"Next ......," said Lex, Prince Henry had clearly heard. In last year's 'July Miracle', China's provinces were unexpectedly and rapidly occupied by the Fuxing Society, and after ten days, the whole country completely changed color, and the Aixin Jueluo Dynasty, which had ruled China for more than 260 years, was wiped out in an instant, and the former princes became prisoners, and high-ranking officials and important officials became beggars, and this revolution was exclaimed by the whole world as the 'July Miracle'. At the same time, the rapid and sharp attack of the Revival Society made all the emperors of the world uneasy, fearing that revolutionaries would enter the capital and overthrow the dynasty at night.

While others marvel at the miracle of the Renaissance Society, the rigorous and meticulous Germans analyze the Renaissance Society, and they can often find many unexpected things in the past trajectories of the Renaissance Society and Yang Jingcheng. For example, from the chronological order of the occupied provinces, it can be seen that Yang Jingcheng attached great importance to each province, from this point of view, among the 25 provinces in the country, Mongolia is the most important, followed by Manchuria, and then Beijing and other provinces in the Guannei, the least important, or because of the distance, Liangguang, Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang (that is, the current Western Regions) are the latest to occupy, and Tianjin, which is close to Beijing, was resolved through negotiations because of the reason that troops were not allowed to enter the country.

As long as it appears, there is a trace; As long as there are traces, there are always some characteristics that can be traced. How Yang Jingcheng deals with Japan today, then how to deal with Russia, Britain, France, and Germany tomorrow, his rise is not a good thing for all civilized countries, but this no longer matters in the eyes of Prince Henry, Germany's fate lies in the war in two or three years. If you win, it's half the world, and if you lose. That may not even be preserved in Germany itself.

"We don't have the patience to wait for Yang Jingcheng to defeat Japan and then make an enemy of Russia, and the empire urgently needs an ally in the Far East to relieve the pressure on the western side of the empire." After a moment of silence, Prince Henry said, "Everybody has to start thinking about how to turn things around in China." Also, Leo. Have you ever visited Duke William? ”

The former outcasts became the nobles of the new country, and it is said that this person was also the chief of the general staff of the Chinese General Staff, a news that was tightly sealed in Germany. But Europe is not big, England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, news from these places will reach Germany. After the founding of Greater China, after a month's work, all of Germany knew that there was a German who became the Duke of China. They don't know about Leo. Wilhelm's previous experience and the grudge with the Kaiser, most Germans thought that Greater China was an empire supported by the Germans, so. Duke William, Count Christian, Count Werner Schroeder, Count Werner, Count Werner...... These people became heroes of Germany overnight. Their career in the Far East is something that every German aspires to.

The enthusiasm of the German people embarrassed Kaiser Wilhelm II, which was one of his hidden pains, as the enthusiastic support of the Boers at first was sold by the British and then abandoned, and in the end it was discovered that the British bribery was a complete fraud, and the German volunteers and German officers could only fight in isolation under the British blockade and failed. There is no regret in the world, and if the Boers had been abandoned in favor of the British alliance, Germany would not have been as isolated as it is now. If the Boers hadn't been abandoned, it wouldn't have been as embarrassing as it is now. Is......

"Your Highness......" said Rex apprehensively, "I also wanted to visit His Excellency the Duke before, but he refused my visit...... He still has those of them, who are only close to German businessmen and ordinary Germans"

"Refuse!?" Prince Henry's pupils constricted, but thinking of the past more than ten years ago, he had to sigh and say, "You guys help me prepare, I think I will visit him in a few days." ”

"Yes, Your Highness!" The Prince had better social skills than the Emperor, as had been demonstrated before, and he now had no objection to visiting William in person, Rex and Hahausen.

After discussing diplomatic matters, the next thing is the matter of submarine manufacturing, Mr. Drake, a big man sent by Krupp, has completed the evaluation of China's customized submarines, which is simply what the Chinese have built themselves in the small dock rented at the Krupp shipyard, what material of steel is needed and how much labor is consumed, both China and Germany know very well.

