Chapter 1032 Subsequent Impact
The customer is God, regardless of whether the weapons they buy are suitable or not, that is their freedom.
As the saying goes, "money can't buy me happiness". On this issue, Shinra's military enterprises are very clear-headed and never force customers to buy products they don't like.
Technical blockade and export restrictions do not exist. It is now the 19th century, even if all the blueprints for weapon construction are packaged and given away, few countries can copy them.
Needless to say, reverse push technology with weapons. It is estimated that only the British can do it. Even if other countries push out the technology, they will not be able to mass-produce it for a while.
So the question is, what can the British do with a bunch of army equipment?
You can't compete with Shinra for the arms market, right?
You know, this year is in a great era of weapon replacement. It is still an advanced technology today, but it may be eliminated by the times tomorrow.
If you want to stay ahead, you must continue to invest. With the current market of the international arms market, no matter how hard it is to operate, it will not be able to support a few gold swallowing beasts in peacetime.
Shinra's military enterprises can continue to invest because the Holy Roman Empire itself is the world's largest arms buyer. Its own military expenditure alone accounts for more than 13% of the total global military expenditure.
The military expenditure of the British is indeed not low, but that also requires the London government to be willing to spend money on the army. Unfortunately, this is not possible.
In order to maintain the dominant position of the Royal Navy, the British government has worked hard enough, and if it engages in an army arms race with Shinra, it will definitely die fast enough.
As for the Air Force, it is a little brother these days. No matter how much Franz paid attention to, the air force was still far behind by the navy and army.
This is true for Shinra, not to mention other countries. For many countries, the symbolic significance of taking a few planes back home is far greater than the practical significance.
Although the Air Force showed impressive combat effectiveness in the anti-French war, the lethality of the aircraft was mainly directed at the airships, and the threat to ground troops was limited.
In the eyes of many people, the greatest strategic significance of aircraft is not to bomb, but to detect the enemy's situation and attack the morale of the enemy's ground troops.
If you want to change this, unless the engine technology breaks through again, the load capacity of the aircraft will be increased. Being able to drop more and bigger bombs from the sky is the real meaning of strategic bombing.
Of course, if there is a breakthrough in engine technology, not only aircraft will benefit, but tanks and armored vehicles on the ground will also benefit. Even the internal combustion engine industry will usher in new opportunities for development.
For Shinra, this is a project that benefits multiple parties for one price. If it is placed on the head of the British, it will only benefit from the pure aircraft, and at most the automobile industry.
There is no way, whoever let the British capitalists lie down and make money is used to it, and they just don't want to let go of the steam engine.
Britain was originally a big brother in the industrial world, but after the outbreak of the second industrial revolution, it quickly began to fall behind.
Whether it is scientific and technological research and development innovation, or the application and promotion of new technologies, the British are lagging behind.
One step behind, one step behind. It's fine if you try to catch up with your heart, but if you wait where you are, then as time goes by, this gap will only become bigger and bigger.
Well, the UK government cannot be blamed for this either. The British Isles are such a big place with a population of just over 30 million. Even if you want to move forward, the ceiling is locked.
Being able to surpass all countries in the world and become the maritime hegemon under the condition of limited innate conditions is already very remarkable.
...
In London, inside the Prime Minister's residence in Downing Street, Robert Cecil is watching a "movie" with senior government officials.
Although it was a silent movie and the picture was not clear enough, the content of the movie still shocked everyone.
As the documentary ended, Prime Minister Robert Cecil asked: "What do you think of the performance of the Austrian army?"
"It seems to be well-trained and very imposing. However, the navy is different from the army. The navy pays more attention to technology, and it is difficult for ordinary people to become powerful. These cannot reflect the combat effectiveness of the navy."
Admiral Flora replied indifferently.
Of all the people present, he was the least stressed. The advantages accumulated by the Royal Navy over the past century cannot be caught up by competitors overnight.
Unless the Vienna government desperately explodes the navy and relies on numbers to pile up. Obviously, this is completely impossible for a land power country.
