Chapter 79

Upon hearing Tirpitz's last words, Qing Ying's brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt quietly arose in his heart. In Qing Ying's impression, Wilhelm II had always been ambitious, dreaming of seizing the trident of Neptune from the British and flying the black eagle cross of the German Navy across the four seas. If not for this, he would not have parted ways with the steady Bismarck, causing the distinguished old chancellor to step down after achieving great success. The emperor's intense desire for the sea was evident from the naval construction of the German Navy: as soon as he ascended the throne, he ordered the imperial shipyards to build four Brandenburg-class battleships with a displacement of over 10,000 tons, while the German Navy had not constructed a capital ship for 10 years prior!

This time, Tirpitz proposed a naval bill to build 13 battleships within 7 years, which should have perfectly suited the tastes of this monarch who was particularly fond of the navy. According to his usual character, he would have increased the amount by 50% on this basis. However, surprisingly, Wilhelm not only did not go along with it but also agreed to the chancellor's request to cut naval funding, which was simply unbelievable! It was as if a young girl had willingly thrown herself into the arms of an uncle, and the uncle sternly pushed her away! Qing Ying, puzzled, suddenly had a thought: Could it be that the words he spoke to Wilhelm on the day he returned to Germany had triggered a butterfly effect?

A few months ago, when Qing Ying returned to Berlin from Russia, due to Wilhelm's topic, he had told his adoptive father about the basic international situation at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. He mentioned to Wilhelm that the rivalry between Britain and Germany was far more intense than the rifts between Britain and France or Britain and Russia, and therefore, Britain and Germany would inevitably become direct enemies in the future. Given that Germany's strength was currently inferior to Britain's, it should avoid direct conflict with Britain and instead continue to feign friendliness, using this future enemy to develop its own power. Qing Ying's purpose in saying these words was to give his adoptive father a preemptive warning, urging him to handle British affairs cautiously and avoid bizarre actions like the "Kruger Telegram." Now, it seemed that his words had indeed influenced Wilhelm; otherwise, why would he have approved Schillingstest's suggestion to divert naval funds when he knew the treasury still had the means?

Historically, the period when the German government expanded the canal coincided with the peak of the Anglo-German naval arms race. In such a situation, the treasury's allocation of 242 million marks for the canal expansion undoubtedly hindered the naval buildup. Now, with the canal being expanded in the pre-dreadnought era, the funds available for dreadnought construction would be significantly increased; if this money were to flow into the navy, it would greatly benefit the arms race.

Thinking of this, Qing Ying felt greatly relieved and said, "Mr. Alfred, stop complaining. Although the chancellor's approach is somewhat biased, it is not without reason. The Kiel Canal took 7 years to build and was only officially opened this year. The chancellor hopes to boost shipping along the Baltic Sea coast and promote the economy through this canal. Now, the navy wants to close the newly opened canal for expansion, and it is reasonable for the chancellor to be unwilling to fund this project. In recent years, as fiscal revenue has increased, naval funding has also risen. Five years ago, the annual naval budget was only 94 million marks, but this year it has reached 120 million marks. Isn't it just a matter of diverting 35 million marks annually to expand the canal? Build fewer ships, recruit fewer personnel, and these few years will pass."

Tirpitz glanced at Qing Ying with some displeasure and said, "Just 35 million marks annually? Your Imperial Highness, this money isn't coming out of your pocket, so you can say it so easily. 35 million marks annually, 250 million marks over 7 years, do you know how much this money can accomplish? The navy's annual budget is generally allocated as follows: 30% for personnel expenses, over 30% for the maintenance of existing ships and various equipment, and nearly 40% for the construction of new ships. The maintenance of existing ships, the upkeep of various equipment, and the salaries of naval personnel are fixed; regardless of the naval budget, this money must be spent! In other words, after deducting this amount, the various expenses required to maintain the normal operation of the navy must still be maintained; the 250 million marks deducted are mostly the future shipbuilding quotas of the German Navy!"

