Danze, Friedrich's Royal Shipbuilding Factory, G Shipbuilding Area. In the long dry docks arranged in parallel, workers are busy. Some of the buildings in the docks are still steel bones, some have initial contours, and some are close to completion.

"These are our best submarines at present, my respected Fatih Pasha."

The speaker in the naval officer's casual uniform was Joachim, the Prussian prince. Two months away, this young and talented member of the royal family was 20 years old. At his age, many people's careers were just beginning. He was not only the youngest ship designer in Germany's history, but also presided over the design and construction of 21 10,000-ton main warships of seven levels. Most ship engineers have never achieved such a good achievement in their entirety.

At this moment, the prince was accompanied by a middle-aged man with a solid figure and gorgeous military uniform. The man's skin was yellow, his hair and beard were dark brown, his eyes were deep and his nose was tall and straight, and his face was a typical Eurasian mixed race.

"I originally heard that you Germany had built a submersible warship as big as a cruiser. It seems that it is a rumor?" The middle-aged man slowly spoke German that others could understand. Compared with three years ago, he was blessed and had a rude attitude, and his words and deeds became more steady, but this German seemed to have made no progress.

The prince told him very seriously: "This is definitely a rumor, my Fatih Pasha!"

Pasha is also the honorary title of general in Turkish. This Fatih Pasha is actually the youngest son of the former Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. When Xia Shu sailed to Istanbul with the Navy Training Ship "Charlotte", he received Fatih's kind hospitality. A year ago, the second constitutional movement led by young Turks drove Hamid II off the stage and instead supported his brother Mohammed V as the new sultan. The process of changing dynasties is often extremely bloody and cruel, but the Turks'

The sub-government change seemed very "gentle". The old Sultan was only under house arrest. Although his sons, including Fatih, had lost their previous status and power, they at least kept their heads. After donating several high-speed boats he owned to the Ottoman Navy, Fatih, who had no military merits, turned into the Ottoman Navy Pasha. This time the Ottoman Navy delegation came to Germany to discuss the procurement of warships. Although Fatih was not the number one figure in the delegation, he also had a considerable influence and voice.

Fatih grinned and glanced at the assembly dock. There were many submarines that had entered the late assembly stage, some of which had been equipped with forward deck guns and rear rapid-fire guns, making them look majestic.

"Those are the submarines you designed recently!" he said with admiration. "It's a pity that I have never seen how they operate and attack. I wonder if there is such an honor today?"

The decaying Ottoman Empire had long fallen to the point where people were bullied, but its ruling class was still rich. When Hamid II was still in power, Fatih received a gift of an unarmed simple version of "Saidfish" from Xiashu. Not long after, he sent people to the Friedrich Shipyard and ordered four fully equipped "Saidfish" high-speed torpedo boats in the name of individuals rather than the Ottoman Navy. Through this transaction, the shipyard not only recovered the cost of giving the simple version of "Saidfish" in the previous period, but also made additional profits, which shows how high the price was.

Xia Shu should pay attention and care for the Ottoman prince who once hosted himself in Istanbul, both public and private. He attracted the company of the shipyard business. After learning the exact situation, he told Fatih: "This new submarine will not be able to arrange performance display until next week. If you don't mind, we can use another model to experience the combat principle of the submarine today. It is slightly smaller in size and has basically the same structural performance."

Fatih showed no obvious disappointment. His eyes rolled and said, "To be honest, our government has raised considerable funds in the past two years to emulate Germany to build a modern navy. This time we are planning to purchase almost all models of combat ships except battleships. As long as we ensure that they are currently the best performance and have a reasonable price discount, we don't mind handing over all orders to a shipyard."

Xia Shu moved the corner of her mouth: "Friedrich's shipyard only produces first-class ships."

The group then walked towards the main dock of the shipyard under the leadership of the staff.

