Britain continued to send personnel, technical information, and gold to the Kingdom of Prussia, which attracted the attention of the Chinese Empire. Although, from the Thames Estuary to the Netherlands, it only takes one night. However, the warships of the Imperial Navy still intercepted the British ships from time to time. From these ships, engineers and designers of the British navy, drawings of various warships and steam engines, as well as some gold and silver treasures, were found. Because the North Sea is so small, it's like a pond. By the time the Chinese Navy found out, the British had almost completed their plans. This allowed the plans of the British and the Kingdom of Prussia to be carried out smoothly.

General Luo Hongtao, director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, walked into the study of Emperor Long Yufei, and he told Long Yufei about it with a stern face.

"Your Majesty, based on the information obtained by the Navy, our intelligence officers have carried out relevant intelligence gathering. We found out that the British and the Prussians had made a secret agreement in private. However, we have no way of knowing what the agreement is. However, it is certain that this must be related to naval construction. Therefore, the personnel and technical materials that were transported from Britain to Prussia were all related to the navy. And that gold, too, should have been the money for the Prussians to develop the Navy! General Luo Hongtao presented the analysis of the Intelligence Bureau to Long Yufei.

Long Yufei flipped through the report, and after reading it, his brows were tightly wrinkled.

"It seems that our Prussian allies are very unwilling! They are so hopeful that they can challenge us. Long Yufei muttered. In this war, the Chinese Empire ate a mouthful of oil. But again, the Kingdom of Prussia gained a lot. They have almost dominated the European continent. With the exception of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Spain in the west, the occupied areas of the Empire in the east and those occupied by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Most of Europe fell under the control of the Germans.

Although, judging by the size of the territory. The area occupied by the Kingdom of Prussia was far from being comparable to that of the Chinese Empire. However, Europe was originally the center of the world, with a strong industrial base and abundant resources. After the Kingdom of Prussia integrated these resources, its industrial strength was bound to rise to a new level. At that time, the gap between the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia will be further narrowed. After all, although the Chinese Empire occupied a lot of land this time, it was agricultural land in addition to the desert. Industry is almost a blank slate. If it weren't for the abundance of resources in these places, the Chinese Empire would have suffered a great loss.

Originally, the Kingdom of Prussia had an opinion about the Chinese Empire. However, Long Yufei was not too worried. After all, the Kingdom of Prussia was strong, but their development was extremely uneven. The army was strong, and the navy was almost equal to a blank slate, which made the Kingdom of Prussia simply not qualified to challenge the world hegemony of the Chinese Empire. But now, with the support of the British. The shortcomings of the Kingdom of Prussia will be filled. This will be a big threat to the Chinese empire in the future.

"Someone, call the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Logistics and Equipment!" Long Yufei commanded. Since the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to develop a navy, then. The Chinese Empire will play with him. Long Yufei and they started with the navy, and they can just tell the Prussians that the navy is not something they can play. If you want to become a maritime power. Without the accumulation of enough time, it is impossible. On naval warships. Even if the Kingdom of Prussia was supported by the British, it wanted to be compared with the Chinese Empire. That's also impossible.

Long Yufei really wanted to see what the navy carefully built by the Prussians and the British would look like when it was sunk under the attack of the imperial navy. At that time, the Kingdom of Prussia would cease to exist, let alone challenge the hegemony of the Empire.

Soon, General Sun Hao, Chief of the General Staff, and Lieutenant General Zhao Xingkai, Minister of Logistics and Equipment, arrived at Long Yufei's office.

"General Luo, tell General Sun and General Zhao about the information obtained by the Military Intelligence Bureau!" Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Admiral Luo Hongtao nodded. Subsequently, General Luo Hongtao informed Admiral Sun Hao and Lieutenant General Zhao Xingkai of the collusion between the British and Prussians obtained by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

After learning the news, the faces of Admiral Sun Hao and Lieutenant General Zhao Xingkai suddenly became a little ugly. Having defeated the British Navy, the Chinese Navy was already a maritime hegemon. The Imperial Navy, with up to 24 battleships, already dominated the world's oceans. As a result, the pace of development of the Imperial Navy also slowed down. In order to challenge the British Navy in the early stage, the Chinese Empire invested a lot of manpower and financial resources to develop the navy. Now the Imperial Navy has achieved success. Naturally, the intensity of developing the navy is not so great.

