Chapter 428

It had to be said that the colonial department chose a good time. The struggle between Britain and the United States around Central America lasted until ten years ago. Because of the mutual restraint and backstabbing, no one gained an advantage.

In order to suppress the Indian rebellion, the British carried out a limited strategic retreat overseas. In 1859, the Government of London made a concession and gave up the sphere of influence in Central America.

Originally, the southern radicals were ready to incorporate Central America as a slave state, but this was opposed by the northern business owners.

The conflict between the North and the South began with the Mexican War. Because of the seizure of large areas of Mexico, the conflict between the North and the South was ignited.

The southern planters wanted to turn these areas into slave states, and the northern industrial owners wanted to turn these areas into free states.

The conflict between the North and the South became public.

The economic crisis of 1857 exacerbated this conflict. The northern capitalists asked for higher tariffs to protect the market, and the southern planters asked for lower tariffs to allow agricultural products to be exported.

Don't get me wrong. The northern capitalists not only wanted to increase import tariffs on industrial and commercial products, but they also wanted to increase export tariffs on agricultural products so that they could obtain cheap raw materials.

Cutting off people's source of wealth was like killing their parents. The southern planters naturally couldn't bear it. This was directly cutting off their flesh to exploit agriculture to supplement industry.

As for the abolition of slavery, it was actually just an excuse for the outbreak of war. If it was just to abolish slavery, as long as the government was willing to pay a compensation, most slave owners could still accept it.

Anyway, the cost of labor was not much higher than slaves. At present, there were many labor export companies active in the United States, and they could still easily obtain enough cheap labor.

Obviously, the northern capitalists spent so much effort not just to liberate slaves. Everyone's moral cultivation was not so high.

Turning the South into a raw material production area and a dumping place for industrial and commercial products was their ultimate goal.

Because both sides knew that there was no way to ease the conflict, after the political struggle failed in history, the southern planters directly chose to strike first.

Now both the North and the South were working hard for the election, and there was no energy to take care of Central America.

In this context, Austria's tentacles penetrated deep. Of course, the scope of this action was very small, and it was still limited to commercial activities.

If the American Civil War did not break out, there was no doubt that the Austrian forces, which had not yet stabilized, could not defeat the Americans. The colonial department was also gambling.

Unlike Britain and France, Austria did not have a foothold in the American region. If they wanted to intervene in the American Civil War, they must prepare in advance.

The army could wait, but the navy could not be absent.

The southern plantation owners were absolutely unwilling to give in to the northern capitalists. As long as the sea transportation channel was protected and the plantation owners saw that the European countries were standing behind them, they would not easily surrender.

Although there was a huge gap between the North and South, this gap could be narrowed. With the European countries providing logistics, they had the upper hand in terms of weapons and equipment.

A ship could transport thousands of tons at a time, and a round trip. It would only take a few months.

As long as they obtained the support of the major European powers, it wouldn't be a problem to replenish tens of thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition every month.

The current United States was not the United States of the future. It was still a loser. They did not have the ability to produce tens of thousands of tons of ammunition every month.

If the European countries blocked the northern government's supplies, the northern government's only advantage would be manpower.

The advantage of manpower was not unsolvable. The southern government was rich, and they could use cotton and tobacco as collateral to recruit mercenaries in Europe.

To. With to to to, they, they. to do, they. out to do with with, they.

They didn't even need to land. As long as they fired dozens of tons of artillery shells into the cities every day, it wouldn't be long before the northern economy was finished.

The longer the war lasted, the wider it would be, and the harder it would be for the United States to recover. The power of hatred was not to be underestimated. When the North and South were covered in blood, it would not be stable even if they were united.

Franz asked, "How long will it be before the new Bavaria, Lombard, Württemberg, Hessian, and Saxony?"

Franz asked, "How long will it take for the new Bavaria, Lombard, Württemberg, Hessian, and Saxony to be ready for service?"

The naming rights for these warships were also sold by the Ministry of the Navy. The governments of the various states had to bear a third of the cost of building the warships in order to obtain the naming rights.

Franz even encouraged the governments to build their own navies, but no one was fooled. They were all landlubbers. They did not even have a port. How could they be interested?

They were only willing to support the navy for the sake of face. They could not be the only country that didn't have it.

Fortunately, the countries of the new Holy Roman Empire were not poor. They could easily fork out more than a hundred thousand Divine Shields.

So, under the bewitchment of the navy, the governments of these countries forked out a sum of money, increasing the size of the new Holy Empire's navy.

After the ironclads were put into service, Austria became the third most powerful navy in the world, only behind Britain and France.

The total tonnage of the navy exceeded 100,000 tons. They also had ten ironclads, making them the country with the most ironclads in the world.

Of course, this advantage could not be maintained for long. In a few months, they would be surpassed by the British. In a year or two, they would be surpassed by the French.

A naval arms race? Franz didn't want to play anymore. These ships were built mainly to be sold.

Once the Civil War broke out, he would sell some of them to the southern government at a high price. Of course, it was possible to sell them to the northern government.

If the South was at a disadvantage, the best choice would be to let the Americans kill each other. It was necessary to maintain the balance of power between the two sides.

As for how much advantage the north had and how they would definitely win, it was actually nonsense. Just look at how long the Civil War lasted. If the strength of both sides was prolonged, how could the war last four years?

The northern advantage was in industry and population, while the southern advantage was in military. The capitalists did not have the courage to carry guns to the battlefield, but the plantation owners did.

The United States was a country of immigrants, and the people did not have a strong sense of identity. Later generations of Americans propagated that the people were eager to join the army, but in fact, most of them were eager to join the army.

Especially the new immigrants. They came to avoid the war during the Great Revolution. Now that they had to go to the battlefield, it would be strange if they were willing!

"Your Majesty, the Bavaria is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The remaining ships will only be completed at the beginning of next year. This batch of warships will be in service around May next year," Secretary of the Navy Philkos replied.

After thinking about it, Franz realized that there was still enough time. No matter what the butterfly effect was, the American Civil War could not end in a few months. The Austrian Navy still had time to rush over.

"The Navy's global cruise plan can be launched. Send seven ironclads to visit the world, starting from Asia, then to the Americas, and finally to Europe."

It was best to focus on the overseas countries to avoid triggering the sensitive nerves of the European countries.

After this round, the batch of warships would be almost sold. When that time came, they would return to Europe and not stand out.