Chapter 61

As the clock ticked and the light flickered, Nicholas's thoughts surged: at present, Britain was already secretly competing with Russia in the Far East, each employing their own means, and could no longer help Russia build warships. Although France had grown closer to Russia, they had different intentions in the Far East; they opposed Russia's strategic eastward shift, which ignored Germany, leaving Nicholas feeling very uneasy. Moreover, in the recent Battle of the Yalu River, French-built warships did not perform well, and one French cruiser was lost due to a propulsion failure during its retreat. Even if Russia were to fully introduce French shipbuilding technology according to the original plan, Nicholas still had doubts about the performance of their warships. Although Italian designs were top-notch, they were often overlooked by countries around the world for various reasons.

After much consideration, Nicholas decided to give his cousin Wilhelm a face. After all, Germany had greatly assisted Russia in the intervention to return Liaodong; without Germany's involvement, the combined forces of Russia and France alone would not have been able to challenge Britain, which supported Japan. Out of gratitude, Russia should reciprocate by purchasing a warship from Germany. As for the Germans' ambition to take over the entire Russian Far Eastern fleet, it would suffice to keep them at bay for now. If the German ships indeed performed excellently, ordering more would not be out of the question—after all, the decision was in his hands, wasn't it?

With this thought, Nicholas nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face. He looked at Qing Ying and said, "Since you, Little Eitel, have spoken so highly of it, I will consider it in light of your relationship with my cousin Wilhelm. If your country's design is indeed excellent, the Russian Empire will certainly choose to purchase warships from your shipyard."

Nicholas's statement indicated his basic agreement with Qing Ying's words. Qing Ying felt more at ease and decided to press his advantage. He pulled out a few pages of blueprints from the documents in front of him and placed them in front of Nicholas II, saying, "During my stay in St. Petersburg, my country's royal shipyard sent these design drawings over. They were supposed to be presented to Your Majesty by our ambassador, but Mr. Rastel was unfortunately injured, so I am presenting them. This design is derived from our new battleship that will be launched this year, representing the highest level of German shipbuilding. I wonder if it will meet Your Majesty's satisfaction?"

Seeing Qing Ying produce the actual blueprints, Nicholas's brow furrowed slightly. Unlike his cousin Wilhelm II, who had a deep expertise in naval matters, Nicholas was clueless about ship design. He cleared his throat and said, "Little Eitel, I don't understand these things. Please wait a moment while I find a designer, and then we can discuss it further." Seeing Qing Ying nod, Nicholas picked up the telephone on the desk, turned the dial a few times, and after a brief wait, began speaking in Russian, which Qing Ying could not understand at all.

About ten minutes later, a spirited old Russian, accompanied by guards, pushed open the door. He was dressed in casual clothes, clearly having been hastily summoned from home. Nicholas II handed the blueprints to the old man and instructed him in Russian to review them carefully. He then turned to Qing Ying and introduced him in German, "This is Mr. Leschenko, who studied in Britain and currently oversees the construction of warships for the Imperial Navy. He is one of the most experienced warship designers in the Russian Empire. I believe he will quickly provide a result." Qing Ying nodded slightly.

Under the bright light, the old man Leschenko carefully examined the blueprints. As time passed, his expression became increasingly complex, showing surprise, joy, doubt, and confusion. Various emotions appeared on his face, eventually blending into a peculiar look. Seeing Leschenko focus on the blueprints for a long time without saying a word, Nicholas grew slightly impatient and reminded him, "Mr. Leschenko, what do you think of this design?"

Leschenko looked at the blueprints with a complex expression but did not immediately answer Nicholas II. Instead, he turned to Qing Ying and said loudly, as if venting, "17,000 horsepower output, and you claim the power plant only weighs this much? Are you sure you've left enough stability margin, and not just taken it from a protected cruiser? And this hull structure, the weight ratio is so low for a ship with a full load displacement of nearly 12,000 tons. Are you sure it's safe? This is a large armored cruiser, not a disposable protected cruiser!"

