Franz had to sigh that European politics was chaos. During his two-year career as emperor, Austria had signed secret agreements with all European powers.
It is estimated that people who study international history in the future will see this bunch of secret agreements and will sigh that the work of the Austrian Foreign Ministry is really awesome, and then leave a bunch of unsolved mysteries in the political world.
The first is the "Fao Secret Covenant", which was originally good, everyone happily carves up the Kingdom of Sardinia, because the French June Revolution broke out and died prematurely.
Then came the "Memorandum on the British-Austrian Balkan Issue" and the "Letter of Understanding on the British-Austrian Italian Issue". The latter has been completed. Whether the former can be fulfilled depends on the integrity of the British.
Needless to say, the Russian-Austrian secret agreement is nothing more than the continuation and expansion of the alliance between the two countries. The two countries have been allied for decades, and the two sides are each other's most important allies.
Not long ago, they signed a secret treaty with the Kingdom of Prussia. The two countries jointly opposed foreign forces interfering in German affairs. This treaty will be announced when the time is ripe. In essence, it is used to deter the British, and naturally it will not be kept secret.
Is this the end? Facts have proved that the Austrian government really loves tossing, the secret negotiation between Austria and Spain has ended, and the two countries have reached a consensus on colonizing overseas - the "Océ Colonial Treaty" was released.
According to the treaty, the two countries recognize each other's sovereignty over their overseas colonies, and they must provide each other with assistance within their capabilities in colonial activities, such as obtaining logistical supplies in each other's colonies...
Now that Austria has no colonies, it seems that the Spaniards are at a disadvantage. In fact, the Spanish government attaches more importance to this treaty than Austria.
There is no way. In this era, Spain has been declining so much that the empire on which the sun never sets has left them. The two colonial empires of Britain and France have stepped on their bones from the very beginning.
Now that the Austrian Empire is ready to join overseas colonization activities, their soft persimmons are in danger again, and they may be trampled again.
That being the case, why not choose to cooperate? Austria's conditions are not excessive, except that when colonizing overseas, they have to obtain supplies from their ports, and it is not that they do not give money.
This humble treaty was completed under the impetus of the Admiralty. It's true that persimmons are looking for a soft pinch, but Franz isn't ready to flip the table as soon as he comes up
If Spain hadn't gone downhill all the way, Franz would have wanted to form an alliance with them, and stabbed France directly in the back to let them get a good feel for what sandwich biscuits are.
In any case, the Spanish powers are still there, and the declining Spanish navy is a little bit stronger than the Austrian navy.
Not only Spain, but even the navies of the Netherlands and Portugal, two small countries, attach great importance to it and are still negotiating.
This is the price of late entry, and it is more reassuring to use the ports of these small countries as a springboard than to use the British and French ones.
It is not easy to expand the colony. The first problem is logistical supplies. The materials in the early stage have to be shipped from outside.
Looking at the map, you can see that Austria's geographical location is to open up overseas colonies, and the distance is that far! In this context, it is very important to be able to purchase supplies nearby.
The Russian Pacific Fleet expedition in history is a negative teaching material. Under the blockade of the British, they lacked effective supplies along the way, and they were ambushed by the Japanese as soon as they arrived.
Franz will naturally have 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 the territory, it will be a matter of gaining a firm footing.
In addition, overseas colonies also need to learn from experience. Now Austria sends people to go deep into the colonies of various countries to collect intelligence and learn their management experience.
However, this method of collecting 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 is a skill to be able to establish colonial rule, manage large colonies with a small number of people, and make a lot of profits.
If everyone cooperates, you can also gain an in-depth understanding and learn from their successful experience, so as not to lose money just a few days after the colony was established.
In the final analysis, overseas colonization is still for profit. If you keep doing business at a loss, it is estimated that no one will participate in a long time.
The Admiralty is not just busy, holding the signed treaty, and then asking for funds from the government.
According to the shipbuilding plan proposed by the Ministry of the Navy, the government will allocate 50 million shields of shipbuilding funds to build a naval fleet second only to Britain and France within five years.
This is not an exaggeration at all. In this era, the navies of various countries are not very large. Even the British have a total tonnage of less than 100,000 tons. As long as the total tonnage of the navy exceeds 10,000, it is the highest in the world.
