"Your Excellency is so rude, just state your own opinions, and not let others talk about their opinions, I'm afraid it's not okay?" Makanov, who had always been like an old monk, said calmly, and the pressure hidden in his deep words forced Rozdvensky to sit back on his stool and listen to the admiral's point of view.

"I admit that the defeat of the Far Eastern Fleet in the last war was due to the inadequacy of the main fleet, so in the first phase of the Navy's expansion plan, I proposed a plan for the construction of eight new battleships, the purpose of which was to narrow the gap in strength between the two sides as much as possible. But this is not enough, the gap in capital ships has narrowed, but in terms of the fast fleet, we are almost equal to rebuilding the cruiser formations of the Empire, although it is on the secondary side, but because of the losses in previous battles, we have to pay more. Makanov said.

"In a maximum of 5 years, the Huaxia Navy will have 2 fast battleships, 2 battle cruisers, 3 King-class armored cruisers and 2 PISA-class armored cruisers plus 2 Garibaldi-class, by the way, and three 5000-ton light armored cruisers. Looking at us? In successive battles, the armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov and the armored cruiser collar ships, which were the basis of the armored cruisers of the Imperial Navy, suffered heavy losses. In fact, we have no warships available until now, although we still have a few Azov-type cruisers left, but it is also a death to drive over, and there is no chance of victory against the PISA-type armored cruisers, let alone against the more ferocious new dreadnought fast warships. Makanov said with a red face.

"So, Mr. Lieutenant General. Can you imagine how a battleship without cruisers for cover and as an avant-garde could emerge victorious in a future naval battle? The opposing fast fleet can easily and forcefully occupy positions without any hindrance, forcing our troops to turn prematurely and plunge headlong on the opponent's battle line, or in the event of a decisive battle between the capital ships of both sides. The opposing fast fleet covered the lightning strike force and easily routed our small and medium-sized cruisers, and then launched a flanking attack on our fleet, in either case, it would be fatal. Makanov continued.

"And the situation is very different now than it was then. If we can get a base for the Dutch, then we will have the advantage of a forward base, and the difficulties we faced at the beginning will be transferred to the Chinese Navy, and they will face greater difficulties than we do. It is impossible for the main local fleet to cross a long distance to fight us in a decisive battle. And we can lock up all the Chinese ships passing through the South China Sea. Time is on our side, we need cruisers to carry out the plan to break the diplomatic plan, and we also need fast warships to attack the fast fleet of the Huaxia Navy. A smile appeared on Makanov's face.

In Makanov's heart. He did not consider himself inferior to Xu Jie, the head of the Huaxia Navy, and his top naval officials, and although he was defeated repeatedly, Makanov believed that the fundamental reason for this was the huge disparity in strength between the two sides and the tragic geographical location. Needless to say, the former was the first time they met. It was the entire Beiyang Fleet that Makanov was fighting against. Among them, there are 6 new cruisers, and with their own voyages across the ocean, there is no shame in losing. As for the second time. Makanov admits that the Beiyang commanders were superior in the engagement off the coast of Japan, but Makanov also believes that it was the disparity in strength between the two sides, the close engagement distance, and the situation on the battlefield that ultimately caused the defeat of the Russian navy. And the three Ninghai-class ships are an eternal pain in Makanov's heart. He tried all means and only let one of them leave the battlefield temporarily.

And now, with the Russian Navy in a position to be in good hands and able to easily break diplomatic relations, Makanov believes that as long as the Russian Navy builds according to his plan, then in the next war. He was at least 70 percent sure of winning the naval battle, for the simple reason that he could. In his opinion, Batavia is nearly 3,000KM away from the opponent's base, and his own fleet is like a sharp blade against the opponent's communication artery, and the other party has no choice but to fight hard with it.

"So, Vice Admiral Rozdvensky, we need to rebuild a strong fast fleet, maybe he can't guarantee the defeat of the fast dreadnoughts and cruisers in the North Ocean, but at least be able to hold back the opponent, and then let our main fleet go and annihilate the fast warships of the North Ocean. And in the right situation, once we have a decisive battle with the other side, our avant-garde fleet can give us an advantage in the perception of the situation, and can force the position or cooperate with the main fleet to attack, although the fast battleship is not suitable for a head-on conflict with the battleship, but it does not mean that it is not important. Makanov concluded after taking a deep breath.

