Because this truck order contains at least 5,000 trucks, it will be more troublesome to repair in the future.

Therefore, Benz and the Russian side agreed that the Benz Automobile Plant would build at least three automobile repair plants in Russia, with Russia responsible for funding the funds, and the Benz Automobile Plant responsible for providing technology, and the Benz Automobile Plant holding 40% of the shares.

In this way, Russian trucks can be repaired domestically if they have problems, which not only greatly shortens the time required for truck repair, but also improves the efficiency of truck maintenance.

For Russia, building its own repair plant can also save some of the maintenance costs. In short, as long as it is money-saving, it is welcomed by the Russian government.

To celebrate the conclusion of the order between the two sides, Benz also held a celebratory banquet on behalf of the automobile factory and distributed a small gift to all members of the Russian diplomatic corps.

The specifications of the banquet were not bad, at least the Russian diplomatic team was quite satisfied.

Since the order was signed at the beginning of October, the latest delivery time for the trucks was agreed to be at the end of April 1914.

If nothing else, in the next six months, the Benz automotive plant will enter a state of non-stop production.

After all, trucks are also consumables, especially in war, and truck damage is very common.

After the order for the truck was signed, the Russian diplomatic team did not rush to leave, but temporarily stayed in Sydney.

Because for Russia, in the last few days, Russia is about to usher in the commissioning of the battleships Empress Maria and Catherine the Great.

The order for the warships of these two battleships was signed with Australasia in 1910, three years after now.

As early as the middle of last year, two Sovereign-class battleships, the battleship Empress Maria and Catherine the Great, were successfully built and entered the stage of launching tests.

More than a year has passed, and the naval test phase of the two battleships has been successfully completed, and they will soon be officially taken over by the officers and men of the Russian Navy and officially put into service in the Russian Navy.

In addition, the two remaining capital battleships of the Navy order at that time, the battlecruiser Gangut and the battlecruiser Sevastopol, will also be completed and launched for testing this month.

This can be regarded as a double blessing for the Russian Navy. Because of this, the Russian diplomatic visit team also brought many Russian naval officers and sailors to prepare to officially take over the two battleships.

It's spring in Sydney in October, and the weather is perfect for traveling. The warmth of the sun and the bright flowers and plants everywhere make Sydney look like the city of your dreams.

However, for the Russian diplomatic team and the Russian naval soldiers at this time, there was not much thought to appreciate this beautiful scenery.

The joy of having two battleships is more exciting than the scenery full of mountains.

For these sailors, there is nothing more appealing than two brand-new battleships of their own, unless they are two more powerful battleships.

However, judging by Russia's current financial situation, it should not be possible to build battleships in a big time in the short term.

After all, much of the threat from Germany and Austria-Hungary came from land, compared to the threat from the sea.

Today's Sydney Harbour has a little more festive color.

The harbor is covered with flowers, and many crowds of onlookers have surrounded the harbor to witness the start of the new warship's commissioning journey.

Although these two battleships did not belong to Australasia, they were built in Australasia, so the people of Australasia also took it seriously.

Under the gaze of the people of Australasia, and under the excited eyes of the Russian naval soldiers, the two battleships slowly lowered the flag of Australasia and raised the flag belonging to the Russian Empire.

More than 1,000 officers and men of the Russian Navy, under the leadership of their respective captains, boarded the warship that they had been thinking about for a long time.

Some of these officers and men had been training in Australasia for a long time, while others had just arrived in Australasia from Russia.

Fortunately, there were not many people needed to control this battleship, and as for the other soldiers who were not familiar with it, they could train slowly after returning to Russia.

The ultimate destination of both battleships was the Baltic Sea, which meant that the sailors had enough time to master the two battleships before arriving at their stations.

The Russian diplomatic team looked at the two huge warships moored in the harbor, and the frustration of being overtaken by Australasia in terms of industry was also swept away.

At least in terms of military strength, the two Australasias could not catch up with Russia, which was the last blessing for the officials of the Russian diplomatic corps.

Australasian Defence Minister Raul also attended the handover ceremony. This is not only out of the importance of the Russian side, but also to send a message to the people that the government attaches great importance to the navy.

Arthur understood that Australasia had not embarked on a second phase of naval expansion, and some people were still disappointed.

After all, in the eyes of the current people, the strength of the navy also represents the strength of the country to a large extent.

A great power without a strong navy does not live up to its name, especially for a country like Australasia, which has many islands and seas.

However, there is also good news for Australasia, that is, the current Russian naval orders have been fully produced, two battleships have been delivered, and two battlecruisers have also entered the naval testing stage.

