The sky is blue, the night breeze blows, and the fireworks bloom in the air. With the signing of the Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Armaments, the Americans, as the host, immediately hosted a grand dinner and dance for the delegates of various countries. In addition to the usual state dinners, one of their main goals was to deepen trade with other countries: after all, in addition to the admirals, the countries also sent important high-ranking government officials to attend the meeting. If some orders or bonds can be obtained from the hands of these dignitaries, it will undoubtedly be another icing on the cake for the United States, which has already gained a lot in the negotiations.

The British and the French, who had been spectators in naval negotiations, reacted enthusiastically to the olive branch extended by the United States. Although Germany eventually gave them a relatively decent peace, the damage to their national economies after a year of war was undoubtedly enormous: France, in particular, was in desperate need of foreign capital to breathe life into its economy, which was already at a freezing point. Even the Italians were interested in the United States, a country of great industrial and economic power: although there was a rift between the two sides over Italy's shameless stabbing of France in the back, for the sake of money, the two sides still talked happily.

Seeing this situation, Qingying couldn't help but be secretly vigilant in her heart. Preparing to use Guò's occupation of Guiana in South America to plant a wedge in the back garden of the United States, why didn't the United States plot to use Britain and France to hinder the German power spreading to the world? Although the power of Britain and France was greatly weakened after this European war, they were still a rare force to contain Germany in Europe. Even two-faced Italy could act as a long-standing feud between Austria-Hungary against Germany, the most important ally: even if the Roman government did not dare to make any obvious betrayal under Berlin's coercion. But there is no pressure to make a small move in private!

After a few calculations. Qingying also has her own ideas. In the next ten years. Germany was not in a position to have any major conflict with the United States, so it became the countermeasure chosen by the Qing and Britain to realize their control over the European countries through guò agents. As for Italy, Qing Ying was prepared to support the newspaper journalist who had left a notch, but absolutely impressive, mark on Italy's recent history in another time and space, in the hope that he would be able to remove the traditional opportunistic politicians of the Italian upper echelons from the core of decision-making, as he did in history, so that the country would truly become a subordinate of Germany like Austria-Hungary. As for France, Qingying is also ready to test the attitude of Petain, who is still a lieutenant general in the army, in the future. It will be interesting to see if it will adopt the same attitude towards Germany as it did during World War II in history, when there is no hope of revenge against Germany in France.

In fact, the two superpowers in the Cold War also used this method to implement their will, and in various conflicts in Asia, Europe, the United States, and Africa, we can see their hidden manipulative hands behind the scenes.

"The Americans and the British can't wait so soon to taste the forbidden fruit of the union." A voice full of disdain sounded beside Qingying. Qingying turned her head to look, but saw that it was a black lieutenant general's uniform, Scheer's eyes were sharp, and through a field of musicians and dancers, he looked directly at the figures of British Foreign Minister Gray and US Secretary of State Brian, who were eagerly communicating. Seeing this situation, Qingying couldn't help but smile slightly: "General, there is an old saying in the East, whether it is raining or a mother is going to get married. There's no way to stop it. The British have just lost their offshore balancers and the status of the number one naval power in our hands, and now they can relax and make friends. There are only these Saxon cousins on the other side of the ocean who speak the same language. ”

"Your Highness, perhaps you should not make such a concession in naval negotiations. Now the lineup of the High Seas Fleet is almost twice that of the British, and the comprehensive combat effectiveness is more than three times that of the US Navy; However, thanks to this treaty, the combined strength of the fleets of these two countries reached 150% of ours, and the situation facing Germany in terms of the size of its fleet was restored to the situation it had before the war. Scheer's lips twitched, and he finally said with some hesitation, "A large number of battle-tested main dreadnoughts will have to be scrapped in the next few years, but the Americans have only dismantled two first-generation dreadnoughts of a real nature, and their main cores have been completely preserved." In the future, in the face of Britain and the United States, which have a tendency to unite, all the officers and men of the High Seas Fleet need to tighten their heartstrings of vigilance. ”

Listening to Scher's words that could not hide his resentment, Qingying also understood what the future commander of the High Seas Fleet was worried about. According to the relevant regulations in the current Washington Treaty, Germany, which limits the size of its capital ships to 550,000 tons, must dismantle all seven dreadnoughts, including the Deutsche class, and all former dreadnoughts in the next two years: after the completion of the four H-40 class battleships, four Helgoland-class, three Nassau-class, and one von der Tann-class will also be scrapped due to tonnage overflow. You know, these ships were not only new in 1906 and 1907, but they only served in the High Seas Fleet for four to five years, but they also underwent the test of actual combat: in that glorious decisive battle in the North Sea, they, together with the Caesar class, became the absolute backbone of the High Seas Fleet. Removing these warships from active service would in itself be a significant reduction in the strength of the High Seas Fleet.

