In late December, Scotland was filled with snow, and the plateau that stretched for hundreds of miles was vast, and there was no fresh color.

"The Navy wants to build an unprecedented super battleship?!" Several regular customers sat in the dim and moldy tavern in the town, laughing and scolding at the German Saxony-class battleship. The boss's wife, whose waist is similar to a bucket, was recording books while drinking, crackling a few pennies on the table. Occasionally, she looked up at the newspapers on the bar, and chatted to the veterans in front of her: "Oh, thank God, the Admiralty finally did what they should do! God bless my king, God bless Britain!" [..com]

This is outdated news. Because the road was blocked with heavy snow, the subsequent reports of the British super battleships could not be reported to the town. Therefore, the residents in the town who were concerned about the battle situation could only turn into naval commentators and make unreliable deductions on the old news that "Parliament adds additional shipbuilding funds, and the Royal Navy is about to start construction of a super battleship that exceeds the German Saxony-class performance."

"It must have exceeded 40,000 tons, the main gun has a caliber of more than 16 inches, a speed of more than 32 knots, and its endurance is enough to go from the local area to Cape Town in Africa. Its armor is even stronger than that of the Bavarian class in Germany!"

Idle drinkers gathered together to fantasize. John Abbasnot Fisher, the former Navy's First Sea Minister, dressed in thick winter clothes, looked at the words between the expired newspapers and said nothing.

The door of the tavern with bells was pushed open, and a pleasant bell sound rang in his ears, and the strong cold wind and rash drinkers followed one after another. Fisher couldn't help but chill, and then came to his senses and said to the bloated boss lady of the tavern who cared about Navy:

"In the face of Sylem's open plot, maybe... I should believe in the young and energetic David Betty!"

****

In mid-November, American cowboy Ross Geithner exposed the lie that the Invincible hit the thunder and sank, which made the British Admiralty, silenced for several days. The Royal Navy finally launched the theory of "tactical failure and strategic victory" and threw out Major General Arthur Ravenson, which was abandoned, and then suppressed the incident.

Unfortunately, 1914 was destined to be a disaster for the Royal Navy! Two German King-class battleships equipped with 350mm main guns and 350mm waterlines with main armor will join the Ocean Fleet in January 1915; after repair, the unsinkable ship Moltke is just around the corner; the Deflinger-class battle patrol ship Hindenburg, the third ship of the Deflinger-class battle patrol, have been launched, and the re-start of the original Salamis battle patrol clearly mocked the British for detaining export main ships and taking them for themselves; in 1914, the intelligence of the two Bavarian-class battleships and a Markensen-class battle patrol started construction forced the Royal Navy to a desperate situation.

In 1912, the German-British naval arms race entered the top, and the Ocean Fleet, plagued by the funding of ships, was desperate to choose quality. The awesome Royal Navy was determined to give full play to its numerical advantage, claiming that for every additional battleship Germany built, Britain would build two in response. Stimulated by the intelligence that Germany was about to start construction of King-class battleships, the British built five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships in one go. After the Bavarian-class battleships surfaced, the British Parliament approved the construction of eight Revenge-class battleships.

However, the fierce battle of Dogers sands made the British arrogance turn into tears without tears. David Betty's first battle patrol fleet suffered heavy damage in the naval battle, leaving only two Lion-class battle patrols and one Tiger patrol, which was miserable; the second battle patrol fleet, three tireless class battle patrols, were on their way to South America, intending to strangle the East Asian fleet; the two invincible class battle patrols were still performing blockade missions in the Aegean Sea, guarding the death to prevent the sister ship Goben, the sister ship of the "unsinking ship", broke through. Faced with the German reconnaissance fleet with three rear Seidlitz-type battle patrols, the large fleet completely lost its reconnaissance power and became completely blind.

In the first half of 1915, the Ocean Fleet, which obtained two King-class battleships and one USS Germany battle patrol, will have 17 dreadnoughts and 5 battle patrols. The German reconnaissance fleet has surpassed the Royal Navy in terms of number, let alone the quality advantages that the Germans are proud of!

