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"When the panties are off?" Upon hearing the word, the cabinet members all frowned. However, they have to admit that although the words of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the Secretary of State for Commerce, are somewhat vulgar, they are in fact very true. The strength of Britain is built on the strength of the British Royal Navy, without a strong navy, British roots cannot maintain its huge overseas colonies, once the overseas colonies collapse, Britain is not far from falling!

The Secretary of the Navy, John Fisher, glanced at Churchill gratefully, and he was very touched that Churchill was the first to stand up for him. However, the funds needed this time are probably tens of millions of pounds, and it is difficult to say whether they can get the approval of the cabinet!

"Gentlemen, since we were defeated by the Chinese in the Battle of the South China Sea ten years ago, the British Empire has been in decline. The epoch-making 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese turned all the old battleships of the British Empire into scrap metal and defeated us in naval battles. Other countries also took the opportunity to challenge the position of the British Empire. From then on, the British Empire gradually began to lose its position as a maritime hegemon! The British Empire can no longer remain silent, we need to respond to the challenge of the Chinese with a tough attitude, and only by maintaining a strong navy can we ensure the glory of the empire on which the sun never sets! Churchill exclaimed!

Prime Minister Asquith nodded. The decline of the British Empire was inseparable from its defeat in the Battle of the South China Sea. When the British Empire lost its position as the supremacy of the sea, it began to collapse. And for the British Empire to safeguard its vast overseas interests, a strong navy is indispensable!

"What do you think?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I agree! The army's military spending is now barely enough, and there is no need to increase it. The extra money should be given to the Navy to build battleships! After all. If a big war breaks out in Europe, the land war will still be at the forefront of the French people! War Secretary Paul Stafford Mehuine said!

The rest of the cabinet agreed, and now that they had said that, they had no reason to refuse. However, when it comes to the substance, how to solve the source of funds? That's a big problem!

"Sir George, is there a way to provide an appropriation for the Admiralty?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

"How much money does the Admiralty need?" Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George asked first!

"The Admiralty plans to build five additional 'Iron Duke-class' battleships, which will cost twenty million pounds. In addition, the design of new types of battleships and the construction of more than six new types of battleships. It will take at least 50 million pounds or so. And that's not even counting the improved models that followed! Sir John Fisher said hurriedly!

"Phew!" When Lord Chancellor of the Admiralty, Sir John Fisher, told the number, everyone gasped. The additional 'Iron Duke-class' battleships, together with the design and construction of the new battleships, amounted to £70 million. If you add the construction of the subsequent improved model, I am afraid it will cost hundreds of millions of pounds! That's almost a year's worth of revenue for the UK. Such a large sum of money is enough for the British treasury to afford!

"Sir Fisher." The additional construction plan for the Iron Duke-class battleships has been reduced to three! In addition, it is not necessary to build six new battleships at once, four are enough! Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the additional construction plan for the 'Iron Duke-class' battleships can be reduced to three, but the new battleships must have at least five or more. After all, the Chinese had six 'Tang-class' battleships. We've got to have at least five. Sir Fisher said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellency Sir Fisher, I have a Jianyì. China is not only our enemy, but also an enemy of the United States. The design of the new battleship, will it be possible to pull the Americans in? Business Secretary Winston Churchill said.

"Americans? What can they do other than imitate the design drawings we give? Having them in the design won't do you any good for the design of the new battleship! Sir Fisher shook his head.

"Sir. There will be benefits. At the very least, the Americans could provide some of the design funding to alleviate our underfunding. If the Americans wanted blueprints for the design of the new battleship. We can also sell to them at a reasonable price. These funds are very important to us! "Churchill built yì road.

Sir John Fisher hesitated, but finally nodded. The Americans have a lot of money, let them pay some money out, presumably they will not refuse. If the Chinese' 'Tang-class' battleships are commissioned, the first threat will be the Americans. Therefore, the Americans will certainly accept the good intentions of the British!