Seeing His Royal Highness's inquiring gaze, Drake straightened up and said, "Your Highness, the cost of a small submarine is about two million marks, and the cost of a large submarine is five million three million marks. I don't know how many of these things Chinese going to make, and if it's not much, then the cost is reasonable......"

"They're asking for a lot, Alfred." Prince Henry said as he lit his pipe, took a long breath and spit it out, filling the room with the smell of tobacco.

"That's a lot?" Drake looked at the mist-spitting prince, a little overwhelmed.

"Colonel, this kind of submarine...... I mean, if the performance of such submarines is followed, and then mass-produced and incorporated into the Navy, will this help in naval warfare? "Prince Henry didn't bother with Drake, but asked Colonel Hanell, who was from a regular navy background, and was completely different from a prince from a noble background.

"Your Highness......" Heinel couldn't imagine that the prince would suddenly throw the question at him, and he said rigorously, "Your Highness, I have seen the performance of this kind of submarine, but I don't know how many of them there are. ”

"Quantity?" Henry lowered his head and smoked, and then looked at the two people in front of him, "Very many, two hundred and seventy!" ”

"Oh. Oh, my God! Oh, God! Drake and Hayl shouted in unison, but when they came back to their senses and found the prince in front of them, they carefully swallowed their voices. The Chinese are really crazy! ”

"Your Highness, if there are two hundred and seventy submarines, then why not build dreadnoughts?" Colonel Hainel asked, "These submarines need more than half a billion marks, which can build ten dreadnoughts, and these dreadnoughts can completely help China to overwhelm Japan." And if it is used only for the construction of submarines, they can only win in a small sea area, and it will not be able to play a decisive role in naval battles at all...... The speed of the submarine is too slow, and because of the limitations of the battery, the time for which it can be active underwater is too short. ”

"Yes. I also don't understand why the Chinese insist on building submarines instead of dreadnoughts, and if it weren't for Yang Jingcheng's ignorance of the navy, I would have suspected that we made a wrong decision to build those big guys. Prince Henry laughed self-deprecatingly. The Chinese just want submarines. Fears, cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, etc., they don't want! Yang Jingcheng, who is good at creating a miracle, has created a naval miracle this time.

Drake, the Chinese hope that these two hundred and seventy submarines will be handed over to Germany for construction, but they have one condition, that is, absolute secrecy! In addition, they hoped to receive the first batch of one hundred and fifty small submarines and ten large submarines by July 1914, and after an interval of several months, they hoped to receive another hundred small submarines and ten large submarines in the next two years. Can we do it? I mean confidentiality and on-time delivery. ”

"If in the name of the German Navy, tender for the production of shipyards throughout the country. Then a qiē can do it. When Drake heard that there were 200 submarines, he immediately knew that Krupp's capabilities could not be satisfied, and that shipyards throughout Germany had to be involved. And for the sake of secrecy, it can only be produced in the name of the German military, "but ... But, Your Highness. Such a large naval order was completely impossible to hide. It must be approved by the Imperial Congress, and what can be done to convince those councillors to be arrested? ”

"Nope! Alfred, it's not a difficult thing to do. I can convince a few nobles to sponsor the Navy in the form of donations to build submarines, more than two hundred submarines are made in batches, and we can reduce the first order to a hundred or less, and then increase the order. Prince Henry said what he had come up with, and he was proud of his cleverness. As everyone knows, this is the reason why Yang Rui is looking for Germany instead of the United States, and only an authoritarian country can effectively keep it secret. And in a democracy, a lot of things have to be made public. "If that's how it's produced. So how much does it cost? ”

Bidding for production in the name of the German Navy is already the best model, Drake said: "Your Highness, because it is a large-scale mass production, the cost of submarines can be saved a lot, and small submarines are about between 1.5 million marks and 1.8 million marks, and each shipyard is different; And the big submarine will be under five million marks. Your Highness, how will the Chinese pay for the construction of ships, do they need a loan? ”