In desperation, the British could only remove the east wall and repair the west wall, and transfer the two Invincible Class Battle Patrols of the Mediterranean Fleet back to their homeland. The three Revenge Class ships that have been built have been cancelled. A 15-inch main turret was removed and an oil-fired boiler was added. It was modified into a new type of battle patrol with a standard displacement of 28,700 tons, equipped with three double-mounted 15-inch main guns, a 9-inch waterline with main armor, a maximum speed of 28 knots, and a code-named prestige.

Since the arms race, the British have tried their best to maintain the advantage of the number of main ships and main guns against the Germans, and insisted that "speed is the best advantage". However, in the face of the pressure of the German Battle Cruise fleet, the powerful Royal Navy gave up the number of main guns and speed for the first time, retaining the 9-inch waterline with main armor and 11-inch turret armor for the prestige battle patrol.

The British are still resentful of the reputation of "heretics", and even more bad news comes: the design of a Saxony-class battleship that is said to cost up to 5 million pounds per ship is also launched. The 14-inch main gun smoke bomb released by the British did not seem to interfere with the British's sight. The Germans generally equipped with 380mm main guns. What's even more terrifying is that this new warship has German combat cruise speed!

The aggressiveness of the Ocean Fleet made the proud John Bull feel the pressure. At the end of 1914, the suffocational feeling continued from the old building of the London Navy headquarters to the Palace of Westminster. The big-bellied MPs were determined to overdraw national strength and allow the Royal Navy to maintain their superiority.

"Parliament urgently allocates 20 million pounds of special shipbuilding funds, which will be allocated within the next two years."

From 1912 to 1913, the British started construction of 13 main battleships in one go, and the funding funding alone was as high as 34 million pounds. What does 34 million pounds mean? That is 15 times the naval military expenditure of Germany in 1914. The special ship construction funding of 20 million pounds is almost the entire naval funding of Germany from 1914 to 1915!

Winston Churchill knocked on the table, bringing everyone's attention back to reality from the spending of parliament: "The Chancellor of the Treasury in Downing Street told me that the British Empire's treasury has dried up, and if the Royal Navy cannot take strong actions, the British-German naval arms race will be unsustainable!"

Before World War I, the British pound was a hard currency in the world, relying on the British Empire's accumulated gold and wealth for centuries. In the first year of the war, even though the sun never set, the empire was rich and wealthy, and the wealthy were exhausted by the money-burning naval competition, with vague signs of being unable to hold on. Naval officials all took a breath. There may be no winner in the European war!

"Since 20 million pounds of ship construction will be the last ship construction fund for the Royal Navy before 1917..." Sir Arthur Wilson, the chief of the country's first maritime minister, drew a piece of white paper and grabbed the pen and said: "The problem is, what kind of main battleship the Royal Navy needs!"

"There is no doubt that the displacement of 40,000 tons, 16-inch main gun, more than 28 knots of speed, 13-inch waterline with main armor, and 8,000 nautical miles of endurance!" Lieutenant General Study, the interim chief of staff of the Navy, aimed at the data of the Saxony-class battleship and said confidently.

"The data listed by the Chief of Staff does suppress the German Saxon class, but what about the cost? 6 million pounds or 7 million pounds? What a joke?!" John Jelico, who was somewhat inconsistent with Lieutenant General Study, stretched out four fingers and retorted: "The cost of a new warship must be reduced to less than 4 million pounds. You must know that the Germans started construction of three Markens and three Saxon classes in one go!"

The Navy Secretary's office was in full swing, and he expressed his opinions on the technical parameters of the battleships, exposing the efficiency of British democracy. At this time, David Betty, deputy commander of the large fleet, who was sitting in an inconspicuous corner, coughed lightly and interrupted:

"Will the Saxon-class battleship be a trap?"

The noisy Navy Secretary's office suddenly became quiet, and the sigh of the First Sea Minister Arthur Wilson was heard.