In a few years, the number of active capital ships in the German High Seas Fleet will plummet from the current 46 to 21: four H-40s that have not yet been launched, eight Kings, seven Caesars, one De Fringer, and one Seydlitz, which is the entire family of the Black Vulture Cross.

By contrast, the U.S. Navy's reservations are undoubtedly much better. They have retained all four Dreadnoughts and four Superdreadnoughts from the Delaware class, and will also receive two Nevada, two Pennsylvania, two Colorado, and two Lexingtons in the next three years: the first four unfinished ships will all be equipped with 12 356mm guns, and the last four will be equipped with all 406mm guns, making them the most powerful capital ships of the treaty era. And although Britain will scrap a large number of new ships in service like Germany, their warships have been proven to be in vain in previous naval battles, and they are strong in the outside: whether it is the belt main equipment, the papier-mâché gun mount, or the miserable underwater protection, these ships have become iron coffins that devour the lives of Britain's outstanding young people! Even if they were to be completely dismantled, it would be difficult for the British to have any pity.

Moreover, in a way, the British Navy was even the biggest hidden beneficiary of the treaty. The six Brave (Queen), the two Vengeance, the Prestige, and the Tiger were all new capital ships armed with 381 mm guns: their 76 15-inch guns were even more powerful than the 88 14-inch guns of the American super-dreadnought. In the future, they still have a good hand of two new 35,000-ton treaty ships, and in the context of the technological progress of the times, it is completely possible to build a capital ship superior to the Colorado class of the United States!

"It is true that both Britain and the United States have retained a large number of cutting-edge ships, which is not a good thing for the future high seas fleet; It should be noted, however, that Japan, another naval power that Germany could use, also achieved legitimacy with the help of this treaty for its fleet of size. They retained 2 Hanoi, 2 Fuso, and 4 King Kong, eight cutting-edge ships, and also had the right to start construction of two new capital ships, which was enough to offset the negative effects on Germany caused by the possible alliance of the United States and Britain. ”

Qing's tone was soothing, and he said, "Japan alone is enough to involve most of the Americans' forces in the Pacific Ocean and gain a balance of power in the Atlantic for Germany." What's more, we have Austria-Hungary's 180,000-ton capital ships at our disposal: in addition to the old Radetz, the two combined forces and the two St. István-class ships they have retained, all of which have been modified or even borrowed entirely from our design drawings, and their performance can undoubtedly be relied upon. In addition, Austria-Hungary will be able to start construction of two new capital ships, and as long as we are fully involved, it may not be impossible for the Trieste shipyard to build a pinnacle of the H-40 class. ”

Scheer's heart moved, but there was still a bit of gloom on his face: "Compared with the demolition of the main warship, the demobilization of those well-trained sailors may be a more regrettable thing for us: they can only choose to retire after losing their warships, but these sailors are qualified warriors who can gallop across the ocean." Qingying glanced at the general beside him lightly, and said: "General, now that the war is over, compared to the cramped cabin and cold ordnance, it is more in line with Germany's future interests to go to Poland, Ukraine and other Eastern European territories, or overseas colonies." What's more, the empire will still start a considerable number of auxiliary warships in the future, and the elite of these soldiers can also be retained in the navy. Scheer was silent, agreeing with Qingying's point of view.

"In addition, there is another point that needs to be taken seriously by the general. Germany has been given a share of 150,000 tons of aircraft carriers in this negotiation, and I hope that the general will pay the most attention to this type of ship: this kind of ship is not a charity for demobilized sailors, but a key force in determining the future victory or defeat at sea. The American Eagle and the Cormorant have played a huge role in all naval battles, I believe you should have seen it too, general, right? Qing Ying's words gradually turned solemn, and a solemn look appeared on his face, "The future of the High Seas Fleet is in your hands, so you must not miss any key node that may lead to change. (To be continued......)

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