Holy Roman Empire

"The Russians want to buy airplanes?"

Franz received the news just after waking up from his sleep.It's not surprising to think about it. The Czarist government has been buying and buying in recent years.

Perhaps the sweetness was tasted in the purchase, or perhaps the bureaucrats simply want to make a fortune, but the Russians will soon follow the equipment for the large-scale equipment of the Austrian army.

Seeing the planes shine on the battlefield, the tsarist government will naturally follow up.Especially as the Anglo-Russian war in Afghanistan continues, the Russian army urgently needs a weapon that can suppress the British airship forces.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"The Tsarist government has just decided to launch a Christmas offensive, planning to seize the Afghan region before Christmas in Russia."

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg explained with a smile.There is no doubt that the Russians' Christmas offensive is indispensable behind Austria's push.

Since the European War, the British have not participated much. It is not that the London government suddenly changed its sex. It was mainly dragged down by the Afghanistan War and did not have so much energy.

Judging from the current situation, unless France and Austria are completely out of balance, the British will definitely give priority to the battlefield in Afghanistan.

Having got this answer, Franz fell into contemplation.Whether to sell the plane to the Russians is also a tangled question.

Theoretically speaking, when the Russians get the plane, it is equivalent to getting the air supremacy in the Afghan war, and the odds of winning the war are higher.

This is what Austria wants to see. The occupation of Afghanistan does not mean the end of the Anglo-Russian War, but the beginning of an all-out war between the two countries.

Regarding India's strategic security, the British government can only squat to the end, whether it wants it or not.

With the strength of the British Empire, this war still has to be fought.The harder the British and Russian fighting in Central Asia, the smaller the force that can interfere in Europe.

There are advantages and disadvantages. Russia and Austria are allies, but this relationship is also established because of interests. If the core interests of the two countries conflict, the alliance will collapse every minute.

The plane fell into the hands of the Russians, and it was difficult to keep it secret.As long as the French can afford the price, it is not difficult to get samples from the Czarist government.

"If the French or the British get our plane, how long will it take to decipher the technology?"

Franz asked concerned.

The crux of the problem lies here. Austria has illuminated the aircraft technology tree to maintain its advantage in the war.

Both Britain and France are industrial powers. Once the samples are obtained, it is only a matter of time before the manufacturing technology is reversed.

Prime Minister Carl: "According to engineers' estimates, if an undamaged aircraft falls into the hands of Britain and France, it only takes one to three months before they can deduce aircraft manufacturing technology.

However, inferring manufacturing technology does not mean that it can be copied.Because of the different industrial systems, we have our own standards with Britain and France.

If Britain and France want to copy directly, they must adjust the standards of industrial master machines.This requires a lot of time, and industrialized mass production cannot be achieved without two or three years of effort.

Time waits for no one on the battlefield, and the possibility of direct copycats is unlikely.It is even more likely to use our aircraft as a blueprint and adjust some of the designs and then copy them.

In this way, the time required cannot be estimated, and it mainly depends on the highest industrial level in Britain and France.If their engine technology passes the test, it may only take a few months to imitate it."

Similar to Franz's judgment, the reverse deduction technology is not difficult. As long as there is an aircraft sample in hand, it can always be rewarded to disassemble it for research.

The difficulty is industrialized production, which involves multiple fields. Everyone has different industrial standard systems, and it is difficult to achieve uniform standards.

However, aircraft is a high-precision field, and the size of a screw is different, which may affect industrial production.

For details, you can refer to some copycat companies in later generations. The low-end and middle-end industrial products are easy to imitate, and when they reach the high-tech field, they will be blinded.

The sample is in front of us, and the technology is reversed, but it cannot be produced.You know that technical barriers are more difficult to break through than patent barriers.

After entering the end of the 19th century, the technological gap between European countries has not only existed in concepts, but reflected in the industrial field.

The science and technology trees opened by Britain, France and Austria are different. Everyone has their own advantages in certain fields. Aircraft manufacturing happens to be a partial science field in Britain and France.

After weighing the pros and cons, Franz made a decision.

"Sell it! But it must be restricted so that the Russians will ensure that the aircraft will not leak out. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends people to watch and delay the spread of aircraft technology as much as possible."

As long as there are exports, the proliferation of aircraft manufacturing technology is inevitable.Even if Britain and France do not copy, the Russians themselves will disassemble and study.

The weapons and equipment exported from Austria to Russia have not escaped the fate of being studied.Not only has to be studied, the Tsarist government has even made imitations.

Although the Russian-Austrian basic industrial system is the same, the industrial standards of the two sides have long been at a different level.

Most of the time, the production cost of weapons and equipment copied by the Russians will be much more expensive than imported.

In this context, even the Tsarist government has been trying to get rid of the military's dependence on Austria, but finally lost in the wallet.

