I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 193 National Defense Conference

"Welcome, gentlemen."

Inside the Amelan West Department of Defense building, heads of the military and related units are gathered together, with a U-shaped table in the middle and heavy curtains blocking out some sunlight.

Alice sat upright at one side of the table, with Raffarin Lowe beside her. This seemingly young woman caught everyone off guard. Smedley had privately spoken to Alice and received the reply: "She is an expert in modern warfare, with rich experience, and can become a valuable asset to our country's military modernization."

This defense conference is essentially setting the tone for the future, and everyone sitting here has already seen the defense report produced by Raffarin Lau.

Clearly, despite their strong desire to refute her, after conducting an on-site investigation, even the most stubborn officers had to admit that she was right.

Despite having replaced several divisions, the FAL rifle has almost no replacement parts, and damage incurred during training is even difficult to supply.

"Let's get straight to the point. I know you all have a lot to say, but right now, we have to admit that this is the current state of our defense industry."

"The practice of producing advanced weapons at any cost due to war may seem to enhance the strength of combat forces in the short term, but in reality, it will not benefit the forces in the next fifteen to twenty years."

Alice moved an object in front of the U-shaped table, and Raffarin Low placed a disc on it. It was a projector. Immediately afterwards, light emanated from Raffarin Low's right hand, and the curtains automatically pulled open, blocking most of the sunlight.

The projection was a map. Alice cleared her throat, and everyone looked at the scene on the map, which showed the border between South Amelansi and the Sacred Peninsula.

"Gentlemen, isn't it obvious? In our South, dangerous false god beliefs have been and continue to be a major concern for us. The so-called behemoth of the Church will always be our adversary, no matter what."

"We must take action against the power of the church within the next twenty years."

Everyone was startled, but upon closer reflection, they found it reasonable.

For Emeranian, a weak neighbor is reasonable; Lasvia to the east and the Balkan Empire to the southeast are examples. If they were powerful, the geopolitical situation of the Federal Republic of Emeranian would undoubtedly be insecure.

In the middle of the unification war, although the attack on the Lasvia Empire completely dismantled this former empire, the transfer of several main divisions there affected the situation in the south.

The lack of a main front-line attack force allowed the Balkan Empire in the southeast to take advantage of the situation and nibble away at the Amerlane territory controlled by the Southern Army.

Ultimately, for the sake of the greater good, Alice had no choice but to temporarily cede the wealthy southeastern lands and launch a full-scale attack on the heart of the Southern army, the old capital. After defeating the Southern regime, the entire country was still not at peace. Troops were redeployed to the southeast and engaged in a long war of attrition with the Balkan Empire's army.

The situation in the south has also been affected by this to some extent.

The projected images changed with the slides. The second image showed the land now controlled by the church, and in addition to the gold blocks representing the church's control, there were also red arrows.

"Most of the church's land is located by the sea, while its northern border is adjacent to our land. If we want to break through the church, the navy, army, air force and space force need to be completely modernized."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the entire army agreed with Alice's words. After all, this tone indicated that Alice had no intention of reducing military spending.

Given Alice's prestige, no one would say anything even if military spending were cut, but the military would be happy to see it happen. Alice sent three documents to three generals representing their respective branches of the military, who were wearing gray army uniforms, black navy uniforms, and dark blue aerospace force uniforms.

"From now on, military expenditures will be settled on an annual basis. The specific amount of military expenditures for the three armed forces in 658 will have to wait for the Planning Bureau to audit, but the proportion has already been determined."

Alice looked over and could clearly see the uncontrollable smiles on the faces of two people.

"At present, although our navy is already a world-class navy, it is not enough to undertake the foreseeable missions in the future. In 658, the navy's budget will reach 37 percent, and this budget will be used to design, launch and commission three new battleships, at least three cruisers and ten destroyers within 658."

Predictably, the Navy was overjoyed. Alice looked at Admiral Yog Latt holding the budget proposal in his hand, looking like she was about to jump for joy.

"From the perspective of the Aerospace Force, the cost of an aerospace warship of the same tonnage is 100% higher than that of a similar naval warship. This is even on the basis of using a hull built by the navy. So, as of now, in 658, the Aerospace Force only has one aerospace warship. The remaining budget is all used for the service of new fighter jets and bombers."

Don't be fooled by Alice's ability to quickly deploy two spaceships. In reality, the cost of building spaceships is extremely high, and their combat capabilities are actually just so-so. In terms of firepower, they are inferior to an army division's artillery regiment, and in terms of deployment, they are not as cost-effective and flexible as the army's motorized transport.

This thing is essentially a mobile base. Raffarin Low emphasized to Alice that the space battleship is undoubtedly the platform for future spaceships, but it is not cost-effective for atmospheric warfare.

Within the atmosphere, this thing can at most be used as a mobile operational support base or a mobile command post, whether for holding the line or for attacking, that's about it.

Right now, it's just taking advantage of the weak air defense capabilities of neighboring countries. The various propulsion systems of the space battleship are not protected by armor, and a single large-caliber anti-aircraft gun can turn it into a metal floating island.

Therefore, Raffarin Law's suggestion is that future space battleships can be built, but they should not be made in the form of battleships; they should be modeled after amphibious assault ships or aircraft carriers.

Alice realized that, indeed, despite the impressive appearance of the 305 artillery on the "Vigilance" ship, its firepower projection over the same period of time was actually less than that of a divisional artillery regiment.

You know, an artillery regiment only costs a lot of money, and a warning horn costs a lot of money.

Not only should the ships that follow be built in the form of aircraft carriers, but the existing Vigilant should also be converted into a light aircraft carrier. However, Alice still said to keep the 305mm gun. If there are land fortresses that can't be reached by ship guns or destroyed by land guns, they can be hit by this large-caliber airborne main gun.

In summary, although the Aerospace Force did not get the "air fleet like the navy" it had dreamed of, its budget was not low, accounting for 35%.

The two army officials looked worried. Although Smedley was originally from the army, he had become a civilian after taking office as Minister of Defense, so he was naturally unable to stand up for the army.

Alice and Raffarin Law have always believed that the army's function must be to act as the frontline force in ground warfare. High-tech equipment is acceptable, but it is more of a large-scale consumable.

The resumption of production in Carcano is a case in point. Moreover, with the army now numbering nearly 1.5 million, Alice also intends to reduce the military, cutting at least 300,000 within two years to bring the army down to around one million, using the remaining funds to research new artillery.

That's right. Although she cut the army's manpower and new guns, Alice gave the army new artillery, including 155mm and 122mm cannons, quickly replacing the 75mm cannon that the army was currently using extensively.

前者是美制M-1型155毫米榴弹炮，后者是苏制M-30式122毫米榴弹炮，虽然爱丽丝非常中意GC-45式155毫米榴弹炮和D-30式122毫米榴弹炮，但奈何艾美兰西没有自己的布尔博士，也没有相对应的现代化生产设备。

Of course, Alice also plans to start exploring the design of new types of shells such as jujube pit shells and base bleed shells.

In short, if Alice wants to build a modern army, the one she's determined to work on is naturally the army.