The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 137: German System and British System
Seeing that the purchase of weapon production lines could not be realized temporarily, Yukichiro Tamura shifted his focus back to the weapons themselves and said with a hint of flattery, “Your Excellency, how much do these weapons cost individually? We hope to purchase a large number of British weapons to meet the needs of our expanding military.”
Ever since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, the Island Nation has been importing weapons and warships from Western countries.
Especially when the British Empire needed the Island Nation as a hunting dog to contend with the Russian Empire, the Island Nation wisely pledged allegiance to the British Empire.
Currently, the equipment and warships of both the navy and army of the Island Nation mostly come from the British Empire, ranging from rifles to battleships, all of which are exclusively sourced from the United Kingdom.
Although such unified British equipment increases the funds needed for procurement, it greatly reduces the burden on logistics.
If a country’s weapons cannot be self-sufficient, the best approach is to purchase equipment uniformly from a country with powerful weapons, rather than letting their own country’s weapons become internationally produced.
Internationally produced equipment, while cheaper and more diverse, has a significant disadvantage, namely that at times like war, when logistics supply and requirements are stringent, it could become a burden on the country’s economy and logistics.
Just imagine, when the logistical supplies finally arrive, the soldiers suddenly find out that their weapons cannot be used with the bullets provided, which would be a major blow to the troops’ morale.
This is why the Australian army equipment is exclusively produced by itself. This avoids complex weapon systems and reduces the pressure on logistics during wartime.
Speaking of purchasing weapons, the Australian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs also enthusiastically promoted, “Mr. Yukichiro Tamura, Mr. Toshiyuki Hirano, we Australia currently have two relatively complete weapon equipment systems, which come from the British Empire and the German Empire. If your country wants to buy army weapons and equipment, I sincerely recommend the German Empire’s equipment.”
“German army equipment?” Yukichiro Tamura and Toshiyuki Hirano exchanged curious and expectant looks.
Although they sought to win over and please the British Empire, everyone from the Island Nation had naturally heard of the world’s number one army, the German Empire.
If the British Empire is the undisputed ruler of the seas, then the German Empire’s army is the iron-fisted powerhouse coveted by every country.
Of course, under the slightly fanatical militaristic education of the Island Nation, the ideology education of the Island Nation’s forces was very successful, and their fearlessness of death was no worse than that of the German army.
However, in terms of logistics supply and weapons equipment, the German Empire’s army is much more advanced than that of the Island Nation’s forces.
“Your Excellency, the Foreign Minister, can your country really sell us German army weapons and equipment?” Yukichiro Tamura said with anticipation.
“Of course. Thanks to the good relations between Australia and the German Empire, we have the production technology for German rifles, machine guns, firearms, and even various warships. These weapons, once approved by His Highness the Duke, are all available for export by Australia.” The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said with a smile.
Yukichiro Tamura and Toshiyuki Hirano looked at each other and saw excitement and concern in each other’s eyes.
German arms and equipment were indeed attractive, especially German army equipment, which in many cases outperformed British weapons and equipment.
But the Island Nation had already formed an alliance with the British Empire, and if the Island Nation were to equip itself with a large number of German weapons and equipment, would it affect the alliance between the Island Nation and the British Empire, or even the cooperation between the Island Nation and the British Empire?
Hunter Steward, who had not said much, laughed and said, “The two of you are worried that purchasing German equipment will affect your relationship with the British Empire? You can rest assured, your country is only cooperating with us, not with Germany. All the weapons and equipment your country purchases are independently manufactured by Australia and are weapons with independent production technology in Australia. Although this equipment comes from German technology, it is now Australian, isn’t it?”
Hunter Steward’s words hit the nail on the head, instantly enlightening the two hesitant Japanese envoys.
Although they were German-made weapons and equipment, they were produced by Australia, and the cooperating country was also Australia.
With the good relations between Australia and the British Empire, the British Empire should not be angry, right?
Now the two Island Nation’s envoys were like two humble bootlickers, having to carefully consider the British Empire’s attitude in everything.
“Sogasne! Can we see the power of German weapons and equipment? Please be assured that we absolutely do not doubt the quality of the weapons produced by your country. We just want to see the difference in power between German weapons and British weapons. After seeing the power of German weapons, we can sign the import treaty for weapons at any time,” said Yukichiro Tamura, anxious to see the German equipment.
According to the Island Nation’s strategic plan, there was a huge conflict between the Island Nation’s strategy in East Asia and the Russian Empire’s Far East strategy, which meant that either one country would have to back down or war would determine which country would give up.
But unlike the core area of Russia in Europe, the entire Island Nation is located in East Asia. If they were to give up their strategic position in East Asia, that would be equivalent to giving up the opportunity to rise as a power.
Even if their enemy is an old power with the title of “European Bulldozer” like the Russian Empire, these twisted Islanders will not back down and have even begun to desperately curry favor with the British Empire and the United States, seeking support from the two countries to prepare for war with the Russian Empire.
Everyone in the Island Nation, including the Emperor, tightened their belts to save funds to develop the army and navy in order to achieve the dream of all Islanders.
The Islanders did consider building good relations with the German Empire, but the German Empire was more interested in wooing the Russian Empire at the time, and naturally had no good feelings towards the Island Nation, a potential enemy of the Russian Empire.
Now having the opportunity to obtain a large number of German weapons and equipment, Yukichiro Tamura and Toshiyuki Hirano were very excited.