Next-class Battleship

Oskar took one look at Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and knew they had misunderstood.

"Father Emperor, Your Excellency, when I said one hundred million Marks, I didn't mean a total of one hundred million—I meant one hundred million Marks per year. After all, while the Welfare Lottery Company's revenue is considerable, I still have other investment projects and many places where money must be spent. So I can only spare one hundred million Marks annually," Oskar explained.

If he siphoned too much profit from his enterprises each year, it would severely impact his next round of industrial expansion. Moreover, such a massive flow of funds would be far easier for other nations to detect.

"One hundred million Marks per year? Excellent, very excellent. Oskar, you have done very well. I am proud to have a son like you!" Wilhelm II was immensely pleased.

"Your Highness, one hundred million Marks per year—until the war begins?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked excitedly. If so, it would mean the German Navy had gained an enormous additional boost. With this funding, the navy's financial pressure would be greatly relieved. They would have sufficient resources to develop armaments and build warships.

"One hundred million Marks per year—until the war ends!" Oskar declared solemnly.

Oskar knew that these German high officials probably had no idea the future war would drag on for so long. In another timeline, the war lasted a full four years, completely catching everyone off guard. At the outset, from Wilhelm II down to the lowliest soldier, they all believed they could defeat the enemy and end the war within months. In this timeline, even if Germany's military strength had been bolstered, ending the war quickly would still be extremely difficult. So Oskar hoped Germany would prepare for a protracted conflict.

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz nodded. "Your Highness, I thank you deeply. Your support for the navy will surely bear fruit. We will definitely defeat the British in the coming war."

Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz was brimming with confidence. Originally, compared to the British Navy, the German Navy was at a major disadvantage. The primary reason was that the British Navy's financial resources were simply beyond what the German Navy could match. Now, with Oskar's backing, everything was different. With a loan of one hundred million Marks each year from Oskar, that sum was roughly enough to build two battleships. A single battleship class typically took two to three years to construct, and the German Navy usually built four to five ships per class. In other words, Oskar's loan alone would be enough to cover the construction of capital ships. The German Navy's own budget could then be funneled into building other light surface vessels. This would allow the German Navy's strength to leap forward. They would soon catch up to the British Navy, or even surpass it. Combined with the fact that Oskar's battleship designs could already crush the British ships in performance, if the German Navy still couldn't defeat the British under these favorable conditions, they might as well go buy a block of tofu and bash their heads against it.

"Oskar, when dealing with outsiders, I will announce that the loan to the navy comes from the Imperial Household. That way, the British and French shouldn't suspect you," Wilhelm II said. He was extremely satisfied with Oskar's performance.

Oskar shook his head. "Father Emperor, there are no walls that don't let the wind through. The British and French will find out sooner or later. But if they dare use administrative orders to expel the German Welfare Lottery Company from their markets, that would be a deliberate disruption of the market. Even if we can't do anything about it for now, after the war ends, we can still settle accounts with them and demand compensation for our losses! For now, I just hope we can drag things out as long as possible. That will give us enough time to extract more wealth from Britain and France."

As the saying goes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years—as long as Germany ultimately won the war. Then there would be ample grounds to make Britain and France pay for their losses.

Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz both nodded repeatedly. The world was inherently brutal. Losing a war would bring dire consequences. But if they won, they could plunder the defeated nations at will. The strong preying on the weak, the powerful looting the powerless—that was the essence of this world.

"Your Highness, regarding the next-class battleship, do you have any specific ideas?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked.

"Your Excellency, here are the design drawings." Oskar directly pulled a set of blueprints from his briefcase and spread them out on the desk.

These design drawings had been prepared by Oskar long ago. With the Nassau-class battleship design as a precedent, the new capital ship only needed to be an enlarged version of the Nassau-class. Of course, some adjustments were also necessary.

"Father Emperor, Your Excellency, this is the next-class battleship I have designed." Oskar began introducing it to Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz.

The new-style battleship Oskar designed was 158 meters long, 26.5 meters wide, with a draft of 8.7 meters. Standard displacement was 23,500 tons, full load displacement 25,500 tons. Armament consisted of three triple 343mm 50-caliber main guns, fourteen 150mm 45-caliber secondary guns, and sixteen 88mm 45-caliber anti-torpedo boat guns. Propulsion came from sixteen Sulzer oil-fired boilers and four Curtis steam turbines, with a maximum main engine power of 32,000 horsepower, four shafts, and a top speed of 23 knots. Armor protection included a main belt of 330mm, turret face armor and conning tower armor both at 330mm, and deck armor of 55mm.

The main differences from the Nassau-class battleship were the larger main gun caliber, adopting 343mm 50-caliber main guns. Additionally, the armor was thicker, with key armor increased from 305mm to 330mm, providing stronger defense and improving the ship's survivability in battle. At the same time, by adding boilers, the ship's power was enhanced, allowing the speed to reach 23 knots. For a battleship with a displacement of up to 25,000 tons, this was undoubtedly remarkable. After all, the capital ships of other nations at the time generally only reached speeds of around a dozen knots.

This meant the new capital ship's overall performance was a step above the Nassau-class. Naturally, the construction cost was also higher.