Holy Roman Empire

With the budget battle getting fierce, Franz returned to the Vienna Palace by the end of October, cutting short his vacation trip.

Vacations could be taken anytime, but as Emperor, state affairs always came first. Though the Crown Prince was being trained, it did not mean that he would completely let go of his responsibilities.

In politics, if there was nothing else, there were certainly plenty of pitfalls ahead. Minor pitfalls could be stepped into, almost seen as lessons learned.

However, there were also pitfalls that absolutely could not be stepped into, where one misstep could result in being stuck forever, unable to get out.

Take, for example, the ongoing annual budget allocation: a single mistake there could be a fatal wound.

If one could not balance the needs of all parties and arbitrarily compiled budgets, or invested the budget solely based on idealism or efficiency into just one or a few aspects, that would spell doom.

Should someone stir the pot, even Frederick as Crown Prince would have a hard time coping. At least the label of incompetence would become inescapable.

A Crown Prince already wearing the "incompetent" label, even if he succeeded the throne, would struggle to inspire confidence.

It wasn't as if such things had never happened before. Franz had himself suffered losses at the beginning of his reign; luckily, the backlash against the Kingdom of Sardinia allowed him to blame the war.

Now, in peacetime, with no wars to shift the blame onto, the allocation of the financial budget truly tested one's mettle.
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Of course, if one wished to avoid responsibility, the task could be delegated to the Prime Minister. But doing so would increase the power the Prime Minister wielded, and the Emperor could inadvertently be reduced to a rubber stamp.

In that case, one's fate would be in the hands of others; if met with malevolence, the royal family could quickly become a frontline joke.

In the end, the people below reap the benefits, and it's the Emperor's job to take the blame if things go wrong, or face a sudden demise. History hasn't been short of such instances.

On this issue, nations and corporations are alike.

Many people work hard to start businesses, only to be swindled in the end. Instead of grooming their own successors, they hand over the reins to professional managers.

It may seem very scientific, but such stories often end in tragedy.

Just look at the performance of public companies. Over the past 37 years, the delisting rate of American stock market-listed companies has reached a staggering "72%," almost all thanks to the deeds of professional managers.

And with morality declining and the pace of society continually accelerating, this rate is still climbing.

Although the businesses might get run into the ground, it's the managing executives who prosper throughout this process. The real losers are nothing but the shareholders.

Even if a few businesses do grow, the ownership often changes, bearing no relation to the original founders.

The rare businesses successfully managed by executives are those where major shareholders strictly oversee the management and prevent them from going rogue.

The same goes for a nation: if the Emperor neglects his duty, bureaucrats will quickly start to do as they please, visibly deteriorating until the state is eventually gutted...

"No flower retains its bloom for a hundred days" – decline after flourishing is a natural law. Watering and fertilizing merely keep the bloom a bit longer.

The same principle applies to nations; nobody knows what the future holds. With everything so uncertain, it's better to leave one's realm in the hands of one's own kin to run it.

Even if it came to financial ruin, losing to one's own descendants is better than giving it away to outsiders. On this issue, Franz saw quite clearly.

Including the ongoing preparations for the sub-state enfeoffment plans, which were a way of diversifying investments beyond the needs of the present. It's about putting eggs in different baskets to maximize resistance to risk.

Everything that could be done had been done; the rest was no longer Franz's concern. Certainly, as long as he lived, he was sure there would be no problems.

Vienna Palace

After listening to Frederick's work report, Franz nodded in satisfaction. There had been no major mistakes, and that was enough.

If he could maintain the Empire's normal operations during peacetime, it proved Frederick's capability to govern the Empire.

And what about wartime?

It seemed unlikely that Frederick would encounter it; once the struggle for naval supremacy ended, the Holy Roman Empire would become the sole superpower.

With Shinra's formidable strength, it would be a long time before it met an equally matched foe.

Unless extraterrestrials invaded, it was only a case of Shinra beating up anyone else.

In Frederick's era, at most, there would be some regional conflicts, nothing that could be called a challenge. And after that, it would be the era of "nuclear flattening," reducing the likelihood of a major war even further.

After the report, Franz asked with a chuckle, "Frederick, what do you think about the navy's All Heavy Artillery Battleship plan?"

Apparently not expecting this question, Frederick was momentarily stunned, then replied, "It looks great, but it's just too expensive.

We can build All Heavy Artillery Battleships, and so can the British. It would just lead to another naval arms race.

Despite our industrial strength surpassing that of the British, the amount of military budget the government can allocate to the navy won't be much more than theirs. In the end, both sides might end up hurting each other.

The chances of victory might not even be as high as for the air force's Terminator program. At least with the air force pushed to the limit, they could crash planes into warships."

