Chapter 162: Ambitious Admiralty

Franz had to lament that European politics is chaos. During his two-year emperorship, Austria actually signed close contracts with all European powers.
It is estimated that those who study international history in the future will see these piles of secret contracts, and will lament the work of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, and then leave a bunch of political world unsolved mysteries.
The first is the "Fao-Autumn Pact", which is good for everyone. Let's happily divide the kingdom of Sardinia, because the French Revolution broke out in June.
Then there are the Memorandum of Understanding on the British-Olympic Balkans and the Letter of Understanding on the Issue of British-Olympic Italy. The latter has already been completed. Whether the former can be fulfilled depends on the British's morals.
Needless to say, the Russia-Olympic Treaty is nothing more than the continuation and expansion of the alliance between the two countries. The two countries have been in alliance for decades, and the two sides are each other's most important allies.
Not long ago, a treaty was signed with the Kingdom of Prussia, and the two countries opposed foreign forces to interfere in German affairs. This treaty will be published when the time is right. It is essentially used to deter British people, and it will not be secretive.
Is this over? The facts prove that the Austrian government really loves toss, the Austrian and Spanish secret negotiations have ended, and the two countries have reached a consensus on colonizing overseas-the "Ossi Colonial Treaty" was released.
According to the treaty, the two countries mutually recognize the sovereignty of their respective overseas colonies and must provide each other with help within their colonial activities, such as obtaining logistical supplies in the other colony ...
Now that Austria does not have a colony, it seems that the Spaniards have suffered. In fact, the Spanish government attaches more importance to this treaty than Austria.
There is no way. Spain's decline in this era was so severe that the Sunburst Empire had left them. The British and French colonial empires stepped on their bones from the beginning.
Now that the Austrian Empire is preparing to join overseas colonial activities, their soft persimmons are dangerous again, and they might be stepped on again.
So why not choose to cooperate? Austria's conditions were not excessive. It was only during overseas colonization that they needed to get supplies from their ports, not without giving money.
This humble treaty was completed under the impetus of the Admiralty. It's true that Persimmon is looking for a soft pinch, but Franz didn't plan to lift the table as soon as he came up?
If it wasn't for Spain going all the way down, Franz would like to ally with them, stab France directly, and let them feel what a sandwich cookie is.
Anyway, the shelf of the Spanish powers is still there. The declining Spanish Navy is a little stronger than the Austrian Navy.
Not only Spain, but also the naval ministries of the two small countries, the Netherlands and Portugal, are paying attention, and negotiations are still underway.
This is the price of post-admission. Borrowing the ports of these small countries as a springboard is more reassuring than using English and French.
It was not easy to expand the colony. The first problem was logistical supplies.
If you look at the map, you know that the geographical location of Austria is to open up overseas colonies. In this context, it is important to be able to purchase supplies nearby.
Historically, the Russians ’expedition to the Pacific Fleet was a negative example. Under the blockade of the British, they lacked effective supplies along the way, and they ambushed the Japanese as soon as they arrived.
Franz naturally has to learn a lesson. In any case, it is not wrong to try to establish a good relationship with the colonial country first. Even if it is to grab land, it is a matter of standing firm.
In addition, overseas colonies also need to learn from experience. Now Austria sends people to the colonies of various countries to gather information and learn their management experience.
However, this way of gathering information is not very reliable. It can only see some superficial things, and deeper things need to be learned.
Don't look at how many experts and professors in later generations criticize the backwardness of the colonial management system every day. But in this era, it was possible to establish colonial rule, manage large colonies with a small number of people, and earn a lot of profits. This is a skill.
If everyone cooperates, you can also learn more about them and learn from their successful experiences, so as to avoid losing ground just a few days after opening a colony.
In the final analysis, overseas colonization is still for the benefit. If you have been trading at a loss, it is estimated that no one will participate in it soon.
The admiralty was not working blindly, holding the signed treaty, and then asked the government for funding.
According to the shipbuilding plan proposed by the Ministry of the Navy, the government has allocated 50 million shields of shipbuilding funds to build a naval fleet next to Britain and France within five years.
This is not an exaggeration at all. In this era, the size of the navies of various countries was not large. Even the total tonnage of the British was just over 100,000 tons. As long as the total tonnage of the navy exceeded 10,000, that was the highest in the world.
In terms of tonnage, the Austrian navy is second only to the four countries of Britain, France, and Russia. Obviously, tonnage is not equal to combat effectiveness. Austrian navies are all offshore navies. It is okay to run around the Mediterranean Sea, and the ocean industry may not sink?
