury is now quite abundant, whether it is the Air Force or the Navy's naval aviation units, the Imperial Treasury will strongly support it! "Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith said with a wave of his hand.

The Prime Minister's face still had to be given, and Fisher and Roseberry immediately stopped arguing, but glared at each other.

Subsequently, Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith again to Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert ? Peel, War Secretary Henry Wiley, Navy Secretary Fisher, and Air Force Secretary Rossberry said: "There is one more important thing to tell you about when you are gathered here today. ”

The expressions of the other four British ministers were all surprised, except for the gratuitous aid to Russia, there is nothing big about Britain recently?

Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith said in a deep voice: "According to reliable information, Spain has decided to join the Allied Powers and become the fifth Allied country. ”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert? Peel exclaimed, "Spain is going to join the Allies? We, the Entente, have been courting Spain for the past few years, so why did Spain suddenly want to join the camp of the Central Powers? ”

Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith smiled bitterly and said: "The intelligence says that the main reason why Spain wants to join the Allies is because the Germans promised to give the Spanish Navy a Siegfolly-class aircraft carrier that the German Navy has just served, and in addition, Germany will give Spain about 8 million pounds in free aid. ”

Admiral Fisher was shocked and said: "1 Siegfrey-class aircraft carrier, and 8 million pounds of free aid, the Germans are really bloody, and the king of Spain, Alfonso XIII, no wonder he wants to join the Allies." ”

Siegfrey-class aircraft carrier, is Germany after the end of the last war with the Chinese Empire, saw the strong combat effectiveness of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier of the Chinese Empire, the first aircraft carrier designed and manufactured by Germany itself, with a full load displacement of 26,500 tons, a length of 230 meters, a width of 40.2 meters, a maximum draft of 7.5 meters, a design maximum speed of 23 knots, equipped with 10 57 mm anti-aircraft guns, 12 47mm anti-aircraft guns and 16 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns, capable of carrying Germany's latest 24 carrier fighters, 16 carrier dive bombers, 16 carrier torpedo bombers and 4 reconnaissance aircraft.

The German Navy currently has only 4 Siegfolli-class aircraft carriers in service, and the Germans were willing to take out one and give it to the Spanish Navy.

Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith sighed secretly, in addition to the expansion of their own military power in Britain and France over the years, the rest of the funds that can be used have basically been used by Russia, and it is also that Britain and France do not attach enough importance to Spain, otherwise if Britain and France really give away some benefits, I believe that the king of Spain would have agreed to join the allies a long time ago.

Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith continued to say to the other four British ministers: "Although the contradictions between our Entente and the Central Powers have been alleviated a lot because of the Chinese Empire, the contradictions between us and the Central Powers have not completely disappeared, and no one can say whether there will be a war between our Entente and the Central Powers.

In the Imperial Palace in Berlin, Germany, the Minister of the Navy Tirpitz shouted very emotionally to the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the German Chancellor Hohenlohe: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, our German Navy has finally built four Siegfli-class aircraft carriers, but now we want to give one Siegfolli-class aircraft carrier and dozens of carrier-based aircraft to the Spanish Navy free of charge, which is really unacceptable to our German Navy!" ”

German Emperor Wilhelm II and Prime Minister Hohenlohe looked at each other, and then Wilhelm II gave Hohenlohe a look, meaning to let Hohenlohe explain the significance of Germany's move.

Prime Minister Hohenlohe coughed and said to the Minister of the Navy Tirpitz: "Field Marshal Tirpitz, Your Majesty and the entire German Empire have always spared no effort in the development of the Navy, since the last time we were defeated by the hands of the Chinese Empire, the Imperial Finance began to tilt towards the Navy, and now the strength of our German Navy has surpassed the US Navy, only behind the Chinese Imperial Navy and the British Navy. ”

Up to now, the warships in active service in the German Navy include 8 King-class super dreadnought battleships, 8 Bavaria-class super dreadnought battleships, 4 Moltke-class battlecruisers, 4 Siegfrey-class aircraft carriers, 2 Nassau-class dreadnought-class battleships, 2 Oldenburg-class dreadnought battleships, 4 West****-class dreadnought battleships, 6 Helgoland-class dreadnought battleships and 5 Caesar-class dreadnought-class battleships, a total of 43 capital battleships, including 16 super dreadnought-class battleships, 4 battle cruisers and 4 aircraft carriers were completed in the second half of this year and entered service with the German Navy, which shows Germany's shipbuilding capacity at this time, and these 24 capital warships are actually being built at the same time.

