Due to Wolff's insightful analysis of the current naval situation, the Ottoman Admiral Zemar realized that only by ordering dreadnought battleships with full heavy guns could the Ottoman already scarce funds for building ships be brought into full play. Although the 10,000-ton capital ship is cheap, it can only be in the Black Sea for 3 to 4 years; Once the dreadnoughts of the Russian Black Sea Fleet are put into service, the ship, which cost more than 800,000 pounds, will quickly depreciate and become one of the low-hanging hands of the other side. The pursuit of an expensive dreadnought may seem like a luxury, but in the long run, it is undoubtedly far more economical than the Dreadnought before it was purchased!

It stands to reason that at a time when the vast majority of Ottoman revenues are controlled by the French-dominated "National Debt Supervision Commission" and the "Ottoman Naval Foundation", which collects donations from the whole people, has not yet been promoted, the Turkish al-Shabaab government, which is full of debts, cannot have the financial resources to pursue such a luxury as dreadnoughts, but the funds from Austria-Hungary have solved this problem that has caused Zemar a headache. With German-led mediation, Austria-Hungary agreed to pay a "ransom" of £2.5 million (historically) to the new government in Istanbul to buy sovereignty over the areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina that they had effectively occupied. This meagre compensation, which was almost negligible compared to the actual wealth of the land covering an area of more than 50,000 square kilometers, became the main source of financing for the Ottoman Navy's order of dreadnoughts.

After repeated research and comparison, the Turks finally signed an order for a dreadnought from the German shipyard in Wolff's eyes. Due to financial constraints, maintenance, and regional influence, Zemar wisely ignored the stupid heavyweight design, and instead chose a lightweight dreadnought proposed by the Bromforth shipyard.

The ship has a standard displacement of 16200 tons. It is at the same level as the Austro-Hungarian Radetz class, which started construction last year. However, this scheme is a considerable improvement over Radetz. Since the Ottoman Empire was able to obtain a considerable amount of shallow oil from the plains of Mesopotamia under its rule every year. As a result, the designers at Bromforth Shipyard adopted a smaller, more efficient kerosene boiler for this solution, which greatly improved the performance of the ship through a series of indirect effects on the protective area and the size of the ship. It is equipped with 4 twin 305 mm L45 main guns and 10 150mm L45 secondary guns, and has a large area of 300 mm main armor on the waterline, and its frontal combat effectiveness is better than that of Danton, France, St. Vincent and even Austria-Hungary. The speed of 20.5 knots is also unsatisfactory, and it can effectively cope with the relatively closed Aegean and Black Seas. The most satisfying thing for Zemar is its cost, 1.42 million pounds is undoubtedly a completely affordable figure for the Turkish finances that have received the Austro-Hungarian reparations!

A few days later. On behalf of the Ottoman Navy, Zemar signed the prestigious order with the Bromforth shipyard. In order to appease the Sishaw shipyard, which was too tall and unsuccessful, Zemar gave them a 500-ton destroyer as a bonus to the deal. Seeing that both parties signed their names on the contract documents, supplemented by cinnabar seals, Qingying couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; All the goals of my trip to Istanbul have been achieved!

Strategically, as the ruling Turkish Al-Shabaab and Liberals gradually drifted over to Germany's side, Germany completed a land blockade of Russia ahead of schedule: as long as Germany turned eastward in the future war, it would be 10 percent sure that the sick, rotten and brutal Tsarist regime would be defeated. And the strengthening of the Ottoman Navy. It also made the situation in the Mediterranean develop in favor of the Central Powers: since the Austro-Hungarian fleet had been fully strengthened with the help of Germany, the Austro-Italian and Turkish navies were able to surpass the size of the French navy, which was responsible for the defense of the Mediterranean Sea of the Entente powers, in terms of the number of dreadnoughts. Although the butterfly effect caused by the early outbreak of the naval arms race between Britain and Germany. The French turned their historical 6 Danton-class dreadnoughts into dreadnoughts with unified main guns; However, with only 7 main guns on a single side, a speed of up to 19 knots, and relatively weak protective armor, it was still a force that could not be used to face dreadnoughts. As long as the Allied navy maintained a strong presence in the Mediterranean, Italy's unique geographical position would be enough to blockade Suez shipping, thereby greatly weakening the war potential of Britain and France.

