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Text Chapter 1,427 Fleet Sale

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    On February 26, 1914, just after the first lunar month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the warship sales conference prepared by the Navy Ministry finally began!  Ambassadors and military attach¨¦s from various embassies in China all participated in this conference. There were even naval generals who rushed to China from home for the battleships that China wanted to sell!  For many small nations, building brand new battleships was simply too expensive.  However, they also want to enhance the country's naval strength!  Although aircraft carriers are developing rapidly and will become the dominant force in future naval battles.  But for most small countries, there is even less hope for aircraft carriers, a weapon that even world-class powers have just begun to equip!  Even if there are one or two battleships, it is enough to occupy a great maritime advantage in the area where the country is located!  Therefore, this fleet sale conference held by the Chinese Navy Ministry has attracted the attention of many countries!  Originally, China only planned to sell to friendly countries, but unable to withstand the strong demands of other countries, it had to agree that neutral countries in the world war could also purchase these warships!

    "Sir, there are probably dozens of countries coming to participate in the conference this time! Maybe all our warships for sale will be sold out!" Marshal Li Dingxin, who has been promoted to Deputy Minister of the Navy, said excitedly!  Navy Minister Zhang Cheng is sixty-five years old and is expected to retire next year. Marshal Li Dingxin will take over as Navy Minister by then!  The current configuration of the three major fleets of the Chinese Navy has not changed, except that the defense areas of the Indian Ocean Fleet have changed to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean!  After the aircraft carrier battle group is established, adjustments will be made to the three major fleets of the Navy!

    "The more they come, the better! If possible, I would like to sell all those battleships and only keep the ones we built ourselves!" Navy Minister Zhang Cheng said with a smile!  Although many super battleships built by the United States and Britain were captured during the war, the officers and soldiers of the Chinese Navy basically looked down upon them!  In addition, the Chinese Navy has determined its future development direction with aircraft carriers as the core, so it naturally does not attach too much importance to capital ships!

    "Then someone has to buy it! A super battleship, even if it is second-hand, will cost tens of millions of dollars! Not many countries can afford it!" Marshal Li Dingxin said with emotion!  Although there are many countries participating in this conference, most of these countries are soy sauce. They can afford at most some destroyers and light cruisers. As for heavy cruisers and battleships, I am afraid there is nothing they can do!

    "Don't worry! There will definitely be buyers! Maybe we will get a bumper harvest this time!" Marshal Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, laughed!  This time, the targets of the Chinese navy's sales are mainly the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, as well as the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania.  These countries are all victors in this world war and have gained a lot of benefits.  Moreover, the naval strength of these countries is relatively poor, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The main force of the navy is 4 'United Forces' battleships. Although this class of battleships is equipped with 4 triple-mounted 305mm main guns,  , but both the power and the defense of the battleship have fallen far behind the current world's advanced level!  This is also inconsistent with Austria-Hungary's status as the third largest power in the world.  Therefore, at this conference, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is very likely to purchase a large number of warships from China!

    As for the other victorious country, Germany, China does not count on it!  After annexing the British Navy, the strength of the German Navy has been greatly improved.  Although there are few super battleships, there are many battleships!  And the development direction of the German Navy has also begun to adjust, with aircraft carriers as the core.  Therefore, China never thought that Germany would spend money to buy these second-hand battleships!  However, with the two tycoons of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, that is enough!

    At 9:30 am, the conference officially begins!  Marshal Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, personally presided over the beginning of this conference!

    "Gentlemen, as we all know, in the last world war, the Imperial Navy won the war after hard work! At the same time, we also captured a lot of local warships! The Chinese Navy believes that although these warships are old,  Overall, the performance is good! This will be of great help to improve the naval strength of each country! For each coastal country, it is necessary to have a strong navy to ensure its own interests! However,  Building new battleships not only requires a lot of money, but also requires a long wait. Now, this problem can be completely solved! At this conference, the Imperial Navy will sell 32 capital ships at preferential prices  , 22 heavy cruisers (Beijing class), 40 'Tianshui class' light cruisers, 22 'Leshan class' light cruisers and 60 destroyers (Dujiangyan class). This is an excellent opportunity for everyone,  You only need to spend a small amount of money to build a powerful navy! Moreover, the Chinese Navy assures everyone that these warships to be sold have been renovated and are at least usable.??Served for more than twenty years!  If there had been no war, even thirty years of service would have been entirely possible!  "Chinese Navy Minister Zhang Cheng has now completely transformed into a profit-seeking businessman, constantly selling these warships to envoys and military attach¨¦s from various countries stationed in China. Chinese Emperor Wang Yuze has already agreed. This time, all the funds obtained from the sale of warships by the Navy Ministry will be  It is used for the navy to build new warships and improve the living standards of naval officers and soldiers. Therefore, the navy is all watching to see how many warships can be sold at this conference!

