Chapter 707： Overseas orders

"His Royal Highness Ruprecht, this is a telegram from the Blomfors Shipyard. Just yesterday, the shipyard received an inquiry telegram from Argentina. The Argentines are preparing to build two dreadnought ships." Earl Schelling said respectfully after sending a telegram to the prince.

"Hehe, battleship orders, it seems that we haven't received orders for battleships for a long time." Ruprecht said with a bit of self-deprecation in his words. Back then, his first pot of gold was earned on naval battleships. Beiyang, Japanese, Argentines, Russians, Bavarian designs, the battleships produced by the Blomfors shipyard are sold all over the world, bringing Ruprecht’s sales of tens of millions of pounds and a lot of profits. But time has passed, and the current German export warships are not easy.

The Russians switched to Britain and France, and they also had a certain industrial foundation. Naturally, the choice of warships was self-built or bought by the British. Let alone the Japanese, they were raised by the United Kingdom, and now they still rely on the United Kingdom, and they will rely on themselves in the future. The conflicts between South American countries, especially Argentina and Chile, are not as big as before. Coupled with the huge cost of naval construction, they are not very interested in the navy now. Visually, this batch of warships should be gunboats of the two countries. The last investment on it.

"When is this bidding expected to end?" Ruprecht asked with interest in the work he was undertaking. If someone is willing to give money, the prince can't stop it.

"It is expected to end in February 1909. We could still compete for the Chilean orders, but the Americans’ bids were very cheap. These countries are now buying these warships more for the sake of appearance, so the performance is not Not very concerned. We are indeed at a disadvantage in terms of price," said Earl Schelling.

"Hehe, there are still some changes." Ruprecht said in his heart. Historically, Brazil bought British warships, and Chile bought British warships. Only Argentina bought American warships, but this is gross, except for Brazil. In addition to buying British warships, Chile chose the Americans, and this time, if Germany can grasp it, then there should be a chance to win the order from Argentina.

"You go down first, leave the tender, I will think about it first." Ruprecht said. I hurriedly looked through the tender documents, and the situation was exactly the same as Xie Lin said. They demanded more weapons and a cheaper cost. Then the only thing that could do things was defense and power. The Argentines opened for every warship. The price was 2.2 million pounds. How do you say this price, it can be done well to build a 25,000-ton dreadnought ship, but if you want to build a super fearless, it is not enough....

Of course, if you do some small actions, such as thinning the armor, reducing the coverage area, and reducing the watertight compartment, the price can also be lowered if you apply the original template. You get what you pay for, everyone knows the truth...

"If the bidding is ended in February this year, the winner is decided, and the relevant work is prepared, it will be good to start construction in May. At the speed of the Blomfors Shipyard, it will be completed by mid-1912. Well, Mid 1912, mid 1912!"

Suddenly reacted Ruprecht realized that when the two battleships were completed, it should be very close to the end of the war between the Allies and the Allies! Although the specific time of the outbreak of the war has not yet been determined, the prince is sure that if it can be operated, the completion time of the two battleships can be set after the outbreak of the war! After the war broke out, it was naturally impossible for the two warships to be handed over to the Argentine Navy. The German government would definitely detain them, and may refund the Argentines, and may also give other compensation...

Black-bellied Ruprecht suddenly realized that this is a very important opportunity, a chance to obtain two battleships out of thin air! As for compensation? Like the British did so absolutely, it would not work if the warships were confiscated without refunds. Who knows if the Argentines will directly join the Allied Powers like the Turks in history? Although Argentines are not good at fighting, they can't be bullied like that. Moreover, there are large trade ties between Argentina and Germany. For example, Argentine beef is very popular in Germany. 35% of the beef produced by the military cannery in Bavaria comes from Argentina.

Direct refunds may not be realistic. After all, once a war starts, neither the mark nor the pound will be held in value, and it is even more impossible to give gold. Then the only way that can be accepted by the other party is physical mortgage. You can use German assets in Argentina as security, or you can mortgage German merchant ships offshore at that time to Argentina. No matter what, things can be very satisfactory in this case. solve!

Since you are building battleships for yourself, in the case of Argentina's big head, you can nod your head to make this class of warships better. Ruprecht thought to himself. "But, I don't know why, do you always feel that it is not so complete?" Ruprecht, who has already decided to yell at his opponent in his heart, always feels that his plan is a little worse It's not that I can't deduct these two. A warship, but always feel that this plan can be more perfect. And it can have unexpected effects at the right time. The prince felt that he had grasped the key to some of these problems, but he always felt that he was still near the fire. "No matter what, take the order down first." The prince decided.

"Tell Blomfoss Shipyard that if Argentina orders Helgeland-class battleships from us, then we can compress the price to the bottom line of 2 million pounds. As for the remaining funding gap, someone will naturally fill them. You must also pay attention to the actions of the British. You must ensure that our price-performance ratio is much higher than that of the British. Of course, when necessary, some means other than bidding can also be used." The prince is giving the shipyard The letter wrote.

Subsequently, Ruprecht wrote another letter to the Kaiser, in which he explained the "importance" of the two Chilean warships to the Imperial High Seas Fleet. "We only need to subsidize about 200,000 pounds. Two more dreadnoughts during the war, this is a very cost-effective move." At the end of the letter, Ruprecht bluntly stated the most fundamental goal after the war broke out and detained the warship.

The things to be done have been done, and the rest is up to the Kaiser’s decision. Ruprecht finally has time to plan his army, the future Bavarian Bohemian army.

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