Chapter 46

The Imperial German Empire, the capital, the palace.

In October, Berlin was clear and sunny, with a gentle and cool breeze. The scorching heat of midsummer had quietly receded, replaced by the refreshing breath of autumn. The air was crisp, the water refreshing, and it was a rare period of pleasant temperatures. Kaiser Wilhelm II, dressed in a gray casual outfit, leaned back in a large armchair; the afternoon sunlight, like a bolt of silk, was cut into irregular shapes by the dense branches and leaves.

This was the garden of the palace, a place of beautiful scenery. A huge ginkgo tree stood tall, its trunk thick and reaching to the sky. A gentle breeze blew, causing the branches to sway and the leaves to dance. The golden leaves, like green silk umbrellas, were magnificent and awe-inspiring, drawing admiration. When Wilhelm was in a good mood, he would choose this place to meet ministers or important guests.

"Whoosh!" The autumn wind blew, warm yet cool. Wilhelm's ears twitched slightly, and he looked up to see a tall figure emerging from a corner about fifty steps away.

The man had gray hair and blue eyes, a robust build, and was dressed in a blue naval uniform, which made him look even more imposing and powerful. However, what drew the most attention was the long beard on his chin, longer than his hair: a goat-like beard that was parted in the middle, adding a touch of comedy to his otherwise stern appearance.

This middle-aged general, with a beard longer than Santa Claus's, was none other than Alfred von Tirpitz, the current Chief of the Naval Staff and the future father of the High Seas Fleet.

Seeing the person he expected, Wilhelm slowly sat up from his armchair. When Tirpitz saluted him, Wilhelm smiled and waved his hand, then pointed to a chair that had been prepared for him, saying, "Alfred, there's no need for so many formalities between us. Sit down quickly."

The court of the German Empire was far less bound by taboos and rules than the Qing Dynasty. Tirpitz thanked him and sat down without hesitation. Facing Wilhelm's slightly puzzled expression, he cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, I have come today to present to you the plans for a new class of capital ships that the German Navy intends to build. I hope Your Majesty can persuade the parliament to allocate appropriate funds in next year's naval budget for their construction. Our steel production is expected to exceed 3.6 million tons this year, and it would be a waste not to build some capital ships with such a large capacity."

At the mention of a "new class of capital ships," Wilhelm's spirits immediately lifted, his eyes shining with excitement and enthusiasm. In 1887, as the heir to the German throne, Wilhelm was stunned by the vast and formidable British fleet at the 50th anniversary celebration of his British grandmother, Queen Victoria. Since then, this ruler had openly expressed his desire and pursuit of a blue-water navy; he even dismissed the greatest statesman in German history, Otto von Bismarck, for his naval strategy.

Tirpitz moved his chair forward to get closer to the Kaiser. He opened a black leather folder, revealing a stack of papers filled with line drawings and data. The distinctive smell of ink wafted through the air. After a brief pause, Tirpitz selected a sheet and handed it to the Emperor. Wilhelm took it and, as soon as he glanced at it, his eyes were glued to the drawing, unable to look away.

"Your Majesty, please look. This drawing depicts the new class of large battleships that the German Empire plans to build!" Tirpitz, clearly well-prepared, began to explain the design without hesitation:

"Not long ago, the Qing and Japanese navies engaged in the first major naval battle of the steam age in the Dandong Gulf. In this battle, the capital ships designed and built by the German Navy were tested in combat and proved their superiority, but they also revealed some minor flaws. After receiving a detailed battle report from Hannagan, our naval designers spent over two weeks analyzing it, confirming their previous hypotheses. This design is based on the Brandenburg-class, but all its flaws will be addressed in the new design. It is 130 meters long, 23 meters wide, with a full load draft of 8.4 meters, and a design displacement of 13,200 tons."

Wilhelm grunted, still buried in the drawing, and said, "Continue. I want to know how this design is superior to the previous one."

"Compared to the Brandenburg-class battleships, the most significant improvement in the new design is the complete adoption of smokeless powder as the propellant and the realization of turret structures for the gun turrets." At some point, Tirpitz had picked up a wooden stick about a foot long, which he used to point at the drawing.

