Chapter 355: Chapter 306: Military Layout of 1912 (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2
It seems necessary to adopt some measures to accelerate the absorption of immigrants before and after the war.
For the Australasian Government, there is another good news that the total fiscal revenue for the whole year of 1911 has reached a new high, up to 78.41 million Australian dollars.
The continuous growth of fiscal revenue actually represents that the achievements of Australasian development have gradually shown up.
Of course, it cannot be denied that the growth of fiscal revenue depends on orders such as arms trade and grain exports, but this is undoubtedly good news.
Of course, the total fiscal expenditure of the government is also growing continuously. In 1911, the total expenditure of the Australasian Government reached 67 million Australian dollars, achieving a fiscal surplus of over 11.41 million Australian dollars.
Among them, military expenditure has reached as high as 28.71 million Australian dollars. Although the scale of the navy has not grown, the army has expanded by a massive 100,000, and with various weapons and equipment, the military expenditure of Australasia occupies more than 40% of the government’s total expenditure, which is also a major feature of this era.
In fact, military expenditure in European countries is generally high. After all, everyone knows that the enemies that are to be faced are the combinations of several major powers.
If military expenditure is not high at this time, the loss to the country and government in the future will be much higher than the exorbitant military expenditure in these years.
Some small countries are even expanding and developing their military by borrowing heavily from both domestic and foreign sources.
This can also be considered as a gamble, with the winner gaining territory, population, and war reparations. Not only can this fill the gap left by previous loans, but it can also further enhance the national potential.
As for failure, perhaps those who dare to gamble with the stakes have not really thought about the consequences of failure.
Of course, countries that dare to gamble actually have some confidence. In the ongoing Italo-Turkish War, Italy relies on the power of the great powers and its powerful navy, as well as the certainty that other great powers will not intervene, to launch the war confidently.
As for the Balkan nations that are currently preparing for war, they are not only massively expanding their armies for the war but have also gained the support of the Russian Empire, and the attention of the Ottoman Turkish Empire is entirely focused on the current Italo-Turkish War. This is the reason why they dare to prepare for war against Turkey.
The current naval and arms race in Europe can also be seen as a lack of confidence in the two major European military blocs to defeat each other. Therefore, they can only hope to expand their military preparations to gain more advantages against the enemy.
The available funds of the Australasian Government have now exceeded 250 million Australian dollars, which is also a little confidence for the government to massively expand its military preparations and enhance its national defense force in the face of the upcoming war or during the war.
If we take into account the massive loans from both the private and government sectors, Australasia could probably spend at least half a billion Australian dollars, and it may not be impossible to build a top-three navy in the world.
After a brief report, it’s now time for the new cabinet government’s four-year plan for the future.
According to the current situation in Europe, war could break out at any time. This means that the development of the military industry is crucial within the next four years.
First of all, the defense budget for the coming year, the Cabinet Government approved the Ministry of Defense’s 1912 financial budget of up to 30 million Australian dollars, but also put forward several requirements for the Ministry of Defense, which must speed up the training of newly formed troops, and strictly enforce daily training of all troops, making all armies an elite force that can be used.
In terms of the navy, Arthur hopes that the navy can organize several more exercises in international waters, enhance navy soldiers’ familiarity with warship operations, and strengthen the navy’s combat capabilities.
As the saying goes, “A cannonball’s roar, worth ten thousand golds.” This cannon also includes ship guns on warships.
Even the funds consumed by ship guns can be much higher than ordinary cannons. Just organizing a naval exercise could cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of Australian dollars.
If all fleets are deployed for a large-scale exercise, the costs might even multiply.
However, various exercises must be done. After all, in the absence of various wars, besides daily training, this kind of exercise is the only means for the navy to increase its combat power.
The 30 million Australian dollar defense budget is prepared for the massive exercises and training of the army and navy.
Arthur even directly stated that if military expenditures exceeded the government’s budget, the royal family would be willing to subsidize 2 million Australian dollars annually. However, the condition is that the subsidized military expenditures must be used effectively; it’s not that they are afraid to spend funds, but they must be used purposefully.
The current royal financial group is not short of money; every year, the net income is as high as about 50 million Australian dollars, which is not much different from the government.
The annual tax revenue brought to the government by the Royal Financial Group is as high as over 8 million Australian dollars, making it a major contributor to government tax revenue.
The total assets of the Royal Financial Group are currently as high as 400 million pounds, which is a full 800 million Australian dollars.
Apart from the 100 million pounds lent to the government, the total value of various factories and enterprises invested and constructed by the Royal Financial Group is also over 100 million pounds.
In addition, the Royal Financial Group has a cash flow of up to 150 million pounds, which is 300 million Australian dollars, as well as tens of millions of Australian dollars in stocks.
In the past few years, the main income of the Royal Financial Group relied on Benz cars, but now, the income of Benz cars is less than half of the total income of the Royal Financial Group.
Not to exaggerate, the income of the Royal Financial Group is enough to support all the military forces in Australasia and even have a surplus of more than 20 million Australian dollars every year.
This has also led to the extravagant equipment of the royal private army, the first and second guard divisions, and they are the only two forces in Australasia equipped with military trucks.
Of course, the real reason for the two guard divisions to be equipped with military trucks is that they are mostly stationed near Sydney and are responsible for the security of the capital city and the royal palace.
And the transportation environment near Sydney is very convenient, so it is more convenient to travel by truck.
However, other units are different. Most of the other units are stationed in mountainous or remote areas, and truck transportation is not so convenient.
Of course, the government’s insufficient financial budget is another major reason. It is believed that after the expansion of military spending in the coming year, other regular forces will also be able to see some military trucks.
The wealth of the Royal Financial Group is also the foundation for Arthur’s development of advanced military weapons such as tanks, aircraft carriers, and aircraft.
It must be known that, so far, the research and development of all these advanced military weapons have consumed the funds of the Royal Financial Group.
Although the research scale of these three weapons is not large, it costs millions of Australian dollars every year.
If it were not for the wealth of the Royal Financial Group, the government would probably not dare to bear such a consumption easily.
This is actually the bottom line of having money. If there is no money, not to mention starting research, even recruiting talents will be obstructive.
Speaking of this, we cannot help but thank Arthur’s grandmother, Queen Victoria.
It should be known that Duke Old Arthur left Arthur only over 80 million pounds in inheritance, and the rest of it was brought to Arthur by Queen Victoria.
Even including New Zealand and New Guinea, these were gifts given to Arthur by Queen Victoria.
If it weren’t for Queen Victoria’s will, it might not be easy for Australia to get these two regions.
After all, with the relationship between Arthur and Edward at the time, even if the importance of these two regions to the British Empire was minimal, Edward VII would have obstructed in secret.
Perhaps this is the advantage of one’s background! Born in a family of the British Empire’s royal lineage, and being the only son of Queen Victoria’s most beloved son, it seems only natural to receive these benefits.
For someone with a family background, making good use of one’s origin can bring more benefits and save some detours.
