Chapter Thirty: Quality as the Foundation

Despite Feng Chengqian’s strenuous objections, Bismarck proceeded methodically with negotiations involving the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

Reflecting on the events that had transpired, especially those before he arrived in this world, Feng Chengqian realized that his actions had done nothing to alter the formation of the two great alliances that would face off in the First World War. Long before 1888, Germany and Russia had already fractured economically, making a Franco-Russian military alliance inevitable. The Second German Empire had no alternative but to ally itself with Austria-Hungary and Italy, forming the Axis powers. To prevent the Second German Empire from dominating the continent through the Axis, Britain’s diplomatic strategy would inevitably shift, turning a full 180 degrees to form an alliance with France and Russia, ultimately resulting in the Entente.

Had Feng Chengqian arrived in 1880, or even 1885, this situation might never have arisen.

On the European continent, Germany’s best possible allies were not the feeble Austro-Hungarian Empire nor the unreliable Italy, but the Russian Empire to the east.

In truth, there were no significant conflicts between Germany and Tsarist Russia.

The sharp decline in German-Russian relations was driven by internal factors in both nations.

In the history he knew well, the German factors were more pronounced, and at their root lay Chancellor Bismarck.

Strictly speaking, it was the interests represented by Bismarck and the Junker aristocratic group.

During the wars to unify Northern Germany, the Prussian Junkers played a pivotal role. Thus, after the establishment of the Second German Empire, the Junkers controlled the upper echelons, determined its basic policies, and became the main force dragging the empire down.

The Junkers’ foundation lay in their agricultural estates, representing the landowning class.

In the age of industrialization, the Junkers offered the empire no real advantage.

Bismarck was not unaware of this, but could do nothing to change it, for he himself was a Junker with vast swathes of land.

The result was that, after the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck’s economic policies focused on protecting the landowning class.

This was the root of the German-Russian conflict.

Tsarist Russia was an outdated feudal empire, a major exporter of agricultural products; Bismarck’s agricultural protection policies essentially undermined the interests of Russian landowners.

Though circumstances had changed and some enlightened Junkers had turned to industry, forming a new interest group that actively supported industrial development, the blight Bismarck left behind was never fully eradicated, and the rift between Germany and Russia could not be healed.

By 1888, the rupture was complete.

Having understood this, Feng Chengqian felt a sense of relief.

The storm clouds of war had already gathered—what should be done?

After discussing matters with Frederick III, Feng Chengqian spent several days reflecting carefully on the events of recent years.

Should he launch a naval arms race with Britain immediately?

Unless Feng Chengqian wished for an early death, or hoped to see the Second German Empire destroyed under Frederick III, this was not an option.

Should he seek to improve relations with Britain?

Feng Chengqian wished dearly to do so, but he knew that Bismarck and Waldersee were determined to ally with Austria and Italy, and Frederick III could not oppose them. Improving relations with Britain would be futile; as soon as the Germany-Austria-Italy Axis formed, Britain would join the Franco-Russian camp.

Seek other allies?

Looking across the globe, only two countries remained worth courting: America across the Atlantic, and Japan in the Far East.

In the history Feng Chengqian knew, these two nations would soon rise to prominence.

Essentially, the United States and Japan were emerging industrial nations, facing the same challenges as the Second German Empire—namely, the need for overseas markets to sustain industrial growth. Japan, with its limited territory and resources, also required access to overseas sources.

Thus, the interests of America and Japan would inevitably conflict with those of the established empires—Britain, France, and Russia.

Shared interests did not equate to a basis for alliance.

America, rich in land and resources, was still actively developing its western regions; its domestic resources and market sufficed for industrial growth, so it had no immediate need for colonies abroad. Even when, in a decade’s time, America sought colonies, its focus would be on the Americas, not directly conflicting with Britain or France.

Japan, still weak, could at best dominate the Far East in the short term, insufficient to influence European affairs.

More crucially, the Second German Empire was already in the spotlight. The emerging powers preferred to see Germany challenge Britain, rather than assist Germany in doing so—so that, after the struggle between old and new empires, they might reap the spoils.

Clearly, America and Japan could not be relied upon.

Emotionally, Feng Chengqian did not wish for Germany to ally itself with Japan.

