"Dear Remito, are you serious?"

Chrysler Isori, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Candela Imperial Military Department, put down the text in his hand and frowned and looked at Remitto Russell opposite, his face full of puzzlement.

The deputy chief of staff in front of him was the subordinate he had always admired and relied on the most, and was recognized by everyone as the best choice to take over his position as chief of staff of the Navy after his retirement.

Many times, he would rest assured that the important affairs of the Naval Staff would be handled directly by Russell, which could be regarded as a test for Russell, and secondly, it could be regarded as an advance of Russell's prestige in the Naval Staff to prepare for him to take over in the future.

Russell has always handled these things very well, and has never made any mistakes, which makes Chief of Staff Isoli very satisfied and reassured.

But this time, the report he submitted made Chief of Staff Isoli feel ...... after reading it It's a bit bizarre.

Are you kidding!

The Imperial Navy of Candela is facing the most severe crisis in history?

If this is not changed immediately, the Imperial Navy of Candela will completely lose control of all sea areas?

This is simply alarmist!

On this continent, apart from the Maro Empire, don't say that there is a navy of any country that poses a threat to the Candela Empire's navy, and even many countries do not have a navy at all!

What surprised and ridiculous Chief of Staff even more was that in this report, he actually claimed that the biggest threat actually came from ...... From a convoy of shit new flying chambers of commerce!

When he saw this line in the report, Chief of Staff Isoli almost squirted the tea in his mouth.

It's just a chamber of commerce, what qualifications does it have to compare it with the dignified Candela Imperial Navy?

However, years of cultivation and trust in Russell. But the Chief of Staff of Isoli finally calmed down slowly.

Russell has been under him for more than two decades. He knew Russell very well. He knew that Russell was definitely not an alarmist, and he knew Russell's deep love for the Candela Imperial Navy.

Since he handed over this report so solemnly, he would definitely not be deliberately alarmist and grandstanding.

What's more, such a thick report, if it is complete nonsense, it is simply impossible.

But after reading the entire report, Chief of Staff Isoli fell into deep thought.

He believed that the report submitted by Russell was absolutely true. Because Russell certainly won't and there is no need to lie to him.

But if what this report says is true, then it is too amazing that this new flying chamber of commerce escort fleet of sea ships actually has such terrifying strength.

If a ship made entirely of iron is reasonable, then an iron ship with a total weight of several hundred tons and a volume larger than a Thunder-class battleship is completely fantastical.

Chief of Staff Isoli thought about it for a long time, and he couldn't imagine what a ship described in the report as "larger than a Thunder-class battleship, with a whole body of steel, streamlined shape, and a pure white appearance" would look like.

And appearance aside, what the hell are the various novel so-called "magic artillery", "magic repeaters", "magic rockets" and so on on these sea ships described in the report?

Chief of Staff Isoli had heard of the magic weapon, but wasn't this something that only a handful of super-powerful magicians had?

And judging by the power of these military magic machines described in the report. They are even more powerful than legendary magic weapons.

If even a Thunder-class battleship couldn't hold out for less than five minutes under such a fierce attack, then this new flying chamber of commerce escort fleet might really be as the report said. It will definitely be invincible on the sea.

Thinking of this, Chief of Staff Isolee suddenly thought that he had received a report that a mysterious fleet had appeared in the southern waters of the empire, fighting pirates everywhere, beating the pirates in the southern seas to the ground, and making the entire sea area a lot calmer and more peaceful for a while.

This mysterious fleet is not this new flying chamber of commerce escort fleet?

"Lord Chrysler, I'm very serious. Russell stared at Chief of Staff Isoli with a stern expression, and nodded slowly: "Actually, from this report alone, you can't intuitively feel the shock that the New Flying Chamber of Commerce escort fleet has brought to me. In the more than half a month I spent with them, I saw them defeat the pirates with my own eyes, and I had a very intuitive feeling of the power they exerted. I am quite sure that this fleet, even beyond its time. If we don't react quickly, once the Maro Empire discovers the existence of such a fleet first and equips it with the same ships, then we will be powerless to face the Maro Empire again on the Endless Sea. ”

Seeing Russell's unusually solemn words, Chief of Staff Isolee fell silent.

