"Fortunately, the Washington Naval Treaty gives your country up to 180,000 tons of capital ships. In 2 ships of St. After the completion of the Istvan-class battleships, your country can also start construction of two more capital ships of 32,500 tons, which will be an extremely important hole card in the hands of your navy. For the sake of long-term consideration in the future, I hope that your country will build it into a high-speed battleship with a long voyage, so as to enhance its ocean-going combat capability as much as possible while ensuring attack and defense. Qingying's face showed a warm smile again, like clouds opening and snow clouds, and the morning light blooming, "Your navy has been dormant in the narrow Adriatic Sea for too long, and it is time to go out and see the vast ocean." ”

Ferdinand nodded slowly, a look of gratitude on his square face. As for the development proposal given by Qing Ying, he has decided to hand it over to the admirals to discuss and put into practice after returning to China. After all, the strengthening of the Austro-Hungarian navy under the framework of the treaty was beneficial to Germany; Not to mention the fact that the capital ships of the Germans themselves are all moving in this direction, and it is absolutely impossible to go wrong by choosing to follow the strategy!

"In addition to capital ships, the construction of auxiliary ships should also be elevated to a very important stage by your navy. After all, capital ships can't do everything, and many tasks need light ships to complete; And once one side's light ships have the upper hand, they can even knock out the enemy's capital ship with a wave of torpedo attacks. On this point, I think that your navy, which has experienced the decisive battle in the Mediterranean, should already have a personal experience. ”

Qingying paused, and then continued: "At present, your country only has 4 light cruisers of 3,500 tons and 30 torpedo boats with weak guns and light bodies, and the escort force is not enough. Not to mention that these ships are also not suitable for deep-sea operations at all. Just a few light cruisers armed with 150 mm guns came from the other side. will be able to carve a path through your country's escort array. And cover its lightning strike forces to launch an attack on your country's capital ships! Therefore, your navy must invest sufficient funds in the future for the construction of cruisers and destroyers in order to be able to build the total tonnage of 70,000 tons of heavy cruisers, 39,000 tons of light cruisers and 50,000 tons of destroyers stipulated in the treaty. It is true that the cost performance of these high-speed light ships is not at all the same level as that of the capital ships, but they are all indispensable barrel walls for any balanced navy, and if your country does not spend money on these ships, the inherent power of the capital ships will not be reflected due to the barrel effect. ”

Ferdinand chewed on Qingying's words carefully, and many thoughts had already turned in his heart. Although his knowledge in the naval field is far less abundant than that of the other party. But after years of exposure to it, he is no longer a layman who knows nothing. As the other side said, the Austro-Hungarian Navy's shortcomings in auxiliary ships are worse than those of capital ships, and in the previous decisive battle in the Mediterranean, the reason why the main fleet of the Central Powers did not collapse under the torpedo attack of the French fleet was all due to the Italian Navy's 7 excellent performance of the patrol to support the scene!

"In the same way, these light warships of your country should also have the ability to fight in the open sea, otherwise your country's capital ships in the open sea will lose their protection and can only become the prey of the opponent's rapid lightning strike forces. For this, the German Navy already had a heavy lesson. It was in this situation that our battle cruisers of the Lützov and Blucher were sunk by the destroyer groups of the British. Qingying finally added.

"Thank you Your Highness for the advice. We will put them all into practice. Ferdinand let out a long breath and said with gratitude. As long as there is a backbone of the outline, then some specific design problems are irrelevant. Moreover, with the current German-Austrian relations, the Viennese side could have asked for drawings after the start of the construction of the new German ships: the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian navy before the start of construction and the St. The István two-class battleship also evolved after receiving the drawings of the German Kaiser and King classes.

Before you know it, this launching ceremony is also coming to an end. Qingying said goodbye politely to Ferdinand, who was about to make his next visit to Wèn, and left the viewing platform through the other side. Standing on the flat ground of the shipyard again, Qingying turned his head to look in the other direction, and after a while, his pupils suddenly shrank: the small suitcase he had given to Sher a few days ago was now in the hands of one of the guards beside Ferdinand.

A smile appeared on the corner of Qingying's mouth, and then she turned around and walked towards the black Daimler sedan parked not far away.

After consolidating the forces of the Austro-Hungarian navy, the next target of the Qing Ying was the Ottoman Empire. As another important ally of Germany in the Great War, a group of yarkes led by Admiral Zemar Pasha were also invited to participate in the launching ceremony: it is clear that Qingying's move was also a drunkard's intention not to drink.

