Chapter 439 The Russians' Intention to Purchase a Ship
The early morning sunlight shines through the bright windows into the room, which is obviously so harmonious. Carlo is immersed in work in the room. There are many documents on the table that he needs to process, all of which need to be signed.
Just as Carlo was immersed in his work, he heard the voice of the attendant coming from outside the door. "Your Majesty, Foreign Minister Bacona has something to ask for."
"Invite him in."
Upon hearing that the Foreign Secretary had arrived, Carlo immediately invited him in.
"Your Majesty, there is news from Russia. The Russian government asks if our country is willing to sell Genoa-class battleships."
"The Russians want to buy our warships?"
Carlo was surprised when he heard what the Foreign Secretary said. Because the relationship between Italy and Russia is not good, on the one hand, the two countries have somewhat conflicting interests in the Balkans. Although it is not as intense as with Austria-Hungary, it will be affected to some extent. On the other hand, it will be affected to some extent.
On the one hand, Russia is an ally of France. Does the relationship between France and Italy need to be introduced? I didn’t expect that the Russians would actually look to Italy to purchase ships.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Knowing that the king had doubts, Bacona immediately clarified his doubts. Fortunately, before returning, he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the reasons for the Russians' purchase of ships.
In Bacona's narration, Carlo finally understood why Russia needed to purchase warships from abroad.
In March 1898, Russia captured the Port of Port Arthur and extended the terminal station of the Siberian Railway, which had already begun construction, from Shenyang to Port Arthur. This aroused dissatisfaction from Japan, which also peered into the Northeast. In order to counter Russia's attack on the Northeast, Japan formulated a radical policy.
The shipbuilding plan was to complete the plan of six new battleships by 1905. Six battleships would be enough to give Japan an overwhelming advantage in the Far East waters and become the overlord of the Far East.
On the other hand, after Russia occupied Port Arthur, it suddenly discovered that although it occupied Port Arthur, its fleet had more tasks to perform, and it also faced threats from the Japanese.
At this time, the strength of the Russian Pacific Fleet was not strong at this time. Its largest and most modern warships were the armored cruisers Nasimov, Rurik, and Russia, as well as the protected cruiser Admiral Vladimir.
, Dmitry Donsky and Pamit Zova, etc. Just look at the warship configuration of the Russian Far East Fleet and you will find that the mission of its Far East Fleet is mainly to break up the engagement, and the goal is naturally
It is the main trade route of Britain in the Far East.
However, after acquiring Lushun, an ice-free port in the Far East, the goals of the Russian Far East Fleet have changed. They need to compete with Japan for sea control in the Far East. In order to cope with the rapid development of the Japanese navy, Russia first transferred the Petlevit, which was built in 1895.
, Oslibia was transferred to the Far East, but the two ships are second-class battleships that can cruise in the vast Pacific for a long time, and their firepower is not strong. Therefore, in order to cope with future threats in the Far East, the Russian Navy needs to build 4 new battleships
.
Therefore, under repeated representations from the Navy, on March 22, 1898, the Tsar agreed to build two more battleships, in addition to a shipbuilding plan to build 16 cruisers and 30 destroyers for the Far East Fleet.
But planning is one thing, construction is another. Russia's shipyards on the Baltic Sea coast are already full of battleships and cruisers under construction. Russia's shipyards on the Baltic Sea, or to be precise, the shipyards around St. Petersburg, could only start work at the same time at most.
5 large ships.
The ships designed by Russia still take a long time to build, but the warships built by Japan in the UK can be completed in a relatively short period of time! If you wait for the Baltic shipyards to build them yourself, you will definitely not be able to achieve the shipbuilding target on time. In addition, Russian shipbuilding
The low efficiency of the factory is also one of the reasons that slows down its shipbuilding speed.
The only way to solve this bottleneck at this time is to seek available resources from abroad to build battleships.
So which shipyard meets Russia's needs?
First of all, the UK can rule it out first. Given the current relationship between Britain and Russia, this ship was built in the UK. Maybe the Japanese are more familiar with it than they are.
Although France is a good ally, the price of French man-made ships is relatively high, and the French Navy cannot build its own warships. Because of the ten years of delay in the Green Water Navy, the French Navy needs to make up a lot of lessons, so France is not suitable.
Austria-Hungary?
Forget it, next one.
Germany?
This is not a good choice, because due to the Navy Act, the German shipyards are also filled with their own warships. In addition, who is the target of the Franco-Russian alliance, which also makes Russia unwilling to let Germany build its own ships.
Next, only the United States and Italy are left.
The Spanish-American War that had just ended gave Russia a deep understanding of the performance of the warships of both sides in the Spanish-American War, so Italy was the only choice left.
One more thing, at this time, Crump, the owner of the Philadelphia Shipyard, was very interested in the vacancy of Russian battleships. He lobbied the Russian government to give him the battleship order, and was active in this regard. Under his lobbying, the Russian government had already contacted him
Negotiations were held, but once the Battle of Santiago was fought, it was over.
And delaying asking the Italian government until now also shows that the Russian government is procrastinating enough.
"Just one?"
Facing Carlo's question, Bacona nodded. "The Russians want us to build a battleship for them."
Yes, even if there is a lack of battleships at this time, Russia is extremely cautious in its foreign purchases.
The order for this battleship is probably too small.
Carlo looked at the Foreign Secretary and said, "How about we ask the Russians to buy more ships and we can sell the drawings?"
That's right, Carlo worked hard for this order from the Russians, and even took out the drawings of the Genoa class.
However, Carlo's words stunned the Foreign Secretary. It took him a long time to speak. "Your Majesty, we need to think carefully. The Navy may have objections."
Carlo knew what Bacona meant, because the Genoa-class blueprints and technology sold to Russia were very likely to be known to France, or would definitely be known to France. At this time, the Italian Navy would definitely be dissatisfied with this
.
However, Carlo disagreed with this.
Because this battleship technology will not become obsolete if it is kept, and in his opinion, the Genoa class is completely a transitional battleship. After the successful development of the steam turbine, two of the three major parts of the dreadnought have been completed. They only need to wait for the 305mm rapid fire
If the naval gun is successfully developed, everything will fall into place.
Therefore, we look at the problem from different angles and draw different conclusions.
Besides, doesn’t the Italian Navy develop new battleships?
"Bakona, I understand your worries, but don't worry about this matter. Since we have sold American drawings and technology, what can Russia not sell?"
Since the king has said this, what else can he, the foreign minister, say?
"Okay, Your Majesty, I will send a telegram to the ambassador in Russia and ask him to inquire about the attitude of the Russians."
After the Foreign Secretary left, Carlo was now in no mood to continue working, considering the implications of the sale to Russian battleships.
First of all, as a direct beneficiary, the Russians will definitely welcome it. As for other countries, Japan and the United Kingdom will definitely be dissatisfied, but this is of no use. Everyone knows Italy’s attitude towards the sale of warships. They will sell them if they give you enough money.
, the new warships that you have not yet started can be used by rich men first.
As for the allies Germany and Austria, Germany is busy building warships and may be dissatisfied, but it will not affect the relationship between the two countries. As for Austria-Hungary, it is even less likely because its navy is too weak.
After much deliberation, Carlo believed that selling warships and even blueprints and technology to Russia would not affect the future situation.
If it is selling a dreadnought, then Carlo may need to think carefully about it, but for the former dreadnought, there is no need to consider it at all. Just sell it for the money. If you have a good attitude, others may buy more.
Following Carlo's statement, the radio waves soon reached St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. The next step will be to see the attitude of the Russians.