    The envoys and military attach¨¦s stationed in China who participated in this conference were also very surprised!  Although second-hand warships are not as good as newly built warships, firstly, the price is cheap, and secondly, the performance of the warship has been tested, so you can use it with confidence after purchasing it!  This is a very good choice for many countries that are not very financially wealthy!

    "Hmph! The Chinese have no good intentions at all. All the warships they sell are simple warships! All of them carry 305mm main guns, and there is no super battleship! In addition, those cruisers and destroyers,  They are all warships built by the Chinese Navy more than ten years ago! They are completely behind the rest of the world!" August von Klind, the German Ambassador to China, said endlessly. Sitting on his left was the Ottoman Turk.  The imperial ambassador to China, Rahamide, and the military attache, Colonel Musamud, while sitting on the right are the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to China, Anton Huber, and Rear Admiral Lukat, who came specially from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Germany is also selling warships to the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To develop the German navy and compete with the Chinese navy, a large amount of funds is also needed.  And building warships for other countries will undoubtedly allow the German Navy to earn some funds!

    ?Rahamid, the Ottoman Turkish Empire¡¯s ambassador to China, nodded. Although the relationship between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and China is not very good, the Chinese Indian Ocean Fleet¡¯s deployment in the Mediterranean Sea has posed a great threat to the Ottoman Turkish Empire.  The naval strength of the Ottoman Turkish Empire is very weak. Except for the two 'Brandenburg-class' battleships purchased from Germany, most of the remaining battleships were built decades ago and are already very old. If they can be purchased from  It would be best if China purchased a batch of second-hand battleships.  Of course, if you can buy some super battleships, it will be of great help to improve the naval strength of the Ottoman Turkish Empire!  Although China did not target super battleships for sale this time, after private contacts with the Chinese Navy, the Ottoman Turkish Empire is still very confident about purchasing super battleships!  It¡¯s just that the Chinese people charge a higher price!

    The Austro-Hungarian Empire is also very concerned about the Chinese Navy¡¯s warship sales conference. Rear Admiral Lukat came specially from the Austro-Hungarian Empire for this matter!  However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also did not target these capital ships, but chose to purchase super battleships of the Chinese Navy. If possible, the Austro-Hungarian Empire even hoped to buy two aircraft carriers!

    The warships sold by the Chinese Navy this time are not very expensive. For example, the 'Zhonghua-class' battleship, the first battleship built by the Chinese Navy, is also the warship that ushered in the era of giant ships and cannons. The price is only 4 million yuan.  For half the cost!  Of course, this battleship has been in service for almost twenty years. If it can be sold for four million yuan, that would be quite good!  The price of the 'Qin-class' battleship is only 5 million Chinese yuan, and the price of the 'Baiqi-class' battlecruiser is 4.5 million Chinese yuan!  In addition, most of the captured British, American, French and Italian battleships cost between 3 million Chinese dollars and 5 million Chinese dollars.  The price of the 'Beijing-class' heavy cruiser is 2 million yuan, the price of the 'Tianshui-class' light cruiser is only 1.8 million yuan, the price of the 'Leshan-class' light cruiser is 1.2 million yuan, and the price of the 'Dujiangyan'  The price of this class light cruiser is only 500,000 yuan!  Even though many countries cannot afford capital ships, there is still no problem buying a few light cruisers or destroyers!

    "Your Excellency, Marshal, the Ottoman Turkish Empire needs a batch of light cruisers and destroyers. Can your price be more favorable?" Colonel Musamud, the military attache of the Ottoman Turkish Empire in China, has already found Marshal Zhang Cheng and made a request directly!  Ninety percent of the warships of the Ottoman Turkish Empire's navy should be retired, which will allow them to continue to replace a number of warships to supplement their strength!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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