"If you can get money from Minister of Finance Ottove, or get Prime Minister Forbeck to nod, I have no objection to your plan!" Xiao Jie folded his hands and looked at everyone with a smile.
Boult and the others, the originally excited expressions disappeared all at once. Because of successive years of war, France's economy has been quite bad. Last year, the economy grew by one percent. If it weren't for the large amount of wealth obtained through the war and used to stimulate the economy, I am afraid that the French economy is already on the verge of collapse.
Although starting this year, the war has been suspended. But preparations for war continued. Most of the fiscal revenue is used for military expenses, and most of the resources of the whole society are tilted towards the military. In addition, a large number of young people were recruited into the army, which also greatly restricted the economic development. [bsp;Under such circumstances, it is obviously impossible for the Imperial Treasury to escape an additional military expenditure of more than one billion francs. Although they haven't tried it yet, Boult and others can almost predict that as long as they ask Autotov for military expenses, they may be directly kicked out of the Ministry of Finance.
It would be even more impossible to get Forbeck to nod. The prime minister needs to take into account the capacity of the country and the people. Nowadays, people's living standards have dropped to a rather poor level. If it continues to decline, I am afraid that the status of the government and the royal family in the hearts of the people will be greatly reduced.
"Your Majesty, you are simply embarrassing everyone! With Otov's temper, do you think we can get money from him? Besides, Prime Minister Vorbeck has always supported an early end to the war. If you want to If the military expenditure is increased by more than one billion francs, I think he will definitely strongly oppose it." Dougal also said.
"Then I can't help it!" Xiao Jie spread his hands, expressing that he was powerless. He knew exactly what Boult and the others were thinking? It is nothing more than the hope that the royal family will pay for this military expenditure. The Andresi Consortium has indeed grown a lot. It is not difficult to come up with more than one billion francs. However, since the outbreak of the war, the Andresi Consortium has already contributed a lot. Moreover, we should not let everyone get into the habit of thinking that with the support of the Andresi Consortium anyway, they can resort to military action unscrupulously. If that is the case, no matter how powerful France is and how rich the Andresi Consortium is, it will still only perish in the end.
"Your Majesty, can't you borrow a sum of money from the royal family first?" Boult finally summoned up his courage and asked. Even so, it is somewhat inappropriate to ask. But these warships are really important to the French Navy. With them, Boult can be sure that in the upcoming naval battle, all the navies of the United States and Canada can be sunk, and those arrogant Americans and Canadians who dare to challenge the majesty of France will all go to the sea to feed the fish.
"Eke, what's your opinion?" Xiao Jie asked after thinking about it.
Boult and the others looked at Eke anxiously, for fear that he would express disapproval. You know, as the chief of staff of the French team, Eck has always been known for being cautious.
As if not paying attention to everyone's gaze, Eke said with a blank face: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the current military expenditure is too much, and the country and the people are suffering beyond words!"
The faces of Boult and others were a little ugly, and their hearts were sinking. It's over, these powerful warships are all over.
Xiao Jie also nodded. He just had a little concern. So he refused to nod in agreement.
"However, for Marshal Burt's plan, I think it is feasible." Eck continued.
Burt and the others, who did not expect Eck's conclusion to be like this, immediately beamed with joy.
Xiao Jie was also taken aback for a moment, and then said: "Eke, give me a reason!"
"Your Majesty, the military strength of our country and the United States and Canada. At present, we have an absolute advantage in the army. Not only in the quality of individual soldiers, but also in tactics and equipment, we are far ahead of the United States. Especially after this military expansion. , so that the strength of the army has greatly increased. Even if the US-Canadian coalition forces still have a numerical advantage, their real combat power is not as good as ours. Moreover, the entire European continent is now under our control. Once a war breaks out, we can immediately deploy European forces The armies of other countries tie them to our chariots. I think that under the current prestige of our country, no country dares to object. After the war, it is enough to compensate them for some of the interests of the American continent. Therefore, the army On the one hand, we don't need to worry at all." Eck analyzed clearly.
