Chapter 50: crown prince's wrath
"Oscar, how many "Invincible" battlecruisers will the British build?" William II asked suddenly.
"Father, according to the information we have received, the British will build three 'Invincible' battlecruisers, the first ship 'Invincible', the second ship 'Indomitable', and the third ship 'Indomitable'." Qin Tian said.
"Since the British will build three 'Invincible-class' battlecruisers, our battlecruisers should not be less than the British, and we will also build three." William II waved his hand, looking very heroic.
Of course, in Qin Tian's view, this is clearly the face of an upstart. The German Welfare Lottery Company provides a lot of funds to the royal family every year, and Qin Tian's promised loan to the navy makes the navy's military expenditure no longer so tight. This naturally gave William II enough confidence to engage in a naval arms race with the British. After all, battleships and battlecruisers are not so easy to build. Not only do they take a long time to build, but they also cost a lot of money. Except for several top powers in the world, several other countries simply do not have enough financial resources and technology to build these huge guys.
"Three ships? This is really great!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz almost cheered. Four "Nassau-class" battleships, five "Helgoland-class" battleships and three battlecruisers, this means that the German Navy has 12 new capital ships at once. Moreover, they are all the best dreadnoughts. This can undoubtedly make the strength of the German navy almost the same as that of the British navy. It has even surpassed it in terms of combat effectiveness. This has never happened to the German Navy for so many years!
Qin Tian also had a smile all over his face. If three battlecruisers were built, the remaining three large berths of the German shipyard would undoubtedly come in handy. Several of the previous "Helgoland-class" battleships were allocated to other shipyards. Well, these three battlecruisers, no matter what, they will eat them all at once.
"Your Majesty, building three battlecruisers at one time will put more pressure on our funds." In addition to being happy, Marshal Earl Tirpitz did not forget to remind. After all, in addition to building capital ships, the Navy also has a large number of small and medium-sized warships to build.
"In terms of funds, I will figure out a way. The royal family will provide a loan to the navy just like Oscar. It is also tentatively set at 100 million marks per year. After the war is over, it will be returned with war dividends." William II Said.
William II also thought very clearly that no matter how much wealth there is now, it does not mean that it will last for a long time. If we really want to achieve long-term success, we still have to find ways to win future wars. He is the emperor only if he wins the war. If he lost, he, the emperor, would be nothing more than a subjugated king.
Besides, Qin Tian's German Welfare Lottery Company provides huge wealth to the royal family every year, which also makes William II's hand more generous. There is also money to support the development of the navy.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! With the support of Your Majesty and His Royal Highness, the navy will develop rapidly. In future wars, we will definitely be able to win!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz said confidently. With so much support, if the German navy still loses in the future, then they will really have no face to face others.
"Royal father, how should the battlecruisers of this class be named?" Qin Tian asked.
King William II thought for a while, and then said: "I remember that the Navy wants to build a large cruiser in the name of Marshal Blücher?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Marshal Earl Tirpitz nodded.
"In this case, this class of battlecruisers should be called 'Blücher-class' battlecruisers!" William II made a decision.
Regarding this, neither Qin Tian nor Marshal Count Tirpitz had any objections.
Subsequently, the battlecruisers of this class were officially named, the first ship 'Blücher', the second ship 'Von der Tann', and the third ship 'Leopold'.
"Father, the 'Blücher' class battlecruiser can be built in my shipyard. We just have three large berths left to build these three battlecruisers." Qin Tian said with an expression on his face. smile.
William II thought for a while, and looked at Marshal Count Tirpitz.
"Of course there is no problem. Our third-class new capital ships are all designed by the prince. The navy has also received a large loan from the prince. The 'Blücher-class' battlecruiser will be handed over to the prince. His Majesty's shipyard to build, this is also a matter of course." Marshal Earl Tirpitz fully agreed with this. It can be said that now Qin Tian has completely become the benefactor of the navy. For the navy, there is no problem in handing over these battleships to any shipyard, so it is better to give Qin Tian a face.
"Okay, Oscar, the 'Blücher-class' battlecruisers are built by Deutsche Shipyard. However, those warships in the future will not give Deutsche Shipyard so much. Deutsche Shipyard still needs to fight for more We cannot rely solely on military orders to achieve profitability through orders for civilian ships," William II reminded.
"Yes, father." Qin Tian nodded.
It is inevitable to build civilian ships. After the construction of this batch of warships is completed, the shipyard will vacate some berths for the construction of large merchant ships and cruise ships, making further preparations for the war.
The conversation between William II, Marshal Count Tirpitz and Qin Tian lasted for a whole day. Even dinner is eaten directly in the office. And this undoubtedly aroused other people's surprise, even speculation.
Especially Crown Prince William was very dissatisfied with this. In his opinion, as the crown prince of the German Empire, is there anything he needs to hide from him? He guessed that Qin Tian and the others must be discussing the construction of the navy's next-level battleship. The commissioning of the battleship "Dreadnought" of the British Navy caught the German Navy by surprise. At the same time, the group of experts from the Naval Technical Committee were also slapped in the face.
Of course, Crown Prince William also lost face because of this. When Qin Tian's design was rejected, he was gloating. Now, he was also severely slapped in the face. And this naturally made Crown Prince William, who had always been narrow-minded, angry from embarrassment.
"Asshole, I am the Crown Prince of the German Empire, are they trying to ignore my existence?" Crown Prince William roared angrily.