Wilhelm II glanced at Crown Prince Wilhelm, his face expressionless. He was somewhat dissatisfied with his heir apparent. As the Crown Prince of the Empire, his mind was far too narrow, lacking the capacity to tolerate others. He was even jealous of his own younger brother—how could anyone expect him to treat others well?
Essen von Jonath could not help but feel his heart tighten.
"Your Majesty, Karl owns twenty percent of His Highness's company as well and receives ten percent of its profits. I am willing to donate that portion of the proceeds to the royal family without compensation," Karl von Jonath hurriedly said.
Giving up such a vast fortune made his heart feel as though it were bleeding. But in order to demonstrate his loyalty and preserve his position, he had no choice but to say so.
Still, Essen von Jonath was deeply dissatisfied with Crown Prince Wilhelm. In his view, Crown Prince Wilhelm had deliberately said this out of jealousy.
"Essen, it is already rare enough that Oscar and Karl are willing to contribute twenty percent of their profits to the royal family. This is, after all, their own property. As the Empire's example, how can the royal family seize another's property? However, in consideration of Oscar's filial devotion, I shall accept the twenty percent profit," Crown Prince Wilhelm said calmly.
It was impossible for Wilhelm II not to be tempted by the enormous profits of Oscar's German Welfare Lottery Company. Yet Wilhelm II did not wish to earn the disgraceful name of someone who seized his own child's property. Besides, an annual income of fifty million Marks was already quite good—equivalent to one Battleship. Obtaining such a sum was already an unexpected delight.
"Your Majesty is wise," Essen von Jonath hastily said.
Crown Prince Wilhelm's face turned green, then white. Wilhelm II's decision was undoubtedly a blow to him. Clearly, Wilhelm II was already extremely dissatisfied with his earlier conduct.
Yet Crown Prince Wilhelm did not believe he was at fault. Instead, he thought his proposal had been entirely correct. Oscar was merely an ordinary Prince—what did he need so much money for? As the Crown Prince of the German Empire, he was precisely at the stage when he needed money. If Oscar knew what was good for him, he should donate that money to the royal family and to him.
Of course, Crown Prince Wilhelm could only bury such thoughts deep in his heart and dared not reveal them. Otherwise, Wilhelm II would certainly become even more dissatisfied with him.
"Your Majesty, Prince Oskar is worried that after seeing the German Welfare Lottery Company's profits, certain greedy people may try every possible means to plunder their company. Therefore, he hopes that Your Majesty can provide them with protection," Essen von Jonath said.
Wilhelm II nodded. Naturally, he knew full well the nature of those domestic capitalists.
"I knew that brat would not give away so much profit for nothing. Still, for the sake of being able to build one more Battleship every year, the royal family will step in and deal with those people for them," Wilhelm II said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Essen von Jonath breathed a sigh of relief. If the royal family stepped in, those capitalists would naturally have to show some respect. In that case, the German Welfare Lottery Company would naturally be safe, and their profits could naturally be preserved.
"Essen, tell Oscar for me to return to the palace for the Christmas banquet," Wilhelm II said.
His impression of Oscar had now changed enormously. Previously, he had thought Oscar was an ignorant playboy who cared only about pleasure. But he had not expected Oscar to possess such remarkable talent in business. Moreover, Oscar was extremely loyal to the royal family and the Empire, which was undoubtedly what he, as both father and Emperor, wished to see.
As for the order he had previously given forbidding Oscar from returning to the palace, he naturally cast it to the back of his mind.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Essen von Jonath nodded. He was also very pleased that Oscar had regained Wilhelm II's esteem. After all, his son Karl and Oscar were practically tied together.
Crown Prince Wilhelm, however, looked even more unsightly upon hearing this. Although he did not believe Oscar would pose any threat to his right of succession, he had nevertheless begun to sense a trace of danger.
Although changes in succession were rare in European countries, and inheritance rights were generally extremely secure unless the heir died young or committed some outrage against Heaven and reason, Crown Prince Wilhelm did not want his younger brothers to perform better than their elder brother. In his eyes, those younger brothers ought to be nothing more than green leaves serving as a backdrop.
The royal family privately declared that the German Welfare Lottery Company was royal property. After weighing the matter again and again, countless capitalists who had been eyeing this juicy piece of meat could only abandon their covetous intentions. Although the German Welfare Lottery Company was highly profitable, openly clashing with the royal family over it would undoubtedly be extremely unwise.
When Oscar received the news, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The crisis had been resolved. Now, he could use the German Welfare Lottery Company's enormous profits to do other things. His plans could proceed in an orderly fashion.
After handing the company's main operations over to Karl, Oscar shut himself in his office and refined the design of the Battleship he envisioned.
Ever since being reborn into this world, Oscar had begun researching this field. As a military enthusiast, he had collected countless weapon models in his previous life—aircraft, tanks, and warships, everything one could want. Among those warships were not only Battleships, but aircraft carriers as well.
In this era, Battleships were undoubtedly the undisputed Capital Ships, just as aircraft carriers would be in later generations. Only a handful of countries in the world possessed the ability to build Battleships. Among them, the only truly top-tier nations were undoubtedly Britain and Germany.
"By my calculations, the British Dreadnought's design drawings should have been completed by now. It should receive approval next year, then be completed within a year. The commissioning of this Battleship will set off a revolution. All those old-style Battleships will become obsolete with the Dreadnought's sudden emergence from the sky. That naturally includes the German Navy's four Brandenburg-class Battleships, five Kaiser Frederick III-class Battleships, five Wittelsbach-class Battleships, five Braunschweig-class Battleships, and five Deutschland-class Battleships."
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