Holy Roman Empire

When the Near East War broke out, the rest of the world was also not peaceful, and the British, French, and Russians started fighting, which made Americans across the ocean feel the opportunity came.

First, Cuba was involved in things. The Spanish cut off their tentacles, touched their noses, and were warned by Britain and France. They had to continue to retract to play grandchildren.

But the Americans still did not give up. In July 1853, the Americans made the black ship incident in Japan, threatening the shogunate with force to accept their terms and signing the "Japan-US Kanagawa Treaty."

According to the feces of the great powers, it is naturally impossible to watch Americans monopolize Japanese interests, so everyone joins one after another, and countries such as Britain, France, the Netherlands, and others take the lead in entering the venue, forcing the shogunate government to sign similar treaties.

The news reached Vienna, and the Austrian colonialists saw the opportunity to join in.The Vienna government is discussing whether to follow the fire and rob.

Prime Minister Felix said: "Your Majesty, Japan is too far away from us, and our interests there are not great, so there is no need to spend too much energy.

Our focus now is to develop the country, especially to sort out the South German region. Instead of taking action in the East Asian region, it is more in our interest to penetrate the German Federal Empire."

Navy Secretary Philcos objected: "Your Excellency, we do not need to pay much for taking action in the Near East. The Dutch can force the Japanese government to compromise. It is not difficult for us to obtain equivalent benefits.

Now that the Japanese government is a startled bird, it dare not refuse our proposal at all.

Even if diplomacy fails, we have an agreement with the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal to obtain supplies from their colonies, and it is not difficult to send a fleet to Asia to deter Japan."

If you want to open up overseas colonies, Austria is not doing nothing.Signing an overseas port resupply treaty with a declining colonial empire is one of the measures, at the cost that Austria cannot conspire overseas colonies of various countries.

In the short term, it is an empty cheque. There are no overseas colonies in Austria, but no one doubts that Austria has the strength to open up overseas colonies.

In accordance with established practice, the entry of new empires is bound to seize the sphere of influence of the old empires.The Vienna government has released goodwill and is willing to coexist peacefully. Naturally, everyone will not object.

Metternich analyzed: "There are many countries that are eyeing Japan, and now they have opened their doors, I am afraid that everyone will flock to it.

In fact, the Russians already had plans to colonize Japan. If the Near East War broke out, I am afraid it would not be the Americans' first chance.

In the current international situation, it is not a big problem for us to join in and take a slice of the soup, but if we want to obtain greater benefits, we must send a naval fleet."

The navy of Austria is not very good, even after Franz took over, it has been expanded to some extent.

However, the strengths and weaknesses are compared. It is not worth mentioning compared to the two naval powers of Britain and France. Naturally, there is no pressure to bully Japan in this era.

However, this cannot be a reason for Austria to send a naval fleet to the Far East. The key depends on the interests.

After hesitating for a while, Franz made the decision: "The Far East is not the focus of our expansion. Even if we are colonizing overseas, we must also avoid conflicts with European countries as much as possible.

Now let's put our goal on the land of no ownership, even if it is desolate, it doesn't matter at all, it should be accumulated experience at the beginning.

What we should do now is to send more expeditions to detect the land that has not been occupied by various countries. As long as it is an area that is easy to rule, we can all take it down and practice it. There is no need to over chase the immediate interests.

Just follow in the footsteps of various countries on the Japan issue, and we can just get some of our benefits without continuing to expand."

Franz said this on the surface, but in fact he was bleeding deep inside.They finally caught up with the last train of the colonial empire, but because of naval strength, they had to pick up some British and French remnants.

If you do n’t know how to snatch fat, let alone Britain and France, it is estimated that the old colonial empires such as Spain and the Netherlands can not allow Austria to walk around.

Overseas colonization is not just about strength, but also ways and means of rule.As a newcomer ventured into it, these old empires did not need to intervene by force, just dig a pit, you can make you lose money.

Including the history that Americans seized the Philippine Islands and seemed to have won, in fact, they felt bitter.The oil-rich land in the hands of the Spanish became money-losing goods in their hands.

This is still the affluent Philippine Islands. If you change to a backcountry, it is estimated that you will lose even more.

