KEO.PLUS

That’s why William II used the word “secrecy.” The arms trade on the surface would still be carried out solely between the Russian Empire and Australia, with the actual benefits being given to the German Empire.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Our goal is merely to open up Australia’s arms trade and to facilitate the easing of relations between the German Empire and the Russian Empire,” said Minister Andrew with a nod, smiling.

“I’m afraid that given the financial situation of the Russian Empire, there is basically no surplus funds to purchase weapons and equipment. Though their backward logistics and transport system has led to their military equipment lagging behind in the Far East, the shortage of funds is also a very serious problem for them. Although the Russian Empire has received considerable financial aid and loans from France, most of these loans are needed for the purchase of French industrial products and other resources. It is virtually impossible for them to use this money to purchase your weapons and equipment,” said William II. “I’m afraid we need to sign a loan agreement with the Russian Empire before signing an arms trade treaty with them.”

“Your Majesty the German Emperor, I believe this is also a good opportunity for the German Empire. Regarding the Far East issue alone, the Russian Empire would not be able to obtain too many loans from France. As a result, their funds for the Far East issue are very scarce, leading to their troops’ outdated equipment and insufficient supplies. Australia can privately offer the Russian Empire an interest-free loan in the name of the German Empire, which must be used to address the Far East issue. In this way, not only can it solve the problem of insufficient funds for the Russian Empire, but it would also make the Russians more grateful to Germany,” replied Minister Andrew.

It’s true that Australia wants to sign an arms trade treaty with the Russian Empire, but this does not mean Australia has to play the role of a big spender. The economic situation of the Russian Empire has always been poor, with a lot of debt and loans at home.

Not to mention the countless loans received from France, which would require decades to repay. How would they have time to repay other loans?

The Germans are wealthy and genuinely want to win over the Russian Empire. So, why not let the Germans foot the bill?

“Hahaha, alright. I’ll give you a check for one hundred million Marks to be used as funds to lure the Russian Empire and lend money to them. The only requirement is that this money can only be used by the Russian Empire for the purchase of military equipment and warships in the Far East and not for any other purpose,” said William II, naturally understanding Minister Andrew’s intention, but not caring.

For the German Empire, spending a little money to win over a relatively powerful country is well worth it, especially when this powerful country is an ally of their enemies.

Why not spend money to strengthen one’s own power and weaken the enemy?

Moreover, one hundred million Marks is not really a big sum for William II, equal to only five million Pounds.

If the Russian Empire can indeed be won over, then even turning this interest- free loan of one hundred million Marks into a gift and aid would not be a burden for William II.

Just imagine the power of the combined forces of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, and the walk-on role of the Kingdom of Italy. How powerful are these four countries?

Even if the two old powers, the British Empire and France, were to join forces, they would probably be no match for these four countries.

In terms of the army, the German Empire alone could already defeat France, let alone the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which also has a decent comprehensive strength in the army, and the Russian Empire with its large grey population. Although the Russian Empire’s military lags behind other countries in terms of weapons and equipment and the quality of its personnel, the population of this country is very large, easily arming millions or even tens of millions of troops.

In this era, the number of soldiers in an army is still one of the most important factors. A country with a larger population naturally has many advantages in the military over a country with a smaller population.

Having secured the support of William II, Minister Andrew could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the German Empire cannot directly appear in this arms trade, the intelligence they have on the Russian Empire and the reputation of German- made weapons still help this arms trade.

Having to pass rigorous tests for the export of Australia’s own research and production of weapons is a whole different matter.

But if the weapons and equipment were produced by the powerful German Empire, there would be less suspicion.

This is the prestige that a country’s reputation brings to a nation in all aspects; unless Australia can grow into a powerful nation or achieve some military success, such suspicion will always exist.

Moreover, this arms trade has also solved a potential problem, which is the possible shortage of funds in the Russian Empire.

In any case, it is the German Empire that provides loans to the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire must have money to pay for the arms trade with Australia. As for whether they will have money to repay the loan in the future, that’s not Australia’s concern.

In any case, both the German Empire and William II were quite happy to provide this funding. The only dissatisfaction might come from France when they find out about the situation.

“Do you know when the Island Nation will take action? If they don’t start preparing soon, even signing an arms trade treaty with the Russian Empire might be too late,” William II asked after all the negotiations were settled. Whether it’s light or heavy weapons, or even large, medium, and small warships, their manufacturing takes time, as does transportation.

Army weapons are not a problem; the manufacturing time is usually not very long. Even for a large number of orders, they can generally be completed within a year.

But warships are different. Even for a small warship, the construction period might be as long as two to three months, let alone medium and large warships.

The construction period of a medium-sized warship is generally around five to seven months and might vary depending on the difficulty of construction and the weapons and equipment installed.

It goes without saying that a new battleship would take even longer, generally lasting more than a year, or even a year and a half.

Besides, after a warship is completed, it has to undergo a series of steps such as launching, sea trials, and testing before delivery. This testing period also takes at least six months to a year.

In other words, the time required for the complete delivery of a warship might be much longer than the construction time, unless there are some urgent situations that reduce or drastically shorten the testing time of the warship.

Using the battleship that the Island Nation purchased from Australia as an example, although the construction time is about a year to a year and a half, the actual delivery time might be as long as a year and a half or more, or even close to two and a half years.

Of course, this does not mean that the battleship will have real combat power after two and a half years.

The crew members on the warship need at least two and a half years of training to become more familiar with the warship’s performance and facilities, and to have actual combat capability.

And these crew members must have been well-trained before, otherwise, the training time for the crew members alone might take another two and a half years.

In summary, the time it takes for a warship to go from order placement to formal delivery is generally about two and a half years.

Also, the training time required for the crew members is nearly two and a half years, just enough for them to grow into qualified naval soldiers.

At the same time, after taking over the new warship, the crew members also need two and a half years to adapt, so that the warship can truly possess combat capability.

A warship, from manufacturing to having a certain level of combat power, needs at least two sets of two and a half years, or at most three sets of two and a half years.