"They want to take out a loan, but ......" Prince Henry said that he didn't know how to say it, although Germany was rich, it was also financially tight because of the construction of ships and the expansion of its army, if China could form an alliance with Germany and attack Russia at a critical moment to delay the pressure on Germany, then it would not be impossible to lend hundreds of millions of marks to China, but now that China first regards Japan as an enemy and Russia as a friend, what good will it do to lend to China in the form of this ocean." I only promised to give them a tenth of the price as a loan, and when you quote, remember to increase the price by 10 percent. ”

"I see!" Drake nodded, "But can China pay for this?" Although they borrowed a lot of money, they spent more money, and I am afraid that they ......"

"They will definitely pay this money, not to mention the loans of the Americans and Russians, even with the country's own taxes, it is possible to pay the more than 500 million marks in two years, China is a big country after all." Prince Henry sipped his pipe and said, "I'm just curious what we'll get in return for keeping a secret for them." ”

"Maybe they want it in price." Drake said, "Your Highness, based on the other party's request, I think it is reasonable for us to increase the offer to two and a half million marks. ”

"I'll think about it." "I'll figure out how to get the most out of tomorrow's interview," Henry said. ”

Since you can't get benefits diplomatically, then you can get benefits in business, after all, this is a project that requires a country to hide from the world. At the interview on the second day, Prince Henry promised that Germany could deliver the first 160 submarines in two years under complete secrecy, but because of secrecy, the price would be slightly more expensive, and the A-type would be 2.8 million marks, while the B-type would be 7 million marks.

Hearing that Mr. Drake, the representative of Krupp Company who accompanied the negotiation, quoted this price, Yang Rui just sneered and did not say a word, but he had already scolded in his heart. German submarines should be developed with Chinese funds, and the cost of technical patents is equal to zero, and the German submarine working group has tried to build submarines in both the United States and Germany, and the cost of such small submarines is about two million marks, and like all industrial products, once standardized and large-scale. Then its cost will drop sharply, after all, the loss of fixed assets is evenly apportioned. He thought that no matter how black Germany was, it would quote a price of two million or more than two million, but who knew that the price would be close to three million.

"Your Highness. Kunming Lake is one of the most beautiful places in Beijing. Yang Rui led the topic to the surrounding scenery very bluntly, this time the negotiation was not in the Prime Minister's Palace, but in the Summer Palace.

"Yes! I could feel her beauty perfectly. Prince Henry catered to Yang Rui's speech and concentrated on enjoying the scenery around him. It's late spring and early summer, and the weather in Beijing is no longer cold, but a little hot at some times. The water of Kunming Lake is rippling with green waves, the lakeside is full of green trees, green mountains are like daisies, and those well-decorated pavilions and pavilions. Even Henry, the most old-fashioned German in the West, had to marvel at the beauty of this royal garden.

Seeing that the Germans began to look at the scenery by the lake, Yang Rui suppressed his anger and turned to smile: "Your Highness." I think you must be curious why we have to build so many submarines. ”

"Yes!" Henry turned his attention away from the landscape. "I'm very curious about that. My officers told me that it was a mistake to build so many submarines, so I would love to know why His Excellency the Prime Minister was building so many submarines. ”

"I brought His Highness here today to explain why we need so many submarines." Yang Rui planned to ignore the price of the Germans, and still negotiate according to the previous plan. "It is a well-known fact that in order to win a naval battle, you need thicker armor, more powerful artillery, and thicker armor and more powerful artillery. Larger platforms are needed, which is why warships are getting bigger and bigger. Twenty years ago. The 305 mm main gun of the Zhenyuan ship is already a giant cannon, but now the guns of any dreadnought are larger than him, and the armor and horsepower of any dreadnought are stronger than him.

