Chapter 329: France’s Response
Chapter 319 France’s Response
On March 26, 1861, the Austrian Navy departed from the port of Venice to begin a global visit, with the first stop being the Ottoman Empire.
It is a pity that the Sultan’s government moved its capital to the interior, otherwise they could have felt what pressure is. Even after moving the capital, the Sultan’s government was still greatly shaken.
Seven ironclads plus a dozen auxiliary warships constituted the world’s strongest fleet in terms of combat power, which was not at all comparable to the sail fleet.
When it was said to be a visit, it was only a visit. This time Franz is not prepared to make trouble, after scaring the Sudanese government, and then visited the Mediterranean countries, and went straight to Asia.
Paris
An irritated Napoleon III, at a government meeting, declared, “We are going to build an even larger ironclad fleet to show the world the power of France.”
There was no way Napoleon III could not react vehemently; the navy was no match for the British even if it was. He could still console himself with the fact that the British were purely a sea power, France was amphibious on land and sea, and not being able to match the Austrians was intolerable.
Now the French navy’s advantage over the Austrian navy was only in tonnage and combat experience.
Unfortunately, these experiences are stuck in the era of sail battleships, into the era of ironclad many things are outdated, the tactical concept has also changed. Even if the tonnage has several times the advantage, sail battleships can not beat ironclad ships.
There is no way, sail battleship artillery is also used to deal with sail battleships, suddenly the enemy has become ironclad ships will not be enough.
Navy Minister Diko replied confidently, “Your Majesty, please don’t worry. We have already started to build an ironclad fleet, currently there are already two ironclads in service, and three more ironclads will be in service by the end of the year.
The Ministry of Navy is planning on building ten ironclads, and it will take at most two years for all of them to be completed, letting the world know of our power.”
The technological hurdle had been crossed, and building ironclads was no longer a problem. This was still the speed of shipbuilding in the peace era, if one was willing to rush the work, the construction time of a warship would only take a few months.
During this period, the tonnage of ironclads had not yet skyrocketed. The big ones were only eight or nine thousand tons, and the small ones were only two or three thousand tons. The docks didn’t even need to be remodeled, and were basically able to meet the demand for shipbuilding.
Napoleon III said with satisfaction, “Good!”
The name of the world’s first navy can not get, the world’s second is to say nothing can not be lost again, the French are also want to face.
Now according to the international ranking of military power, France’s land and naval forces are the second, followed by Austria’s land and naval forces are the third, the two countries are very close to the military power on the surface.
In the ironclad era before the advent of the Austrian naval strength is still in the six, seven or eight hanging around. As a result, in the ironclad ship descended at the same time overtook the car, jumped up to get rid of Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United States.
Now there are many people who think that the Austrian Navy can be compared with the French Navy. This notion was very marketable in the Mediterranean, and Napoleon III had no doubt in his mind.
In terms of naval tonnage, the Austrian navy was close to seventy percent of the French navy, a very convincing argument when you consider the bonus of ironclad combat power.
Therefore, the French Ministry of the Navy followed the announcement of the long-planned shipbuilding program, until the service of these warships, the two countries naval strength will be pulled apart again.
As for Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, this time has fallen behind, unable to participate in this naval feast.
After a pause, Navy Minister Dico added: “Your Majesty, our naval military expenditure is insufficient, to build so many ironclads, but also the government to increase the allocation.”
Obviously, it was not without purpose that the navy invited Napoleon III to personally see the Austrian naval fleet. On the surface, the French Navy was disgraced, but in reality it was still for the shipbuilding funds.
No time to pay attention to the small calculations of the Navy Ministry, Napoleon III asked, “How much is still missing?”
Minister of the Navy Dico replied seriously, “At least another 120 million francs will have to be allocated before we can complete the program.”
Simply building a ship definitely doesn’t take that much money, but also taking into account the basic training, staffing, and the development of new technology ……
Now the allocation of the allocation is only the preliminary costs, once the construction is completed, the future of the Navy’s subsequent maintenance costs should also be increased, in other words, the Navy’s military expenditures to increase.
Not waiting for Napoleon III to answer, the Minister of Finance Monier can not wait to jump out and say: “No, you are in the lion’s share.
How much does it cost to build an ironclad? How can it be 120 million francs, at most not more than 80 million francs, if you save a little, 70 million francs may be enough.”
Now the French Empire’s revenue has reached 1.72 billion francs (about £ 68.8 million), the French have the courage to do so, the same period of the British revenue is only 70 million pounds.
(Remarks: check the statistical chronology, seems to be only counting the mainland)
But as high as the exchequer is, there will never be enough money to spend. The Treasury still has to save, and this lion’s share of the money has to be fought decisively.
