"The fleet has returned to port?"

Misty Breeze Jevic was a little strange, before reporting the news, he thought that his boss would be more excited, because from the results, it was completely worth the excitement.

The Russian Navy has been a joke since the Russo-Japanese War, when the Japanese dwarfs brazenly pinned the third largest naval power in the world to the ground and beat it up, the whole world watched the Russian joke.

After that humiliating defeat, Russia had little expectation from the top to the bottom, and just ten years was not enough to change anything. The most optimistic idea of the Russians is probably that the navy will be able to hold the Baltic and Black Sea territories, thank God.

And today, the Russian Navy actually defeated the combined fleet of the first and second largest naval powers in the world, did not dare to thwart their plans to attack Szczecin from the sea, and sank several capital ships. It's an all-time win, and how can you keep your cool in the face of such an exciting victory?

But on the contrary, Li Xiaofeng is very calm, and this victory is nothing to him. Even if Basilev and Sukhoi get a crushing defeat this time, he will still be calm.

Why? Because the battle at sea has nothing to do with the overall situation, it doesn't matter if Basilev sends half of the fleet into the sea, anyway, a certain immortal felt that with the strength of the Soviet Union after the war, he would not be able to support a dozen capital ships.

He had calculated an account before, and he was shocked after a simple calculation. Before the outbreak of the battle, the total tonnage of the capital ships of the Russian Navy after removing the former dreadnoughts turned out to be as high as 530,000 tons! This figure is basically the share of British and American naval capital ships in the Washington Naval Armaments Agreement. And it must also be made clear that the far Nicholas I, which is still in outfitting at the Nikolaev shipyard, the one that will be renamed Poltava, has not yet been counted. Plus this proper will exceed 550,000 tons!

Of course. The Russians swallowed the 550,000 tons of the high seas fleet. There is still a gap between the overall quality and the 530,000 tons owned by Britain and the United States. Either way, it's a staggering number!

The problem immediately appeared, these 550,000-ton capital ships do not match Russia's national strength, not less, but too much! With Russia's national strength, it simply cannot support such a huge fleet. Think about it, Lenin, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, is going to hang himself for economic problems, where is the extra money to invest in such a huge fleet?

Russia's economy simply can't afford it, so the reason is obvious. It is impossible for Russia to maintain such a strong main fleet, and there is no point in maintaining such a fleet at all. To fight for sea supremacy? If you can't kill Britain and the United States, do you just keep them in the harbor as a storage fleet?

Out of the principle of making the best use of things, Li Xiaofeng allowed Basilev to attack, originally he thought that with Basilev's impulsive personality, he should be able to touch the main fleet of Britain and the United States, and should be able to consume half of the fleet. In that case, after the elimination of the original fleet of Tsarist Russia, the remaining ships would be just right.

And doing so can also give Britain and the United States a little color, let them know that the Russian Navy is not a soft bone, and will not hesitate to choose to fight hard when necessary. Anyway, it is necessary for Britain and the United States to weigh it well. Let them not dare to use the Navy to tease the USSR casually like in the 1920s in history. As long as this is achieved. Basilev's sortie then becomes meaningful.

Based on such an idea, Li Xiaofeng naturally won't be shocked by the results, anyway, it doesn't matter if he loses, it's not bad if he wins, what's the fuss about?

However, the victory of this naval battle still surprised a certain immortal, Sukhoi's naval aviation surprised him, and he was able to sink and severely damage several British and American capital ships, and it can be said that most of the results of this naval battle were of the air force. Basilev's fleet sank only one Tiger, as well as the Caradoc light cruiser, at the cost of the total destruction of four Gangut-class ships and the heavy damage of four German-made battle cruisers.

All in all, the air force was better, and apart from the results they achieved, the navy could only be said to have reaped a painful defeat.

However, it is good for Li Xiaofeng to lose, at least Basilev helped him solve four Ganguts, and solved the share of nearly 100,000 tons, which is worthy of praise.

