To fight a war is to fight for money, I believe that no one will deny this sentence.

There is also a saying that 'when the cannon goes off, the gold is ten thousand taels', which of course means that when the cannon goes off, some people will make enough money. However, it is not referring to the financial consumption of war.

Let's put it this way, before World War I, Britain was not only the most powerful empire in the world, but London was also the world's financial center. Of course, this does not explain anything, but the following set of simple numbers may illustrate the financial drain of war, especially large-scale wars.

Before the First World War, the United States, as a great power, owed Britain more than 400 million pounds in foreign debt.

More than 400 million pounds, how much is that? It is equivalent to more than 4 billion Chinese dollars, that is, the fiscal revenue of the Qing government for 10 years in 1911.

The cost of a dreadnought is about 2.2 million pounds, 10 is 22 million, and 100 is 220 million. In other words, the 400 million pounds will probably help Britain build 200 dreadnoughts.

No matter how you look at it, this is definitely a huge amount of money, of course, the 100 million pounds that Yan Shao lent to the National Social Government is also a huge amount of money, otherwise it would not have caused such a big sensation.

But after the end of the First World War, the British government not only wiped out the 400 million pounds of foreign debt, but even owed the United States more than 800 million pounds, which added up to about 1.2 billion pounds, that is, more than 12 billion Chinese dollars...

12 billion Chinese dollars, equivalent to the Qing government's fiscal revenue for 30 years since 1911.

A stand-up that only lasted for more than 4 years cost the British so much money. Many later generations knew about the end of World War I. The financial center has changed from London to New York, but I am afraid I don't know that there is another reason for this.

1.2 billion pounds. With so much money owed, how else can London be his financial center?

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Of course, all of the above is still in the future, but even so, those of you are still well aware of the financial demands of the war. Leaving aside the chaos during the Xinhai Revolution, the Shandong Campaign alone cost the Nationalist government a huge amount of money.

And this is just a two-month war. What's more, the level of war in Asia cannot be compared with Europe―――――― even if Yan Shao is unwilling, he can't deny this, and at least in ten years, the possibility of catching up with the European and American powers is still very slim.

But it also speaks. If China alone is left alone, I am afraid that the government's finances will be dragged down.

What's more, they just said that they want to maintain their independent status. At least 300,000 people are needed. At most? Five or six hundred thousand? That's probably even more.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Liang Shiyi's face sank. While the others turned dark, they also secretly looked at Yan Shao. If there is anyone in this country who can support China's participation in such a big war, it is undoubtedly Yan Shao. What's more, the mention of joining the Entente and participating in the European war was proposed by Yan Shao himself...

And after noticing the gazes of the people around him, Yan Shao also smiled bitterly in his heart.

Obviously, because of the 100 million pounds, almost everyone present regarded him as a local tyrant. But in fact, he has not had a good time lately. One reason is that because of the European war, Yan Shao produced those cars in the past. Sales to the European market have dropped dramatically, and if it weren't for the fact that military trucks or cheaper tractors are now being sold to Europe every day, and at the same time increasing the export of automobiles to the United States, the income would definitely be much lower.

As for the rest...

Cotton textile mills are not much because of European demand on the one hand, and because the United States has shifted labor to heavy industry, and less profitable industries such as cotton textiles are almost in a state of termination, while China's cotton textiles are obviously of high quality and low price, and the United States has a great demand for these cotton textiles.

Since then, some other factories have also had a sharp export volume.

But other things that have been diversified in recent days, such as sneakers or something...

That's really 'huh'.

After all, this kind of thing must be regarded as a luxury item in this era, and it is difficult to say how much it will sell.

However, there was an unexpected surprise, that is, the Gillette company that Yan Shao had bought in the past, that is, the razor company.

In recent years, Gillette's sales have not been very high, but there have always been certain restrictions. After the outbreak of the European War, Elaine, who was in charge of Gillette, felt that during the war in Europe, a relatively simple shaving tool like Gillette would be very popular with soldiers on the battlefield, so he asked Gillette to export it to the Allied countries in Europe.

Shaving in this era was very troublesome, unlike the electric shavers that came in later generations, there were some other razors. In this day and age, if you want to shave, you have to find someone to shave with a straight-handled razor, which is not only troublesome, but also dangerous. And on the Western Front, you obviously can't solve the problem of shaving for millions of people. So after a long time of fighting, many soldiers have long been bearded...

Gillette's T-blade holder and razor were popular on the Western Front because of their convenience.

At the end of 1914, it was even ordered as a munition by Britain and France, and sales increased dramatically. At the moment, Gillette's profitability is even higher than that of Coca-Cola and the rest of the Rainstone Group, second only to the car company. And because of the best-selling in Europe, these things not only entered the battlefield, but also began to enter some European families by the way.

If it weren't for this income, I'm afraid that this year, because of the European war, Yushi Group's profits have fallen a lot―――――― there is no way, the impact of the European war on the sales of automobile companies is too great.

