Chapter 472

With Franz's intervention, the Admiralty's plan to build a full artillery battleship was approved.

There was no fanfare promotion, nor was there any deliberate secrecy.

After all, it was only a test ship, and no one could guarantee success. The Government of Vienna had stepped on too many pitfalls in the exploration of naval technology.

Unsurprisingly, after every failure, it would attract a group of "hindsight" criticism. They made the Navy look like a waste and only knew how to waste taxpayers' money.

In fact, the failure of new technology was nothing. The key was that the navy lacked a convincing record. If it was the Army with a strong record, there would never be such criticism.

"Learn from your mistakes."

After learning from the previous experience, the Navy adopted the cold shoulder when exploring new technologies and concepts.

If they succeeded, they would announce it to the public and enjoy the applause. If they failed, they would silently swallow the bitter fruit.

This was the price they had to pay for being at the forefront of the times. In the field of scientific research, there was no such thing as eternal victory. Behind every success, there were countless failures piled up.

Of course, there was also a gap between failures. It was forgivable if the performance of the test ship did not meet the design requirements or lacked actual combat ability, but the basic principles of mechanics still had to be followed.

If the ship that was built sank before it even left the port, then they would be held accountable.

It was fine not to publicize, but "secrecy" was not necessary. In fact, a big thing like a warship couldn't be kept secret once it was on the dock.

The battleship of the 19th century was the embodiment of the highest industrial level of a country. To build a qualified battleship required the cooperation of at least a hundred related enterprises.

Such a big movement couldn't be hidden at all. The only thing that could be hidden was the performance parameters of the warship. The construction of warships was not a secret at all.

Even in the Holy Roman Empire, there were only a few shipyards that could build battleships. They had long been targeted by international spies. When the materials were transported in, they knew they were building a ship.

Of course, if the Government of Vienna wanted to, they could also play strategic deception. Putting a merchant ship in the dock of a battleship could also fool people.

But it was not necessary. If it wasn't for the fear that it would arouse the British's suspicion, Franz would have revealed the parameters of a full-artillery battleship.

It was an arms race, so naturally, people had to participate. If the British didn't know, how could they play?

"Secrecy", using the advantages of new technology to surprise the enemy, only existed in theory.

The most important thing was that the "Dreadnought" was full of uncertainty. Before the warship was launched, no one could guarantee success.

If he had a hundred percent chance of success, Franz wouldn't mind building a dozen of them in one go and immediately catching the British off guard after they entered service.

In fact, the birth of the original Space-Time Dreadnought was full of twists and turns. People only saw the success of the British, and no one paid attention to the setbacks..

It was ten years ahead of schedule, and Franz couldn't guarantee that the Navy's "Dreadnought" plan was perfect.

If there was a problem with the design, creating a bunch of big toys without combat value, it would be too. The Emperor could not afford such political risk. s.

Gambling was a taboo for a monarch. The people needed a steady monarch.

Small countries didn't have more choices, so they needed to take risks; big countries had more choices, higher tolerance for mistakes, and being conservative was the way to go.

The parameters of the warship were not leaked, and the outside world only thought it was an ordinary battleship. Shinra built it almost every year, so naturally, it did not cause any waves.

For all this, Franz was not anxious at all. Anyway, when the warship was launched, the British would know. At that time, the Government of London would be even more stimulated.

According to the plan, Shinra's first "full-artillery battleship" would start construction in early February 1898. If there were no accidents, it could be launched in 1899.

The timing was very good, and the Central Asia Railway was opened at about the same time. The maritime hegemony and India were threatened at the same time, and it was estimated that the Government of the United Kingdom would be driven crazy.

…

In the evening, the Spanish embassy in Vienna was brightly lit. Accompanied by bursts of music, a diplomatic ball began.

"Your Excellency, we really have no intention of spying on your country's colony. Aren't you tired of probing every two or three days?"

The Foreign Minister of Shinra, Wesenberg, who was invited to the banquet, was now having a headache. He didn't know where the Spanish got the news that Shinra was plotting against Morocco. Recently, Minister Bullard had been pestering him every day.

In order to verify the authenticity of the news, Wesenberg not only looked for the military and the Department of Colonization, but even asked the province of Algeria. They all said that there were no similar plans "recently."

