Chapter 415 In Trieste
Building the new Hamburg port was even more difficult than building the original Mtwara port in East Africa. Not only is it far from East Africa, lacking population and industrial support, but the scale of the project is much larger than the Mtwara port. Therefore, the new Hamburg port needs to prioritize the construction of a military port.
While preparing to build the new Hamburg port in East Africa, Crown Prince Ferdinand also went to Austria and easily disembarked at the port of Trieste.
At the royal shipyard, Ferdinand asked with interest: "Is this this giant armored ship the new main battleship of Austria?" What is its approximate measure? How does it compare with Lissa? »
The engineer said somewhat despondently: "If this is really a warship of the Austrian Navy, that would be great, but according to the Navy, they have no plans to build a new ship. This ship was ordered from abroad. I do not know." Which country is that?" Yes, this ship has a larger displacement than Lisa by more than 200 tons, and it also has more advanced technology than Lisa.
Archduke Ferdinand: "Didn't Austria retake Venice? Today, control of the Adriatic Sea has returned to Austria. The results of this naval battle were not inferior to Lisa's last battle. Why is there no plan to build new warships? »
The engineer said: "Yes, just because the battle was better than last time, the navy captured many ships of the old Italian Adriatic Fleet. Besides the distribution to the Papal State and the Kingdom of Naples, the rest is all from the navy." This sequence led the Hungarian Parliament to believe that the navy no longer needed new ships and therefore refused funding, demanding a reduction in funding for the navy. Fortunately, General Tegetthov argued fiercely and tragedy was averted. »
Grand Duke Ferdinand sighed: "Is life in the Imperial Navy that bad now?" Not even as good as when I was a naval commander?
The engineer smiled and said: "In fact, since the last war between us and Prussia ended, the empire's power has been divided into two. All spending must be negotiated by Austria and Hungary. It has no impact on the economy. for industries like the military industry that need financial support, there is no benefit. In fact, not only the navy but also the army is going through difficult times. You should know that the defense pressure on our country's territory is not small. They even objected to military spending, so the navy naturally did not need to raise objections.
Grand Duke Ferdinand said at the time: "Well, it seems that the empire's internal conflicts have become more acute. Franz is really not easy.
The engineer said: "Your Majesty, Grand Duke, I also think that this contradiction still persists and is not beneficial to Austria. The decision-making efficiency of the empire is inherently poorer than that of other countries. This is even more true since the dual system was established. This generation is still the same. It's easy to say, everyone knows the truth about living under one roof, and the next generation may not be able to maintain that at all.
Grand Duke Ferdinand: "So what do you think the empire should do now?"
Engineer: "There are only two ways. The first is to sit back and wait for the conflict to fully erupt. The second is to directly expose the conflict and carry out reforms first. However, not every method is a good solution. idea. The first is chronic death, the second method will most likely cause the empire to die soon.
Crown Prince Ferdinand doesn't think so. After a long time in East Africa, East Africa's governing style also deeply influenced Crown Prince Ferdinand.
"Actually, for me, the second method can still be tried. Sometimes a battle can solve a lot of problems. As for the problem of losing control, unless there is foreign intervention , but in the current circumstances of the European continent, the likelihood of this happening is very high." It's okay to happen. can be omitted. »
Engineer: "Ha ha ha, only your Great Cong has the confidence to say this, we don't dare to think like that."
In the engineer's opinion, Crown Prince Ferdinand can stand and speak without pain. Hungary's importance to the empire is obvious. Without Hungary, the empire is nothing.
If Archduke Ferdinand knew what the engineer was thinking, he probably wouldn't have been convinced. If civil war breaks out, Austria will not lose.
Currently, the Austrian army and the army under Albrecht's leadership both have relatively strong martial virtue. In addition, Austria's natural relief suppressed Hungary. If the Hungarian nobles really caused trouble, they certainly would not receive any favors. If Crown Prince Ferdinand took over this country, he would prefer to participate in this war. After all, Hungary is very big, at that time he can directly divide it and even expel it.
But Crown Prince Ferdinand just thought, I'm afraid that if he were in Franz's position, it wouldn't be much better. But this is a much bigger change than before. In the past, Archduke Ferdinand acted as a peacemaker and conciliator in Austria and Mexico.
Later it turns out that kindness is just considered a weakness and career-oriented people don't care whether you are actually kind or not. If you reach this position, you will become an enemy.
Of course, the most important thing is that Archduke Ferdinand witnessed Ernst's method of treating the indigenous people of East Africa and realized that no one in this world is essential, like the indigenous people Africa. Ernst's job is to preserve the land. The land leaves no one behind, and it's the same, and the Hungarians may not be so important to Austria.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I want to know if the shipyard has any vacancies nearby? Archduke Ferdinand started talking business. Engineer: "When it comes to space, there really isn't any. Although the Navy does not have orders, civilian merchant ships have many orders!
Grand Duke Ferdinand: "There are no vacancies left! Why has the civil transportation industry recently exploded?
Engineer: "That's right. The main reason is that the current economy is very good and shipping is developing rapidly. Especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, the old fleets on the Mediterranean coast have been revived, so they are now urgently being built." new ship.
Archduke Ferdinand asked: "How long will it take you to leave your post?"
The engineer comfortably replied: "In the case of our factory, it would be two years later."
"Two years later!"
"Yes, there is a group of Austrian businessmen who have recently bought many ships. I heard they want to participate in the Far East trade, but I am not optimistic about their decision. After all, the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company was the truly wealthy company. I heard they want to get involved in the Far East trade. In recent years, most of the trade from the Far East to the German area has been monopolized by merchant ships of the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.
Ferdinand had a headache: "Is the situation at the other shipyard the same as yours?"
"Sure. Since Italy failed, most of the business is monopolized by us and French shipyards. If you don't require high technology, you can also go to Italy. After all, even though Italy is not a good country, its shipbuilding industry is still good."
Due to two defeats at sea at Trieste, the Italian navy was indeed somewhat in question. Of course, the most important reason was that due to the war, the economy of the Kingdom of Italy suffered great damage, and the restoration of the Kingdom of Naples also divided many industries.
"Does this mean it's also possible to go to Italy?
"It's hard to say. I heard they are having a serious brain drain. Many technical staff have gone abroad. Our shipyard has several Italian technical staff. Many shipyards have gone bankrupt."
Archduke Ferdinand also knew about it. Bagamoyo shipyard at that time employed many Italians.
From this perspective, Crown Prince Ferdinand really did not know where to go to solve the problem of supplying warships. The main reason he came to the Austrian Royal Dockyard was to do a lot of work for free and reduce costs, in order to save more costs for the navy, but he also only had to do it if he had the opportunity. As a last resort, Archduke Ferdinand had no choice but to contact Ernst in East Africa via a dedicated telephone line installed at Ernst's residence in Trieste to explain the situation.
Ernst: "This is not urgent. We can wait for their giant armored ship to be completed before placing an order. That will be around March next year."
Grand Duke Ferdinand: "Ernst, how did you know there was a warship at the royal shipyard in Trieste?"
Ernst quickly explained: "Yes, after all, my company has many business relationships with Royal Shipyard, so knowing this is normal. I knew this before coming to East Africa."
(End of this chapter)