"Although His Royal Highness has no record of serving in the navy, he is very sensitive to naval battles, both in terms of actual combat and prediction of battle situations, and we can even call it talent! Of course, this is not important to you, I think you are more concerned about his relationship with the Russian Navy. Simpson looked at Theodore, who was silent. Roosevelt said.

When Simpson received the results of the battle in the Yellow Sea, his mood at that time can be described as shock, because Ruprecht's prediction was almost exactly the same as the reality, whether it was the tactical play of the two sides, the course of the battle and the result were at least 9 percent right! You know, this is the first large-scale naval battle in decades, and it is unimaginable that it can be predicted so accurately. Invisibly, Simpson felt a sense of awe for the prince from Germany. Or worship? Compared with Mahan's somewhat mystical theory, Ruprecht's prediction is more true! It's also more convincing!

"This tactical question is of very limited significance to me, I am more concerned about the impact of such German behavior on the future situation in the Far East, and my perception tells me that Russia is not a good partner to get along with, they are strong, arrogant, domineering and closed! Will take everything away and don't know how to share it with others. I think Japan will get along better than Russia. "Theodore. Roosevelt said.

Historically, both in the Sino-Japanese War and in the Russo-Japanese War, the United States had purchased a large number of Japanese bonds, so a very peculiar relationship was formed in history, on the one hand, Japan and the United States had conflicts over certain islands, such as Hawaii. But on the other hand, the United States supported Japan in taking out Russia.

There are two fundamental reasons for this phenomenon: the first is that the Russians are too domineering, and the Americans believe that once Russia controls the Far East, then the United States will not be able to intervene at all. And the Japanese seem to be easy to talk to? Another reason is that the Americans believe that Japan is weaker, and it is the only choice to support the weak and strike at the strong to strike a balance. This policy continued until the end of the Russo-Japanese War, when Japan gained dominance of the Far East, and the Americans found the Japanese to be even more greedy than the Russians.

Of course, this is an afterthought, at least for now a significant part of the United States thinks that Japan is better than Russia, and the Germans' steady support for Russia worries Americans. Although the United States in this era already had some hegemonic atmosphere, it was still incomparable with later generations, and the United States hoped that the great powers would respect the authority of the United States in the Americas, and only pursue economic interests in the external regions except in very few places.

"But the current situation is that Russia, Germany and even France are very dissatisfied with Japan, and if we intervene rashly at this time, it may lead to a strong backlash from the three major powers, and the Far East is too far away from us for us to whip up." Simpson said.

"But there is no escaping this problem, we have to get a support point in the Far East, Samoa Asia is small, and it is too difficult to get it, we need to give a support point that is large enough not to cause a direct conflict with the great powers, I think you should mean it. There is no need for us to openly support Japan now, because on the one hand, we should support Japan's development economically, and on the other hand, we should carefully handle our relations with major powers. Roosevelt thought for a moment and said.

"In addition, the bigwigs of the Diet are prepared to mediate the Sino-Japanese War at the right time, and before that, I think we should first mediate between Germany and Japan. According to our plan, a Japanese victory would be beneficial for the United States of America, and Russia, Germany, France, and other countries would probably intervene. That's what Congress fears. Roosevelt thought about it and decided to say more.

"Well, you plan to influence German foreign policy through some informal channels?" Simpson asked, after all, Germany is different from the United States, the former is a monarchy, and every powerful monarch and their heirs have a great influence on the political situation of the country, and the other party is the heir to the second largest principality in the German Empire, and at the same time has a relationship with the German imperial family. It was normal for Roosevelt to have this thought.

"But the Japanese and the prince had just fought, and it was hard to predict what would have happened if the latter hadn't reacted quickly enough. The aristocrats were very vindictive. Simpson said with a smile.

"I feel that this prince is more like a merchant, and the most basic requirement for a good merchant is to learn to do business with his enemies, and the conflict between Germany and Japan is at best an accident rather than a war. So I'm confident. Roosevelt said. Also, I wonder what the German prince said about the quality of the US Navy? Let's say how do we compare to the Russian Navy? ”

"That's this, I have always thought it is very strange, based on my observations, I feel that his understanding of the details of the navy was very limited before, but he grasped it very accurately in the macro aspect, and the evaluation of the navies of various countries is also relatively special, for example, Japan, although the Japanese navy is his enemy, but he still believes that the combat quality of the Japanese navy can be in the middle and upper reaches after a period of training. Stronger than the Russian fleet, but for us he is somewhat vague. Simpson said.

I don't know what it means, but in Roosevelt's view, it doesn't mean that some words can't be spoken. However, Roosevelt did not mean that he was a very pragmatic and capable man, and naturally knew the shortcomings of the US Navy, and the development of the US Navy was suppressed at least until 1898.

Not only is the shipbuilding budget tight, but the promotion of personnel is even more problematic, the number of officers promoted to the rank of colonel every year is a certain number, and a large number of experienced and capable personnel are eventually forced to retire because of the promotion problem. The number of capable and experienced officers in the Navy has always been very small, and the Navy is not attractive enough to other industries, and many talents are not far from joining the Navy. Plus the peacetime is too long, the Americans have no pressure, and the level of naval training is definitely not high. Taken together, it is no wonder that the quality of US Navy personnel is high!

"The prince is telling the truth, and I do believe that he has a certain talent for the navy, which is even comparable to his industrial talent." Roosevelt was not angry at all. "Also, I hope Mr. Mahan can go with me, I need the help of a professional." As Secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt didn't know much, and in order to maintain the dignity of the Navy of the United States of America, Roosevelt thought that he should at least bring a more professional person to act as a façade!

"No problem, Mr. Mahan will be back soon. However, I would like to remind you once again that you must avoid allowing the talks to reach an impasse. It's just an informal meeting and we need to create a harmonious atmosphere. General Simpson finally reminded.

The second is more present~~~, ask for collection, ask for recommendation! Since the book friends who have ordered the collection have already ordered, don't remove it. Book friends who have seen this book, think that you can still read it, and also support it with friendship! Thank you!