The sudden arms race disrupted the deployment of many people, including Austria.

In fact, the Vienna government had plans to provoke an arms race, but that was in the past.

Ever since the decision was made to implement the Near East Development Plan, Franz abandoned the tempting plan for no other reason than poverty.

Engaging in infrastructure construction on the one hand and an arms race on the other hand is not something that Austria can afford.

It is easy to provoke an arms race, but the key question is how to deal with the aftermath, and if such a meaningful activity has just been launched, there will be no money in your pocket, and it will be a shame.

This is not just a matter of face, but also a demonstration of strength to countries around the world, and the stronger the strength, the easier it is to find a younger brother in international politics.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions that can be counterproductive. How to operate depends on everyone's political skills.

I have to admit that the British seized the right time. Now is indeed the best time to subdue France and Austria, after this point in time, the strategic plan of the two countries is completed, and the situation will be shockingly reversed.

Even if we can't suppress the two countries at once, we must deal a blow to the arrogance of the two countries and tell the world who is the king of this era.

Putting down the information in his hand, Franz frowned and asked, "Do we have to fight?" ”

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Yes, Your Majesty!

The British have calculated the time, and now that we retreat, the outside world will think that Austria is afraid of Britain.

According to the news from the embassy in Paris, the French government has decided to respond to the war, and it may not be long before a new shipbuilding plan is announced. ”

It's not that he doesn't have the strength to follow up, it's just that Franz is unwilling to do this kind of meaningless consumption.

Well, this is all self-consolation, the real situation is that without affecting the construction of the domestic economy, Austria's financial resources cannot compete with the British.

Even if the family has gained a lot, the Near East development plan, urban transformation and upgrading, and road transportation facilities construction have already consumed seventy-seven-eighty-eight.

The biggest problem in the arms race is not the construction of ships, but the military expenditure in the later stage. Just shipbuilding, a hundred battleships can easily burst out of the Vienna government.

The problem is that the ship comes out, and the maintenance costs in the later stage will cost people's lives.

Let's put it this way, the construction cost of a new battleship in the first year is more than one million Aegis, and the maintenance cost of five years exceeds the cost of the warship itself.

Maybe it won't take more than five years, but if you train diligently, you can exceed three years.

This can be calculated: A battleship should be equipped with 6 or 700 officers and men, and the logistics and maintenance personnel are only a lot more than the front-line personnel, and the annual military salary expenses alone are a lot of money.

In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army, daily training must be indispensable, and if you look at the barrels, you can know that the shells of the navy are not cheap, and the battleships will be gone after firing a salvo of dozens of Aegis, and if you use special shells, hundreds of Aegis may be gone.

The seemingly inconspicuous amount of coal, if the unit is turned into 1,000 tons, is also not a small number.

Daily maintenance, equipment maintenance, and replacement of damaged parts are also a lot of expenses.

Adding up to the total, there are no hundreds of thousands of Aegis funds a year, which is simply not enough to spend.

If you want to be cheap, you can just play the Poor Man's Navy. To learn from the previous practice of the Russians, warships were parked in the harbor, and soldiers were trained in army drills, and military expenses were only one-tenth of the normal level.

Franz nodded, and instructed the Admiral: "Castagni, tell me about your ship-building plan!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Admiral Casttagni: "The British Navy already has four Sovereign-class battleships, and this time it will build six new battleships, 10 destroyers, seven cruisers, and 31 warships of various sizes.

We want to deter them, at least 80 percent of their capital ships and 70 percent of their dependent warships.

At the moment we have only 3 new battleships, and the Admiralty plans to build 5 more new battleships, 8 destroyers, 6 cruisers, and a total of 25 other auxiliary warships. ”

I don't know where to start, the Austrian Navy began to popular the "eight-point theory", that is: to have eighty percent of the tonnage of the Royal Navy to form a deterrent to the British.

You know, since the beginning of the great development of the navy, the Austrian Navy's initial goal was only one-tenth of that of the Royal Navy, and in less than thirty years, the goal has increased eightfold.

It's right to think about it, who made the tonnage of the capital ships of the Austrian Navy already approaching seventy percent of the British?

65.7 percent to be exact, and 70 percent rounded to the nearest 100 percent. The family background is so thick, and it is not surprising that the eight-point theory is advocated.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Navy, not proposing a one-to-one shipbuilding plan is already considered to be a face-saving experience.

Franz didn't care about this, he just didn't know if the British could bear it. However, people's bottom lines are constantly being refreshed, and changing to countries is no exception.

Compared to the original plane, the British government's bottom line is much lower.

This was all forced out, with the increase of the economic strength of France and Austria, they have increased their investment in the navy, and the two strong standards of the Royal Navy have just come out and have been slapped in the face.

Then the plan was changed to maintain a 1:0.6 advantage over the world's second naval power, using the Royal Navy as a parameter.

This ratio, in fact, is just talking. After a few years of hard work, the British government had to refresh the bottom line again.

Austria, the third naval power, has 65 percent of the tonnage of the Royal Navy, and the French Navy has 72 percent of the Royal Navy.

The pattern of the three major powers of Britain, France and Austria was actually caused by the inability of the Royal Navy to suppress France and Austria, and the London government was forced to accept to share the rest of the world with France and Austria.

The British government has been doing it all the time, but the problem is that the effect is really bad, and none of them have been suppressed.

No one is a fool, there is a fisherman on the side, France and Austria tacitly suppress the contradictions and conflicts, and stare at the British with wide eyes.

The British government tried to do something several times, but they were discovered, and under the retaliation of France and Austria, the British were almost squeezed out of the Mediterranean.

It was uncomfortable at first, but after a long time, the British government became more adaptable and accepted the reality. After all, 072+0.65 is only 1.37, and it is impossible for the two to really unite, and the Royal Navy can barely hold on.

The prerequisite for all this is that this proportion will not continue to grow.

If the tonnage of the Austrian Navy were increased to 80 percent of that of the Royal Navy, and the French Navy followed suit, it was estimated that the British government would be angry.

This is impossible, and the proportion is now almost the limit of the British's tolerance. Even if it was to smash the pot and sell iron, the British government would allow the Royal Navy to maintain its superiority.

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

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

Later, if Britain and France increase the number of ships, we will follow up according to the current ratio, but our shipbuilding progress can be slowed down a little, and we can build two or three battleships a year.

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

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

Anyway, it's not that warships won't be built, but if they are built later, this will not affect credibility.

When the construction time is extended, the financial pressure on the government is less. As long as the financial support is maintained, it is not entirely beneficial for the arms race to continue for a longer period of time.

Burning money is also burning together, in any case, the British made more warships, and naturally burned more money.

If this former dreadnought can be used until it is decommissioned, then it will not be a loss.

The problem is that the former dreadnoughts are too close to the dreadnoughts. In essence, it is the difference in design concepts, although the technical difficulty of building a ship has increased, it is not impossible to overcome.

As soon as the dreadnoughts are introduced, the former dreadnoughts will be eliminated again.

Just after an exhausting tournament, I was told that it was only the first half of the game, and the second half was about to start, and it was definitely a sour feeling.

Perhaps the wealthy British can barely hold on, and the French government is probably not capable of continuing to do so.

Even because of the increase in naval investment, it will also reduce the French investment in the army, which is very advantageous for Austria's strategic plan later.

……