"Twenty-eight million Marks!"
"Thirty million Marks!"
The representatives of Argentina and Brazil immediately followed with their bids. This instantly drove the price of the Nassau-class Battleship up by a full ten million Marks. One had to know that this was already close to two-thirds of the Nassau-class Battleship's construction cost. For a battleship that had been in service for several years to sell for such a price was undoubtedly quite good.
Of course, this was mainly because the buyers were competing so fiercely.
Chile, Argentina, and Brazil could be considered the three great powers of South America. All three possessed respectable naval strength. Chile in particular—although its territory was narrow, it was rich in Mineral Resources. Its abundant copper reserves especially made Chile very wealthy.
Once a country had money, its military spending naturally increased. This made the two traditional powers, Brazil and Argentina, feel threatened. To safeguard their own interests, they too had no choice but to increase their military investments, plunging South America into a three-way struggle for supremacy.
Of course, in the eyes of the true great powers, the so-called three great powers of South America were merely children playing house. Any powerful nation had the strength to defeat them with ease. However, every great power supported proxies in South America, making the situation there extremely complicated. That was why these three countries could leap about as they pleased. For instance, the Republic of Chile had Germany's support behind it. Otherwise, it could not have developed so quickly.
"Damn it, the price has already climbed to thirty million Marks just after the bidding began." Crown Prince Karl cursed under his breath. He had wanted to buy all eighteen Capital Ships being sold by the German Navy this time. But now, that seemed impossible. With so many troublemakers