Chapter 43 Loans to the Empire

Whether it is the "Belle Luofeng" battleship or the "Saint Vincent" battleship, it is just a simple modification of the "Dreadnought" battleship by the British Navy, and even the subsequent "Neptune" battleship and "Giant" battleship , are also used in a similar layout, and continue to use 5 double-mounted 305mm main guns.

The 343mm main gun will not be adopted until the follow-up "Orion-class" battleship. If the German Navy adopts 343mm main guns from the next-level battleships of the "Nassau class", this will give the German Navy an overwhelming advantage in the power of the main guns.

"Oscar, are you planning to use larger main guns on the next-tier battleships?" Marshal Earl Tirpitz frowned.

"That's right, caliber is the truth. In naval battles, large-caliber main guns are always more powerful than small-caliber main guns, with greater range, greater armor-piercing capability, and greater power. If the technical conditions can If it is enough, of course we must use the main gun with a larger caliber as much as possible." Qin Tian replied without hesitation.

"However, this will make the battleship even bigger, and at the same time, the construction cost will continue to rise." William II also frowned tightly.

The current German navy is not very rich in military expenditures. Even in order to develop the navy, Germany's finances have already been burdened with heavy burdens. Once the arms race among various countries reaches its climax, the required military expenditure will continue to rise. One of the big reasons why the First World War broke out was that the countries that had been under the pressure of the arms race could not bear it. If the attention of the domestic people is not diverted through war, and the wealth of the defeated country is plundered through war, there will be only one final result, that is, the country's finances will collapse.

"Father, it is inevitable that battleships will become bigger and bigger. Even the displacement of future battleships will continue to rise. Especially for the battleships of the German Navy, we have always emphasized the defense and survivability of battleships , which makes our battleships have thicker armor and larger displacement than those of the British Navy. At the same time, the construction cost will naturally rise a lot. Of course, in my opinion, this is completely worth it .Once a war starts, our battleships can suppress the British Navy's battleships, and have a greater chance of winning in the war. After all, only when we defeat our opponents and win the war, the huge war military expenditure we have paid for this is the It is useful. Once you lose the battle, everything will be useless." Qin Tian said solemnly.

This is indeed the case. Since money has already been spent on armaments, once defeated, it will be a complete loss. If you can spend a little more money and improve your chances of winning, why not do it?

Both William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz nodded repeatedly, approving Qin Tian's statement.

"It's true to say so, but now the budget has been in deficit for years. If the government wants to increase investment in the navy again, the pressure will be very high. The opposition within the parliament will also be very loud!" William II The world has a face of embarrassment.

"Father, Your Excellency Marshal. According to the promise, I will bear the construction cost of one of the capital ships of the next level," Qin Tian said.

"The other ships are also a huge burden for the government." William II shook his head.

"Well, Father. I can provide a loan to the government, or the navy. If the interest rate is based on the bank rate, it will be used to support the navy's shipbuilding needs. Of course, this matter must be kept secret. Okay. Welfare lottery companies have been preparing to develop markets in countries such as Britain and France since this year. Once they find out that we use the profits of the welfare lottery company to support the construction of the navy, the consequences may be very serious." Qin Tian said.

If it were any country, it would probably not allow this kind of thing to make money from its own country to develop weapons and equipment for the enemy country. In that case, it would be delusional for welfare lottery companies to enter the markets of Britain and France.

"Oscar, such words are undoubtedly the best." William II approved with a full face.

"Your Highness, we will definitely keep this a secret. It is undoubtedly the best thing that the Welfare Lottery Company can make money from the British and French. At that time, we will use their money to build warships. They pulled down from the throne of sea supremacy." Marshal Count Tirpitz was also beaming with joy.

In the eyes of William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz, Qin Tian's wealth was astonishing in the entire German Empire. In particular, the continuous wealth created by the welfare lottery company has made everyone jealous. In capitalist society, the role of money is beyond doubt. If Qin Tian wanted to use the money to do other things, it might arouse the suspicion of William II. But now, Qin Tian took the initiative to provide loans to the navy, which undoubtedly showed his support for the navy. At the same time, it also allowed William II to see his patriotic heart.

"After the war is over, once the empire wins, the government needs to use the benefits obtained from the defeated country to pay back. Is there any problem with this?" Qin Tian asked.

He is not a saint, so naturally he would not want to hand over his hard-earned money just like this. Of course, unless he can become the crown prince or emperor of the empire, in that case, everything is another matter.

"Of course, there is no problem at all. Wait until the empire wins the war. Then, naturally, your loan will be repaid first." William II replied immediately. Being able to get Qin Tian to agree to make a sum of money to develop armaments for the navy is already a solution to their urgent need. If Qin Tian was still expected to contribute the money for free, then it would be a little too aggressive.

"Your Highness, how much money can you lend to the navy?" Marshal Earl Tirpitz asked expectantly.

Qin Tian thought for a while, and then said: "100 million marks!"

"One hundred million marks?" William II and Marshal Count Tirpitz were taken aback. Although, 100 million marks is already a lot of money. But for the navy, it seems to be nothing at all. After all, even the cost of the "Nassau-class" battleship is as high as more than 40 million marks. As for the capital ship of the next level, the cost may directly rise to 50 million marks or even higher. One hundred million marks is only enough to build two battleships. For the navy, it didn't help much.

In addition, judging from Qin Tian's current wealth, such a small amount of money seems a bit too petty!