The Rise of the Empire

"Sir, the Russian envoy has arrived." A waiter said to Baron Leo very respectfully.

"Well, let him come in." Commissioned Leo glanced at the two huge models placed next to the living room and nodded in satisfaction. One of these two models is a 1:100 model of the Munich-type armored cruiser, while the other is tentatively designated as the design model of the Russian cruiser, with the same ratio of 1:100. However, the Russian ship is obviously longer than the Munich ship, and has a wider hull. Looking at the same, the latter looks like a leopard, while the former is a lion!

"This warship is more elegant and powerful than its predecessors. If I'm not mistaken, this is the final version of the warship we want to order, right?" Lieutenant General Makanov and another escort, Paro As soon as Jin entered the gate, he saw these two models. Makanov couldn't help admiring the slender hull of the Russian ship and the dense hedgehog-like artillery! This is the warship the empire needs! If Munich is strong, it is strong, but there are still some fly in the ointment! And Russia makes up for this shortcoming!

"The empire is very willing to order two such powerful warships from your country. It is powerful, elegant, and concentrates the highest level of shipbuilding in your country. It is the crystallization of your wisdom and German industry. It is almost perfect, except for the price." Ma There was a hint of regret in Kanoff's words.

The Germans planned to buy it a long time ago. They were prepared. When Nicholas II saw the firepower display of the armored cruiser Mainz, he was already tempted. The proud Armstrong-type cruiser is ready to raise money after scoring a zero to two. And when the battle in the Yellow Sea ended, the Russian special envoy had rushed to Germany excitedly!

Everything is ready, just the price! The price of 1.2 million yuan is still a bit too high. You must know that a battleship in this era is only more than 900,000 pounds, and the tonnage is larger than that of the Russian ship! And a second-class battleship only needs more than 800,000 pounds!

Well, although the firepower, defense and speed of the Russian ship completely crush the battleships of various countries using 10-inch artillery, although compared to the projected volume, the Russian ship is worthy of everyone! Once the order is completed, it will at least single out any warship in the same period in history, but the price is as terrifying as its combat effectiveness!

The so-called extravagant asking price to pay back the money, the price of 1.2 million is indeed a bit high, there is no way to lower the price, in fact, as a warship specially ordered for Russia, the weapons and equipment on it will naturally use Russian standards, the 4 doors of the Russian armored cruiser The 10-inch main gun and eight 8-inch secondary main guns are all from Russia. After throwing away the cost of these artillery pieces, the price can probably be reduced to about 1.05 million pounds. (Note that the price of weapons and the price of artillery are two concepts, and the former includes turrets and servos.)

As for whether to choose the Russian 120MM gun or the German 105MM gun as the secondary gun, the two sides are also arguing. The Germans think that Russia has already taken away the bulk of the artillery. Let us have some soup, and the 105MM gun is enough to deal with torpedo boats. , if facing a cruiser, just greet it with an 8-inch gun! The 120MM gun is a bit of a waste. But the Russians think that since it is our own ship, then it is natural to have all the Russian equipment, so what is it to install German guns on it?

"Our country provides all the artillery, 950,000 pounds! Or if you provide us with the drawings, we will pay 1 million pounds!" Makanov began to bargain.

"Because of some well-known reasons, but it is inconvenient to say, the issue of providing blueprints should not be discussed." Entrusting Baron Leo decisively rejected the latter opinion! The friends of the Russians are not only Germany! And France! Not to mention the relationship between France and Germany. And the French still held Russia's pocketbook. At the same time, France is also fully supporting the development of the Russian shipbuilding industry. This drawing is in the hands of the Russians. It is a trivial matter for the Russians to make it themselves according to the cat picture. If it is in the hands of a potential enemy, France,

That is naturally a threat to Germany!

Moreover, it is very rare in the navy to buy a ship and buy blueprints. The Russians’ expression is very unethical in the eyes of the baron. Why did you buy the blueprints? Isn't this the way of making money for Brother Duan? Losing money is still a trivial matter. If the French get it, are they going to send themselves to prison? Judging from the current situation, this blueprint will probably fall into the hands of the French! My boss is fine, but the baron can't guarantee that he is fine!

"But you also want to buy our 12-inch artillery. Isn't it fair that we exchange blueprints with artillery technology?" The Russians naturally dared to make this request, and they must have something to rely on. And this reliance is that the Kingdom of Bavaria wants to obtain 12-inch artillery! And now they intend to buy from Russia. The Russians had a good calculation and were going to exchange blueprints with artillery.

"This is different. Russia and Germany are friends, while Germany and France are enemies! And I need to remind you that there are many countries in the world that can produce 12-inch artillery, but there is only one Russian-class armored cruiser! No semicolon! "The entrusted Baron Leo shook his head and said.

Now that Ruprecht is already planning to get a share of the naval gun field, he will naturally have an overwhelming advantage! Continuing to entangle with Krupp's 11-inch gun is of no value, so if you want to overwhelm your opponent, you must use stronger and stronger guys! And taking advantage of the opportunity to have a good relationship with the Russians, Ruprecht planned to order 12-inch artillery from Russia.

The technology of the Russians is not used, as long as you buy it back and give it to Skoda for research, it can be manufactured. Skoda's technology is still trustworthy. The Skoda 240MM artillery of the same period is much stronger than that used by the Germans. Although the muzzle velocity is similar, but The bomb weight is 212KG, while Krupp's bomb weighs only 140KG.... If you want to study slowly, you may be able to figure it out, but at this time Skoda is working on the improvement of the 240MM artillery, and the development cycle of the 12-inch gun is longer. Ruprecht is trying to save time!

"This is obviously unequal. We only need your artillery, not your technology and basic industries. The Germans still look down on you, Russia! If you can buy the Russian ship back, and then figure out how to make it! No People say no, the key is that you don't have the ability!" The baron said in his heart, in short, the Russian's suggestion made the baron very dissatisfied!

"On the premise that you provide 10-inch and 8-inch guns, we can reduce the price to 1 million pounds, but the reduced 50,000 pounds is not free! You need to provide four 12-inch guns and some ammunition from your country! This is our bottom line." From the price, the four artillery pieces purchased by Bavaria were taken out. Of course, the price of this artillery piece is relatively high, which can be regarded as a face for the Russians. The baron thought for a while and said.

"Then, can you give us a certain discount on the payment method? We have some difficulties in raising funds." Pa Luojin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said.

Three more achievements achieved! The author is very powerful today! Readers, can you give me more effort~?