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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 612 Crazy Shipbuilding Plan

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    "Your Excellency, the Lord of the Admiralty, the Prime Minister is in a meeting, why don't you wait a moment!" The secretary of the Prime Minister's Office said to the British Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Fisher.  Soon, King Edward VII of England will ascend the throne. Prime Minister Arthur Balfour is convening relevant personnel to discuss some issues that need attention during the enthronement ceremony.

    "No, I must see the Prime Minister immediately. This is related to the fate of Britain!" Sir Fisher, the Lord of the Admiralty, said with a gloomy face.

    "Okay! I'll report to the Prime Minister right away!" The secretary of the Prime Minister's Office did not dare to neglect.  After all, Sir Fisher said it was so serious. If something really went wrong, it would not be something he could afford.

    Sir Fisher nodded and went straight to Prime Minister Arthur Balfour's office to wait.

    At this moment, in the conference room of the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Arthur Balfour is organizing a meeting.  Everyone is discussing the coronation ceremony of Edward VII.  Prime Minister Arthur Balfour proposed that Britain's powerful strength should be demonstrated at this coronation ceremony, and that all countries in the world should know that Britain is still the most powerful country in the world.  However, the conditions he proposed were a bit too difficult.  Britain's dominance of the world depends on its navy.  However, although the British Navy still has more than 20 battleships, all of them are outdated and old battleships.  Even the six "Old Man Star" battleships that have just entered service can only be beaten to death in front of the new battleships of the Chinese Navy.  And the British Navy¡¯s own ¡®Dreadnought-class¡¯ battleship.  I'm afraid it won't be able to serve until the second half of the year.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister. The Minister of the Navy has an emergency and wants to see you!" Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office.  Pushing open the door of the conference room, he came to the side of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and whispered.

    Prime Minister Arthur Balfour frowned.  He really doesn't like to be interrupted during meetings.  However, he knew that Sir Fisher, the Secretary of the Navy, must really have something urgent to see him.  So he nodded.

    "You guys can discuss it first, I have something else to deal with!" After finishing speaking.  Prime Minister Arthur Balfour left the conference room and went to his office.  Along the way, he was also guessing, what happened?  Could it be that the Chinese and the Germans have formed an alliance?  If this is the case, it is not good news for the UK.  Wang Yuze and his wife are visiting Germany. It is inevitable for Arthur Balfour to think this way.

    "Sir Fisher, what happened?" After entering the office.  Prime Minister Arthur Balfour saw the restless Sir Fisher, which made him feel that something big was really going to happen.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister. This is the case. Our intelligence officers discovered that the Chinese are secretly building several battleships in Chinese shipyards!" Sir Fisher said.

    Prime Minister Arthur Balfour suddenly frowned, and then said: "Do the Chinese continue to develop their naval strength? Do they really want to replace the Royal Navy and become the most powerful navy in the world?"

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, if this is really the case, then the threat to us is not very big. After all, China is too far away from us. If they want to attack us, they need to travel 20,000 kilometers first.  ." Sir Fisher said.

    "What do you mean?" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was a little confused.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, according to the information we have obtained, these battleships do not belong to the Chinese Navy, but were built by the Chinese for other countries!" Sir Fisher said.

    "Other countries? You mean Germany! Will the Chinese build battleships for the Germans again?" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour suddenly stood up from his chair.  If the Chinese were building battleships for Germany, they would be in big trouble.  Germany itself is also frantically building battleships to catch up with Britain.  In order to cope with Germany's naval challenge, Britain had to work hard to mobilize resources as much as possible to build new battleships so that it could suppress Germany.  Currently, Germany has 8 battleships under construction, but Britain has 12, which is enough to ensure Britain's advantage.  However, if China is also building battleships for Germany, then Britain's advantage will no longer exist.  And once the German navy has an advantage over the British navy, even a fool will know what will happen.  The arrogant German Navy will definitely challenge the British Navy.  Once the British navy was defeated, the entire Europe would be unable to stop the Germans.

