Chapter 311 A Joke Worth 8 Million Rubles
Every year after the Rivne exercise, the participating troops hold a military parade, which has become a routine.
The content of the military parade arranged by Ye Luoxin was no different from that of Rivno. The officers and soldiers of the Fu Division lined up and went around in a circle, and there were tens of thousands of officers and soldiers being reviewed, which was considered huge.
What George wanted was not to be huge.
Everyone knows that the Amur Military District only has this small number of troops, not to mention the Qing Empire, even compared with Japan.
Then we have to work hard on quality.
In addition to the Vladivostok Infantry Division, Amur also has a large number of reserves. Vladivostok also has a coastal defense artillery unit and an inland river patrol fleet, as well as the world's only air force.
Yerokhin was right to focus the military parade on the Vladivostok Infantry Division.
But apart from the Talisman Master, there are many things to show in Vladivostok, and Ye Luoxin didn't notice it at all.
For example, the armored vehicles that the Vladivostok Police Department has begun to use.
There are no technical difficulties in converting a RV into an armored vehicle. What really needs to be broken is the shackles of thinking.
With George's guidance, the armored vehicles in Vladivostok have made rapid progress. Now there are not only tracked armored vehicles, but also wheeled ones. On the basis of armored vehicles, infantry combat vehicles, transport vehicles, command vehicles, and reconnaissance vehicles have been developed. Wait, wait.
In George's opinion, these are more intimidating than the traditional Cossack cavalry.
When the Vladivostok industry was just starting out, George kept it hidden for fear of being noticed by the outside world.
The Vladivostok Shipyard has now begun building warships. It is necessary for George to flex his muscles, not only to give confidence to his allies, but also to intimidate the juniors.
Since you want to show off your muscles, you must achieve the maximum effect.
On Christmas Day, the invited team from the United States arrived in Vladivostok.
During the development process, Vladivostok has benefited a lot from the United States, from the initial steel equipment to later bonds. Currently, Vladivostok still imports a large amount of steel from the United States to build the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Although Schiff has now drifted away from Vladivostok, Vladivostok has received more than $150 million in funds from the United States through the issuance of bonds.
So the tycoons in New York are George's creditors, and logically, George has to let his creditors know where their money is spent.
Long before the Americans, traders from the Transvaal had arrived in Vladivostok.
Peace in the Malay Peninsula did not interrupt trade between Vladivostok and the Transvaal.
In the past two years, the Transvaal has purchased more than 10 million rubles of goods from Vladivostok, all of which were paid for in gold.
As the second largest customer of Vladivostok’s military industry, George hopes to increase cooperation with the Transvaal.
The first one is the Qing Empire.
In addition to the United States and Transvaal, teams from the Kingdom of Romania and East India and Johor have also arrived in Vladivostok respectively.
So George was very busy around Christmas and met with delegations from various countries every day.
With such a huge momentum in Vladivostok, St. Petersburg will naturally not ignore it.
On December 29, George’s third brother Alexei and fifth brother Pavel arrived in Vladivostok at the same time.
Alexei was born in 1850 and is still unmarried. He is known as the first diamond king in the Russian Empire.
Mrs. Pavel died without remarrying, and she and her two children depended on each other——
Well, it’s not that pitiful. Pavel lived in Paris all year round. He was a famous gourmet and a frequent visitor to the theater. He spent money like water and lived a good life. Very carefree.
The purpose of Pavel’s visit to Vladivostok is to eat, drink and have fun.
Alexei serves in the Navy, and his main purpose of coming to Vladivostok is to inspect the Vladivostok Shipyard.
If the Vladivostok Shipyard has the strength, Alexei may consider building the next "Petopavlovsk" class battleship at the Vladivostok Shipyard.
The first "Petopavlovsk" is still under construction and will be launched next year. This battleship has a displacement of 11,842 tons and 16,600 horsepower. The armament system includes two twin-mounted 305 main guns and six twin-mounted 150mm gun, and 6 381mm torpedo tubes.
The estimated construction cost of the "Petopavlovsk" is 6.5 million rubles, but the Imperial Navy has paid 8 million rubles for it so far, and it is estimated that more will be added before it is put into service.
Alexey racked his brains to develop the navy, but the St. Petersburg Shipyard had limited capabilities and could not meet the needs of the three major fleets, so Alexey considered the Vladivostok Shipyard.
"Who pays?"
George doesn't care where it is built, only the cost and benefits.
"If St. Petersburg paid for it, then it would be impossible to be assigned to the Siberian fleet."
Alexey wanted to have sex for free.
"Sorry, not interested!"
George decisively refused.
The British "Military Power" class already uses 343mm main guns, and the "Petopavlovsk" also uses 305mm main guns. George is really not interested.
With the money to build a battleship, George might as well build a few more train guns.
"Hey, hey, haven't you always been worried about the threat from Japan?"
Alexey was surprised, why are you so different from what you appear to be!
