On the way home, Yan Shao was thinking about the cost of forming a tank unit—————— in fact, Yan Shao really preferred the word 'tank', not only because Yan Shao was more familiar with the word 'tank', but also because in his original history, all tanks were used by the Japanese tank troops.

This is not to say that there is no such thing as a chariot in China, but strictly speaking, the term has spread from China to Japan. But Yan Shao still felt a little awkward.

It's a pity that he can't come up with the name tank out of thin air after all, otherwise it won't be easy to explain if others ask, and he can't give the tank the nickname 'tank' like the British, so for the time being, he has to call it a tank, as for the future...

Let's talk about it in the future...

For now, it's more about cost...

According to the manufacturer's report, the manufacturing cost of [Gluttony] is as high as 300,000 yuan, and the cost of [Qiqi] is also as high as 200,000 yuan.

If you look at it this way, the cost is not much different from an ordinary torpedo boat or gunboat, and if you want to form a tank force with a scale of more than 100 vehicles, you need to pay 20 or 30 million yuan. If you want to have a scale of more than 1,000,000, you need two or three hundred million...

And this is already equivalent to one-third of the government's annual fiscal revenue...

Of course, the actual cost may be lower than this, after all, these are just produced, it is a small-scale manufacturing, and the cost is obviously much higher. If it is mass-produced, for example, it adopts the current method of producing cars and tractors by Yushi Group. At least the production cost can be reduced to the level of more than 100,000, but even so, 1,000 vehicles will need more than 100 million. That's more than 10 million pounds, which is a bit too high...

"I said why do the French have to get that Renault that weighs only a few tons out, the relationship is small, the cost is small, and it is cheap to build..."Touching his chin, Yan Shao thought in his heart.

Of course, whether this is really the case. No one knows. However, after the end of World War I, the French had the largest tanks, and this is undoubtedly true...

"Anyway. At present, the most important thing is to create a tank force with a scale of more than 100 before the end of the year, and as for thousands of them, let's wait until later..."

The reason why Yan Shao values tanks. On the one hand, this weapon will occupy an important place in the military history of the future. He may even become the king of land warfare. On the other hand, it is also so that others do not despise the expeditionary force ...

But at the moment, Yan Shao's biggest headache is about money...

After all, even if it is a large-scale construction, a hundred vehicles will cost one or two hundred million, which is not a small amount...

"It seems that next year's military spending will increase a little, and I hope that the fiscal revenue will be as much as expected..."

Yan Shao even thought about whether to reduce the performance of these tanks.

After all, with the performance of [gluttony] and [poor odd]. It's hard to find opponents on the battlefield, even if you slow down some performance. That being the case. Reducing performance, reducing costs, maybe better...

In fact, in the early wars, it was still very good to take the Soviet Russian tank sea route.

Especially at this time, the power of the tank can be described as infinite.

But in the end, Yan Shao vetoed, after all, they are just a helper in this war, the real main forces are the British and the French, Yan Shao has no need to work so hard for them, let alone pile up a sea of tanks for them—————— instead of having this kung fu, it is better to find a way to sell more tanks to them after they are in the limelight again, so as to make some money for arms...

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Just when Yan Shao was struggling with money there, Katarina, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke.

"Speaking of which, it seems that it is time for Wang Jingwei and those people to do it..."

Hearing Katarina's words, Yan Shao was slightly stunned, and then nodded.

"yes, it's time to do it..."

In the past month or so, Wang Jingwei and Tao Yuanzhou have done a lot of things, especially after having Song Jiaoren's clear support. Pulling out such a big banner as Song Jiaoren, Wang Jingwei and they quickly got a very high response...

But...

"It's a little bit worse, so let me give them a little more effort..."

After thinking about it, Yan Shao said with a smile.

If there was anything that could really threaten his position, it was only one 'republic'.

After all, using a 'republic' to divide his power is definitely a very legitimate reason. But for Yan Shao at the moment, he must not give up any power.

This is not only because more power is needed to fulfill his wishes, but also because he already does not like to be checked and balanced by others...

"And what do you want to do?" Hearing Yan Shao say this, Ileno looked over, and at the same time, with her understanding of Yan Shao for many years, she had a little understanding in her heart.

"Of course it's fueling the fire..."Yan Shao said with a smile. Since they say I'm an autocracy and want to balance me through a 'republic', then I'll do something 'autocratic' to give them some excuses, and then all I need to do is ......... At least for ten years, no one will be able to threaten me with this excuse again, and as long as I can achieve more in these ten years, even if anyone continues to use this excuse, it will no longer be of any use..."

"Fueling the fire," Caterina frowned. What do you mean? ”

"Haven't England and France been more enthusiastic about letting us join the Entente lately, and in that case, we might as well show some enthusiasm and give them some response..."