Seeing Qing Ying's puzzled expression, the old man realized and repeated himself in his broken German, with a sarcastic tone, "17,000 horsepower output, and you claim the power plant only weighs this much? Are you sure you've left enough stability margin, and not just taken it from a protected cruiser? And this hull structure, the weight ratio is so low for a ship with a full load displacement of nearly 12,000 tons. Are you sure it's safe?"

Qing Ying wiped the punctuation marks off his face and, spreading his hands, said somewhat displeased, "Mr. Leschenko, I am not a professional warship designer, so how could I understand these things? I only know that Germany is renowned for its precision and practicality, and would never do anything without confidence. This is the first formal naval sale by the German Empire, which concerns our national reputation. Do you think we would falsify the design to please a customer?"

Qing Ying snorted and added, "All the subsystems in this design are based on our battleship that began construction last year. Using a battleship's power plant in a cruiser leaves plenty of margin! My father said that if the power output or the ship's structural strength does not meet the specifications when your country receives the ship, our shipyard will return the construction fee in full, without charging a single mark."

Leschenko's lips moved as if he wanted to argue, but he ultimately remained silent.

"Mr. Leschenko, what do you think of this design?" Seeing Leschenko still silent, Nicholas patiently asked again.

Hearing the faint impatience in Nicholas's voice, the old man Leschenko did not dare to be arrogant. He turned around, bowed respectfully to Nicholas, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, although I am extremely reluctant, I must admit that if the Germans can achieve these design specifications, they are at least two levels ahead of us in both technology and design. Even the British and the French, whom we wish to emulate, cannot match this design."

Hearing Leschenko's words, Nicholas's eyes showed unmistakable shock. When Leschenko was speechless earlier, Nicholas had already suspected that the design was extraordinary, but when Leschenko confirmed it with certainty, he was still astonished and could hardly believe the outcome!

When it came to Germany, 80% of people would think of its proud precision industry, 60% would think of football, and 50% would think of the two world wars and its powerful army. Hardly anyone would associate Germany with the navy. Nicholas II was no exception. In his mind, although Germany had strong industrial capabilities, its navy was a second-rate force, only capable of operating coastal defense ships. Despite the impressive performance of the large ironclad they sold to the Qing Dynasty last year, Nicholas dismissed it as a mere slaughter of the weak and did not take it seriously. Therefore, when Qing Ying came to sell him warships, Nicholas only intended to go through the motions. If not for Qing Ying's familial connection, he would not have called Leschenko. In his view, Germany's strength lay in its army and industry, not in designing superior naval warships.

However, the outcome was completely different from what anyone expected. After reviewing the design materials presented by Qing Ying, Leschenko, who oversaw naval development, gave such a high evaluation. Not only did it surpass France, but it even far exceeded the world's leading navy, Britain! Nicholas's mind was slightly dazed, and he could not help but ask, "What is going on, Mr. Leschenko? Do you know what the issues are?"

Seeing Nicholas ask about technical matters, Leschenko's eyes flashed with surprise, but he still answered conscientiously, "Your Majesty, I have carefully reviewed this design and found some key factors. In terms of artillery, the Germans are not stronger than us: their 210mm guns have a 108kg shell and a muzzle velocity of 780m/s, which is a normal level. The critical issue is the power plant! For a large armored cruiser with a full load displacement of 12,000 tons, the power plant should have a significant margin. However, the power-to-weight ratio of the German armored cruiser is almost the same as our newly constructed protected cruiser, which is simply unbelievable! Could the technological gap in power systems between our two countries be so great?"

"Furthermore, I don't understand the ship's structural strength. The normal displacement of this ship is 10,700 tons, and without fuel, it is about 9,800 tons. How did the Germans manage to equip this ship with 8 210mm guns and 8 150mm secondary guns, and apply such extensive armor? Damn it, why are there only plan views on this paper and no internal structure diagrams or diagrams of tensile and bending moments? If we had the complete set of blueprints, I could certainly figure out what methods the Germans used!..."

Leschenko seemed to have opened a floodgate, speaking non-stop, and for a moment, the room was filled with his hoarse voice.

PS: Well... some favorites would be nice...

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