Chapter 1222: The Sultan's Naval Dream
The sea in Istanbul is calm and the scenery is picturesque. However, the nine steel beasts floating on the sea like small mountains spoiled the beautiful scenery and made people feel a solemn atmosphere. It was one of the most powerful warships in the world, with a thick cannon muzzle that could destroy everything with ease.
In a villa not far from the sea, several Westerners were using binoculars to observe the warships on the sea. Among them, a young man had a very ugly face, and his mouth was cursing from time to time.
"These damn yellow-skinned monkeys, they're showing off their force to everyone in order to achieve their goal of getting a huge benefit from this peace conference. This is a shame for us. One day, we will let these Chinese know that they are not qualified to be arrogant in front of us! "This young man is none other than the Crown Prince of Prussia, Wilhelm Brown. Frederick. A delegation from the Kingdom of Prussia had arrived a week earlier, and their arrival was greeted by the Ottoman Turkish Empire at the speed of Abdul. A cordial reception from Mejid I.
"Your Highness, the Chinese Navy is indeed showing off its force. However, they are also qualified to do so. With the exception of the already destroyed Royal Navy, there is no country in the world that can confront them! "Otto. Feng. Prime Minister Bismarck said. After seeing those battleships on the sea, even he couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness in his heart. The strength of the Chinese navy is too strong, will the Kingdom of Prussia really be able to catch up? If it fails. So, what will be the fate of the Kingdom of Prussia? This makes Otto. Feng. Prime Minister Bismarck simply did not dare to imagine it.
"Our cutting-edge warship has already completed its design. Construction will begin soon. The warships sent by the Chinese Navy are the Chinese' Qin-class battleships and 'Western Han-class' battleships, and their performance is not very strong, and they cannot be compared with our battleships at all. The battleship we are going to build is based on the British Navy's 'Nile-class' battleships. The 'Nile-class' battleships are powerful warships that can compete with the most advanced 'Eastern Han-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy. Count Moltke said.
"Yes, our battleships. More powerful than these warships of the Chinese Navy. When our battleships are commissioned, we will not have to be afraid of these Chinese! "Frederick. A flash of excitement flashed in Crown Prince William's eyes. For these warships of the Chinese Navy on the sea, they are no longer so afraid. However, he did not see the face of Count Moltke. It's getting more and more dignified.
Although the Kingdom of Prussia was an army power, it was not a naval power. Moreover, it is not so easy to become a naval power. In the era of sails, if you want to become a naval power, it is impossible without hundreds of years of accumulation. Only after hundreds of years of accumulation can it become a real maritime power. However, after entering the age of steam, this time was greatly shortened. But even so. It is still unlikely that it will become a maritime power in a short period of time. So, the Kingdom of Prussia still has a long way to go.
Don't say anything else. The Kingdom of Prussia, which received help from the British, was about to start construction of the first rank of battleships of the Kingdom of Prussia, and without three years or even more, it would not be possible to build it at all. After all, the Kingdom of Prussia had no experience in building large warships at all before. Even with the help of the British, it was not something that could be overcome in a short time. So. They can only slowly explore and sum up experience when building first-class battleships. And the Chinese Empire. In the construction of large warships, even the British could not compare. If the Kingdom of Prussia wants to catch up, the difficulty can be imagined.
In addition to the delegation of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was concerned about the huge warships of the Chinese Navy, the rest of the countries were also the same. This was especially true of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which was the host. When the fleet of the Chinese Navy arrived in Istanbul, the high-ranking officials of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, represented by the chief Pasha, appeared in the port for the first time, on the one hand, to welcome the arrival of His Royal Highness the Chinese Crown Prince, and on the other hand, to observe the powerful Chinese Navy. There is no doubt that the huge battleships of the Chinese Navy caused a great shock to these high-ranking officials of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Everyone couldn't help but feel a fear of the Chinese Empire from the bottom of their hearts. They all know the Sultan's ambitions, but in the face of such a powerful Chinese empire, the Sultan's ambitions seem a little too ridiculous!
After the crown prince of the Chinese Empire went ashore, he went to the palace and met with the speed Abdul. Mejid I. Anyway, Abdul. Mejid I is about to become the father-in-law of the Imperial Emperor Long Yufei, which is equivalent to the grandfather of the crown prince Long Hua!