However, the remaining 450,000 tons is also a big problem, taking advantage of the right opportunity now, Li Xiaofeng decided to think about the disposal of the remaining fleet.

There are now two Queen Mary-class ships left in the Black Sea Fleet and an unfinished Nicholas I (later called Poltava), and after the retirement of those useless former dreadnoughts, the Black Sea Fleet may be a little thin and may need to be replenished, so there is not much of a problem over there.

As for the Great Pacific Fleet, well, it was originally the weakest over there, and it has been lame since the Russo-Japanese War, and with the Entente's intervention in the Russian Revolution, the Pacific Fleet was divided by the Entente. It can be said that it is in a vacuum, and there is no need to think about cutting, and it may be necessary to supplement the strength.

However, considering that the European direction will be the focus in the next twenty years, and the industrial and naval supporting facilities in the Far East direction have not been able to keep up, it makes no sense to transfer the capital ships in the past, and it will not be an opponent of the Japanese Navy anyway. For the time being, the Pacific Fleet will play air diving fast and become an offshore defense force!

To tell the truth, Li Xiaofeng is very speechless about Russia's geopolitical environment, which is involved in the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. The connection between these seas is completely severe, and unless there is no crazy investment in any of them, they will not take advantage of any of them, but there is a danger that they will be broken by each other, at least as the Russo-Japanese War proved.

Therefore, for the future planning of the navy, Li Xiaofeng can only grasp the key points and focus on building a fist force, instead of meddling everywhere like in the tsarist era.

The point is definitely not in the Pacific direction, which could not ensure the interests of the USSR in the future, and objectively speaking, the Japanese, although hateful, were not the worst enemy of the USSR for the time being. The enemies of the USSR were in Europe, and the fleet that was being built on a priority basis could certainly only be in the European direction.

However, in Europe, the Russian Navy also has three directions (to put it bluntly, three outlets to the sea). The first is the Baltic Sea. For this outlet to the sea, Peter the Great gave up his old life. The second is the direction of the Black Sea, where the Russians have also set off a sea of blood, and the third is the direction of the Arctic Ocean, which has been neglected in the Tsarist era because of the relationship between latitude and climate.

So where is Li Xiaofeng going to start? Let's analyze them one by one, first of all, the direction of the Black Sea, and to tell the heart, here is a bathtub, and the Bosphorus chokes the polar bear's access to the Mediterranean. Polar bears had previously tried to cripple the sick man of East Asia before rushing to the warm Mediterranean. However, under the containment of Britain, France and Austria-Hungary, as well as the full resistance of Turkey. Not very successful.

After World War I, although Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey were crippled, neither the British nor France and Italy, which had always regarded the Mediterranean as their territory, would probably not allow the Russians to establish a foothold in the Mediterranean. And after Kemal came to power, Turkey is not a soft persimmon, it is not something that can be taken casually.

And even if the Bosphorus can be opened? The Mediterranean Sea is nothing more than a slightly larger bathtub. Li Xiaofeng is not interested in tossing in the bathtub, nor is he interested in pulling the hatred of Britain, France, Italy and Turkey on his body at the same time, that is death. If someone wants to get some technology from Italy as they did in history, the wisest choice is not to wade into the muddy waters of the Mediterranean, and let Britain, France and Italy toss in this bathtub of the Mediterranean!

Exclude the Black Sea. In the same way, the Baltic Sea can be ruled out, because it is also a bathtub. Although the entrance to the sea of this bathtub is a little wider, it is a behemoth like the Royal Navy squatting on the mouth, and the chance of winning is very small. Moreover, there are still Germans at the mouth of the Baltic Sea, although the Germans are disabled, but their stamina cannot be underestimated, and if they are too strong in the Baltic direction, it is very likely that they will have a stalemate with them.