It can be seen from the military expenditure of the Holy Roman Empire that the army is the first, the navy is the second, the air force is the third, and the stability is a mess.
Although the military expenditure of the Holy Roman Empire is already the largest in the world, the military expenditure allocated to the navy is far inferior to that of the Royal Navy.
There is no advantage in technical experience, and he is reluctant to spend money and krypton gold. It is simply unrealistic to surpass the Royal Navy with limited military expenditures.
"Your navy has so much military expenditure every year, so naturally you don't have to worry about it. Our army is miserable. We have to eat bran and swallow vegetables every day, and we can't even get a cup of coffee.
Judging from the content in the film, I very much doubt whether we are living in the same era as the Austrians.
Unfortunately, the reality is very cruel and told me: Yes!
Now without doubt, I can jump straight to the conclusion that the Army and the Austrians are more than an era apart.
If we don't increase our military investment, we will not perform better than the defeated French if we meet on the battlefield one day. "
Don't let go of any opportunity to ask for military expenses, this is the British Army's hundred
years of tradition. As a child of "grandma doesn't hurt, uncle doesn't love", if he doesn't learn to cry, he will really starve to death.
Clearly, Skybrew was a qualified Secretary of War. Appropriate use of rhetorical techniques emphasized the strength gap between the two sides.
If it is a passionate young man, maybe he has already tried his best to raise funds for the army by now.
It's a pity that all those present are veterans of the political arena. The British Army has not kept up with the times, not once or twice. After a lot of experience, everyone will gradually get used to it.
Every improvement of the British Army was forced out by external pressure, generally speaking, when it was severely beaten by society.
For example: After the defeat of the First Near East War and the South African War, the British Army gained a short golden period of development.
When politicians came out of the shadow of failure, they immediately changed their faces. Rather waste money on the navy than spend an extra penny on the army.
In this context, Skye Brewer naturally had to make a quick turn around. While everyone is still immersed in the film, before they come back to their senses, finalize the results in advance to create established facts.
Foreign Secretary Cameron: "Don't worry, sir. We have bought back the samples, and it won't be long before we can achieve localization.
But the hands of the Austrians are really black. Airplanes are sold at a price of 100, and tanks and armored vehicles are directly packaged at 500.
Except for a small amount of technology that needs to be researched by enterprises, the rest will be equipped to the troops. The pilots, tanks, and armored divisions you want are all available. "
Relying on the help of competitors to increase the establishment, no one would dare to believe it, but all this really happened.
As an old-school industrial power, Britain's technology is not bad. Although it fell behind in the second industrial revolution, British companies can still manufacture these equipment.
It's just that this requires a lot of research and development time and a lot of money.
The problem is that everyone knows that the British Army is poor, and the cost of aircraft and tanks is tens of thousands. Even if these equipment are produced, the Army cannot purchase them in large quantities.
If the army does not purchase, the colonial army will not be able to afford it. There is no market in China, and it is also difficult to get orders because of the competition from Shinra internationally.
It cost a lot of money to get the product out, and the final sales volume was only three digits. Maybe even the cost of research and development will not be recovered.
Capital is profit-seeking, and without sufficient profits, British military enterprises naturally lack motivation. Although related technical research is also being carried out, the intensity of investment is completely incomparable.
But at the national level, Britain cannot do without these advanced equipment. Even if it may not be used on the battlefield, it must be available.
This is related to the face of the empire on which the sun never sets. As the hegemon of the world, any weapon that can support the scene and shock people's hearts must be possessed.
Not only have it, but also be able to make it yourself. If enterprises are unwilling to do so, the government must create conditions for them and help them achieve technological breakthroughs.
After all, the small days of military industrial enterprises in peaceful times were very ordinary, and cost must be strictly controlled in order to maintain profitability.
If it wasn't for the government's request, it is estimated that many military enterprises would cut off the R&D and production departments of army equipment.
Congress keeps a close eye on large orders and cannot give them. However, it is still possible to provide sample models to allow companies to reverse the technology and help them save R&D costs.