After a long while, he nodded lightly and said, "Remito, I trust your judgment. If this frigate really has such formidable power, then, of course, we should have it immediately. But a ship of two million gold coins...... The price ......"

Chief of Staff Isoli smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"In order for the Imperial Navy to remain strong, price should not be an obstacle. Russell is coloring. "And I think there is still a possibility for the New Flying Chamber of Commerce to continue negotiations, after all, they can't find anyone else besides us who will buy these frigates. ”

Russell's statement is actually quite correct.

In the entire Sainz continent, the only ones that have the conditions and need a navy are the Candela Empire and the Maro Empire, as well as a few smaller kingdoms.

However, except for the Candela Empire and the Maro Empire, which are in a position to invest heavily in naval fleets, it is impossible for other small countries to invest more of their precious funds in this.

The Maro Empire is located in the north of the continent, too far away from the Duchy of Stantin, and it is very difficult for the New Flying Chamber to get in touch with them, so the only customer that can be found at present is the Candela Imperial Navy.

The Candela Imperial Navy had no choice, and neither did the New Flying Chamber of Commerce.

"Even if it were negotiable, I think the price would still be too high. Chief of Staff Isoli was not as confident as Russell, and sighed, "Russell, I'll give you some news." Three days ago, I just attended a budget meeting of the military department, and according to the intention revealed at the meeting, the military department will cut the budget input of our navy in the coming year. ”

Russell was stunned: "Do you want to cut it? Is there any mistake! The budget of our military department is already very low, and if we cut it again, don't we plan to have a navy?"

Chief of Staff Isolee shook his head with a wry smile: "No way, the main forces of the military department are focused on dealing with the Maro Empire, and the budget should be biased towards the army." In addition, the budget of the empire itself in the military department has been declining all these years, and in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, of course, the budget of our navy will be cut. ”

Russell could only be silent.

As the deputy chief of staff of the Naval Staff, he not only knew the situation of the Navy, but also knew the situation of the entire Imperial Military Department well.

He knew very well that the overall policy of the Candela Empire's military department was to fight against the Maro Empire, and the focus had always been on the north of the empire, and the army at the junction of the Maro Empire.

The Navy has been questioned since its inception, because many people feel that the Navy was created to be useless.

Now that the empire is cutting the budget of the military department, the military department will of course cut the budget of the navy.

"Lord Chrysler, can you take the liberty of asking what the total budget of the Navy will be for the coming year?" asked Russell after a moment's thought.

"Hmm...... It's not a secret to you, you'll find out in a few days anyway. Chief of Staff Isoli held out three fingers. "Thirty million gold coins, it will only be less, not more. ”

"Only 30 million gold coins?" Russell was surprised. "Last year, there were 50 million gold coins, and this time it has been cut in half?"

"The Empire's overall budget for the military department has been cut by 70 million gold coins at once, so in fact, our navy's budget cut is much smaller than that of the army......" Chief of Staff Isoli smiled self-deprecatingly.

"The problem is that we have very few in the first place, and we can cut so many ......" Russell frowned, quickly made an estimate in his mind, and then found a question that made his face gloomy. "If this is calculated, won't our navy be able to barely maintain the status quo next year?"

"Yes. Chief of Staff Isoli nodded. "So, to buy these frigates for two million gold coins...... Completely impossible. ”

Russell couldn't help but be stunned.

Although he had already expected that it would be difficult to buy such an expensive frigate because of budget problems.

But he never imagined that the Imperial Navy would be so poor.

With a budget of 30 million gold coins a year, it can really only be regarded as barely maintaining the status quo, and even if something happens, it will be impossible to make ends meet.

In such a situation, how is it possible to shell out a large amount of gold coins to buy such an expensive corvette at once?

After a long silence, Russell still felt unrelenting, and after thinking about it for a while, he said to Chief of Staff Isoly: "Lord Chrysler, I still insist on my opinion. In any case, the Imperial Navy had to be equipped with these frigates. Because only in this way can we ensure that the Imperial Navy remains the most powerful navy on the continent. ”

Chief of Staff Isolee frowned: "The problem is that there is no money......"

"Then squeeze out the money!" Russell said aloud as he stepped forward. "Lord Chrysler, I will rebuild the original naval fleet and replace them all with this latest powerful frigate!" (To be continued......)