The blue sky is clear, and the white clouds are flying in the sky.

In a garden in the Imperial Palace in Berlin, Qingying is lying on a chair enjoying a rare afternoon tea time; Thin rays of sunlight sparsely shone through the dense foliage, brightly dappling his face. On the grass next to her, a little princess is chasing butterflies with vigor, and Sanya, who is now a mother, is leisurely following behind her daughter, her delicate face full of heartfelt happiness.

Walking steadily, coughing lowly, I don't know when Wilhelm II, whose face was already in the twilight state, appeared at the corner of the bluestone path. Seeing the little princess running towards him, William's already sharp and upturned beard pointed straight to the blue sky; He squatted down slightly, and then picked up the little life.

"Little Elena, do you know who I am?" William smiled, and used the beard on his jaw to tie the supple skin of his granddaughter's face like a peeled lychee.

"Grandpa hates it, you scared away all the butterflies in the house!" William rubbed her beard against Elena, and her two small hands waved wildly in the air, as if to push the pesky face away from her face. Faced with little Elena's milky anger, William touched her head dotingly, he took out a candy from his pocket, and immediately made little Elena's eyes light up, stretched out his arm and grabbed it. Seeing Qingying and Sonia coming together, William immediately handed the granddaughter in his hand to the little Russian princess of his generation, and said with a smile: "You take Elena to play for a while, I have some things to discuss with Etter." ”

Sanya responded obediently and left with her daughter in her arms.

"I don't know my father came to me. Is there something that matters? "Wait until Sanya takes little Elena away. Qingying said to William with some doubts.

William snorted. The smiling face gradually turned solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "The news just came back from Istanbul that the Turks have announced the list of shipyards that have won the bid in their new round of naval expansion plan. In addition to the Volken shipyard in Germany, the Vickers shipyard in England was also selected by the Ottoman Admiralty; In the contract signed by the Turks with the Vickers shipyard, it was clearly stated that the British would help them build a super-dreadnought battleship armed with 8 14-inch guns! ”

"The Ottoman Navy ordered super-dreadnoughts from the British? Aren't they afraid that the British will detain their ship? Qingying's brows furrowed, and there was an incomprehensible hint of surprise in her words. In order to let the Turks completely cling to the German thigh, he made a special trip to Istanbul two years ago; Not to mention the analysis of the strategic situation from the bottom of his heart, he even broke the bank and gave preferential treatment to the Turks in naval arms purchases. With the construction of the battleship, called "Haireddin", began at the Bromforth shipyard. Qingying thought that the Turks had really changed their sex, but what he didn't expect was that the Turks still didn't die in the Yellow River; They have an old love affair with their former ally, England, and they are eyebrow at the nose of Germany!

William sighed and said, "I don't know what the Turks think. In many cases, the behavior of these small countries is really incomprehensible to us; Obviously, Britain has abandoned the Ottoman Empire, but these Seljuks do not hesitate to risk the threat of losing both their ships and money, and they also want to use their hot faces to stick to London's cold ass! At this point, the fact that the Japanese ordered us battleships is also a clear example; They only know that they want to pursue the performance of their ships to the greatest extent, but they completely forget that the most important point in foreign arms purchases is to ensure that the purchased arms can be safely returned to China! ”

"What about the Volken shipyard. And what orders did they get in this tender? Qingying asked.

"The Ottoman Navy approved the order budget for 2 capital ships this time, and one was given to Vickers. The other fell on the head of the Volken shipyard. In order to simplify logistics in a unified configuration, the two ships are completely comparable in terms of speed and firepower. Speaking of this, William showed a look of anger on his face, and said, "I don't understand what is the benefit of the British Vickers's 14-inch naval guns; It's just an unfinished product that is still under development, but it has made Japan, Russia and Turkey scramble to purchase equipment! It was not a matter for the Japanese to choose this artillery, after all, they still had to maintain relations with the British, and it was completely understandable to express their political stance on the most important and valuable subsystem of artillery. Our German 350 mm (13.8 in) naval guns are already equipped with seven Caesar-class battleships, and are they not worthy of the trust of these Ottoman yarkes who smell of cumin? ”

