Chapter 138: British and German Arms
Seeing that acquiring weapon production lines was currently out of reach, Koichiro Tozawa shifted his focus back to the weapons themselves and said with a hint of flattery, "Your Excellency, then may I ask the price of these weapons? We are hoping to purchase a large quantity of British-standard arms to meet the needs of our growing army."
Since the beginning of its modernization reforms, the island nation had long followed the tradition of importing weapons and warships from Western countries.
Especially when the British Empire needed the island nation as a hound to counter the Russian Empire, the islanders wisely and opportunistically aligned themselves with Britain.
At present, most of the island nation's army and navy equipment and ships originated from Britain—from rifles to battleships, everything was sourced uniformly from British suppliers.
While such standardized British equipment required a larger budget, it significantly reduced the logistical burden.
If a country couldn't produce its own weapons, the best alternative was to purchase all equipment from a single powerful arms supplier rather than piecing together a mixed arsenal.
A multinational arsenal might be cheaper and offer more options, but it came with a major flaw: in wartime, when logistics were critical, maintaining a diverse and incompatible weapons supply could cripple both the military and the economy.
Imagine a situation where supplies finally reached the front lines, only for soldiers to realize the ammunition didn't match their weapons—it would be a devastating blow to morale.
This was precisely why Australia standardized its army's equipment to its own domestic production: to simplify the weapon systems and reduce logistical stress in war.
When the discussion shifted to weapon purchases, the Australian Deputy Foreign Minister became animated, enthusiastically promoting, "Mr. Tozawa, Mr. Hirano, Australia currently maintains two complete weapons systems—one based on the British Empire, the other on the German Empire. If your nation is interested in purchasing army equipment, I highly recommend the German models."
"German army equipment?" Tozawa and Hirano exchanged glances, intrigued and curious.
Though they had pledged allegiance to Britain, every islander had heard of the mighty German Empire—widely regarded as the strongest land army in the world.
If Britain was the undisputed ruler of the seas, then Germany's army was the envy of every military on land.
Of course, with the island nation's militaristic education system, its own forces had developed fierce loyalty and a death-before-surrender mindset, rivaling even the German military.
But in terms of logistics and equipment, Germany was far ahead of the island nation.
"Honorable Minister, is your country truly able to sell us German-standard army weapons?" Tozawa asked eagerly.
"Of course. Thanks to our excellent relationship with the German Empire, we possess the production technology for German rifles, machine guns, artillery, and even various naval vessels. These weapons have all been approved for export by His Grace the Duke," the Deputy Minister replied with a broad smile.
Tozawa and Hirano exchanged another glance, their eyes filled with both excitement and hesitation.
German weapons were undeniably appealing—especially their land systems, which were often more advanced than their British counterparts.
But their country had just signed an alliance treaty with Britain. Would buying large quantities of German-made weapons damage their relationship with the British Empire? Would it jeopardize future cooperation?
Noticing their concern, Butler Hunt, who had been silent until now, smiled and said, "You gentlemen seem worried that purchasing German arms might affect your alliance with the British Empire. Let me reassure you—this is a partnership with Australia, not Germany. All the weapons your country purchases are independently manufactured by Australia using production technology that now belongs to us. These weapons may have originated in Germany, but today, they are Australian. Isn't that right?"
Hunt's words hit the mark, instantly clearing the hesitation in the Japanese envoys' minds.
Though the weapons were of German design, they were manufactured in Australia, and the deal was with Australia, not Germany.
Given Australia's close ties to Britain, it seemed unlikely that the British Empire would object.
At that moment, the two Japanese envoys resembled humble lapdogs, carefully calculating Britain's reaction to every move.
"Sō desu ne! May we observe the power of these weapons firsthand? Please rest assured, we do not doubt the quality of your country's arms. We would simply like to compare the performance of German-standard weapons with British-standard ones. After that, we are ready to sign an import agreement at any time," said Tozawa enthusiastically, now fully convinced.
According to the island nation's strategic outlook, its interests in East and Far East Asia directly clashed with the Russian Empire's ambitions in the same region. This meant one side would eventually have to yield—or war would decide who would retreat.
But unlike Russia, whose core territories lay in Europe, the island nation was located entirely in East Asia. Surrendering its position in the region would mean giving up its only chance to rise.
Even if their enemy was the colossal Russian Empire, nicknamed the "bulldozer of Europe," the twisted mindset of the island nation's leadership meant they would never back down. They had already begun flattering Britain and the United States in exchange for support in the coming war with Russia.
From the emperor down to the common people, everyone was tightening their belts—saving every penny to develop the army and navy to fulfill their national dream.
It wasn't that they didn't want closer ties with Germany, but the German Empire was more interested in drawing Russia to its side and had little reason to warm up to Japan, Russia's potential enemy.
Now, given the rare opportunity to acquire a large stock of German weaponry, Tozawa and Hirano were nothing short of elated.
(End of Chapter)
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