I met Andre Denisov again, and the scene was replaced by a cafe in the port of St. Petersenburg. It has a typical Russian decoration, the environment and style are pretty good, and the price on the menu has played the warning effect of "not to enter the poor". There are no ordinary workers with dirt and sweaty faces, and the guests are well-dressed, but they are not just gentle and elegant to drink coffee and chat, but glasses can be seen on most tables. The biggest difference from the pub is that there is neither rude loud noise nor shaking drunk people. The live band of three people is playing some melodious music.

"We were seven people walking together, and four of them unfortunately died in the Battle of Tsuma. The three of them finally returned to Russia, Krzakov, who spent a very bad time in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Berezutsky stayed in the port of the neutral country for several months. Only I was lucky enough to arrive in Vladivostok with the ship..." Denisov described his experience while sucking the clouds and mists with vodka. Young people in their early twenties showed their vicissitudes of their words and deeds.

"That battle was a disaster for the Europeans." Xia Shu's words were quoted from a news title in the newspapers at that time. According to the traditional European concept, Asians were ignorant and backward. Whether it was technology, culture or military, they could not compare with European countries located in the center of the world. The Battle of Tsushima was the first time that the navy of Asian countries had defeated the navy of European countries head-on in modern times, and the Russian fleet was defeated in an incomplete manner.

Denisov frowned: "Those scenes will be a lingering nightmare for many people in their lives, including me."

Listening to memories and expressing sympathy is by no means the intention of Natsuki sitting here. He tentatively said: "It is worth comforting that Russia has carefully reviewed and reflected on this failure. The reconstruction of the army has begun, and industry and economy have gradually returned to the track of development. If we fight with the same opponents twenty years later, the Russian army will surely win."

Denisov snorted coldly and pressed the cigarette butts to death: "Corruption is like termites. No matter how hard the wood is, it can be eaten. The country, government, and army, once termites appear, they will soon become fragile. And these humble guys are so tenacious, it is really difficult to clear them."

The meaning of these words was unrecognizable, and Natsuki nodded and said yes.

Denisov was obviously unwilling to talk more about this sensitive topic, and he changed his subject: "In the long journey to the Far East, our so-called loyal allies had cold faces everywhere. Those weak neutral countries did not dare to offend the British Empire. Only German friends extended a helping hand and provided us with valuable supplies. Unfortunately, our two countries failed to take advantage of this opportunity to rebuild the old, and St. Petersburg was still pulled close to London by Paris..."

The responsibility for missing opportunities should be borne by the stubborn German rulers and the dull and dull German diplomats, but Natsuki could not criticize his emperors and officials in front of outsiders. He had to lament the cunning of the British: "If you want to talk about political skills, Germany, Russia, and France are not as experienced and cunning as Britain. We are all pieces of the European chess game in Buckingham Palace."

Based on the signing of the agreement between Britain and France and France and reaching an alliance, Britain and Russia are negotiating and negotiating the use of disputes between the two countries for a hundred years in order to jointly prevent Germany. Therefore, Denisov did not continue with Natsuki's words and said that he had a small cup of vodka and took out a cigarette from the cigarette box. This was the fourth one in a quarter of an hour.

"Smoking too much cigarette is not good for your health." Natsuki reminded in a friend's tone.

Denisov smiled bitterly, shook his head, lit the matches, and sucked it skillfully. His expression of despair and depressed recalling the past had some positive changes. He looked at Natsuki and lowered his voice slightly: "We paid an extremely expensive tuition fee in Tsushima Strait, which allowed the whole world to see a new form of naval battle, but some things can only be more deeply understood by those who have experienced it personally, for example, the strong desire and self-confidence shown by the Japanese Navy in that battle. This improved their technical and tactical performance to a higher level, and the battle that was originally evenly matched was one-sided. This also made me feel for the first time that the huge victory of tactics could completely change the overall gap between national strength and military strength."