————————————————————

In October 1915, news that the Commune government was negotiating with Britain, France, Russia, and other countries to join the Entente suddenly spread throughout the country.

Before that, in August and September, there was a 'republican' craze in the country.

The purpose of the craze itself is simple. It is hoped that the existing 'autocratic' system will be changed, and more power held by the government will be distributed to the local governments and the National Assembly, so as to achieve the goal of republicanism.

Because the leader of this movement was Song Jiaoren, one of the two remaining giants of the Kuomintang. So the momentum became very huge. First in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and then in some major areas such as Beijing and Tianjin, the supporters were mainly the gentry class, except for those members of the local councils and the National Assembly, and the students, who were supposed to be the most radical, were divided into two factions.

One faction naturally supports the republic, after all, the republic is still very marketable in these days.

And the other faction. It is to support the existing system, and there are definitely a lot of people in this faction. And these people can also be proved by some existing achievements in the country, which is very convincing. Many young students have also been drawn into this faction.

However, in the eyes of many. At present, the demands of this republican movement are quite reasonable.

After all, under the existing system, both the local council and the parliament have become vases, and there is no power at all. The government does not need to consult with Parliament and Congress for any policy to be adopted. It's all after the decision is announced. This situation does require some change.

And people ask for it in the first place. It's the power of Congress and parliament to vet ...

To put it simply, whether it is the central government or local governments, when a resolution is passed, the National Assembly and the parliament have the right to review it, and the resolution can only be passed if they pass it.

In this way, the checks and balances on the government are great, but they are extremely effective in changing the existing authoritarian nature of the government.

It's just that at this stage, the government has been doing a good job. So while many people support the 'republican' movement, many are on the sidelines.

After all, no one knows what happened to be a 'republic'. Whether the country can still be as stable as it is now—————— the early years of Xinhai and Beiyang have not been long in coming, and many people still remember it vividly.

In the current situation, although the government is more authoritarian, the progress is obvious to all, and the number of people who support it will naturally increase.

But at this time, a news came out, which made many people stunned, and even more so that many people who were originally inclined to republicanism, but always had a wait-and-see attitude, finally chose to support the sport.

This was the imminent signing of a treaty with Britain and France to join the Entente...

Obviously, the treaty had not been communicated to Congress in advance, let alone to anyone.

And such a big thing was decided so arbitrarily, which obviously made many people a little intolerable...

Suddenly, the republican movement, which had already appeared to be a bit huge, became even more enormous.

All of a sudden, there was a wave of petitions in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities, hoping that the government could return some of its rights to the National Assembly and the Parliament, so as to achieve a preliminary republic...

————————————————————

"The surname Yan is self-defeating..."

In the conference room of the leaders of the 'republican' movement, Wang Jingwei and Tao Yuanzhou, Tao Yuanzhou said with a little excitement.

Since the beginning of the republican movement, as one of the initiators, Tao Yuanzhou's influence and status have also risen, which is naturally a great stimulus for Tao Yuanzhou, who is already very power-hungry.

It's just that Tao Yuanzhou's heart is always a little uncertain about the final result of this campaign.

After all, the current Guoshe government is too strong, and Yan Shao's prestige in the country is also very high. Although there are many people who are willing to support them now, it is difficult to say that they will be able to win.

Who would have thought that now Yan Shao was stupid, and he decided to join the Entente without any consultation in advance—————— this news was obtained from Song Jiaoren, and Tao Yuanzhou naturally believed it in his heart.

"But things are a little strange..."Unlike Tao Yuanzhou, who was already a little overexcited, Wang Jingwei's heart was a little confused. At the moment, the republican movement is so big, Yan Shao can't be ignorant of the Tao at all, how could he promote such a thing without any scruples, he should know very well that doing so is likely to provoke greater contradictions..."

"I think it's because the guy surnamed Yan is too arrogant, thinking that he has the most power in this country, so he will come up with such a stupid trick, which also proves the necessity of our behavior, if we continue to let the country be in the hands of such a person. Sooner or later, something big will happen..."

This time, it was not Tao Yuanzhou who spoke, but a congressman surnamed Ren on the side.

Obviously, Yan Shao's autocracy harms the interests the most from these people in Congress. Even except for some members of the National Socialist Party, almost all the members of the National Assembly have a strong hostility towards Yan Shao, after all, Yan Shao has snatched all the power from them, and even there is not much glory left—————— Congress has become a vase, so naturally there is no way to make any contributions, and in the end all the honor belongs to the government, and there is little left to the Congress.

Today's members of parliament are just like local councillors. It's all good-sounding, you can get a decent fixed salary every year, and the rest...

It's really nothing...

Even compared to local councillors. Members of Congress are less empowered.

