Holy Roman Empire

This is impossible, and the current ratio is almost the limit of the British people's tolerance.Even if it sells iron, the British government will keep the advantage of the Royal Navy.

If Austria did not engage in so much construction, it would naturally not be afraid to compete with the British for financial resources, but it is obviously not possible now.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz said slowly: "Let's announce it according to this plan, but the construction time is 2 years longer than that of the British.

If Britain and France increase the number of ships built in the future, we will follow up according to the current ratio, but our ship building progress can be slowed down a bit, and it is enough to build two to three battleships every year.

When necessary, the Admiralty can also come up with those big plans to confuse the public. "

Losing is not losing, Franz has made up his mind to play an arms race with the British by bragging.

Anyway, it is not that warships are not built, but they are built later, which will not affect their reputation.

After the shipbuilding time is extended, the government's financial pressure will be reduced.As long as the financial support is available, it is not completely unhelpful for the arms race to last longer.

Burning money is also burning together. In any case, the British man-made more warships, so naturally more money was burned.

If this pre-dreadnought can be used until it is retired, it will naturally not be a loss.

The problem is that the former dreadnought is too close to the dreadnought.In essence, it is the difference in design concepts. Although the technical difficulty of shipbuilding has increased, it is not impossible to overcome.

Once the dreadnought comes out, the former dreadnought will be eliminated again.

Just after finishing an exhausting competition, being told that this is only the first half of the game, and the second half will start soon, that feeling is definitely sour.

Perhaps the rich and powerful British can barely hold on, and the French government probably won't be able to make persistent efforts.

Even because of the increased investment in the navy, the French's investment in the army will be reduced, which is very beneficial to Austria's strategic plan behind it.

……

Chapter 96 Tit for Tat

As soon as Austria's shipbuilding plan was announced, European public opinion was blown up.

Although the Vienna government has repeatedly emphasized that it is not targeting anyone, it is just to fill the gap of the previously decommissioned battleships, still no one wants to believe it.

You know, before that, Vienna already had a plan to "build 10 battleships within 10 years", and the three former dreadnoughts currently in service are part of the shipbuilding plan.

On average, one battleship is started every year. This is just a normal operation, which can just guarantee the current size of the Austrian Navy's capital ships.

Now the shipbuilding plan of 5 battleships has been suddenly added, which is obviously a response to the previous Royal Navy shipbuilding plan.

At this time, many people realized that the Austrian government had donated a large number of warships to the Russians not long ago, and the navy was in an empty period.

A testimony of Russian-Austrian friendship?

Maybe there is such a thing, after all, it is given away for free.Second-hand warships are also very valuable. If they can be sold, according to the rules of the international arms market, it is normal for [-]% to [-]% of new warships to be sold at the cost of shipbuilding.

However, are you sure it's not to make room for new battleships?

Now Austria is not the only one that needs to upgrade its warships. Britain and France are also facing a large number of warships to be decommissioned. There are simply not so many powerful buyers in the international arms market.

Regardless of the fact that Austrian army equipment is selling well, naval equipment is really not as popular as the British.

This has nothing to do with the technology, performance, quality, and price of the warship itself.

The main reason for the inability to sell is still due to politics. Although the relationship between Austria and European countries is very good, the relationship between countries outside Europe is really mediocre.

This is not because the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not work hard, but mainly because there is no room for display.

Outside of Europe are not colonies, they are also the younger brothers of the great powers, or spheres of influence, and there are only a handful of countries with complete independence and sovereignty.

In fact, there is no need to count. Except for the two United States, which have certain strength and have preserved their own sovereignty, the rest of the countries have more or less signed unequal treaties with the big powers.

Of course, this is not to say that Austrian warships cannot be sold at all, and they can still be seen occasionally.

After all, Austria is also a big power, and there is still a lot of attention when it comes out. The Vienna government dares to take the lead when encountering things, and it is not impossible to solve political obstacles. The problem is that the British have a brand effect!

I don't know who has instilled the theory, but everyone takes it for granted that the quality and performance of British warships are the first, and that British products are the first choice when countries buy warships.

In this context, the warships of France and Austria are not easy to sell.The two governments have also taken counterattacks, releasing rumors that the exports of British warships are all abridged versions.

It's a pity that everyone is not easy to fool, whether it is a deleted version, you will know after reading the goods.

For the export of the most advanced warships, the British did make a cut version, but John Bull is not so particular about the old retired warships.

The modification of the cut version of the warship also costs money, at least the labor cost cannot be saved.It is a technology that has been eliminated, so there is no need to waste money to hide it.

Political factors lost 60.00% of orders, brand effect lost 30.00% of the remaining orders, and finally only 20.00% of international orders.

