"What is the purpose of the Imperial Navy?" asked Prince Ruprecht.

"He is the long sword of the empire, and exists to realize the interests of the empire." Tirpitz said seriously.

"What is the benefit of the empire? You wouldn't think it was to stimulate Britain and France and get them close?" the prince asked. "We have achieved our goal, seized the colonies from Portugal, shocked the French, and made the British unable to ignore us. Is this result satisfactory?"

"The result is pretty good, but..." Tirpitz was stunned. He didn't expect the topic to change so quickly!

"Remember, there is a saying that too much is too little! Do you know? too much is too little too little! In this action, our content on Britain and France has ended! If we continue to do it, it is very likely to lead to unpredictable consequences. We are mortal enemies with the French, and the British and French were enemies. I think you understand the difference between this, right?" the prince said sternly.

"I understand what you mean. Our next action will stop stimulating Britain and France. However, if we want to enter the Mediterranean, Britain and France cannot avoid it! This is very difficult!" Tirpitz figured out what the other party meant. If the prince was worried that if he was oppressed again, it might lead to further close Britain and France. The British's performance in this action has attracted the attention of German senior officials, and the German emperor was also worried.

"Will Britain and France be afraid of a Caesar-class battleship? Or is it afraid of a Mainz-class armored cruiser?" the prince asked back. "They will not worry. For first-class naval powers, their fleets have obvious advantages in quality and quantity at the same time. Therefore, a small but absolutely elite fleet will not deter opponents of Britain and France at the same time, nor will it provoke the other party's sensitive nerves!"

"So, you mean to reduce the size of the cruise fleet? Is that true?" Tirpitz asked.

"That's what it means. A too large fleet cannot play a better role except for making enemies too early. We only need 4 ships! Two battleships and heavy cruisers, two supply ships, and the remaining 6 warships and 4 supply ships are ready to return!" The prince said his plan.

"The fleet is just the right size, and the French left a few main battleships in the Mediterranean. However, only four warships will not make the French nervous, and the British will not react much. Their Mediterranean squadron, a battleship squadron and other warships may be stronger than us. Even if we visit Malta, they will not be considered provocative by the British."

"But!" the prince continued, saying, "This scale is enough for the restless guy who is determined to restore the glory of the ancient Roman era! The Italian fleet is mainly distributed in the two ports of Taranto and Zabrindesi. Our fleet can pose a serious threat to the Italian navy there when it enters any port. Do you think?"

"You have a lot of opinions on Italy's performance this time?" Tirpitz raised his brow slightly.'

"It's not very objective, it's very much very objective! I think it's very necessary to hit this restless ally!" The prince said angrily without hiding his disgust for Italy!

Putting aside the fact that Italy is doing a rebellious thing in history, just looking at Italy's performance this time, if Italy is profitable, then it is understandable to harm others and support Britain and France from its own standpoint, opposing Germany and Austria. For the country, core interests are the key.

But the problem now is that Germany and Portugal and France have a half-cent relationship with you and Italy! If you want to say Libya, the prince is understandable, but whether it is Angola or Mozambique, it is completely unrelated to Italy! What are the benefits of opposing Germany? Is it just to show your presence?

"This tendency in Italy must be corrected. If we cannot even settle the little brothers within the alliance, then the value of this alliance will be greatly reduced!" said the prince.

"The empire also has great opinions about Italy. Even if even Lord Bismarck believes that Italy is too arrogant, their strength is far from enough to support their ambitions, and their policies are fence-bearing and not stable. This is an unstable factor for the empire." Tirpitz nodded in agreement.

"Also, I think we need a new ally! Taking advantage of this opportunity, we should show our strength and kindness to this ally. The prince paused and continued.

"New ally? Are you talking about the United States? Do you have to bring Americans with you this cruise?" Tirpitz said with some confusion.

"If Americans are willing to come together, it is naturally good. No one will think that they have too many friends. But the new friends I am talking about are an ancient empire, yes, it is the Ottoman Turkish Empire! It is the country that people think is going to collapse but never collapse."

"They are not worth more than Italy." Tirpitz's words did not hide his contempt for Turkey. This country that fell on the sickbed of Europe, not to mention that it was the big European powers, even those small countries dared to point fingers at it.

"But he is at least a reliable ally and a great power with great potential. Although there are many problems within him, even if there are huge social changes, it is impossible to cut off all bad habits. But just from his geographical location, it is impossible for us to give up on him!"

"Whether it is out of defense against Russia or to realize the majestic plan of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway, Turkey is the object that must be fought for. You can tell the German Emperor my opinion and let His Holy Departure decide this."

The 3b railway was something that the German Emperor had always wanted to do, but did not do it. This plane would still have many obstacles. However, as an additional product of this project, it is OK to narrow the relationship with Turkey. Although Turkey is weak and has problems of one kind or another, it has won the battle for the Dardanelles Strait in history and locked up Russia's access to supplies from the West. From this point of view alone, Turkey is worth more to Germany than Italy! So the prince must strive for Turkey to stand on his own side!

"Even if we go to Türkiye, it will be our last stop on our tour. We have plenty of time to discuss this matter. So now the tentative thing is to visit Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire?" Tirpitz asked.

"No, there is also the British Mediterranean Fleet! When we come to the Mediterranean, how can we not greet the most powerful naval forces in the Mediterranean? Of course, we will not visit Gibraltar. We want to give the British a time to prepare, so we will go to Malta. Maybe in the future, we will become enemies, but now, easing the relationship between the two is a good thing for both sides." The prince thought for a while and said.
Chapter completed!