"Although our government has agreed to transfer two active 10,000-ton battleships to your country at an extremely low price, as far as I know, your government is raising naval funds nationwide to order powerful new fully heavy artillery battleships. If you are fast, you can place an order this year, right?" Xia Shu said while walking. Not long ago, Germany reached an agreement with the Ottoman government to transfer the "Brandenburg" and "Wesenburg" that have been in service for less than 20 years at a price of 4 million per ship. This price is less than the original cost of Brandenburg-class battleships.

Half of that, and the Germans were also responsible for training officers and sailors for the Ottoman Navy and providing corresponding maintenance and repairs. The Turks came to Germany with skepticism. When they boarded the ship, they immediately signed the transfer agreement with a smile. At the same price, in Britain or France, they could buy at most a cruiser. The Brandenburg-class performance was indeed a little behind, but at least it had 6 305mm main guns, and had waterline armor up to 400mm thick, which was an ideal weapon for nearshore defense and strait blockade.

Fatih replied: "His Prince's news is indeed well-informed. If the fundraising goes well, it is possible to propose one or two new battleships later this year."

"Although Friedrich's shipyard does not have the ability to build battleships, I can guarantee that the performance of German battleships is the best in the world at present."

If the German Shipbuilding Alliance could help win the order for battleships of the Ottoman Empire, Natsuki thought that it would not only help the healthy development of the German shipbuilding industry, but also help the German government to enhance its political and military influence on the Ottoman Empire. However, according to the historical route, the Turks finally handed over the construction order to the British because, in the eyes of laymen, it was much more cost-effective to choose British battleships with stronger firepower, higher speeds and lower cost than buying German goods. Which of the two is stronger and which one is weaker must be concluded until there is a head-on confrontation.

"I personally tend to cooperate with Your Highness, but you also know that the situation in the Ottoman Empire has changed a few times. The management method of the country is different from before. Things are decided by the Joint Progress Committee," said Fatih. "I am mainly responsible for observing and evaluating this ship procurement, and the decision-making power is in the hands of the committee members."

"I understand, of course." Xia Shu smiled, "They are laymen in the navy, and the key is to look at your opinion report. Don't worry, Fatih Pasha, my sincere friend, our cooperation will definitely be a win-win situation!"

When they arrived at the main wharf, they boarded a small gray-painted submarine, and there was a black submarine of the same model nearby. Different colors were used to distinguish between self-use and export-type, and submarines equipped with the German Navy were all made of pure black. Painting a submarine again was neither a difficult technical job nor took much time. The real difference was that their internal structure and facilities were not very different, but they could not be ignored.

Next, the shipyard staff skillfully demonstrated submarine submarine, periscope observation, floating, deck gun shooting and torpedo attack under the water surface. Fatih was not a professional naval person, just watching the excitement but not knowing how to be sharp. The two Ottoman officers who accompanied him shone with their eyes, and were amazed.

On the way back, Natsuki explained to Fatih: "The same torpedoes are used as the main weapon, and the attack method of submarines is more concealed than torpedoes, which also means that they can achieve more prominent results in war. In the next war, submarines will definitely become the most dazzling new weapon, and battleships with strong ships and sharp guns will also become their prey."

"I think your operators are very experienced. Does it take a long time to train a group of qualified submarine sailors?" Fatih asked.

"That's inevitable," Natsuki replied. "If your country orders ships from us, as in the past, we will be responsible for the full set of personnel training and boat repairs, the credit and attitude of the Germans in doing things are beyond doubt."

"Then the price of this kind of submarine is..."

Back then, when he paid for ordering torpedo boats out of his own pocket, Fatih said that he was not a second price. Now he is purchasing ships for the country, but he is cautious.

Xia Shu didn't spend time talking about business. If it were just for the sale of a few submarines, he wouldn't have to accompany Fatih on this trip in person and let Weizel or other officials in the shipyard greet him, because this was obviously a "opportunity" political transaction.

Xia Shu deliberately lowered her voice: "To be honest, its single ship cost is 1.2 million marks, equivalent to about 60,000 pounds."

Fatih was indeed surprised, and he also voiced: "A submarine like four 'sayfish'?"