（1-0.6）*（1-0.3）＝0.28

This part of the market is not only eaten by the Austrian family.Instead, it was divided up by European countries, basically France and Austria.

Originally, there were very few capable buyers these days, and the market left for Austria was so small, naturally there would be no takers for the decommissioned warships.

This is not only the case with the Austrian Navy, but also with the British.The Royal Navy pulls its warships out to shoot targets every year, so it knows how hard this thing is to sell.

In order to control the proliferation of warships, the European powers still have a tacit understanding. Even if they cannot be sold and taken out for shooting, they will not be disposed of cheaply, let alone given away.

In a sense, Austria's large-scale gift of warships to the Russians also broke this tacit understanding.

It's just that this kind of unspoken rule is not bound by express text, and there is no verbal agreement. Naturally, there is no binding force, and everyone is at most unhappy.

These are all small problems. The technology is updated and the eliminated warships are a headache. In essence, it is because of reluctance.

It is a pity that the warship has not reached the retirement age, so it is a pity to dismantle it and sell it for scrap iron; if it stays in service and continues to serve, there is no problem in using it, the key is that new warships are also coming.

Owning a large number of warships, in addition to the prestige, is also accompanied by a large amount of military expenditure, which is very economically uneconomical.

Whether the guess is accurate is not important now, anyway, the warships have been sent out.

Even if you can go back on your word and have another chance to choose, the Russians will happily take over.

There is no need to pay any price, and there is a chance to become the fourth naval power in the world. If it is changed, everyone knows how to choose.

It is rare to be able to watch the great powers directly tear each other.The people who eat melons have prepared nuts and coffee, and are waiting for the big show to be staged.

The British haven't responded yet, the French can't stand it first.Regarding the shipbuilding plans of Britain and Austria, Napoleon IV felt for the first time that the Admiralty was too petty.

Compared with the original time and space, the situation in France is much better now.

There are no war reparations, no Russians to pull, and the recent anti-Semitic movement has solved the debt problem over the years. Now the French government is also rich.

"The British and Austrian shipbuilding plans for this year have come out. Judging from the current situation, our original shipbuilding plan has become outdated.

The Admiralty revised the shipbuilding plan, not to mention surpassing the British, at least not less than the Austrians. "

There is nothing wrong with it, and there is still some distance from France, the world's number one naval power, but the title of the world's second naval power cannot be easily thrown away.

Although there is no essential difference between the world's second largest naval power and the world's third largest naval power, both can safeguard France's overseas interests.

But in politics, the second and the third are very different.Once the hat of the second naval power is lost, the outside world will be left with the impression that France is declining.

Not to mention that there are so many enemies in the world who are waiting to make trouble, even the arrogant people in China can't accept it!

The chancellor of the exchequer, Roy Vernon, reminded: "Your Majesty, the cost of building a warship is not large, but the trouble is the huge military expenditure in the later period.

Austria sent a large number of warships to the Russians before announcing the shipbuilding plan in order to reduce military expenditures.

If we want to follow up on a large scale, it is best to decommission some warships to reduce military expenditures. "

It is true that the French government has money now, but it cannot be spent indiscriminately.The French government is still unable to compete with Britain and Austria for financial resources.

In order to prevent the worst from happening, Roy Vernon believes that controlling military spending as much as possible in the arms race is the kingly way.

Secretary of the Navy Hamdi: "Your Excellency, the warships currently serving in the Imperial Navy are not very old, and there are very few warships that are nearing retirement.

Most of the warships are [-] to [-]% new, and their performance is very high-quality. It is a pity to retire these warships.

The most important thing is that after these warships are decommissioned, they cannot be disposed of at all. There are no buyers in the world, and we have no shortage of training ships.

There are only two roads in front of us, either pull it out of the target, or drag it to the factory to disassemble and sell scrap iron.

Such a prodigal behavior is a complete waste of taxpayers' money.

The performance of the old battleships is backward, and that is only for the new battleships.Apart from us, only Britain and Austria have equipment at present.

If these warships are sent out to perform escort missions anywhere in the world, they can be competent.

Even if we really want to retire, we can wait for the new battleships to enter service, and we can maximize the value of these warships in the next few years. "

I can't bear to dispose of a warship costing several million or tens of millions of francs in normal operation. If it is said to be disposed of, it will be disposed of. Whoever is the Minister of the Navy will feel distressed.

After hearing this explanation, Napoleon IV nodded: "The new battleships have not yet entered service, and there is no rush to retire the warships.

Our situation is not the same as that of Austria, and the overseas colonies are much more dependent on the navy.

During this period, everyone can still find buyers as much as possible, even if the price is a little cheaper. "

Since Austria can give it away for free, France can naturally sell it with tears. Napoleon IV still has a little bit of luck.

