Chapter 193 Meeting with the Potential Customer

Just what Sevastian had told him earlier, the Chilean Government did intend to buy a warship from them.

Alexander bit his lip as he interlaced his hand and leaned forward. He looked Emilio straight in the eyes before speaking.

“Sir Emilio, why did you decide to buy a warship from us? Is the Britannia Empire’s warship not suit your taste?”

“The reason is simple really,” Emilio fixed his tie as he cleared his throat. “We’ve been observing countries with the most advanced warships in the world. Your country was once at the bottom of our list as you relied heavily on the Deutschland Empire’s engineering parts and the Francois Republic and Britannia Empire to teach your sailors’ naval knowledge and strategies. So you can see where I’m going here. Your country isn’t the best when it comes to navy,” Emilio smiled at him apologetically and Alexander only nodded in return.

What he’d just said was true after all. The Ruthenian lacks naval capability like its neighbors. The reason for it largely contributes to geography. As he had learned when he was studying the geopolitical affairs of the Ruthenia Empire, Ruthenia is technically a landlocked country, though not literally.

It doesn’t just have the warm-water ports it desperately needed to exert dominance on the water. It freezes during winter. This is why the foreign policy of the Ruthenia Empire can be summed up as “Ruthenia looking for warm-water ports.”

His predecessors tried but failed. So Alexander has taken it upon himself to realize the dream of Ruthenia. After all, it was one of his major policies where he sought to turn their navy into a blue-water navy. Hence the acquisition of Manchuria.

That’s just the start. Alexander plans to expand his navy into the Mediterranean Sea by getting into deals with the Balkan States and the Anatolian Empire. The Baltic and the North Sea Fleet are also part of the expansion plan as well.

However, such expansion would be viewed as hostile by other nations so Alexander knew he had to be careful of how he is going to play his plan out.

“Well, I do understand what you are implying here, our navy sucks,” Alexander chuckled.

.Emilio laughed along too. “I wouldn’t put it that way, Your Majesty.”

“Oh you don’t have to humble yourself over this matter,” Alexander dismissed his comments with a wave of the hand. “Now let’s get back to the topic. Seeing that you come here means that you’ve seen something that must’ve changed your mind.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty,” Emilio said firmly as he straightened up. “During your ship commissioning ceremony where the Ruthenian Navy commissioned a lot of ships that are unlike the world has ever seen. I was in Britannia at that time watching television. Then it caught my attention, especially the battleships with four main gun batteries. You can say that I’m charmed by such an engineering masterpiece and that’s when I realize that my country should get that one as well,” Emilio grinned widely

“Is that so…” Alex smirked slightly. “You just got charmed by it?”

“More like I fell in love with it, Your Majesty,” Emilio said sheepishly.

“Ah,” Alex hummed. “I must say that I’m pleased and honored to hear such a word but unfortunately, the battleship that you’re referring to is not for sale. It’s exclusive only to the Ruthenian Empire.”

Emilio’s goofy facial expression instantly faded away somberly. “That’s unfortunate indeed, Your Majesty.”

Even the Chilean National Defense Minister showed a slight dejection.

Alexander couldn’t care less about their feelings. The ship that he had designed to rebuild his navy that would ensure Ruthenian dominance in the seas couldn’t just be given away easily, even if they offer a lot of money for it.

It has the most advanced electronic sensors and fire-control systems that no nation possesses. So there’s no way of that happening.

However,

“We may have other warships that might suit your liking,” Alexander suggested, trying to bring some hope to their depressed moods.

Emilio, rekindled with curiosity, perked up and asked; “Would that be as strong as your current battleship?”

Alex took a deep breath before saying; “It won’t but I can assure you that it will be better than the Britannia, Francois, and even Deutschland Empire,” he confidently stated which brought back some semblance of excitement to their faces.

Emilio seemed more eager than ever before. “What does it look like?”

“I don’t have the model here in this palace but I can bring it to you if you like. It will take time so would it be okay for you to wait for an hour or two? You can use this Palace as your residence during your stay here.”

