Chapter 524

After sending everyone away, Franz's tense face instantly relaxed. It could be seen that he wasn't really angry.

It was natural for the Army, Navy, and Air Force to compete for military funds. This was also part of the balance of power. If the Army, Navy, and Air Force didn't compete, that would be the real problem.

Seeing that Franz wasn't angry, Frederick The Great asked with concern, "Father, of the three plans proposed by the military, which one do you prefer?"

It had nothing to do with curiosity. Frederick The Great really couldn't make up his mind and didn't know who to support at all.

On the surface, the strategic plans proposed by the Army, Navy, and Air Force were all very operable. If any of the plans succeeded, it could bring the Holy Roman Empire to its peak.

All of them were "high-quality strategies." It was impossible to analyze the advantages and disadvantages, which increased the difficulty of choosing.

"Is this important?"

Franz asked.

As if he was being interrogated, the question "is this important" kept flashing in Frederick The Great's mind. It seemed to be important, but it also seemed not important at all.

Shinra's military was still qualified. Although the three proposed plans all had their own flaws, in the end, they were all different ways to achieve the same goal.

The other competitors hadn't grown up yet. As long as the British were defeated, Shinra would be the world's sole hegemon.

After a while, Frederick The Great slowly replied, "I understand."

Looking at his cautious son, Franz smiled and said, "No, you don't understand. In fact, we don't have a choice at all.

Politics is never about winning or losing based on right or wrong. Perhaps by adopting a separate strategy, we can win at the lowest cost, but we must consider the actual situation.

In the past few years, the Army dominated the military. In order to balance the military's strength, I supported the Navy and separated the Air Force, establishing the current triangular balance system.

Now the Navy and Air Force together can barely compete with the Army, but at the same time, they have touched the bottom line of the Army.

No matter what concessions they make, they can't let the Navy get the same amount of military funds as them. This is the pride of the Army.

You should know how much influence the Army has. The establishment of the Holy Roman Empire was basically based on the Army.

More than 90% of the overseas feudal lords and new farm owners came from the Army. More than 70% of the government's bureaucrats served in the Army.

Not to mention the civilians. Our compulsory military service law is aimed at the Army. The Navy and Air Force are technical arms, and it is impossible for everyone to serve.

With so many supporters, it is impossible for the Army to lose. As long as they insist, even the Air Force and the Navy joined forces, it would be useless.

We can't possibly take the field ourselves and take sides, can we? "

If the Emperor joined forces, it would be the referee. the Emperor joined forces. Even if the Army, it would be the Emperor., the Army, the Army.

Even before supporting the Marine and separating the Air Force, it was the cabinet who led the charge. From the beginning to the end, Franz did not personally participate in the battle, let alone now.

Perhaps for the Army, for the Army, the Navy, and Force,'s, and Force.. was to.

This is determined by the overall strength of the country. Today, Shinra and Britannia have a qualitative gap.

Counting the colonial citizens, the total population of the Holy Roman Empire has reached 160 million, and Europe alone has 120 million.

Counting the colonial citizens, the total population of the Holy Roman Empire has reached 160 million, and in Europe alone, there are 120 million.

On the other hand, Britannia and the British Isles only have more than 30 million people. Including the citizens of the overseas colonies, the total population is only 40 million.

Of course, if the indigenous people of the colonies are included, the ratio is reversed. India alone has three to four hundred million people. The total population controlled by the Britannia Empire is more than 500 million, while Shinra has less than 180 million.

The British Empire has a large population, but unfortunately, the utilization rate is not high. The primitive colonial rule can plunder wealth, but it is far from enough to strengthen the country.

Comparing the data, the total economic output of the Holy Roman Empire is one-fifth higher than that of the entire British Empire (including the colonies), and the total industrial output is 2.5 times that of Britannia.

This is just the beginning. With the passage of time, the gap will continue to widen.

If such a big advantage can still be lost in the end, Franz will not be able to live in this world anymore.

In addition to deliberately expressing his dissatisfaction to the military, Franz hopes that the military can compromise with each other.

Unless the British admit defeat in advance, no matter which strategy is chosen, the future needs the cooperation of the army, navy, and air force. It is nothing more than a question of priority.

Even if the three forces compromise and develop at the same time will waste a lot of money, Franz will accept it.

This is the helplessness of a big country. In order to balance the interests of all parties, almost every big country will face the problem of wasting resources.

