Chapter 146: Public Arms Trade, But Actually a German-Russian Negotiation
"Another country?" Wilhelm II furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment before turning his gaze back to Minister Andrew, smiling as he said, "Could the 'other country' Arthur referred to be your Australia?"
It was simple really. A country that could help Germany lure the Russian Empire would have to be a country that Germany could trust. Looking at the countries that currently had the ability to export weapons and warships, the only one that Germany trusted was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But the Austro-Hungarian Empire, being located in Europe, couldn't carry out any actions without attracting the attention of other European powers.
Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire had unresolved conflicts, making it nearly impossible for Austria-Hungary to export weapons to Russia.
Outside of Europe, there were fewer countries that could export military equipment and warships that would interest the Russian Empire. Moreover, the country would have to be one with good relations with Germany, leading Wilhelm II to look first at Australia.
Australia fit both conditions. Not only did it have a strong working relationship with Germany, but the two monarchs, Arthur and Wilhelm II, also had a good relationship. Additionally, Australia had both British and German light weapon systems, including artillery and warships, all based on technologies from the British Empire and Germany.
Geographically, Australia was far removed from Europe, meaning its actions wouldn't attract much attention from European countries, especially with the current heavy turmoil in Europe.
However, Australia had recently exported a large quantity of weapons and warships to Japan, the enemy of Russia in East Asia, and had signed a resource import-export agreement. Now, Australia was eyeing the Russian Empire, Japan's enemy. They were truly playing both sides!
Seeing Wilhelm II's slightly probing and inquiring gaze, Minister Andrew calmly responded, "Yes, Your Majesty. Although currently, due to France not supporting Russia's actions in the Far East, there has been some discord between the two countries, Germany has not yet been able to disrupt the Franco-Russian alliance. If Germany wants to engage with the Russian Empire, it cannot avoid dealing with France as a significant adversary."
"But unfortunately, as soon as the plan to lure Russia is exposed to the French, it will never succeed. So, Duke Arthur's suggestion is that Germany should look elsewhere and use non-European powers to facilitate its plan to assist the Russian Empire. Australia fits this condition perfectly. Not only does Australia have a good diplomatic relationship with Germany, but many of its weapons and warships are also based on German designs. By using Australia to help Russia, Germany can remain behind the scenes, while Russia will still know exactly who is truly assisting them, thereby achieving Germany's goal of luring Russia," Minister Andrew explained with a smile.
The weapons and equipment exported by Australia were mostly derived from German military technology, including the Gew98 rifles, various Krupp howitzers, German Maxim machine guns, and various small to medium-sized warships, including the Brunswick-class battleship. All these were products of German military technology.
This certainly highlighted Germany's role, especially when the Russian Empire received these weapons. The German-made weapons would make it clear to them who was truly helping them behind the scenes.
Upon hearing Minister Andrew's explanation, Wilhelm II nodded indifferently, smiling as he said, "Arthur truly is a shrewd man! I initially thought that Australia was exporting weapons and resources to Japan in an attempt to gain an ally in the Far East, but it seems he wants to play both sides and doesn't even spare Russia! However, what he said makes sense. Germany's efforts to lure Russia by its own power would be difficult, especially with France being an insurmountable obstacle."
"Utilizing the conflict between Russia and Japan in the Far East to open the door for arms trade—what a clever plan! But Arthur's words have convinced me. I will provide you with the information you need to help you secure the arms trade orders. However, don't forget our agreement—this arms trade and support must be done under Germany's name, secretly," Wilhelm II laughed heartily, first affirming Arthur's strategy before agreeing to the entire plan.
It was clear that the Russian arms market was not one that Germany could openly enter. Even if Germany could gain favor with Russia through arms trade and financial support, France's actions would inevitably counterbalance Germany's efforts.
Moreover, the Russian Empire would undoubtedly choose France if it had to choose between Germany and France. To prevent the plan from failing, it was best to keep France out of the picture.
However, European nations, especially the great powers, had numerous spies, and their intelligence capabilities were formidable. Any actions by great powers like Germany would draw attention, particularly from France, Germany's adversary.
Therefore, the best way to ensure France didn't intervene in this arms trade was for Germany not to be involved openly, allowing France to lower its guard. This way, the official arms trade would be conducted between Russia and Australia, with the real benefits going to Germany behind the scenes.
"Of course, Your Majesty. Our goal is simply to open up the arms trade for Australia and facilitate better relations between Germany and the Russian Empire," Minister Andrew nodded and smiled.
