In response to the growing strength of the German Navy in the North Sea, the 5th Fleet of the Reich Navy put forward a request to increase the strength of the Reich Navy in the North Sea direction. At Scarpa Bay, the Imperial Navy built a large dockyard here to repair damaged warships. Also, in the north of Scotland, there was a similar naval base for the Imperial Navy. It is quite possible to accommodate more warships moored in these places.

Regarding the request of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, Marshal Wei Yong, Minister of the Imperial Navy, and Admiral Liu Zhongming, Chief of the General Staff, immediately reported the matter to the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei.

"Your Majesty, now the German Navy already has sixteen battleships, and next year they will add eight more battleships. This is very stressful for the 51st Squadron of the Imperial Navy. The 51st Squadron currently has only eight battleships, half the size of the German Navy. And the Atlantic Fleet of the Spanish Navy and the Royal Belgian Navy are too weak. This puts us at a disadvantage in the confrontation in the North Sea! Marshal Wei Yong, Minister of the Imperial Navy, said. After all, it is now almost certain that the place of the future decisive battle will be the North Sea. The Empire must maintain its superiority in the North Sea. Only in this way could the German navy be blockaded in the North Sea, thus ensuring that the overseas interests of the Reich were not threatened.

"What does the 5th Fleet mean?" Long Yufei asked. He also knew that the increasing naval strength of the Germans posed a serious challenge to the Imperial Navy. In particular, the empire's navy deployed in Europe was ≠ under great pressure.

"Your Majesty, the 5th Fleet wants to be able to move the 52nd Fleet's station from the Mediterranean to the North Sea! In this case, concentrate the strength of the 5th Fleet. We will be able to be not inferior to the German Navy! Marshal Wei Yong replied. The 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy had no less number of capital ships and auxiliary warships than the German Navy. The combat power can be even better. If luck wasn't too bad, it was estimated that the 5th Fleet alone would be able to defeat the German Navy. Of course. It would be more dangerous if the 5th Fleet were to split into two more squadrons.

"What about the Mediterranean? The Germans have not been in the Adriatic Sea lately. They built a naval base at Yaste and deployed a number of small warships. In addition, the contradictions between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the empire were growing. If the Ottoman Turkish Empire had fallen to the Germans, the Empire's shipping routes in the Mediterranean would have been greatly threatened! This will directly jeopardize our military deployment in Europe after the outbreak of war! Long Yufei said. The reason why the empire deployed heavy troops in the Mediterranean was to hold the route from the empire mainland to Europe. Routes in the Mediterranean are of particular importance. Once the shipping routes are cut off, the millions of troops deployed in Europe by the Empire will be in a very dangerous situation.

"Your Majesty, the defense of the Mediterranean can be left to the Spanish Navy. Once the 52nd Squadron of the Imperial Navy left for the North Sea, it was entirely possible for the Spanish Navy to take over the 52nd Squadron of the Imperial Navy. As soon as the war broke out. Let the Spanish Navy move the Atlantic Fleet to the Mediterranean. Although the strength of the Spanish navy is not strong, it has no problem to protect the defense line in the Mediterranean. In particular, the four 'early Tang class' battleships that we will deliver to the Kingdom of Spain next year will allow them to occupy an absolute advantage in the Mediterranean! Navy Minister Wei Yong said.

The main enemies of the Reich in the Mediterranean were a number of light warships of the Germans, as well as the navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Previously, the Ottoman Turkish Empire had purchased two 'Western Han-class' battleships and three 'Qin-class' battleships from the Empire, allowing the Ottoman Turkish Empire to build a powerful navy. However, as tensions between the Empire and the Ottoman Empire grew, the Ottoman Empire ordered a large number of warships from Germany. They ordered four 'Brandenburg-class' battleships and two 'Kaiser-class' battleships from the German Navy. Frederick III class battleship. Once these six battleships were added, the Ottoman Empire would have 11 battleships. Although, in number and one less than the 12 battleships of the Spanish Navy, the quality was superior. But. The Ottoman Imperial Navy was not as trained as the Spanish Navy, and in terms of combat power, the two sides were very likely to be tied.

"陛xià. Once war broke out, the Imperial Navy's 11th Squadron would rapidly advance westward. We can cooperate with the Spanish Navy to deal with the Ottoman Imperial Navy. That's the case. The threat of the Ottoman Turkish Imperial Navy to the shipping routes of the Mediterranean Sea is almost non-existent! Looking at Long Yufei, he was still a little hesitant. General Liu Zhongming, Chief of the General Staff, also said. He was in favor of strengthening the Reich Navy in the North Sea, after all, defeating the German Navy and cutting off Germany's ties with the outside world was the most important thing.