Colonial rule also depends on the cost. Without colonial management experience, blindly join the colonial army and prepare to lose money!

In contrast, Franz is more willing to put flags on unmanned islands, and just send a few soldiers to station to declare the sovereignty. Don't worry about someone snatching it.

Of course, such islands are either poor in geological conditions or too small, and do not expect much benefit, at most can only be used as a resource reserve area.

Navy Secretary Philcos proposed: "Your Majesty, we have been developing on the European continent without making a sound in the world, which is very detrimental to our future development of overseas colonies.

It would be better to organize a naval cruise around the world, visit countries around the world, and by the way find opportunities to win some unowned land as our first step out of Europe."

Almost every rise of maritime power is inseparable from a large-scale naval battle.Obviously Austria does not have this opportunity, nor can it find such a stepping stone.

Britain and France can't win at all, and they still can't win after 20 years of development. Franz doesn't want to die, and he doesn't mean to challenge the overlord at sea.

Secondly, unfortunately, the remaining countries are not worth the challenge of Austria.Just look at the map to see that everyone is out of reach and there are not enough conflicts of interest.

Unless going to beat the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Navy once ranked fifth in the world in history, barely qualified.

However, according to the current situation, Franz doubts whether the Ottoman government has the money to build such a fleet.

Without a suitable opponent, you can only take another path. Anyway, Austria is a veteran empire, and there is no need to determine the status of a power by war. Since it is already on the field, why not grab a ticket?

As a civilized person, Franz hates war.In his view, war means risk, and the madman who provokes war without sufficient benefits will definitely not be mixed up in this era.

The proposal of the Secretary of the Navy is actually based on the international political environment.Since Austria adopts a conservative colonial strategy, it is important to use force to deter.

Even if you ca n’t scare Britain and France, you have to show your strength to intimidate other countries, so as to avoid unnecessary troubles when colonizing overseas.

Historically, in the early 20th century, Americans established their status as a maritime power through a glorious voyage around the world.

Feasible is feasible, the prerequisite is that the Austrian navy has that strength.Franz is very skeptical about this. Crossing the ocean is not so simple. Traveling around the world in this era is still challenging.

In the event of an accident in the middle, pretending not to be changed becomes stupid, and then the fun will be big.The Austrian Navy does not have experience in the global industry, and it is a question whether warships can be eaten or not.

If a warship breaks down halfway, where will it be repaired?How to obtain logistics supplies in the ocean industry?How can naval officers and men withstand long-term maritime life?All these issues must be considered.

Franz asked directly: "Fircos, are you sure our navy can do this without making international jokes?"

It is a matter of great importance, and Filcos naturally dare not guarantee it.Not to mention the Austrian navy, even the British and French navies dare not guarantee that there will be no problem in a round the world voyage.

Filcos encouraged: "Your Majesty, this is a medium-term strategic concept, which is certainly not possible at first. We can choose to go to an ocean route to accumulate experience, and wait for the time to mature and then carry out the global voyage.

Moreover, our admiralty is not unprepared. In order to narrow the strength gap with the powerful countries of the British and French navies, our independently developed armored ship technology has matured.

We have placed an order, and it is expected that within two years, the first armored ship will enter the Navy.

This epoch-making warship will surely rewrite the history of naval battleships and eliminate the naval warships of all countries now."

As a catch-up, the best way to gain an advantage in the navy is to promote technological innovation, eliminate old warships, and put everyone back on the same starting line.

Historically, the German navy broke out because of the advent of the Dreadnought, and they saw the opportunity to catch up with the British.

The Austrian Navy is no exception. If you develop a sail warship to catch up with Britain and France, no one has this confidence. The gap between them is really too great.

Since Franz proposed the concept of an armored ship three years ago, it has attracted the attention of the Austrian Navy. After careful research by shipyard engineers, it was found that the armored ship is theoretically feasible.

Since it is feasible, it is natural to carry out research and development. In the past few years, most of the increased military expenses of the Austrian Navy have been invested in the research and development of warships, and now it is finally going to bear fruit.

No matter how many sail warships the British and French have, once the armored ships come out, these warships will be eliminated.

Blockade technology is impossible. In this era, the navies of various countries are only a breakthrough in concept from the armored ship. There are no technical problems.