In any case, Russia and Germany had a broad space for cooperation after World War I, and World War II relied on the Germans to pull Britain and France down, so there was no need to put too much pressure on the Germans in the Baltic direction. And not only Germany, but also Sweden, a country that cannot be underestimated, although it is a neutral country, it is also the leading big brother of the Nordic group. Being too strong in the Baltic would cause unease among the Swedes, and it would not be good to push them into the arms of Britain and France. How to say that in the field of heavy industry, especially in the military industry, the Swedes have also made achievements and can cooperate.

All in all, whether it is the Baltic Sea or the Black Sea, they are all closed seas, and if you want to get ahead, you must first challenge the British, and secondly, there is a second-rate power on the sidelines, and the risk of breaking through by force is too great, and it is easy to become a loner, and you can't draw it at all.

After thinking for a long time, Li Xiaofeng shifted his gaze north, staring at Murmansk and the Arctic Ocean. Compared to the closed state of the Baltic and Black Seas, the Arctic Ocean is much better, it can be said that it is a smooth road, and the only problem to get into the Atlantic from here is the climate. In addition to the unpleasant state of ice, the only thing standing in the way of polar bears is the Royal Navy.

It seems that there are still strong enemies on this side, but there is only one strong enemy, Norway and Denmark are not military powers at all, at least compared to France, Italy, Turkey, Germany, and Sweden, they are simply not a problem.

For the Russians, the only enemy to face was Britain, and there was no other power in this direction to help the British block bullets. And with the advent of the thirties, with the strong rise of Germany and Japan, the attention of the Royal Navy will be greatly distracted, and it will not be able to do its best to contain Russia in the direction of the Arctic Ocean. As for the Americans, they are not interested in Europe for the time being, and the focus of the Navy is on the side of the Japanese.

It can be said that the Arctic Ocean was chosen as a breakthrough point, and the resistance was minimal. Of course, there are also a lot of troubles, first of all, the harsh climate and geographical conditions. The ice in winter is too restrictive for an ocean fleet, and the vicinity of the Arctic Ocean has never been the focus of the Tsar's construction, and the infrastructure is quite weak.

Of course, money is not a problem to solve, and it would be beneficial for the future of World War II to allow Russian industry to move northward as soon as possible, at least without having to think about moving after the German blitzkrieg.

To be honest, sometimes Li Xiaofeng was a little speechless about the choice of Peter the Great and Catherine II, one was satisfied with grabbing St. Petersburg and gaining access to the Baltic Sea, while the other buried his head in the pit of the Black Sea. Can you go north in one go? Go to Sweep Scandinavia. Norway and Finland are fully integrated. Isn't the back much more comfortable?

Conquering Norway would have had direct access to the Atlantic Ocean and would not have to go south to confront Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey, and Britain and France. With Scandinavia, the entire western flank of Russia is fully expanded, and no one can stop Russia in the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. Not to mention allowing NATO to use Norwegian air bases during the Cold War to directly threaten the Northern Fleet.

Of course, these are also afterthoughts, after all, at that time, the scientific and technological conditions were limited, and the bitter cold north was not as attractive as the warm and humid south.

However, Li Xiaofeng decided to correct this mistake, anyway, it took nearly two decades between the victory in World War I and the outbreak of World War II. It is impossible for Russia's power to develop in Western Europe or Southern Europe, but it can take precautions and focus on strengthening the direction of the Arctic Ocean, and once the mustache moves towards Norway, the Soviet Union can completely seize the opportunity to get a piece of the pie.

Even if done correctly, it was not impossible to bring the whole of Scandinavia into the sphere of influence of the USSR after the victory in World War II. In that case, the Northern Fleet would face the British Isles directly, completely getting rid of the passive situation of being blocked, and then it would be the turn of the British and Americans to have a headache.

Of course, these are still too far away, and for the time being, Li Xiaofeng can only carry out the arrangement in advance. Lay the foundation, he had already made a statement to the mentor. At the end of the civil war, after repelling the intervention of the Entente, two important canals should be built!

