Chapter 1084: Dreadnought – Roma

  Chapter 1063 – Dreadnought – USS Rome
In order not to be caught in the crossfire, the Tsarist government didn’t want to provoke a war against Britain at this time. As the center of the storm, Britain, that’s even more so.

Nothing to run to land and a great power to start a war, when has Britain ever been so prim and proper?

Even if you really want to fight, that is to pull on a gang of cannon fodder allies swarmed, it is impossible to do it alone.

The Tsarist government is afraid of Britain’s strength, and the London government is even more afraid of the strength of the Woolly Bear. The most important thing is to go to war with the Russians, there is not much benefit in winning, but losing may cost India.

Personally learned the power of the Afghan guerrillas, the British government of the Afghan region is no longer nostalgic.

Unfortunately, these guys are also soft and afraid of hard, against the British and Indian colonial army when a top two; encountered the unreasonable Mao Bear, the Afghan guerrillas did not have amazing results.

This is not surprising, although Afghanistan’s people are tough, but the local resources are barren, suitable for agricultural production of land is limited, can feed a limited population.

Because of the war, the local population was even smaller. The tsarist government has deployed more than two hundred thousand Russian troops in the Afghan region, and the ratio of local military to civilian has reached 1:10.

A Russian soldier looked at ten Afghan people, even if he wanted to make a scene, he could not make a scene! No matter what, the gray livestock’s combat power is still much tougher than the Indian colonial army.

If Britannia’s army stationed in the Afghan region back then had been the main force instead of the British and Indian legions, it wouldn’t have been bullied so badly by the guerrillas.

After all, international public opinion these days only focuses on Europe, and countries are tacitly pretending not to see what happens in their overseas colonies.

Of course, this is just to think about it. Britain’s total army strength is less than 200,000, how can it send more than 200,000 to station in the Afghan region?

Although the army is a little cheaper than the navy, it still doesn’t change the fact that the army is a gold swallowing beast.

With the exception of the Russians, in times of peace, even the major European land forces only maintain a standing army of 500,000 to 600,000 men.

Sending more than 200,000 troops to station in one area at one time would put pressure on even the government in Vienna, much less the British government.

It is precisely because it can not do, so after the situation in Europe has changed greatly, the British government will give up as a burden like most of Afghanistan, with the Russians temporary compromise.

If there were no such problems, the British government would have gritted its teeth and held on. With Britain’s financial strength, coupled with the manpower in India, the Russians would have been the first to be dragged down.

War is the continuation of politics, and politics is the continuation of interests. Both the British and Russian governments believe that the outbreak of war now, not in line with their own interests, the war naturally can not be fought.

Sowing discord could only worsen the relationship between Britain and Russia, and could not really sway the decisions of the two governments. Even if Shinra’s influence in the Tsarist government was very great, it was not to the point of making decisions for them.

……

The first wave of international strategic plans that he had personally organized and implemented went bankrupt, and apart from being slightly disappointed, Frederick was not dismayed.

The provocation of an Anglo-Russian war would have been a small probability.

Even as early as nine years ago, the government in Vienna began to make preparations to help the Russians build the Central Asian Railway, that only worsened Anglo-Russian relations and slightly increased the success rate.

Even in order not to let their intentions be exposed too obviously, the first time after the opening of the main line, the technical staff of the Austrian Railway Company was evacuated.

However, it still didn’t work. It was a phallic plot in itself, and no amount of concealment could change the fact that the government in Vienna wanted to provoke an Anglo-Russian war.

Against this background, failure was the norm. The present is only a beginning, at best a test.

The fact that the Anglo-Russian war does not break out now does not mean that it will not break out in the future. The seeds of war have been planted, and are now waiting to take root.

……

In July, through the blue sky, the sun shone like a great ball of fire, evaporating the clouds and making the sky seem extraordinarily high.

Under the hot sun, the “Port of Trieste” is very busy today. The guards from somewhere surrounded the pier.

These did not affect the local people to see the heart, as if it is already commonplace, but only stunned the first-time arrival of merchants.

Looking at the streets of the increasing number of soldiers, fear of trouble Du Cheng’en decisively took people back to the inn, for fear of causing a heinous disaster.

There is no way, this year’s international environment, for Chinese business that is quite unfriendly, have to be careful.

There was no country behind them, and the era of racial discrimination was at its worst. Engaging in overseas trade is risking one’s life.

The emergence of Lanfang Autonomous Province only slightly changed this situation, but did not really reverse the situation.

There was no way around it, rights are never earned. As a country based on the rule of law, since it accepted the Lanfang Autonomous Province, it naturally had to recognize the Lanfang household registration.

