This time, German Emperor William II entertained guests at the Summer Palace, with the original intention of commemorating the victory day of the war and the 18th anniversary of the signing of the London Armistice Treaty. At this time, the Allied Fleets repelled the US and British fleets in the waters of San Miguel, reversing the unfavorable situation of the Battle of Azores in one fell swoop. The banquet added a sense of celebration. At the invitation of William II, all the royal leaders of the German Empire were present. What is interesting is that the monarchs of the Allied countries had few heads, and most of them just sent envoys to congratulate them.

The Duke of Lefel came to Germany as the private envoy of the Italian king Emanuele III.

After the end of the last war, with the overall decline of France and the strategic contraction of Britain, the pattern of the four Mediterranean competition in the past underwent fundamental changes. The Italian Kingdom, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, which belonged to the camp of the Allies, controlled most of the Mediterranean areas. The Ottoman Turkey did not have its own heavy industry, and the naval ships basically relied on external purchases, and the quality of officers and soldiers was poor. Judging from the previous military operations since the Balkan War, the Ottoman army was just an empty aura of being strong outside and doing the middle. It was okay to bully the Arabs, and it was probably only a defeat to fight against the European powers. Therefore, Italy's number one imaginary enemy is still their old enemy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire under the rule of the Habsburgs.

From a historical perspective, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were both an unsolvable enemy and a pair of brothers and brothers. When the powerful countries set off a wave of partitioning colonies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was trapped in the domestic **********, and the main military and diplomatic energy was restrained in the Balkans. Italy was unified too late and missed the golden period of expanding the colony, so the overseas colonies of these two recognized "powerful countries" were pitifully few.

From the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, the number of overseas colonies is of great significance to the country's economic development. The changes in Britain, France, the United States and Germany before and after World War I are excellent examples. Britain and France, the two old powers, lost a large number of overseas colonies, and their industries have been regressed year by year, and their economy has not recovered. The area of ​​Germany's colonies has increased by more than four times between 1914 and 1915. The raw materials and labor from the colonies have ushered in a second leap period. By 1932, Germany's economic scale increased by 300% compared with 1913, and the ratio of the world's total industrial output increased from 16% to 34%, which greatly narrowed the gap with the United States.

As victorious countries in World War I, the rulers of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire hoped to make great strides after the war. At that time, the Italian navy was slightly stronger, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was stronger than Italy. The young emperor of the Habsburg Dynasty was unwilling to let his navy be trapped in the small Adriatic Sea. With his support and promotion, four Franz-Joseph I-class battleships were successfully built. In addition to the four joint power classes, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had the most powerful battle fleet in the Mediterranean, and obtained the right to use the ports of Mahdiye and Matrue from the Germans and Turks, which gave the imperial fleet two important stations on the southern coast of the Mediterranean.

Throughout the 1920s, the rise of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was undoubtedly a big rock that weighed on the hearts of Italians. By the early 1930s, the Caesar-class super-dreadnoughts "Caesar" and "Imperial" built by Italy at a huge cost were completed one after another. Andrea Doria and Earl Cafur class enhanced their combat effectiveness through modern modifications, thus giving the Italian Navy the capital to challenge the Austro-Hungarian Navy again.

The Caesar-class single ship's performance was better than that of the Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, due to economic reasons, the Caesar-class 3, which had already started construction, was intermittent in the construction of the Caesar-class 3, and the main construction was not completed until the outbreak of the war in 1933. In this way, the Italian Navy maintained a balance of power at most against the Austro-Hungarian main fleet. If the Italian fleet headed to the Atlantic, once the main ship was lost in the battle, this balance would be broken. Will it rely on the coordination and mediation of other countries to maintain its own safety and reliability?

This assumption targets the complex triangular relationship between Germany, Italy and Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is a well-known fact. The Germans can make guarantees for the concerns of the Italians, but this guarantee is not reliable at the national level.

The bright lights, the music, the guests in gorgeous clothes either danced or had a pleasant conversation. The Duke of Lefel, wearing white dress, responded to people's greetings in a decent language. It was not until Marshal Von Muller, who was the former head of the Navy of the German Empire and the current strategic advisor to the German Royal Navy and chairman of the Technical Committee of the German Royal Navy, came to him for the second time that the topic changed from superficial to substance.

"The biggest feeling? Well... the result of the Battle of the Azores fully demonstrates that the traditional naval battle pattern has been completely broken. The Markensian-style fast battleships and Zeppelin-style large aircraft carriers will replace pure super battleships and become the future overlords of the ocean."