…

The battle for military funds continued, but the new "Rome" was the first to have a problem. When the weapons and supporting equipment were completed, everyone suddenly realized that the "Rome" is not very resistant to wind and waves.

There was nothing strange about it. Almost all the experimental ships had some kind of problem. The perfect product produced at one time is not suitable for warships.

In the navy, there has always been a saying that "design is ahead, construction is behind."

The "Rome" is considered good. At least after its completion, it still maintained the world's leading standards. The British "super battleship" is still in the design stage, and other countries have no interest in following the trend.

Despite its lack of ability to withstand the wind and waves and its many minor problems, the Romeo was still a formidable fighter, at least in the Mediterranean Sea.

Since they have something on the "Rome", the Navy will naturally use this as a pretext. As long as it is proven that the "Rome" does not have the ability to fight at sea, the Navy's super battleship plan can only be aborted.

Unfortunately, Franz has long been familiar with this little trick. He did not give anyone a chance to speak, "Block the news. The defects of the" Rome "will stop here. There is no need to talk about it in the future.

The lack of wind and wave resistance will not affect its use in the Mediterranean Sea. When the navy arranges the mission, just pay attention to not let it leave the Mediterranean Sea.

Follow-up publicity will continue, as long as the world cruising is removed.

The exploration of new technology has always been full of uncertainty. We can still take this risk. "

The Shinra Navy originally had the reputation of "Bathtub Navy," and Franz does not mind to make it real. If the British want to see a joke, then let them have their fill.

From another point of view, being able to use the Mediterranean Sea as a bathtub is another kind of achievement.

Throughout human history, which country that used the Mediterranean Sea as a bathtub was not arrogant?

As long as it does not leave the Mediterranean Sea, the "Rome" is a real super battleship. Whether it is used to prop up the facade or to scare people, it can be arranged properly.

Deep in his heart, Franz has made up his mind. If it is not necessary, he is not going to let the "Rome" go to the battlefield.

After all, it is a test ship, and no one knows how many holes it has stepped in. The specific situation can be referred to the first generation of dreadnoughts of various countries in the original time and space world, which have all kinds of holes.

A century-old navy does not necessarily have to develop for a hundred years, but naval warships need to spend a hundred years constantly stepping in holes, walking through mines, and accumulating various lessons.

For Franz, as long as the test ship does not sink and can go to sea normally, it is qualified. As for other problems, they can wait for the second and third generation of the navy to improve.

Although Franz's words exempted the navy from further investigation, the "Super Battleship Plan" of the navy has already fallen through.

Everyone can tolerate a "Rome" that cannot leave the Mediterranean Sea, but no one can accept more than 20 battleships in one go.

Even if the navy repeatedly promised that similar problems will not occur in the future warships, no one dared to accompany them in this dangerous situation.

Of course, the "Rome" is not without merits. At least its combat effectiveness is really strong. As long as it can avoid the bad weather, it is still the king of naval battles.

In the end, the navy's "25 super battleships in 5 years" plan was cut to "5 in 5 years" plan, and the navy was the first to be eliminated from the military competition.

Looking at Castagni's unwilling eyes as he left, Franz knew that this matter is not over yet. It is estimated that after the problem is solved, the navy will once again propose the "Super Battleship Plan".

With the Royal Navy, their competitor, helping to put up a show, it was believed that this day would not come too late.

…

Reducing the number of warships does not mean reducing the publicity. As the brightest "baby" of the year, the "Rome" is still the darling of the media.

After the supporting facilities were completed, the "Rome" wandered around the Mediterranean Sea. Under the guise of exchanging experience, the "Rome" constantly visited the countries along the Mediterranean Sea.

Every time they visited a country, they had to conduct a joint military exercise.

The newly independent Italian countries suffered the most. They used a small destroyer that weighs more than a thousand tons to conduct a joint exercise with the "Rome" that weighs more than twenty thousand tons. The scene was simply …

If it weren't for the different flags, people would probably think of them as minions. No one would believe that this was a joint military exercise.

In order to create hype, the Government of Vienna had to do this. Only by creating hype, the British Parliament was willing to allocate funds to the Royal Navy.

Just thinking about how he was so considerate of the enemy made him drunk. However, in order to consume the British's national strength, Franz decided to do it.

Regardless of whether the Shinra Navy can surpass the British in the era of dreadnoughts, at least in this wave of warship replacement, the British will lose more than 70% of the Shinra Navy.

Who asked them to have more warships?

In this era of naval technology revolution, whoever had more warships would suffer the most losses.