Chapter 601: Years at Sea

  Chapter 588: Years at Sea

The passion of pilgrimage is unstoppable, and after a day’s stay in Venice, everyone was full of blood and started a new journey the next day.

Because of seasickness, Franz does not like to run around, along with the Austrian royal family does not have a special cruise ship, this outing directly from the royal shipping company borrowed a luxury passenger ship.

Although it is a luxury passenger ship, with this large family, still seems a little shabby.

There is no way, time is too short. Coronation time was determined early, before and after so three or four months time, even if the shipyard can complete the task, Franz did not dare to sit in the rush of the ship.

The core members of the Habsburg dynasty are on it, an accident will be all reimbursement, this risk can not be taken.

Initially Franz was planning to take a warship, safe, convenient and domineering. Unfortunately, the plan did not change quickly, the old and weak women and children hard to follow up, will have to consider the comfort.

Seemingly ordinary travel, the Austrian Mediterranean fleet is out of the nest, large and small hundreds of warships scattered along the way on duty, more than a dozen main ship followed the escort.

Engaged in such a big momentum, in fact, is also in the show of force.

East Mediterranean along the way are Austrian ports, Franz and his entourage are daytime boat, night to land to rest, halfway only need to spend a night on the boat, there is no such thing as a security risk.

At the beginning of the year, the Austrian Navy was sweeping the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for pirates, even if there is a leakage, there is no one who is so desperate to run out at this time to send death.

Another calm day, bored Franz stood on the plywood looking into the distance.

“Looking at the sea again, when did Franz fall in love with the sea?” Queen Helen’s voice rang out

Franz shook his head and handed the binoculars over, “You see, it’s the little ones that like the sea.”

Following the direction of Franz’s finger, Empress Helen looked over, and only after a half a minute did she say, “It’s good to be young!”

In her tone of voice, there were also a few points of despondency, seemingly in love with the lost youth.

Franz nodded very cooperatively, time rushes past, a flash he has done more than twenty years emperor.

Youthful and passionate years, unfortunately this was not the life that an emperor should have. In his youth he had to pretend to be mature and stable enough to be convincing.

After so many years, the position of power has been firmly established, do not need to pretend anymore, but unfortunately the passing of the youth is also gone.

After feeling sad for a while, Franz asked in a consultative tone, “What do you think about me letting Frederick enter the naval service?”

Entering military service, this is an essential part of life experience for royalty. As the Crown Prince Frederick naturally can not be an exception, the difference is only in entering the army, or entering the navy.

As early as the Near East War, Franz was ready to throw Frederick into the army to gild the lily, but unfortunately, the new military service law stipulates that the time of service is 20 years old, a little short of the age.

As the rule maker, Franz was well aware of the consequences of breaking the rules, a seemingly insignificant change was the beginning of the collapse of the system.

Moreover, Frederick is the Crown Prince, military service can only be the icing on the cake, the substance is not very meaningful. Franz is also not prepared to train a Napoleonic heir, Austria needs only to keep the king.

Empress Helen replied very firmly: “Very bad! Austria is a country where land power is the core, and even though the navy has expanded rapidly in recent years, the essence remains the same.

Frederick is the Crown Prince, if he enters the naval service, it will send a wrong political signal to the outside world, which will trigger a new round of land and sea war.”

After so many years of empress career, Empress Helen is no longer a political white boy, the most basic judgment is still there.

The geographic location had already decided that Austria’s land power-centered strategy simply couldn’t be changed. There is no room for discussion in this regard, with Russia, France and Prussia three land forces as neighbors, it is destined to Austria must maintain a continental army.

The outside world may not know, but the top brass are very clear that Franz attaches great importance to the development of land forces. The total force did not expand much, but the number of reserves was increasing day by day.

The reserve program of the staff department is also getting bigger and bigger. To this day, if a major war were to break out, the Vienna government could mobilize three million reservists in one month, and raise it to five million in three months.

If Franz has not always been very stable, it is likely that many people will suspect that the emperor is not wanting to sweep the continent of Europe, to engage in such a heartless reserve system.

After a long time everyone was reassured that His Majesty the Emperor preferred to use diplomacy and challenge the world that did not exist.

Now the international Oblow, all think Franz engaged in so many reserves, mainly to reflect the fairness.

In everyone’s subconscious mind, the war simply can not use so many people, no matter what kind of war, do not need so many troops.

From the royal family down to the general public, they all have to serve in the military together, no one can be an exception, which in itself is a reflection of fairness.

Franz nodded helplessly, ”This is indeed a problem, but it is not insurmountable.

Never mind, let Frederick make this choice himself, I can take care of the aftermath for him.”

Even if he was confident that he could suppress the military, Franz still had a few headaches. The battle between land and navy was something that almost every major country would face, and it was still a difficult problem that could not be solved.

If the land and navy were to live in harmony and not even bother to fight over military spending, that would be a real disaster.

For example: the recently elevated Kingdom of Montenegro, they have never had a land and naval dispute.

Since the Ottoman Empire withdrew from the Balkan Peninsula, Montenegro is truly a horse in the right place.

I have to say it’s the smart thing to do, an army would have been a great luxury for a small country with a population of just 200,000 people.

Of course, nominally the Kingdom of Montenegro also had a full army and navy. The police on land is the army, and the police in charge of anti-smuggling at sea is the navy.

Expanding armament, what are you thinking? The next door neighbor is not to be messed with, if it arouses the hostility of the government of Vienna, it is possible to be exterminated in a minute.

Fervent nationalism must also be inspired by the conditions, the rulers are not fools, do not see the hope of things, who will take the life of the family to do?

Without the pressure of the past, the Black Hills Kingdom of the small life is not bad, although not rich, but also on the road to wealth.

This time out Franz did not mean to visit along the way, a total of three countries, Greece and Montenegro is not worth his personal to pull together, the Ottoman Empire is the enemy, fight on the right, visit does not need.

……

(End of chapter)