The first canal was the canal between the Volga and the Don, and after the construction of this canal, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea were opened, and the Black Sea Fleet could fully support the closed Caspian Sea and ensure Russia's fishing and oil interests around the Caspian Sea.

The second canal is even more important, the North Sea-Baltic Canal, which connects the Arctic Ocean with the Baltic Sea. The canal was built in the past, but the locks and scale were too small to transport forestry resources from the north to Petrograd.

In Li's plan, the canal should be larger and must meet the needs of the Baltic Fleet to move to the Arctic Ocean. In this way, the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea will become one, and the two fleets will be completely integrated. The strategic significance of this is immeasurable!

Of course, the cost of repairing this canal is also considerable, and the Soviet Union has historically built this canal with hundreds of thousands of counter-revolutionaries in the civil war (after the repair was completed, the counter-revolutionaries were almost solved).

Of course, Li Xiaofeng would not waste such manpower, and he could not build a canal of the scale he wanted by manpower alone. Fortunately, I got a lot of gold before, otherwise this canal would not have been built.

Moreover, this is only the construction of infrastructure, back to the original topic, in terms of fleet, especially capital ships, what size of navy Russia needs in the next two decades is the key question.

The existing fleet will definitely be dismantled, and before this naval battle breaks out, in addition to the three dreadnoughts of the Black Sea Fleet, Li Xiaofeng only wants to keep two Bavaria and four King-class ships for the time being, and the scale of a dozen or so ships should be enough.

But this naval battle made Li Xiaofeng change some of his thoughts, looking at this naval battle, the most prominent thing is the air force, and the most prominent thing besides the air force is actually the four German-made battle cruisers. Compared with the main fleet that did not have speed behind, the four battle cruisers were simply firefighters, and without their excellent performance, Basilev's fleet could have been even worse.

Judging from the table of these four German-made battle cruisers, the capital ships with speed advantages are still useful, and from the table of the capital ships in World War II later, it makes sense that high-speed warships can keep up with the aircraft carrier formation.

It is clear that the old German-made battleships, including the Bavaria-class, although they look good, are simply too slow to keep up with the activities of the aircraft carrier formation. Looking at the battleships of the Japanese Navy, the most active ones are not the two Yamato, which were built with the power of the whole country, nor the Nagato and Mutsu, which were among the seven giants of the treaty era, but the four slightly old Kongo-class, what is the reason? Only they have the speed.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng decided to leave the four German-made battle cruisers, modernize them, and completely replace the coal-fired boilers above them with oil-fired boilers, which are not a big problem when they reach a speed of about 30 knots. And it must be seen that the base plate of the German-made battle patrol is still very good, most of them have 300 mm waterline armor, which is much stronger than the 203 mm base plate of the King Kong class, at least when modernizing, you don't need to move the waterline armor, just strengthen the turret and horizontal armor.

Li Xiaofeng roughly consulted, the four German-made battle cruisers Setlitz and Moltke are more troublesome, and there may be a big move when renovating - dismantling the two turrets in the middle of the hull and giving way to the boiler room, if you don't want to weaken the main gun fire too much, then you have to dismantle the bridge and move it back, and then add a new main turret to the original bridge position. As a result, the two ships could increase the number of boilers, the increased power of which could fully offset the increase in the weight of the horizontal armor, as well as the anti-mine salient.

As for Hindenburg and De Fringer, there is no need to be so troublesome, the time for improvement can be placed in the thirties, when the old boilers above will be completely replaced, and replaced with the power of new boilers and steam turbines, which will be more than enough to offset the weight of reinforced armor and a large number of anti-aircraft guns.

And such four fast battleships are undoubtedly more valuable than the old slow battleships, but if the four battlecruisers are retained, then four battleships will be eliminated, so will the four King-class be eliminated or the two Queen Maria and the Poltava that has not yet been built? (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Comrade Waster and Comrade Juventus!