Customers were gods. Whether the weapons they bought suited them or not was their freedom.
As the saying went, "A thousand pieces of gold can't buy my happiness." On this matter, the Holy Roman Empire's military-industrial enterprises were all clear-headed. They never forced customers to buy products they did not like.
There were no technology blockades or export restrictions whatsoever. This was the nineteenth century; even if they bundled up all the weapon blueprints and gave them away, few countries would be able to reproduce them.
As for reverse-engineering technology from weapons, that went without saying. The British were probably the only ones capable of doing it. Even if other countries managed to work out the technology, they would not be able to mass-produce it anytime soon.
So the question was: what could the British do by developing a pile of army equipment?
Surely they were not planning to compete with the Holy Roman Empire for the arms market?
One had to know that this was an era of rapid generational change in weaponry. What was advanced technology today might be cast aside by the times tomorrow.
To remain ahead, continuous investment was essential. Given the current size of the international arms market, no matter how hard one worked at it, peacetime could not support more than a few money-devouring beasts.
The Holy Roman Empire's military-industrial enterprises could keep investing because the Holy Roman Empire itself was the world's largest arms buyer. Its own military expenditure alone accounted for more than one-third of total global military spending.
British military expenditure was indeed considerable, but that depended on the London Government being willing to pour money into the army. Unfortunately, that was impossible.
The British Government already had to work hard enough merely to preserve the Royal Navy's advantage. Starting an