Long Yufei nodded, if the 11th Squadron of the Imperial Navy could quickly enter the Mediterranean, it would be able to contain the navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. In this way, the safety of the Mediterranean route can be guaranteed.

"In that case, let's arrange it! I coordinate with the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Belgium! The future war will require the cooperation of our three parties! Long Yufei said. Although, the Spanish Navy was so weak compared to the Belgian Navy and the Imperial Navy. However, as soon as war broke out, they were able to come in handy. Even if it can't be used in a decisive battle with the German Navy, it is still no problem to protect the safety of the route. What's more, the four 'early Tang class' battleships ordered by the Spanish Navy from the Empire, and the two 'early Tang class' battleships ordered by the Belgian Navy from the Empire can also be applied to the decisive battle of the fleet.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marshal Wei Yong and Admiral Liu Zhongming replied.

With the approval of the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei, the main force of the Imperial Navy can gather to the North Sea. Half of the combat power of the Imperial Navy will be gathered here, and they will form a direct combat force against the German Navy. Of course, with the strength of the Imperial Navy, even if the 5th Fleet was not able to achieve victory, as long as it was not a crushing defeat, the Empire would still be able to win.

The Imperial Admiralty was in contact with the Spanish Navy, as well as the Belgian Navy. Neither the Spanish nor the Belgian navies disputed the decision of the Imperial Navy to send the 52nd Squadron to the North Sea. After all, the German Navy was getting stronger and stronger, and in the confrontation, it also put great pressure on them. Now that the Imperial Navy is ready to put its main forces into the North Sea, the two of them are naturally desperate!

As for the Atlantic Fleet of the Spanish Navy after the outbreak of war, it was thrown into the Mediterranean Sea to deal with the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The Spanish Navy immediately agreed. After all, the Ottoman Imperial Turkish Navy was undoubtedly much easier to deal with than the powerful German Navy. Although the Ottoman Turkish Imperial Navy had more cutting-edge warships than the Spanish Navy. But the Spanish Navy was still confident of victory.

The Belgian Navy's mission was to secure the English Channel after the war. After all, after the outbreak of war, the people and supplies that the empire had transported from its homeland to Europe had to enter the English Channel before landing in the Kingdom of Belgium. It is very important to ensure the safety of the English Channel. Of course, in order to improve the ability of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Belgium to defend the sea routes, the Reich built a number of heavy cruisers to deal with a possible break-up operation by the German navy.

The Spanish Navy decided to purchase eight 'Yangtze River-class' heavy cruisers, while the Belgian Navy also intends to order four 'Yangtze River-class' heavy cruisers. These heavy cruisers, which were to be delivered to them before the end of 1862.

Although, to order these warships, it will cost quite a lot of money. But neither the Kingdom of Spain nor the Kingdom of Belgium refused. After all, the outcome of future wars is directly related to their vital interests. In order to win, it is understandable to invest a little more.

What's more, if they can win in future wars, then the two countries will once again get rich benefits.

After coordinating with the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Belgium, the 52nd Squadron of the Imperial Navy left the Mediterranean Sea and headed for Kromotti in the Gulf of Marie in northern Scotland. It was to be the main anchorage of the 52nd Squadron of the Imperial Navy. Defend the North Sea for Scarpa Gulf, located in the Onik Islands, one south and one north. In the event of a war with Caesar, the 51st and 52nd Fleets would be able to quickly unite and confront the German Navy.

The 52nd Detachment of the Chinese Navy moved to the North Sea, so that the main forces of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy were concentrated in the North Sea. This wiped out the advantage that the German Navy had just had. Although, the German Navy had a powerful 16 cutting-edge battleships, the 5th fleet of the Reich Navy was not bad. Four 'Eastern Han class' battleships, four 'Early Tang class' battleships, four 'Middle Tang class' battleships and four 'Late Tang class' battleships, each class of battleships corresponds to the four 'Brandenburg-class' battleships of the German Navy, and four 'Caesar. Frederick III class battleships, four 'Wichelsbach class' battleships and four 'Braunschweig-class' battleships. Moreover, the fourth-class battleships of the Imperial Navy, each of which was slightly stronger than the fourth-class battleships of the German Navy. Even with the same number of capital ships on both sides, the Imperial Navy's 5th Fleet has an advantage.

On auxiliary warships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers of the Imperial Navy were paired with each other. In addition, the Imperial Navy began to deploy submarines, and in the future, the fighters of the Imperial Air Force and Naval Aviation will also be deployed at bases around the North Sea. This will allow the Imperial Navy to have a triad of strike capabilities in the sky, surface and underwater.

It can be said that because the main force of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy is concentrated in the North Sea, the confrontation between the two navies in the North Sea has become more intense. (To be continued......)

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