Xu Jie really didn't expect that the last battle of the Russian fleet would come so quickly that Xu Jie didn't even think about what to do next, and the Russian fleet was already over! "It seems that the offensive on the northern front is going to be intensified, and maybe the Russians will shake hands and make peace at any time, and it is always good to occupy an extra place." Xu Jie said in his heart. But before Xu Jie could arrange a new offensive on the northern front, the German ambassador came, and the purpose of his visit was very simple, two Scharnhorst-class battleships of the German Far East Fleet were damaged. People want to compensate, you must know that at the beginning, the Huaxia Navy was a white wolf with empty gloves, and they joined without spending money, and now the battleship is lost. Naturally, people came to the door to ask for money.

£3,000,000! The consumption of battle-damaged ammunition on both warships and compensation for the personnel involved were included. Supposedly, this price is really not expensive. In wartime, £1,500,000 to buy a ship is not necessarily possible! You must know that the Dao is on Xu Jie's plane. The full cost of a Mikasa is just over £1.08 million! Not to mention these two cutting-edge pocket battlecruisers! Xu Jie didn't intend not to lose, after all, there is no free lunch in this world. However, it would definitely be more difficult to come up with 3 million pounds immediately when Huaxia's finances were tight. If it is extended, interest will be paid.

Is there a way to put it off first and pay as little as possible? At the beginning, Xu Jie planned to provide Germany with various materials after the end of the war, and then use the value of the materials to offset the reparations. However, the German government said it did not agree with this approach. They believed that these materials and raw materials, while valuable, were not at all proportional to the costs and risks that Germany would have to pay to help the Chinese Republic in wartime conditions. So the Germans did not recognize.

Xu Jie was very surprised by the attitude of the Germans, and in Xu Jie's impression, the German government had interests. It's easier to talk when there is a common enemy, but why is it so resolute on this issue? In fact, the Germans do not value the 3 million pounds very much. £3,000,000 is at most the cost of a new dreadnought and a light cruiser. The Germans were concerned about the future political orientation of the Chinese Republic.

There are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies in the world, and the Germans also understand this truth, Germany and Russia can form an alliance of the Three Emperors, or they can copy the guy against each other. And now, when the common enemy of Russia is about to fall. So will there be a thaw between Britain and France and China? In terms of funding, Britain and France are much stronger than Germany and Austria. Historically, Germany and Austria were stoned to death by Britain and France with pounds and francs! If China reverts to Britain and France, it will be a bamboo basket for Germany!

So Germany had to nail a dark stake before that. But the war has been going on to this extent. The overall situation in China has been decided, and the Germans can play too few cards in their hands. However, because the Chinese Republic lost two battleships leased by Germany this time, the German government found an opportunity from it!

Unlike in history, the export control of technical products between the major powers in this plane has been greatly strengthened. It was already difficult for the Germans to get the British Parsons to be a steam turbine. Fortunately, Germany has stepped up its own research and development of its own Bremen-type steam turbines. So although there is disgust, it is still tolerable. At the same time, the French could not mount the optical lens of Zeiss on their own turret. Fortunately, however, such export restrictions were limited to hostile countries, and neutral countries were not restricted, which meant that countries like Huaxia could still obtain the steam turbines of the British and use them on their own warships.

It was from this point of view that the Germans thought that arms were different from ordinary commodities and that their sale was highly political. This political nature began as early as the pre-dreadnought era, and the fact that Japanese warships were purchased from Britain in history illustrates the alliance between Britain and Japan. In addition to ordering British warships, they also ordered warships from France and Germany in order to show goodwill to the two countries and show that they were unwilling to be enemies of them. And during the dreadnought, the British built two dreadnoughts for Turkey in order to win over the wavering country. Of course. In the end, Churchill was screwed up, and indirectly led to the downfall of Tsarist Russia.

So the Germans conceived yes. Let the Chinese Navy build warships for its own side, so that at least a political inclination can be expressed to the outside world. Of course, Germany, Austria and Italy will not use warships built in China. Its main customer is Turkey. Because of the lag of the power system, Germany's own shipyard is full of production plans, and naturally it is unable to build new warships for Turkey. Moreover, the Far Eastern Fleet lost two pocket battlecruisers of the Scharnhorst type, and this loophole still had to be filled. As for the Italians, they are also regrouping their fleet, Austria-Hungary? This navy is sad and urges the country not to mention it.

