"Haha! Prime Minister, you said it was good news. So, what was the good news?”William I laughed.
"Prime Minister, the envoy of the empire to the Ming Empire has reported that the young emperor of the Ming Empire is preparing to buy six million marks worth of firearms from us.”Bismarck said.
"Six million marks worth of firearms?" William I could not help but frown.
For the Germanic Empire, six million marks worth of firearms was nothing.
Although he could earn a lot of money, it was not good news at all!
"Your Majesty, in addition to these six million Mark firearms, the Ming Empire also hopes to purchase the trap equipment needed for a medium-sized arsenal. In addition, there was a gunpowder factory and a steel factory. If we can give a discount in terms of price, the Ming Empire also plans to order a full set of equipment needed for a large shipyard from us. In addition, they still had two medium-sized shipyards that needed to be upgraded. This was undoubtedly a big deal for the empire!”Prime Minister Bismarck continued.
When William I heard this, his furrowed brows relaxed and were replaced by a smile.
"Prime Minister, how much money can we earn from this?”William asked.
"Your Majesty, the total value of this deal is about 80 million marks. We can get 25% of the profits!”
"Very good, very good!" William I nodded in satisfaction.
One had to know that 20 million marks was not a small number for the Germanic Empire. It was equivalent to 6% of last year's financial revenue.
"However, Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Ming Empire has made a request. They hoped that the empire could provide a loan to the Ming Empire and use the loan to buy these arms and equipment. In addition, they also planned to purchase a large number of industrial equipment from the Empire.”Prime Minister Bismarck continued.
"What is it? Was the Emperor of the Ming Empire trying to gain something for nothing?”William I was very dissatisfied.
"Your Majesty, the Ming Empire's current financial resources are indeed very tight. Although their gross domestic product was very high, the tax rate was too low. The tax rate of the entire Ming Empire was only three to four percent. In the western world, it was as high as 30%. In addition, the Ming Empire was already rotten and backward. Coupled with the oppression of the western powers, the situation faced by the Ming Empire was very bad.
However, according to the report of Ambassador Balende, although the Emperor of the Ming Empire was young, he was ambitious. He hoped to hire army instructors from the Empire to train their army. It could be seen that he still wanted to develop the navy and build a powerful military armament.
Moreover, he was willing to strengthen his cooperation with the dynasty. This is a potential ally for us!”
Prime Minister Bismarck laid out his views.
"The Ming Empire is a potential ally of the empire? Do they have the strength?" William I scoffed. It was obvious that he did not think much of the Ming Empire.
"Your Majesty, the current Ming Empire is indeed in a terrible state. However, if they could be reborn from the ashes, they would definitely become a world-class country. Their emperor already had such ambitions. Maybe it will give us a surprise.
The Sun Never Sets Empire was supporting the Japanese Empire. The Emperor of the Ming Empire should have seen the threat in this area, so he asked for our help.
It was undoubtedly very difficult for the Empire to compete with the Empire of the Sun Never Sets. We can think of other ways. For example, he could create a powerful enemy for the Sun Never Sets Empire in the Far East.”
After William I heard this, he could not help but ponder.
He hoped that the Germanic Empire could surpass the Empire of the Sun Never Sets and become the world overlord.
However, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to see it in his lifetime.
However, for the Germanic Empire, this was a goal that countless generations of monarchs would strive for.
If they could support the Great Ming Empire and make it stronger, or even let the Great Ming Empire break out in a war with the Sun Never Sets Empire, they could use this opportunity to weaken the Sun Never Sets Empire. This was undoubtedly a great benefit for the Germanic Empire.
However, William I doubted whether the Ming Empire could rise. Would he rise from the ashes and become a world-class power, or would he still be useless?
"Your Majesty, supporting the Great Ming Empire and providing them with loans is not a loss for us at all. In fact, he could even obtain a lot of benefits from it. Even if the Ming Empire failed, would they still dare to renege on their debt? Since that's the case, why don't we give it a try? The Ming Empire and the Sun Never Sets Empire had a deep blood feud. Once they rose up, the Empire of the Sun Never Sets 'interests in the Far East and even the entire Asia would be severely affected. This is undoubtedly a great thing for us!”Prime Minister Bismarck said.
"I agree with you." William nodded. Then, from now on, the empire will support the Ming Empire. Hopefully, the Ming Empire will not disappoint us!”
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