Chapter 411 Ferdinand Naval Academy
Hearing this, Ferdinand immediately became interested: "How much do you plan to add?"
Ernst: "According to the development path of East Africa, we will not invest much in the military in the next few years, but the navy is an exception. In view of the increasingly severe coastal defense pressure in East Africa, I plan to turn the East African Navy into a Build it into the ninth naval force in the world after Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and Germany.”
In addition to the countries mentioned by Ernst, the Netherlands is currently ranked ninth, and Italy is tenth. Before the Italian-Austrian War, Italy was ranked fifth.
The naval strength of the Ottoman Empire cannot be underestimated, because since 1860, Sultan Abdullah of the Ottoman Empire has been vigorously developing its navy and purchasing many ironclad ships.
Spain, on the other hand, is a skinny camel that is bigger than a horse. It has never fallen into the ranks of the world's naval powers and is much stronger than Portugal next door.
There is no country in East Asia on the list. The only country in East Asia that has the ability to develop naval power, the Far East, has not yet started. Japan is relatively poor and does not have the money to vigorously develop its navy.
The East African Kingdom also had no money, but Ernst was extremely wealthy, and because of the sale of a large number of properties, Ernst had cash in his hands.
So Ernst said confidently: "We don't want to buy too many. Seven ironclads, I think, is a more appropriate number, enough to cope with the current coastal defense situation faced by the East African Navy."
"How much? Are you sure it's not a traditional wooden warship? It's an ironclad ship!" Archduke Ferdinand immediately couldn't sit still, for fear that Ernst would deceive him.
Ernst said: "Of course, they are ironclads, but I want to explain in advance that the tonnage of these ironclads should be around 3,000 tons. Like giant ironclads with more than 5,000 tons, I only plan to build two, 7,000 tons. Top ironclad ships with multiple tons and above are no longer considered.”
After hearing Ernst's reply, Ferdinand stuttered and said: "Okay, okay, okay..." He had to calm down first.
Constantine was also a little surprised. He suddenly felt a little strange to his son. This was the same Ernst who was obsessed with the navy in the past! So he said: "Ernst, if you really plan to do this, it will not be a small expense. The purchase of warships alone is an astronomical figure."
Ernst signaled his father not to worry: "Father, I am really not trying to make a fool of myself this time. We have sufficient funds."
Constantine asked: "What on earth did you do in North America? It couldn't be that you robbed the U.S. treasury!"
Ernst said with a smile: "If I really rob the U.S. treasury, I would dare to try for the position of the world's number one navy."
Ernst changed the subject: "And don't think too much. This money is the navy's funding for the next seven years. In seven years, a total investment of more than 200 million East African rhine guilders will be made. The funds are limited, so I need more from my father-in-law." Initiate Austrian relations."
Two hundred million East African rhine guilders is almost seven million pounds, and in 1870 the British Royal Navy's annual expenditure reached nine million pounds.
It will take an average of seven years, that is, East Africa will invest about one million pounds per year in the next seven years to build a navy.
But in fact, the East African government also separately allocates funds to the East African Navy every year. However, the East African government is poor like the Japanese government, so the money is not much, but it is more than enough to pay wages and improve food to the East African Navy.
Archduke Ferdinand, who had already confirmed that he was not dreaming, nodded seriously and said: "Leave this matter to me! With this money, I promise to build a powerful navy for you."
For Archduke Ferdinand, this was really a wealthy battle. As long as the money was available, the East African Navy's funding would immediately reach the same level as the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Although there is no shortage of funds, the advantage of the Austro-Hungarian Navy compared to the East African Navy lies in its strong family background, complete industrial system, complete talent training system, and rich experience.
Ernst agreed very much on this point. This aspect was indeed the biggest shortcoming of East Africa, so he asked Archduke Ferdinand for advice: "Father-in-law, you might as well express your thoughts." Archduke Ferdinand: "East Africa The Kingdom has absolutely no foundation in this area, so it must introduce a complete naval education system from Europe, build naval schools, and cultivate professional naval talents. My idea is to build a complete naval education system on Pemba Island."
“Pemba Island! It’s really a nice place.”
“Yes, Pemba Island can better simulate the naval combat environment. It is a large place and has convenient supplies. At the same time, it has a ready-made military base to facilitate students’ internship operations..."
Pemba Island reminded Ernst of the Etajima Naval Academy in Japanese movies in his previous life, which is still called the Japanese Naval Academy.
Speaking of Japan's establishment of a naval school, it was actually a relatively helpless matter, because at this time, Japanese naval students were rejected everywhere. The specific reason is unknown, and it may be due to race.
However, the East African Kingdom does not have this problem. Since Archduke Ferdinand founded the East African Navy, the East African government has organized students to study at the Austrian Royal Naval School every year.
Not to mention Archduke Ferdinand, other European countries will also recruit East African students just for the sake of Constantine and Ernst. At least those countries that had good relations with the Principality of Hechingen in the past have no problem.
However, Archduke Ferdinand still believed that East Africa should have its own naval training system. This is also in line with Ernst’s idea of independence!
It’s just that Ernst didn’t think about it because he didn’t pay much attention to the navy before. Now that Archduke Ferdinand mentioned it, he might as well implement it together.
Ernst: "Yes, I need to trouble you more about how to operate it. The funds for the construction of the naval school will be funded by me alone, and will not be drawn from the previous ship purchase funds."
“There is no problem. In terms of teacher resources, I think with my connections, I can recruit many outstanding talents from Austria.”
Ernst and Archduke Ferdinand reached a consensus on poaching Austria, which was actually a good thing for Austria.
The Austrian Navy has never been taken seriously. Although it had previously defeated Italy and recovered the Venice area, the funding for the Austro-Hungarian Navy had not increased (it had also been reduced during this period in history).
An important task of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is to suppress the Italian Navy. Now that Italian reunification is impossible, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has even less motivation to invest in the navy. For this reason, the Imperial Navy Commander von Tegerthof is Quite worried. (History changes, and von Tegerthoff did not die young.)
This is also an important reason why the Austrian Navy accepted the order for the "Archduke Ferdinand". If it doesn't have the money to build a warship, it is better to build it for East Africa. This way it can accumulate experience and avoid losing Austria's warship construction capabilities. At the same time, it can experiment with new technologies. I can’t use it now because I don’t have money, but I won’t be without it when I need it in the future.
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But there is no such concern when selling to East Africa. First of all, the two countries have close relations. Secondly, East Africa does not have this ability for the time being. Finally, Archduke Ferdinand is the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor and an old leader of the navy.
Archduke Ferdinand: "Let me tell you one last thing, what should be the name of this naval school?"
Ernst: "Just use your name, Ferdinand Naval Academy. After all, the East African Navy was established under the leadership of your father-in-law."
To be honest, Ernst said that there are few top talents in the world who are more suitable for developing the navy than Archduke Ferdinand. Archduke Ferdinand’s re-employment in the East African Kingdom’s navy really helped him a lot.
Without Archduke Ferdinand, the development of the East African navy would have been absolutely difficult. For example, the Far Northeast Navy was deceived by the British and took many detours during its re-establishment process, spending too much money to get things done.
“Ferdinand Naval Academy!”
Hearing the name given by Ernst, Archduke Ferdinand was obviously happy, which was also a recognition of his achievements over the years.
(End of this chapter)