The Rise of the Empire

And just before this meeting, the British representative in Bavaria came to Berlin suddenly and readjusted the demand for hardened armor in 1899! And this demand directly increased by more than 50% compared with 1898! There must be something tricky about such a big change! The British didn't intend to say it at first, but after the prince threatened the limited number of armored exports, the British representative used the need of a third country as an excuse to vaguely state the whereabouts of the armored vehicles.

Combined with information collected from other sources, the prince concluded that the Japanese had purchased warships from the UK, and the number would definitely not be small! As for battleship performance? The four 12-inch guns must be true, and the following content is estimated by His Highness the Prince himself....

Of course, generally speaking, as a piece of information, His Royal Highness is still very good, at least roughly correct! There are no problems in the big aspects, so what if there are some problems in the details. Besides, the prince does not work in the Russian intelligence department. I tell you that it is because of the need to sell weapons. It's enough to bluff people, why do you care so much?

"Hiss." All the Russians, including Nicholas II, gasped! In 1899, three warships were ordered in one go! That means that in 1902 Japan will have 3 battleships, and by 1904, the number of battleships is likely to reach more than 6!

Looking at the performance again, the speed of all Japanese battleships is above 18 knots, while the slowest battleship of the Russians does not even have a speed of 16 knots! The firepower and design are also inferior, and the quality of the Russian navy is worse. If there is a real fight, Makanov is not sure!

I have to say that the words of His Royal Highness Prince Ruprecht really scared the Russians! There is no way not to believe it! The Russians may not have said that the enemy is lenient, but everyone understands this meaning, and the worst must be considered in everything. And at this juncture, if the other party can say such a thing, there must be a basis for it. After all, the other party is a prince, and the Russian tsar is sitting opposite him!

"Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, because the facts will prove everything I said. Here is an armor import document submitted by the British, which contains the demand for armor. You can take a look. Of course, it is impossible to take it away. .” After finishing speaking, His Royal Highness handed a document to Nicholas II who was opposite him.

"Well, now I will give you a chance to choose. You can order four warships now, each at a unit price of 1.8 million pounds, or you can order two ships now, each at 1.8 million pounds, and order again within half a year. If there are 2 ships, the price of each ship is 1.85 million pounds! How about it? Think about it. Of course, if you think you are really dissatisfied, you don’t have to buy it, and we don’t have to worry about not being able to find an order.” After finishing speaking, the prince sat on the chair Leaning back, he looked at the livid-faced tsar and the senior Russian officials next to him in a very relaxed manner.

The current prince is definitely like an old man like this NB, he loves to buy, buy, and get out if he doesn’t buy, he has the feeling of a future generation Maozi facing India! Seeing the other party gnashing their teeth in jealousy, but unable to speak, they could only silently take out the gold ruble in the purse, that feeling, that sour feeling....

"We need time to discuss this, and it will take time to raise funds." Under Nicholas II's signal, although Makanov did not say it clearly, the purchase of new warships has become a foregone conclusion. Even the Russians don't even have the intention of bargaining. It's not that the Russians don't want to lower the price, but that the person on the other side is really out of touch, and in the absolute seller's market, the Russians really don't want to lower the price. easy!

So the only problem now is how many to buy,

And the question of when to start work, but at this time, His Royal Highness still did not forget to sprinkle a handful of salt on the Russian wounds!

"Before the construction of the new ship starts, your country must pay 50% of the price, and before the warship is launched, your country must pay the remaining 50% of the final payment. This should also be written into the agreement." The prince has no scruples about Nigu Ra II said slowly with eyes that could kill people.

"It is impossible for us to accept such an offer!" Nicholas II's angry voice echoed in the entire meeting room, causing the entire negotiation process to change.

"Isn't it just a lack of money? Please, use your brains. In this era, not only the French and the British are rich, but the Americans are also rich. Moreover, there is a common enemy between the United States and Russia. The French borrow better!"

"Of course, I don't think your country will have any difficulty in paying. The Americans have already told me the price of hiring your country's three cruisers. The money can fully pay for the first installment. Maybe I have some Prejudice, but I have to say that your country is still too stingy! Always want to minimize the cost! But it is precisely because of this reason that you lose opportunities again and again."

Ruprecht is not worried at all that Nicholas II will turn the table. The three armored cruisers and the officers and soldiers on board in the Spanish-American War received nearly 3 million pounds in the hands of Nicholas, which is equivalent to A batch of old ships were replaced with a batch of new ones.

In the Spanish-American War, from an economic point of view, the Japanese made a lot of money, while the Russians made a small profit! 3 outdated cruisers for 3 million pounds, what a value! Of course, the profit that the Russians got in exchange will now be transferred into the pocket of His Highness the Prince.

"Actually, if Bavaria's asking price is not so high, we can cooperate in more areas. If your price can be lower, then it is not impossible to buy army artillery from Bavaria."

Nicholas II knew that it was almost impossible to get the opponent to make concessions, but at the last moment, he made one last effort. Hope to keep the price down a bit. But what Nicholas II didn't expect was that what the greedy, cruel and cunning Prince Ruprecht was waiting for was the tsar's words!

How can a simple naval order satisfy the prince's gluttonous appetite for money? From the current point of view, the order of the Russian Navy is estimated to be more than 7 million pounds. It is almost impossible to squeeze more oil and water from the navy. After all, the Russians themselves have to build a batch of battleships, and the French have to get a share of the pie. In Russia's history, there were only a dozen battleships participating in the entire Russo-Japanese War...  And the cost of my own battleship is about equal to 2 ordinary battleships...

If the Russians' finances do not change significantly, then the number of battleships may decline. If Russia can have 12 battleship-class warships when the war starts, the production of 4 ships by itself has reached the limit, and it is impossible to obtain more shares. !

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