My Italy

The early morning sunlight shines through the bright windows into the room, which is obviously so harmonious. Carlo was immersed in work in the room. There were many documents on the table that he needed to process, all of which needed to be signed.

Just as Carlo was immersed in his work, he heard the voice of the attendant coming from outside the door. "Your Majesty, Foreign Minister Bacona has something to ask for."

"Invite him in."

Upon hearing that the Foreign Secretary had arrived, Carlo immediately invited him in.

"Your Majesty, there is news from Russia. The Russian government asks if our country is willing to sell Genoa-class battleships."

"The Russians want to buy our warships?"

Carlo was surprised when he heard what the Foreign Secretary said. Because the relationship between Italy and Russia is not good, on the one hand, the two countries have somewhat conflicting interests in the Balkans. Although it is not as intense as with Austria-Hungary, it will still be affected to some extent. On the other hand, Russia is an ally of France. Do I need to introduce the relationship between France and Italy? I didn’t expect that the Russians would actually look to Italy to buy ships.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Knowing that the king had doubts, Bacona immediately clarified his doubts. Fortunately, before returning, he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the reasons for the Russians' purchase of ships.

In Bacona's narration, Carlo finally understood why Russia needed to purchase warships from abroad.

In March 1898, Russia captured the Port of Port Arthur and extended the Siberian Railway terminal that had already begun construction from Shenyang to Port Arthur. This aroused dissatisfaction from Japan, which also peeked into the Northeast region, in order to counter Russia's attack on the Northeast. Japan formulated a radical shipbuilding plan, aiming to complete the plan of six new battleships by 1905. Six battleships are enough to give Japan an overwhelming advantage in the Far East waters and become the overlord of the Far East.

On the other hand, after Russia occupied Port Arthur, it suddenly discovered that although it occupied Port Arthur, its fleet had more tasks to perform, and it also faced threats from the Japanese.

At this time, the strength of the Russian Pacific Fleet was not strong at this time. Its largest and most modern warships were the armored cruisers Nasimov, Rurik, and Russia. In addition, it also included the protected cruiser Admiral Vladimir. No., Dmitry Donsky and Parmit Zova, etc. Just look at the warship configuration of the Russian Far East Fleet and you will find that the mission of its Far East Fleet is mainly to break up the war, and the target is naturally the British trade line in the Far East.

However, after acquiring the ice-free port of Port Arthur in the Far East, the goals of the Russian Far East Fleet have changed, and they need to compete with Japan for sea control in the Far East. In order to cope with the rapid development of the Japanese navy, Russia first transferred the Petlevit and Oslibia, which were built in 1895, to the Far East. However, the two ships were second-class battleships that could cruise in the vast Pacific for a long time. The firepower is not that strong. Therefore, in order to deal with future threats in the Far East, the Russian Navy needs to build four new battleships.

Therefore, under repeated representations by the Navy, on March 22, 1898, the Tsar agreed to build two more battleships, in addition to a shipbuilding plan to build 16 cruisers and 30 destroyers for the Far East Fleet.

But planning is one thing, building is another. Russia's Baltic coast shipyards are already filled with battleships and cruisers under construction. Russian shipyards in the Baltic Sea, specifically the shipyards around St. Petersburg, could only start construction on up to five large ships at the same time.

The ships designed by Russia still take a long time to build, while the warships built by Japan in the UK can be completed in a relatively short time! If we wait for the Baltic shipyards to build it themselves, we will definitely not be able to meet the shipbuilding target on time. In addition, the low efficiency of Russian shipyards is also one of the reasons that slows down the speed of its shipbuilding.

The only way to solve this bottleneck at this time is to seek available resources from abroad to build battleships.

So which shipyard meets Russia's needs?

First of all, the UK can rule it out first. Given the current relationship between Britain and Russia, this ship was built in the UK. Maybe the Japanese are more familiar with it than they are.

Although France is a good ally, the price of French man-made ships is relatively high, and the French Navy cannot build its own warships. Because the ten years of delay for the Green Water Navy has required the French Navy to make up a lot of lessons, so France is not suitable.

Austria-Hungary?

Forget it, next one.

Germany?

This was not a good choice, because due to the Navy Act, the German shipyards were also filled with their own warships. In addition, who is the target of the Franco-Russian alliance also makes Russia unwilling to let Germany build ships for itself.

Next, only the United States and Italy are left.

The Spanish-American War that just ended gave Russia a deep understanding of the performance of the warships of both parties in the Spanish-American War, so Italy was the only choice left.

One more thing, at this time, the owner of the Philadelphia Shipyard, Crump, was very interested in the vacancy of Russian battleships. He lobbied the Russian government to give him the battleship order and was active in this regard. Thanks to his lobbying, the Russian government had already negotiated with him, but once the Battle of Santiago started, there was no further progress.

And delaying asking the Italian government until now also shows that the Russian government is procrastinating enough.

"Just one?"

Facing Carlo's question, Bacona nodded. "The Russians want us to build them a battleship."

Yes, even if there is a lack of battleships at this time, Russia is extremely cautious in its foreign purchases.

The order for this battleship is probably too small.

Carlo looked at the Foreign Minister and said. "How about we ask the Russians to buy one more ship and we can sell the blueprints?"

That's right, Carlo worked hard for this order from the Russians, and even took out the drawings of the Genoa class.

However, Carlo's words stunned the Foreign Secretary, and it took him a long time to speak. "Your Majesty, this needs to be carefully considered. The Navy may have objections."

Carlo knew what Bacona meant, because the sale of Genoa-class blueprints and technology to Russia was very likely to be known to France, or it would definitely be known to France. At this time, the Italian Navy will inevitably be dissatisfied with this.

But Carlo disagreed.

Because this battleship technology will not become obsolete if it is retained, and in his opinion, the Genoa class is completely a transitional battleship. After the successful development of the steam turbine, two of the three major parts of the dreadnought have been completed. He only needs to wait for the 305mm rapid fire If the naval gun is successfully developed, everything will fall into place.

Therefore, we look at the problem from different angles and draw different conclusions.

Besides, doesn’t the Italian Navy develop new battleships?

"Bakona, I understand your worries, but don't worry about this matter. Since we have sold American drawings and technology, what can Russia not sell?"

Since the king has said this, what else can he, the foreign minister, say.

"Okay, Your Majesty, I will send a telegram to the ambassador in Russia and ask him to inquire about the attitude of the Russians."

After the departure of the Foreign Secretary, Carlo was now in no mood to continue working, contemplating the implications of the sale to Russian battleships.

First of all, as a direct beneficiary, the Russians will definitely welcome it. As for other countries, Japan and the United Kingdom must be dissatisfied, but this is of no use. Everyone knows Italy’s attitude towards the sale of warships. If you give them money, they will sell them. If you give them enough money, you can buy new warships that they have not yet used. Enjoy it first, sir.

As for the allies Germany and Austria, Germany is busy building warships and may be dissatisfied, but it will not affect the relationship between the two countries. As for Austria-Hungary, it is even less likely because its navy is too weak.

After much deliberation, Carlo believed that selling warships and even blueprint technology to Russia would not affect the future situation.

If it is selling a dreadnought, then Carlo may need to think carefully about it, but for the former dreadnought, there is no need to think about it at all. Just sell it for the money. If you have a good attitude, others may buy more.

Following Carlo's statement, the radio waves soon arrived in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. Next, it depends on the attitude of the Russians.