"However, in terms of the navy. Although our current warships are still ahead of the United States and Canada, the gap is not very big. According to recent information, the US 'North Carolina' class warship and the Canadian 'King Arthur' class warship , the overall performance is not much worse than our 'Giant Whale' class. Moreover, according to the naval shipbuilding plans of the United States and Canada, the number of them after completion is fully 15 times that of our navy. In this case, our It is very difficult for the Chinese navy to win, let alone an overwhelming victory. If the navy cannot defeat the US and Canadian navy, then we have a powerful army, but we cannot land in North America, so the war will continue. The longer the delay, the greater the damage to the empire and the people. The performance of this type of warship designed according to the navy undoubtedly surpasses all current warships. Their addition will definitely greatly enhance the strength of our navy. It may even play a key role. In this case, the navy's confidence in defeating the American and Canadian navies will be greatly increased. As long as the navy wins, will the army's victory be far behind? The end of the war is not far away After defeating the United States and Canada, we can obtain a vast raw material base and market, which is also very helpful for the recovery of the imperial economy. Therefore, I think the plan of the Ministry of the Navy is feasible!" Eke finally said.
Boult and others nodded again and again, and looked at Eke gratefully. At present, although they are very confident, the French navy is indeed not 100% sure to defeat the navies of the United States and Canada. The addition of these sharp warships will undoubtedly greatly improve their confidence in defeating the US and Canadian navies.
Xiao Jie fell into deep thought. To be honest, he is not very optimistic about this type of warship. After all, it was too advanced. In his opinion, building twenty such warships is not as cost-effective as building sixty 'Giant Whale' class warships. In this case, it can still meet the needs of the navy, and it is safer.
However, look at it from another angle. The navy is a branch of the military that needs continuous innovation. Especially for the creation of warships, we should not hinder it, but should support it vigorously. This will enable the navy to maintain a strong creative force and will never be overtaken by others.
"Okay, Eke. I'm convinced by you!" Xiao Jie finally compromised.
Burt and the others immediately beamed with joy, and even expressed their gratitude to Eke on the spot.
"Wait a minute, I have another request. Since this kind of warship is indeed too expensive, the overall number must be reduced. Otherwise, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance will definitely come to me and cry poorly. At that time My day is not easy." Xiao Jie said.
"Then how much can we build?" Boult asked a little nervously.
"10 ships, 10 more ships!" Xiao Jie stretched out a finger and said.
"Your Majesty, it's too cruel to subtract half at once. Otherwise, we will build 15 ships!" Boult bargained.
"It's not worth the price. There can only be 10 ships, otherwise there will be no one." Xiao Jie said firmly.
"Okay, okay. 10 ships is 10 ships!" Boult was afraid that Xiao Jie would reduce it further, so he quickly agreed. He had no delusions that Xiao Jie would accept the budget of 20 ships, and 10 such powerful warships were enough.
"Let me remind you. These 10 warships~www.mtlnovel.com~ will be combined with some auxiliary warships to form a fleet directly under the Ministry of the Navy. In order to truly keep secrets. In addition, I request that these 10 warships, All of them are produced at the Toulon Shipyard. The berth here is enough to build such a warship of more than 20,000 tons. At the same time, since this shipyard belongs to the Andrécy Consortium, it is easy to keep it secret!" Xiao Jie reminded road. The war has progressed to this point, and both sides can be said to be spies. Although the Ministry of Security of the Empire has captured many spies, the leading technology of the Empire is still being stolen by the United States and Canada. This type of battleship will undoubtedly be a killer weapon, and it needs to be kept secret. It can play a big role after the war begins.
"Okay, okay, everything is according to His Majesty's arrangement!" Burt smiled all over his face. As long as the battleship can be built, he doesn't care where it is built.
"Your Majesty, please name this warship?" Sucrete said.
"Let's call it the 'Brilliant' class. I hope it can bring glory to the Imperial Navy and the French Empire!" Xiao Jie said expectantly.
Afterwards, the ten large berths of the Toulon shipyard were immediately cleared out, and were specially used to build the 'Glorious' class warships. All other orders from the Toulon shipyard were also transferred to other shipyards. At the same time, the Imperial Security Department sent a large number of elites to the shipyard, striving to keep the secrets of the 'Brilliant' class warships.