Holy Roman Empire

The interests of the Ottoman Empire were sacrificed, the war indemnity they dreamed of was not received, and the Kingdom of Greece was clinking poorly, with no money to pay at all.

The Greek government has fallen into the control of the three countries. You can't expect to pay them compensation from the pockets of the three countries, right?

For a long time to come, the finances of the Kingdom of Greece will be used to repay the debts of Britain and France. Because of the war, the Greek government has already overdue several loans.

Of course, this kind of trusteeship is only temporary. No one can dominate under the mutual check of the three countries. Naturally, it is impossible to continue the trusteeship for a long time. After the new government is established, the power will be handed over to the new government.

The financial escrow time may take a little longer. The Kingdom of Greece must be able to repay its debts on time before they can regain their financial autonomy.

The Greek government fully opened its markets and ports to the three countries. The ships of the three countries obtained the right of free navigation and the right to garrison troops in the Kingdom of Greece. Customs, minting rights, smoke and salt tax, and road construction rights all fell into the hands of the three countries.

Obviously, in addition to the distribution of benefits, it also means targeting the Russians.Britain and France established another blockade line outside the two straits. Using the many islands in the Aegean Sea, the British and French navies can contain the Russians at any time.

This can only be regarded as a demonstration, the Russians did not even get Constantinople, the first Bosporus Strait could not be controlled, and the Aegean Sea was too far away from them.

The signing of the "Resolution on the Kingdom of Greece" marked the coming of the era of great powers.

In this era, as long as the great powers reach an agreement, the fate of a country can be determined.The essence of the world where the jungle is prey to the jungle is vividly reflected.

Chapter 125 Ironclad Ship

When the Near East War broke out, other parts of the world were also not peaceful. Britain, France and Russia started fighting, which made Americans on the other side of the ocean feel that the opportunity had come.

First, Cuba made troubles, but the Spaniards cut off its tentacles, got a bad nose, and was warned by Britain and France, so it had to continue to shrink back and pretend to be a grandson.

However, the Americans still did not give up. In July 1853, the Americans created the Black Ship Incident in Japan, and used threats of force to force the shogunate government to accept their conditions and signed the "Japan-US Kanagawa Treaty."

According to the feces of the great powers, it is naturally impossible to watch the Americans monopolize the interests of Japan, so everyone joined in, Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries took the lead in entering the field, forcing the shogunate government to sign a similar treaty.

When the news reached Vienna, the Austrian colonial faction saw the opportunity and wanted to take the opportunity to join in.The Vienna government is discussing whether to follow suit and loot.

Prime Minister Felix said: "Your Majesty, Japan is too far away from us, and we don't have much interest there, so there is no need to spend too much energy.

Now our focus is on domestic development, especially sorting out the South German region. Instead of taking actions in East Asia, it is more in our interest to infiltrate the German Federal Empire. "

Secretary of the Navy Felkos objected: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, we don't need to pay much for taking actions in the Near East. The Dutch can force the Japanese government to compromise. It is not difficult for us to obtain equivalent benefits.

Now the Japanese government is already frightened, and dare not reject our proposal at all.

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

In order to open up overseas colonies, Austria did not do any work.Signing an overseas port supply treaty with the declining colonial empire is one of the measures. The price is that Austria must not seek overseas colonies of other countries.

In the short term, it is a blank check. Austria has no overseas colonies in its hands, but no one doubts that Austria has the strength to open up overseas colonies.

According to the usual practice, the entry of emerging empires is bound to seize the sphere of influence of established empires.The Vienna government released goodwill and is willing to coexist peacefully, so everyone will naturally not object.

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

In fact, the Russians had long planned to colonize Japan. If it hadn't been for the outbreak of the Near East War, the Americans might not have taken the lead.

Under the current international situation, it is not a big problem for us to join in and get a share of the pie, but if we want to obtain greater benefits, we must send a naval fleet. "

The Austrian navy is not very good, even after Franz took office and expanded to a certain extent.

However, the strengths and weaknesses are compared. Compared with the two naval powers of Britain and France, it is not worth mentioning. 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 still depends on the interests.

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

For now, let's set our goal on the land of no man. Even if it is desolate, it doesn't matter at all. Just start to accumulate experience.

What we should do now is to send more expeditions to explore the land that has not been occupied by other countries. As long as it is an area that is easy to rule, we can take it down for practice. There is no need to pursue immediate interests too much.

On the issue of Japan, just follow in the footsteps of other countries, and just get some of our benefits without continuing to expand. "

Franz said this with ease on the surface, but in fact his heart was bleeding.It was hard to catch up with the last train of the colonial empire, but because of the strength of the navy, they could only pick up some leftovers from Britain and France.

