"John, if Britain is not going to guarantee victory in a naval battle against Germany, how many more dreadnoughts will the Royal Navy need to build than the Germans?" Bannerman asked softly as he looked at Fisher, who was silent. Although he was very uninterested in Fisher's fiery temperament, and often used his huge influence to influence the British financial and military expenditures of the year; But the effective reforms he has made to the Royal Navy since taking office have left the old politician Bannerman amazed and moved.

Hearing Bannerman's inquiry, Fisher couldn't help but pause slightly. From a purely tactical point of view, even if there are more uncertainties in naval warfare than in land warfare, the risks will be greater; But if the size of the fleet on one side exceeds 60% of the opponent's, then in the vast majority of cases it will be enough to guarantee victory in naval battles. But if he were to be honest, the chancellor and finance minister would most likely limit the Royal Navy to a size that was six percent stronger than Germany in the face of extremely tight budgets, which Fisher was clearly unwilling to accept! His plan was to assemble two fleets on British soil, each of which would be more powerful than the entire German navy combined—and this was not a plan that included the main warships overseas, which was undoubtedly crazier than the British public's proposal of two ships against one. Although the possibility of the implementation of this plan is very slim, it is difficult for Fisher to accept this huge gap from 2 times the enemy's superiority to 60% of the capital ship!

Thinking of this, Fisher immediately replied without hesitation: "Because of the uncertainty of naval warfare, the Royal Navy must have more than 80% of the dreadnoughts assembled on its home soil to be sure of a Nelsonian victory in the naval battle against Germany." He deliberately accentuated the words "native" and "dreadnought." The meaning of this could not be clearer. Former dreadnought due to serious lag in performance. Its number can no longer be used as a capital ship in the traditional sense to measure the strength of the two navies; As for the overseas department, dreadnought warships will not be deployed...... At present, the former Dreadnought can no longer be used as a capital ship. And some regional countries overseas will be equipped with dreadnoughts with a high degree of probability! Leave it up to the government to see what kind of countermeasures should be taken.

Bannerman frowned. Fisher's reply is almost a copy of Germany's double standard, but at present, the Royal Navy is still short of nearly 20 capital ships from this goal! He couldn't help but curse to himself, are the brains of these military war maniacs all made up of muscles, and they only care about the pre-1890 form of the target, but never pay attention to the revenue that the government can have?

"At present, Germany has started construction of 5 capital ships for 2 consecutive years, and if we want to ensure 80% of the numerical advantage over Germany, then we need to start construction of at least 9 capital ships every year. And this proved to be a ship-building speed that was difficult for Britain to achieve. Bannerman shook his head slightly, and directly rejected Fisher's lion mouth; Let Britain start construction of 9 capital ships a year, unless the army is weakened to the point of weakness before the Boer War!

"Forgive my rudeness, Sir Henry, for it seems to me that the value of Great Britain's existence is to maintain her world-leading navy." Fisher, who is already impulsive and irritable, has gradually become angry under Bannerman's repeated refusals. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the Minister of War Haldane, whose face had changed slightly, and then his loud voice echoed throughout the room: "If the Royal Navy, which defeated the Spanish Armada, Louis XVI, the Dutch coachman, Napoleon, and the halberd of Poseidon for three centuries, continues to continue the current status quo, which has been surpassed by the Germans in the vital field of dreadnought." Then I will resign as First Sea Lord, and she has no more meaning to continue working for. And before that. I would also suggest that the Royal Navy be reduced to a capacity of the same size as the Uruguayan fleet, so that Britain would no longer have to worry about deficit pressures on the government's finances. ”

"John, calm down." Bannerman, who seemed to be well acquainted with Fisher's impulsive disposition, uttered tepid words in the face of the old soldier's sharp and bitter sarcasm, as if nothing had happened, "Of course I know the importance of the navy to the British Empire. But John, you must also understand that the British Empire has more than just a navy, and that her bank credit is in some ways more important than a naval fleet on a violent mission. The purpose of our expansion of the fleet is to enable the British Empire to gain a higher status in the world, so as to make our world empire more economic benefits. And if we ignore the current economic situation and expand the size of our fleet in such a way that we destroy the entire financial system of Britain, and plunge the economy of the entire empire into a catastrophe; So even if this navy is too large, what is the point of existence? ”

Although an enraged Fisher wanted to refute Bannerman's arguments, he was neither good nor concerned about the economy, and was no match for the old aristocrat of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, so he had to remain silent for the time being.

