King of Beiyang

Rudolf Hacker's face couldn't help but spread a smile.

If Li Jingyuan is satisfied with the design of this armored cruiser, then that's all the better.

That way, he can make a fortune from this deal!

"Mr. Li, this armored cruiser incorporates many new technologies, and its performance is indeed very advanced. The entire German Imperial Navy cannot find a warship that can match it."

I even plan to market this warship to the Imperial Navy next.

However, precisely because it incorporates many new technologies, the price is relatively high.

Rudolf Hacker said with a smile.

Li Jingyuan knew that Rudolf Harker had done so much groundwork simply to take the opportunity to raise his asking price.

He could understand that.

As businessmen, they always want to make money.

"Mr. Harker, if your navy could order this warship, then the corresponding research and development costs, as well as the construction costs, could be reduced significantly," Li Jingyuan countered.

Rudolf Harker shook his head repeatedly: "Mr. Li, to ensure the warship's speed, we need to install four of the most advanced triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines. The boilers also need to be the most advanced. Naturally, the price won't be cheap."

After some back and forth, Rudolf Hacker officially began making an offer.

"Mr. Li, twenty million marks per ship? How about that?"

"My God! Mr. Harker, you're asking for the moon! Twenty million per ship, that's almost double the price of a Brandenburg-class battleship!" Li Jingyuan exclaimed.

He seemed not to have expected Rudolf Harker to be so ruthless.

"Mr. Li, this armored cruiser has a displacement even larger than the Brandenburg-class battleships. It also incorporates more new technologies. Furthermore, we make almost no profit building warships for the military."

That's why the price is so much lower.

Rudolf Hacker explained.

But this price was still unacceptable to Li Jingyuan.

"Mr. Harker, this price is too high. If you insist on this price, then I will have to give up." Li Jingyuan shook his head repeatedly.

"Mr. Li, we're old friends. If you think the price is too high, I can make some concessions," Rudolf Hacker quickly said.

If Li Jingyuan gives up, then this business deal will fall through, won't it?

"Twelve million marks per ship," Li Jingyuan countered.

Rudolf Hacker shook his head repeatedly.

"Mr. Li, that's impossible! This price isn't even enough to cover our costs," Rudolf Hacker refused outright.

After a period of intense back-and-forth, the two sides reached a stalemate of 16 million marks.

This price is already twice that of the "Sea Sky" class protected cruiser.

"Mr. Li, this is our bottom line, and we can't lower it any further. If you're still not satisfied, then we'll have to give up on this business."

And only we can keep your secret from beginning to end!

  

Rudolf Harker said.

Rudolf Hacker was well aware that the warships Li Jingyuan purchased had to be kept secret before the outbreak of war between the Qing Empire and the Eastern Empire. This was something that only the German Empire in the entire Western world could do.

Li Jingyuan understood this as well; apart from the German Empire, he had no way to purchase these massive warships from other countries.

"Alright, Mr. Harker, I'll accept one ship for sixteen million marks. However, you must keep this strictly confidential!" Li Jingyuan emphasized.

"Of course, Mr. Li. I assure you, unless you announce it yourself, the outside world will only assume that this is a warship being built for the Imperial Navy," Rudolf Harker said with a smile.

"So, Mr. Li, how many ships do you need to order?" Rudolf Harker naturally hoped that Li Jingyuan would order as many as possible.

That way, their profits will be maximized.

Li Jingyuan thought about it for a while before making a decision.

"Mr. Harker, order six. However, I would like to obtain the production blueprints for this armored cruiser. That way, I can build two more in my own shipyard."

Furthermore, I hope to receive technical support from the Vulcan shipyard during this process.

Some of the key components will also need to be purchased from you.

"No problem, Mr. Li," Rudolf Hacker replied with a smile.

Although he hoped that Li Jingyuan would have all eight ships built at the Vulcan shipyard.

But he also knew that it was impossible.

Li Jingyuan is about to own his own shipyard.

A shipyard built at great expense can't just sit there empty, can it?

Even if Li Jingyuan only placed an order for six ships, that's still 96 million marks.

This could also make the Vulcan shipyard a fortune.

Subsequently, both parties signed their names on the contract, confirming the order.

In fact, Li Jingyuan was quite satisfied with this order.

A price of 16 million per ship may seem expensive, but it's still considered reasonable among warship purchase cases.

Such a price is certainly incomparable to the orders placed by the German Imperial Navy.

Selling warships to other countries will naturally cost more.

The Vulcan shipyard wasn't asking for an exorbitant price.

Li Jingyuan clearly remembered that in another timeline, on the eve of the war between the Japanese and the Russians, in order to further strengthen their naval power, the Japanese did not hesitate to intercept two "Garibaldi-class" armored cruisers built by the Italians for Argentina, for a total price of 153 million pounds, which was more than 30 million marks.

These two armored cruisers are the Japanese ships "Kasuga" and "Hyuga" that follow.

It should be noted that the standard displacement of these two armored cruisers is only slightly over 7,600 tons, which is only slightly larger than the "Sea Sky" class protected cruisers.

However, the price of a single ship is as high as 15 million marks.

This shows that the Italians really gave the Japanese a hard time back then.

The "Azure Dragon" class armored cruisers ordered by Li Jingyuan were a bit more expensive.

However, in terms of combat power, it can easily defeat the Kasuga-class armored cruisers.

Even the other six armored cruisers that the Japanese equipped in another timeline were no match for the "Azure Dragon-class" armored cruisers.

Therefore, Li Jingyuan was very satisfied with this transaction.

After finalizing the purchase of the "Azure Dragon-class" armored cruisers, Li Jingyuan finally embarked on his journey back to China.

Besides Li Jingyuan, the elites from the military academy who had studied at the Prussian War College also completed their studies and set off to return home with Li Jingyuan.

Next, Li Jingyuan planned to establish a marine corps. These elites were the future backbone of the Beiyang Marine Corps, so they naturally received Li Jingyuan's attention.