Chapter Seventy-Three: The British Military Procurement Plan

  Gao Yang exhaled a ring of smoke, and his eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as he said to Mak Kui in a light tone, "Ambassador, your meaning is that as long as I'm willing to spend more money, the British government won't oppose this plan and will even actively help?"

  "Mr. Gao, as a shrewd businessman, you should understand that our government cannot possibly reject such a massive contract just because of a piece of paper? Not only can we get rid of a large number of old-fashioned warships and obtain a large sum of pounds, but also free up new tonnage to build new ships. If it were you, would you refuse?" The consul's words suddenly quieted the conference room, this is real politics.

  Gao Yang's mouth slightly pursed, and with his sharp mind, he immediately understood what Mak Kei was getting at. A faintly uncomfortable feeling arose in his heart. However, on the surface, he smiled slightly and shook his head, saying "Won't happen."

  Everyone in the room burst out laughing softly, as if this was a very interesting topic. Gao Yang held a cigarette in his right hand and tapped his left index finger on the table lightly. The slightly raised corner of his mouth seemed to be smiling, but the coldness in his eyes revealed that he was not satisfied with Mak's words! In Gao Yang's world, Britain was just a regional country clinging to America's thigh, but in this time and space, a consul could say such domineering words!

  Everyone in the conference room fell silent, quietly watching Gao Yang and waiting for his decision. After a moment, Gao Yang extinguished his cigarette, slightly curled up the corner of his mouth, stroked his chin, and looked at Makarov with a serious expression, saying: "Ambassador, if our country joins the Washington Naval Treaty, how many main fleet tonnage do you think our country should get?"

  Mac jerked slightly at the jazz "What?" The ambassador looked uncomfortably at Major Parker.

  Colonel Parker stood up with great elegance, bowed slightly to Gao Yang and said seriously: "Mr. Gao, first of all, if you want to get the same tonnage as the British Empire and the United States in the Washington Naval Treaty, it's basically impossible! Considering that the tonnage of the main battleships you are currently planning to purchase is already very close to the upper limit of France and Italy, if you still want to increase new ships, I personally think that at most you can only match Japan's standard."

  "Oh? And Japan as well? 315,000 tons?" Gao Yang asked, looking at Major Parker with a somewhat strange gaze.

  "Yes, Mr. Kao, I think this is the limit to which the British and American governments can accept." Major Parker replied seriously.

  "Which means that no matter how much more money I spend, it's still not going to work?" Gao Yang's eyes twitched slightly as he asked in a low voice. "Yes, sir."

  "Major Parker smiled faintly and continued, 'Mr. Gao, the warships you plan to purchase from the Royal Navy at great expense are already enough to guarantee that the British Empire will agree to give you a main fleet tonnage equal to that of France and Italy. If you want to get closer to Japan's tonnage in the Washington Naval Treaty, then it depends on your sincerity.'"

  "Sincerity?" Gao Yang was slightly stunned, his mouth twitching with a hint of speechlessness, and an odd expression appeared on his face. He burst out laughing loudly. After half a beat, he stopped laughing and looked at Major Parker, saying "Alright, Major, how much more sincerity do you think I need to show for the British government to agree that our country has the same naval tonnage as Japan?"

  "Ah, Mr. Gao," said Commander Parker with a low chuckle, "if you also had the same tonnage of main fleet vessels as Japan, then with the remaining tonnage quota, you could build several standard battleships with a displacement not exceeding 35,000 tons! I think the shipyards of the British Empire would be very willing to serve you."

  "High-ranking officials won't do, I need to use the contract for a new main battleship to gain support from the US government. I hope your country's government can understand this point, after all, if the US government doesn't agree, everything we're discussing now is meaningless. However, I'm also planning to purchase some light warships from the Royal Navy. Major, do you have any good recommendations? By the way, Major, what's your full name?"

  "Major Parker smiled slightly and said, 'Mr. Gao, it's an honor to meet you. My full name is James Parker Somerville, a major in the British Royal Navy, temporarily assigned as the naval attaché to your country.' Gao Yang's face showed a slight expression of surprise, not expecting it to be him!"

  Major Parker nodded and continued, "Mr. Gao, a fleet cannot have only capital ships, it also needs a large number of light vessels as supporting forces. I recommend some excellent Royal Navy light warships to you."

  He walked to Gao Yang's side, gently flipping through the naval chart on the table, pointing to a picture of a warship and introducing it: "This is the Birmingham-class cruiser you just specified. All three existing ones can be sold to you. The Birmingham-class cruiser is 131 meters long, 15.2 meters wide, and has a draft of 4.9 meters. The standard displacement is 5440 tons, and the full load displacement is 6040 tons. It has a main engine with 25000 horsepower, with a maximum speed of 25.5 knots. The whole ship is equipped with 9 152mm main guns, 4 47mm secondary guns, and 2 533mm torpedo launchers. This is an excellent cruiser, you will definitely be satisfied." Gao Yang nodded slightly and said in a low voice: "Continue." Three cruisers can't satisfy the British appetite!