On weekdays, George is the most enthusiastic about advocating the Japanese threat theory.
George was also extremely dissatisfied with the current situation of the Siberian Fleet and repeatedly requested St. Petersburg to equip the Siberian Fleet with more powerful warships to enhance the strength of the Siberian Fleet.
In the past, Amur wanted to expand its army, but St. Petersburg refused to let it go.
Now that St. Petersburg has given George the power to expand the army, George does not want to pay.
Isn’t this a matter of standing and standing at the same time?
"Prince Komatsumiya of Japan is in Vladivostok. Ask him if he dares to provoke Amur?"
George's dissatisfaction is because the Siberian Fleet has another It is not under the Amur Military District, but under the direct command of the Navy Ministry, so what does it have to do with the Amur Military District?
If the Navy Ministry agrees to build large warships for the Amur River Fleet -
Don't even think about it. Even if there are battleships, they can't enter the Amur River.
"George, you know that in order to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, the empire's military expenditures for the navy are seriously insufficient-" Alexei was not crying about poverty, but asking George to be responsible for the navy.
The reason why the Trans-Siberian Railway started ahead of schedule was inseparable from the efforts of Nikolai and George.
Nicholas was the crown prince, and Alexey was concerned about the dignity of the future tsar and could not bear to criticize him harshly.
George, the younger brother, can still be fought for.
"Come on, I'm a member of the Guards and have nothing to do with your navy."
George pushed it all away.
“You can also be a navy——”
A word from Alexey.
"Would you like to become a general in the navy? How about a lieutenant general? As long as you are willing, the Siberian fleet is under your control."
George frowned.
When did St. Petersburg become so generous?
No, something must be wrong.
"What happened?"
George asked carefully.
Alexei did not speak, and remained silent when asked.
Soon George knew.
After George returned to Vladivostok, the Tsar became critically ill again. Although the doctor rescued him, he was temporarily out of danger, but this was the third time that the Tsar became critically ill within a year last year.
Thinking that the Tsar had to agree to the marriage of Nicholas and Alex, George felt heavy.
Although the Queen was not nice to George, the Tsar was still good to George.
Although Amur's location is remote, George's fiefdom is the largest among all the imperial princes.
Amur kept jumping in the queue from the Ural Machinery Factory in the past few years. It was not entirely due to Nikolai. Without the consent of the Tsar, Nikolai could not have done it.
Vladivostok was able to independently develop its military industry outside of the three major empires, thanks to the tacit approval of the Tsar.
Although Sergei dominates the Moscow Governorate.
Can you let Sergey try to build an arsenal?
If you dare to start a project today, tomorrow Sergey will have to go to Central Asia.
The empire has been upgrading its equipment and the Trans-Siberian Railway in recent years. At the same time, it has to face the intensifying arms race in Europe.
The issuance of naval bonds in St. Petersburg this year is enough to prove that the empire is stretched beyond its capabilities.
In this case, the Russian Empire really needed to flex its muscles in a show of force.
George will work hard to show off his muscles.
But the matter of building warships——
Let’s discuss it later!
“It’s okay to let me take charge of the Siberian Fleet, but I have the final say on how many warships to build and what kind of warships to build.”
George definitely hopes to incorporate the Siberian Fleet into the Amur Military District command system, but the warships need to be upgraded and the people have to be replaced.
George really couldn’t see Alexeyev from the Siberian Fleet.
At the most tense moment of the Goryeo confrontation, Alexeyev, the commander of the Siberian Fleet, actually drank until he lost contact with him. Not many people know about this now. If word gets out, not only Alexeyev If the husband's reputation is disgraced, the empire will also be disgraced.
Yes, the Siberian fleet has many problems, including manpower shortage and insufficient funds. The biggest concern for warships when setting sail is not combat effectiveness, but whether they will suddenly fall apart while running.
After Alexeyev took office, the Siberian Fleet organized only a handful of trainings every year. During the Vladivostok Military Parade, George hoped that the Siberian Fleet would organize a sailor to participate in the parade, but the Siberian Fleet could not even provide it——
This is such dereliction of duty!
Now George is not surprised at all why Japan dared to challenge the Russian Empire after defeating the Qing Empire.
Allowing a fool like Alexeyev to serve as the commander of the Siberian Fleet is obviously giving the Japanese a chance.
“How many battleships are you going to build?”
All Alexei’s thoughts are on the battleships.
According to current theories, only warships of the same level can fight against each other, which is why the "Petopavlovsk" fell behind before it was even launched.
The warship costing 8 million rubles not only failed to become the glory of the empire, but became a laughing stock.
What the hell——
George didn’t even know how to evaluate it.
“Not even one will be built!”
It's not that George doesn't like battleships, it's just that they are inappropriate for the time.
"At least until the Trans-Siberian Railway is completed, not one will be built."
Every man has a dream in his heart to become the Pirate King.
George also wanted to lead an invincible fleet across the seven seas.
Unfortunately unrealistic.
(End of this chapter)