If it is a general situation, Kornilov's words still make sense. After all, battleships play a greater role in the fleet. Improving the combat effectiveness of one battleship is more meaningful than increasing five or six frigates.
But the situation of the Black Sea Fleet is very special. As a semi-enclosed inland sea, the Black Sea is like a bathtub. As long as the Bosporus is blocked, it will really be like catching a turtle in a urn with no place to hide.
And the strength of the Black Sea Fleet is one of those situations where the superiors are inferior and the inferiors are more than adequate. Compared with Britain and France, it is definitely unable to defeat them, but it is more than enough to bully Turkey. If Russia's enemy was only Turkey in the past, then naturally it would not be a big problem.
Just go up and rub the chicken on the ground.
But the problem is that Russia's enemies this time are Britain and France. Not to mention the two combined fleets, even Russia cannot face one of them alone.
Therefore, for the battles that the Black Sea Fleet will face in the future, capital ships such as battleships, whether they increase their strength or not, have only so much significance. Even if they are a little stronger, they will still be unable to defeat the British and French combined fleets and bully a mere Turkish navy with the current Black Sea fleet.
That's enough for the fleet.
In other words, when modernizing the battleships of the Black Sea Fleet, unless all battleships are modified, it would not make much sense to only modify one or two ships, because the cost-effectiveness ratio is really not high, and it will not achieve immediate results.
As for retrofitting all the battleships of the Black Sea Fleet, hehe, it is really impossible. There is not so much money, and there is no support from the top, so it is impossible to do it.
It's just that this kind of perspective that time travelers had was not something everyone could understand back then. After all, generally speaking, Russians didn't think that Britain and France would fall out with them over a mere local chicken. Naturally, they didn't have to worry about quarreling with Britain and France.
United fleet.
In fact, the idea of an Anglo-French combined fleet is shocking enough. After all, these two families are feuding and blood feuding enemies working side by side. Do you think this is possible?
Nassimov immediately asked: "Do you think Britain and France will really declare war on us because of the Balkan issue?"
For Li Xiao, this is unquestionable, but after all, he can't say that he came from time travel. He has seen it in history books, otherwise he will be regarded as crazy. So he can only explain like this:
"From the current point of view, our country's strategy on the Balkan issue has aroused high dissatisfaction among the great powers. Even within the Holy Alliance, we have encountered opposition from Austria. Once Turkey chooses not to surrender, a war is likely to break out!
"
Having said this, Li Xiao paused for a moment and then said: "As soldiers, when facing war, we not only need to be brave, but also need to make sufficient preparations. We must be prepared to deal with the possibility of the most extreme situations. Now, General, please
Tell me, once Britain and France form a combined fleet, what will the Black Sea Fleet face?"
Nassimov suddenly fell silent. As a naval general, he naturally knew how far the strength of the Russian navy was compared with that of Britain and France. As Russia has increased its naval construction in the past few decades, the number of new battleships built every year is considerable, but
Compared with Britain and France, especially maritime hegemons with profound naval backgrounds like Britain and France, he is still a younger brother.
Not to mention the British and French combined fleets, the Royal Navy alone is enough to defeat the Russian Navy. Once the Black Sea Fleet is finished, the Russian Black Sea coast will become a target for British and French attacks. At that time, they can attack wherever they want.
Such a vast area of land cannot be defended by the army alone!
Nassimov briefly imagined the scene and frowned. He knew very well that at that time, Russia's fulcrum in the Black Sea region might be the only fortress of Sevastopol, which would definitely become a key target for British and French attacks.
.And once Sevastopol is finished, the entire Crimean Peninsula will be finished too.
If it loses control of the Crimean Peninsula, it means that Russia's efforts of more than a hundred years will be in vain. After all, it was only in the era of Catherine the Great that Russia seized Crimea.
We have been operating here for more than fifty years, and to be honest, our foundation is relatively shallow.
Of course, Nassimov naturally didn't like this tragic situation to happen, but he couldn't think of any way to make a comeback. Russia's geopolitical environment is too unfriendly to the navy. All sea areas are
Fragmented and separated by thousands of miles. Except for the Black Sea Fleet, the Baltic Sea Fleet is stronger. But the Baltic Sea is also a semi-enclosed sea area, and the Royal Navy can block it at will as long as it is willing.
In fact, the two fleets of the Russian Navy cannot form a joint force at all, and they can only fight alone in several strategic directions. However, there are powerful enough enemies in these strategic directions, and there is no overwhelming advantage in fighting alone.
.
To put it bluntly, it is simply uneconomical to develop a navy in a geographical environment like Russia's. Unless you have money to burn, each fleet will not be strong enough.
"If Britain and France choose to intervene or even go to war, how can the Black Sea Fleet respond?"
Faced with Li Xiao's question, both Nassimov and Kornilov fell into deep thought. Although the answer was obvious, it really hurt their self-esteem to say it - they would definitely not be able to defeat them, and they would not even be able to run away.
Place to run.
Facing the two silent sea generals, Li Xiao spread his hands and said: "Gentlemen, it is obvious that you are also aware that once this worst case scenario occurs, the Black Sea Fleet is likely to be destroyed!"
After a pause, he smiled bitterly and said: "Not only is it destroyed, the Black Sea Fleet is likely to be completely wiped out, and it will not be able to provide any support to the battle on land."
Li Xiao's meaning is very clear, that is, the Black Sea Fleet is meaningless and is just a gorgeous decoration. This makes Nassimov and Kornilov both embarrassed and hurt their self-esteem. Every real soldier does not want to see himself in the future.
Their hard work day after day was regarded as nothing. And they obviously encountered this painful situation. What was even more painful was that they could not refute Li Xiao's words.
Nassimov suddenly asked: "So you have not advocated building large ships for the Black Sea Fleet in recent years. Is this the reason?"
Li Xiao shook his head and said: "No, if the Black Sea Fleet can have a chance to be strong enough to resist the Royal Navy, and if this goal can be achieved by just investing money, I will naturally not stop it and will strongly support it, but obviously this is impossible.
of!"
After glancing at Nassimov and Kornilov, Li Xiao continued to explain: "And the reason why I have opposed the attack on the Black Sea Fleet in recent years lies in several other more critical reasons..."