  Major Parker smiled and flipped through the manual, pointing to another warship. "This is an Epic Goddess-class cruiser, with only two existing ships, Epic Goddess and Champion. The Epic Goddess-class cruiser is 128 meters long, 12.7 meters wide, and has a draft of 4.5 meters. Its standard displacement is 4228 tons, and its full load displacement is 4695 tons. With a main engine power of 37500 horsepower, it can reach a top speed of 29.5 knots. The entire ship is equipped with two 152mm guns, eight 102mm secondary guns, and two 533mm torpedo launchers. These two excellent warships are also available for sale to you." Gao Yang nodded slightly, indicating for him to continue.

  "Commander Parker continued to flip through the manual, pointing at a photo of a warship. "Caroline-class cruiser, five are still in existence: Caroline, Carysfort, Cleopatra, Comus and Conquest. The Caroline-class cruisers are 128 meters long, 12.7 meters wide, with a draft of 4.5 meters. Standard displacement is 4219 tons, full load is 4733 tons. With a main engine power of 40,000 horsepower, the maximum speed can reach 28.5 knots. The entire ship has two 152mm guns, eight 102mm secondary guns and four 533mm torpedo launchers. Caroline-class and Calliope-class are very similar, many spare parts are interchangeable, this is also an excellent warship."

  "Ha! They're all just some old ships that have been in service for almost 10 years now. Lieutenant Commander, you're clearing out the Royal Navy's junk to make room, eh?"

  Major Parker smiled and said, "Mr. Gao, although these are old goods that the Royal Navy is about to scrap, they are still quite advanced warships for your country's navy. And you're spending money to show goodwill to the British government, aren't you? Doesn't your country have a saying 'one willing to buy, one willing to sell'?"

  Gao Yang's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, he twitched the corner of his eye and slightly shook his head without saying anything, indicating for Major Parker to continue.

  "Major Parker continued to flip through the manual, pointing at a destroyer and saying, "Mr. Gao, this is the Shakespeare-class destroyer leader, HMS Spencer. Its standard displacement is 1,481 tons, full load displacement is 2,010 tons, length is 101 meters, beam is 9.6 meters, draft is 3.76 meters. With a main engine power of 40,000 horsepower, its top speed can reach 36 knots! It's equipped with five single-mounted 120mm MKI main guns and six 533mm torpedo launchers. This is an excellent destroyer leader in the Royal Navy, and there are five ships of the same class that can be sold to you."

  "Mr. Gao, this is the 8 R-class destroyers you wanted. They have a standard displacement of 975 tons and a full load displacement of 1035 tons. The length of the ship is 84 meters, the width is 8.2 meters, and the draft is 3 meters. The main engine has 27,000 horsepower and can reach a maximum speed of 36 knots. They are equipped with 4 102mm main guns and 4 533mm torpedo launchers. They are loyal guards of the main fleet." Colonel Parker continued, "Mr. Gao, I personally think that the number of destroyers you plan to purchase cannot meet the needs of the main fleet. I suggest that you can buy all the R-class destroyers owned by the Royal Navy, there are 36 R-class destroyers in total."

  Gao Yang lit a cigarette and looked up at Major Parker, saying calmly, "What else does the Royal Navy need to update its warships?"

  "Ah, Mr. Gao, I'll get straight to the point," said Major Parker with a slightly embarrassed expression, clearing his throat. "After selling you the George V and Iron Duke-class battleships, the freed-up tonnage will be enough to complete all five Nelson-class ships. As for cruisers, there aren't any new models ready to enter service, just getting rid of old stock to exchange for pounds. Destroyers are the same, phasing out old destroyer models can pave the way for new ones to enter service and also bring in a large sum of pounds for the government and Royal Navy."

  "After taking a deep breath, Major Parker continued: 'Mr. Gao, all warships will return to the shipyard for a thorough overhaul and maintenance. In addition, repair yards, various spare parts, spare gun barrels, and ammunition production factories of all types. Moreover, Dartmouth Royal Naval College can accept 100 students from your country every year, and the Royal Navy will bear all expenses for your naval officers and soldiers to come to the UK to receive warships.'"

  "Right here, Major Parker took a deep breath and said in a low voice, 'The total cost is 200 million pounds that the British Empire government will collect from you! What do you think, Mr. Gao?'"

  Thank you to all book friends who like this book for their support, thank you everyone. Due to the recent chaos in the company, I also encountered forced overtime! Weekends can only be updated once, sorry everyone, please forgive me, thank you to all friends for their support.