The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1833 Half-track Tricycle
Joseph Zeller even brought in three heavy cannons for a comparative experiment.

Soldiers and draft horses could also pull heavy artillery, but it was very strenuous and they could not sustain it for long.

At a distance of 200 meters, when the tricycle reached its destination, the horse-drawn carriage and the soldier had only covered half the distance.

Undoubtedly, the greater the distance, the greater the gap will be. The six draft horses are alright, but the soldiers are already panting heavily.

Unfortunately, it's difficult for 20 soldiers to keep in sync, and they simply cannot exert their full strength.

But Franz couldn't possibly train soldiers specifically to pull carts, as that would be putting the cart before the horse.

At this point, Franz also noticed something special: the chassis of the tricycle seemed to have been modified again.

There is a single wheel at the front, while the rear has been replaced with tracks.

“Mr. Zerell, the tires on this car are very special.”

Joseph Zeller immediately smiled and said.

"Your Majesty, your insight is truly astonishing! Even my colleagues and those generals could not have discovered the secret so quickly."

In fact, based on my country's actual road conditions and the situations most likely to be encountered on the battlefield, we specially developed a half-track vehicle.

The wheel is indeed a great invention, and your invention of the tire makes it even greater.

However, it still has a fatal weakness: its contact area with the ground is too small.

When a vehicle is heavy, the tires exert a huge pressure on the ground. If the ground in a city is hard enough, it's fine.

However, if it's on a dirt road, sandy road, or grassy area outside the city, the tire is very likely to get stuck.

Furthermore, as friction decreases, the tires may slip or even spin freely.

During our previous field tests, we found that both tricycles and four-wheeled vehicles faced the same problem.

The situation is slightly better for tricycles, but only slightly better; as engine horsepower increases, this problem will only get worse.

However, it is unrealistic to repair roads nationwide or for the military to build roads wherever it goes.

The best way to adapt to complex terrain is to use tracks, which will greatly enhance the vehicle's off-road capabilities.

However, another problem arises: while using tracks can increase a vehicle's off-road capability, it will severely affect the vehicle's speed and consume a huge amount of fuel.

There would be no problem if it were on a test track, but if hundreds or thousands of these behemoths were to travel together, the fuel consumption would be an extremely high figure.

So we wondered if we could combine the advantages of tires and tracks.

Thank God, we've finally found a solution—this half-track vehicle right in front of you.

The test vehicle had already driven up to Franz, but he found the tricycle quite awkward, even a little comical.

"Your Majesty, this half-track vehicle combines the stability of a tracked vehicle with the speed of a wheeled vehicle, making it the most suitable vehicle for this country at this time."

We added tracks to the back of it, which reduced its pressure to about one-tenth that of a wheeled vehicle.

At the same time, we retained the front wheels, allowing for flexible steering and potentially increasing speed to some extent.

Furthermore, the use of half-track design saves costs and is easier to maintain than tracked vehicles. Even in extreme situations such as breakdowns, half-track vehicles can be repaired more quickly.

If railways ensured security within the empire's borders, then half-tracks enabled the empire's army to achieve victory anywhere!
Our army's mobility and logistical capabilities are unimaginable to any other nation. Give us ten years, and we can build you an invincible steel legion on land.

The old man in front of him looked very confident, but Franz was more concerned about the civilianization process.

"How long will it take before this thing can be mass-produced?"

Joseph Zeller, however, looked troubled.

"Your Majesty, with the current production capacity of the Imperial factories, we can do it now. Once Coco begins mass production, this secret will be impossible to keep!"
Other countries could potentially acquire our technology through reverse engineering, which would mean we lose our overwhelming advantage.

Give us just ten more years. No! Eight more years! We can definitely produce enough vehicles to crush France.

Then the Empire's army will be able to easily defeat France!

Franz smiled helplessly.

"Mr. Zeller, do you really think we can't beat the French right now?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that if you give us enough time, we can provide you with enough military power to crush all of Europe."

Joseph Zeller seems to be very serious.