With no other potential allies, the Second German Empire had to depend on two not-so-reliable partners.

Feng Chengqian had a straightforward idea: on the European continent, the German army was invincible; even a combined Franco-Russian force might not defeat Germany, and adding Britain would hardly tip the balance. Germany’s Achilles’ heel was the largely overlooked domain of the sea.

If Germany could triumph on the seas, it would surely win the First World War.

World history would be forever altered.

Having grasped this, Feng Chengqian resolved to maximize Germany’s chances of victory at sea, forging a powerful navy for the empire.

Of course, this did not mean entering a shipbuilding race with Britain.

If the contest was merely one of numbers, Germany would stand no chance, for Britain needed only a strong navy, whereas Germany required both a navy and an even more powerful army. Moreover, Britain’s vast overseas colonies provided far more resources, giving it greater means to compete in shipbuilding.

To defeat Britain in the naval arms race, Germany must focus on quality—on the performance of its warships.

Fortunately, this was Feng Chengqian’s area of expertise.

At the end of the year, he submitted a revised naval development plan to Frederick III, continuing to build one battleship per year for the next three years. The difference was that Feng Chengqian greatly increased funding for research and development, allocating as much as 1.8 million imperial marks in 1893 alone.

During review, his naval budget was met with fierce opposition from Bismarck.

Bismarck saw no need to spend so much on research, which he considered the concern of private enterprise, not the imperial government.

Feng Chengqian did not yield; instead, he tendered his resignation.

If Bismarck did not approve his naval budget report, he would submit his resignation to the Kaiser.

Bismarck was a shrewd man and knew well the relationship between Feng Chengqian and the Kaiser. More importantly, the Kaiser had grown impatient with the nearly eighty-year-old chancellor. If the naval budget forced the Kaiser to choose between the Minister of Naval Warfare and the Chancellor, even if Bismarck remained, there was no guarantee the Kaiser would not replace him in a few years and reinstate the dismissed minister.

Besides, it was only 1.8 million imperial marks.

In the end, Bismarck relented and approved Feng Chengqian’s naval budget.

The battleship built by Germany in 1893 was christened the Prince Karl, also known as the Blood Prince.

It was a typical battleship.

Feng Chengqian avoided extremes; after all, the first three battleships built had various flaws and none could truly be called a battleship in the strictest sense.

Though the Kaiser trusted him deeply, the Crown Prince—who managed naval expenditures—raised objections.

The Prince Karl had a standard displacement of only 14,000 tons and was equipped with four twin 300mm gun turrets. To facilitate boiler and engine room arrangements, the B turret was located between the first and second funnels, and the C turret between the second and third funnels. As a battleship balancing firepower, protection, and speed, its maximum speed was only eighteen knots—on par with its contemporaries—and its main armor belt was 280mm thick, slightly above that of British Royal Navy battleships of the same period.

Perhaps because its performance was so unremarkable, the British Royal Navy paid little attention to the Prince Karl.

Being ignored by the Royal Navy was, in fact, a good thing.

Strictly speaking, the Prince Karl was already very close to the later dreadnoughts—the modern battleships—though it still lagged behind in many technologies. For instance, the 300mm 45-caliber guns developed by Krupp had not yet been produced, so the ship still used short-barreled guns with limited armor-piercing capability. Similarly, steam turbines were still under development, so only triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines could be used.

Feng Chengqian had considered all these factors and incorporated them into the design of the Prince Karl.

The most notable feature was its freeboard height of 6.4 meters, allowing for large-scale modernization once technological breakthroughs were achieved. According to Feng Chengqian’s estimate, once equipped with long-barreled guns, oil-fired boilers, and steam turbines, the Prince Karl would be able to match dreadnoughts, becoming a true battleship and serving in all-out war.

Twenty years after it was built, the Prince Karl took part in the First World War.

This warship was the only battleship among the seven built by the Imperial Navy before 1895 to participate in a formal naval battle during the war.

However, constructing the Prince Karl was not the main focus of the Imperial Navy in 1893.

For Feng Chengqian, the greatest challenge was how to spend the 1.8 million imperial marks allocated for research and development—and to invest them where they would yield the greatest benefit.