Chapter 89: Technical Cooperation

"Mr. Wang, I'll be direct." As soon as the car started, Wilhelm put away his smile. "How did things go with Yingguo?"

Straight to the point, as expected.

"We reached a memorandum of understanding." Wang Wenwu chose his words carefully. "Trade restrictions lifted, a representative office established, and some... intentions for technical cooperation."

"Technical cooperation?" Wilhelm's eyebrows rose. "What do they want?"

"Design authorization for the new cruiser."

"Did you give it to them?"

"Still under discussion." Wang Wenwu was airtight. "Lanfang's technology transfer has strict principles—no core systems involved."

Wilhelm stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. "Good! That's exactly how it should be! The Yingguoese always think they still rule the seas—it's time they woke up!"

After laughing, he lowered his voice. "And Deguo? The German Empire is Lanfang's most sincere friend. We gave you gold, gave you equipment, and withstood Yingguo's pressure to acknowledge your... existence. How much is this friendship worth?"

The words were blunt, even rude.

But Wang Wenwu relaxed instead—dealing with a straightforward person was easier than dealing with Yingguo's roundabout ways.

"Your Majesty, Lanfang will never forget Deguo's friendship," he said. "So this time I come bearing sincerity."

"What sincerity?"

"A new design proposal." Wang Wenwu patted his briefcase. "A battleship tailor-made for the German Navy. Performance thirty percent better than 'Dreadnought,' and better than any design Yingguo can get from us."

Wilhelm's eyes lit up.

The lunch at Sanssouci was called a "casual meal," but the long table was covered with silver tableware. Thirty people dined, with twenty attendants, and a fresh set of knife and fork for each course.

Wilhelm sat at the head, Wang Wenwu on his right—the seat of honor. Tirpitz sat across, hardly speaking the whole time, only occasionally exchanging quiet words with Moltke beside him.

"Try this," Wilhelm personally served Wang Wenwu a portion. "Bavarian white sausage with sweet mustard. We Deguoese are practical, and so is our food—unlike those fancy tricks of the Faguoese."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Tell me," Wilhelm cut into his own pork knuckle—he ate quickly, knife and fork clinking—"how did you build things up in the Persian Gulf? Three years, from desert to building 'Restoration Ship'—it's practically an industrial miracle."

The table fell quiet. All the Deguoese pricked up their ears.

Wang Wenwu set down his fork and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Your Majesty, there was no miracle—only three hundred thousand people working eighteen hours a day. We lacked equipment, so we bought secondhand from Deguo, took it apart, studied it, and copied it. We lacked skilled workers, so we recruited Chinese laborers from the South Ocean, learning as they worked. We lacked money..."

He paused. "When we lacked money, we built ships to sell. The Westphalen class sold to your country gave us our first pot of gold."

"Clever!" Wilhelm tapped his plate with his fork. "Very clever! Using our money to build your industry, then building better ships than ours—that's the purest spirit of capitalism!"

It sounded like a compliment, but the Deguoese industrial titans at the table wore uneasy expressions.

Gustav Krupp, the boss of Krupp, cleared his throat. "Mr. Wang, I'm curious—is the Restoration Ship's Main Gun self-developed? The caliber seems considerably larger than our latest 305 millimeters."

Here it came. A technical probe.

"It is self-developed," Wang Wenwu said. "But we drew on Krupp's gun steel formula—we purchased smelting manuals from your company, remember?"

"I remember, but that was civilian-grade—"

"The formula is the foundation; the process is the key." Wang Wenwu cut him off. "We made improvements in heat treatment and barrel autofrettage. Of course, if Mr. Krupp is interested, we can discuss technology licensing."

Gustav's eyes brightened. "What terms?"

"That would require formal negotiations." Wang Wenwu turned to Wilhelm. "Your Majesty, this is also one of the things I wish to discuss this time—Lanfang is willing to deepen cooperation with Deguo in more fields. Not just shipbuilding, but also specialty metallurgy, power machinery, optical instruments..."

Wilhelm nodded vigorously. "Exactly my thinking! Deguo has Europe's best industrial base, and Lanfang has the most advanced design Concept. Together, we can change the world!"

He raised his wine glass. "To Deguo-Lanfang friendship!"

Everyone raised their glasses.

Wang Wenwu took a sip—Riesling white wine, cloyingly sweet. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tirpitz raise his glass too, but he frowned slightly as he drank.

The afternoon visit to the Krupp Essen factory was even more impressive.

Enormous furnaces spewed flames, the roar of rolling mills shook the ground, and freshly forged gun barrels hissed in quenching pools. Wilhelm was excited like a child, pulling Wang Wenwu around to see everything.

"This is our new 305-millimeter naval gun, total weight 48 tons, rate of fire 1.5 rounds per minute." He patted a barrel being machined. "But compared to your 381 millimeters, it's just a toy."

"Each has its advantages." Wang Wenwu was diplomatic. "The 305-millimeter gun fires faster, suited for medium-Distance engagements."

"Distance?" Wilhelm waved his hand. "The future of naval warfare is beyond visual range! Whoever's guns shoot farther wins! You've already proven this—at Java, precise hits from eight kilometers away. Our guns can reach fifteen thousand meters at most, and accuracy is another matter."

He turned and fixed his gaze on Wang Wenwu. "So, that new design of yours... just how powerful is it?"

Finally, to the real subject.

Wang Wenwu looked around—they were in Krupp's VIP reception room, and beyond the huge glass windows was the factory floor. Tirpitz, Moltke, several naval officers were all present, and Gustav Krupp too.

"Would Your Majesty like to see it now?"

"Now!" Wilhelm waved the attendants away. "No outsiders here."

Wang Wenwu opened his briefcase and took out the blue-covered document. Not "accidentally" brought along—a formal presentation.

Wilhelm snatched it and eagerly flipped it open.

The first page was a side-profile view and performance summary. His breathing noticeably quickened.

"Standard displacement 24,000 tons... full displacement 28,000 tons... overall length 172.40 meters, beam 29 meters, draft 9.10 meters..." he murmured, finger tracing across the page. "Main Gun... ten 305mm 50-caliber... fourteen 150mm/45-caliber secondary guns, single mounts on the broadside; twelve single 88mm/45-caliber anti-torpedo-boat/anti-aircraft guns; five 500mm torpedo tubes (submerged, one in the bow, one on each side between A turret and D turret)"

He turned to the second page, an armor layout diagram.

"Armour Belt 300 millimeters, inclined 12 degrees... deck armor in three layers, total thickness 120 millimeters... turret face 420 millimeters..."

Third page, propulsion system.

"16 Sulzer boilers, 3 Parsons/AEG-Curtis steam turbines, main engine output 31,000 horsepower (up to 46,000 horsepower at overload), 3 shafts, 2 rudders in parallel... speed: design 21 knots (can exceed 23 knots at overload, no less than Royal Navy battleships)"

He looked up, eyes red. "Is this real?"

"A preliminary design proposal," Wang Wenwu said. "Some details still need refinement, such as fire control system configuration and internal compartment layout. But the core parameters are set."

"Cost?"

"Approximately 3.2 million pounds per ship. Construction period 24 months—if your country's shipyards cooperate fully, it could be shortened to 20 months."

"3.2 million..." Wilhelm did quick mental math. "400,000 more than 'Dreadnought,' but far superior in performance. Worth it!"

He turned to Tirpitz. "Alfred, look at this!"