Franz wasn’t sure if the invention of the vehicle would create a chasm between the two sides, but he was very clear that occupation and conquest were two completely different concepts.

“A rule that cannot be recognized is nothing but colonization.”

Franz spoke casually, so Joseph Zell didn't take it too seriously. After all, he wasn't a politician and wasn't particularly sensitive to politics.

"That's alright, our Austrian Empire's colonies are all doing very well."

Franz couldn't help but facepalm.

“Mr. Zerell, rebellions frequently occur in the colonies, and soldiers are killed in battle every day.”

Joseph Zeller answered quickly.

"Therefore you should block the technology and use our equipment to crush the enemy forces, so as to reduce casualties!"

Franz hadn't expected the other party to be so logically consistent, and he could only sigh slowly.

"No one would choose to colonize a country with strong resistance, because it would be a losing proposition."

Do you understand? France has 35 million people. If we were to colonize such a country, how many troops would we need to deploy?
As for your claim of crushing the entire continent of Europe, that's utter nonsense. Napoleon also conquered almost all of Europe, but could the French hold onto it?

Joseph Zeller thought for a moment and then said.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think this is a problem for you. Our Austrian Empire has also occupied a lot of land in Europe in recent years, and there have been no large-scale rebellions there.”

On the contrary, the locals sing your praises and extol your greatness. This shows how deeply you are loved by the people. Europeans are not a barbaric African race; they know who the true king is.

In reality, the elite class within the Austrian Empire at this time held Franz in high esteem, and some of them believed that Franz was truly omnipotent.

Especially in the eyes of some scientists, Franz was simply the embodiment of rationality and wisdom, and it was an honor for everyone to live in his era. These people were different from the hypocrisy and clumsy flattery of intellectuals and politicians; they genuinely thought Franz was remarkable, capable of both overall planning and keen insight, both leading troops in battle and immersing himself in scientific research.

The 19th-century elite highly valued so-called rationality, and in their view, ordinary people had no reason not to accept Franz, who was like a philosopher-king.

“Mr. Zerell, your understanding of physics and engineering is clearly superior to your understanding of sociology and political science.”

The process from occupation to conquest is likely to be long and tortuous, and once the occupied land exceeds our limit, it could become an unbearable burden on the entire country.

If further natural or man-made disasters occur, it could very well trigger a series of chain reactions leading to national regression or even collapse.

Franz then changed the subject.

"Moreover, if one truly wishes to win hearts and minds, plows and carts are more powerful than swords and cannons."

As long as we are doing well, they will naturally flock to us. As long as they believe we can make their lives better than before, they will naturally welcome us with open arms.

Instead of spending ten years manufacturing weapons of war, you should spend ten years developing our nation. As long as the gap in living standards between the two sides is large enough, we won't need a single shot to subdue our opponent.

Of course, I'm not suggesting you actually turn swords into plowshares. In this era surrounded by wolves and tigers, we certainly need to have the ability to protect ourselves before considering anything else.

However, while you are forging swords, you may also consider how to benefit the people.

You may not understand it now, but the needs of the people are the fundamental force that changes the world. A nation's need for a war machine is ultimately limited, but the people's yearning for a better life is limitless.

To accelerate iteration and create more perfect machinery, civilian roads are essential. Besides providing a continuous source of funding through consumption, they can also identify and address problems.

This way, you won't need to hire a professional for evaluation. And no matter how many people you hire, they can't compare to the testing by society.

Are you right?

Joseph Zeller nodded. He was still skeptical of the prospects Franz had painted for him, but he trusted Franz's judgment.

"We only need to keep key technologies confidential, as some simple structures are impossible to protect, and there is no need to protect them."

Even if they acquire some technology, it would be very difficult for them to replicate my country's productivity.

Market competition involves more than just technology; it also includes factors like price. We shouldn't be the ones worried; rather, it's our pursuers who should be, because we won't stop moving forward.

Your previous ideas were completely unfounded.

This idea might have been effective in the past when technological development was slow, but in the rapidly changing 19th century, it seemed somewhat naive.

After all, we don't know if other countries have similar plans, let alone whether they will build more advanced weapons.

