No matter how low the cost-performance ratio was, as long as it could save a life at a critical moment, the Tsarist government could only accept it.
At the end of 1904 in the original timeline, the Siberian Railway was already open to traffic. Although it could not operate normally, on average, it could still send a few trains every day.
Don't underestimate these inconspicuous carriages. At a critical moment, these resources could even decide the outcome of a battle.
The gap had to be filled. The Tsarist government was, in fact, turning to any doctor in a desperate situation by relying on the smuggling trade.
After the European War, the air forces of various countries had tacitly chosen to eliminate airships. Other than a small number of transport airships, the skies were basically occupied by planes.
The Russian Empire also had an airship troop. However, due to the cost-performance ratio, the airship troop was very small.
After the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the airship troop was not dispatched to the Far East. On the one hand, it was cost-effective; on the other hand, the military officials knew that their own airship troop had been abolished.
It couldn't be helped. The lifespan of an airship was limited. If it didn't change its equipment for ten to twenty years, it wouldn't even dare to take to the skies during daily training.
Not to mention completing the mission, even transporting it to the Far East was a problem. In any case, the Russian Army's outdated airships would not be able to reach the destination by themselves.
In contrast, Shinra's airship fleet was different. Although they had withdrawn from the battle array, the logistics team still retained their complete organization.
Unlike Russia's bureaucracy, as long as Shinra's army was established, its weapons and equipment had to be replaced when it was close to retirement.
Although the withdrawal of airships from the battlefield had dampened the enthusiasm of manufacturers, it was only the combat airships that had their production lines cut off. The transport airships still survived tenaciously.
Not only was the military using it, but the civilians were also using it. If it wasn't for the fact that the price-performance ratio couldn't keep up, airships would have become the fourth mainstream means of transportation together with trains, ships, and automobiles.
Even a developed country like Shinra found the cost too high, let alone other developing countries like China. Even if he wanted to buy it, the money in his pocket wouldn't allow him to.
Under such circumstances, the military's retired airships were in an awkward position. There was no market for exports, and domestic sales were shunned.
Capitalists may be greedy, but they also have to consider the risks. The performance of the airships equipped by the military was indeed good, but the logistical maintenance requirements were also high.
After all, they were flying in the sky. If anything went wrong, it was possible that the airship would be destroyed and people would die.
If he sells it to the Russians now, there won't be so many problems. After the handover, they were immediately sent to the frontlines, and even the follow-up services were saved.
If there was an accident during the flight, it must have been the work of the Japanese. Otherwise, it must have been the flight crew who did not operate according to the requirements. It definitely had nothing to do with the airship itself.
It could be seen from their aggressive promotion that the senior officials of the Government of Vienna had done an excellent job in keeping the secret. Even their own people didn't know that the government was already mentally prepared for the Tsarist government to default on its debt.
They had to be prepared in advance. The Russians had a history of defaulting on their debts more than once. They were typical repeat offenders.
On the surface, the Russians still had victory in their hands. Even if there were logistical problems, the outside world was still optimistic about the Russians.
Not only was the Tsarist government confident in the upcoming Siberian Railway, but the outside world was also full of confidence in this railway.
According to the "experts", after the Siberian Railway was opened to traffic, it could transport 15 million tons of goods every year. Even if there were a million Russian Army fighting on the front line, it could easily meet the logistical needs.
Franz didn't know how the numbers were calculated, but he didn't think the Russians could do it.
Not to mention the Siberian Railway, even the railway from Moscow to St. Peter couldn't achieve this theoretical goal if a single line was cut off.
It wasn't that the railway couldn't carry the load, nor was it that the train was too slow. The real problem was the bad weather and the organization's ability.
At the end of World War II, the Soviet government set a record of 1.45 million tons of freight per month.
However, because of the weather, the annual freight volume of the Siberian Railway couldn't exceed 10 million tons.
The time was advanced by 40 years, and the freight capacity had to be increased by 50% compared to the Soviet Union. Unless the Tsarist government cheated, there was no way to win.
Considering the time difference, as long as the Russian Army could complete one-tenth of the freight capacity, they could beat the Japanese to the ground.
Unfortunately, transporting 145,000 tons of supplies per month was also an unattainable dream.