Duke Lefel said "Oh" with some clarity, but a hint of complacent appeared on his face. The Italian Navy's core battleship is currently a fast battleship. The maximum speed of 29.5 knots is better than that of the North Carolina class in the United States and the German German class. The 16-inch main gun is enough to compete with the front-line battleships of various naval powers in terms of power and range. The protection design is also significantly improved compared with the previous Earl Cafur class and Duillio class. The only disadvantage is that the Caesar class has a range of only 5,000 nautical miles, less than one-third of that of the North Carolina class in the United States, so it is nicknamed the "Neilu Battleship" in the Mediterranean.

"Based on these new understandings, we are developing technical standards for new fast battleships so that each shipyard can deploy their design plans. We have basically determined that the maximum speed standard should be above 30 knots and can continue to sail 12,000 nautical miles at 20 knots; using a brand new 52-caliber main gun, which can penetrate the horizontal armor of any current warship at a distance of 30 kilometers, or penetrate the vertical armor of any enemy ship at a position of 20 kilometers. In order to shorten the construction work hours and reduce the construction costs, we will build 6 to 8 ships in batches. In view of wartime needs, these new battleships will not only be equipped with the German Navy, but will also be provided to allies participating in the war."

Speaking of this, Mueller intends to get closer and lower his voice: "If there is a war damage to two aircraft carriers in Ireland, we will compensate for it with a new battleship."

Duke Lefel has been with the military and political circles for many years and suddenly understood the other party's implication. Although it is not possible to confirm how advanced the "new battleship" described by the retired German Navy is, since it is positioned as the new generation of the German Navy's main ship, its performance and quality must be stronger than the Caesar-class designed and built in the 1920s. Since the warships equipped with 16-inch naval guns from the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany have been in service one after another, he has been resentful of the Caesar-class still using 15-inch naval guns compared with the same caliber naval guns of the US and German system, the 15-inch naval guns made by Otto Company have technical defects such as the shorter barrel life, lower rate of fire, and large spread area. It is still possible to deal with the Joseph I-class battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If he participates in a battle of gods such as the Battle of the Azores, he will inevitably be at a disadvantage in the battle.

"In addition, based on the combat experience of the Markens and Earl Tirpitz class, we will also build 8-10 new battle cruisers with a maximum speed standard of 33 knots to serve as the main force of the reconnaissance fleet or the flagship of the squadron. This batch of new combat patrols is also applicable to the principles I just mentioned." Mueller revealed.

"This is a considerable amount of military expenditure." Duke Lefel tentatively, "it must have exceeded the war allocation approved by Congress, right?"

The German Empire's political system was a dual constitutional monarchy. The emperor held absolute real power, had the power to appoint prime ministers and senior officials, convened and dissolved parliament, declared war, and made peace. He was also the supreme commander of the army. Budget power and legislative power belonged to the Imperial Congress and the Federal Parliament. After the war broke out, the Imperial Congress would vote to pass the war appropriation, and then adjourned the meeting indefinitely until the end of the war. This means that the power during war was completely in the hands of the emperor, prime minister and military generals.

Mueller chuckled, "No, in fact, the current investment is far from reaching the maximum amount of war appropriation. Even if it exceeds it, it is to win the war. What's wrong?"

In this answer, Duke Lefel was also envious. In the mid-to-late 20s, the economic crisis swept the world, the Kingdom of Italy was not spared, the collapse of enterprises, and the unemployment of workers led to social turmoil. The militarist thought that advocated force and military expansion was not only sought after by young officers, but also had a market in the upper class. In 1929, the leader of the Socialist Party and nationalist Ivano Bonomi became the Italian Prime Minister, promoting social reforms internally and strengthening economic, trade, political and diplomatic cooperation with the United States, Britain and other countries externally. In the past four years, Italy's economic situation has improved to a certain extent, but the funds for naval construction are still very cramped.

Next, Mueller began to "attack" and said: "I originally thought Italy would join this great war as firmly as Ireland, but I didn't expect... So what exactly made your country hesitate?"

"Marson, this is a bad word." Duke Lefel responded in a crown, "Italy has always faithfully fulfilled its obligations to members of the Allies and has maintained at least a kind-hearted neutrality in this war initiated by your country."

When talking about the word "at least", the Italians' tone slowed down slightly, obviously reminding the other party that Italy's participation in the war is not impossible. The key is whether Germany can provide satisfactory conditions for participating in the war.
Chapter completed!