The sun is setting in the west, and the sky is full of red clouds.

In an official residence in Tokyo, Hirobumi Ito lay quietly on a wicker chair in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the crimson sky in the far west, stunned. Hearing the familiar footsteps behind him, Ito's wandering gaze instantly froze, and he said softly, "Is it Yamamoto-kun?" ”

Bending and twisting, plucking leaves and willows, Yamamoto Gonbei in civilian clothes appeared in front of Ito. He sat down in the chair next to him that had been prepared for him, and said in a deep voice: "After returning from the Kaiser-sein, I went straight to the Naval Data Archives and carefully checked the performance of all the active ships in the world. In the end, he came to the conclusion that the few battleship designs he gave us were very feasible! ”

Hearing Yamamoto's affirmative reply, Ito was greatly stunned, and his face also showed an unparalleled shock. His face was solemn, and he slowly spoke: "Yamamoto-kun, can you really be sure?" Although I am not a professional naval designer, I still have some understanding of warships in the more than 20 years of development of the Japanese Navy. The installation and patrol plan given by the Germans was more than 300 tons smaller than that of Asama, and the caliber of the main gun was a full 2 levels larger than that of Asama, and the armor protection was also surpassed! Is this kind of thing really not modifying Newton's theorem? ”

Yamamoto shook his head slightly, and said softly: "Regarding this aspect of the design of the battleship, I am afraid that it is really as the German crown prince said; Although the British Navy is invincible in the world, the quality of their warships is not the best in the world. In addition to the proposal provided to us by Germany, I also found several designs that were significantly stronger than those of their British counterparts from the ships in service in various countries in the world. ”

As he spoke, Yamamoto took out a few documents from the folder he was carrying and handed them to Ito, saying, "On the battleship, the 'Iowa' built by the United States is the best example. Commissioned in 1893 and commissioned in 1897, the ship had a standing displacement of only 11,410 tons, but it had the superior firepower of four 12-inch, eight 8-inch and four 6-inch guns, 14-inch thick waterline armor, and a speed of 16 knots. By comparison, the British were far worse off in 1894. Its ships have a displacement of 14,560-14,890 tons, but they are only equipped with 4 12-inch and 12 6-inch guns, and the firepower is a big difference; In terms of protection, the main armor belt of the Majesty class is only 9 inches thick, and its coverage length and height have not reached a high level, and the weight of the armor consumed by it is not heavier than that of Iowa. As for power, the Maje class is also designed for a speed of 16 knots, which can only be reached with strong pressure ventilation. That is to say, the British majestic class started 1 year later than the Iowa, and the displacement is more than 3,000 tons, but it has no advantages in protection and speed, and the firepower is weaker than that of the Mi ship! ”

Ito said suspiciously: "However, in order to pursue seaworthiness, the British ships made their freeboard very high, while the freeboard of the American ships was low. I seem to remember that the tonnage utilization rate of low-freeboard battleships is already stronger than that of high-freeboard battleships, and it seems understandable that the superior performance of the Mi ship on paper? ”

"I have already asked the chief designer of the cruiser SUMA, sacrificing the freeboard height of one deck can only achieve a partial increase in the performance of the battleship, but it is not enough to cause such a huge disparity, and the only explanation is that the British have technical flaws in the design of the battleship! There are many factors that cause this phenomenon, such as poor structural design techniques and backward performance of subsystems, which are the reasons for the sharp increase in the tonnage of warships; However, due to the lack of information in our possession, it is impossible to know where the British went wrong. Yamamoto explained.

Ito nodded slowly, not saying more. As the first protection cruiser designed and built entirely by Japan and reached the world's advanced level, the SUMA was highly anticipated by the Japanese Navy, and its main designer, Akiyama, has studied abroad for many years and is one of Japan's leading naval designers. Since he has expressed this opinion, he can only choose to believe his arguments. He looked at the information in his hand, and still said with some unease: "Even if the British battleship has design flaws, then this can only prove that there is a problem with their battleship." Yamamoto-kun, how do you know that the patrol plan proposed by the Germans is feasible? After all, this is a great cause related to the development of the Japanese Empire, and I have to think about it carefully. ”

"I also found an example of an armored cruiser that I could refer to, and that was the Italian-built Garibaldi class. This ship, which started construction in 1894, has a design displacement of only 6,775 tons and a speed of 20 knots, but is equipped with 4 twin 8-inch guns and 14 single-mounted 6-inch guns, and has a large area of 150 mm Harvey armor on its side! You see, Ito-kun, the thickness of this piece of vertical armor that goes straight to the freeboard is 150 mm! There are now four of these ships in service in the Argentine Navy and one in the Spanish fleet, some of which have replaced twin 8-inch guns with single-mounted 10-inch guns. In addition, the 10,700-ton large-scale patrol ship that the Germans built for Russia three years ago is also a case that can be reacted from the side. Yamamoto said, laying out another document.

