Chapter 852: Take advantage of
"Your Highness, there are only ten warships left." Admiral Anton House was very anxious. They originally wanted to win all the 18 capital ships in the German auction this time. But now, 8 ships have been photographed, but they haven't even caught a hair.
"I know! From the next ship, don't give those guys any chance!" Crown Prince Karl said through gritted teeth. You know, he has a loan of 200 million US dollars provided by the Americans, which is equivalent to 800 million marks. On average, if each of the next capital ships bids for 80 million marks, other countries will definitely not be able to compete with them. However, in this way, the price will be very high. The cost of those capital ships is not so high.
However, Crown Prince Karl has no other choice. He also did not expect that those countries would be so rich and powerful. He was actually willing to spend so much money to buy these second-hand warships, which caused loopholes in his plan. If they were more reluctant to spend money, they might not be able to get many warships.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Admiral Anton House said seriously.
The next battleship to be auctioned is the battleship 'Oldenburg'. When Lieutenant General Hipper announced the opening of the auction, the price began to rise continuously. Even Brazil and Argentina have joined the auction. They obviously couldn't accept the reality that the Republic of Chile had once again acquired a powerful battleship. Therefore, we can only do our best to stop the Republic of Chile.
The price has been rising all the way, and soon rose from 30 million marks to 50 million marks. However, countries are still bidding.
"Sixty million marks!" Admiral Anton House made a bid.
"Sixty-five million marks!" Fatih Pasha immediately bid.
"Sixty-seven million marks!" The representative of the Republic of Chile bid.
After the representatives of Brazil and Argentina whispered a few words, the representative of the Republic of Brazil raised the price to 70 million marks.
"Damn, those guys are crazy!" Crown Prince Karl cursed in his heart.
"Seventy-two million marks!" Admiral Anton House raised the price again.
"Seventy-five million marks!" The Brazilian representative also quoted again.
In the end, Admiral Anton House chose to give up.
The battleship 'Oldenburg' was bought by the representative of Brazil at a high price of 75 million marks.
Of course, with Brazil's financial resources, it is obviously impossible to buy such an expensive warship. This time, they cooperated with Argentina and borrowed a sum of money from Argentina to buy it. But Brazil promised that once Argentina was attacked by Chile, they would fully support Argentina.
Crown Prince Karl's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. He never expected that the auction would be so fierce. Half of the battleships have been photographed, but none of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been photographed.
Lieutenant General Hipper immediately announced the start of the auction for the battleship "East Prussia". This time, Crown Prince Karl made the bid himself.
"Sixty million marks!" Crown Prince Karl directly doubled the starting price.
However, this price still does not scare other countries. Fatih Pasha of the Ottoman Empire and representatives of the Chilean Republic were still bidding.
Crown Prince Karl is determined to buy this battleship this time. Under his continuous bidding, the price climbed to seventy-eight million marks.
In the end, the total price of the four "Helgoland-class" battleships reached 285 million marks. You know, this price is much higher than the original cost of these four battleships. It can be said that this auction of the German Navy not only did not lose money, but also made a fortune!historical
"The next auction will be the 'Moltke-class' battlecruisers, namely the 'Moltke', 'Goben', and 'Sedlitz'!" Lieutenant General Hipper said with a smile on his face. . In his eyes, these guys are all taken advantage of! The second-hand warships of the German Navy, they were so happy to **** them, and they paid such a high price, he didn't know what to say.
Of course, the higher the price paid by these bullies, the better it will be for the German Navy. You must know that Qin Tian has promised that all the funds obtained from this auction will be used to develop the navy. It is foreseeable that the German Navy will become stronger because of these funds.
The starting price of the battlecruiser 'Moltke' is still 30 million marks. At this time, the only countries participating in the competition are Chile, the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Republic of Chile hopes to acquire another capital ship to further strengthen their advantage over Brazil and Argentina. The Ottoman Turkish Empire hopes to further strengthen the strength of the navy, so as to gain a greater voice in the Mediterranean. The Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to bid for as many capital ships as possible to fulfill their strategic goals.
The price of the battlecruiser 'Moltke' quickly rose to 62 million marks. At this time, the Ottoman Turkish Empire gave up. Because they set their target on the next "Caesar-class" battleship. The overall performance of the 'Caesar-class' battleship is more powerful than that of the 'Helgoland-class'.
In the end, the battlecruiser "Moltke" was bought by the Austro-Hungarian Empire at a price of 68 million marks.
The battlecruiser "Goeben" was also auctioned by the Austro-Hungarian Empire at a price of 69 million marks.
The battleship 'Seydlitz' was also taken by the wealthy Austro-Hungarian Empire at a price of 70 million marks.
The total price of the three "Moltke-class" battlecruisers is 207 million marks. This price is not high. If compared with the cost, it even loses a little bit. Of course, considering that these battlecruisers are second-hand battleships that have been in service for several years. It is already very good to be able to bid for this price. You must know that warships, like other commodities, will also depreciate.
Although Crown Prince Karl spent a lot of money, he bought three powerful battlecruisers, which made him finally breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at the representatives of other countries, there is also a hint of contempt. His meaning is obvious, and he looks down on representatives of other countries.
Of course, if it weren't for the large loan from the Americans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not have so much financial resources to participate in the auction.
No matter what, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire bought these warships, it was still not a winner. There is only one real winner, and that is the German Empire who sold these warships. The German Empire returned a large amount of money by selling these warships. These funds will be used for the construction of new warships. As a result, the strength of the German navy has become even stronger.