During this period, the French navy also started the road of research and development of armored ships.The British had similar plans in 1856 after obtaining information about the French armored ships.

Of course, it will take time from research and development to final service. The adoption of new technologies cannot be smooth. Even if the research and development started a few years in advance, Franz is not sure who can build the armored ship first.

What he asked for was to build an armored ship, but not an armored ship covered with a sheet of iron outside the warship.If you just add a layer of iron sheet, it came out hundreds of years ago, and there is no need for research and development.

Prince Wendisch Gretz asked, "Iron armor? Mr. Philcos, are you sure that the all-iron warship will not sink after being fitted with a cannon, and can still run?"

This is the view of most people, many people's first impression is to sink.The armored ship is definitely heavier than the wooden warship, and with the addition of artillery, ammunition, personnel, etc., it is a question whether it can run.

Filcos said dissatisfiedly: "His Royal Highness, please don't question my professionalism. If it is the same tonnage, the armored ship must not be heavier than the wooden warship because of its own weight.

However, wooden warships are limited to raw materials. Nowadays, the technology of various countries can build warships with a displacement of more than 4,000 tons. Iron armor ships do not have this restriction.

We only need to enlarge the tonnage of warships to make up for this small problem.

The armor of an armored ship can block the enemy's artillery attack. Even a 48-pound gun can cause a little trouble for it at most.

And because the hull of the armored ship is more stable, we can also equip the cannon with explosive bombs, as long as the sail warship hits the crucial point, one shot can solve the enemy.

The armored ship uses steam engine power, so there is no need to worry about the speed. You can refer to the steam ship.

An iron armored ship on the battlefield can easily kill a dozen sailing warships."

These are the advantages of the armored ship, and the disadvantage is naturally the cost skyrocketing. These problems will naturally not be mentioned by Philcos.

Anyway, as long as Austria wants to carry out colonial expansion, after seeing the power of the armored ship, the cabinet cannot give up.

Prince Wendisch Gratz continued: "Sorry, Philcos, I am not questioning your profession. It's just a little doubt that the armored ship has so many advantages, so why don't other countries build it? Is our shipbuilding technology has become the world First? "

Philcos said confidently: "His Royal Highness, this statement is not accurate. It is not just us who are interested in the armored ship.

As far as I know, the French have a similar design, but it has not yet been implemented.

Both Britain and France have a large number of sail warships, and once the era of armored ships comes, all these warships will be eliminated.

This is not only a financial loss, but more importantly, most of their naval advantages have been lost, and everyone has to work hard again on the same starting line.

Therefore, even if they have plans in this regard, they must weigh the pros and cons.Boldly promoting the innovation of shipbuilding technology brings not only benefits but also disaster.

As latecomers, we have no pressure in this regard.Because there is no relationship with overseas colonies, the size of our navy is far from comparable to them.

Even if it is all over again, we are taking advantage.In fact, now only two armored ships are needed to reach the total tonnage of the Austrian Navy."

Chancellor of the Exchequer exclaimed: "What, the displacement of an armored ship actually exceeds 10,000 tons, how much does it cost?"

It's no surprise that naval warships are not large in this era, and the total tonnage of the Austrian navy is just that.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was surprised not by the size of the warship, but by a professional response to the cost of building such a warship.

Philcos said calmly: "Not so much, I just exaggerated a little, and the displacement of the armored ship was only 8-9 thousand tons.

The specific data will not be known until it is constructed. You all know that the role of the new technology is full of uncertainty. It is also acceptable that there is a slight error in the final displacement.

The cost is indeed a bit higher than that of ordinary warships, but the excellent performance of the armored ship is still worth the price. With weapons and equipment, it is probably more than 3 or 4 million dongs, not more than 5 million.

This is the first armored ship. Many technologies need to be tested, and the cost will be reduced when the number of constructions increases later."

A warship plus weapons and equipment occupies one-third of the Navy ’s annual budget. Franz knows that the Navy ’s money-burning era is here.

If you use this money to build a sail warship, you can build five or six first-class battleships, which will inevitably bring greater financial pressure to the colonial empire.

Everyone fell into contemplation, and began to weigh the pros and cons, whether to provoke a new round of naval arms race.