Seeing Arthur's insistence, Wilhelm II didn't say anything, just nodded: "I will negotiate the matter of Gew98 with the Mauser company, but the specific price at which it will be sold to you depends on your negotiation skills." ”

Naturally, Arthur would not refuse such a condition. As the standard weapon of the German Army, the GEW98 was able to sell its production line to Australia.

As for the cost of the money needed to buy the Gew98, it was nothing in Arthur's opinion. After all, the Gew98, after improvement, will be one of the strongest rifles in the world for at least the next four or five decades.

Born in the background of Germany's traditional military industry, Gew98 does not have to worry about sales problems.

Germany and its allies in World War I, as well as countries in other parts of the world that were obsessed with German weapons, welcomed the gun for export.

The funds needed to purchase the production line of Gew98 will pay for itself in future arms exports, and even make a lot of money.

"As for Krupp's artillery technology, some of the guns are also necessary for warships, so it doesn't hurt to hand them over to you. Some of the extra-large caliber artillery involves the secrets of the German army and may not be able to be handed over to you. Specifically, I will let Krupp talk to you, and there is no problem in handing over the conventional artillery technology to you. Wilhelm II said with a smile.

In terms of artillery, Germany, with its famous military industrial complex, including Krupp and other well-known military enterprises, is definitely the industry hegemon.

The Krupp cannon produced by the famous Krupp company was also a sharp weapon for the German Imperial army to attack the city.

Wilhelm II's answer was within Arthur's expectations. Germany's willingness to transfer ordinary artillery technology to Australia was already a surprise for Arthur.

For the time being, there are no strong enemies around Australia, and there are no strong fortresses to block them.

In such a situation, large-caliber artillery, which is bulky and inconvenient to transport, is also a burden for Australia.

Although it has an unstoppable advantage in attacking the city, it is not very useful for Australia. Coupled with the troubles caused by logistics, as well as the accuracy problems caused by extra-large calibers, large-caliber artillery is like chicken ribs, so don't do it.

"As with Mauser, the details need to be discussed by your diplomatic team. Including the production line, the specific price for your officials to negotiate with Mauser and Krupp. Wilhelm II said.

Arthur nodded, no comment.

As a monarch, you can't do everything yourself. For a centralized monarchy like Australia, Arthur's role was more to define the big picture, and the smaller details needed to be perfected by officials.

"Do you need support from warships and shipyards?" Wilhelm II continued the conversation and asked: "Germany's warship construction may not be comparable to that of the British Empire, but it is definitely the world's leading. We can also help you expand your shipyard if you need it. ”

The shipyard owned by Arthur, Wilhelm II, was also known.

But such a small shipyard is not enough for an island country, and even less for Australia, which wants to stabilize its overseas territory.

"Of course you do, Your Majesty. Although we have signed a treaty with the UK on the aid of warships, most of the assistance provided by the British side is technical rather than practical warship drawings. I hope that some drawings of advanced warships can be obtained from Germany to compensate for the disadvantage of the scarcity of drawings for Australian warships. In order to repay Germany, we are willing to share the advanced technology we received from Britain with Germany and purchase the drawings of these warships at market prices. Arthur nodded as a matter of course and said with a smile.

Although in a few years there will be dreadnoughts born, and these so-called advanced warships of the present will be eliminated.

However, if it cannot master the current ship-building technology and the corresponding relatively advanced warship drawings, then when dreadnoughts are born in the future, Australia will not be able to build dreadnoughts.

This is equivalent to the knowledge of primary school and middle school, although after entering middle school, the knowledge of primary school will be completely eliminated.

However, if you don't have the knowledge you have accumulated in elementary school, it will be difficult to master the knowledge you have in middle school.

As the saying goes, Australia has nothing, and naturally it is impossible to accumulate.

Although Germany's navy was far inferior to the Royal Navy of the British Empire, as an emerging country that had only been unified for a few decades, the German Empire had invested heavily in its navy and had already achieved good results.

If Australia can have the ability to build dreadnoughts in the future by mastering Germany's shipbuilding technology and drawings, then it will definitely be a sure win.

Hearing Arthur's proposal, both Wilhelm II and Prime Minister Bernhard nodded.

The German Empire, as the second power in direct competition with the British Empire, naturally could not receive 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 British advanced technology, not only can you improve some of the shortcomings of the German naval technology, but also be familiar with the characteristics of the British navy, to achieve the effect of knowing oneself and knowing the enemy.

"That's fine, Arthur. You can choose one of the Braunschweig-class battleships and the German-class battleships, and its blueprints and detailed data will be sold to you at the market price. But I have a request, that for fifteen years, the blueprints and data must not be resold, nor shall any words be disclosed in any way to other countries and powers. Wilhelm II, after thinking for a long time, nodded and said.

"Of course, Germany has no objection to the sale of finished warships. However, the requirement is that the selling price must be the same as that of Germany, so as not to create malicious competition. Wilhelm II continued.

The cost price of a warship is completely different from the selling price, and even for some warships, there is a two-fold difference.

That's why Wilhelm II said so. Once the construction technology has been mastered, if Australia competes with German shipyards by lowering the selling price, it will also be a loss for Germany's interests.

"That's nature, Your Majesty. Australian industry is very different from German industry, and the shipbuilding industry is no different. Australia will not compete with Germany and is not in the capacity to do so. Our aim is to master the construction techniques of large warships and prepare them for the future construction of the Australian Navy. Arthur nodded nondeniably and explained with a smile.

Neither in terms of industrial scale nor national prestige, Australia was not qualified to compete with the German Empire, and naturally could not be arrogant enough to compete with the German Empire.

Arthur's purpose was also only to master the construction of battleships and prepare for the birth of dreadnoughts in the future.

In any case, before the dreadnought, Australia needed to master the construction of battleships before it could try to build them after the dreadnoughts, rather than learning about them from scratch.