"Prime Minister, gentlemen. There is no doubt that Royal Navy's strength is still number one in the world. However, it is hard to say whether it can maintain its number one position in the future. Judging from the information we have obtained, Germany The people are also building battleships like crazy. The gap between them and us is constantly narrowing. If we don't speed up, we will one day be overtaken by the Germany people." Churchill said.
"Mr. Churchill, are your words too alarmist? How can Germany people compare with us in terms of Capital Ships?" Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd? George asked. If the Navy wants to speed up the construction of warships, that means additional funding will be needed. This is undoubtedly a great pressure on Britain's finances. Therefore, Lloyd George certainly hopes to maintain the current battleship construction progress.
"Your Excellency, Chancellor of Finance, this is definitely not alarmist. Although the Germans have always kept their new battleships highly secretive. However, through many clues, we can still draw a general conclusion. For example, the Germans' first-class battleships were named 'Nassau-class' battleships, and a total of four were built. The displacement of the 'Nassau-class' battleships is different from that of our 'Saint' The Vincent-class battleship is roughly equivalent. Judging from the German shipbuilding concept that always emphasizes defense, its performance is roughly equivalent to our St. Vincent-class battleship. However, everyone should not forget that this is the German first-class dreadnought. The St. Vincent-class battleship is almost the most powerful battleship in active service in the Royal Navy. "Churchill continued.
Suddenly, the smiles on Cabinet Minister's faces gradually dissipated. They were not fools, so they could naturally understand the stakes involved. The performance of German Navy's first-level dreadnought is equivalent to that of British Navy's most powerful dreadnought now. Is this still okay? Doesn't that mean that the Battleship built before are not comparable to the German Navy? In this case, once a war starts, wouldn't Royal Navy's Capital Ships be suppressed? How could these proud Britain people accept such a result?
"This is the latecomer advantage of Germany people! However, the 'Orion-class' Battleship we are currently building has already adopted 343mm Main Gun. Once it is put into service, the strength of Royal Navy will be greatly increased!" First Sea Lord McKenna retorted.
"Yes, our 'Orion-class' Battleship is very powerful. But if he wants to serve, I'm afraid he will have to wait until the year after next. What's more, according to intelligence, Germany has already served the second Level Battleship, namely 'Helgoland-class' Battleship, uses 343mm Main Gun. "Churchill once again dropped a bombshell.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. It is absolutely impossible for Germany people to develop 343mm Main Gun before us." McKenna shouted.
Indeed, this news is really shocking. Royal Navy equipped with 343mm Main Gun, Battleship, has just begun construction. The Battleship equipped with German Navy and 343mm Main Gun is already in service. This undoubtedly shows that the gap between the two sides is too big. In fact, Royal Navy has been left behind by German Navy.
Prime Minister Asquith's face also became serious. "Is the gap between Royal Navy and German Navy already so big?"
"Prime Minister, this is just a guess by the intelligence department. It has not been confirmed yet. However, the possibility is very high. I think this should be worthy of our attention." Churchill said.
Prime Minister Asquith nodded. Even though it has not been confirmed yet, this information is really important. Britain We must be wary of this. Otherwise, if the information is true and Britain is not prepared, the consequences will be even more serious.
"Your Excellency McKenna, does the Navy have any countermeasures for this?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.
"Prime Minister, I will ask all major shipyards to speed up the construction of 'Orion-class' Battleship. In addition, the follow-up 'King George V-class' Battleship and 'Iron Duke-class' Battleship will also start construction as soon as possible. It is impossible for Germany people to surpass us in the number of Capital Ships." McKenna said.
Britain's shipbuilding capabilities rank first in the world. Many shipyards are capable of building Battleship. As long as they build Battleship at full capacity, the strength of Royal Navy will soon increase dramatically.
"How can Germany people have so much money to build Battleship? With their financial income, they simply can't afford it." Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd? George said.
"Yes! This is a big problem. We have vast colonial support and can obtain wealth from the colonies to strengthen naval construction. But, what about the Germany people? Although their industrial output exceeds ours, their financial income may not be more than ours. What's more, they have to Facing enemies on land. In order to defend against France and Russia, the strength of the German Army is also increasing. Under such circumstances, where did the Germany people get so much money to build so many Battleship?" said Minister of War Richard Haldan.
This is undoubtedly the question in the minds of Britain Cabinet Minister people.
"Prime Minister, I may have guessed the reason." Churchill said.
"What's going on?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.
"German Imperial Family may have used their wealth to support the construction of the navy." Churchill said.
Prime Minister Asquith nodded, indeed, it was probably due to this. The wealth controlled by the German Imperial Family is also amazing.
"It seems that we have to let His Majesty the King strongly support the development of the navy." Prime Minister Asquith said.
The other ministers also nodded. First Sea Lord McKenna's face flashed with a hint of joy. With more money, they can build more Battleship, and the strength of Royal Navy can be further improved.
"In addition to the German Imperial Family supporting their navy, I think German Crown Prince Oskar is also using his own money to support the navy. German Welfare Lottery Company, who earned a large amount of wealth every year in Britain, is now using it to develop their navy and become the enemy of the British Empire. Such behavior is undoubtedly extremely shameless. Therefore, we should shut down German Welfare Lottery Company." Churchill suggested.
Churchill has long been very dissatisfied with German Welfare Lottery Company stealing money from Britain. Now, you can undoubtedly take advantage of this opportunity to start with German Welfare Lottery Company.