After all, those who can become local councilors are usually very influential people in the local area. Almost all of them were gentry or merchants, and they had many local properties, even if they did not have the title of councillor. There is also a lot of power. It's these people in Congress...

That is, the title of Congressman is very handsome, which makes them feel some comfort.

————————————————————

The words of the congressman surnamed Ren are very marketable in the conference room, and Tao Yuanzhou obviously supports this statement, but Wang Jingwei always feels that something is wrong.

Following Song Jiaoren's side, Wang Jingwei had also seen Yan Shao once or twice, and he knew very well that Yan Shao was definitely not an arrogant person. On the contrary, although not as great as the outside world advertises. But Yan Shao's temperament is definitely very modest...

To use an idiom that has gone a little too far, it's Corporal Lixian...

Even if it is for ordinary soldiers or workers. Yan Shaodu put his attitude very low, almost treating others with an equal attitude.

This is definitely a very normal thing in later generations, after all, in Yan Shao's era, equality for all has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Of course, I won't say how to do it, at least this propaganda is still very influential.

Although in the eyes of many people who are hostile to Yan Shao, Yan Shao is purely a hypocritical move, and some people even compare Wang Mang with Yan Shao.

But Wang Jingwei knew very well that Yan Shao really put himself on an equal footing with those soldiers, peasants or workers.

It's amazing, but it's true.

So he couldn't believe that Yan Shaohui was too arrogant, so he made this move. It's not just him, even Song Jiaoren thinks so, but they don't have a clue what Yan Shao is doing, they just feel that there is something strange about it...

"What the hell is going on..."

Just when Tao Yuanzhou and the others were discussing it hotly there, and Wang Jingwei felt a little strange.

In a venue affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gu Weijun and ministers from Britain, France, Russia and other countries were also talking about an incident that has caused an uproar in the outside world.

About China's accession to the Entente ...

In fact, this matter was discussed a long time ago, but at that time, the Entente felt that Yan Shao's asking price was too high. Moreover, the Entente at that time had not yet reached the point of exhaustion, so in the end the negotiations between the two sides reached a stalemate.

But as the situation in Europe got worse and worse, especially after the defeat at the Battle of the Dardanelles had become a foregone conclusion, the Allies increasingly needed a new force to join the war and help them win the victory.

And as it stands, there are only three countries that have the strength to do so.

China, the United States and Japan...

Needless to say, China naturally has maintained a neutral attitude, but the United States has always maintained a neutral attitude, but has continued to sell arms to Europe and make a lot of money on arms.

Japan, on the other hand, was a member of the Entente, but it had no interest in sending troops to Europe. It's just that while learning from the large number of arms and industrial products sold by China and the United States to Europe, by the way, they sent troops to seize some of the Germans' colonies in the Pacific—————— and if they can't get the big heads, they can only take advantage of some small advantages, at least for the Germans, even some islands are very valuable, after all, Japan's territory is not very large...

The Entente were naturally very angry at Japan's attitude, but in private they could not do anything at all, and in the end they had no choice but to turn their attention to China and the United States.

It's a pity that the United States has a very firm position, saying that if it doesn't help, it won't help.

So the only thing to count on at the moment is China...

It is precisely because of this that the negotiations between the two sides have been greatly advanced.

And after getting the instructions of the European side, Zhu Erdian and Lei? Kopa and others also made big concessions on the treaty.

First of all, on the issue of tariffs and the stationing of troops, the Entente decided to hold further consultations with the national government.

In addition, if the Commune government was willing to send an expeditionary force into the war, the Allies could provide an interest-free loan of at least £10 million a year. If the Commune government could prove its presence on the European battlefield, the Entente would even be willing to directly convert this part of the interest-free loan into a kind of aid...

At the same time, if the expeditionary force landed in Europe, the Entente could also bear the responsibility of part of the expeditionary force's ammunition and other issues.

After the end of the war, if the Allies prevailed, the Commune government would also receive a portion of the reparations for the claims against the Central Powers.

The most important thing is also the point that Yan Shao is most concerned about.

That is, after the end of the war, the Entente promised to hand over the Iraqi region of Ottoman Turkey to the Chinese government as a colony...

In addition, the existing Kuwait area will also be handed over to the Chinese government...

In fact, Kuwait at this time was the territory of the British, which was snatched by the British from the Turks in the early years, which is also a reason why the British did not agree at the beginning. But now the situation in Europe is too complicated, and in the end the British can only choose to sacrifice the interests of Kuwait ...

Anyway, that place is small and pitiful, even if it is sacrificed, it will not affect Britain anything, at most it will be a little ugly on the face.

But for the British, the situation in Europe is now the most important, and this is also a helpless move. (To be continued......)