Super-Dreadnought (Seeking Collection)

Under the witness of Wilhelm II, Oscar and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz signed their names on the transfer documents. This meant that the four Nassau-class battleships under construction at Oscar's German Shipyard had officially become the Navy's next main fleet units. Once completed and after sea trials, these battleships would be formally handed over to the Navy.

"Your Highness, thank you for everything you've done for the Navy. The entire Navy will remember this," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said solemnly.

In the eyes of others, Oscar had taken on enormous risks for the Nassau-class battleships. Acquiring the shipyard and expanding it had required a massive investment. Building four battleships was also a huge sum of money. If the Navy ultimately refused to accept these battleships, Oscar's losses on this project would likely exceed three hundred million Marks, or even more. Given that Germany's annual fiscal revenue was only one billion Marks at the time, this was undoubtedly a colossal amount. Thus, Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz was deeply moved by Oscar's actions.

"Your Excellency, this is my duty. As a Prince of the German Empire, it is naturally my responsibility to strive for the Empire's strength. Although personally donning a uniform and fighting on the front lines is not my ideal, I can use my own methods to make the German Empire even stronger," Oscar said with a smile.

The Navy's formal acceptance of the Nassau-class battleships was a relief for him. After all, these were four battleships! From the acquisition of the shipyard to the construction costs of the four Nassau-class battleships, the total came to three hundred and fifty million Marks. Now that the Navy had taken them over, it would allocate various funds accordingly. According to the agreement between Oscar and Wilhelm II, these four Nassau-class battleships would offset the debt from acquiring the Imperial Shipyard and expanding the yard. Oscar only needed to spend the money to build these battleships. Spending over one hundred million Marks to obtain a large shipyard was undoubtedly a very good deal.

Of course, for Oscar, over one hundred million Marks was nothing. As the German Welfare Lottery Company expanded its business abroad, especially with great success in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and despite some resistance in the Kingdom of Italy, the company's profits were steadily rising. Now, each lottery draw brought in eight million Marks in profit. This meant Oscar received fifty million Marks in monthly profit from the company. Over a year, that was an astronomical figure. The funds spent on building several battleships for the German Navy were trivial.

Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz both laughed. After all, Oscar was only seventeen, still a few months shy of eighteen. The agreement Oscar had made with Director Ludwig Birkenhagen of the Kiel Naval Academy had seemed like a joke in their eyes back then. But now, it was clear that Oscar was fully capable of fulfilling his promises. The cost of fulfilling that promise was nothing to him.

"Your Highness, the Navy has accepted all four Nassau-class battleships. But when will you fulfill your promise to Director Birkenhagen?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked with a smile.

"Your Excellency, I can fulfill it anytime. In fact, I've already prepared. The lead ship of the next main fleet class will be built entirely at my expense. Once completed, I will donate it directly to the Navy as my fulfillment of the promise to Director Birkenhagen," Oscar said with a smile.

If he had once worried about funding, now he was flush with cash. The German Welfare Lottery Company had grown into a massive cash cow, delivering generous profits every month. This was enough to sustain Oscar's other money-burning ventures.

"The next class of battleships? Oskar, the Nassau-class is still under construction. Do you already have plans for the next class?" Wilhelm II asked.

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz also fixed his gaze on Oscar. The Nassau-class had already proven Oscar's design ability and insight into the development of main fleet units. If Oscar had ideas for the next class and the design was flawless, they could certainly use his design as the basis for the next main fleet class.

"Yes, Father Emperor," Oscar nodded.

With nothing else occupying his time, Oscar had focused on designing those weapons and equipment. He had also already thought out the next main fleet class for the German Navy.

"For the Navy's next main fleet class, this is my thinking. The design philosophy of the Nassau-class battleships is more advanced than that of the British Navy's HMS Dreadnought. However, HMS Dreadnought entered service first, which is indisputable. For now, let's consider HMS Dreadnought as a groundbreaking battleship. Then, earlier battleships with secondary main batteries can be called 'Pre-dreadnoughts.' Meanwhile, HMS Dreadnought, the British ships of the same class under construction, and our Nassau-class can all be termed 'Dreadnoughts,'" Oscar explained.

Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz both nodded repeatedly. There was nothing wrong with Oscar's classification. Still, the fact that HMS Dreadnought had entered service before the Nassau-class rankled them. If the Naval Technical Committee hadn't rejected Oscar's design earlier, the honor of having the first New-style Battleship in service would have belonged to the German Empire.

"So, for the next main fleet class, I believe it should be a 'super-Dreadnought,'" Oscar introduced another new term.

"'Super-Dreadnought'?" Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz were both taken aback.

"Exactly, a 'super-Dreadnought.' As the name implies, it is a battleship more powerful than the previous Dreadnoughts. The main features are greater firepower and stronger armor. If possible, it also needs to be faster. This way, we can ensure our next main fleet class has an overwhelming advantage when facing the British Navy. As far as I know, the British Navy's next class, or even the one after that, are merely simple improvements on HMS Dreadnought," Oscar said with a smile.