Hearing Prentis's words, Cecil finally understood the point. Prentis, who had been in charge of ship design and procurement for several years, knew the art of building ships, and Cecil had no doubts about this guy's professional judgment. The performance of this battleship, which Prentis has already made very clear, is nothing but powerful firepower; Even the Royal Navy came to build this ship, and it could only achieve minimal protection and a speed of 18.5 knots! Cecil understands that in fact, Prentis has a sentence that has not been spoken: the Royal Navy has ruled the sea for more than 300 years, and there are more shipyards and designers in the country than cows; However, Germany is a land country that has only been unified for less than 30 years, so how can its shipbuilding skills be stronger than Britain's? If the Royal Navy, which is the number one in the world, is still like this, then this group of barbarians on land must be even more unbearable!

Seeing that Cecil's face was loose, Jodik hurried to strike while the iron was hot; He had a look of surprise and admiration on his face, and said, "This gentleman, you should be an officer of the Royal Navy, right?" It's amazing to have an insight into the most critical core of this ship at once. However, there is a slight inaccuracy in your estimate. The Russians are a violent race that advocates frontal combat, and strong firepower alone is not enough to motivate them; Therefore, when we were designing, we raised the protection of this warship to a high level. In view of this, this armored cruiser was designed to reach a speed of only 18 knots, which is even worse than the newest battleships of your country. ”

"What? 18 verses? Hearing this key number, Prentis's eyes lit up and he was pleasantly surprised. Among the active ships of the Royal Navy are two second-class battleships of the "Pavrel": they have a design displacement of 10,500 tons, are armed with four 254 mm guns, and can reach a speed of 18.5 knots, surpassing this hairy ship in terms of firepower and speed. These two second-class battleships, which were originally built for Russian cruisers, were able to show their skills and power in the Far East. Three years after the completion and commissioning of this battleship, the British Navy will also receive one 12,350-ton prestige-class second-class battleship and two 14,200-ton Qiangsheng-class supercruisers, even if only some of them are sent to the Far East, it can form an overwhelming numerical advantage over this German battleship. It really doesn't work, Britain still has 2 9,150-ton Blake-class and 8 7,350-ton Edgar-class (the last one not yet in service) capital cruisers to use, and they are all fast ships with a speed between 20 and 22 knots; As long as this Russian battleship is found, it will not be able to escape!

Jodik sighed faintly, and said to Cecil in a tone full of sorrow and emotion: "Mr. Chancellor, you also know that I, Germany, are now facing a two-sided attack from France and Russia, and the land situation is too tense. For the sake of Germany's fundamental interests of survival and development, we had no choice but to push Russia eastward in order to maintain a space for our own survival. Helping Russia build warships can not only export influence to Russia, but also make it hostile to Germany without French influence; It could also consume a large amount of Russian funds, so that the pressure on Germany on the Eastern Front could be further reduced. In order to survive, Germany sold warships to Russia. ”

Jodik said angrily: "However, I, Germany, have never dared to forget the kindness given by the British Empire. Therefore, when we built warships for Russia, we changed the design concept to build ships for Russia that would be beneficial to the victory of the Royal Navy. What's more, at the moment, Russia has invested heavily in the development of its navy, and if Germany does not strive for this order, then it will also be handed over to France! And if France had come to build warships for Russia, there would never have been such armored cruisers with a speed of less than 18 knots! That's why I said earlier that Germany's construction of warships for Russia was not only harmless, but beneficial to the British Empire. ”

Cecil opened his mouth slightly, his face stiffened, and for a moment he couldn't find anything to refute.

Jodik did not give Cecil any opportunity to think, and continued: "I, Germany, have made so many sincere efforts to safeguard the interests of the British Empire; It is very sad that the Chancellor thinks that Germany's move is an act of betrayal, and even that it will be sanctioned by tariffs. At present, Britain and Germany are each other's largest trading partners, not only your country implements preferential tariffs on our goods, but also your country's goods when they enter our customs, the amount of tax to be paid is also the lowest among all countries! As for the trade balance, it's all the result of fair trade between the two sides, isn't it? If the two sides raise tariff barriers, it will be a heavy blow to the economies of both countries, and I hope that Mr. Prime Minister will carefully consider this kind of behavior that harms others and hurts oneself. In his words, Jodik had already hinted to Cecil that if Britain unilaterally raised tariffs, Germany would never remain indifferent.

