Chapter 60

Hearing that Nicholas II fell silent, Qing Ying knew that the matter was mostly settled. In another dimension, Japan regarded the intervention of the three countries in the return of Liaodong as a great humiliation, and they were determined to avenge it. Russia, on the other hand, was also amassing strength, preparing for a major conflict in the Far East. Now, although history had been altered somewhat, it still largely followed its original course. This time, Qing Ying used the Qing Dynasty as bait, merely to strengthen Nicholas II's resolve to fight Japan and pave the way for the subsequent sale of warships!

After a moment, Nicholas II slowly said, "As a proxy force supported by Britain in the Far East, Japan must be defeated with the strongest means. This is a basic national policy that the Russian Empire has long established. As for Germany's territorial demands on the Qing Dynasty, as long as they do not involve the sphere of influence designated by the Russian Empire, I will support my cousin Wilhelm's actions." Saying this, Nicholas II glanced at Qing Ying and continued, "Speaking of which, little Eitel, your cousin Wilhelm must have sent you here for more than just this, right?"

"Uncle, you are truly the reincarnation of Peter the Great, nothing in Europe escapes your eyes." Qing Ying, feigning a childlike manner, rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly, "Actually, what I mentioned earlier was just a prelude. Selling warships to your country to counter Japan is the true purpose for which my father sent me."

Nicholas II chuckled, his tone a mix of satisfaction and mockery, "I knew that Wilhelm is both greedy and cunning. Even if it's to train you, he wouldn't send you all the way here just for a matter that is almost certain. He must have other plans. He's become addicted to selling ships in the Qing Dynasty, and now he's even setting his sights on the Russian Empire! But this time, your father will be disappointed. With the current naval strength of the Russian Empire, dealing with those few wooden planks of the Japanese is as easy as squashing a stinkbug. We have no need to order any warships from abroad."

Faced with Nicholas II's refusal, Qing Ying remained calm. He smiled slightly and opened the white document in his hand, which detailed the current state of the Russian Navy.

"Undoubtedly, your country's navy, in terms of both total numbers and individual ship tonnage, far surpasses the Japanese Navy. Currently, the main force of the Japanese Navy consists of a few small ships with a displacement of no more than 4,000 tons. In contrast, your navy already has four 10,260-ton 'Catherine II' class ironclads, two 9,500-ton 'Alexander II' class ironclads, and one 8,700-ton 'Twelve Apostles' coastal defense ship. The strength is indeed overwhelmingly one-sided." Qing Ying looked up from the document, his gaze meeting Nicholas II's eyes, "But in the Far East, your country has no mainline warships to speak of!"

Qing Ying organized his thoughts and continued, "The four 'Catherine II' class ironclads and the 'Twelve Apostles' coastal defense ship belong to the Black Sea Fleet. The British and the Turks will never allow them to pass through the Dardanelles, so they can only stay in the Black Sea. The two 'Alexander II' class ironclads of the Baltic Fleet are products of a coastal defense strategy and are unsuitable for long voyages to the Far East. In the 120,000-ton fleet of the three countries' joint intervention, more than half are French warships, and your country's ships make up only a small portion. Japan, in addition to its eight new cruisers, ordered two 12,500-ton first-class battleships from Britain six months ago. With the efficiency of British shipyards, they will be delivered in two years. Therefore, although your navy is powerful, in the Far East, it is actually weaker than the small country of Japan. It is foreseeable that when Britain delivers those two first-class battleships to Japan, the Japanese Navy will have a decisive advantage in the Far East. What will your country do then?"

Nicholas II, who was well aware of the situation Qing Ying described, looked at him coolly and said, "As you say, the empire indeed has no mainline warships in the Far East, but we can start building them immediately. Little Eitel, Uncle is not afraid to tell you that in the coming period, the Russian Empire will focus all its efforts on the Far East. With our financial and industrial capabilities, we can build a Far Eastern fleet that surpasses the Japanese Navy. Even if Japan temporarily has an edge in the Far East, what does it matter? The national strength of the two sides is on entirely different levels. As long as we take it seriously, they will ultimately be crushed by the empire's forces!"