But this recognition was limited to the Holy Roman Empire itself. When it comes to international recognition, it is still not very high.

Or even if it is recognized, it is difficult to pull on the tiger skin of the Holy Roman Empire, in the final analysis, or Chinese businessmen encountered problems, the first choice is to make peace.

On the one hand, it is very difficult to prove one’s nationality because of the inconvenience of information transmission in these days; on the other hand, it is the long years of oppression that makes the Chinese businessmen do not want to deal with the government officials.

Instead of seeking help from the embassy, they will try to solve the problem by themselves, which naturally will not deter the wolves.

In this context, more and more Chinese merchants engaged in overseas trade, choose to do the Holy Roman Empire internal trade, or with Asian countries business.

Anyway, the internal market of the Holy Roman Empire is big enough, plus we are familiar with the Asian region, also enough to eat.

Du Cheng’en is one of them, originally he was only active in the South and East Asia, direct transportation of tea to Europe, this is the first time.

Despite the opening of new trade routes, still did not change Du Cheng En cautious nature. Would rather earn a little less than cause trouble for himself.

After transporting the goods to the port of Trieste, directly with the local tea merchants trading, and has no intention of deepening the operation of the European market.

Seeing the increase in the number of soldiers outside, the prudent Du Cheng’en, naturally, is not willing to stay.

“Master Dong, there are so many people watching outside, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

Glaring at the young sailor, Du Cheng En reprimanded, “Ah Fu, how many times have I told you, the most important thing to avoid when going out is curiosity.

There are so many soldiers on the street now, who knows what will happen next. In case you get involved and get shot by someone, you won’t even have time to cry.”

Hearing Du Cheng’en’s words, the guide on the side was not happy, together with his own country was described as a place of military chaos.

However, seeing as it was his employer’s sake, Laukol still restrained himself and faintly reminded, “Du, you’re overthinking it.

This is the Holy Roman Empire, and as a country with the rule of law, our military will not just shoot at civilians.

Unless you storm the military blockade line or approach with weapons, otherwise at most you will be warned to leave.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just watching. If I’m not mistaken, the harbor was closed today because another large warship was launched.

This is also a major feature of Trieste, if you guys want to see it, I can take you to the observation deck and bring binoculars to be able to clearly see the warship launching.”

As one of the shipbuilding centers of the Holy Roman Empire, almost every once in a while there would be a warship launching in Trieste, only that the docks would not be closed every time.

Generally speaking, such a big commotion would only happen if a large warship was launched, or if there was a big shot in the country personally.

The details of which the good-faced Laukol naturally wouldn’t talk about. Right now, he wanted to take his employers over and put on a good show.

Realizing that he had slipped up, the old-fashioned Du Cheng’en immediately remedied the situation, ”I’m sorry, Mr. Laukol. But we’re really tired today and we just want to go back and rest now.

Today’s work is over, you are free to move around for the rest of the day, as long as you come over before 9:30 tomorrow.

If possible, it would be best to take a few pictures of the warship launching so that we can follow along.”

Hearing that today’s “work is over”, Laukol’s dissatisfaction was swept away, and he immediately assured, “Don’t worry, I’m the most familiar with Trieste, and I’ll definitely be able to take the best pictures.”

After saying that, without waiting for Du Cheng’en and the others to bid farewell, Laocoel disappeared in a puff of smoke. Obviously, watching the fun was far more interesting than working.

Back at the inn, Du Cheng’en and the others happened to bump into the boss-James, who was about to go out with his camera.

The old man warmly invited, “Du, you came back just in time. You know, there’s a super battleship being launched today, said to be an epoch-making warship.

I have to admit, you guys are lucky to have caught this historical moment. Now follow me and go over to witness history!”

If an ordinary person, they would most likely be fooled. But Du Cheng’en knew clearly that this innkeeper, who was close to a Gramps, would only be this enthusiastic when facing the Divine Shield.

Immediately, he refused, “I’m sorry, Mr. James. We’ve been busy all morning today and are now tired, and don’t have the honor of witnessing history with you.”

Having been rejected, James didn’t continue to pester, and only sighed, “That’s a real shame, for a mere 5 divine shields, we’ll be able to buy a good spot to witness a scene from history.”

Hearing James’ exclamation, Du Cheng’en finally understood why the previous guide, as well as the innkeeper in front of him, had invited him.

Don’t look at James’ easy way of saying that he only needed “5 divine guilders”, but in reality, this figure was already a month’s income for a low-level worker.

Even if he was in international trade, Du Cheng’en’s profit after deducting all the costs from a single ship run would hardly exceed 1,000 Shen Dunes.

There was no way around it, along with the development of the times, the era of profiteering in maritime trade was slowly disappearing. Especially the emergence of large cargo ships has drastically squeezed the profits of the industry.