At least before the Siberian Railway's surrounding facilities and management system were improved, it was not feasible.
Since the outside world was generally optimistic that the Russians would win, they naturally didn't think that the Tsarist government would go bankrupt. As long as they won the war, the losses could be passed on.
Even if Japan was very poor, as long as they worked hard, they could always squeeze out oil.
If it didn't work, they could use labor to make up for it. Unlike the lazy Japanese … Japanese labor was also a high-quality labor force.
…
While Russia and Austria were thinking of ways to deal with the logistics of the Russian Army on the front line, the situation in London was tense, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Integrating industrial production capacity was a thankless task in itself. For the capitalists, the overall situation was far less important than making money.
As for the Campbell government who pushed all of this, everyone naturally didn't have a good impression. The direct manifestation was: public opinion fiercely criticized as if the Campbell government was the sinner that destroyed Britannia.
The opposition also took the opportunity to initiate an impeachment in Parliament. If it weren't for King Edward VII's personal support, coupled with the competitors not wanting to clean up the mess at this time and not being more aggressive, Downing Street would probably have changed owners by now.
As long as it was a government that worked seriously, there was no government that didn't get scolded. As long as it was successful, the infamy could be washed clean.
Looking at Prime Minister Campbell's expression, it was clear that things were not going well.
Under the push of some people, the integration of industrial capacity was seen by the people as the government colluding with consortiums, intending to annex everyone's industry and monopolize the market.
For a time, there were endless protests, and the slogans of the demonstrators resounded throughout the British Isles. The small and medium-sized capitalists used practical actions to say to them – "No."
Not only did the people below resist, but even the consortiums lacked interest. "Monopolizing the market" sounded wonderful, but if you really put it into practice, you would find that many industries couldn't be played like this.
The low threshold was one thing, and the key was social stability. The Campbell government asked everyone not to lay off workers and not to raise prices.
In essence, the core advantage of a monopoly was to optimize the corporate structure, reduce production costs, and self-help to control the pricing power. Now that these two points were gone, what was the point of playing?
Especially for the financial consortiums, this was a disaster. Used to making quick money, everyone had no interest in doing industry honestly.
As the 2% in the "28% law," financiers were working hard to control 120% of the world's wealth. Naturally, everyone "politely declined" the Campbell government's plan.
Since everyone opposed it, the plan naturally couldn't be promoted. After a few months of hard work, Prime Minister Campbell helplessly found that he had gained loneliness.
Even though the government had implemented tariff barriers, the domestic industry was still not much better.
Fierce international competition was only one aspect. The most important thing was that Britannia had embarked on the old path of the original usury empire. More and more domestic consortiums liked the financial industry, and fewer and fewer people were willing to do industry honestly.
The Government of the United Kingdom itself was not very strong. Policy guidance could affect the domestic economy, but it did not have the ability to make a final decision.
The sunset industry, which lacked capital injection, did not develop smoothly, even with government support.
It could only be said that Campbell was too impatient. If he had been slower and waited for the previously formulated economic policy to ferment and let the outside world see that investment in industry was also profitable, naturally, people would join.
Obviously, Campbell could not afford to wait, and Britannia could not afford to wait either. The turbulent international situation told them that they must be "fast."
Industry Minister Henry Burks: "The opposition among the people is growing, and all sectors of society are opposed to the government's involvement in the economic market.
It is now impossible to integrate the domestic industry in a short period of time. The Ministry of Industry is preparing to adjust the plan and launch the backup plan. "
Politicians who plunged headfirst into it and did not look back were always the minority. Most politicians preferred to "adapt to the situation."
Seeing that the plan had failed, the Ministry of Industry, as the specific executor, naturally had to find a way to deal with the aftermath.
When he heard the words "launch the backup plan," Campbell's face became even more ugly. There was no other way. To put it nicely, it was a "backup plan." To put it bluntly, it was to use national interests to appease the capital world in exchange for everyone's cooperation.
Of course, this "cooperation" was built on the premise that the government gave up on the integration of the industry.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Azevedo, said impatiently, "If it failed, then it failed. Since everyone does not care about the big picture, why should we be the bad guys?"
This was the truth. The more he understood the country, the more hopeless Azevedo felt.
After the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, the powerful British Empire was only left with the bright and beautiful appearance.