As for the Ottoman Army, this group of Brown Eyes and Bowlers with a Middle Eastern flavor is steadily improving their combat effectiveness under the tutelage of a large number of German officers. Despite their antiquated weaponry and rigid tactics, which characterize the violent apparatus of a dying old empire, the Turkish soldiers were so different from the sunset nation that they were as brave as the French Army. Historically, in addition to losing Libya in the Italian-Turkish War and being caught off guard in the first Balkan Peninsula, the Ottoman Army's performance in the subsequent World War I was still remarkable. Churchill's desperate campaign of Garibaldi was fought to the death by the Turkish army with courage and tenacity; In the Caucasus and Iraq, the Ottoman army also effectively stopped the advance of the Entente. It can be seen from this that as long as the Ottoman Army is correctly trained and equipped with advanced equipment, this army, which has a good will to fight, is completely capable of becoming a unique existence in a major war.

Unlike the pro-British navy, the Ottoman Army had a lot of German elements: the instructors who served as tactical instructors and military instructors, and the weapons and equipment they used, were all native German products. When Qingying proposed to deepen further exchanges between the two armies and sell a batch of arms and ammunition at a friendly price, the little rounders were full of surprise and feared that Qingying would regret it, which was a far cry from the previous process of convincing Camille and Zemar. After some bargaining, the Turks bought enough to arm a division, mostly obsolete from the German Army, which would be distributed to elite units to play the expected role in suppressing foreign revolts at home and deterring the Balkan states.

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London, United Kingdom.

The black clouds were low, the damp and sultry wind howled chaotically, the dust ran away, and the thunder rumbled. In the official office at No. 10 Downing Street, the new British Prime Minister Asquith looked out the window with a heavy face at the hustle and bustle before the storm; The heavy clouds were reflected in his eyes, casting a gray-black shadow over his whole person.

"The report just sent back from Istanbul shows a major shift in the foreign policy of the Turkish Al-Shabaab government. With the Austro-Hungarian compromise on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the deteriorating German-Turkish relations began to grow as close as ever. At the urging of the German crown prince, the Turks not only bought a large number of weapons and equipment from Germany, but also allocated a part of the reparations to Bosnia and Herzegovina to order a dreadnought from the Germans. Asquith spoke slowly in a deep voice, his words containing unconcealed anger, "Are these Turks all sluts born of prostitutes, and 10 pence can be used for a casual visit?" If it weren't for the fact that Britain had helped them defend themselves against the Russian invasion for so many years, they were enslaved and wiped out by the Slavs from Tunguska 100 years ago! For the sake of such a small profit, they threw themselves into the arms of the Germans, and abandoned Britain with supreme kindness to them without hesitation like moldy black bread! ”

"Sir Excellency, I have long said that this corrupt, cruel, backward and ignorant pagan barbarian country is a complete villain, and it is all too normal to do such a thing. But Sir Sir, we need not be at all indignant at the betrayal of the Turks who deserve hell. For this dying patient, who may die at any time, Britain has no use value, so let them entrench themselves on the big tree of the Germans to absorb nutrients and survive. This enemy is nothing to fear, the British Empire can knock it to the ground with a single finger! ”

Asquith turned slowly, and was greeted by a young figure: he was of medium build, fat build, and a pair of eyes that were piercing, as if he had endless pride that would never be discouraged. Instead of the slightest frustration and chagrin at the Ottoman Empire's return to the German side, the young fat man became as excited as if he had found a prey at his fingertips, "God above, who can tell us what good this country can be?" Beneath their vast and majestic exteriors there is only one extremely bleak and fragile soul, and if we blow a little, Libya and Mesopotamia will be included in the British territory! ”

Asquith's lips twitched, and after a while, he spoke slowly; "It would be better for them to remain loyal to London than to the Ottoman rebellion. With the Turks rebelling, the German power will be able to be projected at a faster speed through the Eastern Railway to the far east, where Suez, the Red Sea, Persia, and India are located! If we continue like this, we won't be able to stop that land beast! ”

"Then we will unite with the devil." The fat man said softly. (To be continued......)