"Your Highness, we seem to be in some trouble this time." In the hotel where the prince is staying, Earl Vittorio, the number one leader of the Bavarian Naval Design Bureau, came to the prince and brought design information from other competitors.

"Why are you not confident in your design?" The prince said with a smile while flipping through the information.

"This time the competitors learned a lot from their past failures. In fact, this new warship is not very profound in theory. It is nothing more than equipped with a large number of main guns with the help of the new fire control system and has strong long-distance combat capabilities. At the same time, it uses new steam turbines and boilers to improve power."

"In essence, the subsystems we use are the same. The only difference is the design. I am very confident in the design of our warships, but these excellent designs will increase the tonnage and increase the cost of the warships! Mr. Navy Secretary emphasized the cost issue this time. We may eventually lose in the so-called cost-effectiveness." Earl Vittorio said with some concern.

"It's better to say it's a counterattack by the North German Industrial Group on us. We were too careless. Before you left, we didn't finalize this matter. Now they are ready. Although you have a good relationship with the German Emperor, these relationships may not have a great effect this time. After all, the German Emperor himself is the King of Prussia, and he must consider his own interests. So, I hope we can take out the low-level plans that were originally abolished." Vittorio said.

"Never! The funding of the empire is limited. We must not reduce the quality of the warship for personal gain. Since we have spent 1.8 million pounds to build a warship, why can't we add another 200,000 to improve it? All standards cannot be lowered. Just bid, and leave the rest to me!" The prince thought for a while and flatly rejected the count's suggestion.

"All the plans of all parties are delivered?" William II asked after looking at Tirpitz opposite him.

"Yes, the brief data of all warships is in front of you, and the brief plans and line charts of Brom-Foss Shipyard, William Royal Shipyard and Volkeng Shipyard are in front of you." Tirpitz said.

"Do you know? Tirpitz, I'm in a difficult situation now." William II said after he was not in the mood to look at the designs in front of him.

"I have been hesitant that it is in the interests of the empire to take a piece of the pie from the Bavarians, their hands are stretched a little too long, their economic and military power continues to expand, and more and more North German capitalists and officials choose to cooperate with them, and this time, the prince's actions in the Atlantic and Mediterranean have pushed his reputation to a new level, and Bavaria's potential influence on the center of the empire is growing. I must consider weakening this influence."

"But at the same time, I have to admit that Bavaria can do things, both military and economic. "The German Emperor is very depressed now. On the one hand, it is the Prussian industry, commerce and aristocrats' demands for interests, and on the other hand, it is the empire's efficiency. If it is the former, the German Emperor can get along with ten thousand reasons to win the Prussian side, but it is obvious that this deliberate suppression will cause dissatisfaction in many aspects and seriously affect the empire's efficiency.

Even though Krupp and other major groups repeatedly stated that their plans were already quite good and would not be worse than Bavaria, deep down in the heart of the German emperor, if he simply talked about performance and technology, he still tended toward Bavaria. Facing Bavaria would make the Prussians dissatisfied, while merchants who tended toward Prussia would make other kingdoms dissatisfied with himself. This is really a very tangled issue!

Germany is full of hills, and Prussia is also complex. None of the old Junker nobles and emerging capitalists are good at it. So what the German Emperor is playing now is a balance!

"The first round of selection must adhere to the principle of fairness! As for the funding, we can temporarily relax." In the end, the German Emperor decided to look at the situation first. "Let Prince Ruprecht and Heinrich join the jury in person."

"Yes, Your Majesty. In addition to the two princes, General Boer, Lorna and me, there is still a vacancy in the jury. He intends to select one from the front-line generals. Currently, there are Earl Spee, Major General Scher and Major General Hippel. What do you mean?" Tirpitz thought for a while and asked.

"Scher, he participated in more practical battles. Hippel's status and qualifications were worse. That's it!" In theory, Hippel's practical experience was the richest, but unfortunately, he was a Bavarian, so the German emperor finally chose to let Scher participate in the review committee.

"In addition, the prince wants to put the Bavarian delegation's plan to the end. Do you think it's okay?" Tirpitz asked after hesitating. According to regulations, each delegation has 2 days to state its plan, and a total of three parties will participate in the bidding. So the last one will naturally have more time to prepare and can make targeted adjustments to the former's plan. This is definitely an advantage.

"This is not a big problem. Bavaria prepared a little hasty this time, so it would be good to give them some convenience, but I hope you can tell Prince Ruprecht that he is working for the German Empire's navy and hope that he can uphold the principle of fairness and justice."

After the German Emperor made the decision, everything went according to the reservation plan. On the 4th day after the prince arrived in Berlin, the bidding officially began. Brom-Foss Shipyard (Bavaria), William Royal Shipyard (Krupp background) and Volkeng Shipyard delivered their plan introduction to the Navy. Here, the five judges of the Navy Bidding Committee will first understand and evaluate these plans. This time will take about a week, and then spend a week listening to the shipyard introduction. Finally, several plans will be selected within 5 days and sent to the re-examination.

Among the 6-person jury, Tirpitz, as the Navy Minister of State, is responsible to the entire jury. When voting, the principle of one person and one vote is adopted. During the preliminary review, three people can enter the re-examination. There is no limit to pass. As long as it is not a bad plan and is particularly uncomfortable, almost all the re-examination can be easily passed. There is no way. There is too many people involved in this bidding. In addition to the two princes who can not enter, both Tirpitz, General Boer and Schell must consider the influence behind these bidders. The annoying thing should be left to the German Emperor!
Chapter completed!