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Although this year's income is very good, Yan Shao does not plan to use his own money to subsidize the war. On the one hand, it doesn't make sense, and on the other hand, it's because it's not necessary.

"Don't worry about this..."With a smile, Yan Shao opened his mouth and said his solution. First of all, if we are going to fight in Europe, it is obvious. We did not need to consider the logistical problems of the troops, after all, Britain and France could not let us send ammunition supplies from the Far East to France, and it would be too late in that time. What's more, we are helping in the past, and we are considered guests, and the British and French, as the hosts, must be responsible for the accommodation and food of the guests, so if we want to supply, we can leave it to the French and the British, so that our expenses can be reduced somewhat. ”

"On the other hand. At present, I believe that Britain and France are more aware of the domestic finances, and if we support the expedition of 300,000 troops on our own. Maybe it might bring us down. So we can ask England and France for a loan, interest-free, under the pretext of financial problems. Fiscal pressures can also be reduced. ”

"And in recent times, the domestic industry and commerce have developed very rapidly. Fiscal revenues are also rising, and although expenditures are also very large, this part of expenditures is indispensable. Moreover, the purpose of the British some time ago is very clear to everyone, in the hope that we can open the railway in the northeast, from the northeast to the Guò Siberian Railway, to transport supplies to the Russians, that is, to transfuse blood for the Russians. Now that the Dardanelles is blocked by the Turks, the Black Sea is a dead sea. Not a single ship could enter the Black Sea unless the Turks wanted to. In this case, Britain and France have only two ways to transfuse blood to Russia, one is the Nordic side, but it is cold there, which is very inconvenient, and the other is us, we can bear the responsibility of transportation, but we must earn expenses from it, which is also a way to make money..."

After all, China is not yet an Entente country, and even if it is, Yan Shao cannot send things to Russia in vain, so it is also appropriate to collect money from it.

"The key is still the troops...", Yan Shao glanced at Cai Ye and Jiang Baili. At the moment, there are 33 main divisions in the country, plus my Guards Regiment, and the Guards Regiment cannot be moved. Those thirty-three divisions are also maintaining domestic order, and it may not matter how many they move, half of them are moved at a time......... I am afraid that there will be problems in the country, so we must consider the issue of expanding the army. ”

Seeing Yan Shao looking at himself and Jiang Baili, Cai Ye and Jiang Baili lowered their heads almost at the same time and thought carefully.

At the same time, Liang Shiyi stood up and said. "If you expand the army, how should you expand it? If it expands too much, I am afraid that the burden on the state will be very large. ”

After all, the existing troops alone have a financial expenditure of almost 100 million a year. If there were any more, even the country would be a little unsupportable. What's more, when you go on an expedition to Europe, you always have to give some subsidies to the soldiers, which is part of the expenditure.

After a long while, Jiang Baili spoke. "The expansion of the army is really good, and it is the only way for us, and the current troops are like what the president said, they can't move all the troops, so we can completely change to another way."

"For example, if the 33 infantry divisions in the country are completely reorganized and supplemented according to the 1914 system, then we can call them Division A, followed by Division B, and Division C......... Forget the rest of the militia or something, even if they are pulled to Europe, they will only be sent to death..."

Cai Yi, Yan Shao and others agreed with this very much, the militia group, and the militia, if the 33 divisions are the main force, then the militia and the militia are to maintain local law and order.

Ordinary conflicts may not be much for the militia, but in slightly larger conflicts, the equipment and combat elements of such troops will cause greater casualties. And in a war like the one in Europe, if they were to be sent to death, it would be almost like sending them to death.

As for dividing the three grades of A, B and C, it is not only a good solution, but also an old method that has been used for a long time. But no matter how old you are, as long as it is useful, this is also Yan Shao's consistent idea.

"So, how to plan these three levels of troops..."

Yan Shao knew very well that Jiang Baili was worse than Cai Ye in terms of combat, and Cai Ye was worse than Jiang Baili in this regard, so Yan Shao took the initiative to ask, and regarded Jiang Baili as the best candidate in his heart.

"It's very simple..."Lowering his head and thinking about it, Jiang Baili replied again. As I said earlier, the current 1914 infantry division is called the A Division, after all, the combat capability of the A Division is indeed very strong. Whether in terms of establishment or in other aspects, we can also use these thirty-three divisions as the backbone of the entire Wehrmacht. As for the B division, the cavalry can be removed, and at the same time the size of the baggage battalion can be reduced, and some other problems can be reduced, such as the caliber of the artillery of the artillery unit, etc., the current A division is equipped with 75mm mountain guns and field guns. At the same time, it is also equipped with light howitzers of 105mm caliber, so Division B can be armed with only 75mm guns..."

