Chapter 76: Expansion of the Military Factory and Shipyard (Please Subscribe!)
Translator: 549690339 |
These loan services, all in all, borrowed over half a million pounds from the Royal Bank, while the deposit service only brought in ninety thousand pounds in cash.
If it weren’t for Arthur’s abundant assets, he might not be able to support such a large consumption.
The good news is that with this huge investment, Australia is likely to give birth to a group of middle-class people, like farm owners or other shop owners in the future.
With sufficient start-up funds, Australia is expected to experience a surge of entrepreneurship in the future.
These people can also drive Australia’s economic development, providing more income for Australia and Arthur.
“Hunter Steward, when can the branches in other states start to operate? The Royal Bank is doing quite well in Sydney, it’s time to extend the branches to other states.” After reading the report, Arthur puts it on the table, looks at Hunter Steward and asks with a smile.
“Due to the distance of other states, the time of commencement varies. However, it is certain that all branches of the Royal Bank in other states will open in the next three months.” Hunter Steward reported with a smile.
The bank doesn’t require much in terms of architecture and decoration. All you need to utilize is simply refurbishing idle houses on busy streets.
The gold vault for storing funds poses the only special requirement. The Royal Bank uses several large safes, combined with a heavily guarded strategy.
Although it is not comparable to future advanced surveillance and security systems, anyone attempting to snatch the bank’s funds under such defense would need to resort to strategic weapons, or mobilize a large army.
The problem is that neither strategic weapons nor a large army could appear on Australian soil at the moment.
“Make sure to be careful with storing the details of deposits and keep as many backups as possible. I don’t want any mistakes to occur in our bank. Otherwise, it could tarnish the reputation of the royal family.” Arthur cautioned.
Disputes leading to bitterness can easily arise when it comes down to the most fundamental interests, such as money.
Arthur doesn’t want his painstakingly established bank to tarnish his reputation, causing massive damage to his status and the prestige of the royal family.
“I understand, Your Highness. In addition to the bill we give to each customer, our bank will keep three bills, stored in the local bank, the head office, and the data repository. We will strive to prevent any mistakes from happening. If errors occur, we will resolve them as quickly as possible.” Hunter Steward
nodded in response.
Inevitably, mistakes will occur in institutions like banks that involve large-scale funds. Although Arthur always emphasizes preventing mistakes verbally, he acknowledges that mistakes are bound to happen as long as bank employees are human.
Compared to not making mistakes, how to properly handle the situation after making a mistake is also very important.
“We also need to select loyal people as branch managers. The Royal Bank will be an important institution for us to coordinate the Australian economy in the future. We must not lose credibility in the public’s eyes.” Arthur reminded.
When an error occurs, people won’t care who exactly made the mistake. As it is the Royal Bank, Arthur and the royal family will be the ones bearing the brunt of it.
“Yes, Your Highness. The people selected for the branches all came to Australia with us, their loyalty is quite reliable.” Hunter Steward explained.
It has to be said, apart from leaving Arthur a huge inheritance, Arthur’s father, Duke Arthur, also left many loyal and reliable officers, which is extremely precious.
Originally, they served Duke Arthur, now they will only serve Arthur. Compared to others, their loyalty is quite reliable.
“Well, that’s good, Hunter Steward. Don’t forget about the construction of the shipyard and the arms factory. In a while, aid will arrive from Britain and Germany, and our arms factory and shipyard will have the opportunity to expand. At that time, the military will have an order. Have the arms factory and shipyard ready in advance.” Arthur nodded in satisfaction.
With the arrival of aid from Britain and Germany, Australia’s industrial development will also enter a rapid phase.
Especially for Arthur’s arms factory and shipyard, with the technological assistance from Germany and Britain, the expansion of the two factories is an inevitable trend.
Whether it’s the production line of the Gew Rifle or the cannon technology from Germany, they are all valuable materials that the arms factory can learn and draw on.
And an arms factory that has mastered these technologies will become the most reliable source of weapons and equipment for the Australian Army.
The shipyard is naturally not exempt. Even though it is directly transferred from Britain and regarded as advanced, although small scale, it does have the capability of independently building small warships.
After absorbing the naval technology aid from Britain and Germany, there is hope for the shipyard to be expanded into a large one, and possess the qualification to build the strongest main battleships currently available.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll have the arms factory and the shipyard made ready.” Hunter Steward responded.
“By the way, the assistance from Germany this time also includes the blueprints and data of the Brunswick-class battleship. Now, we can start increasing the number of workers and technical experts in the shipyard. I hope that once Germany’s naval aid arrives, we can master their shipbuilding technology and this powerful battleship at the fastest speed.” Arthur seemed to have recalled something and hastily added.
Compared to other naval assistance from Germany, the blueprints and data of the Brunswick-class battleship are undoubtedly the most important.
If Australia can quickly master the manufacturing technology of this battleship, there might be a chance to receive several battleship production orders before the birth of the dreadnought.
Hearing Arthur’s words, Hunter Steward was slightly surprised, but he swiftly responded, “I understand, Your Highness. After I return, I will immediately instruct the shipyard to rapidly expand its number of employees and wait for the aid to arrive from Germany.”
“One more thing, Hunter Steward. Organize a team to visit Europe and America to recruit those scientists who have been unable to make progress due to lack of research funding. Australia can provide ample research funding and venues for them. The requirement is that they must serve Australia for ten years. After which, they can choose where they want to belong to.” Arthur continued.
For European countries that already have a well-developed education industry, not every scientist can get the ample research funding they want.
This has resulted in many scientists being stuck in debt and frustration. This makes it the best opportunity for Australia to help them.
Although these people might just have been forced to choose Australia due to their research funding issues.
Their approval for Australia may not be high, and some might not have any approval at all.
This is why Arthur set a ten-year service term. If the term were longer, it would be better for Australia.
But it would deter many others who are not willing to serve another country for such a long time.
In fact, ten years isn’t a short period of time. If one lives in any country for ten years, without any dramatic incidents, they are likely to develop feelings for that country. This is exactly what Arthur aims for..