Chapter 65: Shipbuilding Technology
Seeing Arthur’s insistence, William II didn’t say anything, but just nodded: “I will discuss the matter of Gew98 with Mauser Company, but the specific price at which it will be sold to you depends on it. Your negotiating skills have improved."
Naturally, Arthur would not refuse such an offer. As the standard weapon of the German Army, Gew98 is already fully supported by its production line being sold to Australia.
As for the capital expenditure required to purchase Gew98, it is nothing in Arthur's opinion. After all, after improvement, the Gew98 will remain one of the most powerful rifles in the world for at least the next forty or fifty years.
Being born in a traditional German military industry background, Gew98’s sales don’t have to worry about sales.
Whether it is Germany and its allies in World War I, or countries in other parts of the world who are obsessed with German weapons, they will welcome the export of this gun.
The funds required to purchase the Gew98 production line will be repaid in future arms exports, and even make huge profits.
"As for Krupp's artillery technology, some of the artillery are also necessary for warships, so it's okay to leave them to you. Some extra-large-caliber artillery involves the secrets of the German army and may not be handed over to you. I will let Krupp know the details. The company talks to you, and there is no problem in leaving conventional artillery technology to you." William II said with a smile.
In terms of artillery, Germany, which owns famous military industrial companies such as Krupp, is definitely the industry leader.
The Krupp Cannon produced by the famous Krupp Company was also a weapon used by the German Imperial Army to attack cities and demolish villages.
William II's answer was within Arthur's expectation. Germany's willingness to transfer ordinary artillery technology to Australia was already a surprise to Arthur.
There are currently no relatively powerful enemies around Australia, nor are there any solid fortresses blocking it.
Under such circumstances, large-caliber artillery that is bulky and inconvenient to transport is also a burden for Australia.
Although it has an unstoppable advantage in attacking cities and strongholds, it is not very useful for Australia. Coupled with the logistical troubles and the accuracy problems caused by the extra large caliber, large-caliber artillery is like useless, so don't forget it.
"Same as Mauser, your diplomatic team needs to discuss the detailed matters. Including the production line, let your officials discuss the specific price with Mauser and Krupp." William II said arrive.
Arthur nodded, no objection.
As a monarch, naturally you cannot leave everything to yourself. For a centralized monarchy like Australia, Arthur's role is more to determine the big framework, and small details need to be completed by officials.
"Do you need support from warships and shipyards?" William II continued the topic and asked: "Germany's warship manufacturing may not be as good as the British Empire, but it is definitely the world's leader. If you need it, we can also help you. Expand the shipyard."
Wilhelm II, the shipyard owned by Arthur, also knew about it.
But such a small-scale shipyard is not enough for an island country, let alone Australia, which wants to stabilize its overseas territories.
"Of course, Your Majesty. Although we have also signed an aid treaty with the United Kingdom on warships, most of the assistance provided by the United Kingdom is technology rather than practical warship drawings. I hope to obtain some advanced warship drawings from Germany to make up for it. Australia has the disadvantage of scarcity of warship blueprints. In order to repay Germany, we are willing to share the advanced technology obtained from Britain with Germany simultaneously and purchase these warship blueprints at market prices." Arthur nodded matter-of-factly and said with a smile.
Although in a few years there will be a dreadnought ship, which will eliminate these so-called advanced warships. But if it cannot master the current shipbuilding technology and the corresponding more advanced warship drawings, then when the dreadnought is born in the future, Australia will not be able to build a dreadnought.
This is equivalent to the knowledge of primary school and middle school, although after entering middle school, all the knowledge of primary school will be eliminated.
But without the knowledge accumulated in elementary school, it will be difficult to master the knowledge in middle school.
As the saying goes, a little adds up to a lot. Australia has nothing, so it is naturally impossible to accumulate it.
Although the German navy is far inferior to the Royal Navy of the British Empire, as an emerging country that has only been unified for a few decades, the German Empire has invested heavily in the navy and has achieved impressive results.
If Australia can gain the ability to build dreadnoughts in the future by mastering German shipbuilding technology and drawings, it will definitely make a profit.
Upon hearing Arthur's proposal, both William II and Prime Minister Bernhard nodded.
As the second great power in direct competition with the British Empire, the German Empire was naturally unable to obtain technical support from the British Empire.
This has also led to the development of the German navy and the development of the British navy in almost two directions. If you can obtain some advanced British technology, you can not only improve some shortcomings of German naval technology, but also become familiar with the characteristics of the British navy, and achieve the goal of knowing yourself and the enemy. Effect.
"That's no problem, Arthur. You can choose one of the Braunschweig-class battleships and the Deutschland-class battleships, and its design drawings and detailed data will be sold to you at market prices. But I have a request, which is that on the fifteenth Within the year, the design drawings and data may not be resold, nor may any text be disclosed to other countries and forces in any way." William II nodded after thinking for a long time.
"Of course, Germany has no objection to the sale of finished warships. But the requirement is that the sale price must be consistent with Germany to avoid malicious competition." William II continued.
The cost price and sales price of warships are completely different. For some warships, there is even a twice the gap.
This is why William II said this. After mastering the construction technology, if Australia uses lower selling prices to compete with German shipyards, it will also cause losses to German interests.
"That's natural, Your Majesty. Australia's industry is very different from Germany's industry, and the same is true for the shipbuilding industry. Australia will not compete with Germany, nor is it capable of doing so. Our purpose is to master the construction technology of large warships , to make adequate preparations for the future construction of the Australian Navy." Arthur nodded unequivocally and explained with a smile.
Whether in terms of industrial scale or national prestige, Australia is not qualified to compete with the German Empire, and it is naturally impossible for Australia to be arrogant enough to compete with the German Empire.
Arthur's purpose is only to master the construction technology of battleships and prepare for the birth of dreadnoughts in the future.
No matter what, Australia needs to master the manufacturing of battleships before the birth of the dreadnought, so that it can try to build them after the birth of the dreadnought, rather than understanding it from scratch.
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(End of chapter)