If you want to rob fat meat recklessly, let alone Britain and France, it is estimated that the old colonial empires such as Spain and the Netherlands can make Austria unable to eat it.

Overseas colonization is not only based on strength, but also on the way of ruling.As a newcomer, join in rashly, these old empires don't need to interfere with force, just dig a hole, and you can lose everything.

Including the fact that the Americans seized the Philippine Islands in history and seemed to have won the victory, but they actually knew it hard.The land that was so rich in the hands of the Spaniards became a money-losing commodity in their hands.

This is still a wealthy Philippine archipelago. If it were changed to a poor and remote place, it would be even worse.

Colonial rule also depends on the cost. If you have no experience in colonial management, if you blindly join the colonial army, you are ready to pay for it!

In contrast, Franz is more willing to go to an uninhabited island to plant the national flag, and just send a few soldiers to garrison it to swear sovereignty, and don't worry about someone snatching it.

Of course, such islands either have bad geological conditions or are too small, and don't expect much benefit, at most they can only be used as resource reserve areas.

Secretary of the Navy Felcos proposed: "Your Majesty, we have been developing in the European continent and have not made a sound in the world. This is very detrimental to our future overseas colonies.

Why not organize a naval cruise around the world, visit countries around the world, and find opportunities to take some unowned lands as our first step out of Europe. "

The rise of almost every maritime power is inseparable from a large-scale naval battle.Apparently Austria had no such opportunity and could not 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 maritime hegemony.

The next best thing, unfortunately, the remaining countries are not worthy of Austria's challenge.Just look at the map, it's simply out of reach, and there aren't enough conflicts of interest.

Unless you go to beat the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Navy once ranked fifth in the world in history, which is barely qualified.

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

If there is no suitable opponent, you can only go another way. Anyway, Austria is an old empire, and there is no need to determine the status of the great powers through war. They are already on the field, so why bother to grab tickets?

As a civilized man, Franz hated war.In his opinion, war means risk, and a lunatic who provokes war without sufficient benefits will definitely not be able to survive in this era.

The current proposal of the Secretary of the Navy is actually based on the international political environment.Since Austria adopts a conservative colonial strategy, force deterrence is very important.

Even if Britain and France cannot be frightened, at least they should show their strength to frighten other countries, so as to avoid unnecessary troubles when they colonize overseas.

Historically, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Americans established their status as a maritime power through a swaggering circumnavigation of the world.

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

In case of an accident in the middle, you will become a fool if you pretend not to change, and then the fun will be great.The Austrian Navy has no experience in the global industry, and whether the warship can bear it is a question.

If a warship breaks down midway, where will it be repaired?How to obtain logistics supplies in the ocean-going industry?How do sailors withstand long-term life at sea?All these aspects must be taken into consideration.

Franz asked directly: "Felcos, are you sure our navy can do this and won't make an international joke?"

The matter is of great importance, and Felcos naturally cannot guarantee it.Not to mention the Austrian Navy, even the British and French navies can't guarantee that there will be no problem with a round-the-world voyage.

Philkos encouraged: "Your Majesty, this is a medium-term strategic concept, and it will definitely not be possible at the beginning. We can first choose an ocean-going voyage route to accumulate experience, and then conduct a global voyage when the time is right.

Moreover, our Admiralty is not unprepared. In order to narrow the gap in strength with the British and French naval powers, our self-developed ironclad ship technology has matured.

We have already placed the order, and it is expected that within two years, the first ironclad ship will be ready to enter the Navy.

This epoch-making warship will definitely rewrite the history of naval warships and eliminate the current naval warships of all countries. "

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

Historically, the outbreak of the German navy was due to the advent of the era of dreadnoughts, which allowed them to see the opportunity to catch up with the British.

The Austrian Navy is no exception. If it develops sailing warships to catch up with Britain and France, no one has the confidence. The gap between them is really too big.

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

Since it is feasible, research and development will naturally be carried out. Most of the increased military expenditure of the Austrian Navy in recent years has been invested in the research and development of warships, and now it is finally about to bear fruit.

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

Blocking technology is impossible. In this era, the navies of various countries are only short of a breakthrough in the concept of ironclad ships, and there are no major technical problems.

During this period, the French Navy also started the research and development of ironclad ships.After the British obtained information on French ironclad ships, they had a similar plan in 1856.

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

What he asked for was to build an ironclad ship, not an ironclad ship with a layer of iron skin on the outside of 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 at all.

Prince Wendisch Gretz asked: "Ironclad ship? Mr. Philkos, are you sure that the all-iron battleship will not sink after being equipped with cannons, and can still run?"

This is the opinion of most people, and the first impression of many people is to be heavy.Ironclad ships must be much heavier than wooden warships, plus artillery, ammunition, personnel, etc., whether they can run is a problem.