But now it seems that the Prussians were not willing to be lonely and wanted to challenge the hegemony of the empire. Then, the development of the Empire's navy cannot be stopped! Otherwise, it is very likely that the Kingdom of Prussia will catch up.

"Your Majesty, the British helped the Prussians to develop their navy, and the empire had to defend itself. Although, our Navy defeated the British Navy, the main thing was that the development of our new warships was one step ahead of the British. In addition, the investment of torpedoes also played a very important role. In fact, the gap between our Navy and the British Navy is not huge. If the Prussians had been helped by the British, then the Prussian navy would certainly have developed rapidly. Just as the Imperial Navy tried its best to catch up with and surpass the British Navy. It's just that now it's the Kingdom of Prussia chasing the Empire. In order to maintain the superiority of the Empire, we must strengthen the development of the Navy. Admiral Sun Hao said.

"Yes, Your Majesty! Originally, the design of the next class of battleships of the Imperial Navy had slowed down. But now it seems that we must speed up the firing and construction of the next class of battleships. Before the Prussian Navy could develop, the Imperial Navy had to open a gap with them! Lieutenant General Zhao Xingkai also said.

Long Yufei nodded, slowing down the development of the next level of navy, it was he who nodded. After all, the cost of the 'Eastern Han class' battleships alone was as high as 12 million Chinese dollars. Eight 'Eastern Han Dynasty-class' battleships, with a total cost of 96 million Chinese yuan, are simply burning money! At a time when the empire has already won the world hegemony, there is no need to burn money like this anymore. Thus, the development of the Imperial Navy entered the slow lane.

But now it seems that this will not work any longer! If the empire slows down, it may soon be overtaken by the Prussians. The British not only provided the Prussians with talent and technology, but also increased their funds! It seems that the British also know that this time they are in a catastrophe. So, simply think about it for the future. This is simply sinister intentions!

"How's the design of the next class of battleships of the Imperial Navy done? Is there a problem with starting construction before the end of the year? Long Yufei asked. In order to meet the challenge of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Empire had to start construction of new warships.

"Your Majesty, the design of the Imperial Navy's 'Tang-class' battleship has been completed by eighty percent, and the remaining part will be completed in the next few months, and the construction will start before the end of the year, there will be no problems!" Lieutenant General Zhao Xingkai assured.

The Imperial Navy's 'Tang-class' battleships will be more powerful warships than the 'Eastern Han-class' battleships. Whether it is in terms of defense or firepower, it is a step up from the 'Eastern Han class' battleships. Of course, the displacement is also much larger.

On the battleships of the 'Don class', the main guns of the Imperial Navy were to be equipped with 343 mm caliber guns. The power of the 343 mm naval gun is much stronger than that of the 305 mm naval gun. However, until now, the Reich has not developed a reliable 343-mm gun. It is expected that it will take another year or two to come up with a mature product. The estimated construction period of the 'Tang-class' battleship is about two and a half to three years, and when the battleship is launched, the arsenal should be able to come up with a stable and reliable 343-mm main gun, which can be used at that time.

The main guns of the 'Don-class' battleships consisted of three triple 343-mm guns, 12 155-mm secondary guns, and rapid-fire guns of other calibers. The displacement of the 'Tang-class' battleships will also reach about 22,000 tons, and the displacement of the full load will probably exceed 26,000 tons. Of course, the speed of the battleship is also something that Long Yufei does not want to reduce. He demanded that the maximum speed of the 'Don-class' battleships reach at least twenty knots. This requires the cooperation of a new type of boiler and steam engine. The Imperial Academy of Engineering has begun to develop steam turbines, but it is not stable at present, and if it wants to be applied to warships, the 'Tang-class' battleships are estimated to have no hope, and the next 'Song-class' battleships may be possible.

Compared to the previous battleships of each class that were built eight, starting with the 'Tang-class' battleships, the Empire would not build so many at once. After all, the cost of the 'Tang-class' battleships is estimated to be much higher than that of the 'Eastern Han class' battleships. If you build four ships at once, it is already the limit of the empire.

"After the construction of the 'Tang-class' battleships began, the shooting of the 'Song-class' battleships of the next class of the Imperial Navy also began. Since the Prussians wanted to develop a navy, then the Reich let them see, and if they wanted to surpass the Reich Navy, it would be impossible. Long Yufei's face was full of hideous smiles.

The development of the Navy is a waste of money! In this war, the empire has obtained a lot of funds, and it is not afraid to play with Prussia, which is enough to drag them to death! (To be continued......)

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