25. Father Traps Son

"Father Emperor, money is no worry. The German Welfare Lottery Company's profitability can easily support the construction of one battleship. The main problem now is that no shipyard will take on building the battleship I designed. Those guys on the Naval Technical Committee will definitely block it." Oskar said with a grimace.

The German Welfare Lottery Company brought Oskar at least two hundred million Marks or more in profit each year. Building a battleship cost only forty to fifty million Marks. To the deep-pocketed Oskar, that was nothing. But finding a shipyard willing to help him turn his blueprints into reality was far from easy.

"That is indeed a problem. Even I have little leverage on this issue." Wilhelm II frowned.

Germany's shipyards capable of building battleships were mainly the Naval Shipyard in Kiel, Germania Shipyard, the Royal Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, Weser Shipyard in Bremen, Vulcan Shipyard and Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, and Schichau Shipyard in Danzig. Apart from the Naval Shipyard and the Royal Shipyard, all were private. Even Wilhelm II could not force them to build a battleship for Oskar.

"Father Emperor, if I build my own shipyard, could I count on your support? I mean in terms of technical staff and managers. After all, I have no foundation in this field." Oskar thought for a moment, then said.

Since those shipyards wouldn't help him build a battleship, he might as well do it himself. Better to rely on oneself than on others. He certainly wouldn't lack funds. The German Welfare Lottery Company had become a cash cow, bringing him massive profits every month.

"Build your own shipyard? That's not impossible. But I have a better idea. Instead of starting from scratch, why not buy an existing shipyard? That way, you'd at least have some foundation." Wilhelm II said.

"Buy a shipyard? That's a good idea. But which one would be suitable?" Oskar thought it over—indeed, that was better than building a new one from zero.

"How about this: the Imperial Shipyard under the crown can be transferred to you!" Wilhelm II said.

"The Royal Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven? That's not bad. But I probably don't have that much money right now—I'd have to owe it. I could take a loan from you at bank interest." Oskar brightened.

The Royal Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven was one of Germany's major shipyards, capable of building all types of vessels, including battleships. Of course, buying such a large shipyard would require a massive amount of funds—at least two to three hundred million Marks. Although Oskar's German Welfare Lottery Company was profitable, that was future income. There was no way he could come up with that much money all at once, unless he waited a year or two.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Wilhelm II's face.

"Oskar, you seem to have misunderstood. I wasn't referring to the Royal Shipyard, but the Imperial Shipyard. They are two different shipyards. The former is in Wilhelmshaven, the latter in Danzig!" Wilhelm II explained.

"Ah? The Imperial Shipyard in Danzig?" Oskar was dumbfounded.

The Imperial Shipyard, though over a century old, was still only a medium-sized shipyard. It had experience building small and medium warships and vessels, but no capability to build battleships. For one thing, the entire shipyard lacked a slipway for large battleships. If Oskar remembered correctly, the Imperial Shipyard ran at a loss every year.

"Father Emperor, the Imperial Shipyard simply doesn't have the ability to build battleships!" Oskar said, exasperated.

"That's easy to handle. After you buy it, expand it, recruit more technical staff and skilled workers, and I'll find a way to transfer some engineers from the Royal Shipyard and the Naval Shipyard for you. That will boost the Imperial Shipyard's construction capacity—no problem at all." Wilhelm II made it sound very simple.

Oskar hesitated. It rather looked like Wilhelm II was eager to offload the money-losing Imperial Shipyard! But if Wilhelm II wanted to cheat someone, he could pick anyone else. Oskar was his own son! How could a father cheat his own son?

"Oskar, Germany's economy is booming right now, and all the shipyards are turning decent profits. Buying another shipyard won't be easy, and it'll cost more money. Besides, they won't give you a loan like I will. Think it over—this opportunity won't come again." Wilhelm II urged.

The Imperial Shipyard was a non-performing asset under the crown. Its annual losses weren't huge, but they still gave Wilhelm II a headache. Offloading it would be ideal.

What's more, once Oskar took over, any battleships he built would still belong to the German Navy. That would kill two birds with one stone!

Oskar was speechless. Hadn't he gone to all this trouble just to fulfill his promise? It would bring huge benefits to the German Navy and Germany as a whole.

After thinking it over for a long time, Oskar decided to take over the Imperial Shipyard. Since Wilhelm II had made the request, as a son, he had little choice.

Still, to protect his own interests, Oskar would naturally haggle with Wilhelm II as much as possible.

"Father Emperor, how much do you want for the Imperial Shipyard?" Oskar asked.

"Fifty million Marks, not a penny less."

"Uh, Father Emperor, I don't have that much money. Right now, I only have ten million Marks." Oskar spread his hands, looking helpless.

"That's no problem. You can pay in installments—Ten million Marks each time. With the German Welfare Lottery Company's earning power, it'll be paid off quickly." Wilhelm II said with a smile. He wasn't worried about Oskar's ability to pay. After all, the lottery company's money-making ability made even the Emperor envious. If the company weren't Oskar's, and if Oskar hadn't been wise enough to hand over part of the profits to the crown, Wilhelm II would have been tempted to use every means to swallow it up.