"I can understand Your Excellency's thoughts, and I also admit that the armored cruiser fleet occupies an important position in a navy, but I must emphasize that our money and resources are limited, and from the information available so far, the tonnage of the new battle cruisers will be close to 20,000 tons. In the Far East, the Dutch military port can only guarantee the stationing of about 18,000 tons of warships at most, and the displacement of 20,000 tons is already somewhat exceeded. Rozdvinsky took off his glasses and rubbed his sour glasses and said.

"Damn, it's funding again." Makanov cursed quietly. In the face of this obstacle called money, even Makanov could not do anything. Makanov was a military man, and he only needed to put forward his own ideas for naval construction according to the needs of the war, and then command this fleet to defeat the enemy. But Rozdvinsky can't, he represents the Admiralty, and he has to take into account the budget of the Navy and the procurement of warships.

"Money is only one of the issues, you must know that the manufacture of new warships almost all depends on foreign countries, especially France and the United States, and they cannot produce all the warships for us, as early as the beginning of the first phase of the naval armament plan, the reason why I insisted on building 4 quasi-dreadnoughts is that we can manufacture quasi-dreadnoughts ourselves, but it is difficult to produce dreadnoughts. Turbines, new boilers, fire control and optical equipment, and even large bearings need to be imported. If the battleships of the Chinese Navy used first-class British engines and boilers, first-class German bearings and Guangxu equipment, then the battleships we built in France and the United States were second-rate equipment. And our own production is a third-rate product. It's up to the guys at the Navy Shipyard to be less greedy! Rozdvinsky smiled bitterly.

"The Huaxia Navy is planning to build its own dreadnought warships, are we not as good as the backward country in the Far East?" Essen asked dissatisfied. Although he is very clear about the various ills within the Russian army, Essen still has a trace of illusions at this time.

"Huaxia's so-called construction is nothing more than building the hull and then assembling it, and they focus on accumulating experience. If it's just assembly, we can do it, but the problem is that neither the British nor the Germans will sell us parts. In other words, we don't even have a chance to assemble. Rozdvinsky said. And this is also a historical fact, in the Russo-Japanese War, it was not until shortly before the start of the war that the British handed over a batch of new fire control to Russia, and this was also a foreshadowing left in order to prevent Japan from going too far.

"We will give you a maximum of 50,000 tons of armored cruiser tonnage, which is already the limit, and the empire has been saddled with a foreign debt of up to 7 million pounds for the implementation of the first phase of the naval expansion plan. And I would like to tell you by the way that the top brass of the Navy also preferred to build new battleships rather than cruisers. The tonnage of 50,000 tons is already the result of my many struggles. Rozdvinsky waved his hand, signaling that this was a decision made by the Admiralty and that it would not change because of the opinions of others, so he told Makanov to let him do his own thing!

"I have a few more questions to ask, and if it's convenient for you, I'll delay you for up to 20 minutes." Makanov also signaled that it was not possible, but decided to ask a few more questions. And in response to the admiral's request, Rozdvensky, who was going to leave, nodded in agreement.

"We are almost certain that we will lease the port of the Dutch, but what do the Dutch think in the future war that will affect the fate of the Far East? Is it possible for us to join forces? Makanov asked solemnly.

"Your Excellency, the question you have raised is a bit tricky, or rather a little out of bounds, and it is no longer something I can answer. This is the top secret of the state, and only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and His Royal Highness the Tsar know all the details. Rozdvinsky said with some embarrassment.

"There are only three of us in this room, and this building is full of Navy colleagues. Now that our meeting is actually over, we can think of this as a chat or an exchange in an aristocratic salon if we can. I just need a more reliable message. However, this message is very important for the future strategy and development direction of the navy. Xie Lu thanked him. Makanov pleaded.

"The Dutch have agreed to our request in principle, and they are now also rearmament, and it is said that they have received some information from France and the United States, which should be high-speed warships, which can somehow compensate for our shortcomings. The situation in the port of Batavia has also improved, which can barely accommodate 20,000 tons of ships, but there are not many berths, and as for maintenance capacity, the maximum dry dock in the Dutch East Indies is 16,000 tons, and even if it is renovated, it will be up to 18,000 tons. So 18,000 tons is a threshold, and it's better not to cross it. As for ammunition, don't think about it. Most of them are delivered by ourselves. After Rozdvinsky finished speaking, he picked up the military hat beside him and left the venue, ignoring the remaining two people.

Thank you for the reward of the constellations soaring in the universe~~~ (To be continued.) For mobile phone users, please go to read. )