However, no matter how Wesenberg explained, the Spanish Minister Bullard in front of him did not believe it.

Well, this was not surprising. There were no plans to plot against Morocco recently, but it did not mean that there were no plans in the past, let alone in the future.

On the issue of overseas colonization, the Government of Vienna fully delegated power.

Not only could the military and the Department of Colonization lead the establishment of colonies, but overseas colonial governments, nobles, and civil organizations could also establish colonies.

Generally speaking, before the start of colonial activities, it was enough to report to the nearest government, and it was not mandatory.

In any case, whoever took the lead was responsible. If the colony was successfully established, the Government of Vienna would recognize it. If the non-government planned the colonization activity failed, all the consequences would be at their own risk.

In recent decades, the Government of Vienna had issued at least eighty thousand colonial licenses, if not one hundred thousand. There were countless groups and individuals with the qualifications to colonize.

When the forest was big, there were all kinds of birds. With so many colonial groups, there were definitely many who had their eyes on Morocco.

It was normal for a few of them to leak their own colonial plans to the Spanish government.

Wesenberg had encountered similar protests many times. Not to mention the Spanish colonies, even the British colonies had people who dared to spy on them.

Generally speaking, these stayed in the planning stage. Without the support of the Government of Vienna, there were still not many who dared to take action.

Wesenberg could only guarantee that the Shinra officials did not have any ideas about Morocco. As for whether or not there were people in the private sector, it was none of his business.

In any case, Spain was also a medium-sized country, and it was not something that a few civil colonial groups could provoke.

In Wesenberg's view, Minister Brad's current nervousness was completely making a mountain out of a molehill.

As if his tail had been stepped on, Brad flatly denied, "Your Excellency, I really did not test you.

You know, in recent years, we have suffered from war, and the government's financial pressure is very high.

Although the colonial rebellion was suppressed not long ago, it will still take a long time for the local economy to return to normal.

In the next few years, not only will our colonies not be able to create wealth, but the government will also need to subsidize it.

In order to reduce expenses, after careful research, the government is ready to sell the Morocco area. Considering our traditional friendship with your country, I gave priority to contact Your Excellency. "

Obviously, Wesenberg's denial not only did not clear the suspicion, but it also strengthened Minister Brad's judgment.

Since it was determined that Shinra was plotting the Morocco area, the Spanish government, unable to resist, naturally had to find a way to reduce losses.

Since they couldn't keep it anyway, they had to find a way to sell it for a good price. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a buyer these days. There were many countries eyeing the Morocco area, but there were no countries that dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

Even the British weren't willing to be neighbors with Shinro just for a Moroccan.

For the Government of the United Kingdom, the longer the land border with Shinra, the greater the pressure they had to bear.

It was easy to buy the Morocco area, but the problem was what to do after occupying it. They couldn't deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to confront Shinra for Morocco, right?

If a maritime power country went to the mainland to play against a land power country, it was definitely a sign of having water in their brains.

To put it bluntly, the Spanish government only had a nominal suzerainty. Moreover, it was obtained by illegal means, and the Moroccans didn't admit it at all.

If Spain completely occupied the Morocco area and established a complete order, there might really be people who dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

After all, at this point, the Government of Vienna had already begun to care about their reputation, and it was impossible for them to snatch other people's colonies for no reason.

Unfortunately, the Spanish government could only sell in a name. At most, they could add control of the northern area. However, this controlled area was not only limited in area, but also very lacking in control. They often had to face the threat of indigenous tribes.

In this context, spending a lot of money to buy Morocco might not only offend the Government of Vienna, but they also had to send troops to fight with Morocco. It was obviously a bad deal.

No one was willing to pay a high price, so the Spanish government could only turn to the Government of Vienna.

After a long period of contact and understanding, the Spanish government found that the Holy Roman Empire was different from the previous European overlords. This was a lord who paid attention to their table manners and image.

For the Spanish government, the Government of Vienna's reputation was the biggest "advantage." Since the boss paid attention to his own image, then he couldn't take advantage of the situation.

Even for the purpose of "buying a bone with a thousand gold," the Government of Vienna didn't want to carry the bad reputation of bullying their underlings, so they had to offer a high price.

