Chapter 171: Trivial Picking (Part 2)

Not to mention how sweet Berge was in his heart, because he certainly didn't know that it was impossible for Muraviev to give him a few good words in front of Nicholas I. On the contrary, the small report and the small shoes were well prepared .

After looking at the defense facilities, Muraviev inspected the fleet under the leadership of Berkh. Objectively speaking, although Berkh is mediocre, the condition of the Black Sea Fleet is still good. Compared with Turkey, the equipment is considered excellent. , morale is also considered high, if it is not deliberately picky, it is really okay.

But Muraviyov just wanted to find out. After inspecting it, he suddenly said: "...the morale is high and the military is well-organized. The Black Sea Fleet is really extraordinary. This is all thanks to you!"

Berge naturally liked to hear these words, and of course he hurriedly said modestly that this was generally what he should do, mainly because of the support of his subordinates. Just looking at his smiling face like a flower, you can tell how false these words are.

And when he was the happiest, Muraviyov suddenly said: "Then go to the barracks to see!"

This made Berge startled for a while, because he had never heard of any imperial envoy or special envoy who came to visit the barracks. What is there to see in the dilapidated houses where a group of big soldiers live? Seriously, I hurriedly disbanded. I entertained people and treated you and your party with food and drink, so it's over, right?

But Muraviyov decided not to do it. He just wanted to see the barracks. He was called Nicholas I and asked him to check the entire situation of the Black Sea Fleet in detail, and he must have a thorough understanding of all aspects.

Although there were ten thousand reluctances in his heart, Berge didn't dare to compete with the special envoy, so he reluctantly agreed, and then?

Then Berge should be unlucky again!

Why do you say that? Because in general, the more backward and less modern the army, the less attention it pays to logistics. The logistics thing is a magic mirror. Whether it is a modern army can be clearly seen by looking at the logistics situation.

Take this era as an example. It is certainly impossible to compare the logistics with one or two hundred years later, but the basic necessities of life of the soldiers can still be seen. For example, the army with the highest standard of living and the strongest quality in this era should be regarded as the British. Don't say that its army is number one in the world in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, but it must be number one in most aspects.

In this era, the living standard of British soldiers may be slightly worse than that of their American counterparts, but it is several times higher than that of France, Prussia, and Austria. As for the comparison with Russia, let's put it this way, Russia is not enough to carry shoes for others.

Let's put it this way, one British soldier can be fed one and a half French soldiers, three Prussian soldiers or five Austrian soldiers,

How many gray animals can you ask? That's a dozen or so!

If you don't see it, this is the level gap. And this gap will become bigger and bigger in the future. The more modern the army, the better its logistics level, and the more backward the army, the worse it will be.

But in this era, among the great powers, Russia is definitely at the bottom, and even stable is the bottom one with no competitors.

Even if it is an elite navy, the Black Sea Fleet, which is focused on construction, is actually the same thing. That is to say, if you can receive two sets of military uniforms and two pairs of shoes every year, and eat a little better, the rest is as bad as it is!

For example, the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, they don’t have barracks, and they just need to go directly to the warship to inspect their accommodation conditions. Basically, most soldiers sleep in hammocks, and they basically don’t have any private space. At most, no one has a pocket for storage. A little personal stuff.

As for the food for meals, it was better on land, and Heileba could handle it, with two slices of fat every now and then. When I go to sea, I really feel like I am full of oatmeal and boiled bacon. In short, for the foodies in the big foodie empire, the rations are no different from pig food.

Of course, not all sailors live on warships. For naval infantry and coastal defense forces, there are still barracks, but the conditions are a bit difficult, and needless to say, they are in disrepair. The most important thing is that the rations are still available. Not as good as the brothers in Shanghai, at least the brothers in Shanghai can eat enough and occasionally have a little meat, and these people really are Heileba who vomited after eating.

"Why are the living conditions so poor! This barracks are all dangerous!"

Faced with Muravyov's questioning, Berkh actually didn't take it seriously in his heart. To him, ordinary soldiers are gray animals. Although navy soldiers are considered high-level gray animals, they are still animals in the final analysis. Do you need to be particularly concerned about the quality of life of your livestock?

"Please understand that the annual military allocation is limited. The main funds are used to build new ships and maintain old warships. In addition, you need to go to sea for training and repair bases. There are only so many funds allocated. We are really clever women It's hard to cook without rice!"

Objectively speaking, Berge’s explanation is well-founded. The Russian Navy has always only paid attention to building new ships, but it can save money on the maintenance of old warships and base maintenance. Under such a purpose, there is really not much money to invest in to these items.

However, this is not the root cause of the poor life of naval soldiers. In the final analysis, although the money allocated from above is small, if people like Berge are only one-handed, they can actually improve a lot.

Of course, Lazarev has to take the blame for the naval infantry living in dilapidated houses, because after all, Berkh has only been in power for a year or two, and it is impossible for the houses to become dilapidated without repairing them in a year or two. The main reason is that when Lazarev was the commander before, he often misappropriated these repair funds.

It's just that the old man didn't embezzle the money into his own pocket, but embezzled the money to make new steamships. After all, Nicholas I and Menshikov were not interested in steamships and didn't pay for them. The old man has to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall.

It should be said that Razherev had no choice, but it was different on Berkh's side. He also embezzled it, but it was all transferred into his own purse. To put it bluntly, he was a silverfish. He didn't even feel that he had done anything wrong, and he still had plausible words in his heart:

[Lazarev also embezzled, so why can’t I embezzle it. If the barracks of the naval infantry are dangerous, it is also the fault of the old man, and it has nothing to do with me! 】

Look at his face, how shameless he is! It's a pity that Muraviyov didn't care about his rhetoric. He just couldn't let go of the problem of the barracks: "Why are the accommodation conditions of the naval infantry so poor? What do the repair funds allocated every year do? This house is about to collapse. , once something happens, won’t many of my excellent soldiers be sacrificed in vain! Commander Berge, please explain to me what’s going on!”