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In addition to speeding up the construction of the previous 'Guba-class' battleships, the construction of the new first-class 'Brittany-class' battleships has also begun. It's just that these two levels of battleships of the French Navy follow many British Navy designs, and even if some of the armor is thickened, their comprehensive combat power is only comparable to the British Navy's 'Dreadnought-class' battleships and 'Saint-Cent-class' battleships. However, the number of 8 ships is a very large addition for the British Navy. With the addition of the French Navy, the British and French navies would be able to have a relatively large advantage in the face of the German Navy.

At a time when Britain and France both began to build battleships on a large scale, the United States, another very important member of the Entente, naturally would not be idle. What's more, the United States has always wanted to defeat China and take revenge, which has made the United States invest most of its national strength in the development of its navy. Eight old battleships of the US Navy, three 'Maine-class' battleships and five 'Virginia-class' battleships have entered service. It's just that by the time these battleships were in service, they were already lagging behind. Six 'Connecticut-class' battleships, modeled after the British Navy's 'Dreadnought-class' battleships, are also about to enter service. Construction of two Mississippi class battleships modeled after the British Navy's 'Bellerophon-class' battleships and the 'Delaware' battleships modeled after the British Navy's 'Saint-Cent' class battleships also began construction one after another. When the British Navy was building the 'Neptune' and 'Giant-class' battleships, the US Navy also came up with its own 'Florida-class' battleships and 'Wyoming-class' battleships according to the drawings provided by the British side. It's just that only two battleships of each class are built. Be that as it may, after the completion of all the battleships. The U.S. Navy will also have 8 old battleships and 14 new battleships, making it a significant naval power in the world. It's just that such a naval strength is obviously not enough to deal with China. Fortunately, the Chinese Navy faces too many enemies to weigh on the U.S. Navy. In this case, the US Navy may not be without a chance of winning.

At a time when the Entente was building battleships on a large scale, the other two countries of the Central Powers were not idle. Austria-Hungary has finally begun to build their own 'Combined Forces' class battleships. This was a battleship designed by Austria-Hungary itself, with a number of unique designs. 'Combined Forces class' battleship. The standard displacement is 19,698 tons, the full load displacement is 21,730 tons, the length of the ship is 1,522 meters, the width is 273 meters, and the draft is 83 meters. It is powered by 12 boilers. Two steam turbines with a power of 27,000 hp and a maximum speed of 20 knots. In terms of armament, the 'United Forces-class' battleships, like the 'Han-class' battleships under construction by the Chinese Navy, use triple 305 mm main guns, and deploy four, two in the bow and two in the stern. The knapsack design has more guns than the Chinese Navy's 'Han-class' battleships. There were also 12 150-mm secondary guns, 18 70-mm secondary guns and 4 533-mm torpedo tubes. In terms of armor, the waterline armor is 305 mm. The deck armor was 60 mm, the turret armor was 305 mm, and the bridge armor was 356 mm. The Austro-Crarian Empire's 'Combined Forces' battleship was a battleship with fierce firepower. It's just that the design is not very reasonable because of the main gun turret ammunition lifting channel. The speed of ammunition supply is limited and does not allow it to take full advantage of its main gun configuration. The ship is equipped with four triple main turrets on a shorter hull, and its center of gravity is raised. The hull defense structure under the waterline was outdated, and the underwater mine protection performance was poor, and it was finally sunk because of this!

The Kingdom of Italy also built its own new type of battleship, but at first there was only one, which was named the battleship 'Dante Alighieri'. The overall performance is comparable to that of the Austro-Hungarian 'Combined Forces class' battleships, and four triple 305mm battleships are also used. However, after the construction of the battleship Dante Alighieri' began, the Italian Navy started the construction of the follow-up battleship 'Count Cavour'. The battleships of this class had a larger displacement than the battleship Dante Alighieri', and carried 13 main guns, including three triple 305 mm guns and two twin 305 mm guns. The Italian Navy was to build three of these strange battleships at once to counter France and to defend against the 'Combined Forces' battleships of Austria-Hungary, which was also a member of the Central Powers.

It can be said that the whole world has entered the peak period of naval shipbuilding, and the construction of new battleships one after another has begun, and a large amount of materials have been consumed on it, which has made the military expenditure of various countries also rise steadily, and the social and economic development has begun to be greatly affected. The atmosphere of war also became stronger and stronger with the construction of these warships. Everyone believed that after the commissioning of these warships, in order not to be dragged down by increasingly high military spending, a war would inevitably be fought between the Central and Entente powers. Otherwise, the national strength of the countries will not allow them to continue to delay, otherwise, sooner or later, the countries will collapse directly.