Natsuki felt that what Denisov wanted to express was briefly summarized as "a tactical victory with sufficient weight can change the strategic situation", which is something he has been seriously considering.

In war, can quantitative change really cause qualitative change?

After replacing himself with half a cup of vodka, Denisov said: "What do you think about sea control?"

Judging from the atmosphere of the conversation, Natsuki felt that this question was Qiyan from the other party’s next paragraph, and not really wanting to know what he thinks, so he answered vaguely: “Only pure landlocked countries do not care about sea control.”

Denisov said slowly: "Yes, pure landlocked countries do not have to bear this kind of trouble, but they cannot enjoy the benefits brought by the ocean. I think that American Mahan's statement on sea control is profoundly affecting our era, as he stated, control of the ocean determines the fate of a country. Even mainland countries cannot ignore the significance of sea control. However, mainland countries must maintain a land army that is suitable for the state system, and must build its border defense and transportation network, so that the remaining energy can be devoted to the development of the navy. The foundation of naval strategy lags behind those island countries. How should we compete for and use sea control at disadvantages?"

It is precisely because of "the speaker is unintentional, and the listener is intentional". The other party's original intention is to lament the difficulties faced by the reconstruction of the Russian naval, but the inspiration for Natsu Shu is related to Germany, which is also a mainland country. Thanks to the strong support of the German Emperor and the excellent organization of Tirpitz, the construction of the German naval is moving forward at an astonishing speed, at the cost of the German army's budget has not increased for many years and the national fiscal deficit has been year-on-year. In order to meet the huge funding needs of the new round of naval bills, the German government had to issue new bonds.

Relieving the heavy economic pressure is also a strategy to temporarily observe the new trend of battleships in various countries. The German Navy did not start construction of battleships for a whole year from 1906 to 1907, but Natsuki knew that the birth of the dreadnought would set off a shipbuilding competition that no one would want to fall behind. With the financial strength of the British Empire, Germany's national finances will inevitably collapse step by step in the investment of land and sea. This is the real situation before the outbreak of the World War!

The other party's words had already opened, and Natsuki only needed a sincere expression and a "how", and Denisov revealed his painful understanding. From this point of view, he did not receive the expected attention in the Russian Navy Staff In such a country where bureaucracy is prevalent, who would take a young officer with no background seriously?

"First, value the quality of the ship rather than the size. Second, regard war as the only mission of the navy's existence. Third, have a team of competent officers and a team of sailors who are fearless."

After speaking his thoughts concisely, Denisov clearly showed a sense of pleasure. In this case, he might have stressed it among his colleagues, but it did not have any effect at all.

But Xia Shu listened and remembered each one in his heart. He raised the wine glass that had been standing on the table, saluting the young Russian officer with ideals and vision, and said, "I have a feeling that one day we two continental countries will join hands on the sea to fight against those narrow and despicable island countries, and use steel and blood to create the ocean era of mainland countries. For our common pursuit of victory and our proud years of struggle, let us drink this cup together. I hope that our friendship will last forever!"

Denisov showed hope: "When we share the victory, we must sing and stop drunk!"

Saying goodbye to his Russian friend, Natsuki stood alone on the deck of the training ship, looking at the sea under the dazzling stars, and thoughts were flying in his head. In the absence of changing the country's geopolitical and economic structure, paying attention to quality is indeed an inevitable choice for the German navy to defeat the enemy. Therefore, putting aside the "existence fleet"'s fluke mentality and being prepared for a fierce battle from the beginning should help change the bad situation of the German navy in history. Fortunately, German officers and soldiers have always been role models for professional soldiers. If the class opposition between officers and soldiers can be eliminated, this refined team will inevitably be able to take the refined team to a higher level. As for this fanatical attitude of winning too similar to the Japanese navy, Natsuki did not worry too much about the mastiff being a dog. Even if there is a possibility of losing control, it is far easier to restrain than beasts like wolves!

