Although the shipbuilding plan of the Admiralty was not approved, the strategic plan for provoking the Anglo-Russian war was highly praised by Frederick.
In any country, the most fearful thing is the bureaucratic inaction. Only busy bureaucrats are good bureaucrats.
Although the Admiralty was a little more attentive and not so thorough in considering issues, Frederick also understood the Admiralty's approach after connecting with the actual situation.
Although the Holy Roman Empire Navy has reached the second level in the world; but it is far from the first.
Originally, the Shinra Navy was expected to catch up with the British, but unfortunately the French warships were sold to the British by the government, which further widened the gap in the strength of the two navies.
Of course, everything has two sides, and there are advantages and disadvantages. The Royal Navy, which got the French warships, also did not get good.
The original purpose of purchasing these warships was to suppress the Shinra Navy and consolidate maritime hegemony.
However, the situation has changed a little bit later. The expected arms race has not broken out. The Royal Navy, which has a large number of warships, can only choose to seal some warships.
Bought a bunch of big toys to go home, and finally locked in a drawer, the British are also unspeakable.
However, this is also a matter of no choice. Knowing that there is a pit, the British can only jump in. Otherwise, the warship will fall into the hands of the Shinra Navy, and the Royal Navy's dominant position will be difficult to guarantee.
After all, warship construction also takes time. If the Royal Navy has no advantage, it would be a tragedy if the Vienna government suddenly had a headache and came to play with the Royal Navy.
Shinra is a country that Lu Quan can afford to lose, but Britain can't stand it. If the Royal Navy suffered heavy losses and the international situation was overturned and reshuffled, it would be difficult for Britain to regain its maritime hegemony.
After missing an opportunity to quickly catch up, we immediately ushered in the biggest economic crisis in human history. All the money was spent on the economy, and military spending was naturally reduced.
Since the end of the European Continental War, Shinra's military spending has remained stagnant. The total amount of military spending has not increased, and the amount of military spending allocated to the navy is naturally impossible to increase.
After the war, in order to raise military funds, both the Army and Air Force sold second-hand equipment. Not to mention earning a lot of money, but it is still possible to improve your life.
The navy is struggling. Because of the previous big sale of warships, the international market has long been saturated, and there is no room for them to play.
In fact, even having room to play is useless. The Army and Air Force are selling equipment that is left over from the anti-French war. No matter how much tears are being sold, it is better than selling scrap iron.
The navy was different, not only did not have a bunch of warships left, but also faced competition from the British.
The Shinra Navy's military budget has not increased, but the rival's naval budget has increased year by year. The Admiralty is watching and anxious.
It's just that "urgency" is useless. The government's annual budget is only so much. If you care about one end, you can't care about the other. The government budget can only give priority to the places where it is more needed.
There is no doubt that the Shinra Navy is clearly not the most urgent development. The advantage of the Royal Navy is already great, and it doesn't matter if it is bigger, they don't dare to enter the Mediterranean anyway.
The reputation of the Royal Navy is too great, including Frederick, many high-level people in the Vienna government lack confidence in the Navy.
On the issue of confrontation with the British, there has always been another voice in the Vienna government, that is: deploying air force defenses in the coastal areas and building more airfields, while vigorously developing submarines as a supplement.
There is no need to sink all enemy warships. As long as the air force can damage the enemy warships, the navy can go up and pick up leaks.
With such low requirements, the difficulty is naturally high. Now the main force of the Royal Navy dare not enter the Mediterranean, it is done under this theory.
After all, the air force is far more mobile than the navy, and the Vienna government has built a large number of airstrips along the coast.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of aircraft could be assembled in any one region if the Vienna government wanted to.
Faced with a dense crowd, anyone will experience tingling in their scalp. Although the Royal Navy is powerful, it is still afraid of the enemy overhead.
The Air Force has even formulated a strategic bombing plan against the UK, that is, to concentrate thousands of bombers at one time, launch air strikes on the Royal Navy, and end the British maritime hegemony.
Although it cannot be done under the existing technology, considering the development speed of aviation technology, it may not be impossible to do it in the next 20 to 30 years.
After all, the English Channel is so far away, and Shinra, the hegemon of the European continent, can deploy its fighter jets in France and Belgium, and it is not difficult to launch an air strike.
Although the plan is full of ideals, people still have more confidence in the Air Force than in a decisive naval battle with the British.