Who knows this? Anyway, there are a total of 18,000 tons of navy. From the perspective of Franz, this is a bean sprout navy, which is not as good as a battleship in later generations. However, the tonnage of naval ships in this era is relatively small, and this scale is not too small.
Let's put it this way, if the French suddenly broke out, they could also compete with the British to compete for the position of the world's number one naval power. The gap between the British and French navies is not as great as that in later generations.
At least the gap between tonnages is not that big. At the closest, the gap between the navy's gross tonnages of the two countries was less than 20%. Theoretically, a sudden attack would not win.
Anyway, everyone is a wooden warship, and the shipbuilding technology of each country has not widened much. It is still ten years before the birth of the world's first iron armored ship.
Looking at the shipbuilding plan in hand, Franz did not give face, and asked directly: "I remember last year, the Napoleon built by the French Navy was powered by a steam engine.
You build a bunch of sailing warships, even when the wind is down, do you run past others when it is downwind? "
Secretary of the Navy Philcos explained: "His Majesty, the French steamship battleship is costly to build and difficult to maintain. After full driving, an overhaul is necessary.
Steam battleships did not show obvious advantages on the battlefield. Now the main force of navies in various countries is still sail battleships, and it is too risky to take the risk of adopting new technologies. "
Franz did not care about him for so many reasons, and asked directly: "Can we build it with our shipbuilding technology?"
Filcos thought for a while and said, "In theory, there is no problem. The steam engine is used as power on the ship. We have mature experience in building merchant ships, and it is not a problem to apply it to warships."
Franz was too lazy to talk about it. The navies of various countries were terrible in this age. It is estimated that many people could not imagine that it was not the British but the French who led the naval technological revolution in this era.
In 1849, the French took the lead in applying steam engines to warships, which opened the prelude to the navy warship power revolution. In 1859, the French produced the world's first iron armored ship, ending the era of sailing warships. In 1863, the French would compress the air engines. Applied to the submarine, ending the human power drive and increasing the range of the submarine ...
The technological revolution of the navy was the beginning of the French, and it still cannot change the status of their second-year-old second child. Later, it changed with difficulty. It is estimated that the French would rather stay the same and change from second to third, fourth, fifth ...
Now the Austrian navy is undoubtedly also a representative of conservatives. It is technologically innovating. Just look at the Austrian navy's military expenditures. They have no money for willfulness.
This is where Franz wonders, aren't new technologies first applied in the military and then promoted for civilian use?
How come here, the other way around, so many Austrian steam ships in the Danube run again, why did the Navy never think of making a steamship battleship?
Difficult to maintain? This can also be regarded as a reason. Why didn't I see that steam merchant ships continued to use sail power because of maintenance difficulties?
Franz said earnestly: "The navy should also pay attention to the use of technology. Even if you can't promote technological innovation, others have achieved results, can you follow the study and use it?
Otherwise, what's the use of an outdated navy, no matter how large it is? On the battlefield, you can only be a target! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Navy Secretary Philcos replied wryly.
There is no doubt that the Admiralty's shipbuilding plan had died at Franz.
Technically speaking, it is not too difficult to build the original iron armored ship. As early as 1578, the Japanese created ironclad ships, that is, a layer of iron skin on warships.
Franz didn't want to build a bunch of sailing ships and use them as targets, although the naval battle in the Austrian navy was unlikely in the short term.
He can't make a epoch-making invention, but it is only a conceptual military technological innovation. Isn't this difficult?
It was only a few months after the French produced the armored ship that the followers appeared, and technical obstacles hardly appeared.
The era when shipbuilding technology reflects the industrial level of various countries has not yet arrived. Now the shipbuilding technology of sailing warships is very mature, and there is not much difference in warship performance between countries.
To think about it, Franz did not put forward the ironclad ship theory at first. This is not something the emperor should do. Even if it is to be done, it must be carried out in secret.
Otherwise, William II is an example. He designed the warship himself and then sank directly into the water. This is not surprising if there is no problem. Are the German technicians all idiots? Don't you know to remind the emperor?
Franz will not give people the opportunity to take advantage of it. It is much better to secretly promote technological innovation. Failure is normal. Any new technological innovation is not a success.
Success proves that under the leadership of the great emperor, Austria's technological innovation has taken a step forward. As for the credit for invention, it is unnecessary as an emperor.
If you like the Holy Roman Empire, please collect it: (EbookFREE.me) The Holy Roman Empire has the fastest literature update.