Smile, Wilhelm!

"My dear friend," 

Bismarck quickly pondered for a moment, having already made up his mind, and turned to Ron: 

"You know, given our country's financial and economic strength, it's not just this army of less than 220,000 men; even an army of 250,000 or 300,000 could be supported. The real problem lies in the parliament. But will such a large-scale expansion of the army in a short time cause a decline in its combat effectiveness?" 

Ron fixed his gaze on Bismarck's eyes. He understood that the tall and strong man in front of him was not just a diplomat. When he was young, Bismarck had served in the army, and even now, he held the status of a reserve officer. As far as the army was concerned, Bismarck was no outsider. 

Bismarck's concerns were far from baseless. To many outsiders, the expansion of the army seemed as simple as addition: combining the existing forces with newly recruited troops to form a stronger fighting force. However, the reality was far more complex. Even though Prussia was a martial nation, newly enlisted young men couldn't immediately become qualified soldiers. Perhaps they had already been exposed to weapons in civilian life, or had learned some tactics through the teachings of their elders or from books. But this fragmented "knowledge" was not systematic enough to transform them into qualified soldiers simply by donning a uniform. 

Therefore, to train these new recruits into competent soldiers, they required scientific, long-term training. Organizing such training needed essential personnel, space, and resources—things that could only be drawn from the existing forces. During this time, the combat effectiveness of the current army would inevitably be affected, a point often overlooked by outsiders. 

Even after the recruits completed their basic training and acquired essential combat skills, that was just the first step in forming new combat power. As many military strategists argued, the army was an art of organization, and its combat effectiveness was formed as a whole. New soldiers, no matter how skilled they were, remained "atomized." If these "atoms" couldn't be organized into a cohesive unit, they would remain scattered, and a "scattered army" could never win on the battlefield. 

Thus, the most important task after the recruits completed their training was to integrate them into existing units, making them part of the whole. This process took time and effort, which explained why the combat effectiveness of an army often decreased after receiving large numbers of new recruits. 

The situation was even more complicated when forming entirely new units. Without an existing organic structure, the organization and training of new units, as well as the development of their combat effectiveness, required even more time and effort. While it might take only weeks or months for a unit to recover its combat effectiveness after receiving new recruits, it could take a year or even longer for a new unit to develop basic combat power. 

"In the short term, there's no way around it!" 

Ron stroked his beard and spoke frankly to Bismarck: 

"You know, this isn't as simple as expanding a few regiments. We need to form 55 new regiments over the next three years, which means we'll need to establish 18 or 19 new regiments every year on average! If we start from scratch, it's impossible to form all 55 regiments within three years. To meet this plan, we must draw on experienced soldiers and officers from the existing units, which will inevitably impact the combat effectiveness of the current army. Even with the most optimistic estimates, the first year of a new unit's formation will have little combat power..." 

"So, during the period of army expansion, that's when we're most vulnerable," Bismarck mused. 

"During this time, we are most susceptible to attacks..." 

"Exactly," Ron replied succinctly. There was a half-sentence left unsaid: ensuring that the Prussian army didn't face a major war threat during these three years was precisely the task of a statesman and diplomat like Bismarck. With Ron's understanding of Bismarck as a "military-aware" statesman and diplomat, he knew this without needing further explanation. 

Bismarck nodded and, in his sharp voice, whispered: 

"So, we need to extend the soldiers' service period to three years, so we can retain more experienced soldiers to maintain combat effectiveness and provide a backbone for the new units..." 

"Exactly!" Ron agreed. 

"You know, the benefits of extending the service period go beyond that! The gentlemen in parliament always see soldiers as machines that march and shoot, but what soldiers do is far more complex than just marching and shooting! Even the best recruits need almost a year to grow from a complete novice to a qualified soldier. To work closely with their comrades and understand the command skills of their officers, they need another six months. If we have a two-year service period, then the soldier's combat effectiveness is highest and most stable just before he is about to be discharged. Once the soldier leaves, the tactical skills and camaraderie he developed will quickly fade, and it will take additional time, effort, and money to rebuild them." 

"I completely agree with you," Bismarck continued. 

"A two-year service period also means faster turnover of enlisted men at the grassroots level, with half the soldiers being replaced every year. If we extend the service period to three years, the turnover rate will be reduced to one-third, minimizing the fluctuations in combat effectiveness." 

Ron gave Bismarck a look of full agreement: 

"If the members of parliament understood military affairs as well as you do, it would be a real blessing for Prussia!" 

"Hah, even if those people had been in the barracks since birth, they still wouldn't ease up on military spending," Bismarck said with a sarcastic tone. 

"Nothing in this world is more important to them than their purses!" 

"That's your problem to worry about, sooner or later," Ron said, pouring himself a full glass of beer and taking a large sip. 

"At least it's not my problem yet!" Bismarck replied with a hint of melancholy, filling his own glass. In front of the king, Bismarck could be calm and even play hard to get, but in front of Ron, there was no need for such careful defense. After all, with Ron's understanding of Bismarck, how could he not know what was on his mind? 

