I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 720 "Celestial Dragon" Class Light Cruiser

Shire politely invited Miyamoto Jiro into the meeting room and had the serviceman serve coffee and fruit.

"Mr. Ming Yuan," Shire leisurely stirred his coffee and asked Miyamoto Jiro, who sat upright opposite him, "Are you affiliated with the Navy or the Army?"

Embassy military officers are usually military-savvy officers, and naturally, there is a distinction between Navy and Army.

"Navy, Vice Admiral," Miyamoto Jiro replied respectfully, "attached to the First Fleet."

Shire uttered an "Oh" and then his face darkened: "So, you contacted the Minister of the Navy because of that? Mr. Ming Yuan, do you look down on me for being in the Army?"

Miyamoto Jiro was startled and quickly stood up to bow: "I’m terribly sorry, Vice Admiral. Because we were discussing the naval shipbuilding plan, I contacted the Minister of the Navy, not meaning to disrespect you... I’m very sorry! Please forgive me!"

Miyamoto Jiro maintained his bowed posture, hardly daring to breathe.

Neon Navy looks down on Neon Army, how would they dare look down on the victorious, world-renowned French Army?

A few days ago, you even traversed the Arden Mountains and encircled hundreds of thousands of German Army troops!

Shire’s tone turned calm: "Don’t worry, Mr. Ming Yuan, I don’t mean to blame you. This indeed falls under the purview of the Minister of the Navy. My current role is not as an Army Vice Admiral but as a warship financier; do you understand?"

Shire was merely giving Miyamoto Jiro a stern reminder, making him feel he had been disrespectful first so that any demands made later would seem justified, even if they were somewhat excessive.

"Uh, yes, Vice Admiral... no, Mr. Shire!" Miyamoto Jiro bowed again, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded repeatedly to express his gratitude.

"Please sit down!" Shire raised his eyebrows as a signal.

"Yes, thank you very much!" Miyamoto Jiro cautiously took his seat.

"As the financier of the warships," Shire asked, "Am I eligible to discuss the shipbuilding plans with you?"

"Of course, Mr. Shire." Miyamoto Jiro hurriedly said with a smile: "You are our client, of course, you can make requests to us."

By now, Miyamoto Jiro had confirmed Shire’s position in his mind.

"Where’s your plan?" Shire asked.

Miyamoto Jiro hurriedly took out a document from his briefcase and handed it over with both hands: "Please have a look, Sir."

Shire opened it and found it was still the familiar "Birch" type sold to France historically.

"Mr. Ming Yuan," Shire said with some displeasure, pointing to the data on the document, "I am purchasing warships with a displacement of 2000 tons, and you intend to replace them with warships of 750 tons displacement?"

"No, no, Sir," Miyamoto Jiro quickly explained: "Our meaning is to use this ’Birch’ type destroyer as a prototype to enlarge it according to your requirements, ensuring your satisfaction."

Shire ignored him and continued: "Mr. Ming Yuan, since you hail from the Navy, you should know the status of destroyers is rising, right?"

"Yes, of course." Miyamoto Jiro answered: "For example, the role of your country’s destroyers in anti-submarine and escort duties is quite impressive."

While praising Shire, Miyamoto Jiro cleverly sidestepped the topic.

Shire knew what was going on.

With global powers frantically competing in battleships, Neon, aware of its resource shortage and manufacturing incapacity to rival top Western nations during WWI, had already started seeking alternative tactics to achieve big with small.

Neon’s idea was similar to the direction Shire gave Wells, relying on the numbers and speed of destroyers using torpedoes to besiege enemy battleships.

Over a dozen destroyers, at speeds around 33 knots.

Battleships had slow speeds and severely lacked precise gunfire; once approached by destroyers, just one or two torpedo hits would render them useless—a highly cost-effective and practical tactic.

At this time, Neon had not only conceived this idea but had implemented it, with their torpedo squadron organized in 1913.

(Note: Neon’s torpedo squad refers to torpedo attacks, not mine-laying, also known as torpedo strike.)

However, when organizing the torpedo squadron, a problem arose:

Destroyers had limited displacement, with no extra space to carry command and communication equipment after equipping guns, torpedoes, and anti-submarine equipment, thus unable to serve as flagships.

On the other hand, cruiser displacement was large with ample space but couldn’t match destroyers in speed for coordination.

Hence, starting in 1917, Neon began constructing Celestial Dragon-class cruisers.

(The image above shows Neon’s Celestial Dragon-class light cruiser, with a standard displacement of 3230 tons and a maximum speed of 33 knots, serving as the flagship of the torpedo squadron.)

Shire’s goal was precisely this Celestial Dragon-class cruiser.

With about 3000 tons of displacement and an impressive speed of 33 knots, its firepower could crush most enemy destroyers, perfectly matching Shire’s need for an anti-aircraft fleet.

Shire didn’t want to get entangled further with Miyamoto Jiro, so he took a sip of coffee:

"I hope you understand something, Mr. Ming Yuan."

"The difference between me and the Minister of the Navy lies in his lack of naval knowledge. I am not like that."

"Or you could say I have different expectations for the future development of the Navy."

"This point can be proven from the naval battle I commanded, don’t you think?"

Miyamoto Jiro quickly sat upright and nodded:

"Yes, Sir. Mr. Shire, the North Sea battle where you sank seven German Navy warships, including a battlecruiser."

"This has already been included in our navy’s textbooks."

"Moreover, your country’s anti-submarine capabilities have reportedly made German submarines avoid attacking your escort fleets."

At this time, French "Echo Detector" was still top secret, and Neon did not yet know what mysterious equipment achieved such results.

Then Miyamoto Jiro, with a flattering expression, said while respectfully nodding: "Sir’s tactics are awe-inspiring; this holds true for both Navy and Army. We very much hope to have the opportunity to learn from you."

His words were genuine, as Neon’s inherent admiration for strength, thirst for advanced technology, and strong learning ability were evident.

What Miyamoto Jiro didn’t know was that Shire had seized upon this mentality for negotiation.

"So." Shire heavily slapped the document onto the table with anger in his eyes, and his voice thickened:

"You intend to use such things for exchange and learning from us?"

"Turning a 700-ton warship into 2000 tons? Is that what you mean by enlargement?"

"They may be warships in the eyes of the Minister of the Navy, but to me, they are mere fishing boats. On what basis do you think I would cooperate with you over this trash?"

Playing hardball.

Despite wartime France needing Neon’s manufacturing capacity, it unknowingly turned into a superior collaboration.

Importantly, Miyamoto Jiro was under immense pressure from Shire’s combination of moves, developing an inferiority complex.

Indeed, they possessed advanced torpedo bombers and mysterious anti-submarine devices, capable of easily crushing the world’s second-ranking naval fleet.

Even the top-ranked Royal Navy might find its status difficult to maintain before them.

How could they be interested in the 700-ton "Birch" type warships?

Even enlarging them would be shoddy work.

An absolute insult!

Utterly embarrassing, at the very least, there must be a few proposals that Shire could approve.