Chapter 962

"The Russians want to buy planes?"

Franz had just woken up from his sleep when he received the news. It wasn't strange when he thought about it. The Tsarist government had been buying and buying in recent years.

Perhaps they tasted the sweetness of the purchase, or perhaps the bureaucrats simply wanted to make a fortune. Whenever the Austrian Army was equipped with weapons on a large scale, the Russians would quickly follow suit.

The Tsarist government naturally had to follow up after seeing the plane's brilliance on the battlefield. Especially since the Anglo-Russian War in Afghanistan was still ongoing, the Russian Army urgently needed a weapon that could suppress the British airship force.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"The Tsarist government has just decided to launch a Christmas offensive. They plan to seize the Regions of Afghanistan before Russian Christmas."

Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained with a smile. There was no doubt that the Russians' Christmas offensive had Austria's hand behind it.

Until now, the British hadn't participated much in the European war. It wasn't that the Government of London suddenly changed, but it was mainly because the Afghan War had dragged them down and they didn't have that much energy.

Based on the current situation, unless the Fao and Russia were completely out of balance, the British would definitely prioritize the Afghan War.

With this answer, Franz fell into deep thought. Whether or not to sell the plane to the Russians was also a question that was difficult to answer.

In theory, if the Russians obtained the plane, it was equivalent to obtaining air supremacy in the Afghan War. The odds of winning the war would be higher.

This was what Austria wanted to see. Occupying the Regions of Afghanistan didn't mean the end of the Anglo-Russian War. Instead, it would be the beginning of a full-scale war between the two countries.

It was related to the strategic security of India. Whether willing or not, the Government of the United Kingdom could only fight to the end.

With the strength of the British Empire, this war could still be fought. The more intense the battle between the British and Russians in Central Asia, the less power that could interfere in Europe.

There were advantages and disadvantages. Russia and Austria were allies, but this alliance was also established because of interests. If the core interests of the two countries conflicted, the alliance would collapse in minutes.

The plane fell into the hands of the Russians, and it would be difficult to keep it a secret. As long as the French were willing to pay, it wasn't difficult to get a sample from the Tsarist government.

"If the French or the British get their hands on our plane, how long would it take for them to decipher the technology inside?"

Franz asked with concern.

The key to the problem was here. Austria lit up the aircraft technology tree in order to maintain an advantage in the war.

Britain and France were both industrial powerhouses. Once they got the samples, it was only a matter of time before they could reverse engineer the manufacturing technology.

Prime Minister Karl: "According to the engineers' estimates, if an intact plane falls into the hands of the British and French, it will only take one to three months for them to deduce the plane manufacturing technology.

However, deducing the manufacturing technology didn't mean they could be copied. Because of the different industrial systems, we have our own standards with England and France.

If Britain and France wanted to copy it directly, they would have to adjust the standards of the industrial machine. This would require a lot of time. Without two to three years of work, it would be impossible to achieve industrial mass production.

Time waits for no man on the battlefield, and the possibility of a knockoff was not high. It is more likely that they will use our aircraft as a blueprint and make some adjustments to the design before imitating it.

"The time needed is impossible to estimate. It mainly depends on the highest industrial level of Britain and France. "If their engine technology is up to standard, it may only take a few months to copy it."

Similar to Franz's judgment, it wasn't difficult to reverse deduce the technology. As long as there was a sample of the plane, they could disassemble it and study it.

The difficult part was industrial production. It involved many fields. Everyone had different industrial standards. It was difficult to achieve a unified standard.

The plane was a high-precision field. The size of a screw was different, and it could affect industrial production.

Specifically, they could refer to some knockoff companies in the future. They could easily imitate low-end industrial products, but they couldn't do it in the high-tech field.

The sample was in front of them, and the technology was deduced, but they couldn't produce it. The technical barrier was more difficult to break through than the patent barrier.

After entering the late 19th century, the technical gap between European countries was not only in the concept, but also in the industrial field.

The technology trees of the British and Fao were different. Everyone had their own advantages in certain fields. Aircraft manufacturing happened to be the British and French.

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz made a decision.

"Sell it! But we have to restrict it. Let the Russians guarantee that the plane won't leak out. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep an eye on it and delay the diffusion of aircraft technology as much as possible. "

As long as there was an export, the diffusion of aircraft manufacturing technology was inevitable. Even if the British and French didn't copy it, the Russians would disassemble it and study it themselves.

The weapons and equipment that Austria exported to Russia never escaped the fate of being studied. Not only was it studied, but the Tsarist government even copied it.

Although Russia and Austria had the same basic industrial system, the industrial level of the two sides was not on the same level.

In the vast majority of the time, the production cost of the weapons and equipment that the Russians copied was much more expensive than the imported ones.

In this context, even if the Tsarist government wanted to get rid of the military dependence on Austria, it failed in the end.

