Chapter 502 Crossover
Nicholas was not ignorant of the problems of the Admiralty, otherwise he would not have gone all the way to call George back and let George be responsible for military reform.
The "Great Naval Plan" has become history, and Nikolai can forget about it.
Under the circumstances of extreme financial difficulties, the empire invested 100 million rubles in rebuilding the navy. This time Nicholas could not afford to miss anything.
The budget for all-heavy artillery battleships reported by the Navy Ministry is as high as 22 million rubles per ship.
The Vladivostok Shipyard built a full-heavy artillery battleship at a cost of only 15 million.
This is just the budget.
Referring to past shipbuilding experience, the final expenditure will definitely be more than this.
"Both, they are all borers, damn borers!"
Nicholas was furious, old sorrows and new hatreds welling up in his heart.
After the defeat of the Russo-Japanese War, public sentiment in St. Petersburg was aroused. In the end, Nicholas took all the responsibility on himself, and the relevant responsible persons escaped.
The shadow of defeat has not yet gone away, and domestic conflicts have become increasingly acute. Nicholas worked hard to stabilize the domestic situation, but some people are still trying to make money.
“What do they need so much money for? Didn’t the empire give them enough?”
Nicholas was completely disappointed with these parasite vampires. They never seemed to have thought that once The empire collapsed and the wealth they had accumulated would be destroyed.
Not necessarily.
It's hard to say for others. George knew someone who had a large deposit in Deutsche Bank alone, enough to build a full heavy artillery battleship.
Not only deposits, the Grand Dukes’ properties are spread all over Europe, especially in France, which is extremely loved by the Grand Duke of St. Petersburg.
After the Russo-Japanese War, Amur became a new hotspot for the Grand Dukes of St. Petersburg to buy houses and land. The price of land next to Peter the Great Bay more than doubled, all because of this group of people.
Now smart people know that Amur is the safest place in the empire. At least you don’t have to carry a pistol to go out.
George didn’t know how Nikolai talked to Alexei. Just after Nikolai summoned Alexei, Alexei resigned from the position of Minister of the Navy on the grounds of physical discomfort.
Nicholas came to George again, hoping that George would also serve as Minister of the Navy.
"You want me, a cavalry admiral who has never been to a military academy, to be the Lord of the Navy?"
George was really speechless. This arrangement was too casual.
“George, if I can’t trust you, who can I trust——”
Nicholas has aged several years in just a few days.
Nicholas, born in 1868, was only four years older than George.
But it seems like Nicholas is the uncle.
George counted on his fingers, there were indeed not many people left who could be trusted by Nicholas.
Then try it. Before Peter went to the Siberian Fleet, he never went to military school for a day, but now he has become the most outstanding naval admiral in the Russian Empire. George can do the same.
But George's situation is more difficult than Peter's at the beginning.
When Peter first joined the Navy, the Siberian Fleet was still the Amur River Fleet. There were only a few ships, and interpersonal relationships were relatively simple.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Empire’s senior naval admirals and experienced naval officers and soldiers were almost wiped out. The four newly built all-heavy artillery battleships did not even have qualified crew members. , Milyujing didn’t even know where to start. George sent a telegram to Peter asking if he would be Under Secretary of the Navy.
George is also responsible for military reform. It is impossible to focus all his energy on the Navy Department. He needs a confidant to handle daily work.
Forget it about Oscar Enkqvist. As soon as George became Lord of the Navy, he dismissed Oscar Enkqvist from his post and asked Enkqvist to go to the Naval Academy to work with the library. Lopatkin worked together to compile information about the Russo-Japanese War.
Speaking of the Academy of Sciences.
When George was reviewing the list of officers, he unexpectedly discovered a famous acquaintance-Kolchak.
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was not a Cossack. His great-great-grandfather Ilyas joined the Ottoman army and participated in the Fourth Russo-Turkish War.
Ilias was captured during the war, and he and his two sons were taken to Petersburg and were imprisoned until the end of the war before being released.
After Ilias was released, he originally planned to return to Constantinople with his son, but Ilias heard that the Sultan was preparing to kill them for "treason", so he changed his mind and swore allegiance to Russia.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Kolchak commanded the minelayer, and the mines he laid sank three Japanese transport ships and the cruiser "Takasago", for which Kolchak was decorated.
After the fall of Arthur's Fortress, Kolchak and the rest of the troops became prisoners of war. After the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, Kolchak was released and has been unemployed to this day.
George remembered Kolchak because of the movie "The Fearless Admiral Kolchak".
After the February Revolution, the Tsar abdicated. Kolchak was the first admiral to swear allegiance to the provisional government, and publicly stated: I do not serve this or that form of government, but serve the I regard serving my country above all else.
After the October Revolution, Kolchak commanded the White Army in combat as the "Supreme Consul of Russia".
In 1920, Kolchak was shot.
Kolchak is currently organizing information on polar exploration at the Academy of Sciences. As a hydrologist, he participated in the expedition to find the legendary "Sannikov's Land".
Peter agreed to serve as Vice-Admiral of the Navy. He could not come to St. Petersburg until he had made arrangements for the Siberian fleet.
The position of Fleet Commander was replaced by Deputy Fleet Commander Rakitski.
George transferred Kolchak to the Navy Department to serve as his adjutant in the Navy Department.
Kolchak was surprised. He didn't expect that he could return to the navy.
The naval officers and soldiers captured during the Russo-Japanese War were either marginalized or retired after the war. Their experiences in the Russo-Japanese War will become a shame that can never be washed away.
The fall of Arthur's Fortress was not Kolchak's responsibility. His status was too low to change the direction of the war.
After George took over the post of Lord of the Navy, he learned that the construction of the all-heavy artillery battleship had already started, but the Navy Department had not yet started personnel training. There was no one responsible for this work.
Milyugin is worried that naval gunners are not trained overnight. After George took over, it is expected that the new battleship will be in service within two years. If the warship is built by then, but there are not enough gunners, it will be funny. .
George is not in a hurry. All fortress troops in the empire are about to be disbanded, and those skilled gunners can just be sent to serve in the navy.
The selection of officers is not difficult either. George selects officers from the Naval Academy as much as possible. George can use these people left over from the Alexei era if he can.
On December 15, Peter arrived in St. Petersburg.
That night, Alexei died of a sudden illness.
(End of this chapter)