It took a long time for Ito to react and said in amazement: "Italy? Isn't this the country that was beaten to the ground by the local natives with cold weapons in Africa and demanded peace and reparations? How could they build such an advanced warship? Can anyone tell me if it's a breeding pig laying eggs or what? ”

A wry smile appeared at the corner of Yamamoto's mouth, and he said, "The breeding pig didn't lay eggs, but this situation really happened." This Italian cruiser is on par with us in terms of firepower and speed compared to our Asama class, the protection is above ours, and most importantly, this battleship has less than 6800 tons! Although the first five ships seemed to be suspected of not being able to withstand wind and waves, Italy increased the tonnage to 7,200 tons in the three ships built for the country, but this is still 2,500 tons less than our Asama class. The 7,000-ton patrol given by the crown prince today is roughly at the same level as this Garibaldi. As for its feasibility, the Argentine Navy's four well-used ships of the same class are enough to explain anything. Ito nodded slowly and said in a low voice: "I can't imagine that a second-rate navy and a third-rate industrial country like Italy can build such advanced ships." If it weren't for the fact that the empire really ran out of money in its pockets, we could have chosen to order warships from the Italians instead of this vampire-like loan! ”

Yamamoto shook his head slightly and said, "Ito-kun, although the Italian design is as good as the Germans, their price is really a bit high. Due to the lack of industrial capacity in Italy, the prices of its industrial products are quite expensive; The cost of a 6,800-ton Garibaldi, not counting the weapons, is more than 550,000 pounds, and if we really want to buy it, it will almost cost 650,000 pounds; The German 7,000-ton cruiser was only 11.5 million marks, which translates to 560,000 pounds, which is almost 100,000 pounds cheaper. In addition, also because of Italy's industrial strength, it took them 6 and a half years to build a 6,600-ton Pisa I-class cruiser, while the Germans could complete it in 2 and a half years at most! If we Italians are asked to buy warships, the construction period will be very long, which is a great disadvantage for the empire that is in dire need of a navy. ”

Ito let out a long sigh and said, "That's it." At this point, our Japanese Empire has no choice but to avoid being colonized and swallowed by Lucia, and the German crown prince is right, France even issued loans to their allies in Lucia at a high interest rate of 7%, not to mention that our relationship with Germany is not friend or foe in the first place? 1 point is 1 point, as long as we can defeat Lucia in the Far East, all these losses can be made up for in the war! ”

Hearing Ito's words, Yamamoto finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. For him, the only purpose was to expand and strengthen the Japanese navy, and what did it have to do with him as a soldier as to how much financial pressure the country would have to bear? Yamamoto smiled and said, "At present, the Empire's 66 Fleet has only completed 4 battleships and 2 cruises, and there is still a considerable distance from the final goal; With this loan, there is no need to worry about the funds for the construction of the Navy! I propose that all the remaining capital ships be built by the Germans, who have built warships that are much stronger than those of the British. ”

"Don't you know that one of the prerequisites for the Germans to give us this loan is that the share of the money cannot be used for other purposes, but only for the purchase of German goods! Now the rest of our 66th Fleet is counting on this money to complete, what can we do without buying German goods? Ito shook off the page in his hand with some irritability, and said sharply, "This group of German robbers who took advantage of the fire to rob, one day I will make them pay for today's actions!" Yamamoto-kun, in order to defeat Lucia, our Great Japanese Empire has accepted a loan with the highest interest rate in the world, and the total loss will reach more than 25 million pounds; You and your navy must not let His Majesty the Emperor and the 40 million Japanese people down! ”

Seeing Ito say these words like a storm, Yamamoto was also awe-inspiring, and Masasei replied, "Please rest assured Ito-kun." Based on the excellent design of the German battleships, I will make significant changes to the original plan of the 66th Fleet, and its final power will definitely exceed the previous plan. If I can't win against Lu, I should take the blame for seppuku! ”

————————————————————————

In the following days, Germany and Japan held a series of discussions on a series of detailed rules such as loan dates and repayment methods. Since Qingying's main purpose had been achieved, and these things were not his specialty, he disappeared from the sight of Japanese dignitaries, allowing the German ambassador to Japan, Radmann, to carry the banner of negotiations.

According to Qing Ying's original idea, he would leave after a tour of the country, but a telegram from Wilhelm ordered him to leave for Berlin immediately. Due to the Otsu incident of the assassination of Nicholas II in 1891 and the assassination of Li Hongzhang during the Japanese negotiations in 1895, William was extremely uneasy about the people under the Japanese government; I am afraid that some of the dung youths who have been brainwashed by the Japanese government will jump out and give their own prince an account there. For the sake of his safety, William ordered Qing Yingke to set off without delay. At the end of May, the sun is blazing in Tokyo, the summer cicadas are chirping hoarsely over the trees, and the air seems to be slightly distorted by the heat. When Qingying stepped onto the deck, sweat was already rolling and dripping from his forehead; Feeling the wetness and saltiness on the side of his mouth, he couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart: The weather in Tokyo is really hot......