"Of course, in the long run, we can accept a mutually destructive outcome, but that would just benefit the Americans and the Russians.

Lately, the United States and the Tsarist Government have been at each other's throats. Who knows when these two peripheral countries might form an alliance.

Although their national power is far less than that of the British in the short term, their potential for development exceeds Britannia.

Defeating the British only to face two more formidable competitors with even greater potential would be a losing deal.

For the benefit of the Empire, while we bring down the British, we must also inherit their legacy, otherwise, it's all been in vain.

To achieve this, we must ensure that after defeating the British, the Imperial Navy still retains the strength to suppress the navies of the world."

This is inevitable.

The fiscal revenue of the Holy Roman Empire is indeed high, but so are the expenditures. The government cannot invest all its revenue into naval construction.

In a pure financial contest, Shinra does not possess an advantage in the short term. Unless we drag it out for a decade or two until Shinra's economy is further developed, the Vienna Government will have the financial power to crush the British.

By comparison, the Air Force's "Endbringer Project" is regarded more favorably. As aviation technology continuously advances, the carrying capacity of aircraft also increases day by day.

Up to now, Shinra Air Force's largest strategic bombers can carry two tons of munitions.

Armed with specially made gigantic bombs, they can already pose a threat to battleships. The only problem is the accuracy, which makes it hard to hit precisely.

However, the Air Force has already started to seek solutions to this problem. If accuracy isn't sufficient, they can make up for it with quantity.

If all else fails, they could gamble on luck, with thousands of bombers in the fray, a few are bound to get lucky. As long as one is willing to spend the money, the Royal Navy can be overwhelmed.

And if luck is really not on our side, there's always the option of crashing planes into warships. Although it sounds like a joke, this type of suicide attack is indeed very effective.

In the Anti-French War, there were reconnaissance aircraft that encountered mishaps in the air and could not return to base normally.

In the final moments, the pilot bravely steered directly toward a French warship, creating a spectacular explosion.

There are more examples like this one, though most did not hit their targets. But whenever they did, the outcome was notably effective.

Of course, this is not to say Shinra pilots truly have no fear of death. It's just that with the aircraft of these days, once an accident occurs at sea, survival is nearly impossible.

Ditching in the sea is out of the question, as they aren't seaplanes. Normal planes trying to land on the sea would simply plop in and sink to the bottom.

Bailing out would be feeding the fish, no message would get back, and even if it did, rescue crews wouldn't arrive in time.

Choosing to crash into an enemy's warship is like taking someone down with you in your final moments. At the same time, it's a contribution to the family, for commendations remain valid after death, and the reward is not diminished.

According to the Air Force's plans, if it ever comes to a crucial moment, they really could go all-in. Death Squads, if seriously sought after, can always be found.

If there's still not enough manpower, accidents can be artificially created. There would be plenty of last-moment choices to take the enemy down with them.

Politics is as dark as it gets. If the interest is high enough, there's nothing politicians won't do.

Franz said with a scoff, "The Air Force's Endbringer Project is the real lousy idea. Thousands of bombers, I can't believe they dared to conceive it.

As aviation technology develops so does the cost of building airplanes, increasing the quality demands for pilots as well.

Once the technology is ready, the cost of thousands of bombers is estimated to be enough to build a hundred battleships.

And yet cheaper, I foresee that the Air Force will be the most expensive in the future. Just wait, it won't take thirty years for the air force's budget to be on par with the army and navy."

If it weren't for his past life experiences, Franz might have been fooled by the Air Force's plan. The pie in the sky they offer does look really appetizing.

It's just a pity that it's delicious, but really not cheap!

Planes aren't valuable now, a few thousand bombers cost tens of millions of Divine Shield, and factoring in pilot logistics and maintenance, it doesn't seem like much.

The future will be different. Soon, planes valued at tens of thousands will be outdated, replaced by ones costing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

It's uncertain if the entire Holy Roman Empire could sustain thousands of bombers, let alone muster them all at once.

Besides, the enemy is not foolish. The British are also developing their air force. Attacking in their backyard means they will fight back.

How many fighters would be needed to escort thousands of bombers?

Just thinking about this question is terrifying. Otherwise, during WWII, the German Three could have sent the entire Royal Navy to the bottom of the sea.

It's not that they didn't desire it, but it was just not feasible. Instead of carrying out this unreliable air force plan, Franz felt that the navy's plan was a better choice.

"All Heavy Artillery Battleship", which is the original timeline's Dreadnoughts. Originally created by the British, which nearly buried the Royal Navy.

Whether or not it ultimately surpasses the British Navy, it at least brings both sides to the same starting point, leveling out the Royal Navy's advantage.

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