The Rise of Australia

Chapter 926 Environmental Management Department

The gradual control of desertification around Lake Eyre has brought bad news, that is, the test of the new shells and bullets can no longer be carried out in the desert east of Lake Eyre.

This small desert has long been improved by the environmental management department, and even afforestation has begun.

If the test is carried out in such a place, it will obviously cause trouble for the people in the environmental management department.

After a brief discussion, Arthur decided to put the test site in the desert north of Lake Eyre. Anyway, the distance is not too far, and it can be reached in more than two hours by car.

After several twists and turns, everyone finally arrived at the desert north of Lake Eyre and officially started the test of shells and bullets.

Real people must not be used for the test, so fat cattle and sheep were used to simulate the human body.

The first thing to be tested is the new bullet. Whether shooting cattle or sheep, the new bullet can cause more obvious damage.

It looks like a small bullet hole on the front, but the damage caused to the back after the bullet fragments fly out from the back is amazing.

Although the long distance may cause bullet fragments to remain in the body, it is basically impossible to rescue this level of injury even if surgery is performed in time.

As long as the bullet hits the middle of the human body, the damage caused by the fragments after the bullet breaks can quickly destroy the important organs of the human body.

Even with the technology of later generations, it is not easy to save the wounded, let alone now nearly a hundred years ago.

To sum up in one sentence, as long as you are hit head-on by this bullet, death may be the best result. Because serious injuries will only be a torture of wanting to die but not being able to die, after a few days of torture, you will still face the end of death.

After the new bullet was tested, Arthur was also very interested in the new bomb.

Unlike bullets, this new bomb is just an idea, and it can even be used in the design of missiles and other artillery shells.

It is nothing more than the external large bomb providing power and the internal small bomb providing lethality.

In this test, a total of two sizes of bombs were detonated, namely a medium bomb with 5,200 small cast iron bombs inside and a large bomb with 12,200 small cast iron bombs inside.

Just as Andrick expected, some standard helmets were tied to the cattle and sheep on land, and the thickness of these helmets was about 1.1 mm to 1.3 mm.

Helmets of this thickness are basically the mainstream helmets in European countries, including the army helmets used by Britain and Germany.

Helmets of this thickness weigh about 1.3 kg to 1.5 kg, which can not only ensure that soldiers are not injured by grenades, but also ensure that the pressure on the top of the soldiers' heads is not too great.

If the helmet is heavier, it will cause strain on the soldiers' necks after wearing it for a long time, and it is not conducive to combat at times.

Facing helmets that are only a little more than one millimeter, the effects of the two new bombs are very significant.

Although the small cast iron bombs scattered after the explosion are solid and will not produce any explosion. But the power of such a heavy sharp iron block falling from a high altitude is naturally not to be underestimated.

The damage of high-altitude objects is well known. This kind of iron guy with a sharper head is not comparable to ordinary high-altitude objects.

What's more, these small bombs will definitely explode in the air at a height of more than dozens of floors. According to the height of about three meters per floor in the back room, even if it is a 30-story building, it is only about 100 meters.

But these bombs exploded thousands of meters above the ground, and the small cast iron bombs scattered hundreds of meters or even thousands of meters around, covering this area.

The falling bombs can directly penetrate the bodies of cattle and sheep, even with the coverage of helmets, the outcome is still the same.

Such power is already quite terrible. If it is facing the enemy's army, only a few such bombs can cause thousands of casualties to the enemy's army.

And how much does such a bomb cost? It's just some small iron blocks with strange shapes and bombs powered by the outside, and the cost is even less than a real bomb.

After seeing the power of this new bomb, Arthur is more looking forward to cluster bombs with similar principles.

More importantly, this principle can also be applied to missiles, whether it is attacking any target on land, sea or air, it can definitely create unexpected gains.

After returning to Fort St. Arthur again, Arthur affirmed Andrick's research on new bombs and bullets, and asked Andrick to start producing these bombs and bullets immediately, and study the cluster bomb model mentioned by Arthur.

As a reward for Andrick and other researchers, each of them can receive at least 5,000 Australian dollars in financial rewards, as well as detailed credits for their contributions to the project research.

In addition, Arthur added 2 million Australian dollars in research and development funds to the new bomb and bullet research and development department, so that Andrick can rest assured to study the new bombs mentioned by Arthur.

These bombs and bullets can effectively kill the enemy's vitality whether they are used in the war with the island countries or in the European battlefield.

More importantly, after learning that Australasia is using these weapons in large quantities, Germany and the island countries will definitely not give up, and will also invest a lot of money in related research.

After such lethal bullets and bombs are commonly used by various countries on the European battlefield, the consumption of the effective forces of European countries that Arthur expected will officially begin.

Since he has decided to consume the effective forces of European countries, Arthur must hope that the casualties in these countries will generally reach more than 10 million.

Although this idea is somewhat unethical, if it is based on the interests of Australasia, Arthur's guilt will be relieved a lot.

After returning to the palace to rest for a few days, Arthur called the head of the environmental governance department and asked about Australasia's results in environmental governance.

The environmental management department is under the cabinet and directly under the management of the Government Affairs Council, and its level is far lower than the main cabinet departments.

It has been more than 30 years since the country was established, and its territorial scope has ranked among the top in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that looking at the world, there are not many countries that can challenge Australasia in terms of territory. Britain and France must be counted as colonies.

But so far, the country has only 10 real cabinet departments, and the operations of some departments are relatively bloated.

The House of Representatives has also mentioned reforming cabinet departments before, adding several new departments to share the pressure of these departments, and refining the areas managed by each department. But because the proposal was not mature at the time, Arthur did not agree and has delayed it until now.

