Naval Friendship

Oscar was taken aback but quickly understood. Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz was referring to his promise to donate a battleship to the navy.

"Your Excellency, this is only what I should do. If Director Birkenhagen hadn't granted my request, I'd probably still be wasting time at the Naval Academy and never have achieved what I have now."

"Hmm, Your Highness, I originally thought you were just trying to fool us to avoid school. But now it seems you truly can keep your promise," Director Ludwig Birkenhagen remarked with a sigh.

Although after their earlier conversation he had concluded Oscar wasn't an idle good-for-nothing, he still believed it would be extremely difficult for Oscar to actually donate a battleship to the German Navy. After all, the cost of a battleship was exorbitant—even Germany's finances struggled to bear it. Yet unexpectedly, Oscar had managed to earn so much money in such a short time. No one knew exactly how much he'd made, but one thing was certain: building a battleship would be a trivial matter for him.

"Director, since I made a promise, I will of course keep it. By next year at the latest, the battleship I've pledged to donate to the navy can begin construction."

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz's gaze toward Oscar held a glimmer of expectation.

"So Prince Oskar's Welfare Lottery Company really has raked in a fortune. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to agree to fulfill his promise without batting an eye. The navy's budget gap keeps widening—competing with the British in capital ships is incredibly tough. If Prince Oskar could donate more battleships to the navy, that would be ideal," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz thought to himself. Clearly, he had already pegged Oscar as a fat sheep, hoping to squeeze more support from him. Of course, he knew that would be difficult. Battleships weren't cabbages sold by the pound. One battleship cost tens of millions of Marks!

Still, Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz decided to maintain a good relationship with Oscar. That way, if he ever needed to call on Oscar in the future, Oscar probably wouldn't refuse.

"Your Highness, Director Birkenhagen mentioned that you have unique insights into naval development," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.

"Your Excellency, they're hardly insights—more like concerns for the German Navy," Oscar replied, a trace of worry flickering in his eyes.

"Could you elaborate, Your Highness? We should have enough time tonight. Though it might mean keeping you from dancing with those noble ladies," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said with a broad smile.

"Your Excellency, I have no interest in dancing. It's my honor to discuss matters with you," Oscar said, shaking his head.

The three of them then found a corner and began to talk.

Oscar did his best to share what he knew with Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and Director Birkenhagen, hoping it might help the German Navy. If it could lead to a German victory in a future naval showdown, that would be the best outcome.

"Your Excellency, Director. Although we have already completed or are building the Brandenburg-class, Kaiser Frederick III-class, Wittelsbach-class, Braunschweig-class, and Deutschland-class battleships—twenty-four in total—unfortunately, neither in quantity nor performance can we achieve overwhelming superiority over the British Navy. The quality of the German Empire Navy's personnel is excellent, but it's still hard to match the British Navy, which has dominated the world's oceans for centuries. So, if war breaks out, the German Navy will likely struggle to defeat the British."

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and Director Birkenhagen's expressions darkened. They were well aware of this and knew Oscar wasn't speaking idly.

"The British Navy is far too powerful. Challenging them is indeed extremely difficult. But the arrow is already on the string—we have no choice. The British have allied with France and are drawing closer to Russia. If war comes, they will certainly be our primary enemy," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.

Oscar nodded in agreement. If Wilhelm II still harbored illusions about the British, Oscar, having traveled back from the future, knew for certain that the British were dead set on opposing Germany. Of course, Wilhelm II wanted to strengthen the German Navy not to actually fight the British, but to use overwhelming naval power to force their submission and achieve victory without war. In the end, that proved far too naive. When national interests were at stake, how could the British simply give in? If Germany won the war and controlled the European continent, even Britain, isolated across the sea, wouldn't be able to stay out of it.

"Your Highness, do you have any good ideas?" Director Birkenhagen asked.

"The future war will be critical. If Germany loses, the consequences will be disastrous. A powerful German Empire will cease to exist. So we must do everything to win. In my view, the key to victory lies with the navy. Only if the navy defeats the British Navy and breaks their blockade of Germany can we sustain overseas trade and continuously obtain the supplies needed for war. Only then can we hold out," Oscar said. In World War I, Germany was slowly starved into defeat—a truly regrettable outcome.

"Your Highness, couldn't we solve that by stockpiling enough war materials before the war?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz frowned.

Oscar smiled. The German high command of this era all believed that if war broke out, it would last only a few months at most—like the Franco-Prussian War, where they won quickly. They had no idea how brutal this war would be or how long it would drag on. That directly led to their realization, after the war started, that their preparations were woefully inadequate.

"Your Excellency, Director. I believe that if war breaks out, it will be more brutal than any war before it, and it will last a very long time. Relying solely on pre-war stockpiles won't allow us to gather enough supplies. Therefore, the navy defeating the British and breaking their blockade is the most critical factor," Oscar stated with absolute certainty.