Chapter 1094 Diligence and Housekeeping

The game "Dumplings" on a warship has never been fun. It is not only to test a country's industry, but also to test a country's pockets.

Looking at the military budget, we can see that due to the influence of the shipbuilding competition, the military budget of the Shinra Navy in 1904 was directly increased by 100 million.

Obviously, so much money cannot be used to build ships. Just building a dozen battleships doesn't cost that much, and more is spent on supporting and expanding the army.

Since the end of the European Continental War, the Shinra Navy has begun to develop rapidly. In order to compete for military spending, a few years ago, the navy and the air force joined forces to force the army.

Although unsuccessful, the Navy's share of military spending has increased. With the advent of the "Super Battleship Age", the Shinra Navy has also entered a golden age.

Since 1900, several naval academies in Shinra have expanded their enrollment. From the initial annual enrollment of more than 2,000 people, it has gradually expanded to the current annual enrollment of more than 3,000 people.

It is naturally incomparable to the army's generous admission of tens of thousands of people every year, but the demand for officers in the navy is far less than that of the army.

The reason is very simple. Right now, the main strategic goal of the Shinra Navy is to defeat the British, not to maintain world hegemony.

To achieve this goal, the most cost-effective is to build capital ships. Others, such as battlecruisers, seem to be very useful, but they are not cost-effective to use in decisive battles.

Black technology is not without, but not enough insurance. For example: aircraft carrier, another example: submarine.

The combat power is strong, but requires a specific battlefield. No one can guarantee that the British can be led to a decisive battle on a specific battlefield. Naturally, they cannot pin their hopes on the British being stupid.

If the battlefield is in the Atlantic Ocean, the wind and waves will be enough to make the aircraft carrier stop.

Not to mention submarines, they can't be too far from the battlefield, otherwise the war will be over before they can get there.

It is difficult to participate in the decisive battle, which does not mean that these belongings are useless.

You must know that Shinra is also a colonial power. Although overseas colonies are not the core and can be abandoned at any time, it is definitely better to keep them.

It is difficult for an aircraft carrier to pk against the British in the Atlantic Ocean, but it does not mean that it cannot be used in the Pacific Ocean. Sending to the Pacific Ocean to bully the Japanese Navy or the US Navy is a good choice.

Not to mention submarines, relying on Shinra's colonies spread over five continents, it is completely possible to conduct attacks all over the world.

Of course, it is better not to use this method of flipping the table. After all, Shinra is also a big country in sea trade, and it is also easy to be targeted by others.

It mainly depends on the naval decisive battle. If the naval battle is won, then the hegemony will be accepted in a proper manner; if the naval battle is lost, there is no other way but to break the rules.

In fact, Franz put so many smoke bombs that the real cover was these secretly built submarines and aircraft carriers.

Unlike capital ships, aircraft carriers can really be disguised as merchant ships. Although it looks a bit unusual, as long as no weapons are installed, it is still feasible to hide from amateur-level intelligence personnel.

Not to mention submarines, which are not big. It is entirely possible to walk underwater without leaving the shipyard and avoid the sight of intelligence personnel.

Not to mention after serving, once dispersed to the colony, who knows how many submarines Shinra has equipped?

No way, who made the Royal Navy's prestige too great?

Not to mention other people, even Franz himself has no confidence.

It is estimated that, except for the self-hypnotized guys in the Admiralty, there are not many people in the world who think they can win.

But politics, in essence, is acting. Although he was not sure, Franz was still confident on the face.

Times are advancing, and by the 20th century, the competition for hegemony has evolved from a purely military competition to a comprehensive national competition.

If the head-on battle can't be done, then fight for national strength. Failure is not to be feared, as long as there is the determination to "fail and fight again and again" and come several times, the British can always be pulled off the horse.

In fact, one of the important reasons why the Vienna government dared to challenge the British is that it has established itself in an invincible position.

As a land power country, no matter how many times it fails at sea, as long as the mainland is not affected, it will not shake its foundation.

It doesn't matter if the naval battle is lost. The big deal is to return to the Mediterranean for a year and a half, and then make a comeback for the second decisive battle.

If the second time doesn't work, it can be the third, fourth, and fifth time. Anyway, if you lose, you can lose countless times. To win, you only need to win once.

Just like the Sino-US-Japanese Pacific War in the original time and space World War II, in the early stage, the Japanese navy was hanging all the way, and then lost the war in victory.

Although the gap between Shinra and Britain is not as great as that between the United States and Japan, the industrial strength is still three to one.

