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Berlin, Germany.

As soon as the news of France's surrender came out, US Ambassador to Germany Beasley visited German Foreign Minister Bilo again.

"Mr. Ambassador, what's the matter with you? "Billo looked at Beasley casually. This American has become a regular here in recent times.

Beasley sat down without hesitation, "Dear Foreign Minister, on behalf of our President Wilson and Congress, I would like to congratulate your country on its successful defeat of France!"

"Oh? Haven't your country always opposed war and supported peace?" Bilo said with a little ridiculous sarcastic.

"Of course, our United States is definitely the most peaceful country in the world!" Beasley said this with a look of pride, as if they had picked up the Philippines. If the Spanish people heard this, they would be surprised by Beasley's thick skin.

"However, we also know that some things have to be resolved by war! Since the war is over, we must congratulate your country on becoming the winner, and secondly, we hope that your country can resolve conflicts and disputes with Britain through peaceful means and return peace to this world!"

Bilo has heard Beasley's argument countless times recently, and his ears are almost calloused. Either it is long live friendship or it is the British-German Vast. Anyway, he tried every means to reconcile it. Perhaps this guy dreamed that Germany and Britain could turn war into pleasant silk!

"Mr. Ambassador, I have said it many times. It is not that we are unwilling to use peace means, but that the British are unwilling to accept the terms of peace proposed by us. Like how friendly the French government is, will we and France regain our friendship?" If the French heard this, they would probably be very sad.

Two weeks ago, Bisley conveyed his wish to negotiate for the British government. Biro told the German Emperor as originally intended. As a result, the German Emperor was furious. Thinking of Prince, who was still unconscious, the emperor gritted his teeth and swept the UK. Biro had been persuaded and the German Emperor calmed down and put forward some demands that the British could not accept. The responsibility of unwilling to accept the peace talks fell on the British again. The US government knew this well, but it was difficult to accuse the German government of the German again.

"It's so regrettable! Although your country and Britain are determined to continue the war, our country will still stand on a neutral standpoint. Out of benevolent considerations, our country will sell relevant materials to both sides of the war!" Bisley pointed to the matter of selling the fleet to Britain. Although Germany had heard of it for a long time, Britain and the United States were still in the stage of secret contact, so Biro was not easy to say it explicitly. Instead, he reminded Bisley from time to time that the United States should strictly abide by neutrality legislation, but this guy always pretended not to hear it.

"My country does not oppose your country selling civilian supplies to the UK, but our country also reminds your government that it is best not to do anything that violates neutral legislation, otherwise it will affect our long-term friendly relations between Germany and the United States. Recently, it has been rumored that your country will reach a big deal with the UK!" Bielou and the Germany behind him are not afraid of the United States, but they are not willing to force the United States to the UK side. After all, the United States' world's largest industrial strength and unique geographical location still make Germany worry about it. Maybe the United States will become a huge arsenal in the UK.

"Neutral legislation? Haha! His Excellency Foreign Minister, neutral legislation has always been the final say of the strong. After your loyal Russian allies in peace talks with the Revolutionary Party, they actually fought against the Revolutionary Party without declaring this kind of despicable behavior. Of course, our government always stands on a neutral stand and will never favor either side. The United States sells 1 dollar of supplies to the British government, and naturally agrees that the German government buys one dollar of supplies from us, but as for whether the German government buys or not, we can't force it!"

Bielo frowned, and Beasley still re-talked on the old saying. The US government proposed to provide Germany with materials worth $5 billion (the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar at the outbreak of World War I was about 1:5). If the US materials were purchased, the German government could pay in cash, pay in installments or exchange them in colonies, and transport them by American freighters. In this way, the Americans also planned to sell at least $5 billion to the British government, which not only violated neutral legislation, but was simply trampling on neutral legislation. However, if Germany, Britain and the United States made a deal, no one wanted or dared to protest.

"5 billion US dollars! Your government's business is getting bigger and bigger!"

Bielou and the German government did not directly reject the proposal of the US government. In the war, either government needs to bear a lot of military expenditure. Every day of this battle, the German government will invest millions of marks more, and the consumption of resources of the entire country is even more amazing. Loans, mineral resources, military supplies, and what the Americans say is nothing the German government needs most. American loans and supplies will undoubtedly become the lubricant for the German war machine.

Although Germany will obtain a large amount of colonies and compensation from France, it will take a long time for those colonies to operate normally and generate wealth. In addition, since the war was carried out on France, France's original wealth resources were consumed considerably, and the French government's compensation would not be paid all in 20 years, so Germany's victory interests were not immediately reflected. As for the several major German allies, their economy and industry were not well developed, and Russia and Turkey were in a stage of inaction. They were only able to provide effective resources to Germany in politics and military affairs. Funds and economy were basically dragging Germany down, and their domestic resource development still needs to be restored and strengthened.

However, on the issue of lending to the US government, most cabinet ministers, including the German Emperor, objected to it. As for installments or purchasing American materials on credit, these people had their own opinions and had not yet come to a consensus conclusion. As for the German Emperor himself, as long as the US resources and materials are priced reasonably, the German government could consider purchasing on credit, or exchange them for some former French colonies that have little significance to Germany.

Beasley was cowardly, "This is the world, only buyers can sellers! Our US government's policies are fair. Even if your country is unwilling to accept the loans and materials provided by our country, our country will still provide corresponding materials to the British government who intends to purchase, including the rumored fleet! If this fair transaction affects the friendship between our two countries, our government will express deep regrets!"

"What if our two countries enter a state of war because of this?" Bilo asked cautiously.