"Speaking of which, is there really no room for negotiation on the specific budget?" After drinking most of his beer, Bismarck turned to Ron. 

"You know, it's not that I don't trust you..." 

"I know," Ron set his glass aside. As a veteran of high-level military affairs, Ron knew exactly what Bismarck's question meant. Bismarck wanted to understand how much flexibility he had on the specific budget issue. 

"But this number is the result of several rounds of negotiation. I'll be honest with you, the military budget is already hard to reduce. This is almost the bottom line I need." 

When Ron said this, he noticed Bismarck's eyebrows raise in surprise. So, he continued explaining: 

"As you know, just the expansion of the army alone requires a significant amount of money. We not only need to pay the soldiers' salaries, food, and clothing, but also cover various miscellaneous expenses. Just the cost of building barracks for the newly expanded units is a large sum..." 

Bismarck, though not an expert in economic matters, understood that large-scale "infrastructure projects" like building military barracks were never cheap. While they were talking, Ron stood up and took a document from a drawer, handing it to Bismarck.

"This is my trump card!" Ron said.

Bismarck took the document and saw that it was in the form of a memo, detailing the costs associated with Ron's military reform plan in various areas. The memo was very detailed, with many beautifully drawn charts showing the breakdown of costs for each sub-item.

Bismarck, of course, didn't have the time to go through it all, and in fact, he wasn't interested in doing so. He quickly skimmed through a few pages and said to Ron, "I naturally trust you 100%!"

"I don't doubt that," Ron said, knowing Bismarck's temperament. He waved his hand and continued, "But as a friend, I think it's necessary for me to explain a few things."

With that, he took the memo back, opened a few pages, and pointed out, "I've drastically cut the budget for the reserve army and reduced their size. Given our country's situation, in the next five years, any foreign military actions will need to be quick and decisive, relying more on the regular army rather than the reserves. In other words, the reserve army's strength can be sacrificed for the time being, so there's no need to waste precious funds on this aspect—see, I'm saving wherever I can."

Then, Ron shifted the conversation, saying, "But there are a few things that absolutely cannot be cut! The most important of these is the training budget!"

Bismarck understood immediately. The development of a military's combat effectiveness, including soldier skills and tactics, relied heavily on training, and the equipment used during training also incurred costs. Following Ron's finger, Bismarck noticed that under the major category of training expenses, the cost of live-fire shooting accounted for a significant portion.

Ron, noticing where Bismarck's attention was focused, spoke slowly, "I'm sure you've noticed that the live-fire training in this plan has a very high cost. According to my plan, whether for newly formed or existing units, every month there will be live-fire training, and twice a year there will be live-fire drills!"

"That's quite frequent!" Bismarck said, surprised. He remembered that during his time commanding troops, his infantry regiment might not even conduct a live-fire exercise once a quarter, and live-fire drills were rare. In fact, when he was in charge, training was more focused on physical fitness and bayonet drills, and shooting was far from frequent—because ammunition and firearms were too expensive...

"How did the Khitan people put it? 'You can't catch a wolf without first parting with your shoes'?" Ron shrugged and said, "Times have changed. The army no longer carries smoothbore muskets from the Napoleonic era. While physical fitness and bayonet drills are important, the importance of shooting has never been higher. If we can't master this, we won't win future wars!"

After a pause, Ron continued, "In a way, focusing on shooting training is actually a great tradition of the Prussian army. Frederick the Great's army did more shooting training than any other great power. His army consumed more gunpowder annually than the larger Austrian or Russian armies. So even on the bloody battlefields filled with smoke, the Prussian army could fire four or five shots per minute. Without this capability, the Seven Years' War would have ended in our defeat in the first year!"

Bismarck nodded in agreement. On military matters, he was a firm believer in Clausewitz's ideas, trusting that war was the continuation of politics, but emphasizing the political nature of war didn't mean military means were unimportant. Clearly, Ron had more expertise in military matters.

"I didn't just elevate shooting training to a higher priority," Ron continued, showing no sign of stopping. He pointed to another chart and said to Bismarck, "I also want to update the army's weapons and equipment!"

Bismarck looked over and saw that the budget for purchasing weapons and equipment was enough to make him raise an eyebrow, but Ron continued, "Of course, we need new cannons and sharper, more durable bayonets, but for the Prussian army, nothing is more important than this!"

With that, Ron stood up from his seat, walked over to a cabinet, and Bismarck noticed a narrow box leaning against the cabinet. The tall and athletic Ron effortlessly picked it up and held it in front of his chest. Bismarck, curious, stepped forward just in time to see Ron open the box, revealing whatever marvelous item it contained.

"Look at this treasure, I'd gladly spend any amount on it..." Ron's voice changed slightly, almost like a whisper to a lover. "This, this will be the sword that makes Prussia invincible!"