Chapter 27: Cold Eyes Watching from Afar

  The construction of the "Wilhelm der Gro?e" did not cause a stir. In addition to the effect of the advance publicity, this was also due to international events at the time.

  The most notable of these was the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway by Tsar Alexander III.

  Two years later, after British and German intervention, Alexander III temporarily abandoned the construction of the Siberian Railway, and the Franco-Russian Alliance was also blown up.

  In Russia, everyone knows the importance of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

  Although England and Germany strongly opposed it, the Tsar, ministers, and Russian capitalists did not forget that only after building this railway would Russia be truly Russia.

  As the German Empire strengthened its naval armaments, Alexander III saw an opportunity.

  In just two years, Anglo-German relations had deteriorated significantly. Although the two powerful empires still maintained a facade of friendship, Britain had begun to take precautions against the German Empire, preventing this continental power from becoming a naval power and thus posing a threat to British maritime supremacy.

  Alexander III took this opportunity to again propose the construction of the Siberian Great Railway.

  This time, the Tsar is playing for real.

  To facilitate this, Alexander III entrusted Witte with full powers to deal with the construction of the railway and negotiations for a loan from France. Before England could take diplomatic action, Witte presented the Tsar with a draft plan for the project which received the full support of the Cabinet and Duma.

  The French Parliament then approved a loan of 1.4 billion francs to Russia.

  With the emergence of "Siberian Railway Construction Company", Russia, with the help of France, has already built the Siberian Great Railway as an established fact.

  It is clear that Britain and the German Empire were extremely annoyed by this.

  In the face of a common threat, even if Anglo-German relations were not harmonious, they had to put aside their differences for the time being and hope that each other could become a bulwark against the Franco-Russian alliance.

  It can be seen from this that Emperor Alexander III's arbitrary behavior was a great help to the empire.

  After the improvement of Anglo-German relations, the Empire continued to build large warships, also with sufficient reason.

  Of course, the reason is right in front of you, no need to look for it.

  At the end of the year, when the keel of "Wilhelm der Gro?e" had been laid, von Tirpitz announced on behalf of the German Empire that in response to the threat posed by the Russian Baltic Fleet, the German Empire would build one battleship per year for the next five years.

  In response, Britain not only did not oppose it but also offered to help the Empire build warships.

  Britain's move is not a benevolent act, but rather a consideration for itself. If the German Empire's navy can contain Russia's Baltic Fleet, the pressure Britain faces in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Far East will be greatly reduced, allowing it to better maintain its own interests.

  In this era, Russia was the second naval power after Britain.

  Although Russia's geographical environment is not ideal, with its outlet to the sea being separated by land, since Peter the Great, Russia has been striving to acquire a southern outlet for expansion and building a fleet. At this time, Russia had three fleets: the Baltic Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Far East Fleet. In terms of conditions, the Black Sea Fleet was the most ideal, as it could enter the Mediterranean through the straits at the intersection of Europe and Asia. However, due to the constraints of the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Black Sea Fleet found it difficult to achieve anything. The Far East is very far from Russia's core area, with no convenient land transportation, and was not given much attention. Because Russia's capital, St. Petersburg, is located on the Baltic coast, the Baltic Fleet was the most powerful in the Russian Navy, owning several main battleships, making it the strongest fleet in the Baltic Sea.

  Geographically speaking, coming out of the Baltic Sea is the North Sea controlled by Britain.

  As soon as the Baltic Fleet breaks out, it will pose a great threat to Britain.

  Similarly affected by geographical factors and with no suitable base in the Baltic, it was unlikely that a British Royal Navy fleet would enter the Baltic.

  If the German High Seas Fleet could tie down the Russian Baltic Fleet, it would be of great benefit to Britain.

  Building a powerful fleet takes enough time, and building a railway that spans the Eurasian continent and stretches for tens of thousands of kilometers also takes a lot of time.

  Feng Chengqian saw through it very clearly.

  As long as the Imperial Navy was not strong enough to pose a mortal threat to the Royal Navy, Britain would regard an ambitious Russia as its most powerful potential opponent.

  With Russia in front of them, Britain and Germany at least had to maintain a friendly relationship on the surface.

  In this way, Feng Chengqian had to grasp the measure, as long as he did not provoke Britain and controlled the scale and speed of shipbuilding, he would not set himself on fire.

  Building one main battleship every year, and it's just a five-year plan, which is not excessive.

  Even if we wait for five more years, the Imperial Navy will have only seven capital ships, and no more than five of them will be in service. Not even a fraction of the British Royal Navy.

  Russia's construction of the Siberian Railway was not what Feng Chengqian was most concerned about.

  Before that, there was a big event related to Feng Congqian, which can even be said to have been triggered by Feng Congqian himself - Japan's ordering of warships from Britain.