Admiral Minister Tirpitz immediately said: "However, His Majesty and the Prime Minister have not approved the next shipbuilding plan of our German Navy, you must know that according to reliable information, the Chinese Empire and the United Kingdom have already begun to build 8 aircraft carriers, 12 super battleships and 12 battle cruisers, and the US Navy has also started a new round of shipbuilding plans, if our German Navy cannot keep up, our German Navy will fall out of the first echelon of the world's navy." ”

The four Lexington-class aircraft carriers and six Saratoga-class battlecruisers that the US Navy originally expected to serve at the beginning of next year have entered the sequence of the US Navy ahead of schedule, bringing the number of US Navy's capital warships to 28, including four Lexington-class aircraft carriers, six Saratoga-class battlecruisers, 12 Nevada-class super-dreadnought-class battleships, two New York-class super-dreadnought-class battleships, and one South Carolina-class dreadnought-class battleship. 2 Florida-class dreadnought battleships and 1 Wyoming-class dreadnought.

However, because the German Navy successively commissioned 26 capital warships in the second half of the year, the US Navy could only give up the position of the world's third navy.

The next level of super dreadnought battleships of the US Navy, the Pennsylvania-class, originally planned to build only 4 ships, but under the influence of the military competition between the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire and the British Navy, the Americans have added an order for 8 Pennsylvania-class super dreadnought battleships, and the Americans believe that the comprehensive performance of the Lexington-class aircraft carriers and Saratoga-class battlecruisers is very good, so they decided to build 8 additional Lexington-class aircraft carriers and 8 Saratoga-class battlecruisers.

The construction of so many large warships at the same time is not enough for the large docks of all the shipyards in the United States, so the US government has allocated loans to several shipyards in China to allow several shipyards to build new large docks, and then attached orders, which suddenly increased the shipbuilding capacity of the United States by a large margin, and now the US Navy has 28 capital warships under construction at the same time.

German Emperor Wilhelm II said with a wry smile to the Minister of the Navy Tirpitz: "Our German finances are not comparable to the Chinese Empire, Britain and the United States, and now our German Navy can have such a scale, it is not easy, you must know that our German army and air force are also developing rapidly, of course, the development of the navy is still the top priority of our German Empire!" ”

Admiral Minister Tirpitz nodded gloomily and said: "Your Majesty, the minister also knows this truth, but he just gave people 1 aircraft carrier for nothing, which is really ...... Ugh—"

German Emperor Wilhelm II then said: "This time, our Germany took out 1 Siegfrey-class aircraft carrier and 120 million marks and gave them to the Spaniards, of which 120 million marks our Germany only needs to pay 50 million, and the rest is shared by the other three countries of the Central Powers!" ”

At this time, the exchange rate between the British pound and the Deutsche Mark was about 1 to 15, and 120 million marks was almost 8 million pounds.

"50 million marks is enough for our German Navy to build 1 Siegfelli-class aircraft carrier and all carrier-based aircraft!" Admiral Tirpitz muttered quietly.

The German Emperor Wilhelm II glanced at Prime Minister Hohenlohe and said, "Prime Minister, you better tell Field Marshal Tirpitz the results of our discussion!" ”

Prime Minister Hohenlohe smiled and said to Admiral Secretary Tirpitz: "Your Majesty has decided to agree to the Navy to build 4 Frederick the Great-class super dreadnought battleships, 4 Seydlitz-class battlecruisers and 8 Siegfrey-class aircraft carriers, and a large part of the funds are taken out by His Majesty personally. ”

The Frederick the Great-class super dreadnought battleship is the third class of super dreadnought battleships designed by the German Navy, with a standard displacement of 31,500 tons and a full load displacement of 37,200 tons. The ship is 199.5 meters long, 32.2 meters wide, 9.7 meters draft, can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots, and is equipped with 5 twin 45 times caliber 381 mm main guns, 12 150 mm secondary guns, 16 57 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 anti-aircraft machine guns, 3 600 mm torpedo tubes, horizontal armor belts 250 mm to 350 mm, deck armor 76 mm, main turret armor 350 mm, conning tower armor 350 mm, crew 1450 people.

The Sedlitz class battlecruisers were designed and built on the basis of the Moltke class, the Moltke class has a full load displacement of 25,400 tons, the Sedlitz class has a full load displacement of 28,550 tons, the Moltke class has 5 twin 45 times the caliber 280 mm main guns, and the Seydlitz class has 5 twin 50 times the caliber 280 mm main guns, and the other two types of battle cruisers are similar.

After a pause, Prime Minister Hohenlohe continued to say to Tirpitz: " In fact, this time our entire Allied countries paid the price of 1 aircraft carrier and 120 million marks, pulling Spain into the ranks of the Allied countries, it is definitely a very cost-effective deal, you must know that the Spanish Navy today has 4 Spanish-class dreadnought battleships and 3 Agosta-class battlecruisers, the strength of the Spanish Army is more than 600,000, the strength of the Spanish Air Force is not weak, and it already has its own development and production of fighters. (To be continued.) )