After listening to the German's words, Cecil frowned slightly and remained silent. Of course, he knew that all of Yodick's expressions just now were faked, and he could also hear the overtones in his last words. He was completely dismissive of Joddick's faint threat of hidden needles. If tariffs were to be used to sanction Germany, although Britain would also suffer economically, the damage would undoubtedly be much smaller than that of Germany. Because Germany had no overseas colonies and its relations with Russia, its traditional trading ally, were becoming more delicate, and much of the current rapid growth of Germany's foreign trade profits depended on the profits it made from selling goods to Britain and other countries belonging to the British Commonwealth. If Britain tightens this line, German goods will not be able to find buyers for a while, which will greatly affect the speed of their economic development. Due to the large number of overseas colonies in the United Kingdom, a large number of cheap raw materials are imported into the British mainland every day; What's more, after producing something, they also have two populous countries, India and Mites, to serve as excellent dumping grounds for goods. Once Britain and Germany fight a trade war, Germany will definitely suffer much more losses than Britain!

However, Jodik was right when he said that Britain and Germany were each other's largest trading partners, and raising tariffs would be bad for Germany, but it would also be bad for the British Empire. If Germany had rebelled against Britain, it would have been natural for Britain to sanction Germany; But if Germany is truly loyal to the British Empire, as Joddik said, then there is no point in Britain imposing sanctions on Germany again. And in the light of the present situation, it seems that Germany is not as opposed to Great Britain as it has just thought; What are they doing to protect the interests of Britain?

To be sure, Germany's initiative to build ships for Russia will indeed play a stimulating role in Russia's naval buildup to a certain extent. However, due to Russia's limited financial resources, there is absolutely a limit to the share of this stimulus growth; On the premise that the Russian naval expansion plan remains unchanged on the whole, the share of this spillover is also well within the acceptable range of the British navy. France and Britain were in conflict over maritime and colonial issues, and their shipbuilding skills were also remarkable, and they had both the motivation and the ability to build ships for Russia's allies. Rather than letting France take over the expansion of the Russian navy, it would be better to not let Germany also share a piece of the cake, just to build some slower warships for Russia. The Royal Navy is the largest in the world, and it is the most popular for fleet battles!

Somehow, looking at the kind and sincere face of the German ambassador, Cecil always felt that something was wrong in his heart, and his sixth sense of many years of politics was violently stimulating his nerves. But when you think about it, every point and every one of them is so reasonable, and there is no reason to refute it. The Russians were notoriously rude, and the eight 210mm guns on board must have been of their own will; However, after such a design, how can the speed be improved? The British Empire's own 2 Pavrel-class battleships are the best example of a situation where displacement and firepower are comparable!

Could it be that he really thinks too much, that William, the polio patient, has always been deeply concerned about his ancestors and grandchildren, and has always been loyal to the British Empire? But if this is not the case, what is the explanation for the ship they built for Russia? The armored cruiser only ran 18 knots, which was obviously designed to deliver meat to the Royal Navy! Even if Russia devoted all its efforts to developing the Pacific Navy, the Royal Navy and the Japanese Navy could easily amass a fleet three times larger than Russia in the Far East. In a decisive battle of the fleet under such an absolute superiority in forces, the little firepower advantage of the Russian single ship is not worth mentioning at all!

Cecil thought about it, but he never understood what kind of medicine was being sold in the German gourd. After a while, seeing that Prentis and Jordik were still looking at him, he immediately understood that it was time to make a statement. He sighed long in his heart, and then slowly spoke: "Germany's sincerity towards the British Empire is really touching. If Germany is to build warships for Russia in the future, I ask your country to make sure that you build such ships with strong firepower but slow speed. If so, the markets of the Commonwealth will always welcome the entry of your country's goods with low taxes. ”

Jodik fell to the ground in his heart, and said respectfully: "Mr. Prime Minister, he is smart and far-reaching, and he is very good for the British Empire!" In this matter, our country must follow your country's will. ”

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