Although the battle in Lushun became more and more fierce, it was also more and more bloody. However, for the countries on this side of Europe, the war in the Far East is too far away for them and has little impact on them, and they are more concerned about European affairs.

If there is anything that has happened in Europe recently, it is the Russian reinforcement fleet. The fleet had recently made a big deal when the first reinforcement fleet from the Baltic Sea encountered foggy weather while passing through the Danish Strait, and as a result, the Sisoi collided with a merchant ship by mistake, and the merchant ship was sunk on the spot and three crew members were killed, and the bow of the Sisoi was also damaged.

Can a sinking merchant ship be a big deal?

Yes, because this merchant ship is a British merchant ship. The British Empire was worried that it could not find a reason, and the Russians themselves sent it. So the British Empire spoke, and the Russian fleet had to compensate the British for their losses. Of course, it is not enough to just speak, the warships of the British Empire stopped all these warships from Russia, and the perpetrators were not allowed to leave without compensation or handover.

The Russians retreated from the menacing British fleet, paying £197,000 in compensation for all damage caused by the collision, and leaving the perpetrators to be tried by British courts.

It can be said that in the matter of colliding with the ship, the Russians have lost all face. This was also a huge blow to the morale of the Russian naval officers and men on board.

But that alone you thought it was over?

The British Empire would then prohibit the Russian fleet from using the Suez Canal, prohibit the Russian fleet from calling at its own ports, and refuse to sell any supplies to the Russian fleet. And also called on friendly countries to do the same with the Russian fleet as themselves.

This discerning person knows at a glance that this is the British Empire, and this is making countries take a stand. At this time, although the British had just fallen in the Boer War, they were still in a state of prestige. And who is not willing to offend Britain for the Russians? So then other countries with colonies in Europe have expressed their stance and forbade Russians to dock at their own ports and replenish supplies.

In the face of the statements of various countries, the Russian Second Pacific Fleet immediately fell into a predicament, because at first the fleet intended to pass through the Suez Canal, and then borrow the ports of its ally France for docking and replenishment, and it was expected that the whole journey should take two months to reach the Far East.

And now that the Suez Canal cannot be passed, the fleet will have to go around the African continent, not to mention the increased range. This was not planned in advance, what to do with the ships that were replenished?

You must know that the warships of various countries are all coal-burning, taking the British Empire's fear-class battleships as an example, their standard displacement is 14,500 tons, the design coal loading is 900 tons, the normal coal loading is 1,100 tons, and the maximum coal loading is 1,490 tons. When it travels at 15 knots, the daily coal consumption is 170 tons, and the normal coal loading capacity is only enough for 6 days, and the maximum coal loading capacity cannot last for 10 days.

In addition to carrying large quantities of coal, there must be a large amount of fresh water to keep the boiler running (which is why commercial sailing ships are needed on the South American route, and it is difficult to supply coal and fresh water for copper, saltpeter and other materials on the South American route), so it is a huge challenge for the navies to circumnavigate the world, and the British and French navies have overcome this challenge with a network of bases around the world.

When Nicholas II was worried about how to supply coal, his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II assured his German company that it could guarantee supplies, and in the face of the goodwill of the Germans, the Russians, who were short of supplies, agreed to it, which in turn offended the allies, the French.

However, for Nicholas II, everything had to be conceded for the war in the Far East, so in order to get enough supplies for the fleet, the discontent of the French could only be put aside first.

After receiving German supply commitments, the Russian Second Pacific Fleet also began its voyage around the African continent.

The matter of the Russian fleet could come to an end, and at this time a large-scale shipbuilding in Italy was just beginning.

Located in the Naval Yard of Venice, Admiral Yagill personally laid the first keel of Dante in the presence of many naval officers and shipyard workers. And when he completed this ceremony, it also announced the beginning of Italian shipbuilding.

The Dante class is a partially modified warship after the Italian test of the Dreadnought, which is very similar in appearance to the Dreadnought, although there are also differences, such as the Dante class uses a cylindrical underwater defense system invented by Prese. Because the system is designed in the cabin of the ship, it does not need to increase the burden on the ship, and it is much better than the lightning protection net and the lightning protection next door.

In addition to this, compared to the Dreadnought, the Dante-class ship's side armor has an inward oblique layout. Its 25-degree inclination allows the Dante Class to gain greater armor thickness, or use less armor for defensive purposes.

In addition, in response to some deficiencies of the Dreadnought, the Dante-class has also made certain modifications. In the end, the Dante-class class data is as follows, with a total length of 158.7 meters, a width of 25.9 meters, and a draft of 9 meters. The standard displacement is 19700 tons, and the full load displacement is 22600 tons.

The firepower was 8 305-mm 45-caliber main guns and 16 105-mm single-barreled secondary guns. The maximum armor thickness is 280 mm, and the ship is powered by 18 oil-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines, with a power of 30,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 23 knots. The cruising range is 6,500 nautical miles at 10 knots or 4,200 nautical miles at 15 knots.

Overall, the Dante-class was an optimized version of the Dreadnought, and the Italian Navy was quite satisfied with it. Otherwise, they would not have taken out the ambition of building four ships in one go.

That's right, in view of the current situation and the need for new battleships in the navy, the navy opened four new battleships in one go, and Dante was the first ship of the class, followed by the second ship, Petrarch, which will be built in two months. The other two ships, the Leonardo da Vinci and the Michelangelo, will be built early next year.

In addition to the Venetian Naval Shipyard (two), the Ansaldo Shipyard (one) and the Orlando Shipyard (one) are also responsible for the construction of the four Dante-class battleships.

It was expected that all four Dante-class battleships would be launched in 1906, by which time the Italian Navy would have passed this dangerous period of empty capital ships.

Admiral Yagill, who presided over the construction ceremony, did not leave, and he stayed behind to have a conversation with the shipyard managers. The main thing is to discuss the construction of the Dante-class, and the main thing is to ensure that the shipyard completes the construction of the battleship with quality and quantity, and that the deadline is not delayed.

Of course, in addition to this, he had to consult with the chief designer of the Navy, Kuniberti, about the battlecruiser. Because he always felt that something was wrong with Cuniberti's plan.