In this context, the life of the Shinra Navy is naturally not easy. It doesn’t matter if the army won’t win the battle for military spending, and even the air force comes to snatch resources from them. It’s normal for the Navy to be anxious.
The military budget is limited, and the original plan of the Admiralty to "rely on Shinra's industrial advantages to directly kill the British in numbers" is obviously not feasible.
After trying again by Frederick, Castagni took out a new document and handed it over: "Your Highness, this is an alternative plan prepared by our Admiralty.
The Imperial Navy and the Royal Navy are far from each other, and it will take a lot of money to catch up.
Considering the limited financial revenue of the Empire, in order to save military expenses, the Admiralty is ready to promote a technological revolution in the naval industry.
This is a new battleship that we have designed with a new design concept that is different from any previous warships.
We abandoned the previous concept of multiple artillery coordination and replaced all heavy artillery. The firepower is three times that of conventional battleships.
If this attempt is successful, the traditional battleships of the past will be swept into the garbage heap of history. "
"Test ship", this is very important. Although the Vienna government has invested heavily in the navy, in order to encourage technological innovation in the navy, it is extraordinarily generous to the "test ships" that adopt new technologies.
The direct consequence is the Shinra Navy, and many wonderful designs come out every year. But if you want to promote the development of naval technology, these efforts are necessary.
Throughout the history of the development of the human navy, we will know that every technological revolution has been stepped on the thunder again and again.
To this end, Franz also specially set up an exhibition hall for the wonderful design of the navy, which is specially used to exhibit various technological innovations on the development of the navy. Successes and failures are all put into it.
No accusations, no bashing, as if everything was taken for granted. After a long time, everyone will get used to it. The brain holes of the designers have been opened, and the more they play on the road of tricks, the more fun they are.
Of course, more than 99% of the design drawings of warships were left in the archives, and less than 1% of them could actually be turned into warships.
Having the courage to try is not the same as trying without thinking. At least it must comply with the most basic mechanical principles to ensure that the warship will not sink before it can enter the next step of the demonstration.
After internal screening, the design scheme finally enabled is actually quite reliable.
Frederick didn't know much about naval technology, but he still had the most basic common sense. Looking at the design of the warship in front of him, Frederick asked suspiciously: "Sweep all the previous battleships into the garbage heap, are you sure you can do it?"
It's not that I feel distressed that the warship is eliminated. In fact, no matter how the warship technology is changed, it will not affect the value of the previous warship.
After all, not every country can keep up with the revolution in naval technology. Now the only opponents are Shinra and Britain, and the rest are little brothers.
If you want to participate in the naval technological revolution, you should wait until you grow up. It is not their turn to join in the fun right now.
If the naval technological revolution really breaks out, just like the birth of the ironclad ship, it will definitely have only advantages and no disadvantages for the Holy Roman Empire.
Today is different from the past, starting from the same starting line, with strong industrial strength, Shinra is not afraid to compete with the British.
Although the loss of the old battleships would be heavy, it was the British who suffered the most. In terms of financial resources, "kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred", it is still possible for Shinra to try.
Admiral Castagni shook his head: "His Royal Highness, the birth of new technology is always inevitable. Before it comes out, no one can guarantee that it will be feasible.
All I can tell you is that this new battleship has such potential. With three times the firepower of traditional battleships, it is theoretically possible to kill. "
Just "potential" is enough. In order to have an opportunity to quickly narrow the gap in strength with the British Navy, it is completely acceptable to take out more than 4 million Aegis for a test.
After thinking for a while, Frederick said slowly: "I've left this document for now, in principle, I have no objection.
As for when the plan will be launched, let's wait for the cabinet to discuss it! "
More than 4 million Aegis is not a small number, it is close to 1% of the Vienna government's fiscal revenue, and it occupies an important proportion in the government's budget.
Frederick felt that it was better to be more cautious, and no one knew whether there would be more important projects in the future. If you can't host the budget allocation the first time, you screw it up.
Especially after the successful test of the new ship, it will also bring about an unprecedented arms race, so it should not be sloppy.
Frederick didn't think that the British could build a warship that Shinra could build. Although Shinra's comprehensive industrial strength is stronger, Britain is the king in naval technology.
Even after the end of the European Continental War, Shinra inherited the French naval technology and made up for some of the shortcomings, but that only brought the two sides to the same level and still failed to surpass the British.