Chapter 65: problem
"This old bastard, this is the same rhetoric every time, every time it is perfunctory, **** old eunuch!"
Needless to say, in this struggle, Grand Duke Constantine lost again. His plan to fully develop the new navy was once again totally rejected by Menshekov. The ambitious plan for building the country ended up with only 2,000 tons Class of so-called royal cruisers survived.
What is a Royal Cruiser?
Is actually a thin steam yacht. Its main purpose was not to fight wars, but to serve as a ship for Nicholas I to review the navy and to travel abroad. To put it plainly is the royal high-end toys.
Such a flashy thing was all strived by the Grand Duke Constantine. After receiving the support of his father Nicholas I, Menshekov agreed to approve the funding. As for the construction plans of other battleships and large cruisers, even in the stillbirth, not even pre-research was allowed. Menshkov's reason is that this requires consulting with foreign shipbuilding companies, which costs a lot of money, and the Navy does not have that much money.
Is the Navy really no money?
I was definitely fake, but most of the shipbuilding funds were allocated to the old sail battleship. Large battleships with three hundred decks of one-hundred 18-pound and 20-pound cannons were in Menshekov's heart. As for what steam ship, let it go!
"What good are those old antiques!" Grand Duke Constantine was still venting his anger. "Does he think it is still 1804 now?"
In a sense, the veterans of the class such as Menshekov did stay in 1804, and the war patterns they were familiar with and understood were still so retro and traditional. Know nothing about new technologies and tactics.
"Unfortunately, we lack a convincing basis!"
Grandpa Constantine was very discouraged after Xu's anger was vented. In terms of steam engine technology, Russia does not even have an entry level. When Britain, France, and even Prussia began to build railways, Russia was sleeping. Can you believe that as of 1847, the vast Russia had only a poor railway line with a total length of 37 kilometers!
And this is not so much a railway toy as a czar. Because this railway only serves the Tsar and the Royal Family, the main purpose is to carry the Tsar's family from St. Petersburg to the Royal Village Gatchina for vacation.
铁路 Most of this railway is idle. Nicholas I had no love for trains as a means of transportation, and he could not see its potential huge military and economic value at all.
This is true of the Yelian Railway, not to mention the ship. The dignitaries of Nicholas I had no interest in all new gadgets, but wanted to preserve Russia's glorious tradition. Even if this so-called tradition is completely outdated and outdated, as long as no one holds them with a bag full of new weapons, they refuse to accept the reality that they are far behind.
"We must strengthen publicity so that more people see the great value of the steam engine!"
So Grandpa Constantine said. But it is easier said than done. It is precisely because of Russia ’s backwardness in the first industrial revolution that Russia ’s academic circles were very closed. Not many people knew about steam engines and boilers, and they had no international influence. And with the old-fashioned and proud of the Russian powers, they could not listen to the preaching of foreign authorities, thinking that it was all a trick for foreigners to cheat money.
At this moment, how much Grandpa Constantine hopes that the Russians can help him, otherwise the million roubles he invested before will really be thrown away.
Yes, it is not unreasonable that Grand Duke Constantine waved the flag for the steam ship so hard. Three years ago, he invested in a new steel plant and a boiler and steam engine plant. Preparation of steel and boiler turbine equipment required for the construction of steam ships.
The two factories were completed and put into production last year, but the sales volume was very small in one year. The rolled rails can still drink gruel by the Huangcun Railway, and boiler equipment and steam engines are basically unattended.
Millions of fortunes are about to fall into the water. Can you say that Grand Duke Constantine can't be anxious to get angry. Previously, he was planning to use the power in his hand to find a way in the navy budget. As long as he can build three or four new steam ships, his steel plant, his boiler plant and steam engine plant will not at least continue to make big profits.
现在 And now it's all over by the **** Menshkov. How many iron plates can a Royal Yacht sell? How many boilers and steam engines can I sell? This amount is too small!
"Would you like to go to your Majesty and think of a way?" Nicholas Milyukin suggested.
Grandpa Constantine replied in a discouraged way: "It's no use, the royal yacht was approved by my father, or Menshekov wouldn't even agree to it."
"Can you do work with the big merchants who run shipping and the big aristocrats who mine?"
Grandpa Constantine sighed again: "Have tried it. Those old traitors and old fritters are sly and sly, and only consider ordering if they agree with their harsh conditions. I can't accept this kind of begging!"
I can only say that Russia's backwardness is comprehensive, and merchants and aristocrats have rejected new ships and machines that are more expensive to maintain and require more. UU reading books www.uukanshu.com Anyway, they have a lot of serfs who have to eat something in their hands, they must sell their lives, the cost is low, why do you need expensive machines?
极 The few who are interested in Grand Duke Constantine's proposal are not from the machine, but hope that the high-ranked Grand Duke Constantine will open the way for them. Either ask for the promotion of a few children, or simply ask for a certain official position. It is tantamount to a disguised trading of power and money.
Grand Duke Constantine is not absolutely clean and clean, but the other party's asking price is too high, far exceeding his psychological expectations, making him feel uneconomical. So things are deadlocked.
Nicolas Milyutin suggested: "Can you find a way to export? Isn't there a small demand for steel in Sweden, Denmark and Prussia?"
Grand Duke Constantine was a little bit crying: "They say that the quality of my factory's products is average, the price is too expensive and our tariffs are too high ..."
Nicholas Milyutin sighed in his heart. In fact, he liked and liked Grand Duke Constantine, but sometimes the Grand Duke lacked forward-looking and impulsive behavior. At that time, I felt that the iron and steel plant and the boiler and steam engine plant had a promising future, and immediately went to great lengths regardless of it.
As a result, the quality and output of the products in the factory are now average, the production cycle is particularly long, the reject rate is particularly high, the natural cost is high, and the price is high, but it is normal to fight foreign similar products.
This made Mi Liujing also scratch his head a bit, I do n’t know what to do, did he persuade Grandpa Constantine to sell the factory and stop the loss early?
Just when Nicholas Milyutin and Grandpa Constantine were relatively speechless, Dmitry Milyutin rushed in, and he happily said, "Her Excellency, look, Good news! Your factory may have been saved !! "