This is a war of bigger guns against bigger guns, but everyone forgets that after the shells, there is one thing that also poses a mortal threat to battleships, and that is torpedoes. This weapon is not inferior to a cannonball, and even more powerful than a cannonball. The submarine is the best platform for using this weapon, although it has so many shortcomings, such as slow speed and short underwater activity time, but it is concealed, low cost, and very suitable for countries with weak maritime forces.

And the torpedo itself, although the thermodynamic torpedo has been invented, and the speed has risen to thirty-five knots, or even thirty-eight knots, but there are still many shortcomings, and at the same time, whether they are powered by compressed gas or kerosene, they can only go in a straight line. Speaking of this, Yang Rui looked at the unknown German: "Your Highness, if the torpedo has no trajectory, and he can still follow the battleship to turn and pursue, what will happen?" ”

"It can't be!" Prince Henry regretted it after shouting, several technologies traded by the Revival Society and Germany had an extremely important impact on the war, and now since Yang Rui said to his face that there is a torpedo that has no sailing trajectory and can also turn to pursue the battleship, he must be sure. Thinking of the soldiers guarding the entire Kunming Lake and the several large boats cruising on the lake, Prince Henry said apologetically: "Your Excellency, please forgive me for my faux pas, but this matter is too hard to believe. ”

"I don't mind." Yang Rui said with a smile, "I came here today to invite His Highness to appreciate our newly developed long-snouted torpedo." ”

"Long kiss...... Torpedo? Prince Henry, Drake, and Navy Hayl were not only curious about the new torpedo that Yang Rui said, but also surprised by this name full of lovers.

"The long snout is a sea snake in South China, which is highly venomous." Yang Rui explained simply. Because the self-guided torpedo may reveal the characteristics of the torpedo, the General Staff decided to change its name, but I did not expect that the name chosen by those people would be so romantic.

After briefly explaining the origin of the torpedo's name, Yang Rui gestured to Li Zilong beside him, and then a test similar to the original Qiandao Lake began. In order to let the Germans see the torpedo launched, the submarine launch ship was moored next to the pleasure boat that Yang Rui was riding, with the commander's order, the torpedo popped out of the torpedo tube into the water, unlike other torpedoes, like a fish, the torpedo entered the water and then quietly, only the small red flag set up at its tail showed that the torpedo was moving rapidly, and the sailboat more than a thousand meters away began to maneuver after the torpedo entered the line of sight, but the torpedo that had rushed to the passive sonar range could not be shaken off, so, After a brief struggle, the torpedo hit the ship and a small symbolic explosion occurred.

The explosion was not the highlight, when the Germans saw the torpedo with no track and followed the sailboat to a corner. The eyes were straight all at once. Prince Henry only thought that if his royal brother saw this torpedo, he must jump into the lake with joy and grab it, what a miracle! Thank God so much! He muttered silently in his heart. Then, when his expression was as usual, he politely asked: "Your Excellency, may I ask if this torpedo can already be practical?" ”

"Of course!" Yang Rui was sure, "The torpedo has been finalized." As His Highness could see, it had no trajectory and could follow the ship in pursuit. Of course, it has such advantages. Naturally, there are such disadvantages, compared to thermodynamic torpedoes, at the same speed. His range is only one-seventh, and of course if the range increases, then his speed will slow down. ”

In the contemporary era when the speed of warships is only more than 20 knots at the fastest speed, and only a dozen knots for normal cruising. The speed of the torpedo at thirty-thirty-fifty knots was sufficient. It's just that Yang Rui said that the range of this kind of torpedo is only one-seventh of that of a thermal torpedo, and after being excited, Colonel Hainel said: "Your Excellency, that is to say, the range of a torpedo under 35 knots is only more than 1,600 meters?" ”

"Indeed!" Yang Rui replied, "The torpedo only took more than 90 seconds from launch to stop. That is, if the speed of the attacking ship is only twelve knots, then it is possible to launch a torpedo at a thousand meters; If it's fifteen knots, that's eight hundred meters; twenty knots, that's six hundred and fifty meters; Verse XXV. That's five hundred meters. For a torpedo boat or destroyer, this distance is too close. It is suitable only for submarine use. ”

