Chapter 535 The Age of Giant Ships and Cannons
The Hebrews have always claimed that the Russian Empire began to impose restrictions on the Hebrews from the first day of its establishment.
But after 300 years, the Hebrews in the Russian Empire not only did not disappear, but increased to 5 million people. This does not look like they were targeted.
The Russian Empire really started to take action against the Hebrews after the assassination of Ya Er and the Russo-Japanese War intensified again.
Over the past few decades, more than 2 million Hebrews have left the Russian Empire, and at least 75% of them have gone to the United States.
George was also curious about why there were so many Hebrew assassins in St. Petersburg.
George counted the assassinations that occurred in St. Petersburg in recent years and found that most of the Hebrew assassins came from other places, even abroad, and were not Russians at all.
George hopes to use this opportunity to conduct a detailed census of the population in the Russian Empire.
This time it is not just a matter of counting the population, the ethnic groups must also be registered in detail, especially the Hebrews. George wants to make them invisible.
“It’s impossible, the workload is too great, we simply can’t do it.”
Stolypin had no confidence. The Russian Empire was too big and had too many people. If detailed registration was required, it might not be completed within 10 years.
"Give them some benefits and let them take the initiative to report to you."
George has a way. The Hebrews are very greedy for money, so we must make full use of this.
Hebrews could not become officials in the Russian Empire, nor could they own land. Even if they joined the army, they could not serve as officers. Even in the business field where they were best at, Hebrews were greatly restricted and could only Become a vassal of the Russian powerful.
Stolypin only needed to spread rumors that he would allocate land to the Hebrews, which was enough to make the Hebrews scramble.
"No, this is absolutely impossible!"
Stolypin's attitude towards the Hebrews was also strictly guarded.
Peter the Great once said: I would rather accept Arabs than Hebrews. I cannot let them become a hidden danger to the empire.
The attitude of Peter the Great can represent the vast majority of Russians.
“Do you know what gossip is?”
George didn't really give it, he just hoped that the Hebrews would take the initiative to come forward and admit their identity.
“Failure to fulfill a promise will damage the authority of the empire.”
Stolypin didn’t know what George wanted to do, and could vaguely sense George’s malice towards the Hebrews.
George knew the Hebrews too well. If he did not plan ahead, the damage caused by the Hebrews to the Russian Empire would be greater than everyone imagined.
Despite the small proportion of Hebrews, their destructive power was astonishing. Six of the seven people who overthrew the Russian Empire were Hebrews.
After the disintegration of Red Russia, six of the seven oligarchs who controlled the lifeline of Russia's national economy were Hebrews.
George can only say that if a world war breaks out, the Russian Empire will indeed need a lot of cannon fodder.
"The temptation of land alone is not enough to seduce all the Hebrews——"
When George made a move, it was a series of tricks.
“After the registration reaches a certain stage, the Hebrews will be asked to report on their own on the grounds that there are still Hebrews who have not registered. It will take at least several years until all the Hebrews have been registered. .”
George didn't need long. When a shot was fired in Sarajevo in 1914, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would have a list to recruit soldiers.
"When they are registered, all of them will be sent to Siberia to open up wasteland and grow potatoes."
Little Nicholas shouted crazily, this is also a pretty good idea.
“Let’s do it this way, we must try our best to eliminate hidden dangers.”
Nicholas made the final decision. Storey had a flat head as big as a bucket, and he was the busiest man in the empire.
George is not busy. He and Tirpitz decided to hold joint exercises in the Baltic Sea in March.
In addition to the two Baltic fleets, the German North Sea Fleet will also send warships to participate in the exercise. The exercise items include patrol, escort, search and rescue, supply, etc.
George hopes to increase his understanding of the German Navy through the exercise.
Tirpitz probably had the same idea.
The exercise was offered by George as compensation for Tirpitz.
The deal between the Russian Navy and the German Navy fell through due to strong opposition from Britain and France.
Tirpitz was very angry and mocked George in person because his bones were a bit soft when facing the British and French.
Coincidentally, during the Russo-Japanese War, William II also said that Nicholas' bones became a little soft after taking money from the French.
“This shows that the British Royal Navy has felt the pressure, and you can take it as a compliment.”
When needed, George can also have breasts and be a mother.
The reason is simple. The British and French gave too much.
Stolypin’s blackmail failed, and Britain and France finally agreed to borrow 200 million pounds, which was much less than Stolypin expected.
200 million is not a lot, equivalent to about 2 billion rubles.
The Russian Empire asked Britain to borrow money to rebuild its finances, and the total amount was only 900 million rubles.
An important reason for this loan is that a mere 900 million is really not enough to complete the financial reconstruction of the Russian Empire.
The British also have conditions.
Money can be given, but the Russian Imperial Navy also acted in time to put enough pressure on the German Navy.
To put it bluntly, they are not satisfied with George's settlement and require the Russian Empire to build more full-heavy artillery battleships.
George readily agreed, so the "Queen Maria" class battleship was born.
"Queen Maria" is the same as "Gangut". The main gun adopts three 52-caliber 330 guns, with a total of 12 guns.
Compared with the "Gangut", the defensive power of the "Queen Maria" has been greatly improved. The waterline armor and command tower armor have reached an astonishing 300 mm. This has also led to the "Queen Maria"'s With a maximum speed of only a pitiful 23 knots, it is currently the slowest battleship in the Russian Empire.
It doesn't matter if it's slow. George's current purpose is not to fight in the ocean, but to use it for offshore defense. It's best to be like the Iron Bastard, making it impossible for the enemy to attack.
Like the "Gangut", a total of four "Queen Maria" ships will be built, two of which will be built at the Vladivostok Shipyard.
No need to ask, this is George's selfishness again. If built at the Vladivostok Shipyard, a "Queen Maria" can contribute nearly 10 million rubles in profits to the Vladivostok Shipyard.
The cost of "Queen Maria" is 28.5 million rubles.
This cost was calculated by the St. Petersburg Shipyard, not the price quoted by the Vladivostok Shipyard.
Little Nikolai was not at a loss either. The Ministry of War purchased an additional 150 armored fighting vehicles from the Vladivostok Military-Industrial Group. At the same time, the Army finally had the ability to establish an Army Aviation Corps.
George went to Nicholas and requested that the Army Aviation and Naval Aviation be merged and unified under the command of the Navy.
Nicholas Jr. agreed to the merger, but asked to be placed under the command of the War Department.
(End of this chapter)