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"Today, we have to face up to the fact with bitter heart that the rise of Berlin has changed the status quo of the world dominated by Britain for two centuries. We, who were all surpassed by Germany in terms of population, industrial scale, total economic volume, and technological content, would not be able to gain superiority and lead over the most powerful empire on the European road in a peaceful competition. This economic base determines the strength of an empire, just like classical Newtonian mechanics, which is not subject to the will of any one person. Bannerman said in a complicated tone, as if painful, unwilling, and regretful, with a faint hint of relief.

"In fact, Britain's global sea power has been shrinking since many years ago. With the rise of American power, we relinquished our absolute rights to the waters of North America, which had long dominated us, and reluctantly handed them over to our Saxon cousins. After the rapid growth of Japan's naval strength, we also withdrew almost all the capital ships stationed in the Far East and transferred them to the more important Mediterranean and mainland for defense. Isn't this merger of the Royal Navy's eight fleets just you, John? Was Fisher the first major thing he did when he became First Sea Lord? The War Secretary on the side, Haldane, was very dissatisfied with Fisher's disregard for the army just displayed, and could not help but stab him mercilessly after Bannerman, "The fundamental purpose of our navy development is to the prosperity and prosperity of the British Empire, not to drag Britain into the abyss of bankruptcy, and this kind of sacrifice of goals for the sake of means is something that no sensible government would do." ”

"So what should Britain do in the face of Germany's rapidly expanding dreadnoughts, according to the two knights? Are we going to scuttle all our capital ships, and then crawl like humble reptiles in front of the Teutonic beasts hatched from this herd of shells, licking their tricks? Fisher couldn't listen patiently, and suddenly put his pure white general's hat on the coffee table in front of him, and said loudly.

"There is no doubt that the fleet will expand. The British Empire was so dependent on the sea that everything needed to be transfused inward from overseas, and in the face of the rapid development of the German navy, it was only natural that we should concentrate all our efforts to respond effectively. In the face of Fisher's almost rude roar, Bannerman still said in an unhurried tone, "However, the pace of construction of nine dreadnoughts per year is really beyond the limits of Britain's finances. I will persuade Herbert to make efforts to finance the construction of seven capital ships a year for the Navy; At the same time, it pushed Congress to pass a special tax aimed at levying ships for the Navy to provide an additional source of funding for the Navy's ship construction. ”

Hearing Bannerman's words, the look of anger on Fisher's face finally subsided a little. Although this figure is still far below his expectations, the Prime Minister's assurances still give him some comfort in his heart. He snorted faintly from his nostrils and said, "And then?" It is important to know that even if the fleet is expanded at this speed of shipbuilding, the strength of the main fleets of the two sides will hardly be able to open up the gap. ”

"When we cannot defeat the enemy ourselves, we need to use other forces to deal with it together; Russia, which had just returned from defeat in the Far East, was the best choice. A large part of the reason why the current German navy makes Britain extremely difficult is that the Russians have lost all their Baltic Fleet, leaving Germany without any threat in that bathtub. And if the Russian navy, which had concluded an alliance with France, had a strong recovery capacity, it could play a significant role in the Baltic Sea to the German navy, thus reducing the pressure on us. Looking at Haldane and Fisher, who looked surprised, Bannerman smiled slightly, "There are no eternal enemies in the world, only eternal interests, and I believe that the Russian Navy will gladly accept our assistance." ”

"In addition to that, we should have a good talk with the Germans." Haldane took over the topic and said, "A blind arms race can only increase the financial burden and mutual distrust of the two governments, and through dialogue and consultation, we may be able to partially solve some of the problems in the meantime." I was going to go to Berlin to find out what the German government really wanted to do with the navy. ”

"That's fine. It's only fitting that Richard, who knows Germany well, would go there. Bannerman nodded slowly, then turned his gaze to Fisher, "John, the British Empire cannot be crushed by your Grand Fleet. So, please stop the Navy's frenzied propaganda against the people. (To be continued......)

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