“That’s so generous, Your Majesty…I’m speechless,” Emilio gave Alexander a genuine smile. “We will wait here then.”

“Great,” Alexander stood up from his seat and extended his hand to offer a handshake. “For the establishment of diplomatic relations, it would take a while as my Foreign Minister is busy tackling other things concerning the war.”

Emilio shook his head. “It’s okay, Your Majesty. I understand. We came here at the wrong time. We hope that we can discuss it in a peaceful time.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” Alexander nodded and smiled at them. “If there’s nothing more I will be at my office in this palace. You can ask the guards for direction should you need something from me.”

“Very well, Your Majesty,” Emilio noted, and along with his colleague, they bowed their heads in front of Alexander politely.

Just as Alexander and Sevastian were about to reach the door, Emilio called out for them.

“Your Majesty.”

Alexander stopped in his tracks and turned around with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Emilio took a few steps closer to Alex.

“Is there a phone we can use here? I have to notify our president about the things that we’ve discussed here.”

Alexander made a “hmm” sound as he thought. “I don’t think we have a direct line to Chile, do we?” he glanced at Sevastian.

“There’s none, Your Majesty,” Sevastian confirmed. “But I’m sure they can connect to their president by connecting first to the Brazilian Empire and then from there to Chile. However, both countries have a sour relationship with one another due to the naval arms race that has been going on for decades.”

“Unfortunately so, Your Majesty. There’s also a risk of our communication being tapped, which is something we cannot allow to happen.” Emilio said. The National Defense Minister nodded.

“Then it appears there’s nothing we can do. Well, we can try contacting other legations to see whether they can accommodate your request,” Alexander paused and sighed. “Communication is vital for developing a healthy relationship between countries. Once we sign the treaty of friendship, we’ll make it a priority to build underwater cable lines, with your help of course.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Emilio nodded again. “The Republic of Chile would help fund projects that will mutually benefit both our countries.”

“Good!” Alexander clapped his hands together. “In any case, please excuse me, gentlemen, I have matters to attend to.”

They nodded their heads again in reply and watched as Alexander and Sevastian left the room.

***

In the halls of the Mikhailovsky Palace, Alexander grabbed a pen from his pocket and spun it in between his fingers as he walked down the hallway.

“Your Majesty, do we have an export model of the Aleksandr IV Class Battleship?”

“No, we don’t. But the Imperial Dynamic Systems have some designs that we can build and sell to other countries. It will be the same ship the Britannia Empire is getting from doing us a favor.”

“I see a battleship that is inferior to the Aleksandr IV Class Battleship but better than most battleships of any other country. To think that Ruthenians would be so advanced in the field of shipbuilding. If I may, Your Majesty. Why don’t we mass produce battleships?”

“Well, first is the cost of each ship, which is around a hundred million rubles, and second is that we are accounting for the major shift in naval warfare. The military and I believe that in the coming future, the battleship will be useless in modern warfare due to the advancement of aircraft. Which in result gives priority to the aircraft carrier.”

“Really? Are they really going to be useless?” Sevastian inquired.

“Not to a certain extent,” Alexander answered with a nod of his head. “Our battleship can serve for more than fifty years. We just have to upgrade its anti-aircraft capabilities and it’s still good to go. For now, the most important thing should we want to extend our influence to the world is to build more aircraft carriers but it won’t be easy. The army and the navy are arguing about who should be prioritized first. The army insists that we should build more tanks, more infantry carrier vehicles, armored vehicles, utility vehicles, and transport and attack aircraft. They were getting a little bit ahead of themselves after noticing the development in the Choson peninsula.”

“So, which side are you from? Army or the Navy?” Sevastian asked once again.

“Despite me being an avid ship lover, I think I’ll side with the Army on this one. it’s more logical since wars are won on land. Though I’m not saying the navy is useless, I only see them as a deterrent. Even so, the navy is a symbol of power. He who controls the sea controls everything.”

Sevastian chuckled at his last sentence. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Anyways, let’s focus on the war after this.”