Qingying shrugged his shoulders and said, "Father, we can't completely blame the Turks for their artillery choices. The 350 mm naval gun developed by Krupp is only 42 times the length of the barrel, and the data on paper is obviously not as impressive as the 356 mm L45 naval gun of the British Vickers. Without knowing the specific performance, I would also have chosen the British gun, which had a larger caliber and a longer barrel. It's just that what I didn't expect was that the Turks actually ordered a battleship from the British; As a result, our naval combat strength in the Mediterranean region will inevitably be one less critical capital ship. ”

Hearing Qing Ying's last words, William's pupils shrank slightly, and he said softly: "One less?" Etter, you don't really plan to take action in the next two to three years, do you? ”

Qingying said slowly: "Actually, I am not one of those fanatical warmongers in the Congress, but the current situation in Europe forces me to do so. In the army, we already have airships, combat vehicles, machine guns and other mature tactical weapons ahead of France and Russia, and have achieved large-scale mass production; In two years' time, Germany will certainly form the most favorable situation for the French and Russian armies, which are still in the process of rectification and reform. Once this period has passed, the German Army's combat power will gradually slow down; And the Franco-Russian Army, which has completed the reform of the army, will achieve a rapid leap in its combat power to catch up with our Germany! What exactly this situation means, I believe you should know best in your heart, father. ”

William stared at the prosperous scenery in front of him in a daze, and remained silent. As the wise monarch who led the German Empire to the pinnacle of Europe, he understood the significance of Germany's superiority on land. Since the defeat of Manchuria by Russia, Germany has straightened its back in the European game in an instant; Under the absolute pressure of the German and Austrian armies, almost the entire European continent became the exclusive stage for the performance of the Allies.

On the Western Front, France's decades-long rhetoric of revenge against Germany disappeared almost overnight; The government of Paris trembled at the terrible nightmare of the German war, lest the German chariots crash over the French flag in a frenzy of rage, as in 1870. In the east, the Austro-Hungarian power began to expand rapidly into the Balkans, and Russia, which was overwhelmed by the domestic revolution, had to choose to retreat in humiliation. To the north, the always capricious Saxon bandits were forced to lay down their positions and recognize the German navy's status as a world through the naval agreement signed by Haldane, painfully cutting a large slice of the cake of their vested interests. In the south, Italy, which Bilow angrily denounced as an "unchaste slut," began to move closer to Germany in earnest, and for the first time the Mediterranean region was on par with Britain and France. It can be said that Germany during this period can be said to be calling for wind and rain on the European continent, blooming with a bright fairy light like the sun.

And once the French and Russian armies are relieved, all these favorable situations will cease to exist. France will glared at Germany on the Western Front, and Russia will go toe-to-toe with Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. The solid land situation on the European continent would also cause the British to change their stance and vigorously expand their home fleet with the German navy as the number one hypothetical enemy; The Italians will carry out their wall-to-wall style, and even choose to put the treasure on the side of the Entente!

"Therefore, for the sake of the national fortunes of the German Empire, we can only abandon the normal development of peace and prosperity and make up our minds to wage war. In addition to this, it is also beneficial for us to start a war in advance in the naval sphere; With the number of capital ships currently under construction, the British will not be able to suppress Germany's maritime power at all. Qingying's eyes showed a determined look, and he said to William in a tone without a trace of hesitation, "If Germany can replace the Royal Navy in charge of the seas, war in the next three years will be our best chance!" ”

William nodded slightly, and said slowly, "I understand what to do." Until the Russian Army is purged and a standard combat force is formed, I will surely wage a preventive war to win another thirty years of peace for Germany. With the current naval strength of the Empire, it is highly likely that Britain will not choose to intervene. Speaking of this, William seemed to think of something, he looked at Qingying next to him, and said, "Regarding the new battleship of the Empire, how is Alfred's development going?" The 380 mm naval gun you promised a few years ago should at least have a feasibility verification by now, right? ”

The corners of Qingying's mouth hooked and said, "Father, please rest assured." Krupp, which is in alliance with Skoda, has made great progress in the development of its artillery, and is fully capable of developing naval guns of this caliber. Originally, Krupp proposed a relatively conservative L42 body tube, but after Skoda's engineers joined, the R&D department of Fusion Technology has increased the length of the body tube to L45, and the design ejection kinetic energy has also been increased to a considerable extent. Next year, the construction of my father's beloved giant battleship will be laid. ”

William glanced at him, a hint of excitement involuntarily revealed. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly pass support of Book Friend Ocean Star 1~~~