  After nearly a year of negotiations, Britain and Japan reached an agreement under which Britain would provide loans for the construction in Japan of four ironclad warships.

  Japan is also an ambitious country.

  However, Japan is unlike Russia, with its vast territory, large population and rich resources. It can be said that Japan's ambition and strength are extremely mismatched.

  It was the Tsar's arbitrary decision that brought this about.

  At first, Britain did not want to make a loss-making deal. After all, lending to Japan was equivalent to gambling, and it was uncertain whether they could get their money back. The astute British had already seen that Japan's active expansion of its navy was absolutely not for the defense of its homeland, but rather to make a big move in the Far East. Even the simplest-minded person would think that Japan and Qing China would eventually clash, but no one knew who would be the final winner. If Japan lost the war, the loans provided by Britain would all be wasted, let alone recovering the principal and interest, it was likely that even the principal would have to be written off.

  The capitalists in Britain are very clever and naturally don't want to make a loss-making deal.

  It was not until news leaked out that the Tsar had decided to build the Trans-Siberian Railway that British authorities changed their minds and recognised the importance of supporting Japan.

  In the Far East, Britain had no better choice.

  The Qing dynasty is weak and poor, still thinking itself as the Celestial Empire, it will certainly not join hands with Britain to check Russia.

  So Japan, which was rapidly growing in power and influence, became Britain's only possible ally in the Far East.

  But at this time, Japan was still not strong enough.

  After signing a loan agreement with Britain to purchase warships, Japanese diplomats came to Berlin and proposed purchasing several warships from the Empire, hoping that the Empire would also provide loans.

  Previously, Japan also purchased warships from Germany, such as the Vulkan Shipbuilding Company that built the "Tingyuan" ship had also built a small military vessel for Japan. The problem is that the imperial finances were already strained and the Imperial Navy was expanding in scale, so it was impossible to provide loans to Japan.

  Feng Chengqian had been paying attention to this matter and had long expected that Japan would seek help from the Empire.

  For this purpose, Feng Chengqian made preparations in advance, that is, before the Japanese diplomat arrived in Berlin, he submitted the five-year development plan of the navy to Frederick III.

  This move was equivalent to absorbing the empire's surplus capital, making it impossible for imperial bankers to provide loans to Japan.

  Feng Chengqian did not directly oppose providing loans to Japan or helping Japan build warships, after all, doing so would make Frederick III suspect his loyalty.

  Under Feng's behind-the-scenes intervention, Japanese diplomats left Berlin in great disappointment.

  Before the trumpet of naval armament competition among European powers sounded, a more intense naval armament competition had already begun in the Far East.

  The direct result of an armaments race is a large-scale war.

  Although history has changed, the essential things will not change, such as the Sino-Japanese War triggered by Japan's expansionist ambitions.

  According to Feng Chengqing's estimation, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, also known as the First Sino-Japanese War, was bound to break out.

  If judged by the expansion speed of both navies, this war would break out around 1895, because by then, the naval powers of Japan and Qing would reach their peak, and Japan's national strength would be insufficient to continue the naval armament race.

  Before the economy is ruined by the armaments race, Japan will surely go to war.

  This will be the first large-scale naval battle of the steam age, and it will also be an epoch-making naval battle. This naval battle will not only change the fate of two countries but also change the direction of the development of the navy.

  At that time, Feng Chengqian was also very contradictory.

  In his heart, he did not wish for Japan to win, as this would bring great disaster to the nation he loved. However, he was very clear that it was this war that dug a grave for the rotten Qing dynasty and ultimately buried this extremely backward and corrupt empire.

  If the Qing dynasty had not been defeated in this war, it might have lingered on for several more decades.

  Would it be beneficial for the Chinese nation if the rotten Qing dynasty were allowed to rule for several more decades?

  Apart from preventing the Empire from building warships for Japan, Feng Chengqian did not intervene in history in any other way. He neither wanted to help the Qing Dynasty bring great disasters to the Chinese nation nor did he want to become a traitor and an accomplice of the enemy. As for what kind of outcome the war between the Qing and Japan would have, Feng Chengqian could not predict it either. He could only follow the trend of history and be a detached observer.

  This year, the Eurasian continent and the Far East were turbulent, but Feng Chengqian had a relatively easy time.

  In order to avoid conflicts with the army, the Kaiser has divided the War Department into two parts. Von Schlieffen retains the honorary title of Minister of War but is in fact Minister of Marine Warfare. What was slightly unexpected for von Schlieffen was that the new Minister of Land Warfare was not Waldersee, but rather Schlieffen himself.

  Putting aside his reputation, Feng Chengqian felt much more at ease.

  Besides, dealing with Schlieffen is much easier than mutually calculating with Waldersee.

  However, being in a key position, troubles are inevitable.

  By the end of the year, one thing made Feng Chengqian a headache.

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