In fact, this is also the mainstream on the European side, and usually the troops on the European side are only equipped with 75mm caliber artillery. This is true even for the main forces, the largest caliber is only 105mm. Those 150 or 210 or 240 mm, although they look very powerful, are actually used intensively and do not belong to a certain infantry division.

There is no way, who said that after the caliber reaches 150mm, the volume of the gun will also become heavier. It's very inconvenient to use, it's not suitable for infantry divisions at all ...

As for the cavalry, modern warfare has proven that the role of the cavalry is becoming less and less. Instead of equipping cavalry, get more trucks to turn infantry into motorized infantry. Therefore, it is normal for the B unit to remove the cavalry, in fact, if it is not for the desire to maintain some mobility. Jiang Baili even had to reduce the cavalry of the A Division.

On the other hand. After bowing his head and thinking about it, Jiang Baili continued to speak. "In addition to reducing the size of the artillery regiment, and at the same time removing the size of the cavalry regiment. I think the size of the infantry can also be reduced, regressing to the original level, that is, the size of 185.6 million people, when an infantry regiment was more than 6,000 people, and now the infantry regiment has reached nearly 8,000 people, if you want to be a type B army. There is no need for the number of soldiers in an infantry regiment to remain at this high level..."

"As for the C-seeder, this is a better solution. In the past, our Chinese troops have always been maintained at the size of more than 12,000 people. Although at that time we were using a German formation, in reality the industry simply could not maintain an infantry division of the German level, so it had to reduce the number and size, and now......... The main difference between us and the past is machine guns and mortars, so I think that the C Division can be equipped with only some mortars and heavy machine guns without the cavalry regiments, and then make the number of them more than 12,000 people, and this kind of equipment can also be relatively economical in military spending..."

After that, Jiang Baili made a summary.

The so-called Division A, which is now the 1914 Infantry Division, maintains its current size. At present, the 33 infantry divisions are completely integrated according to the standards of the 1914 infantry divisions, and at the same time, these 33 infantry divisions will also become the backbone of the Chinese defense forces in the future...

Of course, this is not immutable, at least in Yan Shao's psychology, many of these troops used to be local troops, and their loyalty and combat ability were relatively poor. Therefore, Yan Shao's idea is that if he has the opportunity in the future, he will promote a few new B divisions, and at the same time reduce the A division to B divisions...

Of course, this is only in the future, at least for now, Yan Shao will not do this, and he has no excuse to do so.

As for the B division, it is to remove the cavalry regiment and reduce the size of the artillery regiment and the baggage regiment. Efforts were made to bring it to the scale of the past, which was more than 18,000 people.

In fact, the cost of the cavalry regiment is very large, after all, the value of a horse is still relatively high, not to mention the usual feeding materials or something, in addition, the cavalry is also equipped with many light machine guns and heavy machine guns and even mortars, plus baggage regiments and artillery regiments, etc., the cost is also relatively high.

If the size of the B Division can be reduced, then...

The price-performance ratio will be increased to a very amazing point, in fact, if it is only in Asia, then the equipment of the B division is already very amazing. Even in Europe, the level of equipment of Division B can be compared to that of many European main divisions.

As for the A Division, even in Europe, judging from the scale of the equipment of the A Division, it can also be described as a metamorphosis.

As for the C division, then this one is even simpler. First of all, the cavalry regiment was gone, and the baggage regiment and the artillery regiment were reduced in size. In addition, all mortars and light machine guns equipped with the existing troops have been eliminated, and only the number of heavy machine guns remains the same.

In this way, the number of the entire infantry division can probably be more than 12,000 people, that is, about the same as the former fresh army in the past. The cost performance will be very high, if you put it in cruel terms, it is that this army is very suitable for cannon fodder...

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It may be cruel to say that, but it's true, because in today's world. Perhaps the C Division could still be called the most well-equipped unit in China in 1911, but in the case of the outbreak of war in Europe, the C Division was at most stronger than the miscellaneous troops―――――― of course, this refers to the European side.

In fact, in Jiang Baili's suggestion, he even felt that the artillery regiment could be completely abolished, and of course, doing so would definitely give some compensation to the C troops. And Jiang Baili's compensation method is mortars. In other words, while eliminating the artillery regiment, equip the C unit with more mortars...

In this way, although the firepower of the C unit has become weaker, it still has a certain ability to attack fortifications, and at least it will not be reduced to the point of cannon fodder.

For the first two constructions, Yan Shao expressed acceptance, but for the latter one, because Jiang Baili provided two choices, Yan Shao was a little hesitant.

But in any case, in Yan Shao's opinion, Jiang Baili's mention is indeed good.

With China's financial situation, it is basically unrealistic to have every infantry division like the infantry division in 1914, so if the army is expanded without financial collapse, then the hierarchical system according to Chiang Baili's method has become a completely inevitable choice.

For example, Division C and Division B can serve as the main force in the expeditionary force. And the first division is as the core of the storage zài... (To be continued......)