Chapter 12

The flickering light cast a dim yellow glow on the faces of the three people.

Qing Ying stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him. He felt an indescribable sense of relief. At this moment, he was no longer worried about the inconsistency between his words and his age. If necessary, he could attribute everything to the British-published *Jane's Fighting Ships*!

Wilhelm II was stunned for a moment, his facial expressions changing rapidly—surprise, ecstasy, satisfaction, anger... All these emotions flashed across his face. He closed his eyes and remained silent for a while. When he looked at Tirpitz again, the calm and composed look on his face was gone, replaced by a hint of anger. He said in a deep voice, "Alfred, is what Eitel said true?"

Under the piercing gaze of Wilhelm II, Tirpitz dared not meet the emperor's eyes. He thought carefully for a moment, and a set of battleship data flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he froze in place. Soon, the color drained from Tirpitz's face, leaving him as pale as paper. He slowly lowered his head and stammered, "Yes, what the Second Prince said is entirely accurate."

"If that's the case, then I have a question for you, Alfred," Wilhelm II's face turned ashen, and he shouted in a voice that seemed to come from between his teeth, "With almost the same speed, why can the British fit 10 120mm guns on a 2,440-ton ship, while my design, at 2,650 tons, only has 8 120mm guns and is considered a lead duck that sinks upon launch? The British ship even has vertical armor, which, when converted, weighs no less than my design!"

"From this, it seems that the empire's designers are indeed conservative, but perhaps they considered more aspects, such as structural redundancy and seafaring performance? Your Majesty, you know that if a battleship lacks sufficient structural redundancy, no matter how good the paper data looks, it is useless," Tirpitz felt an unusual dryness in his throat. He now regretted using that tone to evaluate the emperor's design. The cruiser "Chiyoda" that Qing Ying mentioned was also considered a lead duck when it was launched, so why didn't he and the other designers think of it?

"Alfred, don't think I don't know that structural redundancy is indeed important, but it must be moderate! The redundancy these people have left is clearly affecting the ship's performance. Even Eitel could find a reference, but these fools didn't know anything. Just for this, they don't deserve to stay in the Naval Design Bureau!" Wilhelm II's eyes blazed with anger, and he shouted, "And seafaring performance? The British ship was bought by the Japanese, who need to sail halfway around the world to return home. How could its seafaring performance be poor? Are these ship designers serving the empire like this? Or do they think I am a complete idiot who knows nothing about ship design and is not worthy of their attention?" Wilhelm II grew angrier as he spoke, and finally, he slammed his fist heavily on the desk, making Qing Ying and Tirpitz shudder!

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Seeing that Wilhelm II was truly angry, Tirpitz quickly stood up from his chair, bowed his head, and said, "The designers of the Imperial Navy may have been negligent, but they have no intention of belittling Your Majesty! In the five years since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the rise of the German Empire has surpassed the era of the Holy Emperor. They genuinely admire Your Majesty from the bottom of their hearts!"

Thinking about all the sleepless nights he had spent designing, only to be rejected by a few ignorant experts, Wilhelm II, who usually had a high opinion of himself, was filled with resentment and anger. He couldn't help but roar, "Negligent? Alfred, you were there, and you heard how those people evaluated my battleship. This is not just negligence! With such designers in high positions, when will the Imperial Navy surpass Russia and France?"

"Yes, yes! When I return, I will immediately remove those incompetent old men from the design bureau!" Seeing that Wilhelm II's tone was softening, Tirpitz quickly seized the opportunity to calm the emperor's anger. Wilhelm II panted through his nose for a while, then suddenly seemed to think of something, and the anger on his face disappeared. He exhaled a deep breath and said in a hesitant tone, "Alfred, I just thought of something."

Seeing that Wilhelm II had quickly suppressed his anger and was speaking so seriously, Tirpitz was startled and did not dare to be negligent. He immediately became solemn and said, "Your Majesty, please speak."

"My lead duck, the designers all believe that it cannot be built without 4,000 tons. Considering the American ship 'Olympia,' how inflated has the tonnage of the Imperial Navy's warships become? When I think about it now, I feel a chill!" Wilhelm II's voice echoed in the room, filled with a nightmarish fear, "Why don't they dare to add more firepower to the warships? Where does this inflated weight come from? Alfred, you must investigate this thoroughly!"

Hearing this, Tirpitz also felt the gravity of the matter and quickly said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will give you an answer within 30 days!"

Wilhelm II nodded slightly and said softly, "When you go, take the data of the ship named 'Chiyoda' to show them. Have them redesign it from top to bottom and find out where they went wrong. If they fail to do so in a month... they will all be dismissed from the Naval Ship Design Bureau. Germany does not need a group of designers who only solve problems with tonnage!"

A chill ran through Tirpitz's heart, and he solemnly agreed.

A wave of drowsiness hit Wilhelm II, and he couldn't help but yawn. Turning his head, he saw that the wall clock had already pointed to 11 o'clock. He waved his hand and said to Tirpitz, "Alfred, go back and rest. We will discuss any issues tomorrow."

Tirpitz also felt a bit tired. His mind was in turmoil, and he desperately needed to rest to regain his energy. He bowed to Wilhelm II and turned to leave the room.

"Phew... With this, my task is complete!" Watching Tirpitz's retreating figure, Qing Ying felt a great weight lifted from his heart. He took his coat from the coat rack, ready to leave, but Wilhelm II's calm voice came from behind, "Eitel, stay for a moment. I have something to say to you."

The second chapter of today, please give some recommendations~~

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