Qing Ying nodded slightly and said slowly, "Your country's industrial and financial strength is recognized worldwide, and Germany naturally does not doubt the potential of your navy. However, Uncle Nicholas, please do not forget that Japan is not fighting alone; behind it stands the British Empire of Queen Victoria! Due to the intervention in the return of Liaodong, relations between Japan and your country have reached an all-time low, and Britain's intention to support Japan to block your country's expansion in the Far East is clear. It is foreseeable that in the future, Britain will stand firmly on Japan's side for its own interests. In this Sino-Japanese War, Japan has already obtained over 16 million pounds in war reparations from the Qing Dynasty, enough to repay all its pre-war foreign debts and war expenses. If Britain continues to support Japan, building a powerful fleet will not be difficult! The British Empire of Queen Victoria is indeed too powerful."

Qing Ying looked at his uncle, who remained unperturbed, and continued, "My father's intention is to entrust the glorious mission of building the Far Eastern fleet to the shipyards of Germany. If your country does this, I can assure you, Uncle, that even with Britain's full support, the Far Eastern fleet built by German shipyards will completely crush Japan's naval power!"

Nicholas II suddenly burst into laughter, his face, which resembled Medvedev's, full of satisfaction. After a long while, he managed to suppress his laughter and said, "Well, Wilhelm, you really want to secure the entire order for building a fleet that surpasses the Japanese Navy in the Far East. Your appetite is too big! To build such a fleet, the cost of shipbuilding alone would be at least 15 million pounds. Do you want the thousands of workers at the new naval shipyards, the Baltic shipyards, and the Galleon Island shipyards of the Russian Empire to go hungry? Hmm?"

Qing Ying smiled awkwardly. He had already deeply experienced his father's skill in seizing opportunities over the past year. When he initially raised the issue of tonnage waste in German warships, Wilhelm almost overturned the entire state naval design bureau, firing a large number of conservative designers. This time, when he proposed doing business with the Russian Navy, Wilhelm directly aimed for the entire Far Eastern fleet. If Germany could secure such a large order, it would provide tens of thousands of jobs in the next seven to eight years, and the demand for talent in related industries like coal and steel would be enormous. This would undoubtedly be a great catalyst for Germany's economy!

Although Qing Ying himself also felt that Wilhelm's appetite was too large, he still had to try his best to complete Wilhelm's plan. He cleared his throat and said to Nicholas without a hint of embarrassment, "On this point, Uncle, you really don't need to worry. Even if your shipyards lose the order for the Far Eastern fleet, they still have the orders for the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. With the development speed of your navy, those workers will definitely have jobs. The warships designed and built by our German shipyards are reasonably priced and of excellent quality. Why doesn't your country consider them?"

Nicholas looked at his distant nephew with interest, his mind already rapidly calculating. He had no doubt about Germany's firm support for his eastward expansion, nor about his cousin Wilhelm's sincere desire to strengthen the Russian Far Eastern fleet. Although the relationship between Russia and Germany was not as friendly and close as in the Bismarck era, and there were some rifts, they still had common interests in the current Far Eastern affairs. The eastward shift of Russia's strategic focus would greatly reduce Germany's pressure in Europe, and with Germany's support, Russia's eastward progress would be greatly facilitated. Nicholas II secretly speculated that his cousin Wilhelm might even hope that Russia could bring down the British Empire.

As for the issue of ordering warships from Germany... Nicholas's heart stirred, and he had already agreed to Qing Ying's proposal. Although he did not have the same deep love and expertise in warships as his cousin Wilhelm, he was quite familiar with the general situation of his country's navy. It was true that Russia had several large shipyards, but due to its second-rate industrial base, the same quality industrial products were much more expensive than those from Britain and Germany, and the performance of the warships produced was significantly inferior to those of first-rate countries. For a long time, the Russian Navy had been plagued by the problem of poor quality and high prices of domestically produced warships. This was not a big issue when dealing with the Turks, but if Russian warships had to face the pure British warships of the Japanese Navy, Nicholas felt less confident. Therefore, before Russia's industrial technology reached a certain level, the development of mainline warships must rely on foreign orders!