This also means that the Royal Shipyard's warship order is only two super dreadnoughts from Chile, and the construction schedule of this order is not so urgent.

This also means that Australasia's naval expansion plan can be reactivated to establish Australasia's position as a naval power.

After the handover ceremony of the two battleships, the Russian diplomatic team stayed for a few more days, and after attending the launching test ceremony of the two battlecruisers, they took the two brand-new battleships and added the journey back to Russia.

If nothing else, the two battlecruisers could have been delivered in time for around mid to late 1914, and the naval order would have been completed within the scheduled time.

The Russians were so pleased with the battleships built in Australasia that they even walked away with a big smile.

And the orders for the purchase of trucks signed by the Russians in Australasia were also quickly made known by the other powers.

Britain and France were the first to learn. After all, it was an ally of Australasia and Russia, and Britain and France were happy to see this, and even the funds for the purchase of trucks by Russia were provided by Britain and France.

As for the Allies, Wilhelm II was not in a good mood.

The role of trucks is visible to the naked eye, and it can definitely bring a considerable boost to the combat effectiveness of the Russian army.

Not to mention anything else, the improvement in logistics efficiency alone is enough to increase the combat capability of the Russian army by one to two percent.

After all, these trucks are capable of transporting, in addition to weapons and ammunition, food and medical supplies, and even clothing.

These supplies are equally important for a war, and whether they are sufficient or not also determines the combat capability of the army in some cases.

At the suggestion of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy soon signed an order for the purchase of trucks with German car factories.

However, the share of orders between Austria-Hungary and Italy is somewhat dwarfed by that of the other powers.

Austria-Hungary ordered fifteen hundred trucks, with a ratio of two to one large and small trucks.

Italy, on the other hand, ordered a thousand trucks, with a ratio of large to small trucks to one.

Now the Allies have another statistic that lags behind the Entente, and that is the number of military trucks.

The Entente countries ordered more than 12,000 military trucks, while the Allies combined had only 5,500 military trucks.

In any case, all of these truck orders were signed with the Benz Automobile Plant.

This also means that these more than 10,000 trucks can bring Arthur a lot of profits. Even if it is only a preliminary estimate, I am afraid that the net profit can exceed one million Australian dollars.

These profits alone are enough for Arthur to equip the army with 2,000 B2 trucks, which is enough to see that Arthur has indeed made a lot of money this time.

It is worth mentioning that the frenzied purchase of trucks by the major European powers has also expanded the truck market a lot.

Some European countries also followed suit, although the number is not large, but it adds up to thousands of vehicles.

In particular, the U.S. government signed a purchase order with an American auto factory for 3,000 trucks, revealing the essence of the nouveau riche.

Even if it weren't for the small size of the US Army, Arthur has reason to believe that the number of trucks purchased by the United States would have increased.

In addition to the purchase of trucks by these countries as military trucks, the smaller B1 trucks are also popular among the private sector in Europe and the United States, and have become more popular.

According to the report given by the Benz Automobile Factory, since the major European powers began to buy trucks, the sales of Benz trucks in Europe and the United States have also increased by more than 30%.

Of course, unlike the military in various countries, which generally prefers large trucks, the most popular truck among the people is the smaller B1 truck.

After all, for private individuals, large trucks are not only more expensive, but also that huge cargo capacity is not necessary.

The 1.5-ton cargo capacity of a small truck is sufficient, and even faster allows truck owners to complete the transport task faster.

The whole world is crazy about buying trucks, and Arthur naturally won't miss it. However, compared with other countries and the private sector, Arthur really uses the cost price when he buys a truck.

Anyway, the car factory is Arthur's, and the price is completely Arthur's final say.

With Benzone's huge annual profits and a loss of money on trucks, Arthur is not at all worried that the Benz Automobile Factory will have a debt crisis.

After consulting with Defense Secretary Raul, Arthur formally finalized an order for 500 B1 trucks and 1,500 B2 trucks at a cabinet meeting.

The total cost of the order was $1.28 million, which is exactly the profit made by the Benz automotive plant.

The cost was nothing for the current deep-pocketed government, so the cabinet government quickly agreed to Arthur's decision.

Compared with the more urgent Russian orders, the demand for trucks in Australasia is not so urgent.

Taking into account the fact that after the production of Russian truck orders, the Benz Automobile Plant does not have much spare capacity to produce domestic orders.

As a result, Arthur put the delivery of the truck before the end of 1914. More than a year, it is also completely enough for the Benz Automobile Plant to produce.

3200 words for the third update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

This is yesterday's third update, and today it continues to be ten thousand! Ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)