Rise of Australia

Chapter 926 Environmental Governance Department
The gradual control of desertification around Lake Eyre has brought about a bad news, that is, the testing of new artillery shells and bullets can no longer be carried out in the desert east of Lake Eyre.

This small desert has already been improved to a certain extent by the environmental management department, and even afforestation has begun.

If the test is carried out in such a place, it will obviously cause trouble for the people in the environmental management department.

After a brief discussion, Arthur decided to conduct the test in the desert north of Lake Eyre. The distance was not too far and could be reached in more than two hours by car.

After several twists and turns, everyone finally arrived at the desert north of Lake Eyre and officially began testing the shells and bullets.

Real people certainly cannot be used for the test, so fat cows and sheep were used instead to simulate the human body.

The first to be tested was the new bullet, which was able to cause significant damage whether shooting cattle or sheep.

It looks like just a small bullet hole from the front, but after the bullet fragments fly out from the back, the damage caused to the back is astonishing.

Although the long distance may cause bullet fragments to remain in the body, this level of injury is basically impossible to save even with timely surgery.

As long as it hits the middle of the human body, the damage caused by the fragments after the bullet breaks can quickly destroy the important organs of the human body.

Even with the technology of later generations, it was not easy to save the wounded, let alone nearly a hundred years ago.

To sum it up in one sentence, if you are hit directly by this kind of bullet, death may be the best outcome. Because serious injuries will only be a torture of wanting to die but not being able to, and after a few days of torture, you will still face the end of death.

After testing the new bullets, Arthur became very interested in the new bombs.

Unlike bullets, this new type of bomb is just an idea and can even be applied to the design of missiles and other artillery shells.

It's nothing more than the big bomb outside providing power and the small bomb inside providing damage.

In this test, two sizes of bombs were detonated: a medium bomb filled with 5200 small cast iron bombs and a large bomb filled with 12200 small cast iron bombs.

Just as Andrik expected, the cattle and sheep on land were tied with some standard helmets, the thickness of which was about 1.1 mm to 1.3 mm.

Helmets of this thickness are basically the mainstream helmets in European countries, including the army helmets used by Britain and Germany.

A helmet of this thickness weighs about 1.3 kg to 1.5 kg, which can not only ensure that soldiers are not harmed by grenades, but also ensure that the pressure on the soldiers' heads is not too great.

If the helmet is heavier, wearing it for a long time will cause strain on the soldier's neck, and it may not be conducive to combat in some cases.

Facing a helmet that is just a little over one millimeter thick, the effects of both new bombs are very significant.

Although the small cast iron bombs that scatter after the explosion are solid and will not produce any explosion, the power of such a heavy sharp iron block falling from a high altitude is naturally not to be underestimated.

The damage caused by objects thrown from high places is well known. This kind of iron thing with a sharper head is not comparable to ordinary objects thrown from high places.

Moreover, these small bombs would definitely explode at a height of more than a few dozen floors. According to the height of each floor in the back room, which is about three meters, even if it is a 30-story building, it is only about 100 meters.

But these bombs exploded thousands of meters above the ground, and the small cast iron bombs scattered hundreds or even thousands of meters around, covering the entire area.

Falling bombs can penetrate directly into the bodies of cattle and sheep, and even if they are covered by helmets, the outcome will still be the same.

Such power is already quite terrifying. If it is facing the enemy's army, just a few such bombs can cause thousands of casualties to the enemy's army.

How much does such a bomb cost? It is just some strangely shaped small iron blocks and externally powered bombs, and the cost is not even as much as a real bomb.

After seeing the power of this new type of bomb, Arthur became more excited about cluster bombs that work on a similar principle.

More importantly, this principle can also be applied to missiles, and can definitely create unexpected results no matter whether it is attacking any target on land, sea or air.

After returning to Fort St. Arthur again, Arthur expressed his approval of Andric's research on new bombs and bullets, and asked Andric to start producing these bombs and bullets immediately, and to study the cluster bomb model mentioned by Arthur.

As a reward for Andrik and the other researchers, each of them will receive a financial award of at least AUD 5000, as well as detailed credit for their contribution to the project research.

In addition, Arthur added 200 million Australian dollars in research and development funds to the new bomb and bullet research and development department, allowing Andrick to study the new bomb mentioned by Arthur with confidence.

Whether these bombs and bullets are used in the war with island countries or on the European battlefield, they can effectively kill the enemy's manpower.

More importantly, after learning that Australasia is using these weapons on a large scale, Germany and the island countries will certainly not give up and will invest a lot of money in related research.

Only after such lethal bullets and bombs became widely used by countries on the European battlefield did Arthur's expected consumption of the manpower of European countries officially begin.

Since the decision has been made to consume the manpower of European countries, Arthur must hope that the casualties in these countries will generally reach more than tens of millions.

Although this idea was somewhat immoral, if it was based on the interests of Australasia, Arthur's guilt was immediately alleviated a lot.

After returning to the palace to rest for a few days, Arthur called the head of the environmental governance department to inquire about Australasia's achievements in environmental governance.

The environmental governance department is under the Cabinet and is directly managed by the State Council. Its level is far lower than that of the major departments of the Cabinet.

It has been more than 30 years since the establishment of the country, and its territorial scope has already ranked among the top in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that there are not many countries in the world that can challenge Australasia in terms of territory. Countries like Britain and France must also count their colonies.

But so far, the country has only 10 real cabinet departments, and some of them are bloated.

The House of Representatives had previously mentioned reforming the cabinet departments, adding several new departments to share the pressure of these departments, and refining the areas managed by each department. However, because the proposal was not mature at the time, Arthur did not agree and it has been delayed until now.