Free trade made the British Empire glorious, but free trade also led the British Empire to a path of no return.
Under the free trade system, British capital ran around the world and made a lot of money.
Even though Shinra's economy was larger, the British still had more say in the capital market. Shinra capital made profits from industrial and commercial products, while British capital made huge profits from harvesting leeks.
Even though Britannia had a trade deficit for many years in international trade, the profits earned by British capital were no less than Shinra, or even more.
In a sense, this was the core reason why the previous governments did not withdraw from the free trade system, even though they knew that the trade deficit was expanding.
Until the Campbell era, the resentment in the domestic industrial and commercial industry had accumulated to the peak. The contradictions could not be suppressed any longer, and they had no choice but to cut their losses.
With this, everyone realized the fragility of Britannia. It was fine that the emerging technology field was lagging behind, but the key was that even the traditional advantageous industries were now lacking in production capacity.
Azevedo, who had a stomach full of anger, could no longer suppress his resentment. He could not help but want to give up.
Minister of Finance, Asquith, said, "Calm down, Sir Azevedo. Britannia has reached the most critical moment. We cannot let anger affect our rationality.
Although the plan to integrate industrial production capacity is progressing slowly, it is not without gains. At least in the fields of steel, coal, and so on, resources are indeed more concentrated, and the increase in production capacity is just around the corner.
Although the progress is a little slower than expected, we did not waste this time. Using the Russo-Japanese War as a cover, the Empire bought a large amount of scarce resources from overseas.
With these resources as a supplement, we will not be at a disadvantage in a short period of time. "
It would have been better if he did not explain, but this explanation made the atmosphere in the room even more tense. Everyone was paying attention to the hidden meaning. If they were not at a disadvantage in a short period of time, it meant that they would be at a disadvantage in the long-term competition.
Minister of War, Marcus Katzel, said, "We can't solve the problem even if we discuss it like this.
As an island country, it is unwise to compete with Shinra in terms of industrial strength. Don't forget that they are the overlord of Europe. Now that the Russians are busy advancing east, they can't do anything at all.
If we really fight for a long period of time, we will not only be facing the Holy Roman Empire, but also the European world under their wings.
From a military point of view, instead of waiting for the enemy to be ready and challenge us, it is better to take advantage of the advantage we have now and strike first.
No matter what method we use, as long as we can severely damage or even wipe out the Shinra Navy, the situation will immediately be reversed.
Even if we can't destroy the Holy Roman Empire this time, we can at least make them behave for another twenty years. I believe that with the strength of the Imperial Navy, it is not difficult to achieve this. "
After listening to Marcus' proposal, Minister of War Swindin could no longer sit still: "Your Excellency, do you think we don't want to? But the problem now is that the main force of the Shinra Navy is holed up in the Mediterranean Sea.
In the enemy's Mediterranean Sea, with the air force and shore artillery as cover, even if the Imperial Navy ventured deep, it would be difficult to achieve results. "
The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.
As the leader of the Britannia military, the Royal Navy had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending Britannia. All the decisive battle plans formulated by the Government of the United Kingdom revolved around the Navy.
The Royal Navy really lived up to expectations. In the past two hundred years, it had been 'God blocking the way, Buddha blocking the way, Buddha blocking the way'. With one battle after another, the British Empire's century-long glory was established.
However, the strength of the Royal Navy also had its limits. The enemy was holed up in their nest, but they were also powerless.
Minister of War Marcus did not show weakness: "If the enemy is unwilling to come out to fight, then find a way to draw them out.
At this time, there is no one who fantasizes about living in peace with the Holy Roman Empire, right?
In any case, we are going to fight, so it is better to start in advance, disrupt the enemy's rhythm, and increase our chances of winning. "
Was Marcus really warlike?
The answer was naturally: no.
If he had more options, he would never think of fighting with Shinra now. If war broke out, not only the Navy had to rush forward, but the Army also had to go up.
Not to mention anything else, the Cape of Good Hope must be defended. Without this important port, the route from the British Isles to India would be difficult.
Not only the Cape of Good Hope, Persia, Indo-China and other areas bordering Shinra would also face challenges.
But there was no way not to fight. Now that the Government of the United Kingdom had given its full support to the Navy, the Army could only follow behind and eat the leftovers.
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