The afternoon sun shone on Garcia's body, warm and warm; But his heart was heavy, like falling into an ice cellar.

Now the situation is clear. The Germans took a fancy to the fact that Spain could only buy ready-made ships from them, so they sat on the ground and offered at least twice the price of the market. And Spain already has no choice! If Spain did not buy existing ships to expand their navy, then they would not be able to keep the Cuban region under the guns of the Americans; And there are not only Spain's 200,000 troops, but also Spain's only remaining colony overseas, if Cuba is lost, Spain will become a country that will not enter the stream!

"Mr. Machar, allow me to say that even if the purchase of ships in active service is as you have just mentioned, your country's bid is simply too high. Spain is far inferior to your country economically and industrially, and its annual financial income is extremely limited, and we cannot afford such a high purchase cost in any case! We have ceded part of the rights and interests of the Philippines to your country, and we hope that your country will do some help to our Spanish Empire in this regard. Garcia whispered.

Mashal pursed his lips when he heard this. Spain has colonized the Philippines and Cuba for hundreds of years, and even if there are riots in these two places, they must have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth over the years. In addition, it is true that Spain is a third-rate country in Europe, but this is relative to Britain, France, Germany and other world-class powers; As a European country, Spain is still as industrialized as the Netherlands and Belgium, as evidenced by the fact that they were able to build their own 7,000-ton ironclads with a speed of 20 knots. With industrial output and a colony to sell, how could there be no money? A month earlier, His Majesty the Kaiser had made clear at the meeting the stakes of the Spanish-American conflict for Germany, and it would be unreasonable not to take advantage of this time to hammer out a sum of money from the Spaniards!

Marcal glanced at the Spaniard and said in an irresistible tone: "Mr. Ambassador, our country's promise to sell your country ships in service is already the greatest help to your country. Your country has suffered unjustly in the Maine incident, and no country has stood up and stood in the same trench as your country; Now only I, the German Empire, uphold righteousness and justice, and help our white neighbors! As for the problem that your country's fiscal situation is not optimistic, it can be solved in the form of issuing treasury bonds to the domestic people. You have a population of more than 30 million people, so you don't have a problem with this amount of money, right? ”

Speaking of this, Machar seemed to suddenly think of something, and said, "By the way, I almost forgot to tell Your Excellency." In order to prevent a break in Germany's maritime strength, after your country purchases warships, we Germany will immediately start construction of new ships, and this will require a considerable amount of money. Therefore, you cannot buy with a physical mortgage and must pay in full in cash at short notice. ”

Garcia was very angry when he heard this, and bought a ship that was not advanced at twice the market price, and paid in cash, which is really unacceptable! Filled with resentment, he tried several times to get the Germans to lower the price, but Machar never let go, and it was completely a hooligan rhythm that was not a big one.

Faced with this situation, Garcia was full of bitterness, and finally gave up his plan to let the Germans reduce the price. He sighed in his heart, and then said resignedly: "Well, Mr. Machar, please continue, I want to have a general understanding of the warships that your country can use for sale. ”

The German snorted lightly when he heard this, and then said: "If Mr. Ambassador thinks that the Saxony-class ironclad just now is too expensive, then we have a first-class battleship that may be able to meet the needs of your country." This is a German 'West German frigger' class ironclad commissioned in 1890, with a design displacement of 3,971 tons, a speed of 14 knots, equipped with three 240 mm main guns and eight 88 mm secondary guns, and a 9.5-inch thick rigid ironclad on the waterline. Since there is no large-scale refit, the price of this class is much cheaper, and your country only needs to pay 500,000 pounds, so you can pick and choose one. ”

Garcia looked at the battleship blueprint in his hand, this mediocre battleship made him frown. Whether it's tonnage, firepower. speed and protection, this class of ships can not be put on the table at all, and can only exert some residual heat in some naval countries that do not enter the stream; If this class of warships were bought, it would not be of any help to the Spanish fleet, which was about to challenge the US Navy. He shook his head slightly, flipped the paper in his hand to the next page, and Mashal looked at the line diagram very cooperatively, and then introduced the performance parameters of the battleship to the Spaniards.