The royal navy may not be unable to see the possible conspiracy of the Germans, but everyone stubbornly chose to ignore it. David Betty was ignorant of the world and broke the emperor's new outfit. Admiral Jelico frowned, Churchill shook his head without notice, only David Betty looked stubborn.

"Germany still has the army, and the ocean fleet cannot obtain enough resources. The naval arms race, the empire cannot afford to spend even the naval funds. The naval funds are not even less than our main battleship construction fund, what can the Germans use to complete the three Markens and three Saxons?!" David Betty may not have noticed the strange aura. He suddenly understood the reserve of his half-life friend Heidi Silem in 1898.

That year, the Germans were skeptical about the naval expansion. In order to protect the trust of Congress and achieve the emperor's expectations as soon as possible, Tirpitz made a desperate choice to build a battleship. That year, Heidi Silem realized the omissions of the naval expansion plan and did not agree with Tirpitz's risk theory. Old friend Silem might not be able to see through the danger of telling the truth, but he did not hesitate.

This year, the Royal Navy suffered repeated defeats, and the Invincible incident drove the Admiralty into an abyss that was irreversible. The accused Admiralty urgently needed to excuse itself and divert the attention of the British people. So he tried his best to exaggerate the German military strength and hoped that a powerful battleship could save the shaky Admiralty. This year, David Betty saw the impetuousness and shirkness throughout the Admiralty. He, Betty, and the deputy commander of the Great Fleet, could not stand by.

"If the German Parliament is still there, the Saxony-class battleships cannot appear. Unfortunately, the German MPs handed over the power to the soldiers for the illusory pan-Germany and pitiful patriotism! If the German Prime Minister is still Bismarck, the Saxony-class battleships cannot appear. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Bismarck has passed away. The crazy and warlike German Emperor William is in control!" Sir Arthur Wilson looked stern and repeatedly emphasized the high-sounding reason: "Even if the Saxony class is only one percent possible to build, the Royal Navy must do its best!"

"Then, a Saxon-style super battleship costing between 6 million and 7 million is enough. The remaining funds will be fully committed to building a moderately cost fast battleship, with a unit price of about 4 million pounds, a 16-inch main gun, a speed comparable to the German Battle Cruise, a slightly shorter range and a main armor of more than 13 inches!"

"The Germans can build those offshore defensive ships with short legs, and we are the empire of the sun never set. Our colonies and national interests exist around the world. It requires us not to be short-sighted and build those main ships with short legs and slow speeds, and cannot fight globally!" Study disagreed with Betty's eyes and emphasized stubbornly.

"The three super-dreadnoughts fought against the three German rear-Sedlitz battle patrols. As a result, the Thor sank in less than half an hour. Although Major General Ravenson was incompetent, it was an indisputable fact that our battleships had too weak protection." David Betty stood up unconsciously and talked quietly against the brilliant generals and the ministers with high powers: "In order to save ship construction funds and increase speed, our

The main ships have long ignored defensive armor. Even though our super-dreadnought is equipped with 13-inch main armor close to the Germans, everyone knows that it is just a paper number, just a narrow waterline belt, and our side guard main force is still those upper armor less than 9 inches. This means that any German warship can penetrate our warships, while we only have new warships equipped with 15-inch main guns that can bite the Germans!"

"This is a war that concerns the destiny of the century and the future of the nation! If Britain wins, we will still be the world overlord. If we lose, then Britain will be nothing!" David Betty's wild eyes swept across the dim and smokey office and said with force: "Gentlemen, before defeating the Germans, the 8,000 nautical miles of voyage and a speed of 30 knots will be of no help. It's better to add those tonnage to the survival of the main ship!"

David Betty's shouts are sensational, but they are enough to make the souls of the Navy seniors who consider their personal futures more than the fate of the country. What the young man is right, and most importantly, he has given a compromise of the best of both worlds!

"Then you have a super battleship and three Markkenson-class fast battleships with balanced performance!" Winston Churchill ended the chaotic situation with a final say: "The next issue is the Battle of Dardanell Strait!"
Chapter completed!