Abdul. Mejid I held a banquet at the imperial palace to entertain the crown prince Longhua and the high-ranking officials of the delegation of the Chinese Empire. After the luncheon, the crown prince of the Chinese Empire, Long Hua, and the senior officials of the delegation went to the Chinese Imperial Embassy in the Ottoman Turkish Empire to rest. And Abdul. Mejid I secretly left the palace and went to the harbor to see for himself the invincible steel ships of the ministers.
"O Allah! How could those Chinese build such powerful warships? "When I saw the huge warships floating on the sea, Abdul. Mejid I was dumbfounded. He never imagined that the battleships of the Chinese Navy would be so large. And his ambition is also like being poured a basin of cold water at this moment. It was extinguished all at once.
Twenty years ago, the vast empire of the Far East was not much stronger internationally than the Ottoman Turkish Empire. It's just that because the Ottoman Turkish Empire was close to Europe, it was the first to be invaded by Europe. China is far away from Europe, so it has escaped. But Abdul. Mejid I had always believed that China twenty years ago was not necessarily much more powerful than the Ottoman Empire.
Twenty years later, however, China has become the most powerful country in the world, the hegemon of the world. Although the Ottoman Turkish Empire was also one of the world's great powers, the gap between it and the Chinese Empire was too great.
"Your Majesty, the number we got from the commander of the city defense, if those eight battleships of the Chinese opened fire on Istanbul, in just one day, the whole of Istanbul could be blown into ruins!" Ali. Pasha said.
"Hell! Those Chinese, they will never dare to do this! "Abdul. Mejid I said through gritted teeth. Although, he knew Ali. What Pasha said was true, but he didn't want to admit it.
"Your Majesty, now the Chinese don't dare to do this. But if the Ottoman Turks went against the Chinese Empire, or threatened the interests of the Chinese Empire, they would certainly do so. I think we'll need to plan ahead! "Ali. Pasha said.
Abdul. Mejid I nodded: "From now on, we must strengthen the construction of shore defense batteries in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, and absolutely cannot allow Chinese warships to enter the Sea of Marmara lightly!" ”
"Your Majesty, there are only two ways to prevent the Chinese Navy from entering the Sea of Marmara, one is to build coastal defense batteries on both sides of the Dardanelles, but this requires large-caliber coastal defense guns, and we cannot produce such shore defense guns, so we can only consider importing them from the Chinese Empire or the Kingdom of Prussia. The second is to build an equally powerful navy. It's just that building a strong navy requires a lot of money, and our finances can't afford it. In addition, we also lack the technology and ability to build large warships, unless we can order them from the Chinese Empire. "Mustafa. Lester. Pasha said.
Abdul. After glancing hatefully at the warships at sea, Mejid I returned to the palace without looking back. On the way back to the palace, Abdul. Mejid I thought a lot.
"The Ottoman Empire has been revived in my hands with great difficulty, and I can never bear the fact that the development of the Ottoman Empire has only ended here. The Ottoman Empire had to be stronger. Navy, the Ottoman Turkish Empire must build a strong navy, even if it cannot be compared with the Chinese Empire, but it must be able to fully safeguard the overseas interests of the Ottoman Turkish Empire! "Abdul. Said Mejid I.
Once upon a time, the Ottoman Turkish Empire also had a strong navy, and that was in the age of sails. However, in the war between Britain, France, and Russia against the Ottoman Turkish Empire, their navy was lost. This made the Ottoman Empire's control over overseas territories weaker and weaker. In particular, when the Governor of Egypt began to rebel against the rule of the Ottoman Empire, further weakening the rule of the Ottoman Empire in northern Africa. Libya and Tunisia are already showing signs of secession from the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
If it weren't for the fact that the Ottoman Turkish Empire had sided with the victors in this war, its national strength would have increased greatly. Those local forces may have already betrayed the Ottoman Turkish Empire. If the Ottoman Empire could have a strong navy, then a single qiē would be well solved. The navy could escort the Ottoman Turkish army across the Mediterranean and land directly in North Africa without having to cross Egypt.
"The Ottoman Empire must have a strong navy!" Abdul. Mejid I made up his mind. (To be continued)
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