Seeing that the German's gaze dimmed, Yang Rui said again, "If it is a naval torpedo, then he can build a bigger one, the range can be doubled or more, and we don't need it to have no trajectory throughout the whole process, so the torpedo can be pieced together, in the first half we can use compressed gas or kerosene, and when the compressed gas or kerosene is exhausted, we can remove the back half and make it a long-snouted torpedo without a trace." There's really no way, so let him have a trajectory, as long as it can stare at the enemy's battleship, as long as it's fast enough, even if there are traces, then what? ”

In order to increase the interest of the Germans, Yang Rui threw out some other ideas. He doesn't care if these can be realized, anyway, he doesn't need torpedoes with too long range, submarines and planes use the current torpedo is enough, after finishing Japan, and then spend more than 20 years of effort to study lithium battery nickel batteries and the like, he believes that electric torpedoes are enough in World War II.

"Thank God!" Prince Henry excitedly took up his pipe to himself, "Yang, this is the smartest thing I've ever seen, compared to the long kiss, the cannonballs and torpedoes are all fools. After he finished praising him, he took off his pipe and said formally: "Yang, I hope that with the beautiful friendship between China and Germany, Germany can be allowed to introduce this long-nose torpedo." ”

"Your Highness, please don't be in a hurry yet." Yang Rui gave weapons, still wanting to teach the Germans more things to cause some trouble for the British, he said warmly: "Torpedoes are just a weapon for us to equip submarines, but for submarines or naval warfare, the most important thing is sea dominance." The dreadnought is to sink the opponent's warship to gain sea dominance, but because of his concealment, the submarine can achieve a certain sea dominance effect without sinking the enemy fleet. Or rather, he could sink the enemy's merchant ships and cut off the enemy's sea and material supplies while the enemy's fleet was still alive, so that the enemy's control of the sea was only partially valuable.

Joining the war with submarines will end up with our merchant ships being contained by the enemy's fleet, and the enemy's merchant ships being contained by our submarines, and the use of the sea by both sides will be rebalanced. Although this balance is a lose-lose situation, the cost of achieving this goal is not the same, a submarine of two million marks can make the enemy's surface ships cost tens of millions of marks to find it, and many times, even if the submarine is under water, the enemy has nothing to do with it.

And a strong fleet needs to be built at a cost of billions or even tens of billions of marks, and at the same time, in order to make the fleet combative, it will take decades or even hundreds of years to train officers and shape the traditions of the fleet. However, as far as submarines are concerned, there is no need for such trouble, only less than a billion marks, and 500 submarines can be used in every corner of the ocean, and the tradition of the fleet, as far as the current point of view, can basically train the submarine force in six months, and turn it into an elite in two to three years. These billions of marks and three years can render useless the enemy's surface fleet, which has been cultivated for tens of billions of marks. Because when the time comes, everyone will be able to see that the enemy's fleet is still showing its might, but their merchant fleet is constantly being sunk by submarines, and finally cut off from shipping, and the sea dominance they have gained is really just an empty sea.

Sun Tzu, a Chinese soldier, once said that all those who fight will win with righteousness and victory. Zhenghe, that is, Japan builds dreadnoughts, and we also want to build dreadnoughts; And Qisheng, it is they who build dreadnoughts, we build submarines, and use asymmetric warfare to defeat them. At present, the more than 200 submarines can only protect China's coastal waters, but they have a preliminary bargaining chip to retaliate against Japan for containing China's sea routes. If the funds allow, I am willing to spend a billion marks to build 500 submarines and cut off the shipping of all of Japan, because it is an island country, and if it loses shipping, it will be trapped and surrendered within two years. Your Highness, this is the logic of our submarine building, I hope you can understand, or it can help Germany. (To be continued......)