"Alright, let's do it! The Honourable George, in the name of the Treasury, has lent £30 million to the Bank of England as an additional appropriation to the Admiralty this year. A second tranche will be allocated next year. In any case, it was also necessary to ensure that the construction plan of the new battleships of the Admiralty proceeded smoothly. Prime Minister Asquith said!

"Yes, Your Excellency, Prime Minister!" Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George nodded.

Lord Chancellor, Sir John Fisher, was overjoyed that the £30 million grant would allow the Admiralty's plans to proceed normally. The three additional 'Iron Duke-class' battleships will be able to place orders with the shipyard immediately, aiming to enter service in two years. The design of the new battleship also began immediately, and the construction of the new battleship began at the beginning of next year!

As a matter of fact, the Times was able to take pictures of the construction of the 'Tang-class' battleships, which the Chinese side deliberately allowed to go, otherwise the Times reporters would not have been able to infiltrate the shipyard with the tight security outside the Tianjin shipyard. And the goal of the Chinese side has been achieved. Britain was the first to respond, devoting its already scarce resources to the construction of battleships, setting off a new round of arms race. The rest of the world will follow suit, which will further accelerate the consumption of the already exhausted national strength. When all countries can no longer afford to bear the arms race, it is time for war to begin!

The advent of the 'Tang-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy is the most feared by the United States. In particular, when it was learned from Britain that the Chinese Navy probably had two 'Tang-class' battleships, and that two 'Iron Duke-class' battleships would be able to fight one 'Tang-class' battleship, the US Navy was even more gloomy. The U.S. Navy's 'Nevada-class' battleships were built on the blueprints of the 'Iron Duke-class' battleships obtained from the British Navy. Moreover, only four Nevada-class battleships were built. In this way, just six 'Tang-class' battleships are enough to offset the U.S. Navy's 'Wyoming-class' battleships, 'New York-class' battleships, and 'Nevada-class' battleships. In addition, the Chinese Navy also has the formidable 'Han-class' battleships and the 'Qin-class' and 'Zhonghua-class' battleships that have not become obsolete until now, and the Chinese Navy also has a large number of battle cruisers. No matter how you look at it, the United States is already at a serious disadvantage. Such a consequence directly led to pessimism and disappointment in the US Navy, which made the US government very uneasy!

However, it was at this time that the British threw an olive branch to the United States and agreed that the American Navy would join the British Navy in the design of the new battleship. However, the price that the U.S. Navy had to pay was 10 million pounds for the design, and 10 million pounds for all the drawings and production technology after the ship was designed.

The price of 20 million pounds is also a huge amount of money for the United States at this time. U.S. President Taft knew very well that the British had no money, so they wanted to bring the United States in and earn money from the United States to build battleships. But will the United States be able to refuse?

President Taft summoned Secretary of the Navy George von Lengelkemeyer and asked him if he could develop a new type of battleship that could rival the Chinese Navy's 'Tang-class' battleships on its own, given the current capabilities of the U.S. Navy. However, the result is a negative one. Although there were a lot of steals from the British, the US Navy was still unable to catch up with the British Navy in the design of battleships. If the U.S. Navy had designed a new battleship on its own, it might have been able to do so, but it would have taken a long time. By then, the Chinese Navy would have already attacked. What's more, the Chinese Navy's 'Tang-class' battleships use 381 mm main guns, and to be able to match them, they must use the same caliber main guns. And the United States is currently only able to build 343 mm guns, and the 381 mm gun construction technology must be obtained from Britain!

In the end, President Taft had no choice but to agree to the British request to join the design of the new battleship at a cost of 20 million pounds. However, the US government proposed that the design drawings of the subsequent improved models of the new battleships should be provided to the United States free of charge. In this regard, the British government also agreed. After all, 20 million pounds of funds can greatly alleviate the current financial difficulties of the British Navy. Even if it is a new battleship, the cost is probably less than 10 million pounds, and the 20 million pounds invested by the US government is equivalent to giving two new battleships to Britain. In addition, after the United States builds a new type of battleship, it will definitely be used in the war with China, which is also a good thing for Britain!