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

However, wooden warships are limited by raw materials, and the technology of various countries can only build warships with a displacement of more than 4000 tons at most, but ironclad ships do not have this limitation.

We can make up for this small problem by enlarging the tonnage of the warship.

The armor of the ironclad ship can block the enemy's artillery fire, even if it is a 48-pound gun, it will cause it a little trouble at most.

And because the hull of the ironclad ship is more stable, we can also equip it with explosive bombs and cannons. As long as it hits the vital point against the sail warship, the enemy can be eliminated with one shot.

Ironclad ships are powered by steam engines, so there is no need to worry about speed. You can refer to steam ships.

On the battlefield, an ironclad ship can easily kill more than a dozen sailing warships. "

These are the advantages of the ironclad ship, and the disadvantage is naturally the skyrocketing cost. Naturally, Felcos will not talk about these problems.

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

Prince Wendisch Gretz continued: "I'm sorry, Felkos, I'm not questioning your profession. I'm just a little confused. Ironclad ships have so many advantages, so why don't other countries build them? Has our shipbuilding technology become the world's First?"

Felcos said confidently: "Your Highness, this statement is not accurate, we are not the only ones interested in ironclad ships.

As far as I know, the French have a similar design, but they haven't started implementing it yet.

Both Britain and France have a large number of sailing warships. Once the era of ironclad ships comes, all of their warships will be eliminated.

This is not only an economic 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.Promptly promoting the innovation of shipbuilding technology will bring not only benefits, but also disasters.

As latecomers, we do not have this pressure.Because there is no relationship with overseas colonies, the size of our navy is far from comparable to theirs.

Even if we overthrow everything and start over, we have taken advantage of it.In fact, only two ironclad ships are needed now, which can match the total tonnage of the Austrian Navy. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl exclaimed: "What, the displacement of an ironclad ship actually exceeds [-] tons, how much does it cost?"

It's nothing surprising. The navy ships in this era are not big, and the total tonnage of the Austrian Navy is just that little.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was not surprised by the size of the warship, but the professional reaction, how much it would cost to build such a warship.

Felcos said calmly: "Not that much, I just exaggerated a little bit, the displacement of the ironclad ship is only eight or nine thousand tons.

The specific data will not be known until the construction is completed. You all know that the role of new technologies is full of uncertainties, and a slight error in the final displacement is acceptable.

The cost is indeed a little higher than that of ordinary warships, but the excellent performance of the ironclad ship is still worth the price. If weapons and equipment are included, it will cost more than three or four million dong, not more than five million.

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

A warship plus weapons and equipment takes up one-third of the navy's annual budget. Franz knew that the era of the navy's spending money had arrived.

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

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

Chapter 126 No Choice

Franz did not make an immediate decision on the issue of the future naval development strategy, and this will have to wait until the end of the Near East War.

However, he readily approved the navy's funding for the construction of ironclad ships.In any case, buying the honor of the world's first ironclad ship with a few million guilders, the political benefits alone are enough to pay back.

The new Holy Roman Empire had just been established, and the government needed good news to cheer people up.Building warships with millions of shields to buy a wave of national pride is much better than engaging in face-saving projects.

Global cruising is not something that can be carried out in a short period of time. At least one armored fleet is needed to have a shocking effect.

Franz is not a prodigal son. Before the first ironclad ship comes out to prove its superiority, it is impossible for him to make a bunch of them at once.

When the first generation of ironclad ships comes out, the shipyard has accumulated experience, and it will be easy to upgrade the technology later.

As for the performance of the early ironclad ships, Franz is not worried at all. At worst, they will be upgraded in the future and sold to the Americans during the Civil War.

Not only the Americans, but also many major international customers, the Russians are a potential major customer, although they are a little poorer.

But Franz is not worried. At worst, the Russians will be fooled in the future, and the two countries will engage in naval research and development together on the grounds of saving money.

The French also did it before World War I, and then they pulled the Russians into the pit together.Others are blasting dreadnoughts, but the two countries have not reacted, and have created a bunch of warships that can be retired before they are in service.

Then it is even more important to compete for the honor of "the first ironclad ship". Brand effect is the basis for selling at a good price.

Every technological innovation is half a step ahead of others, which will naturally leave a concept of great technology to the outside world.

Don't think that politicians are so professional. In fact, most of these people can make decisions with a slap on the head.The first thing everyone weighs is the benefit, and the second is the impression.

The same as the sales of ordinary products, the price of products with brand bonuses is always higher, while products without brands can only be sold at stall prices.

Obviously, military products cannot be sold at the price of street stalls. If they do that, they will lose a lot of money.