Rise of Australia

Chapter 301 Chain Reaction (Ask for a Monthly Pass!)
"The Germans also announced a 50-strong military expansion. They have a relatively mature reserve mechanism. The time for the formation of 50 soldiers should be much shorter than the time required by Russia." Minister Andrew replied.

Although the size of the German army is not large compared to that of Russia, the combat effectiveness of the German army is far greater than that of the Russian army.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Russia has an army of 150 million, it is absolutely impossible to be Germany's opponent.

It is precisely because of the terrifying combat effectiveness of the German army that after Germany announced its military expansion, I am afraid that the French and British military expansion will not be far behind.

Sure enough, Foreign Minister Andrew went on to say: "Shortly after the Germans announced the expansion of the army by 50, the French announced the expansion of the army by 45. According to the news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French seem to be seeking to amend the military service law and increase the compulsory military service from two years. Three years, to increase the number of standing army and reserve personnel. Judging from the occasional news from the French Congress, the French government may also want to relax the age of entry into the army to attract more reserve personnel."

After Germany expanded its army by 50, the most nervous and fearful people should probably be the French.

After all, apart from the British Empire, France and Germany currently have the deepest hatred.What's more, the Moroccan crisis not long ago made Germany lose face in front of the world, and all of this was caused by France's toughness.

Arthur rubbed his brows lightly, and asked: "Surely other countries of the two major military blocs should also expand their armies? This is really grand!"

"That's right, Your Majesty. Although the Italians are still at war, this does not prevent their government from announcing a high-profile military expansion of 30. Moreover, the Italians also released news that the number of the navy will also expand by 3, and in the next Within five years, at least three dreadnoughts will be built." Foreign Secretary Andrew replied respectfully.

Compared with the Italian navy, which is barely okay, the Italian army is really not taken seriously by the major European powers.

Of course, this is not aimless.The war between Italy and Ethiopia more than ten years ago made the Italian army the laughing stock of European countries at that time.

意大利1.7万人的军队在战争中死伤1.1万，被俘4000人。埃塞俄比亚的军队死亡仅仅4千到5千人，受伤6千到1万人。

The famous iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck once commented: "They came to the African continent with a mouth full of decayed teeth but a great appetite."

In fact, it can also be seen from the current war between Italy and the Ottoman Turkish Empire that the Italian army's weapons and equipment are indeed good, but their combat capabilities are another matter.

"What about the Austro-Hungarian Empire? As Germany's most staunch ally, they should have a big military expansion plan!" Arthur asked curiously.

Among the three countries of the Allied Powers, Germany's combat effectiveness is beyond doubt.In addition to Germany, the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can also be on the stage.

Of course, this does not rule out the reason why there are many Germans in the Austro-Hungarian army.

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire also claimed to expand its army by 30. It is said that the Vienna government had been wrangling with the Hungarians for a long time for the 30 troops. One will be named after Budapest, although the Hungarian government will bear most of the cost of this dreadnought."

Speaking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this country is somewhat different from most countries in Europe.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy, consisting mainly of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

Because the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary have their own governments, this also makes the union between the two countries not so close.

Although the capital of the empire was Vienna, the Hungarian government had self-government rights within Hungary.

If the Vienna government hadn't agreed to name one of the dreadnought ships Budapest, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, I am afraid that the proposal to expand the 30 troops would not be so easy to agree.

At least in terms of the budget for the 30 troops, the Hungarians' attitude at the beginning was a direct rejection.

Thinking of this, Arthur had to agree with the greatness of Emperor Franz of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Unifying such two countries that are not closely united and maintaining their status as great powers for so many years is enough to show the prestige and status of Emperor Franz in these two countries.

In fact, it is true that Emperor Franz has unparalleled prestige and status in these two countries.But the bad news is that after Emperor Franz's original heir, Archduke Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo, the empire no longer had a well-recognized heir.

This also indirectly led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, and a powerful country was divided into many small countries.

The lessons learned from the Austro-Hungarian Empire also made Arthur understand how important it is to unite a country closely, which is why Arthur promoted the concept of the Australasian nation within the scope of Australasia.

After all, Australasia is also a country formed by the combination of Australia and New Zealand. If they are not combined as much as possible now, if there are conflicts between the two regions in the future, it is very likely that the entire country will split.