In addition, Britain is an island country, and its own resources do not need to support the needs of the industry. The advantages of industrial raw materials are heavily dependent on imports, and the advantages are even more obvious.

Once the backhand is activated, I dare not say that the maritime trade of the British will be completely abolished, but there is no problem in letting their trade volume drop significantly.

The German submarines in the original time and space made the Allied countries miserable in the limited space for activities. Now that Shinra submarines can run all over the world, the lethality is unreasonably weaker.

Destruction is easier than construction. Shipbuilding cannot keep up with consumption. Once there is a problem with the trade line, the British Isles will starve.

There is a problem in the homeland, and it is useless for the Royal Navy to fight. If it is consumed in the war, it will be dragged to death because of poor logistics.

Although the tactics are a bit clumsy, the strategy is absolutely upright. Purely to oppress people, without the slightest bit of opportunism.

...

Just as Shinra and Britain were fighting for time, the Japanese and Russians were also fighting for time, even more intensely.

In any case, Shinra and Britain are just fighting in secret, but Japan and Russia are fighting with real swords.

In order to speed up the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the tsarist government adopted an unprecedented three-shift, 24-hour work system.

Don't think it's easy, you must know that the construction site is Siberia. In this insane place, what kind of climate exists.

Even though it has entered April, there are still many places that still maintain a low temperature of minus ten degrees at night, which is not suitable for construction at all.

If it is not suitable for construction, it must be done. In the Russian Empire, there is no saying that "construction cannot be carried out in winter". If the construction cannot be done in winter, the Trans-Siberian Railway will not need to be repaired.

The reputation of "frozen soil" was not blown out. In many parts of Siberia, snow does not melt all year round.

Although the Trans-Siberian Railway has been planned to avoid these areas with harsh climates as much as possible, many places are still unavoidable.

Human wisdom is powerful, and engineers still think of ways to overcome the harsh climate; human wisdom is also limited, and the safety of workers cannot be guaranteed.

Affected by the bad weather at night, along with the implementation of the 24-hour rotation system, the death rate of workers increased instead of falling.

Especially at night, when there is a high incidence of death. Not to mention front-line workers, even many Russian soldiers in charge of supervision were frozen out of trouble.

No matter how great the difficulty was, it could not shake the determination of the tsarist government to hurry up. Workers suffered heavy casualties, and Russian officers and soldiers on the front lines suffered heavy casualties.

The sooner the railway opens to traffic, the sooner the main force will be able to pass, and the sooner victory will come.

Before the big strategic situation, everyone can give up, let alone a bunch of worthless French laborers?

The Tsarist government was anxious, and the Japanese government was even more anxious. Unlike the tsarist government where dead pigs are not afraid of boiling water, the Japanese government is a representative of diligence and thrift.

There is no way, the gold master's father also has to repay the money, and it is still a usurer. It is better to borrow a little less.

Just look at the equipment of the Japanese army. Compared with the Jiawu period, there is no essential change. Many troops still use the loot captured in that year. It can be said that "diligence and thrift housekeeping" has been carried forward to the extreme.

Fortunately, the equipment of the Russian army on the opposite side is not good, just a little better than them. Although the firepower is stronger, the ammunition can only be used sparingly due to insufficient logistical supply.

In the Far East, there is also a term within the Russian Empire called "exile". Not only the criminals, but also the unlucky ones who lost the political struggle.

If the officials are the losers of the political struggle, then the army here is the fringe of the Russian army.

Whether it is weapons and equipment or daily training, it cannot be compared with the main force, and the combat effectiveness is naturally the bottom of the Russian army.

In the face of such an enemy, the Japanese army with superior troops did not have the momentum to sweep the leaves away in the autumn wind. The Japanese government must be anxious.

Even the well-mannered Emperor Meiji couldn't help but utter foul language. After several imperial meetings, they all caught the army's top officials.

Don't be angry, the army's record is really unplayable. After besieging the brigade fortress for several months, in addition to leaving corpses all over the ground, it is still circling around the periphery.

According to the military, that is because the Russians used the most advanced trench + machine gun + reinforced barbed wire defense line, which is very difficult to break through.

Found the problem, but does it make sense?

The answer is: no.

The influence of the butterfly effect is powerful. As a weather vane in the army, the armies of various countries can't help but follow the Shinra army.

The Russians who were most influenced by Shinra were naturally no exception. With the efforts of generations of international students, the tactics of the Shinra Army have naturally spread to the Russian army.

It made the ***shun fortress, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, even more terrifying. So much so that the traditional charge tactics of the Japanese army became the tactics of sending heads.