Ordinary weapons and equipment were like this, not to mention the high-tech aircraft. Franz dared to assert that even if the technical blueprints were given to the Russians, they wouldn't be able to understand it in three to five years.

As long as the finished product didn't fall into the hands of the French, even if France and Russia secretly colluded, at most a few military experts would be sent to study it. Any more and it would be impossible to keep it a secret.

Compared with concentrating experts in related fields to participate in research, the efficiency of only one person participating in research was undoubtedly much lower.

Especially knowledge outside of the professional field, it was very easy to miss. It was unknown whether it could be developed before the end of the war.

Moreover, even if it was developed, aircraft technology was divided into generations. The aircraft exported to the Russians only needed to be able to deal with airships. There was no need for it to be too advanced.

…

In London, after the roar of the ship, a special guest walked off a luxury liner.

Karel Kadlec's mood was heavy when he arrived in the Fog Capital again. He didn't even care about the welcome lines on both sides.

As the only ally of France, the Government of the United Kingdom was naturally the focus of the French Foreign Ministry's public relations. In order to show great importance to the British, Karel Kadlec personally came out.

Unfortunately, from the looks of the current situation, his plan was basically useless. The British just received him as a routine and didn't make a grand welcome ceremony.

Karel Kadlec couldn't help but think about it. In such a special period, if the British intended to support France, it was necessary to show a friendly gesture.

The reality was very cruel. The British's lukewarm attitude poured a bucket of cold water on Karel Kadlec's trip to London.

Dragging his tired body, he attended the welcome banquet as usual. Sure enough, there were no accidents. Not to mention the members of the royal family, even the senior officials of the Government of the United Kingdom didn't attend. Of course, the diplomats in charge of the reception didn't count.

…

At midnight, in the French Embassy in London, Karel Kadlec asked seriously, "Just now at the banquet, I noticed that there was something wrong with George's expression. What happened in London recently? "

Observing people's expressions was a basic skill for diplomats. As the Foreign Minister, Karel Kadlec was naturally no stranger to it.

However, covering up emotions was also a diplomat's instinct. After noticing George's strangeness, it immediately attracted Karel Kadlec's attention.

Recently, there had been no new major events in the world. The biggest hot topic was the European war, which was generally still in a stalemate.

In the absence of major changes in the international situation, the only thing that could make the Foreign Minister of Britannia worried was the domestic political struggle.

Although he wanted to see the British fight among themselves, Karel Kadlec knew very well that now was not the time.

Once the Government of the United Kingdom was caught in a political struggle, his trip to London would be in vain. Before stabilizing the internal situation, it would be difficult for the British to play a substantial role in the European war.

"What happened in London?" Minister Ambroise was slightly taken aback, but he immediately reacted, "No, Your Excellency. London has been very peaceful recently, nothing major has happened.

If there should be, it should be India. There is a rumor that the Russians launched a Christmas offensive not long ago, and the British suffered a big loss on the battlefield.

The Government of the United Kingdom blocked the news in this area, and we can't figure out what exactly happened for a while. "

Hearing the words "blocked the news," Karel Kadlec immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

One had to know that under the British political system, it was not that easy to block the news. Most of the time, the news of the reporters would be one step faster.

There was no other way, British politics was a rotational system. Blocking the news was easy, but the opposition would definitely use it to talk about it afterward. After the news was exposed, the support of the cabinet would plummet.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, the Government of the United Kingdom would not do this.

After a little thought, Karel Kadlec said seriously, "Mobilize our people to figure out the ins and outs of the matter as soon as possible.

If it doesn't work, alert the enemy. Find a few street tabloids, release the news of the fall of Afghanistan, and test the Government of the United Kingdom's reaction. "

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will always be victorious.

If he wanted to get the British on board, how could he do it without even knowing what happened to Britannia?

"Sir, this is not good. What if the British find out … "

Without waiting for Minister Ambroise to finish, Karel Kadlec interrupted, "What are you afraid of? This is a show for the British.

After staying in London for so long, don't you know John Bull's style? "

The more he understood the British, the less Karel Kadlec took the so-called "Anglo-French friendship" seriously.

The premise of an alliance was interests. Without interests, there would be no alliance. As long as the interests were in place, no matter how big the conflict was, it would not stop Britain and France from moving closer.

As for whether it would offend the Government of the United Kingdom, it was completely wishful thinking.

Karel Kadlec did not believe that the British did not have spies in the French embassy. He estimated that the British knew about the plan before it was implemented.

If they really wanted to do something, they should at least do a good job of confidentiality. Who would give an order in front of so many embassy staff?

In essence, Karel Kadlec wanted to use these small means to tell the British that France already knew about the British army's defeat in Afghanistan. Now, not only did France need Britannia, but Britannia also needed France.

After all, the Russo-Austrian Alliance still looked very stable. If France really lost in the European war, British India would also be in danger.

From this point of view, Britain and France could be considered to be tied together. If one suffered, all would suffer.

As for whether the British would see it this way, no one could answer this question for the time being.