Chapter 39 Slap in the face (for collection)

Sufficient financial resources, coupled with strong shipbuilding capabilities and high-quality naval personnel, have enabled the German Navy to dominate the world's oceans for hundreds of years, ahead of other navies.

During this period, powerful enemies challenged their maritime supremacy many times. But in the end they all fell into the sand. Sea power is still firmly in the hands of the British Empire. And this also enabled Britain to occupy the largest colony in the world. Great profit returns for the UK.

"Your Excellency the Minister of the Navy, I really want to know the expressions of the Germans. If they know that their battleships that have been built or are under construction are all obsolete, William II will probably go crazy with anger! You know, for the sake of development For the navy, the Germans put almost the last mark into it. As a result, the battleships built turned into rubbish." Sir Benavan laughed wildly, arrogantly.

Germany's industrial strength has surpassed that of the United Kingdom. If the British hadn't had a vast colony as a market for dumping their products, they would have been unable to resist it long ago. And Germany's large investment in the navy made the British feel a great crisis. After all, they started their business by occupying sea power. The Germans tried in vain to challenge the sea power of the British Empire, which naturally made them unacceptable.

"Your Excellency, you don't need to think about it, you know that William II will be furious." Sir Fisher also had a smile on his face. When it comes to dealing with Germany, the members of the British cabinet all hold the same attitude. That is, in order to protect the interests of the British Empire, Germany must be suppressed at all costs. Only in this way, the hegemony of the British Empire will be stable.

"However, Your Excellency the Minister of the Navy, I am afraid that our new battleships cannot be kept secret for a long time. The German spies are everywhere." Sir Benavan was a little worried. He naturally hoped that this new type of battleship could remain mysterious. In that case, once war breaks out, they will easily defeat the German navy and ensure the sea power of the British Empire.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, it is almost impossible to keep it completely secret. Especially after the battleship is launched. Such a big guy, floating on the sea, is like a hill. Unless the German spies are fools, otherwise If so, they will probably know soon." Sir Fisher looked embarrassed.

"Then, Your Excellency the Admiralty, do we have any countermeasures?" Sir Benavan asked.

"Your Excellency, even if the Germans know that we are building a new type of battleship and they took pictures of it, so what? They want to obtain the data of our new type of battleship for a while, that is not very Possibly. Even if they start shooting right away, it will take a year or two. It will be several years before their new battleships are completed and put into service. By then, we have already started building new battleships in batches. The construction of the new battleships of the next level has already begun. We are more than one step ahead of the Germans. By then, the gap will only widen, not narrow." Sir Fisher smiled.

Sir Benarvin nodded. Hearing what Sir Fisher said, he finally felt relieved.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we have completed the design of the next-level 'Bellerophon-class' battleship, and construction is expected to start in the second half of the year. At that time, three ships will be built at one time. And the next-level battleship The design is also in progress. In addition, our artillery factory is conducting research on the 13.5-inch naval gun. This will be the main gun of our next batch of battleships. If we say, we will use the 12-inch main gun If the battleship with a 13.5-inch main gun is named a dreadnought, then the battleship with a 13.5-inch main gun will be a super dreadnought!" Sir Fisher said.

"Very good, very good! We need to continue to maintain our advantage over the Germans. This advantage must not only be reflected in the number of capital ships, but also in quality. We must completely cut off the Germans from challenging our sea power If they dare to put it into action, we will completely wipe out their navy and make them unable to turn around forever!" Sir Benavan said domineeringly.

"Yes, Your Excellency. The navy will definitely do this." Sir Fisher was full of confidence.

Germany's intelligence collection work in the UK has indeed been done very well. The German Army and Navy both have intelligence agencies operating in the UK. Of course, the focus of the two sides is different. In particular, after the German Navy took challenging the British Navy's world hegemony as its goal, it increased its intelligence collection on the British Navy.

The launching and outfitting of the battleship "Dreadnought" is also a major event within the British Navy. Although, the British Admiralty requires strict secrecy. However, where in the world is there an impenetrable wall. The news of the launching of a new battleship of the British Navy was quickly learned by the intelligence department of the German Navy. And, after spending a little time and cost, I got the relevant data of the battleship 'Dreadnought'.

When this information was sent back to the German Admiralty, Marshal Count Tirpitz became angry on the spot.

"The guys from the Naval Technical Committee are really idiots? The design plan rejected by them has become the next-level battleship of the British. If it weren't for them, maybe our next-level new battleship would be launched sooner or later." , it’s not far away! This is a rare opportunity to narrow the gap with the British Navy!” Marshal Earl Tirpitz was very sorry. At the same time very self-blaming. When Qin Tian's design was rejected by the Naval Technical Committee, if he had been tougher and fought for Qin Tian, ​​the result might have been very different now.

"Hmph! But this time, those old-fashioned guys from the Naval Committee will probably have their faces swollen!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz sneered.

Of course, such information cannot be concealed from William II. When the Navy's intelligence department received relevant information, it immediately informed William II.

"Trash! Those guys from the Naval Technical Committee are all trash? There are so many of them, and they claim to have so much experience in the shipbuilding field, but they can't even compare with a teenager. It's a joke!" William II said in In his office, he was furious.

He ordered an immediate imperial meeting, and Count von Warren, chairman of the Naval Technical Committee, was also called to attend. Of course, this is definitely not good news for the entire Navy Technical Committee.