This is true for ordinary weapons and equipment, not to mention the high-tech aircraft.Franz dared to assert that even if the technical drawings were given to the Russians, they would not be able to understand it within three to five years.

As long as the finished product does not fall into the hands of the French, even if the two countries are secretly collaborating, at most a few military experts will be sent to study.

Compared with the concentration of experts in related fields to participate in the research, only a few people participate in the research, the efficiency is undoubtedly much lower.

Especially knowledge outside the professional field is very easy to be missed.Whether it can be done before the end of the war is unknown.

Moreover, even if it is developed, the aircraft technology is generational.The aircraft exported to the Russians, as long as they can deal with airships, do not need to be too advanced.

...

In London, after the roar of the ship, a special guest disembarked on a luxurious passenger ship.

Arriving in Fog City again, Karel Kadlec's heart is heavy.Even with the welcome queue on both sides, I didn't catch a cold.

As the only ally of France, the British government is naturally the focus of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' public relations.In order to show that he attaches great importance to the British, Karel Kadlec has personally acted.

Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, his plan is basically invalid.The British only received regular receptions and did not come up with a grand welcome ceremony.

But Karel Kadletz didn't think much about it.In such a special period, if the British intend to support France, they must release a friendly gesture.

The reality is very cruel. The British's lukewarm attitude poured cold water on Karel Cadlec's trip to London.

Dragging his tired body, he attended the welcome banquet as usual.Sure enough, there was no accident, let alone the royal family members, even high-level British government did not attend, of course the diplomats in charge of reception are not counted.

...

At midnight, in the French embassy in London, Karel Cadletz asked solemnly: "Just at the banquet, I found that George's look was a little wrong. What happened in London recently?"

Observing words and colors is a basic skill of a diplomat, and Karel Kadlec, as the foreign minister, is naturally no stranger.

Just covering up emotions is also the instinct of diplomats.After being aware of George's anomaly, Karel Kadletz immediately attracted the attention.

Recently, no new major events have occurred in the world. The biggest hot spot is the European War. Generally speaking, it is still in a stalemate.

In the absence of major changes in the international situation, the only thing that worries the British Foreign Secretary is the domestic political struggle.

Although I really want to watch the jokes of the British infighting, Karel Kadletz knows very well that now is not the time.

Once the British government was caught in a political struggle, his trip to London was gone.Before stabilizing the internal situation, it is difficult for the British to play a substantial role in the European War.

"What happened in London?" Minister Ambroise was taken aback for a moment, and then reacted: "No, sir. London has been very stable recently, and nothing major has happened.

If it should be said, it should also be India.There is gossip that the Russians launched a Christmas offensive not long ago, and the British suffered a big loss on the battlefield.

The British government blocked the news in this regard, and we were unable to figure out what happened for a while."

Upon hearing the words "blocking news", Karel Kadletz immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

We must know that under the British political system, it is not so simple to block news. Most of the time, reporters’ news will be faster.

There is no alternative, British politics takes turns taking turns.It is refreshing to block the news, and the opposition party will definitely come up with it afterwards.After the news is exposed, the public's support for the cabinet will drop significantly.

As a last resort, the British government would not do this.

After a little thought, Karel Kadletz said solemnly: "The people who started us should figure out the ins and outs of the matter as soon as possible.

If it really doesn't work, I will startle the snake.Find a few street newspapers to release news of the fall of Afghanistan and test the British government's reaction."

Know thyself, ever-victorious.

If you want to get the British on board, you don't even know what happened in Britain, how can you start?

"Your Excellency, this is not good. In case the British find out..."

Before Minister Ambroise could finish speaking, Karel Kadletz interrupted: "What are you afraid of? This was originally for the British.

Have you been in London for so long, what is John Bull's style, don't you know?"

The better he understands the British, the less Karel Kadletz regards the so-called "British-French friendship" as the same thing.

The prerequisite for allies is interests. Without interests, there is no alliance.As long as the interests are in place, no matter how big the contradiction is, it will not stop Britain and France from coming closer.

As for whether or not to offend the British government, that is simply too much.

Karel Kadletz doesn't believe that the British have not installed their eyes and ears in the French embassy. It is estimated that the British people will know that the plan has not been implemented.

If you really want to do something, you must at least do a good job of confidentiality.How can anyone give orders in front of many embassy staff?

In essence, Karel Kadletz wanted to use these small means to tell the British: France already knew the news of the British defeat in the battlefield in Afghanistan; now not only France needs Britain, but Britain also needs France.

After all, the Russian-Austrian alliance still looks solid. If France really loses in the European War, British India will be in danger.

In this respect, Britain and France can be considered tied together, and both will be damaged.

As for whether the British would think so, no one can answer this question yet.