Since the overthrow of the brutal Sultan Abdul II, the Ottoman navy has begun to rejuvenate itself from its twilight decay under the rule of the Turkish Al-Shabaab. With the national donations brought about by the awakening of the consciousness of national danger to buy ships, they now have a powerful fleet: 1 23,000-ton Super Dreadnought, 1 16,000-ton Dreadnought, 12,000-ton Dreadnought captured from the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 1 8,300-ton coastal defense ship, 2 protective cruisers and 8 torpedo boats. This force is already second only to France and Spain, ranking ninth in the world. And this is not the end of the Akbars' desire to restore the glory of their ancestors.

For Germany, this fleet under the Star and Moon is also an important foreign aid for them. Istanbul's pre-war arms purchases had already proven its financial potential, and with the post-war construction of the Eastern Railway and the further development of oil from the Mesopotamian plains, the Ottoman economy would grow even further than it had been before the war. According to Qing Ying's estimates, even if the Akbars would not have the same kind of reckless military force as before, it would not be a problem to maintain a navy of less than 100,000 tons; If used properly, this navy can become a key force in upsetting the balance of the situation.

In a room full of Akbar-style style, Qingying immediately began to communicate with Zemar. Compared to the meeting in 1908 at the Tokkapi Palace in Istanbul, the position of the two sides changed radically: Zemar no longer dared to put on a posture of waiting for a price between Britain and Germany in order to gain more profits. In front of Qing Ying, his expression was respectful, and his words were flattering to almost flattery, and Qing Ying was happy to see this, even if he took advantage of the situation to throw out his expectations and requirements for the Ottoman Navy.

"Now that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is history, the power of Britain and France in the Mediterranean has been greatly reduced; Austria-Hungary and Italy are allies of Germany, so it is natural that the relationship with your country will be friendly. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for your country, which no longer threatens maritime threats in the Mediterranean, to shift its future strategic focus to the Indian Ocean in the east. In front of an unfolded map of the world, Qingying tapped his finger and said, "Your country should deepen the river channel connecting the Persian Gulf and Basra, and build the latter into a port large enough for large warships to dock and maintain." In fact, this construction action is a multi-tasking one; This is because the well-equipped port of Basra not only accommodates the fleet, but also allows oil from nearby to be loaded and shipped more efficiently. ”

Hearing Qingying's last words, Zemar's heart moved slightly, and the original idea of scraping his stomach and preparing to excuse himself was replaced by expectation. Compared to transporting oil by pipeline and train on land, the sea freight method is undoubtedly much more efficient and less costly, even if the sea is longer and the road is longer. From the perspective of economic development alone, the expansion of the port of Basra is also a practical need, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

"Given that your country may not have ships suitable for ocean-going warfare, Germany will undertake the design and construction work for your country; Of course, this must be done by paying for a fee in your country. Looking at Zemar's expression that had become slightly stiff due to the sudden disappointment of the expectations in his heart, Qingying couldn't help but knock on the coffee table in front of him and said, "Mr. Pasha, spending money to shop is the most basic criterion in a transaction. If Germany were to build ships for nothing, not only would the Reich government not be able to account to the tax-paying citizens, but the international community would accuse us of deliberately breaking the naval treaty by stockpiling naval forces with our allies. At that time, will the Washington Naval Treaty, which has just been signed, be immediately nullified, and then all countries will plunge into the arms race again? Germany is a peace-loving country, and it will never do such a thing that gives authority to others and undermines the present peaceful situation. ”

Zemar opened his mouth, as if he wanted to talk to the other party about the conditions again, but when he saw the face of the young man in front of him full of determination, he swallowed the words that came to his mouth again, and did not object again. Today's Europe is no longer the pre-war Europe where all the heroes rose together and competed for the pinnacle, and Germany's will has surpassed the countries of the continent, and even Britain cannot stand up to it; In such a situation, where can Istanbul still have the confidence to resist the other side? It's a blessing to be able to maintain your own national honor!

"Your country, Mr. Pasha, should be satisfied with the goodwill shown by Germany. We have always done serious business with your country, and strictly fulfilled the contract we signed: even at the end of April last year, when the war was imminent, we also drove the super dreadnought Sultan Selim into the Mediterranean Sea to deliver goods to your country! You know, at that time we could have detained the ship and used it to strengthen the high seas fleet, which was in dire need of warships! Qing Ying slowed down the expression on his face and said, "In contrast, the British treat your country in the same way as pirates; What will your country choose in the future, so I don't need to say anything more, right? (To be continued......)

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