The Rise of the Empire

"After the quiet and stable year of 1893, the turbulent year of 1894 is about to begin!" When the first day of 1894 was approaching, Ruprecht couldn't help but sighed in his heart, the days of making money were coming to an end. From now to 1898, it can be said to be full of wind and clouds! As a time traveler, don't you feel sorry for yourself if you don't mess with it?

"Your Highness, the admiral's dress from Berlin. There is also a letter from Crown Prince William." An attendant came up and said in a low voice.

"Well, let it go." Although he is only an honorary admiral, it greatly satisfies the vanity of the travelers. In history, the royal families of various European countries have the privilege of receiving honorary titles, and some honorary titles are awarded to others. Rights, for example, William II holds many military ranks conferred by the British royal family. During the First World War, the German royal family also awarded the title of Marshal of the Ottoman Turkish Empire to the Sultan of the Empire.

The honorary rank of admiral was specially awarded by the German royal family to thank the prince for his "outstanding contribution" to the German navy. Although it is useless except for a rank and a few sets of clothes, it is another one of the prince The plan paved the way.

"Sure enough!" Putting the dress aside, the prince opened the letter and probably scanned it, with a satisfied smile on his face. The content of the letter is very simple, Prince Ruprecht can participate in the German Navy's round-the-world voyage! The prince went there as an admiral!

1894 ah! The entire Far East was in turmoil. According to the agreement of understanding reached between Germany and Russia, it is necessary for the German government to demonstrate its strength in the Far East in order to guarantee the interests of the Far East. Moreover, the six armored cruisers have not yet sailed in formation after entering service. Germany also has islands in the Pacific Ocean, so this time the German Navy plans to draw 4 Munich-class armored cruisers and 2 supply ships to form an ocean-going formation for a global voyage!

This time the destination is not only the Far East, but also the United States, Africa and South America! The fleet will initially be divided into two, one of which departs from the North Sea, passes through the North Atlantic, then sails along the west coast of Africa, and finally rounds the Horn of Africa and enters the Indian Ocean. The other fleet will enter the Mediterranean Sea, visit Spain, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then enter the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal. After the two fleets converge, they will enter the Far East together. After visiting Singapore and Hong Kong, they will go north along the Qing Dynasty. supply.

Among them, in order to show respect to old customers for many years and support for the Qing Dynasty, the armored cruiser Mainz will visit Lushun Naval Port in Beiyang. Then the fleet will go to North Vladivostok to visit the Russian Far East Fleet.

After leaving Asia, the fleet crossed the Pacific Ocean and entered the west coast of the United States. Visiting the United States can also be regarded as a certain degree of deterrence. And the fleet will also go south along the west coast of America. Bypass the Strait of Magellan and go north again to visit Argentina and Brazil, but the prince will not be able to go to these two places, because the prince will pay a state visit to the United States with government representatives. When the German fleet arrived on the east coast of the United States, it left by ship.

Ruprecht has three main goals this time. The first point is naturally to look at his home country. It may be very difficult to change history, and his honorary general is useless. The second point is to go to the United States. In addition to the diplomatic visit, the prince also wants to poach someone! And the third point is to build a good relationship with the future high-level navy. The people who participated in this voyage are amazing!

Rear Admiral Tirpitz served as the commander of the fleet. The captain of the armored cruiser Mainz was von Ingenauer, the commander of the German fleet after the beginning of World War I in history. The gunner was Earl Spey, and Hipper also served in the fleet , because he is a Bavarian, the traverser specially asked him to be his adjutant...  Thinking that such an NB person is actually his younger brother, the prince is very proud of himself! By the way, there is another person, that is William's younger brother, Prince Heinrich. Historically, he was the commander of a German squadron at the beginning of World War I.

This time he also came out with the rank of colonel, but his rank is real!

In order to cooperate with the Germans in this operation, the Russian Navy will also dispatch the cruiser Hero of the Sea of ​​Azov to accompany the German fleet and sail with the German fleet until Vladivostok! The political significance of this is already very obvious! Germany and Russia have common interests in the Far East, and their attitudes are the same!

What surprised the prince even more was that this time France also wanted to show goodwill to the two countries, saying that the Russian and German fleets could dock in French Indochina and get supplies! This is unexpected by the travelers. I don’t know if the diplomatic work done by the Russians is in place, or the French also feel that a newly rising country may threaten France’s interests in the Qing Dynasty!

On March 5, 1894, Prince Ruprecht finally boarded the deck of the armored cruiser Mainz. Four armored cruisers and two supply ships lined up in the port of Kiel. As the flagship of the fleet, the armored cruiser Munich was also the ship of the fleet commander, Major General Tirpitz. The second ship is the armored cruiser Mainz, which is the prince's ship. The third was the armored cruiser Königsberg, the ship of the diplomatic representative Herbert. The fourth armored cruiser Hamburg was the ship of Prince Heinrich. The No. 4 ship will go around Africa with a supply ship, while the other three armored cruisers and a supply ship will go directly to the Mediterranean Sea after joining the Russian fleet, cross the Suez Canal and enter the Indian Ocean.

Such a high-profile dispatch of the German navy naturally attracted practical attention, especially when the Russians expressed their willingness to go together, and even France, the old enemy, expressed a certain degree of goodwill. This signal can be described as shocking the world! Both Italy and Austria-Hungary are friends. The entire continent seems to be united on one issue. This makes the British feel great pressure!

"What the hell do they want to do?" British Prime Minister Salisbury said irritably after receiving the news. It is the established national policy of the United Kingdom to support Japan to defeat the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and then resist Russia’s eastward expansion. strength.

"The power of Russia, Germany, and France in the Far East will seriously affect the direction of this war. Japan will definitely attack the Qing Dynasty this year. At this time, the German and Russian fleets have arrived in the Far East! It is difficult for me to understand what the purpose of the Germans is. ?” Chamberlain said with a livid face.

"The Germans just appeared at a sensitive time period. They have no interest in the Far East. This fleet will not stay in the Far East for a long time. Then they will complete the first global voyage of the German Navy's large fleet. We have communicated with the German Prime Minister After reviewing the relevant situation, Bismarck said that Germany just wanted to prevent its own interests from being damaged and would not directly intervene in this war."

The prime minister didn't think that the Germans would copy guys and do it themselves. What he was worried about was what would happen to Germany after the war! After all, winning the battle doesn't mean everything!

Thanks to book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward~~~.