"In the past, the main guns of battleships were mounted in simple gun platforms. After each round of firing, the guns had to be turned back to a fixed central angle to reload, which significantly slowed down the reloading process. Additionally, the old propellants produced a large amount of black smoke after firing, which took about two minutes to dissipate. During this time, the gunners' view was obscured by the smoke, making it impossible to identify the enemy's position and thus preventing the next round of firing. Therefore, there were two main factors that limited the firing rate of large-caliber guns: the fixed-angle loading platform and the propellants that produced a lot of smoke."

Wilhelm nodded, understanding this basic knowledge as a seasoned naval enthusiast.

"In the new class of battleships, both of these issues will be perfectly resolved." A faint smile appeared on Tirpitz's face as he continued, "Advancements in materials science and hydraulic systems have overcome the internal constraints of turret structures. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our designers, we have finally overcome this major technical hurdle. The new turret structure allows the guns to be loaded at any angle, eliminating the need to rotate to the fixed 0-degree angle at the bow. Additionally, the introduction of a new ammunition handling system has significantly reduced the loading time for the main guns of battleships. With the rapid progress in German chemical technology, the secrets of smokeless powder have been mastered by our chemists, no longer the exclusive domain of the British. In the next class of battleships, we will install three twin 283mm 40-caliber gun turrets. Each gun will have a firing rate of an astonishing two rounds per minute!"

"Two rounds per minute?" Wilhelm was surprised, somewhat uncertain, "Alfred, are you sure it's two rounds per minute, not one round every two minutes?"

Tirpitz nodded, "Indeed, it's two rounds per minute, which is four times the firing rate of the traditional gun platform on the Brandenburg. To be honest, we owe a lot to Prince Eitel. If it weren't for his words, we might have stopped at the twin 240mm gun turret. It turns out that the industrial sector has great potential." At this, Tirpitz couldn't help but smile.

Hearing Tirpitz mention "Prince Eitel," Wilhelm's heart stirred, and an image of a handsome young face involuntarily appeared in his mind. Thinking of his son far away, Wilhelm felt a twinge of concern. After a moment, he suddenly realized and laughed at himself; how had he become like Queen Victoria, missing that young man?

With this thought, Wilhelm shook his head and said, "Alfred, you're giving Eitel too much credit. Apart from his looks, he has nothing else to offer. What can a child not yet 12 years old accomplish? The incident a year ago was just a stroke of luck. Who would have thought that his ramblings would change the entire design philosophy of the German shipbuilding industry? I don't expect much from him in the future; as long as he sets a good example for his brothers and doesn't cause trouble, I'll be grateful."

Wilhelm spoke lightly, but a hint of pride crept into his expression. Tirpitz, noticing this, couldn't help but roll his eyes. Six months ago, after extensive inquiries, he had learned who the instigator of that incident was. Eitel, unwilling to see the Emperor ridiculed, had decided to find a similar warship to prove the feasibility of the "lead duck." This led to the events that followed. Although the Emperor often scolded and glared at the boy, he was deeply grateful for his actions. Wilhelm was just saying this now, but when Eitel returned, he would undoubtedly be overjoyed.

With this in mind, Tirpitz decided to align with the Emperor's true thoughts and said, "Despite this, it cannot be denied that Prince Eitel has made an indelible contribution to the development of the German Navy. Regardless of his large-scale concept, just proving the feasibility of Your Majesty's 'lead duck' was a significant leap. We had previously reserved too much redundancy in structural strength, which greatly affected the overall cost and performance of the ships. According to our previous design, the new battleship would have exceeded 16,500 tons, but now we can achieve the same effect with just 13,500 tons. This saves at least 4.5 million marks in construction costs, equivalent to the price of a 3,000-ton light cruiser. However, the significant reduction in tonnage is also closely related to our adoption of a low-freeboard hull design."

PS: Since everyone doesn't want to read that kind of plot, I'll get straight to the point. Tomorrow evening, there's a company dinner, and as a new employee, I'm prepared to get drunk. Therefore, the update will be after 12 o'clock tomorrow. Please check it in the morning on Saturday.

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