Therefore, we cannot stop moving forward; only by continuously moving forward can we escape the fear of falling behind.

This inevitably brings to mind the argument about the great abundance of material wealth, as well as Thomas More's "Utopia" and economist John Maynard Keynes's prediction in 1930.

"By around 2030, due to technological progress and capital accumulation, economic problems will be basically solved."

People's material needs will be fully met, requiring only about 15 hours of work per week, with the remaining time available for higher pursuits—art, philosophy, and interpersonal relationships.

But Franz could only think of eight words.
"Trust the country, trust the leaders."

Franz's words actually left Joseph Zell somewhat puzzled, after all, it's a different field than his own, but fortunately he didn't like to dwell on such things.

All he could do was trust the empire and trust the emperor.

"Your Majesty, may you lead us forward. Perhaps the ideal land is not so far away."

Joseph Zeller wanted to end the conversation, but Franz reminded him.

“Mr. Zerell, you should really consider four-wheeled vehicles. I can’t guarantee the situation in other European countries, but the Austrian Empire will eventually build solid roads throughout the country.”

When the stage is set up, I don't want it to be without actors.

Joseph Zeller was quite shocked by this, because the scale of the project to build roads throughout the entire Austrian Empire was astronomical.

This was something that experts and scholars like them would never even dare to dream of, yet he inexplicably had great confidence in the person before him.

In fact, the development of the Austrian Empire in recent years has been nothing short of miraculous, and cannot be measured by any past indicators.

Especially in the early stages of the construction of the Austrian Imperial Railway, almost all Austrian Imperial engineers, including him, took his boastful words as a joke.

After all, the Austrian Empire had to complete five times the amount of railway construction that Britain had done in its early stages in just one year, and the situations in Austria and Britain were completely different.

British railways were built in flat terrain, while the railways of the Austrian Empire were built in areas with mountains, rivers, swamps, forests, and varying elevations, sometimes even requiring tunnels to be dug through mountains.

The complex terrain of the Austrian Empire was a nightmare for engineers; such difficulties could not be solved simply by adding five times the funding and five times the manpower.

However, the reality was that the Austrian Empire's railway development had far exceeded expectations, with a total mileage of over 24000 kilometers, almost equal to the combined total of the railways of Britain, France, and Russia at that time.

Britain had 14600 kilometers, France 7000 kilometers, Russia 3200 kilometers (of which 2100 kilometers were built with aid from the Austrian Empire), and the German Confederation had a total railway length of 14000 kilometers.

In fact, many people at the time considered the cost aspect, since steel prices were not low. According to their calculations, even if the Austrian Empire invested all its fiscal revenue in railway construction every year, it would not be able to achieve its set goals.

But what no one expected was that the price of steel would decline year by year, while the Austrian Empire's fiscal revenue would experience explosive growth.

At this time, His Majesty the Emperor said that he wanted to build a highway within the Austrian Empire. Who knows if it will end up like the railway construction of the past?

For example, the cars that their team is researching are already considered revolutionary means of transportation by them, so who knows what revolutionary road-building tools might appear in the future?

The thought alone made his blood boil.

"This is truly the best of times."

In fact, there was another important reason why Franz was not afraid of the spread of automotive technology: oil.

Most European countries are not oil-poor countries in the traditional sense, but rather countries without oil.

That's right, many countries didn't even have oil as a resource. And apart from Russia, the major oil-producing regions in Europe were all within the territory of the Austrian Empire at that time.

Therefore, the rise of the oil industry is actually a weakening factor for other European countries, as it will greatly limit their production capacity and development in terms of raw materials.

The real beneficiaries were Russia and the United States, as they were the largest oil producers in the early 20th century. The fact that Middle Eastern oil had not yet been discovered, and that deep-sea crude oil could not be extracted due to technical limitations, allowed the US and the Soviet Union to rise rapidly.

Franz was naturally aware of this history, and he understood even better what resources meant to a great power. Therefore, he had already begun to plan ahead and would not allow resources to become a shackle restricting the Austrian Empire.