If these warships that are about to be decommissioned are sold, they will make a profit.As for the need for overseas escorts, they are all nonsense excuses.

These days, which of the three countries, Britain, France and Austria, has a surplus of warships?Affected by the previous arms races, the three countries now have a large number of warships.

As long as the three countries do not fight each other, even if half of the warships are scrapped, the French navy can also assume its current responsibilities.

This is also one of the reasons why the Austrian government sent more Russian navy. The remaining warships would be enough if the three countries did not fight.

Fao PK does not need a navy, and it is the army that decides the outcome of the war; if it fights with the British, the navy has no chance of winning at all.

Either go out to break diplomatic relations and cause sabotage, or hide in the port to avoid the limelight, a decisive battle at sea is tantamount to death.

Chapter 97 Three out of one

Anyone can set goals, and the Austrian Navy will target [-]% of the Royal Navy, so the French Navy will naturally not hesitate.

As the second largest naval power in the world, it must surpass the Austrian Navy, for example, to reach [-]% of the tonnage of the Royal Navy.

Everyone is saving face and has no intention of challenging the British sea power. The shipbuilding plan is only close to the Royal Navy, and there is no clamor to surpass it.

Of course, this is just the view of France and Austria, and it is another view in the eyes of the London government.

Whether it is [-]% tonnage or [-]% tonnage, this has affected the hegemony of the Royal Navy.

Everyone is a world empire, and it is impossible for the navy to gather together every day. If someone does not follow the rules and suddenly launches a surprise attack, it is really hard to say the outcome.

Even if the Royal Navy wins, it will lose a lot.After taking out one challenger, there is no ability to tackle another.

This kind of war that hurts both sides, the two army powers of France and Austria can afford to lose, even if they fail, they have a chance to make a comeback.

Britain can't do it anymore. Once the Royal Navy suffers heavy losses, the enemies in the past will rush forward and carve up their world empire. There is no chance of a comeback.

The real threat is imminent, and the British government, which has actively provoked an arms race, will naturally not be cowardly at this time.

In the government building at Downing Street, Prime Minister Gladstone smiled after comparing the shipbuilding plans of France and Austria: "It seems that our opponents are very high-spirited!

Austria plans to build 5 battleships, and the total tonnage of various warships is close to 6% of our shipbuilding plan; the French will build [-] battleships, and the total tonnage of various warships is almost [-]% of ours.

An eight-point threat theory and a nine-point countermeasure theory, do they think the navy is really just building warships? "

In the naval field, Britain has the confidence to despise any competitor.Although the navies of France and Austria have started for many years, their essence is still a land power country.

This deep-rooted cultural influence cannot be changed in a day or two.As long as the core does not change, it will be difficult to truly compete with the British Navy.

The way of expression is mainly reflected in money, and other aspects can be found to make up for it. If the military expenditure is insufficient, there is no way.

In recent years, the military expenditure of the French Navy has remained at about 55% of that of the Royal Navy, and that of the Austrian Navy has been roughly 50% of that of the Royal Navy.

It's not that the governments of the two countries have no money, nor that the governments of the two countries don't want to continue to increase. The problem is that the family still has a mainland army to support.

Take Austria as an example. In recent years, the expenditures of the navy and army have been almost equal.As the army's own son, its annual military expenditure is only one or two points higher than that of the navy.

Of course, the Austrian Navy can maintain 60.00% of the naval tonnage with half the military expenditure of the Royal Navy, which does not mean that training is compromised.

In addition to the slightly lower salaries of officers and soldiers, more overseas colonies are not as many as the British, and the distribution range is not so wide. The amount of missions sent abroad is relatively small, and most of the warships are nestled in their old nests.

Foreign Secretary George: "Who knows? But now the morale of the people in France and Austria is very high, and the desire to build ships is very good.

According to news from the embassy in Paris, the French Naval Federation, the French Naval Club and many other non-governmental organizations are calling on the public to donate money to raise funds for shipbuilding.

In just three days, more than 800 million francs were raised, and the funds for the construction of a battleship came out.

Austria has not accepted private donations for the time being, but many organizations such as the German National Unity Committee and the German Renewal Federation are doing publicity.

If the arms race continues, they will probably collect donations from all over Germany.

Affected by public opinion, the arms purchase deal we reached with the North German government was rejected by the state parliament.

The Hannover government hopes that we can provide them with shipbuilding technology and help them complete orders in their own shipyards, otherwise the business will eventually fall into the hands of Austria. "

This is not the first time that the parliament of the state has rejected the purchase of the British army. To be precise, it has not been approved once since North Germany was officially established.