    "Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We can be sure that the battleships on the Chinese slipway belong to the Germans. There are four of them, which are the German 'Nassau-class' battleships, with 280 mm main gun caliber, and Chinese  The 305mm caliber main guns of the Chinese 'Zhonghua-class' battleships are completely different. These fourA battleship is likely to be commissioned in the second half of the year.  In addition, there are four "Heligoland-class" battleships modified from the Chinese "Qin-class" battleships, which are under construction and are expected to be in service within one and a half or two years!  By then, the Germans will have 16 powerful battleships, while we only have 12!  Sir Fisher said in a low tone.

    "Those damn yellow-skinned monkeys, how can they do this? They are destroying the peace of Europe and the entire world!" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour roared angrily.  I have to admit that this move of the Chinese hit the British navy's fatal spot.  Although, the British Isles are protected by straits.  However, if the British navy no longer has the advantage, it is difficult to say how useful the narrow strait will be.

    "Sir Fisher, what should we do in the UK now? How can the UK cope with the current crisis?" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour said.  He knows that getting angry can't solve the problem, he can only deal with these problems actively.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, we have no other way but to proactively deal with the Germans. Only our navy, which has more and more powerful battleships than the Germans, will not dare to act rashly. Therefore, the Imperial Royal Navy must  It is necessary to maintain the battleship advantage over the German Navy. If you approve, the construction of the 'Saint Vincent-class' battleships can start next month, and six ships will be built at the same time. With the speed of our shipyard, we can definitely surpass the German Navy's battleships.  When they enter service, these six 'Saint Vincent-class' battleships will also be in service. Together with the three more 'Invincible-class' battlecruisers that we will start building, we will have eighteen battleships and three battlecruisers by then.  We can still have an advantage over the Germans! However, this advantage is very fragile. Once the Chinese join us, we will lose all our advantages. Therefore, we need to build more battleships!" Sir Fisher said.  In his opinion, the total number of battleships in the British Navy must be at least twice that of the German Navy in order to be able to cope with the challenges of Germany and China at the same time.

    ¡°Build six more ¡®Saint Vincent-class¡¯ battleships?¡± Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was a little embarrassed.  The six ¡®Saint Vincent-class¡¯ battleships cost more than 20 million pounds, and together with the three ¡®Invincible-class¡¯ battlecruisers, the total cost will reach more than 30 million pounds.  Now Britain is in the quagmire of the Boer War, and its fiscal revenue can no longer afford a large-scale shipbuilding plan.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we have no other option. After the construction of the 'Saint Vincent-class' battleship has begun, the design work of our next-level battleship, the 'Neptune-class' battleship has also begun. In order to ensure the superiority of the British Royal Navy,  We must continue to build more and more advanced battleships," Sir Fisher said.

    ¡°In this case, it will completely enter an arms race, and our economy will be dragged down!¡± Prime Minister Arthur Balfour said.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, even if our economy is dragged down, I believe that the German economy will collapse before ours. The German economy is developing very fast, but their foundation is too weak. In addition, we can still  Get support from the colonies, but the Germans cannot. Therefore, even if an arms race really starts, the first to be unable to support will be the Germans!" Sir Fisher said.

    ¡°Is it possible to get the Germans to give up the arms race with us?¡± Prime Minister Arthur Balfour said.

    Sir Fisher shook his head: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the ambitions of the Germans are already very obvious. Otherwise, they would not secretly build battleships in China."

    ¡°Well, call the Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Thomson Ridge, and Field Marshal Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain immediately to discuss countermeasures!¡± Prime Minister Arthur Balfour said.  Such a major matter cannot be decided by him alone.  Even if it is decided, if funds are to be allocated to the Admiralty, it must be approved by Parliament.  Therefore, he must first obtain consensus among the cabinet.

    Soon, the cabinet ministers came to the Prime Minister's Office. When Sir John Fisher, the British Lord of the Admiralty, informed everyone of the intelligence obtained from China, everyone was shocked.  Everyone knows very well that the Germans have been coveting Britain's overseas colonies.  The Germans' vigorous development of the navy has only one purpose, which is to defeat the British navy and then seize Britain's overseas colonies. Once Britain's overseas colonies are captured, Britain's decline will be before its eyes.

    "We are all very aware of the seriousness of the matter. So, do you think the naval shipbuilding plan proposed by Sir Fisher should be approved?" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour asked.  (To be continued)
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