"Please be honest, within ten years, Germany does not have enough financial resources and transportation capacity to attack the United States. In addition to helping Britain defend its homeland, the United States has no military power to attack Germany. The war between us is almost meaningless! This kind of war will also cause huge economic damage to our two countries. The transactions between our two countries will be completely terminated, and the conflict of interest in the Americas will be more intense. Your country's colonial islands in the Pacific region will be attacked by our country, and our investment in Europe will be frozen. This kind of double-defeated war is probably something that neither of us wants to see!"

After listening to Beasley's opinion, Bearou suddenly remembered Japan. The Japanese government is still actively demanding to join the Allies. Their strength and ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region may be used to restrain the Americans at this time.

"Okay, Mr. Ambassador! I will ask His Majesty the Emperor to consider your opinion!" Every time he finished his conversation with Beasley, Billo seemed to say this, but this time, what he wanted to ask for was probably something related to the Japanese.

Beasley cooperated and stood up, "Okay! I'll go back and wait for the good news! To be honest, the prices of the supplies provided by our country are very fair!"

Bilo naturally felt a little contempt. The prices of resources and materials provided by the Americans were almost twice the normal market price, which was simply a robbery. In fact, the British were slaughtered even more miserably.

As usual, Beasley left with confidence.

Norfolk Military Port, United States.

This port not far from Washington, the capital of the United States, is one of the largest military ports in the world and the destination port of the US Atlantic Fleet. On this day, Norfolk welcomed a guest with special status.

When Churchill arrived at the dock in Norfolk, American warships, including 18 battleships, 19 cruisers, 35 destroyers and a large number of small patrol ships, were docked neatly in the port. The U.S. Atlantic Fleet also sent several senior naval generals, including Lieutenant General Conway, to accompany the tour.

"The seven battleships here are all warships that have participated in the 'Great White Fleet' around the world. They are all the pride of the US Navy!" Conway pointed to several battleships in the northmost part of the port, like a butcher introducing the pork hanging in front of the guests.

Churchill narrowed his eyes and looked at the white warships that were not particularly large. The white paint on their hulls that once attracted the attention of the world was already broken by the wind and waves and time. It looked like dilapidated houses. The caliber and number of the main guns of these warships were far behind the times. Basically, they could only show off in front of backward American and Asian countries. Compared with the best warships in Europe, Americans would probably be ashamed to slay them.

Seeing Churchillmoon silent, Conway changed his statement, "For the army troops landing across the sea, they still have considerable deterrence and lethality!"

Churchill nodded reluctantly. These warships were basically not threatening to the German navy and aviation forces. The German army that attacked the landing operations might be able to exert some residual heat.

A group of strange people wearing big windbreakers continued to walk forward in the autumn. The pier seemed to be cleaned very clean, and the warships seemed to have been cleaned recently.

After a while, they stopped in front of a row of destroyers again.

"These five "Sammon-class" destroyers launched in 1910. Their maximum speed reaches 28 knots, equipped with 3 120mm main guns and 2 533mm torpedoes!" Convey introduced in time, "I guess they are enough to cope with any torpedo boat in the world."

In Churchill's view, the performance of these destroyers is only average, with the main guns weaker than the latest British destroyers and the torpedoes weaker than the new German destroyers. However, anti-submarine weapons should still be competent to deal with German submarines.

Everyone continued to move forward, Churchill's eyes were attracted by several brand new and majestic battleships not far away.

"This is our Florida-class battleship, "Florida". It was put into service in 1911, with a displacement of 21,825 tons, 5 double-mounted 12-inch main gun turret, and 16 5-inch single-mounted secondary gun turrets. The designed speed reaches an astonishing 33 knots, but it will be slower during actual navigation for reasons such as saving fuel!" Lieutenant General Conway proudly introduced that this is the current absolute main ship of the US Atlantic Fleet.

"33 knots?" Churchill was a little surprised, but what was surprised was not the speed, but the design of this super-high speed would inevitably greatly reduce the endurance and armor protection of the warship. "Lieutenant General, I would like to ask, how far can this warship sail at cruise speed, and how thick is the armor of the turret and command tower?"

Faced with the questions asked by experts, Conway felt a little embarrassed, "Well... at a cruising speed of 10 knots, its range is close to 7,000 nautical miles, and the turret and command tower are all made of 11-inch armor."

"Ah..." Churchill sighed softly. The range of 7,000 nautical miles is not bad, but this kind of armor is not even comparable to the old German German-class armored battleship. In the Battle of the North Sea, the main turret and command tower with 11-inch armored British battleships were difficult to withstand the armor-piercing bombs of the German battleships.

Seeing Churchill's face showing displeasure, Conway quickly took the big buyer to the front of the next battleship. "This is the Utah, the same class as the Florida. It was put into service in 1911, with a displacement of 23,033 tons. The artillery is the same as the Utah, but it has added a coal storage compartment and a range of 16,000 nautical miles!"

"The range? Then its armor is the same as the one in front!" Churchill felt increasingly that he had little hope of relying on these warships to fight against the German navy. The US Navy, which had not experienced high-scale maritime battles in Europe, still had many obvious flaws in the design of warships. However, Britain was like a man who was about to starve to death at this time, and his demand for warships had reached the point of being hungry.

Three hours later, Conway finally led Churchill to see all the American warships here, and the British also had a close understanding of the fleet they were going to buy.

Churchill’s report sent back to the UK was very simple, “The attack on the other side is acceptable, and the naval battle is powerless!”

The telegram sent back by George V to Churchill was also very simple, "In order to protect the local area, try to lower the price or ask for more military supplies, seize the time to negotiate the transaction and receive the warships as soon as possible. In addition, the first batch of 'ducks' have set off."

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Chapter completed!