"Ah?" Hearing Tirpitz's words filled with sorrow and anger, Qing Ying was stunned. He had originally thought that the canal expansion would cost the navy about 100 million marks in new ship construction funds, but he never expected that the diverted funds would almost entirely exclude daily maintenance and personnel expenses! After a long while, he recovered from his shock and stammered, "Then... then what should we do? This will result in a loss of at least 180 million marks in new ship construction funds. Can your naval bill still proceed?"

"Schillingstest, though extremely wicked, still has a conscience and did not go so far as to leave no room for survival. After all, he approved my naval bill proposal over a month ago, and I had already listed the detailed funding requirements for developing the navy. The amount listed was much higher than the recent annual budgets. Therefore, this matter has only significantly reduced my planned budget, but the naval bill can still be implemented," Tirpitz said, then snorted heavily, "If he had truly gone to the extreme, I wouldn't care if he were the chancellor or an elder; I haven't had the pleasure of punching someone in 20 years!"

Looking at Tirpitz's muscular arms and thinking of the 76-year-old, emaciated Schillingstest, Qing Ying shuddered. He chuckled dryly and said, "Mr. Alfred, let's talk about the naval bill. With a loss of nearly 200 million marks in shipbuilding funds, what are your current plans?"

Tirpitz sighed and said, "Originally, I had hoped to build 13 battleships to replace the old ships; now, this has become an impossible dream. According to my estimates, the shipbuilding budget for the next 7 years can only reach 320 million marks, and this amount includes the construction costs of small cruisers and torpedo boats. I'm not sure how to prioritize now. Do you, Your Highness, have any good suggestions?"

360 million marks! Although Qing Ying already knew that the German Navy's budget would be significantly reduced compared to historical records, he was still somewhat surprised by this figure. Historically, the German Navy spent 454 million marks on battleships and capital cruisers alone between 1896 and 1902, not to mention the 10 Gazelle-class and 3 Bremen-class small cruisers, which were built for speed and were extremely expensive. He walked behind the desk, sat down, and took out paper and a pen from the drawer. Looking at the blank sheet of paper, he suddenly felt at a loss.

360 million marks over 7 years, with only about 50 million marks annually, what should he do? Qing Ying rested his forehead on his hand, bit the pen, and pondered for a while. Gradually, his thoughts began to clear.

First, the small cruisers could be drastically cut. This was not because small cruisers were useless, but because their cost-effectiveness was too low at this stage. Historically, the 10 Gazelle-class fourth-rate cruisers built by Germany had a speed of only about 20 knots; 10 years later, battleships 10 times their size could easily achieve this speed! Such fourth-rate cruisers with a speed of just over 20 knots had no significance in the dreadnought era; only navies of countries like Greece, Serbia, and Uruguay would still have a need for such ships. Due to the underdeveloped propulsion technology in 1895, increasing the speed of cruisers would be extremely costly.

Therefore, Qing Ying decided to build only 4 small cruisers during this period, with a total cost not exceeding 15 million marks. As for torpedo boats, the "Hailong"-class built by Germany for Qing China in 1887 was the best mass-produced model: with a displacement of 234 tons, a unit price of 500,000 marks, 2 torpedo tubes, and a speed of 32 knots, its cost-effectiveness was world-class.

For capital ships, Qing Ying had his own plans. Since fleet action armored cruisers could reach 20 knots and could accompany the High Seas Fleet, sharing the firepower burden, which pre-dreadnoughts with a speed of 18 knots could not do, the number of new armored cruisers must be guaranteed. However, pre-dreadnoughts were also important at this stage, with 6 main guns giving them a hint of the dreadnought era. After much consideration, Qing Ying decided to build one pre-dreadnought and one fleet action armored cruiser each year for the next 7 years, totaling 360 million marks!

"7 pre-dreadnoughts, 7 fleet action armored cruisers, and 4 small cruisers. This construction plan is indeed a significant reduction compared to history..." Qing Ying muttered to himself as he put the final stroke on the paper.

Another chapter will be posted tonight.

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