On the dome of the Imperial Palace in Berlin, Wilhelm and Qingying stood side by side, staring at the glimmer of morning light in the sky, not knowing what to think. After a long time, Wilhelm, who had a two-handful beard, spoke softly: "Ettel, I remember that you said before that a defeat in Russia in the Far East is more beneficial to our Germany than victory, right?" ”

Qingying snorted and said, "That's right." Although there is no enmity between Germany and Russia, because of the existence of France and Austria-Hungary, Russia will inevitably be on our side in the future European war. Therefore, instead of allowing Russia to win in the Far East and then return to Europe with a big victory, it is better to defeat it in the Far East by the hands of the Japanese. In this case, even if Russia's strategic center of gravity would be returned to Europe after the Far East War, they would no longer be able to pose a threat to our Germany, having suffered a heavy defeat in the Far East. ”

"In that case, then we should vigorously help Japan so that these yellow-skinned monkeys have the ability to defeat Russia. Why did you agree to the Russians when they came to Germany to purchase warships, and you agreed to take a big deal and connected the Russians with an order for 4 battleships and 2 armored cruisers? William turned around slowly and asked with some puzzlement, "Don't tell me that you made a compromise for the sake of that little cousin of little Nikki, you should know that personal feelings must definitely give way to national interests." ”

"Father, rest assured, I will certainly not do anything for her that is detrimental to the interests of Germany. The reason why I took the order from the Russians was because of the previous consideration, which was to let the Russians throw more resources into the Far East, which had nothing to do with Germany. Therefore, although I, Germany, were not short of money at all, the ships sold to the Russians still fetched a fairly high price. In order to order these 6 capital ships from our Germany, the Russians spent almost 7.5 million pounds, which already accounted for 15% of their financial revenue! It is conceivable that the gold coins in Nikolai's pocket have dried up greatly; Father, when you are in charge of the empire, you must know how such a huge expenditure on naval ship purchases will affect the army and the national economy. Faced with William's question, Qingying gave her own answer.

"You're right. According to Russia's annual income of 50 million pounds, it is impossible to buy or build so many warships in one go under normal circumstances, and it must be through various means to collect funds; The forcible withdrawal of such a huge amount of funds from the normal field into the navy not only greatly squeezed the army's military expenditure, but also caused Russia's economy to wither and multiply many evils, and the disparity between Russia and Germany was even more vastly different. But wouldn't this make the Russians' military power in the Far East even stronger? ”

Hearing Qingying's explanation, the doubts in William's heart still did not subside, and he continued: "In addition to the 6 ships ordered in Germany, the Russians also started construction of 3 battleships imitating the French Dauphin in their own country; That is, the Russians made 9 capital ships at once! Even if it were unlikely that they would transfer all these ships to the Far East and leave a little in the Baltic Sea to defend against us, then this would have formed a considerable advantage over the Japanese navy. Once this force can help them overcome Japan, then the war reparations from Japan, and the proceeds from the Qing Northeast and Korean lands, will more than compensate for all that the Russians have paid so far! At that time, I, Germany, will face a much stronger Russia, and will not the act of helping Russia build warships to put the cart before the horse? ”

Qingying smiled slightly and said, "Regarding this, I have actually taken it into consideration. So I was going to give the Japanese something so that they would be able to deal with the threat of the Russian Navy in the event of war. ”

"Are you still going to build more battleships for Japan? Don't forget, Etel, Japan was a country with no money, and their financial situation was several times worse than that of the Russians; What's more, the Japanese still have to repay the loan you lent to them on time with an interest of up to 1 cent, and there is no money left to buy any more large warships. William's brows furrowed, and he said, "As for further loans to them, I don't think it's better to do this matter." 300 million marks is already the limit, and throwing money at this country with extreme militarism and low ability to repay is undoubtedly a sign of extreme risk; What's more, Germany has never been a country that likes to lend money. ”

"It is true that the economic and industrial situation in Japan is very bad, and if we throw too many marks into this country, it will not only be extremely risky, but it will also mean that we will be forced to stand on the same chariot as them, which will be extremely unfavorable to our Germany. Therefore, what I am going to offer Japan this time is neither a battleship nor a loan, but the cutest little toy in the Navy - a torpedo boat. Qingying said hesitantly.