"However, judging by the Russian Empire's financial situation, they likely don't have the funds to purchase these weapons and equipment. Although their logistics and transport systems have caused them to fall behind in the Far East, their financial problems are just as severe. Despite receiving substantial loans from France, most of these loans are tied up in purchasing French industrial products and other resources. It is almost impossible for them to use any of these loans to purchase your weapons," Wilhelm II said. "It seems we will have to negotiate a loan agreement with them before signing the arms trade agreement."
"Your Majesty, I believe this could be a good opportunity for Germany. If it were just about the Far East issue, Russia wouldn't receive too many loans from France. This has caused them to have a severe lack of funds for their Far Eastern operations, which is why their troops and equipment are lagging behind. Australia could privately provide Russia with an interest-free loan under Germany's name, with the stipulation that it must be used to address the Far East situation. This would not only solve Russia's financial problems but also make them grateful to Germany," Minister Andrew suggested.
While Australia was indeed seeking to sign an arms trade agreement with the Russian Empire, this didn't mean that Australia wanted to take on the financial burden alone. The Russian Empire's economic situation had always been poor, with a heavy load of debts and loans.
Take the loans Russia received from France, for example—these loans were numerous, and repaying them would take decades. How could Russia afford to repay other loans at the same time?
Germany had the funds and genuinely wanted to win over Russia, so why not let Germany provide this funding?
"Ha ha, very well. I will give you a check for one hundred million marks, which will serve as the funds to pull in the Russian Empire and provide them with the loan. The only condition is that the money must be used solely for military equipment and warships for the Far East, not for anything else," Wilhelm II said with a smile. He understood Minister Andrew's intent but was not concerned.
For the German Empire, spending a little money to bring a powerful country closer was well worth it, especially if that country was an ally of Germany's adversary. Spending money to strengthen one's own power while weakening the enemy's—what's not to like?
Moreover, one hundred million marks wasn't a significant amount to Wilhelm II—it was only about five million pounds. If Germany could bring the Russian Empire into its fold, Wilhelm II wouldn't even mind converting the loan into a grant or aid.
Imagine the power of a coalition between Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire, and Italy! Even the two old powers of Britain and France would be no match for these four.
On the army front, Germany alone could defeat France, let alone with the addition of Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire.
Although Russia's army might lag behind in terms of weapons and soldier quality, the country's large population allowed it to easily arm millions, or even tens of millions.
In this era, the number of soldiers in an army was still a crucial factor. A country with a large population had significant natural advantages in military matters.
With Wilhelm II's support, Minister Andrew breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Germany couldn't openly be involved in this arms trade, the intelligence Germany held about the Russian Empire and the reputation of German-made weapons would still play a key role.
If the weapons were produced by Australia, they would face numerous hurdles to export. But if the weapons were made by the mighty German Empire, there would be little suspicion.
This was the benefit of a nation's prestige. Unless Australia could become a great power or achieve significant military success, such doubts would always remain.
Moreover, this arms trade also solved a potential issue: the Russian Empire's possible lack of funds. Since the loan was provided by Germany, the Russian Empire would definitely have the funds to pay for the arms trade, and whether they could repay the loan in the future was not Australia's concern.
After all, the one hundred million marks was willingly provided by Germany and Wilhelm II, and the only party that might be dissatisfied was France.
"Do you know when Japan will take action? If we don't prepare soon, even if we sign the arms trade agreement with the Russian Empire, it might be too late," Wilhelm II asked after the plan was agreed upon.
Whether it was light weapons, heavy weapons, or small, medium, and large warships, manufacturing them all took time, and so did transportation.
Weapons for the army were not a major issue—they could usually be manufactured in a year, even in large quantities.
But warships were different. Even a small warship might take two or three months to build, let alone medium or large ones.
A medium-sized warship usually took five to seven months to build, and the time could increase or decrease depending on the difficulty of construction and the weapon systems installed.
A new battleship would take more than a year, and sometimes up to a year and a half.
Moreover, after construction, warships had to undergo launching, trials, and testing, which could take another six months to a year.
This meant that the time from placing an order to receiving the warship could be much longer than the construction time. Unless there was an urgent need, the testing time would be cut short.
For example, the battleship Japan ordered from Australia would take a year to a year and a half to build, but the actual delivery could be more than two years.
And even then, the warship wouldn't be fully combat-ready until its crew had at least two and a half years of training.
After receiving the new warship, the crew would need to adapt for another two and a half years before the ship could truly become battle-ready.
In summary, from ordering to delivery, a warship usually took about two and a half years. Then, another two and a half years of training were needed to make the crew competent.
From the start of construction to having a warship with combat capability, it would take at least two and a half years, but it could stretch to three.
(End of Chapter)
Get 30% off on my Patreon and enjoy early access to new chapters.
You can also purchase the next 100 chapters of the novel directly from my Patreon page.
Hurry up! The promotion ends on March 2, 2026.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997