If there is no accident, General Nogi Nogi is afraid that he will be insulated from the god of war. Although the commander of the Japanese Army's 3rd Army has just arrived at the front line to take over from a hapless man who committed suicide by cutting his belly in front of him.

For no other reason, the main reason is that the brave "meat bomb tactics" he admires have lost their threat in the face of the well-fortified ***shun fortress.

In Japan, a country that admires the strong, the losers are not eligible to be worshiped. If he can't complete the combat mission, Nogi's fate will be similar to that of his predecessor.

Not only was the battle in the ***shun fortress not going well, but even the battles in East Manchuria and South Manchuria did not develop as expected.

Although the Japanese army gained the upper hand and forced the Russians to keep retreating, the Japanese army also paid a heavy price.

Whether it is a loss or an advantage, it is estimated that it will be difficult to define for a while.

Different from the original time and space, the Russians have been fighting constantly in recent decades. Even the combat effectiveness of the Russian army in the Far East has improved, and the most typical example is the overall quality of officers, which is significantly higher than that.

The equipment is better, the quality of the officers is improved, the combat experience is richer, and the combat effectiveness naturally increases.

If you are stronger, you will be stronger, that's just an illusion. Although the Japanese Army is also learning, but no Russians have followed suit.

So thoroughly.

Although the morale of the Japanese army is higher, the morale of the Russian army is not low! It is not that Russian officers and soldiers like to fight, but more because of their face.

How can the arrogant Russians accept losing to the Japanese?

Even if the number of Japanese troops is larger, the innate psychological advantages make Russian officers and soldiers feel that they can do it, and they are not cowardly at all.

The original time and space Japan was able to win, to a large extent, it was also the contribution of the navy. The victory of the naval battle strengthened the determination of the Japanese officers and soldiers to win, and at the same time shook the hearts of the Russians.

It has only just begun. Although many battlefields have suffered defeats, the Russian army has not yet reached the point where the military will be shaken.

There is no way to suffer losses. Who told the Japanese government to "frugal housekeeping"?

In the case of insufficient military spending, it is normal for the development of the Army to fail to keep up with the times.

Especially under the influence of traditional "Bushido" thinking, many Japanese generals believed that "courage" could make up for the lack of equipment, and despised the army that only played with firepower.

In this context, with limited military spending, everyone first thinks about securing the size of the army, rather than using it to upgrade weapons and equipment.

Now that I have suffered a loss and realized the importance of firepower, the Army is embarrassed to say it!

For all this, as a prime minister who was born in the army, Katsura saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart.

The army executives were embarrassed to speak, and it was not just for face. Worrying that admitting mistakes will be ridiculed by the Navy is only one reason, and more is the fear of affecting the future voice in the empire.

There is no way, this is also one of the characteristics of Japan, and mistakes are not allowed.

Ever since the guards handed over a battle report, Emperor Meiji's face darkened. Kataro knew that there was another bad news coming, and hurriedly remedied:

"Your Majesty, rest your anger. The enemy we face this time is the Russians, and it is understandable that the front-line troops are slow.

In order to speed up the progress of the troops, I propose to purchase a batch of equipment from the British to increase the strength of the troops.

For example, tanks and armored vehicles are good, and they can play a great role in conquering positions.

Although it is a little more expensive, we only need a small amount of purchases, so it should not cost much. "

Russia and Austria are allies, and the Russo-Japanese War has already broken out. Naturally, the Vienna government will not sell arms to the Japanese government.

In this context, although the British Army equipment, whether in terms of performance or price, is not competitive in the market, the Japanese government still has no choice.

In addition to these two countries, the weapons and equipment of other countries are only more rubbish, not the most rubbish.

As of now, only Shinra's armored forces have division-level formations in the world, and the armored forces of other countries are at the regiment level at most.

On the one hand, it is because the equipment is expensive, and the later use and maintenance costs are more expensive; on the other hand, because the technology is not up to standard, the core components cannot be produced by themselves.

Not to mention a poor country like Japan, except to get a few vehicles to support the facade, it is impossible to equip them on a large scale.

Otherwise, after the outbreak of the war, even an armored force that broke through the enemy's defense line would not be able to come together.

Emperor Meiji nodded: "Then buy it, the speed must be fast, it is best to directly buy the active equipment of the British."

Emperor Meiji did not know whether the armored troops could break through the enemy's defenses, but it was indeed the case based on the experience from Europe.

At least, the anti-French alliance opened the way for the armored troops, tore through the French defense line, and then drove straight in.