In contrast, the situation in China is much better. Although China's military spending is huge, it has always accounted for only a small part of its fiscal revenue, and it will not affect the healthy development of the economy.

When Wang Yuze returned to China from Europe, he was warmly welcomed by the subjects of the empire. The important ministers of the empire have already gathered at the Dagu wharf. The citizens of the empire who spontaneously gathered were also tens of thousands. Everyone chanted the slogan of 'Long live Your Majesty' to welcome Wang Yuze back to China.

After returning to the palace that afternoon, Wang Yuze did not have time to rest, and immediately convened an enlarged cabinet meeting, which was attended by military giants in addition to the important ministers of the cabinet.

At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Yang Hua and Chief of General Staff Xiong Wu, on behalf of the government and the military, respectively reported to Wang Yuze on the situation in China between his visits. Overall, the political situation in the country is relatively stable. The various plans put forward by Wang Yuze are developing in an orderly manner. The second phase of migration has already begun, and tens of millions of nationals will travel to Siberia, Central Asia and the South Seas through various channels. Because the first batch of immigrants has settled down, their living conditions have been continuously reported by major newspapers. After learning about the living conditions of the first batch of immigrants, the second group of immigrants was also full of longing for their future life and cooperated very much with the government's immigration work.

The restructuring of the military has also been completed. The major group armies have already entered their own defense areas one after another and have begun to take on the important task of defending the territory. Reserve brigades in the provinces have also been formed.

Wang Yuze affirmed the work of the government and the military. At the same time, he told everyone about the results of this trip to Europe and the problems faced. The early confrontation between the European allies and the Entente made it necessary for China to prepare in advance. From now on, the empire must begin to prepare for all kinds of important strategic materials, as well as weapons and ammunition. The next big war will be a huge and long-lasting war, and the empire will have to be fully prepared.

Another gain of Wang Yuze's trip is that he will marry the seventh princess of the Bavarian Kingdom, Helmchud, next year, and the important ministers of the empire also congratulate Wang Yuze. made Wang Yuze speechless. The reason why he agreed to marry Germany was only to strengthen ties with Germany and tie Germany to a single front. Moreover, the object of marriage was also chosen by Queen Xiong Menghan, and he just passively accepted it.

"Your Majesty, now that all countries have begun to step up the construction of battleships, once the battleships of these countries are commissioned, the Imperial Navy will face tremendous pressure. Therefore, the Imperial Navy hopes to increase the military spending of the Navy and increase the progress of the construction of warships! Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, put forward his opinion. In a few years, Britain and Germany will have more than 20 advanced battleships, and the United States will also have more than a dozen, while China has only four 'Zhonghua-class' battleships, four 'Qin-class' battleships, and six 'Han-class' battleships that are under construction.

The Cabinet did not comment on this. Anyway, Wang Yuze had already made it clear before that before the outbreak of war, military spending accounted for only 10 percent of fiscal revenue, and if the navy wanted to build battleships, it could only use the military's special military expenditure, and the government would not take an extra dime.

Wang Yuze nodded, at a time when all countries began to increase the arms race, the strength of the Chinese Navy was indeed a little weak. It is difficult to safeguard China's maritime interests by relying on these dozen battleships alone, and even if the 'Han-class' battleships adopt a new design and are more powerful, they are too few in number, and I am afraid that it will not be enough to defeat a strong enemy. What's more, once the Chinese Navy's 'Han-class' battleships are exposed, the navies of various countries will definitely follow suit and build corresponding battleships. When the time comes, the Chinese Navy will face even more pressure.

"Is the design work of the 'Hanshin-class' completed?" Wang Yuze asked. The 'Hanshin-class' battleships are called 'Hanshin-class' battlecruisers to the outside world, but in fact, they are fast battleships designed according to Wang Yuze's requirements. It will have high speed, powerful firepower and thick armor, and become the nemesis of battleships and battlecruisers of various countries. According to Wang Yuze's plan, six 'Han Xin-class' fast battleships will be built at one time, which will be named 'Han Xin', 'Wei Qing', 'Huo Quai', 'Li Guang', 'Li Ling' and 'Ban Chao'.