"What about the UK? Does the UK have no plans to expand its army?" Minister Andrew mentioned all the great powers on the European continent, except the British Empire, which is currently the most powerful country.

Arthur couldn't help being curious, did Britain only focus on the development of the navy and directly give up the expansion of the army?
"At present, there is no news about the expansion of the British military, but the British government has taken too many steps in the navy. I am afraid that even if the army expands, it will not be too much." Minister Andrew shook his head.

In response to the Germans' crazy naval expansion plan, the British Secretary of the Navy Churchill said tit-for-tat that the Germans would build one main battleship, and Britain would build two.

Even if the British Empire is currently the most powerful country in the world and has the most colonies, it cannot withstand such terrifying consumption.

Moreover, the United Kingdom is originally a country dominated by sea power, and the expansion of the army is basically very small, and it will not be too large.

After learning about the expansion plans of major European countries, Arthur nodded, looked at the cabinet government, and asked with a smile: "What do you guys think about the current situation? Australasia should expand itself military power, or temporarily hide and wait for the development of the situation in Europe?"

"Your Majesty, after the expansion of the army, I think it is necessary for us to expand the size of the navy to at least maintain the main force level of six dreadnoughts and three battlecruisers. For small and medium-sized warships and submarines, I think we also need to expand the size of the navy to a certain extent. There should be a certain amount of expansion, so as to ensure the safety of the entire Australasian waters and to sit back and watch the development of Europe." After hearing Arthur's inquiry, Defense Minister Raul immediately said impatiently.

For a more radical soldier, there is nothing more exciting than the military power of one's own country being stronger and more exciting.

The army and the navy develop together, and eventually maintain the level of the last powers. This is also Minister Raul's expectation for the military power of Australasia.

"Do other people have any comments?" Arthur nodded with a smile, but did not agree with Minister Raul's point of view, but looked at other people.

"Your Majesty, I think the most important thing for Australasia at present is to develop its own industry and economy. Even if our military strength has reached the level of the great powers, our industrial and economic development is still far behind the great powers." What's more, the current situation in Europe is not clear, and the confrontation between the two major military blocs is very serious. If Australasia has the power of the big powers at this time, it will only involve Australasia in this military conflict. It is harmful to our development." After a little silence, Minister of Industry Pierre said this.

Although Arthur hopes that someone will stand up to refute Minister Raul's point of view, there are only a few people who can stand up to refute Minister Raul.

First of all, including Kent, the Minister of Royal Affairs Hunt, the Archbishop and the Chief Justice are not suitable to stand up and refute Minister Raul's point of view.

After all, they have a relatively close relationship with Arthur, which is equivalent to Arthur's close ministers.

If they stood up and refuted it openly, it would be easy for people to think that it was Arthur's instruction.Even if the cabinet government agrees with Minister Raul's point of view, it will look at Arthur's face and object.

But what Arthur needs is a cabinet government with its own ideas, so as to provide Arthur with more and more appropriate opinions.

If you only act as an echo, then the role of the cabinet government will be greatly reduced.

"Do you have any other opinions?" Arthur still smiled and nodded, still looking at the others.

There was no answer for a while, and Arthur continued: "Since there is no unified idea, it is better for the entire cabinet government to vote with a show of hands."

Everyone had no objection to the show of hands vote, and under Arthur's instructions, they began to support their more optimistic proposal.

In the final voting results, there were a total of eight votes in favor of continued development, and a total of four votes in support of military expansion.

Arthur nodded and said with a smile: "Then according to the results of the vote, at least for two years, the main purpose of Australasia is still development, and the disputes in Europe have nothing to do with us for the time being."

With Arthur's final decision, the end of the cabinet government was also resolved.

In fact, it can be seen from the orders of the Royal Dockyard that Arthur has no plans to expand the navy for at least two or three years.

After all, counting the naval orders of Russia and Chile, the Royal Shipyard was relatively busy around 1914.

Even if the Ministry of Defense announces a new naval expansion plan, in order to complete the previous orders, the Royal Dockyard does not have the extra construction capacity to build the naval orders.

　The third update of 3000 words, asking for a monthly ticket, asking for support!

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(End of this chapter)