The Oldenburg ironclad ship has a standing displacement of 5,652 tons, a speed of 13.5 knots, and is equipped with eight 240 mm guns, and the Caesar-class ironclad has a displacement of 8,799 tons, a speed of 14.5 knots, and is equipped with eight 260 mm guns. Prussian-class ironclad ships with a displacement of 7,596 tons, a speed of 14 knots, and four 260 mm guns; The King William ironclad ship has a displacement of 10,591 tons, a speed of 14.5 knots, and is armed with 18 240 mm guns. As Garcia's page flipped through the pages, Mashal introduced almost all the belongings of the German Navy's ironclad era. The Spaniards turned to the last page, and when they saw that it was still an old guy from the 70s of the 19th century, he said with some displeasure: "These warships are too old, and they are not at all what my Spanish Empire wants." Since our ironclad ship Pelayo is being refitted and cannot go to sea, we need a capital battleship to take its place! ”

"Capital battleship? I wonder what class of warships you are referring to? Mashal took a sip of his coffee and spoke. Garcia said: "As far as I know, your country currently has a new type of capital ship with a standing displacement of 12,300 tons of Class 1. The battleship Caesar Barbarossa, which was just completed this year, I wonder if it can be sold to us? ”

Hearing the name of the ship, Machar shook his head categorically and said, "This is impossible. It is the newest capital ship of our Germany, and it has only been in service for less than 1 month, which we will never sell! However, your country may consider our German battleship 'Elector'. It is the No. 2 ship of the Brandenburg class, with a standing displacement of 10,500 tons, a speed of 16.5 knots, and six 283 mm guns, which are roughly comparable in tonnage and speed to the capital ship of your country's refit. As for its combat effectiveness, I don't think I need to say anything more, the performance of the lead ship Brandenburg in the Qing-Japanese naval battle three and a half years ago can answer all doubts about its performance! "Here Machar deliberately avoided the important and trivialized, and the result of the Battle of Dadonggou was a matter of fact; In fact, the real combat power of the Brandenburg class is far less than that it performed in actual combat. Among a group of ironclad ships of the same era, Brandenburg's performance was not outstanding, and its outstanding performance in the Battle of Dadonggou was entirely due to the fact that its opponent was only a group of dominary cruisers, and it won a very high honor by slaughtering young people. This is like the four annihilations in the water tank world, although it is not an ordinary pit father, but if it is faced with a group of level 5 or even level 4 cars, it can still kill ten sides, get a Radley or even Poole medal!

Seeing that the Germans rejected his proposal, but took out the Brandenburg class again, Garcia suddenly froze, and a sense of foreboding appeared in his heart. Before he came, he had thoroughly examined all the current ship configurations of the German Navy, and the only warships that could really compete with the American battleships and that the Germans might be willing to sell were the Brandenburg-class battleships that they completed in 1894. He looked at Mashal's face carefully, lest he miss any detail on the other party's face, and then slowly spoke, "So how much does it cost?" ”

Machar said lightly: "1.6 million pounds." ”

Garcia's brow jumped, and his face was faintly distorted by horror and anger. The Spaniards before the meeting showed signs of rampage at any time. Machar said tepidly: "Mr. Ambassador, please don't forget that my German Brandenburg-class is the only modern warship of the first class that has withstood the actual combat test in the only maritime engagement since mankind entered the age of steam!" I can say unceremoniously that if the Qing people had not purchased our warship, they would have paid more than 16 million pounds in compensation to the Japanese! Your country has spent only £1,600,000, but what you have received is most likely a permanent rule over Cuba; In the face of such a profitable investment, what else can you hesitate about? ”

Looking at the arrogant Germans in front of him, a strong sense of unwillingness and resentment filled Garcia's heart. For Germany, the sale of battleships is completely a cold dish for the Chinese New Year's Eve, and if there is no New Year, it will be a big deal to talk about it and leave; And the current situation facing Spain is destined to buy Germany's active warships! Although the Germans are evil, there is some truth in what they just said, compared to being able to continue colonial rule in Cuba, what is the point of being cheated by them?

"Thank you for your generosity, and I will go back and report this to our government. As for the amount, please reduce it a little. Garcia said bitterly.

Mashal smiled when he heard this. He nodded at the Spaniard's words, then shook his head again.

Today's second chapter, let's give some collection support