Du Cheng’en gave up the familiar Asian routes and ventured to Europe to do trade, and was actually forced out by the cruel market competition.

This time in Trieste, in addition to trade, Du Cheng’en more important purpose is to purchase a 10,000 tons of cargo ships.

As a businessman, Du Cheng’en never lacked vision. Along with the continuous development of the economy, the demand for cargo capacity in maritime trade was also growing.

But this demand was for large freighters with high capacity and low unit operating costs, not his own small and medium sized merchant ships that were about to be eliminated by the times.

If you don’t want to be squeezed to death by your peers, you can only keep up with the trend of the times and purchase more advanced merchant ships in order to occupy a favorable position in the market competition.

As for witnessing history, it was better to let others do it, and it was better for him, a small person, not to join in the fun.

Inwardly, Du Cheng’en was actually still a bit surprised. He never dreamed that the Holy Roman Empire would actually make a business out of launching warships.

One could only say that there were always more solutions than difficulties, and despite being the world’s number one economy, the budget of the Holy Roman Navy was still not sufficient.

In order to raise funds for military expenses, the Ministry of Navy had also taken great pains. Selling viewing tickets was just one of them.

One location was 5 divine guilders, and if 10,000 locations were sold, that would be 50,000 divine guilders. With the accumulation of days and months, it was not a small number even for the Navy.

More was not guaranteed, but with the annual ticket revenue, it was still not a big problem to build another warship out.

As for the secrecy issue, if holding binoculars a few miles away, can let people discover the secrets contained in the warship, Shen Luo Navy also do not need to mix.

……

Accompanied by a burst of salutes, Franz, who seldom appeared in public, appeared on the ship’s platform.

After all, the world’s first dreadnought was launched. For any military enthusiast, it was a not-so-small temptation, and Franz was naturally no exception.

How could he be absent from the history he had created?
Besides, without making a bit of noise, how could one put enough pressure on the British.

The presence of the Emperor is in itself a political statement. A discerning person would know at a glance that in the days to come, the Vienna government was going to vigorously develop the navy.

Minister of the Navy Castagni: “Your Majesty, everything is ready, do you see to start?”

Franz smiled faintly and said, “You go and preside, I won’t go up.”

Witnessing history is witnessing history, personally going up to the ship and experiencing the launching ceremony, for a sea-sick emperor, that would still be too harsh.

Even if it was to satisfy curiosity, that could still wait for the supporting facilities to be done before going up to experience it.

Hearing that the Emperor was not going on the ship, Castagni’s entire body breathed a sigh of relief. Riding on a warship that had just completed its main construction and had no interior decoration was not a comfortable experience.

If something happened to the elderly Emperor, it would be a disaster. No matter how healthy Franz was, he was still almost 70 years old.

No one would dare let the emperor experience the shock of launching a warship in an age when a cold could kill him.

With the emperor’s command, the launching ceremony began. As the valves were opened, the sea kept pouring into the dock striking the hull of the ship, emitting a wave-like ringing sound.

The hearts of all the staff were lifted up, fearing that an accident would happen to the hull at the last moment, which would make an international joke.

As if knowing nothing about Franz the Great, asked with interest, “Frederick, what do you decide is a good name for this warship?”

For the name of the first dreadnought, there was also much debate within the Vienna government. Initially the plan drawn up by everyone was to name it after the Emperor, but it was decisively rejected by Franz.

There was no other reason, but the fear that one day the warship would be sunk in a naval battle was unlucky. As the saying goes, the older you get, the more you fear death, and Franz was no exception.

In addition to the popularity of the name, the rest of the list of alternatives, is a variety of things, just submitted to the hands of Franz no less than fifty.

The more you pick, the easier it is to get blindsided. At the moment, Franz is also faced with selection difficulties, do not know which one is the most appropriate.

No matter how to delay, warships are now starting to launch, today must choose a name out, to the outside world.

Franz is a waste of name, Frederick is no better, directly out of the mouth said: “How about the Holy Roman Empire?”

Hearing this result, Franz rolled his eyes and said: “Directly named after the empire, it would be better to call it the Roman ship! At least it’s shorter and convenient for everyone to call it on a daily basis.”

“Short” and “convenient to call” became the final criteria for naming, rather than considering the political significance. I guess no one would dare to believe it if it got out.

However, since the emperor had spoken, everyone was too lazy to object. The “Rome” is not bad, although not from a political point of view, but the outside world does not know ah!

As long as the propaganda department a little in-depth interpretation, will be able to brainstorm a whole lot of reasons and moral out, certainly will not fall into the cliché.

……

(End of chapter)