Chapter 411: Ferdinand Naval Academy
Hearing that, Ferdinand immediately became interested: "How much do you plan to add?"
Ernst: "According to East Africa's development path, we will not invest much in the army in the coming years, but the navy is an exception. In view of the increasing pressure on coastal defense in East Africa, I intend to make the East African Navy the ninth largest navy in the world after Great Britain, France, America, Russia, Spain, Austria-Hungary and Germany.
In addition to the countries mentioned by Ernst, the Netherlands is currently in ninth place and Italy in tenth place. Before the Italo-Austrian War, Italy was ranked fifth.
The naval power of the Ottoman Empire cannot be underestimated, because since 1860, Sultan Abdullah of the Ottoman Empire greatly developed his navy and purchased many ironclad ships.
On the other hand, Spain is a skinny camel, bigger than a horse. It has never made it into the list of world naval powers and is much stronger than its neighbor Portugal.
There are no East Asian countries on the list. The only East Asian country with enough capacity to develop naval power is the Far East which has not yet begun. Japan is relatively poor and does not have enough money to strongly develop its navy.
The East African Kingdom also had no money, but Ernst was extremely rich. Through the sale of a large number of assets, Ernst had money in hand. Ernst therefore confidently said: "We don't want to buy too many. I think seven battleships is a more appropriate number, enough to deal with the current coastal defense situation that the South African Navy is facing." face".
"How much? Are you sure this isn't a traditional wooden warship? This is an iron-clad ship!" Crown Prince Ferdinand immediately could not sit still for fear that Ernst would deceive him.
"Of course they are battleships, but I want to explain first that the tonnage of these battleships must be about 3,000 tons," Ernst said. Like giant warships of over 5,000 tons, I plan to build only two 7,000 ton ships. Armored ships weighing several tons or more are no longer considered.
After hearing Ernst's answer, Ferdinand stammered: "Okay, okay, okay..." He first had to calm down.
Constantine was also a little surprised. He suddenly felt a little strange to his son. This is Ernst, who was once obsessed with the navy! So he said, "Ernst, if you're really going to do this, it's going to be a huge expense. The purchase of warships alone is an astronomical figure. »
Ernst signaled his father not to worry: "Father, I really didn't mean to deceive myself this time. We have enough money."
Constantine asked: "What did you do in North America?" There's no way you stole from the US Treasury! »
Ernst smiled and said: "If I really rob the US treasury, I dare to try to become the world's first navy.
Ernst changed the subject: "And don't think too much. This amount is the navy's funding source for the next seven years. In seven years, a total investment of more than 200 million East African river guilds will be made. Funds are limited so I need more from my father-in-law. "Begin relations with Austria."
Two hundred million East African Rhine guilders was nearly seven million pounds, and by 1870 the Royal Navy's annual expenditure had reached nine million pounds.
The process will take an average of seven years, meaning East Africa will invest around one million pounds a year over the next seven years to build the navy.
But in fact, every year the East African government also allocates separate funds for the East African Navy. However, the East African government was as poor as the Japanese government, so the amount of money was not much, but it was more than enough to pay salaries and improve food for the African navy from the east.
Grand Duke Ferdinand confirmed that he was not dreaming, nodded seriously and said: "Leave this matter to me!" With this money, I promise to build a powerful navy.
For Crown Prince Ferdinand, this was truly a rich battle. If there were enough money, funding for the East African Navy would immediately be on par with the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Although there is no shortage of funds, the advantage of the Austro-Hungarian Navy over the East African Navy lies in its solid family foundation, complete industrial system, complete talent training system and rich experience. his wealth.
Therefore, Archduke Ferdinand said: "With money, a lot of things can really be done, but there is still an immediate problem we need to solve, which is the professional education and training system in the navy.
Ernst completely agrees on this point. This aspect is actually East Africa's biggest fault, which is why he sought advice from Crown Prince Ferdinand: "Father-in-law, you should also express what you think. Archduke Ferdinand: "The East African Kingdom has absolutely no foundation in this field, so it must adopt a comprehensive naval education system from Europe, build naval schools and cultivate professional naval talents . My idea is to build a comprehensive naval education system in Pemba. Island."
"Pemba Island!" It's a really nice place. »
"Yes, Pemba Island can better simulate a naval combat environment. It's a big place and has handy supplies. At the same time, it has a military base available to facilitate students' practice activities..."
Pemba Island reminded Ernst of the Etajima Naval Academy from Japanese films in his previous life, which was still called the Japanese Naval Academy.
When it comes to establishing a naval school in Japan, it was actually a relatively helpless matter, because at that time Japanese naval students were rejected everywhere. The exact reason is unknown and may be due to the dog's breed.
However, the East African Kingdom does not have this problem. Since Archduke Ferdinand founded the East African Navy, the East African government has organized studies at the Austrian Imperial Naval School every year.
Not to mention Crown Prince Ferdinand, other European countries will also recruit students from East Africa just because of Constantine and Ernst. At least the countries that had good relations with the Principality of Hechingen in the past did not have any problems.
However, Archduke Ferdinand still believed that East Africa should have its own naval training system. This also fits Ernst's idea of independence!
It's just that Ernst didn't think about this because he hadn't paid much attention to the navy before. Now that Crown Prince Ferdinand has mentioned it, we can do it together.
Ernst: "That's right, I need to bother you more about how to operate it. The cost of building the naval school will be funded by me alone, not from the previous ship purchase fund."
"No problem. Regarding teaching resources, I believe that with my connections, I can recruit many outstanding talents in Austria.
Ernst and Archduke Ferdinand reached a consensus on poaching Austria, which was actually a good thing for Austria.
The Austrian Navy has never been taken seriously. Despite defeating Italy and reclaiming Venice, funding for the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not increase (it also decreased during this period in its history).
An important task of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was to suppress the Italian Navy. Now that Italian unification was impossible, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had even less incentive to invest in its navy. For this reason, Imperial Navy Commander von Tegerthof was very worried. (The story changes and von Tegerthoff did not die young.)
This is also an important reason why the Austrian Navy received orders from "Grand Duke Ferdinand". If there is no money to build warships, it is better to build them for East Africa. Thus, the country will be able to gain experience and avoid losing Austria's ability to build warships. At the same time, it can test new technologies. I can't use it now because I don't have the money, but I won't do without it when I need it in the future.
. But there are no such concerns when selling in East Africa. First of all, the two countries maintain close relations. Second, East Africa does not currently have this capacity. Finally, Archduke Ferdinand was the Emperor's younger brother and a former naval commander.
Grand Duke Ferdinand: "Let me tell you one more thing, what should this naval school be called?
Ernst: "Just use your name, Ferdinand Naval Academy. After all, the East African Navy was founded under the leadership of your father-in-law.
Honestly, Ernst believes that there are few top talents in the world more suitable for the development of the navy than Crown Prince Ferdinand. Crown Prince Ferdinand's re-employment in the East African kingdom's navy really helped him a lot.
Without Crown Prince Ferdinand, the development of the East African navy would be extremely difficult. For example, the Far Northeast Navy was deceived by the British and had to take many detours during the recovery process, spending too much money to get the job done.
"Ferdinand Naval Academy!"
Hearing the name Ernst gave, Crown Prince Ferdinand seemed happy, this is also recognition of his achievements over the years. (End of this chapter)