"Ninety-five million Marks!" After Crown Prince Karl made his bid, he looked at Fatih Pasha with open provocation. The meaning was obvious: he was mocking Fatih Pasha for being unable to come up with that much money.
Although the Ottoman Turkish Empire could still be considered a major power, the days when it could trample all of Europe beneath its feet were long gone. After entering the modern era, the Ottoman Turkish Empire had declined, falling from a world-class power into the Sick Man of West Asia.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not particularly strong either, it was undoubtedly far more powerful than the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
Fatih Pasha's face turned livid. Although this price had already far exceeded the actual value of the battleship Regent Leopold, if he backed down now, the Ottoman Turkish Empire would lose all its face.
But if he continued bidding, Fatih Pasha felt it would be far too much of a loss. After all, a price approaching one hundred million Marks was already enough to build an extremely powerful capital ship, with money left over.
"Ninety-six million Marks!" Fatih Pasha gritted his teeth and made his bid. He had made up his mind that if Crown Prince Karl raised the price again, he would stop bidding.
Sure enough, the moment Fatih Pasha made his bid, Crown Prince Karl raised the price once more without even blinking.
"Ninety-seven million Marks!"
Although Crown Prince Karl had only added one million Marks, Fatih Pasha gave up. He did not raise the bid again. He knew that if he continued, Crown Prince Karl would follow suit. There was no need to lock horns with Crown Prince Karl over this. If Crown Prince Karl set a trap for him, he would have nowhere to cry.
"Ninety-seven million Marks? Any