The atmosphere in the conference room was very solemn. The confrontation between Menshikov and Grand Duke Constantine made other generals feel that this meeting was unusual. Both Menshikov and Grand Duke Constantine were a bit aggressive. This
The water inside is probably very deep!
Indeed, for veterans like Grand Duke Constantine and Menshikov, personal likes and dislikes cannot completely determine their actions. What can determine their actions is always interests, as long as the interests are large enough, they can become
It's not impossible to have gay friends.
So why are these two people so at odds today?
The reason is simple, it’s almost the time of year to prepare the budget.
The end of the year is coming soon, and the specific items of the Navy budget for the second year have to be decided again. This is no small matter, it is a direct reflection of the power of the Navy Department. Whoever can decide the allocation of projects and the amount of funds is the Navy Department
The well-deserved boss.
In the past, this power was completely controlled by Menshikov alone. The old eunuch could spend the money however he said. Who would dare to say no?
But now Grand Duke Constantine doesn't like to follow Menshikov's baton. Not only does the old eunuch never take him seriously, but also because Grand Duke Constantine doesn't like Menshikov's direction of naval construction.
Under the control of Menshikov, the Russian Imperial Navy was not much different from what it was thirty years ago. It was a traditional and pure sailing fleet that was incompatible with the current trend.
How could wooden sailing ships, muzzle-loading guns, and serf soldiers with low quality conscripted into the army possibly win against the British Royal Navy, which played sailing ships to the extreme?
The quality and quality of the French navy in the Napoleonic era was much better than that of the current Imperial Russian Navy, but it was also constantly being rubbed against the sea by the Royal Navy. Does this have a chance of winning?
Grand Duke Constantine believed that along the route of the sailing ship, what was waiting for the Russian Imperial Navy was the second Trafalgar. If he wanted to realize the century-old ambition of the Romanov family, he must find a way to overtake in a corner.
New technologies or new tactics must be used to catch up with the Royal Navy in one fell swoop.
Grand Duke Constantine believed that steamships were a good direction. In this regard, both the Royal Navy and the old enemy the French Navy were in a state of pioneering development, and everything had not yet been finalized, which gave Russia the opportunity to catch up. As long as it invests heavily, it will definitely be able to
It is not possible to even out the disadvantages of the sailing era in one fell swoop, or even overtake it.
Therefore, Grand Duke Constantine strongly requested the development of a steam fleet. He not only required the construction of more steam ships, but also required the construction of supporting steel plants, new shipyards, and the development of new ship research and design institutions.
All in all, all this requires a lot of money.
However, everyone knows that Russia is not actually a maritime country, let alone a naval power. The Russian navy has always served land power. Although they vigorously developed their navies in the era of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, these navies
The fundamental purpose is not to control the sea power of the ocean, but to cooperate with Russia's rolling torrent on land to seize cities and territories.
In other words, the navy is always subordinate to the army, which means that the navy's military expenditures have to be ranked second, which is very limited.
If more of these limited military expenditures are allocated to the steam fleet, they will naturally be allocated less to the sailing ships. The sailing ships are powerful and deep-rooted within the navy, and they have a large number of relevant benefit recipients.
It is impossible for the commander of a sailing ship to like the commander of a steam ship to compete for the already tight promotion quota, right? The old-style shipbuilding institutions are not willing to use the new shipyards to compete for food, right? The old antiques who have become high-level officials from the sailing ship era do not like themselves either.
Has the tradition been subverted?
All in all, those with vested interests will not willingly give up the benefits in their hands. Menshikov, the spokesperson of these vested interests, naturally has to live up to the hopes of his supporters.
"I just looked at the draft budget. Why are there so many steamship projects?"
Menshikov asked with a puzzled expression: "How could our precious funds be so squandered!"
Grand Duke Constantine had long expected that the old eunuch would fire cannons, and immediately replied: "Our fleet is in urgent need of more steamships. This is the trend of the modern navy, and we must keep up!"
"Trend?" Menshikov sneered and said sarcastically: "What trend? A bunch of unservable monsters that spit out black smoke and carry a big water tanker can be considered a trend? These flashy garbage with many problems are not reliable at all, I can't
I don’t want my fleet to lie down just after leaving port!”
To be fair, Menshikov's words make some sense. As a new thing, steam ships that have just been born a few years ago are indeed not as reliable as sailing ships that have been active for thousands of years. Paddle wheels are indeed fragile, steam boilers have many problems, and fuel supply is quite cumbersome and troublesome.
Moreover, the burned cinders are difficult to handle, leaving the tidy deck always in a mess. Not to mention that serving these machines requires a large number of professional soldiers with knowledge and skills. For the Russian army, which advocates simplicity, these are too cumbersome and troublesome.
But then again, which new thing will be perfect when it is born? It is not terrible to have many problems. Finding problems and improving shortcomings is an inevitable law of historical development. The earliest sailing ship also had a lot of problems. It took thousands of years of evolution and development to
Mature and reliable, isn't it?
What needs to be paid more attention to is the potential of new things. Compared with old-fashioned sailing ships and steam ships, the speed and flexibility are thousands of miles apart. One is sunset and the other is infinite potential. The world is almost halfway through the 19th century, and we are still holding on to sailing ships.
If you let go, then you are an old fool.
"Steam ships do have some problems," Grand Duke Constantine replied confidently, "but these problems are not unsolvable. What is the trend? The British Royal Navy is the trend!"
"Please note that the Royal Navy has vigorously developed steam ships in recent years. What does this mean? It means that this new type of ship is favored by the Royal Navy... I can't imagine how we, who are lagging behind, have the right to laugh at the more advanced and powerful Royal Navy.
Choice, are all British idiots?"
Menshikov was a little annoyed because he was accused of being insulted and could not fight back. After all, the British Royal Navy was so powerful that it could instantly defeat the Russian Navy in terms of strength and historical record.
Menshikov was not so arrogant as to dare to deny the Royal Navy, but he still had something to say: "The Royal Navy is the Royal Navy, we are who we are, and they cannot be confused with each other. The British are rich and can try and make mistakes at will. But we have limited funds and must use good steel.
On the edge of a knife, we cannot waste it casually. When the British succeed through trial and error, it will not be too late for us to follow up. There is no need to be in a hurry and be taken advantage of!"