In terms of tonnage, the Austrian navy is second only to Britain, France, West Russia and the four countries. Obviously, tonnage does not equal combat power. Austria's navy is an offshore navy. It's okay to run a lap in the Mediterranean Sea. The ocean-going industry probably won't sink, right
Who knows this? Anyway, there is a total of 18,000 tons of navy. In Franz's view, this is a bean sprout navy, which is not comparable to a battleship of later generations. However, the tonnage of navy warships 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 still compete with the British for the position of the world's No. 1 naval power. The gap between the British and French navies is not as big as that of later generations.
At least the difference in tonnage is not that big. When they were closest, the total tonnage difference between the two navies was less than 20%. In theory, a surprise attack might win.
Anyway, everyone is a wooden warship, and the shipbuilding technology of various countries has not opened too much gap. It is still ten years before the birth of the world's first ironclad ship.
Looking at the shipbuilding plan in his hand, Franz did not give face, and asked directly: "I remember that the Napoleon built by the French Navy last year was powered by a steam engine.
You build a bunch of sailing warships, even when the wind is down, do you outrun others when the wind is up? "
Admiral Philcos explained: "Your Majesty, the French steam-engine battleships are expensive to build and difficult to maintain. After they are fully driven, they will be overhauled.
Steam-engine battleships have not shown obvious advantages on the battlefield. Now the main force of the navies of various countries is still sailing battleships, and it is too risky to adopt new technologies. "
Franz ignored his reasons and asked directly, "Can we build it with our shipbuilding technology?"
Philcos thought for a while and said, "Theoretically, there is no problem. Using steam engines as power on ships, we have mature experience in building commercial ships, and it is not a big problem to apply them to warships."
Franz is too lazy to complain, the navies of various countries are terribly conservative in this era. It is estimated that many people cannot imagine that it is not the British who lead the naval technological revolution in this era, but the French.
In 1849, the French took the lead in applying steam engines to warships, which opened the prelude to the power revolution of naval warships; in 1859, the French created the world's first ironclad ship, ending the era of sailing warships; in 1863, the French introduced the compressed air engine. Applied to submarines, it ended the human drive and increased the range of activities of the submarine...
The technological revolution of the navy was initiated by the French, and it still cannot change their status as the second child in ten thousand years. Later, it was changed with great difficulty. It is estimated that the French would rather remain the same, from the second child to the third, fourth, fifth...
Now the Austrian navy is undoubtedly a representative of conservatives. It is a genius for technological innovation. Just look at the military expenditure of the Austrian navy. They have no money and self-will.
This is also what Franz wondered about. Isn't the new technology first used in the military, and then used for civilian promotion
Why did it turn around when we got here, so many Austrian steamships in the Danube ran again, why didn't the Navy think about making steam-engine battleships
Maintenance difficult? This can also be regarded as a reason. Why didn't the steam merchant ship continue to use sail power because of the difficulty of maintenance
Franz said earnestly: "The navy should also pay attention to the use of technology. Even if you can't promote technological innovation yourself, and others have made achievements, you can always learn to use it
Otherwise, what is the use of an outdated navy, no matter how large it is? On the battlefield, you can only be used as a target! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Admiral Philcos replied with a wry smile
There is no doubt that the Admiralty's shipbuilding program died at Franz's place.
Technically speaking, it is not too difficult to build the original ironclad ships. As early as 1578, the Japanese came up with an ironclad ship, that is, a warship covered with a layer of iron.
Franz didn't want to build a bunch of sailing warships and use them as targets, although there is little chance of a naval battle in the Austrian Navy in the short term.
He can't come up with epoch-making inventions, but military and technological innovations in concepts. This is not difficult, right
I didn't see that after the French made ironclad ships, followers appeared in just a few months, and there were almost no technical obstacles.
The era when shipbuilding technology reflects the industrial level of various countries has not yet come. Now the shipbuilding technology of sailing warships is very mature, and the performance gap between warships between countries is not large.
After thinking about it, Franz did not propose the ironclad theory for the first time. This is not something an emperor should do. Even if it is to be done, it must be done secretly.
Otherwise, William II is an example. He designed the warship himself, and then it sank directly when it was launched. It would be strange if there was no problem. Are all German technicians idiots, don't they know to remind the emperor
Franz will not let people take advantage of it. It is much better to secretly promote technological innovation. It is normal to fail. Any new technological innovation is not a success.
If it succeeds, it proves that under the leadership of the great emperor, Austria's technological innovation has taken another step forward. As for the credit for invention and creation, it is not necessary to be an emperor.