It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 31｜Serious illness requires drastic measures
I stayed up all night during the Spring Festival.

If we were to say what is the most amazing thing about Shangke, it would probably be the countless fireworks and firecrackers that can be described as spectacular.

The sky was filled with brilliant flames, and crackling sounds rose and fell one after another. It was no exaggeration to say that it was like a fierce war zone air defense operation.

Interestingly, the Grand Unification Federation also has a program similar to the Spring Festival Gala, but it is in the form of a radio broadcast program. Because television is still a new thing at that time, the popularity of radio is already very high.

The family gathered in the hall, with the sounds of the radio and firecrackers outside intertwined to form a unique background sound.

Shang Yuxiu was reading a book, and Wei Shuhua was knitting a scarf.

As for Shang Ke, he was flipping through several newspapers that he had not finished reading in the past two days.

There are two relatively important international news briefs recently - the first is the controversy over the German-Austrian merger, and the second is the controversy over the Royal Navy battleship investigation.

After the end of the European war, Austria-Hungary fell apart. Austria lost its largest industrial area, Bohemia, and basically became a third-rate country.

Under these circumstances, Austria, whose population was almost entirely of German descent, was undoubtedly quite inclined to incorporate into Wallander.

Although the strict Treaty of Versailles no longer exists, European countries still firmly oppose the merger of Germany and Austria, mainly because they are worried about the expansion of Wallander's power.

But the geopolitical landscape is not static. As the United Kingdom and Ivan Ross flirt with each other, the threat grows day by day, and the relationship between Valland and Marianna gradually thaws.

This year, when the calls for the unification of Germany and Austria rose again, Marianne did not express opposition for the first time, which basically sent a signal of disguised support.

In the eyes of the Marianas, since the strength of the Ivan Rus people is growing, it is reasonable to allow the Varland people to become stronger. In the end, they will be the first to fight. Wouldn't it be nice to sit back and watch them fight each other to a bloody pulp behind the Maginot Line?
The masters of the Tricolor Banner thought this was an excellent containment strategy.

"Not bad, this really reflects the people's support." Shang Ke commented to himself.

Overall, he felt that this was at least more reliable than historical records.

As for the second international news brief, it is even more interesting - America suspected that the United Kingdom had falsified data, and the battleships it built did not match the data on paper, which seriously violated the restrictions of the naval treaty.

After the end of the European war, the United States of America helplessly discovered a problem - although the United States had risen, its shipbuilding capabilities still made it difficult for its naval power to surpass the United Kingdom in a short period of time.

So America thought about it and proposed that the major powers sign a naval treaty to avoid an arms race, which would be very expensive after all.

This is in the interests of all countries, so everyone is interested, except the Grand Federation, which disdains to participate.

If this is the case, then the British would certainly be worried, so the Americans sent a special delegation to Xijing and finally got a promise - the Grand Federation is only committed to maintaining existing interests.

After this, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed after many twists and turns, but the major powers did not forget to be wary of the Grand Federation's sudden turn to war.

Two years ago, the United Kingdom's Admiralty secretly began research on a new battleship, aiming to strengthen the Royal Navy's surface forces and replace the aging, slow-moving Revenge-class battleships. In July 1937, construction began on the first ship at Vickers-Armstrong, followed by the second at Carmel-Laird. The remaining three ships followed in the following months.

The British took the initiative to reveal that the new battleship Lion class exceeded the limits of the naval treaty, announcing that the Lion class had a tonnage of 3.8 tons and was equipped with 15-inch (381 mm) main guns. Such an over-limit was a preventive measure that was necessary to deal with potential threats from the East.

The Americans were very sensitive to this and quickly proposed to send someone to inspect it. The British repeatedly declined, and finally perfunctorily allowed the Americans to see the main guns being manufactured and the keel being laid.

After that, the Americans were still skeptical because intelligence showed that this was not the case, so they asked for an inspection again, but this time the British repeatedly refused to agree.

Obviously, the Americans were not stupid and responded quickly - the construction of the two North Carolina-class ships that had started in June 1938 continued, but the subsequent South Dakota-class ships had to be redesigned to relax the tonnage limit.

目前各大列强都猜测狮级的实际吨位达到了4万吨，搭载16英寸（406毫米）三联装主炮，航速29~30节。

This is indeed the case. The Royal Navy skipped the King George V class in the original history, which was only equipped with 14-inch main guns, and started construction directly on the Lion class (16F plan).

So what are the British planning?
Shang Ke pondered the reason in his mind - was this an attempt to take advantage of the time difference? Or was it simply a hope to improve the economy by vigorously building ships?
If the former, then the United Kingdom would have a battleship advantage over either the United States or the Grand Commonwealth for about a year.

Considering the consistent morality of the Anglo-Saxons, Shank was more worried that the British would cause trouble, and he discussed his concerns with his father.

"...But last year, the United Kingdom's military expenditure only accounted for 4% of its GDP, which is still very small. It doesn't look like they're going to take action."

In 2.4, the United Kingdom's military expenditure was 55 million pounds, while its gross national product (GNP) was 4.3 billion pounds, accounting for only %, and there was no sign of a large-scale military expansion.

Shang Yuxiu put down his copy of Zizhi Tongjian and pen and said, "Looking at the economy, it's certainly the case right now, but the future is uncertain."

He paused, then continued, "Last year, the economic crisis returned with a vengeance. At least 1.7 million people in the United Kingdom are still unemployed, and the unemployment rate is 14%. The manufacturing industry, which had only begun to recover a few years ago, has now been hit again. What should we do next? Finding ways to create jobs is our top priority."

The economic crisis was not resolved all at once. All countries went through a repeated process. The famous "work-for-relief" new policy only played a role in improvement. It was not until the war that came soon after that that countries completely emerged from the shadow of the Great Depression and then headed towards another shadow.

From 1933 to 1936, the economies of the United States and the United Kingdom recovered slowly and were on the verge of getting out of the crisis, but the crisis resurfaced in 1937.

As of a month ago, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was still 14%, and the industrial production index fell by 13%, and the situation was serious.

Shang Yuxiu feels that the series of policies currently implemented by the British are not effective enough. His school of economics believes that facts have proved that small-scale measures cannot solve the problem, and that serious problems require drastic measures.

"In that case, rearmament is indeed very tempting. Once the military industry is started up, it will absorb the unemployed and gain the upper hand." Shang Ke said thoughtfully.

"The war is not far away. Ivan Ross's military expenditure accounted for 19 percentage points last year. If the United Kingdom's military expenditure also exceeds 10 percentage points this year, then it can be confirmed that it will happen in the next two years." Shang Yuxiu's tone was very certain.

(End of this chapter)