Struggle in Russia

The atmosphere in the conference room was very dignified. The confrontation between Archduke Menshkov and Grand Constantine made other generals feel the meeting was unusual. Both Menshkov and Grandpa Constantine are a little aggressive, the water inside is probably deep!

It is true that for Grand Duke Constantine and Menshkov, personal preferences and aversions do not completely determine their actions. It is always the interests that can determine their actions. As long as the interests are large enough, it is not impossible for them to become friends.

So why are these two so rivalry today?

The reason is simple, and it is almost time for annual budgeting.

It is almost the end of the year, and it is time to decide on the specific items of the second year navy budget. This is not a trivial matter, it is a direct reflection of the amount of power in the Admiralty. Who can decide the allocation of projects and the amount of funds, who is the deserved boss of the Navy Department.

In the past, this power was completely controlled by Menshkov alone. The old **** said that money can be spent as much as possible, which one dare to say nothing?

如今 But now Grand Duke Constantine doesn't like to follow Menishkov's baton. Not only is this old **** always not paying much attention to him, but also because Grand Duke Constantine did not like the direction of navy construction in Menshekov.

Under the control of Menshekov, the Russian Imperial Navy is not much different from 30 years ago. It is a traditional pure sailing fleet, which is incompatible with the current trend.

How can a wooden sailboat, a cannon gun, and a low-quality serf soldier who enlisted in the army fight to win the sailboat to the extreme British Royal Navy?

The quality and quality of the French navy in the Napoleonic era was much stronger than the current Imperial Russian navy, and it was constantly rubbed by the Royal Navy in the sea. Does this have a chance?

Grand Duke Constantine believes that going down the sailing route, waiting for the Russian Imperial Navy is only the second Getrafarga. To realize the century-old aspirations of the Romanovs, they must find a way to overtake the curve, and they must catch up with the Royal Navy with new technology or new tactics.

Grand Duke Constantine considers steamboats a good direction. In this regard, both the Royal Navy and its rival, the French Navy, are in a state of land reclamation and development. Everything has not been finalized, which has given Russia the opportunity to catch up. As long as you invest heavily, you will be able to flatten the disadvantages of the sailing era, and even surpass it.

So Grand Duke Constantine urged the development of the steam fleet, not only to build more steam ships, but also to build new supporting steel plants, new shipyards, and develop new ship research and design institutions.

In short, all this requires a lot of money.

However, everyone knows that Russia is not a maritime country or a naval power. Russia's navy has always served land rights. Although both the era of Peter the Great and the era of the Emperor Ekaterina had vigorously developed the navy, the fundamental purpose of these navies was not to control the ocean's **** of the sea, but to cooperate with Russia's rolling torrents on land and attack the city.

In other words, the navy is always subordinate to the army, which means that the navy's military expenditure must be ranked second, which is very limited.

These limited military expenditures were invested a little more in the steam fleet, and naturally it was reduced to the sailing end. The end of the sailing boat is deeply rooted in the navy, with a large number of relevant interests.

The commander of a sailing ship cannot like the commander of a steam ship to grab an already nervous promotion position, right? Old shipbuilders are also reluctant to grab meals in new shipyards, right? The old antiques that have become high-rises from the era of sailing do not like their traditions to be subverted, right?

In short, vested interests will not willingly give in to the benefits at hand. And the spokesperson for these vested interests, Menshkov, naturally had to live up to the hopes of supporters.

"I just checked the draft budget. Why are there so many steamship projects?"

Menshkov opened his face and asked, "How can we spend so much money!"

Grand Duke Constantine had long expected the Old Eunuch Commission to fire and immediately replied: "Our fleet urgently needs more steam ships. This is the trend of the modern navy. We must keep up!"

"Trends?" Mishkov sneered, taunting, "What trends? A bunch of hard-to-serve monsters who spit smoke and carry waterwheels are also trends? These flashy questions are not reliable at all. I don't want my fleet to lie down as soon as it leaves the port! "

It is fair to say that Menshkov's words are also a bit reasonable. As a new thing, a steam ship that has just been born for a few years is indeed not as reliable as a sailboat that has been active for thousands of years. Paddle wheels are indeed fragile, there are many problems with steam boilers, fuel supply is cumbersome and troublesome, and the cinders after combustion are difficult to handle ~ www.readwn.com ~ The clean and tidy deck is always a mess. Not to mention that waiting for these machines requires a large number of professional soldiers with cultural and technical knowledge. To the simple Russian army, these are too cumbersome and troublesome.

But then again, which new thing will be perfect right after birth? The problems are not terrible. It is an inevitable rule of historical development to find problems and improve shortcomings. The earliest sailing boat is not a whole lot of problems. It is mature and reliable after thousands of years of evolution and development.

What's more important to pay attention to is the potential of new things. Older sailing boats are thousands of miles faster and more flexible than steam boats. One is the sunset and the other is the endless potential. 19 The world is almost halfway away, and still holding a sailing boat, that is the old mess.

"Steam ships do have some problems," Grand Constantine replied, "But these problems cannot be solved. What is the trend? The Royal Navy is the trend!"

"Please note that the Royal Navy has vigorously developed steam ships in recent years. What does this indicate? It shows that this new type of ship is favored by the Royal Navy ... I can't imagine what is behind us to laugh at the more advanced and powerful Royal Navy. Choice, are all British people idiots? "

Menshikov was a little annoyed because he was accused of swearing and could not fight back. After all, the power of the British Royal Navy was there, and it could kill the Russian Navy in spite of its strength or historical record.

Menshekov has not been arrogant enough to dare to deny the Royal Navy, but he still has something to say: "The Royal Navy is the Royal Navy, we are ours, and we should not confuse them. The wealth of the British can be trial and error. But we have limited funds and good steel must be used On the blade, we ca n’t just waste it. When the British succeed in trial and error, we do n’t have to follow up anymore, so we do n’t have to rush to be the head of injustice! ”