Minister of the Navy Diko explained seriously, “Your Excellency the Count, how can this be saved? Entering the era of ironclads, we are one step behind the Austrians, and the main reason for this is caused by insufficient military spending.
Now if we compress the military expenditure, how else can we develop new technologies?
Ironclads are not the same as the previous sailing battleships, after service our soldiers need to be retrained to be able to operate them proficiently, which is another expense.
There’s also the fact that ironclad ships are much larger in tonnage than sail battleships, and many of our original military ports will need to be remodeled, all of which cost money.”
Finance Minister Monir didn’t buy it and said, “Don’t talk such nonsense, other than research and development and the use of new technology, other projects are allocated every year, don’t even think about duplicating the budget.
Even if the Ministry of Finance allocates money to you, you won’t be able to pass the future government’s audit. It’s better to make a new detailed budget and we’ll discuss the allocation.”
This was very much a political art. Warships were definitely built, this was Napoleon III’s will, but the funding for shipbuilding was still compressed, otherwise how could it reflect the seriousness of the Ministry of Finance?
Knowing that the two men are arguing more elements of theater, Napoleon III still as if nothing happened to watch the fun. Obviously, in the power of the emperor is still qualified.
If you let the people underneath you embrace the group, the emperor’s life will not be easy. This kind of small fight, even if you know that it is only in the routine, the contradiction will still be deeply rooted in people’s hearts after a long time.
The Ministry of Finance has too much power, all departments need them to allocate funds, can’t afford to offend the God of Finance. If there is no contradiction, let the Ministry of Finance to sell around, the emperor will not be able to sleep.
……
Seems to see the fire to, Napoleon III interrupted the two arguing: “Well, you want to quarrel, go back to their own office slowly quarrel, do not affect my mood.
I remember that the United States seems to be splitting up, how did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs respond?”
Foreign Minister Auvergne replied, “Your Majesty, word has come from our minister in Washington that we have now reached an agreement with the British, Spanish, and Austrian countries, and that we are all on the same page on matters concerning the United States.
Now that we have convinced the southern government to agree to abolish slavery, the four countries have officially recognized the legitimacy of the southern government and are currently lobbying for more slave owning states to join the southern government.
If nothing else, the United States should secede this time. If we’re lucky, our chances of rejoining North America will also appear.”
Napoleon III asked suspiciously, “Since the Southern government is willing to abolish slavery, what is the reason for their independence? Didn’t the Northern government ever make concessions?”
Foreign Minister Auvergne explained, “Your Majesty, the main conflict between the North and the South is still tariffs, and in recent years the population of the Northern states has grown rapidly, while the population of the South has grown slowly, and the gap between the two sides has been widened.
The current U.S. Northern government is a spokesman for the interests of the capitalists, and the promises they give have no credibility at all.
If the southern states do not take action, their interests will be gradually eaten away.
After the independence of the southern states, the neutrals made a proposal to add an additional slave state to balance the power gap between the two sides, though it was rejected by the northern government.
There were also proposals for a double tariff standard, whereby trade barriers were erected and tariff rates raised in the northern states, while free trade was practiced and tariff rates lowered in the southern states.
The grass is already growing in the grave of those who proposed this. The capitalists refused to compromise on this issue; they wanted access to cheap industrial raw materials and markets.”
Napoleon III nodded, this explanation made more sense. There was no love/hate in the world without a reason, if there was no profit, would one expect the capitalists to fight a civil war for the benefit of the black slaves?
If there was such a saintly mother, why don’t we see these people treating the workers a little better? This is true for their own people, let alone for ****.
“So, the Austrian Navy is also aiming at the Americans on this global visit?”
Obviously, Napoleon III’s political vision is still good, a glance at Franz’s real purpose.
Under normal circumstances, even if an exchange visit is to take place, it is impossible to send such a huge team, the navy running up is also very costly.
“There should be a factor in this regard, and there is also the fact that the Vienna government is preparing to establish its authority.
In recent years, the Austrians have frequently opened up colonies overseas and have encountered a lot of trouble, which may be resolved during this visit.” Foreign Minister Auvergne replied
After a moment’s effort of contemplation, Napoleon III made a decision, “We can’t be idle either, in recent years, the pace of overseas expansion is still a bit slow.
This American Civil War is an opportunity for even the Austrians to fish in troubled waters. We will really fall behind if we miss the opportunity again.
Come up with a plan as soon as possible, the interests of the Americas must have a share of France.”
In reality, the French overseas expansion was not slow at all, only the last two years had slowed it down by focusing their strategy on the Kingdom of Sardinia.
This slowdown is also only relative, in addition to Austria, currently the fastest expansion on the African continent is the French.
(End of chapter)