With the implementation of the Baghdad railway plan. The position of Turkey as a country in the German strategy skyrocketed. Coupled with the importance of Turkey's geographical location, it was decided in Germany to exploit the potential of this ally as much as possible. After a survey of the Persian Gulf, the Germans decided that it would be a good deal to build a naval base at a distance from both the British and a naval base that would deter the entire northern Indian Ocean. Like a fishbone stuck in the throat of the Indian Ocean, it made the British fidget.

And when the German envoy made this meaning clear, Xu Jie thought it was not unacceptable. However, forget about the new warship, after all, there are now 9 dreadnoughts in the Huaxia Navy, and after the war, a new type of super dreadnought will be built, and in order to save money, it is inevitable to deal with the battleship, three Ninghai-class ships have been in service for many years, and they have also suffered heavy losses after several bloody battles. It is estimated that it will not be sold, but the two Longxu-class battlecruisers and the two Longteng-class battleships Xu Jie plans to dispose of them.

But how could the Germans be fooled? Dealing with two-handed warships and building new warships for other countries are definitely two different concepts politically. The Germans said that if Turkey had spare money, Germany could persuade Turkey to buy the second-hand warships of the Huaxia Navy. But this was another business, but on the issue of compensation for German losses, the German government demanded that the Chinese Republic must be compensated with new warships. Of course, the price can be discussed, and more refunds and less compensation. Moreover, it was hinted in the secret meeting that the deal would affect the next stage of industrial cooperation between the German Empire and the Chinese Republic.

Xu Jie can still feel the thoughts and worries of the Germans, in fact, Xu Jie's bottom line is very simple, as long as he is not tied to the German chariot and starts a war with Britain and France, then everything is easy to talk about. The Germans needed famous products and all kinds of resources, as well as primary industrial products, and China could provide them. No matter how long the Anglo-French hand is, they can't manage it. What's more, the Huaxia Republic could receive a lot of equipment and technical assistance from Germany, so even without Russia, the cooperation between the Huaxia Republic and Germany would continue, and the scale would grow larger and larger, until the official start of World War I. After expressing to the German government that the Huaxia Republic would continue to maintain the status quo in the relations between the two countries, after some consideration, Xu Jie said that he could arrange a warship for Turkey in the next phase of the Huaxia Naval Shipbuilding Program. As for when this plan will be formulated and when it will be launched, Xu Jie himself has no bottom in his heart!

However, Xu Jie did not know the bottom of his heart, but the Germans said that they had already thought about it, and they put forward a series of requirements in terms of specific design and specifications based on their new generation of super dreadnought plans. With a displacement of more than 25,000 tons, it is equipped with a new 350-class naval gun, which can resist the attack of 14-inch naval guns at a distance of 15KM, and requires a speed of about 24 knots! As for the specific design of the rest, the Germans said that they would let Huaxia do it themselves.

When Xu Jie got this plan, he couldn't help grinning. This is the German version of a miniaturized Queen Elizabeth-class battleship. Of course, from the point of view of protection, the protection of this battleship should be higher than that of the Queen-class battleships, because the Queen's design was accidentally overweight, resulting in the height of its main armor belt exposed to the water seriously under....... "The Germans really care." Xu Jie said a little depressed.

After some haggling, the Huaxia and the German Empire finally agreed on the relevant rules, according to which the Huaxia Republic was required to start construction of a fast battleship that met the "customer's needs" within four years, and complete the delivery to the Turkish Empire within seven years. And in 5 years, the Turkish Empire has the right to place additional orders! In the case of the same price, the Turkish Empire has priority! As for the specific price, the two sides will add a "reasonable" profit margin to the cost of the battleship.

In history, the warship market in the Dreadnought era was originally dominated by two major powers, one was the United Kingdom and the other was the United States. The former is because the production capacity is sufficient, and the latter is because the price is relatively low. Germany, France, Austria and Italy can't build their own warships, so how can they have the capacity to cope with a large number of orders from other countries? However, because of Xu Jie's arrival, the Americans built a large number of warships for Russia in order to contain them, delaying the development of their own navy. And now, it is the turn of the Americans to build battleships for themselves. The Republic of China took over the position of the United States and vaguely became a potential supplier of dreadnoughts.

Therefore, in this kind of seller-dominated market, the Germans do not dare to directly set a profit standard. The Republic of China did agree to produce warships for the Turkish Navy, but at the same time, it also meant that the Republic of China could produce for other countries. After this battle, the Huaxia Navy also captured three Russian warships, and its strength rose to a new level. For quite a long time, the need for new ships in the Navy should be relatively small. So this means that the newly expanded slipway of the Huaxia Republic can produce warships for foreign countries. In this case, it is not good to be too demanding. (To be continued......)