William was stunned and said, "Torpedo boats? Qingying nodded and said, "That's it." My father knew about the S-1 torpedo boat that was commissioned in the German Navy only last year, right? ”

William sighed and said, "I know this, it is the pinnacle of Volken's shipyard in the field of torpedo boats. It has a design displacement of 243 tons, two 450 mm torpedo tubes in the bow, and a main engine power of 6,000 hp. It was able to reach a staggering speed of 32 knots, compared to 25 knots for other torpedo boats in the same period! In order to consolidate coastal defense, the Qing State also ordered 4 of the world's top torpedo boats like China (this is the sea dragon class in the Beiyang Naval Division after the historical facts. I have to say, these boats are definitely super conscience goods with great value for money). At this point, William paused, and then said, "Etter, are you trying to sell this torpedo boat to the Japanese?" I admit that the Japanese could afford this kind of small boat of more than 200 tons, and its performance was good enough, but torpedo boats were not the main force in naval warfare. If you want to rely on them to deal with the Russian battleships, it is still slightly more difficult. Qingying smiled slightly and said, "But what if the Russian fleet is in an unprepared situation?" The sudden entry of these guys with a speed of 32 knots is enough to deal a fatal blow to the Russians! ”

"Father must still remember the cause of the Qing-Japanese War! Before the two sides officially declared war, the Japanese warships directly launched a surprise attack on the Qing troop carriers without warning, thus opening the curtain of the Qing-Japanese war. In the eyes of this group of Japanese, any international norm is a piece of bullshit that can be trampled on at will, and any means can be used in order to achieve victory; What do you say they would do if the Russian Far Eastern Fleet posed a suffocating threat to them? They had only one option, and that was to launch a surprise attack on the Russian fleet while both sides were about to go to war but had not yet declared war; And what we want to do is to help them in this field! Speaking of this, Qingying said slightly proudly, "In this way, the Russians have not only spent money, but also failed to do anything to help the battlefield!" ”

William's face showed a complicated look, surprised, excited, disgusted, disgusted...... All kinds of expressions flashed on his face one after another, and he was silent for a long time. After a while, he nodded lightly and said, "I understand, it turns out that the Japanese are such a bunch of guys." If they can do that, they really have a great chance of success. Even if the water in the military port is shallow, the battleship can still be salvaged after sinking, but in the few months of salvage and repair, it is enough for the Japanese to seize the opportunity and arrange everything. But there's still a little bit I haven't figured it out. And for what purpose did you talk to the Russian general named Essen about breaking the engagement? Don't you know that Japan is an island country, and all kinds of war resources rely heavily on sea transportation; If the Russians use their armored cruisers to break the diplomatic relationship, will there be a way for Japan's sea transportation lines to survive? ”

Hearing William ask this question, Qingying's heart tightened slightly; The reason why he wanted to exchange the essence of the naval battle with Essen at the last moment was so that he could make persistent efforts on the basis of history in the Russo-Japanese War that broke out in the future, and severely weaken Japan's strength. But how do you say that? His thoughts turned sharply and he said: "After all, breaking diplomatic relations at sea is a thief-like behavior, and sea control can only be seized by battleships. As long as Japan can successfully launch a torpedo attack on the Russian battleship, then even if the Russians adopt the strategy of breaking diplomatic relations, it will not really change the situation at sea, but will only cause more trouble for Japan. ”

"What do you mean, why didn't I understand?" William said with some displeasure.

Qingying said: "The imminent war between Japan and Russia is not only a God-given opportunity for our Germany, but also a challenge that needs to be carefully played. Russia is our most pressing potential enemy on the Eastern Front, and we must take this opportunity to weaken him vigorously, but is Japan what kind of good thing it is? This country's greed and ferocity are not under Russia's in the slightest, and once they defeat Russia, East Asia will no longer have any strength to restrain this island country, and the Philippines, which we have so hard won, will be directly exposed under their noses! Therefore, although we in Germany would most like to see a crushing defeat for Russia, we do not want to see a Japan that will win a great victory and dominate the Far East; Germany at the moment already has a considerable interest in the Far East, and can no longer be completely ignored there. Japan's victory at a heavy price is the outcome that Germany wants to see! ”