After staying in St. Petersburg for three days, the German naval training ship "Charlotte" embarked on a journey with the energetic naval cadets. The previous sailed about 400 kilometers from Kiel to Karlskruna, and the 900 kilometers from Karlskruna to St. Petersburg. The continuous sailing distance without shore was increasing. This time, they bravely completed a thousand kilometers of voyage from St. Petersburg to Karl, which lasted six days and seven nights, and encountered a heavy rain and two strong winds. Faced with the challenges of nature, the young students showed their brave and firm character, and were able to calmly deal with various situations with increasingly skilled navigation skills.

Back to Kiel's home port, the students took a short rest in order to prepare for the longer and difficult voyage. The Charlotte was docked for meticulous maintenance, and the students received a day off and spent the rest of the time participating in the maintenance of the facilities on the ship. Four days later, the naval warship built in 1886 sailed across the rapid Scarglake Strait, crossed the rough North Sea, and entered the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in southern England.

In view of the tense relationship between Britain and Germany, long-distance training canceled the docking and visiting at any British port. During the process of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they would replenish supplies in the Portuguese Assyrian Islands. However, just after leaving the English Channel, the Charlotte encountered a major storm in the Celtic Sea more than 300 years ago. The fierce Atlantic storm helped the British weaken the strength of the Spanish Invincible Fleet, and the British fleet finally won the future in a decisive naval battle. This time, the Atlantic storm gave another warning to the group of German youths who had just learned about the ocean, hanging the main mast of the Charlotte and injuring three people.

With the 8-seat boiler on the ship and a two-cylinder two-cylinder two-bulge reciprocating steam engine (when serving as a warship, there were two main engines, and one was removed after the training ship was replaced), the "Charlotte" was able to travel at a maximum speed of 11.4 knots, but the coal storage on the ship was not enough to support the distant Azores, and sailing with a broken mast also damaged the honor of the German Navy. After requesting the Navy's Staff for power generation, Captain Lieutenant Colonel Von Kells ordered the training ship to sail to the Port of Cork in Ireland near.

In 1906, Ireland was still the territory of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Irish movement against the rule of England had been around for hundreds of years. During this period, armed riots and uprisings occurred many times. There were many political organizations and alliances that demanded independence in the territory, which also became an entry point for the opponents to weaken Britain from within. Napoleon sent troops to land in Ireland, but his army and Irish peasants were soon defeated by the British army with superior strength. During the Crimean War, the Russians attacked by Britain and France also considered supporting the Irish riots. By the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, it was the new German Second Empire that stood as a competitor to the British Empire.

The enemy is friends. Based on this obvious principle, the German government increased its "emotional investment" in Ireland, which included both industrial investments, spy or quasi-espionage personnel dispatches, and even a secret military plan. In order to make Britain have no time to intervene in the German-French war, the German government considered establishing several secret arsenals in Ireland, for the sake of being distributed to the Irish at critical moments and supporting their independence demands politically.

After sailing north for one hundred and forty nautical miles, the Charlotte sailed into Cork Port with a broken mast. It is the largest city and trade center in southern Ireland and one of the largest natural ports in the world. However, as a traditional supply station for ships to enter the Atlantic Ocean, it does not have a prosperous shipbuilding industry like the ports in southern England. One of the few docks are mainly used for maintenance, and the industries on which locals rely on are textiles, leather manufacturing and food processing.

In this era when steam engine technology is becoming more and more mature and internal combustion engine technology is quietly emerging, many shipyards have neither equipment nor technical workers to repair the masts of a large sailboat like the Charlotte, but Lieutenant Colonel Kells did not give up his efforts easily. With the help of local German merchants, they found a shipyard that was as antique as the Charlotte, and the maintenance quotation was also very reasonable. However, the shipyard does not have a standard timber inventory, so it takes two days to raise the wood. With the maintenance period, the maintenance work will be completed at the earliest, which means that the Charlotte will stay in Cork for at least three days.
Chapter completed!