Chapter 87: Britain will not lose (for collection)

"Gentlemen, the British Empire is now in a crisis of life and death. Our main enemy Germany, in terms of navy, has achieved a comprehensive advantage over the Royal Navy of the British Empire. This will be fatal to us. Now , we must come up with practical measures to help the Royal Navy of the British Empire reverse the situation. Once war breaks out and the Royal Navy cannot defeat the German Navy in the war, it will be a disaster for the British Empire!" Banner Sir Wen said to all the cabinet members.

  The ministers of the British cabinet all had serious expressions on their faces. They have also obtained relevant information and know the crisis that the Royal Navy is currently facing. They believed that Sir Benavan was not exaggerating at all. This time the German Navy challenged the Royal Navy, and the crisis caused to the Royal Navy is absolutely unprecedented.

"How did the German navy develop so quickly? It's like a big step forward. You know, in the pre-dreadnought era, although they started to catch up, they have been suppressed by us. .” The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Asquith, also looked very bad. He knows that under such circumstances, it is inevitable to add funds to the navy so that the navy can build more warships and ensure that the Royal Navy has an advantage in the competition. However, the financial pressure on the UK is also great now. If more military expenditures are provided to the navy, it will inevitably cause further expansion of the fiscal deficit.

"No one knows this. However, those German capital ships that are being outfitted and are about to be completed cannot be fooled. Faced with the aggressive pressure of the Germans, we have no other choice. We must Start building more capital ships to suppress the German challenge to us," said Sir John Fisher.

   "Everyone, do you have any objections to Sir Fisher's request?" Sir Benavin looked at the ministers.

   On this issue, naturally no ministers would raise objections. After all, this is a matter of life and death for the British Empire. The navy is the foundation of the British Empire. Without a powerful navy, the collapse of the British Empire is imminent. Therefore, even if they are throwing pots and selling iron, they must ensure the advantage of the navy. This is a matter of principle, and absolutely no problems are allowed.

   "Very well, since everyone has no objection, then the Ministry of Finance should prepare a special appropriation for the Navy." Sir Benavan said.

   "Okay, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. But what about the Parliament?" Asquith asked.

  Britain is a country with a constitutional monarchy. Although the power of the prime minister is great, it is not unrestricted. Many decisions need to be supervised by the parliament. Especially in terms of financial appropriation, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the parliament.

   "As for the parliament, I will communicate with them. I believe that at the moment when the British Empire is facing a crisis of life and death, no one will hold back." Sir Benavan said.

  Subsequently, Sir Benarvin looked at Sir John Fisher.

   "Sir Fisher, the cabinet will fully support the Navy in terms of funds. However, the Royal Navy must ensure its advantage over the Germans. Only in this way will our interests not be harmed." Sir Benavan said.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured that the Navy already has a specific plan. I will ask the shipyard to speed up the construction progress of the 'Belle Luofeng-class' battleship and the 'Invincible-class' battlecruiser. In addition, the 'Saint Vincent-class' battleship and The Indefatigable-class battlecruiser will also start construction as soon as possible to ensure that we continue to have an advantage in terms of dreadnoughts," Sir Fisher said.

"Your Excellency, will the Royal Navy's superiority be ensured by building these occupations? According to the navy's shipbuilding plan we have seen, all of these warships have been completed, and there are only 13 of them. And the known German Navy's is about to be completed. There are seven new battleships. I believe that there must be many newer battleships under construction in their shipyards." Sir Edward Gray, the foreign secretary, said.

  Any fool knows that first-class battleships will not be built too many ships. Now that the German Navy's new battleship is about to be completed, it is certain that construction of a newer battleship is about to start, or has already started.

"The question raised by His Excellency the Foreign Secretary is very good. According to the usual practice, it is indeed the case. We also guess that the Germans are building newer warships in their shipyards, which deserves our vigilance. The newer warships of the Royal Navy The battleship is under design. However, now we have encountered a technical bottleneck. The development of our 13-inch main gun is not progressing smoothly. Therefore, it has been delayed to start construction." Sir Fisher said.

  The British Navy has always pursued the speed and firepower of warships, and despised defense. The most effective way to enhance the firepower of a warship is undoubtedly to use a large-caliber main gun. After moving the new 305mm main gun to the dreadnought, the British Navy began research on a larger caliber main gun. However, the development of large-caliber main guns is not so easy. Many technical difficulties need to be overcome. Therefore, so far, the Royal Navy has not succeeded in the new 343mm main gun.

   "Will the Germans come ahead of us in this regard?" Sir Benavan was worried about this.

"It's unlikely. But it's not certain. After all, the Germans' artillery technology is no worse than ours. If they invest a lot of money in research and development, they may be able to develop a large-caliber main gun before us." Fei said Sir Scheer.

   "No matter what, the Royal Navy can no longer lag behind the Germans. Sir Fisher, you need to find a way to ensure the advantage of the Royal Navy!" Sir Benavan made a request. Now, he only cares about the result and doesn't care about the process at all.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We will speed up the development of large-caliber main guns. And, before the large-caliber main guns are put into use, we will build one or two more battleships to ensure that we have an absolute advantage in numbers." John Fisher said Sir Al.

  Anyway, Britain does not need to invest huge sums of money to build an overly powerful army, which allows them to concentrate their financial resources on building a navy. After receiving the support of the cabinet, the Royal Navy will not lack funds for shipbuilding. They only need to place an order with the shipyard according to the shipbuilding plan. Soon, new battleships will join the Royal Navy one after another, allowing the Royal Navy to regain its advantage in the competition.

  Sir Benavan and others believe that in the naval competition, the Royal Navy will never lose.