The United Kingdom, which has a system similar to that of Australasia, has more than 20 cabinet departments, while Australasia has less than half as many as the British. This has proved the problem.

Of course, the reorganization of cabinet departments will definitely require a vote by the House of Representatives and detailed discussions.

Because this also represents a reform of the power of the cabinet, the number of cabinet members may be increased.

The Minister of Environmental Governance is Angel Fernandez, whose brother is Melbourne Mayor Tasman Fernandez.

The Fernandez family also enjoys a great reputation in Australasia. Both Angel brothers received the title of knight, and their father, Tote Fernandez, who once served in the Guards, even received the title of baron.

The title of baron is hereditary, which also means that as long as the Fernandez family makes no mistakes, there will be at least one baron in the family.

However, judging from the performance of the Angel brothers in the political arena, it is not too difficult for them to fight for a baronetcy at their age in their 30s, with a little hard work and some mixed capital.

This is how aristocratic families have been accumulated. At least in Australasia, which does not have a rich aristocratic background, the Fernandez family has been considered the most successful among the many new-style aristocrats.

Fernandez Sr. received a baronetcy, and both sons also hoped to obtain baronetcy. This can be regarded as having a successor, which is much better than some noble families whose descendants have not yet grown up.

Thanks to the teachings given by the elder Fernandez to his two sons, the loyalty of the two Fernandez brothers to the royal family is unquestionable.

After seeing Arthur, Angel gave Arthur a noble salute very respectfully, which was reasonable given his title of knight.

If you are not a noble, you are not qualified to pay Arthur a noble courtesy.

"Your Majesty, Angel Fernandez is at your service!" Angel looked at Arthur with respect and enthusiasm.

"Okay, Angel, this is not a formal meeting, it's just a private meeting. It doesn't need to be so formal." Arthur smiled, still having a good impression of the two Fernandez brothers.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Angel nodded respectfully again, but his actions showed that he was not relaxed at all.

"I came to you to ask about our environmental management situation. The woods on the other side of Lake Eyre should be the result of your department, right?" For an official like Angel who is both capable and very loyal, Arthur is very satisfied. Patient and kind.

Of course, loyalty is the stepping stone to attract Arthur. After all, the entire country has a population of more than 40 million, and there are many capable talents.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Because the Lake Eyre Canal has effectively improved the ecological environment around Lake Eyre, we plan to build sand control forests in the middle of the two rivers leading to Lake Eyre to completely block desertification. to the west.

If the plan succeeds, millions of square kilometers of land east of the Lake Eyre Canal can be preserved, and we will no longer have a scarcity of land resources. "Angel nodded and told all of his department's plans.

"It's a very good idea. Who came up with the sand forest prevention plan?" Arthur smiled and nodded, quite satisfied with the sand forest prevention plan.

The Lake Eyre Canal brings a large amount of seawater to Lake Eyre. Although plants cannot grow around Lake Eyre due to high salt content, water penetration allows the land to be planted more than ten kilometers away.

After all, Lake Eyre is a saltwater lake. Taking all things into consideration, the Lake Eyre Canal has basically not damaged the ecology of Lake Eyre. The canal plan is completely beneficial and harmless.

"I came up with it, Your Majesty." Angel said truthfully: "Tall trees can block the advancement of wind and sand. In addition, the two rivers leading to Lake Eyre already have water sources, which also provides us with sand prevention." The construction of Lin provided an opportunity.”

"That's a really good idea, Angel." Arthur nodded with satisfaction again, and he liked Angel even more.

For such a capable subordinate, Arthur naturally wanted to train him: "Does the environmental management department have any new plans now?"

"Your Majesty, we plan to build a large number of forest areas around Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens, Lake Gairdner and Lake Frome, forming a real protection line with the Diamantina River in the north.

If it succeeds, it may be possible to save the Great Artesian Basin and prevent the Simpson Desert from expanding eastward." After careful consideration for a moment, Angel told all the next plans discussed by his department.

"This should be a big project, right?" Arthur asked curiously, "How much is the estimated fiscal budget of your department?"

"At least 30 million Australian dollars." Angel said cautiously.

This is a huge financial expenditure for any cabinet department. Not to mention that Angel's environmental governance department is only a small department under the cabinet, it is an astronomical figure that dare not be thought of.

"However, this plan will take at least five years to implement, and the estimated annual fiscal budget required is only about 6 million." Angel was afraid that Arthur would be dissatisfied with the huge fiscal budget, so he hurriedly explained.

"This budget is quite reasonable. It seems that your environmental management department has actually investigated the situation when making the plan." Arthur smiled and nodded, not complaining about the 30 million Australian dollars budget.

I am very optimistic about your plan. Tell Prime Minister Raul that I have approved the 30 million Australian dollars budget for five years, but I hope to see good results in five years. "Arthur smiled and planned to give Angel a chance.

"Yes, Your Majesty. "Hearing that Arthur agreed to his budget application, Angel nodded excitedly and responded to Arthur's words very forcefully.

Hearing Angel's forceful response, Arthur nodded with satisfaction.

To be honest, the environment here does require a very high cost, and Arthur doesn't mind giving Angel a chance to let him use his abilities.

But the premise of all this is that Angel has a certain degree of confidence in his abilities. If Arthur provides funds and Angel has no confidence, then Arthur has to consider whether his funds are valuable.

Cultivating talents is important, but the premise is that talents must have sufficient abilities. Although Arthur still has a good impression of the Fernandez family, this is not a reason for Arthur to be overly biased towards them.