The Rise of the Empire

"What? 1.2 million pounds? This is much more expensive than a battleship?" When the Russians asked about the cost of the battleship, the baron's offer surprised them.

"You get what you pay for. If you want a million-dollar battleship, we can make it." The baron said with a smile, how should I put it, this warship traverser really didn't add much yardage, it was 13,000 tons The battleship, armor, and firepower are all conscientious! Whether it is based on the principle of selling warships by the ton, or by superimposing the subsystems one by one to calculate the total value, it is almost the same price, but it is just the cost + 20% profit, it cannot be lowered!

"Hey, the baron's ability is still limited." Ruprecht shook his head involuntarily as he watched Baron Vittorio, who was arguing with the Russians and singled out four of them. I lament that the Baron’s thinking is completely wrong. Just saying how good a battleship is is not really able to impress the Russians. The Navy is a system. You have to explain the positioning and role of this level of warships in this system!

Are the Russians short of money? To be honest, it is short of money, otherwise it would not owe so much foreign debt to the French. But people are absolutely willing to spend money on armaments. Historically, from 1890 to 1905, Russia built more than ten battleships and more than ten cruisers! As long as the Russians think it is worth it, they should be bought as pants. There is no way, this is the characteristic of Russia! Want battleships but not bread!

The prince is a relatively experienced military fan, and he has also studied the Russian navy in the pre-fearless era. From the perspective of the travelers, the Russians have always regarded battleships as the main force of fleet decisive battles, while cruisers are responsible for reconnaissance, breaking diplomatic relations, and dealing with small warships. Task. They didn't even consider building a multi-NB armored cruiser and pulling it to the battle line to draw against the opponent. (except Rurik 2)

Some people may ask, why did Russia build three 10,000-ton armored cruisers? This tonnage is comparable to that of a battleship. Naturally, it is broken. In order to be able to operate in the vast ocean, the Russian armored cruiser must have a larger range. The Rurik’s coal load of up to 2,000 tons is prepared for this, and the Russian is even worse. Directly To 2500 tons! Although these warships have great firepower on paper, their defenses really make it difficult for them to fight against real armored cruisers.

In the Ulsan naval battle, the seemingly majestic Russian 10,000-ton armored cruiser was directly beaten into a dog by four Japanese ACRs. If only in terms of performance, the 10,000-ton Rurik can't even beat Garibaldi. Except for the three 10,000-ton armored cruisers, the rest of the Russian cruisers are dome-armored battleships. Which one is faster and can suppress second-class cruisers with firepower?

"Aren't the Russians brainless to build such warships?" Ruprecht once thought so, but although the Russian Navy is corrupt, it is definitely not brainless. The core of everything lies in one thing, that is money! Russian man-made dome cruisers are very cheap!

Take the Varyag cruiser built by the Americans for the Russians in history as an example. The displacement of this cruiser is 6,500 tons! The tonnage is almost the same as the historical Garibaldi-class armored cruiser, but how much do you think it cost? Only £475,000! Garibaldi's full set is at least 650,000 pounds! The cost of the first two warships ordered by Argentina was even as high as 750,000 pounds!

The so-called you get what you pay for! The money is certain, the tonnage is certain, and the Russians also require a higher speed. For this reason, the Americans equipped the ship with 30 boilers! And this boiler is still imported from France, how much do you think these imported boilers cost! However, the price is only 475,000 pounds! After excluding the necessary hull and power costs, as well as armor costs, it's no wonder that this ship has strong firepower! In the end, the Americans equipped this 23-knot cruiser with only 12 6-inch guns!

After understanding the Russian cruiser equipment system and history, it is not difficult for the prince to understand why the Russians are not willing to spend this money.

Although the performance of the new armored cruiser is indeed good, it still bears the name of cruiser after all. Seeing this name, the Russians are not happy.

Ever since, Ruprecht decided to go out in person! Naturally, as a prince, he would not lower himself and get mixed up with ordinary people. The prince directly found the Russian crown prince and Admiral Popov! Negotiations should also pay attention to reciprocity!

"Not worth it?" the prince said with a smile on his face. And this overly direct expression made the Russian crown prince, who was used to roundabouts and diplomatic rhetoric, somewhat uncomfortable.

"This is just a cruiser. Even if he can overwhelm all the cruisers, the meaning is very limited. To deal with a rabbit, we can use hunting dogs, but using lions is a waste."

"I admit that the firepower and defense of the new armored cruiser are sufficient to fight on the battle line, but its high speed is dragged down by the battleship, and it has no practical effect at all. The performance is very good, but it is incompatible with our system." Admiral Popov Immediately opened the mouth to explain.

"So you can accept the Munich-class armored cruiser, because it can suppress all existing cruisers, and the price is not so high, but the cost of the new armored cruiser seems unreasonable, is that so?" the prince asked.

"You're right. The Munich-class armored cruiser is enough." Popov nodded.

"Then what if your opponent also has the Munich-class armored cruiser, or is bigger and stronger than the Munich-class armored cruiser?"

"This..." Popov was immediately speechless! There are so many meanings in this sentence! The first meaning is that the Russians can understand that potential opponents will follow the example of Germany and build large armored cruisers. And the second meaning is that Germany may sell this armored cruiser to its opponents! After all, the Russians can't force the other party not to sell this class of warships!

"If the other party has a ticket for Munich-class armored cruisers, what about our own cruiser fleet? Continue to follow the path of low cost and high quantity? Isn't that waiting to be smashed into scum?" Popov thought in his heart.

"In order to ensure the maritime superiority of your country's navy, it is necessary for you to build a technical barrier that the opponent cannot surpass! And the new armored cruiser can meet your country's requirements. I can guarantee that if nothing happens, within 10 years, This class of warship has no fear of any opponent at sea!" The prince continued, this is not bragging, before 1901, there was indeed no warship in history that could defeat Rurik 2! That is the mother type of this warship!

"We can only guarantee to order two Munich-class armored cruisers first. If there is no accident in the shareholding, the contract will be signed two months later. For the rest, we need facts to prove it." Popov said.

"Then let's do this first." The prince could feel that the other party was moving, but the cost of two 10,000-ton armored cruisers was as high as 2.4 million pounds, which was not a small sum! If you add the cost of the two Munich-class armored cruisers, it will be a huge sum of nearly 4 million pounds! Such a sum of money even feels great pressure on the rich and powerful Russian navy.

"It's absolutely possible. I believe that you will make the right choice after owning the Munich-class armored cruiser." After saying this, the prince can only do so.

Thanks to book friends zhouyu1976 and heavensailer for their rewards~~~, yesterday’s collection can be described as horrible. … Almost the lowest level in two weeks --! Depressed on the side -!