This is also the reason why the British government ordered it immediately after discovering that the Vienna government was conducting a big arms sale.
Although the price seems a bit expensive, considering the technical premium, it is actually very cost-effective.
Pilot divisions, tank divisions, and armored divisions are all the dreams of the Army, but Skyblue is not happy. There is no way, and the key issue still comes back to military spending.
The technical arms are not as cheap as the infantry. These flight divisions, tank divisions, and armored divisions are combined, and it is estimated that less than half of the military expenditure of the army is gone.
If there is no increase in financial allocations, how will other troops live?
Just as Skyblue was thinking about how to persuade everyone to increase military spending, Prime Minister Robert Cecil made up for it again.
"With the addition of the pilot division and the previous airship force, our air power has greatly increased. It seems inappropriate to continue to stay in the army.
On this issue, we can learn from the successful experience of the Holy Roman Empire and set up a new military branch to manage these air forces. "
Hearing this bad news, Skye Blue immediately changed his expression greatly.
Swap an airship unit for an armored unit, and it seems pretty much the same. In fact, the benefits hidden behind this are huge.
The army is weak at first, if another air force comes out to grab resources, Skyblue doesn't know how to live in the future.
After all, the Royal Navy is too powerful, and the flying troops are independent, and they have no ability to compete with them for military expenses. The only thing that can be grabbed is the army's share of military expenditure.
Coupled with the fact that Britain has always had a fine tradition of suppressing the army, Skyblue instantly felt that "the future is not bright."
It's not that Skyblue, who was born as a civil servant, really has a deep affection for the Army. The problem is that he is now the Secretary of the Army.
If you can't fight for the rights and interests of the army, how can you get the support of the military?
A minister of war without the support of the military is destined to be unstable. It is estimated that the day when the Air Force was established was when he resigned and left.
Skyblue looked at Prime Minister Robert Cecil resentfully, as if to say: We are political allies, do you cheat your teammates like this?
Maybe it's because I realized that eating and drinking
Prime Minister Robert Cecil immediately added: "Considering the actual situation, it is too abrupt to directly establish the Air Force in a single jump, and I am afraid that many people will not accept it.
In a short period of time, the Air Force is still under the Ministry of War. It's just that the flying force must establish an independent leadership to prepare for future splits. "
This supplement made Skyblue's expression slightly calm, but the dissatisfaction still hung on his face. Obviously, the prime minister has made up his mind to break up the army.
It can be seen from the calm expressions on the faces of everyone present that obviously they have communicated about this matter beforehand, and the Minister of War, Skybrough, is the last to know.
"Your Excellency, this is too obvious. If an independent leadership team is formed, everyone will know that the government will split up the army.
The air force of the Holy Roman Empire was based on aircraft, and not all airship units were included in the air force, and a considerable part of the airship remained in the army.
As the country with the most experience in using air power, the Holy Roman Empire must have their reasons for doing so.
Since we want to learn from their successful experiences, we must learn from them in an all-round way, not just the superficial aspects.
The newly purchased aircraft were directly reorganized into a pilot division and designated as a unit directly under the Ministry of War. It will neither arouse suspicion from the outside world nor affect future splitting work. "
His arms can't hold back his thighs, and he can't accept the reality if he doesn't want to. What Skyblue can do now is to fight for the rights and interests of the army as much as possible.
If it is in Congress, or in public, Skye Brew will definitely fight for the case. But in a high-level meeting attended by only a few people, there is no need to continue to put on a show.
A big man has the bearing of a big man, and the quarrels with red faces are mostly for outsiders to see.
They belonged to the same political party, and they were all political allies in the first place. If they were constantly fighting and slapping the table, then this group would not be able to continue playing.
In fact, since Franz took the lead in establishing the army, navy and air force, many countries have followed him. There is also a voice within the British government that supports emulation.
As a wise man, Skyblue can see the benefits of the independence of the three armed forces at a glance. But as Secretary of State for the Army, he did not want this to happen during his tenure.