Chapter 592: Inspection of Bagamoyo
Constantine was still on his way back, so Ernst planned to go to Bagamoyo city to have a look during this interval.
"Karina, I will go to the Bagamoyo Shipyard today and I should be able to come back tomorrow. Let your mother-in-law stay with you at home today. If you need anything, ask the servant. If you feel uncomfortable, call the doctor... "
Ernst rambled a lot carefully. Now Karina is pregnant with her second child. Otherwise, he really wants to take Karina and him to Bagamoyo for a walk and relax, but going to Bagamoyo is not necessary. Taking the water route, Ernst was not at ease.
"Okay, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not a child, and there is no shortage of anything in the palace. There are so many servants at my disposal. But when can we go see my grandmother? She calls often. Little Friedrich has never met his grandmother, but she likes him very much." Karina asked.
Karina was brought up by the Queen Mother Sophie since she was a child, and she has a deep relationship with her. However, since she came to East Africa, she has not been able to see her grandmother. She only has a phone to contact her, which reduces her missing.
"My father-in-law occasionally goes to Austria to visit my grandmother. My grandmother is still in good health now. Your brother Rudolf Jr. and your uncle are also doing well, so don't worry too much. I will accompany you back to visit them next year." Nodao.
In fact, the Austrian royal family has a lot of troubles, but many of them are related to Franz. Little Rudolf often contacted Ernst, and he was enlightened by someone. In this era, no one cares about psychological problems, so the Ernsts had to worry about it. Rudolph's mental health issues.
As for Franz, although his love life is not going well, his mentality is definitely good enough. Otherwise, he would not have lived so long if he was so miserable in his previous life.
In this life, his brother Archduke Ferdinand did not let the Mexicans die with one shot. Ferdinand often went back to quarrel, which was much better than his previous life.
More contact with the Austrian royal family will also help the development of relations between the two countries. The relationship between the two countries is already very good. After all, East Africa and Europe are separated by the ocean, so travel is not very convenient. When Ernst was in Europe, he often went to the Austrian royal palace. visit.
Thinking of this, Ernst felt that he could not favor one over the other. There were many nobles and royal families in Europe who had good relations with the Hechingen royal family, and it was just a good opportunity to meet and connect with them on the way.
So Ernst took advantage of the situation and said: "At that time, I will go back to Europe to visit other countries that have good relations with East Africa. If you have any sisters you want to meet, you can tell them in advance, so don't be in a hurry."
Karina: “I actually don’t have many friends, and most of them are in Vienna. I’ll just get together when the time comes, and I’ll introduce little Friedrich to meet them.”
Karina grew up in the Austrian court since she was a child, so most of her friends were the children of Austrian nobles. After all, ordinary people did not have the strength to enter the Austro-Hungarian palace.
"Of course it's no problem, but considering your delivery date, we won't be able to go to Europe until the second half of next year. There will be a state visit then, so it will definitely be tiring. After all, there are more social activities." Ernst reminded.
"These are nothing. I was used to it before coming to East Africa. On the contrary, there are not many nobles in East Africa and there are not so many rules. It is very different from Europe." Karina said.
Because of the waterway, we have to wait for the boat at the pier in the north of the First Town. The pier is not far from the urban area. The north bank of the Little Rhine River is the Third Town, which has now been merged with the First Town. Therefore, both sides of the Little Rhine River It's quite prosperous.
Ernst was traveling on a gunboat of the Guards Division, so it was very fast and could reach Bagamoyo in only two or three hours. Although it only takes less than an hour to reach the First Town via the Central Railway, the waterway has obvious freight advantages compared to the railway, so the economic connection between the First Town and Bagamoyo City is actually closer.
Ernst arrived at Bagamoyo at noon. Although Bagamoyo is not as good as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, it plays a decisive role in the East African shipbuilding industry due to the development of the shipbuilding industry. .
Of course, the most important thing is that the main naval base is here. Ernst first came to the navy to visit Ferdinand, but was told that Archduke Ferdinand was now at the Ferdinand Naval Academy on Pemba Island, so he had to stay with other naval personnel. Accompanied by the company, we visited the base construction.
"Bagamoyo City is the gateway to the first town and the outlet of the Little Rhine River. It is not an exaggeration to describe our local construction as impregnable. The navy and Guards Division are heavily guarded against any intrusion. It is impossible for any enemy to strike at nearby sea areas through the ocean."
“Well, I know this quite well. How are the navy’s new ships this year?” Ernst asked.
“This year the Bagamoyo Shipyard completed the construction plan for three gunboats. As for the latest 3,000-ton displacement armored cruiser, it may still take time. We estimate that it can be completed and launched into service early next year.”
The shipbuilding technology of Bagamoyo Shipyard is improving day by day, and is now sprinting towards the 3,000-ton displacement level. Higher values should be achievable, but a more secure solution has been chosen.
"The Bagamoyo Shipyard still needs to accumulate experience. This is something we in East Africa are relatively lacking. At the same time, it is also unsatisfactory in the fields of technology and research and development. There is also a lack of relevant talents in the local area, but it should be fine after waiting for ten or twenty years. You guys Don’t be too impatient,” Ernst said.
"Independence has always been the goal of the East African Navy. We still need to learn from the navies of other powerful countries and try to keep up with the footsteps of other countries to avoid falling behind. However, this is not difficult for us. We have already achieved some improvements in weapons and equipment. With independent production, the imitation work is also very smooth.”
If the East African Navy wants to be independent, it cannot avoid copycats. As for independent research and development and design, the requirements for talents have greatly increased, and it is also related to the layout of related industries. Without strong industries, there will be no A strong and independent navy, always relying on buying, can solve problems in a short period of time, and the ambitions of the East African Navy will naturally not stop there.
After seeing the navy, Ernst began to inspect the civilian shipyards in Bagamoyo.
As the central city of the shipbuilding industry in East Africa, Bagamo now has a total of thirteen shipbuilding companies, most of which are state-owned companies, and only two private companies belong to the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.
Therefore, the shipbuilding industry in Bagamoyo is among the best in East Africa. The shipbuilding industries in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are also not bad, but they have too many functions to be responsible for and cannot devote themselves to the shipbuilding industry wholeheartedly. go.
On the contrary, Bagamoyo City does not have much economic development burden, so it can free up space to develop the shipbuilding industry. However, the East African shipbuilding industry cannot be supported by private forces, so it is either the government or the Hechingen Consortium that contributes.
This undoubtedly limits the activity of the East African shipbuilding industry, but the benefits are also very obvious. The government and the Hechingen Consortium can make full use of the huge resource advantages in their hands and focus on supporting the initial development of the East African shipbuilding industry.
(End of this chapter)