The UK, which has a system similar to that of Australasia, has more than 20 cabinet departments, while Australasia has less than half of that of the UK, which proves the problem.

Of course, the reorganization of cabinet departments must be voted on by the House of Representatives and undergo detailed discussions.

Because this also represents a reform of cabinet power, the number of cabinet members may increase.

The minister for environmental governance is Angel Fernandez, whose brother is Melbourne Lord Mayor Tasman Fernandez.

The Fernandez family enjoys considerable reputation in Australasia. Both Angel brothers have been awarded the title of knight, and their father, Toth Fernandez, who once served in the Guards, has been awarded the title of baron.

The title of baron is hereditary, which means that as long as the Fernandez family does not make any mistakes, there will be at least one baron in the family.

However, based on the performance of the Angel brothers in politics, at age 30 or so, if they work a little harder and get some money, it won't be too difficult for them to get the title of baron.

This is how aristocratic families are accumulated. At least in Australasia, where aristocratic heritage is not rich, the Fernandez family is already considered to be one of the more successful new aristocrats.

Old Fernandez was awarded the title of baron, and both of his sons also have the hope of obtaining the title of baron. This can be considered as having successors, which is much better than some noble families whose descendants have not yet grown up.

Thanks to the teachings of the elder Fernandez to his two sons, the loyalty of the Fernandez brothers to the royal family is unquestionable.

After meeting Arthur, Angel respectfully performed a noble salute to Arthur, which was reasonable considering his title of knight.

If you are not a noble, you are not qualified to pay noble respects to Arthur.

"Your Majesty, Angel Fernandez is at your service!" Angel looked at Arthur with respect and enthusiasm.

"Okay, Angel, this is not a formal meeting. It's just a private meeting between us. There's no need to be so formal." Arthur smiled. He still had a good impression of the two Fernandez brothers.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Angel nodded respectfully again, but his action showed that he was not relaxed at all.

"I called you here to ask about our environmental management. The forest over at Lake Eyre should be the result of your department, right?" Arthur was very patient and kind to an official like Angel who was both capable and loyal.

Of course, loyalty is the key to attracting Arthur. After all, the country has a population of more than 4000 million and there are many capable people.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Because the Lake Eyre Canal has effectively improved the ecological environment around Lake Eyre, we plan to build a sand-proof forest in the middle of the two rivers leading to Lake Eyre to completely block land desertification west of the sand-proof forest.

If the plan succeeds, millions of square kilometers of land east of the Lake Eyre Canal will be preserved, and we will no longer have a shortage of land resources." Angel nodded and laid out his department's plan in full.

"It's a very good idea. Who came up with the anti-sarin plan?" Arthur nodded with a smile. He was quite satisfied with the anti-sarin plan.

The Lake Eyre Canal brings a large amount of seawater to Lake Eyre. Although plants cannot grow around Lake Eyre due to the high salt content, water infiltration makes the land suitable for planting more than ten kilometers away.

After all, Lake Eyre is a saltwater lake. Taking all factors into consideration, the Lake Eyre Canal has basically not damaged the ecology of Lake Eyre, and the canal plan is completely beneficial with no harm.

"It was my idea, Your Majesty." Angel said truthfully: "Tall trees can block the advance of wind and sand. In addition, the two rivers leading to Lake Eyre already have water sources, which also provides an opportunity for us to build a sand-proof forest."

"That's a great idea, Angel." Arthur nodded with satisfaction again and liked Angel even more.

Arthur naturally wanted to train such a capable subordinate: "Does the Environmental Governance Department have any new plans now?"

"Your Majesty, we are planning to create a large forest area around Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens, Lake Gairdner and Lake Frome, forming a real protection line with the Diamantina River in the north.

If successful, it may be possible to save the Great Artesian Basin and prevent the Simpson Desert from expanding eastward." After careful consideration for a moment, Angel revealed the next plan discussed by his department.

"This should be a big project, right?" Arthur asked curiously, "How much is your department's estimated budget?"

"At least 3000 million Australian dollars." Angel said cautiously.

This is a huge financial expense for any cabinet department, not to mention that Angel's environmental governance department is just a small department under the cabinet, and the amount is an astronomical figure that no one dares to think about.

"However, this plan will take at least five years to implement, and the estimated annual financial budget required is only around 600 million." Angel was afraid that Arthur would be dissatisfied with the huge financial budget, so he hurriedly explained.

"This budget is quite reasonable. It seems that your environmental management department conducted an actual investigation when formulating the plan." Arthur nodded with a smile, and he did not show any dissatisfaction with the financial budget of 3000 million Australian dollars.

I am very optimistic about your plan. Tell Prime Minister Raul that I have approved the five-year budget of 3000 million Australian dollars, but I hope to see good results in five years. " Arthur smiled and decided to give Angel a chance.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hearing that Arthur agreed to his financial budget application, Angel nodded excitedly and responded to Arthur's words very forcefully.

Hearing Angel's powerful response, Arthur nodded with satisfaction.

To be honest, the environment here does require a very high cost, and Arthur doesn't mind giving Angel a chance to display his abilities.

But the premise of all this is that Angel has a certain degree of confidence in his own abilities. If Angel has no confidence in the funds Arthur provides, then Arthur has to consider whether the funds he provides are valuable.

Cultivating talents is important, but the prerequisite is that talents must have sufficient ability. Although Arthur still has a good impression of the Fernandez family, this is not a reason for Arthur to be overly biased towards them.

(End of this chapter)