"This is a double-hulled submarine, with much better safety than other countries' single-hulled submarines," Natsuki explained.

Fatih looked puzzled: "At such a price, the committee probably approved at most one, or simply used the budget to buy more 'sayfish'. Your Highness... You are not kidding me, right? A brand new 3,000-ton cruiser is priced at only 3 million marks, and your submarine weighs only 500 tons!"

Of course, Xia Shu was not joking. He said seriously: "The water displacement is 630 tons, 710 tons underwater, five 500mm torpedo tubes, and ten blackheaded torpedoes. Only one excellent commander and thirty qualified sailors can easily sink tens of thousands of tons of warships and cargo ships. When a 3,000-ton cruiser encounters a warship, you can only escape!"

Fatih shook his head: "Even if I can understand these principles, those on the committee will not accept them."

"That's because they don't know the goods." said Natsu.

Fatih thought about it for a while, and obviously he was still a little moved by Natsuki's words, so he asked: "Can the price be more discounted?"

"What I'm talking about is the construction cost price." Xia Shu replied.

When he heard that there was no show, Fatih's eyes suddenly lost their luster.

Xia Shu deliberately said excitedly: "This small difficulty makes our Fatih Pasha worried?"

Fatih sighed.

Xia Shu then slowly expressed his intention: "As far as I know, the price of foreign submarines sold in Britain and France is at least 40,000 pounds, but their performance is much worse than ours. I know that your country's current economic situation is not ideal, and the construction funds for the navy are mainly due to donations from the public. My suggestion is that submarines, which are powerful and flexible and multi-purpose, are indispensable and cannot afford the purchase price for the time being, so why not try renting them?"

"Rent?" Fatih was in a state of energy as if he was charging.

Natsuki said: "For any other country, we will not consider renting expensive submarines, but the Ottoman is our loyal partner, and you, Fatih Pasha, are the rising star of the Ottoman Navy. I think if you can return to the Ottoman with two new submarines that are free to rent, the entire military and political circles will be impressed by you!"

With Fatih's smart and worldly manner, it is not difficult to understand the meaning of Natsuki's words. He quickly offered compliments and promised that once the Ottoman government approved the battleship procurement plan, even if he could not exert enough influence, he would guarantee that he would disclose the key information he had learned to Natsuki as soon as possible.

Although the battleship costing tens of millions of marks is one of Xia Shu's goals, he proposed a lease plan this time and actually had another intention: from the initial test model to the newly put into production of medium-range submarines, Friedrich Shipyard has developed and put into production of two series of six submarines, delivered 19 to the German Navy, and delivered 7 to Sweden, Russia and Austro-Hungary. The next step will be to fulfill more orders from the German and Austro-Hungary navies. The 26 submarines that have been delivered and used have not had major accidents so far. Not to mention the small mechanical failures, what makes Xia Shu most worried is that these submarines designed and built for combat purposes have never been tested in actual combat.

They may have undiscovered design risks. If they wait until it is exposed during the war and then make hasty improvements, it is likely to cause historic regrets, and officers and crew members find it difficult to find truly effective tactics and tactics in routine training and exercises. With Germany's strategic environment, once they are involved in war, it will be a comprehensive world war, and there are almost no opportunities to train troops in battle. The Ottoman Empire is different. It is the well-known "sick man of Europe" and the target of erosion and division between neighboring countries. Not only Russia, Austro-Hungary and Italy are eyeing its territory, but even small countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Mendenegoro are ready to pounce on it and tear a piece of meat.

In history, the Ottoman Empire experienced three wars in just three years before the outbreak of World War I, namely the Italian-Turkish War, the First Balkan War and the Second Balkan War. The war covered the fields of sea, land and air. Although the new weapons and new tactics appeared on the battlefield were not yet in a state of the climate, they were already outlining the outline of the subsequent world war. Due to the mutual checks and balances between the great powers, Britain, France, Germany and Russia did not send troops to participate in the war, and they also missed a great opportunity to warm up for training.
Chapter completed!