As a kind of wealth, the colony itself could be traded. In the original time and space, the Spanish government almost sold Cuba, but the Americans were a little more cunning.

Although he mentioned that he wanted to buy it, the conditions he offered were all empty promises full of traps. At the time, the US dollar wasn't an international currency. The US government was only willing to pay in US dollars, and it wasn't a one-time payment.

If 100 million US dollars were converted into 100 million pounds and paid in cash, there probably wouldn't be the Spanish-American War later.

At this point, Wesenberg was too lazy to continue to explain. If it was a misunderstanding, then so be it. If he wanted to be the overlord, how could he be afraid of being misunderstood?

Since the Spanish government dared to sell, the Government of Vienna dared to buy. In any case, Morocco was a rare good place in Africa.

Not only was it a fertile land, but it also had the reputation of "cool country under the scorching sun" and "North Africa's garden." More importantly, it could hold the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea.

In the hands of the Spanish government, Morocco's strategic value was infinitely close to zero. Once it was in the hands of Shinra, it could lock the west gate of the Mediterranean Sea.

When the domestic media boasted, they could add: "The Mediterranean Sea is our inland sea."

Although it was a bit arrogant to boast like this, compared to other Mediterranean countries like Spain, France, Greece, Montenegro, and Sardinia, there wouldn't be too many objections.

With the military and political benefits, even if it was just a nominal suzerainty, it couldn't be cheap.

After pausing for a while, Weissenberg slowly said, "Alright then. Since your country is facing financial difficulties, we can understand why you want to sell the Morocco region.

It's just that your country doesn't completely control Morocco, and the Kingdom of Morocco still has a certain strength, so we have to give a discount on the price.

If your government really wants to sell it at a good price, I suggest your country send troops to occupy Morocco and then talk to us.

In that case, we will definitely give a price that will satisfy your country, and your country will definitely not suffer a loss. "

Even though he knew that "encouraging Spain to send troops to Morocco" was unrealistic, Wesenberg still didn't mind throwing it out.

It wasn't to lower the price, but mainly to let Minister Bullard see the reality. Just because the Government of Vienna needed to pay attention to their table manners, they couldn't treat Shinra like a fool.

As soon as he finished speaking, Minister Bullard's expression became interesting. If Spain had the strength to get rid of the Kingdom of Morocco, they wouldn't have to wait until now.

As the country closest to the European powers, Morocco was able to maintain its independence for so many years. In addition to the mutual restraints between the powers, their own strength was also an important factor.

In order to deal with the indigenous tribes in the north, the Spanish government tossed back and forth several times, but they didn't completely solve the problem.

Sending troops to destroy the Kingdom of Morocco was easier said than done. If it was really implemented, who knew how much military expenses it would cost.

Bullard chose to ignore the "satisfactory price" Wesenberg mentioned. It was fine to listen to this kind of words, but if he took it seriously, he would be a fool.

"Your Excellency, with our current situation, it is no longer suitable to continue waging war. For Spain, the most important thing right now is to recuperate.

As for the Kingdom of Morocco you mentioned, there is no need to care at all. It's just a native kingdom. To your esteemed country, you can easily wipe them out.

You don't even need to mobilize the army. As long as your government gives the signal, the civilian armed forces alone can wipe out Morocco ten times.

This little bit of dust will not affect this transaction at all. "

Flattery, shameless flattery. In order to sell the Morocco region at a good price, Minister Bullard obviously gave up his integrity.

Even though he knew that Bullard was flattering him, Wesenberg still accepted it without hesitation. A hegemon should have the aura of a hegemon. If he didn't have confidence in his own strength, how could he survive?

What's more, Bullard's flattery was not excessive. The Kingdom of Morocco was indeed not a problem for Shinra. On the issue of colonial expansion, Shinra's civilian armed forces were extremely enthusiastic.

If Shinra really gathered all the civilian armed forces, not to mention destroying the Kingdom of Morocco, even killing Spain wouldn't be a problem.

If there was a world army ranking, then it would be:

First, the Holy Roman Empire;

Second, the Russian Empire;

Third, the private army of the Holy Roman Empire;

…

It couldn't be helped. These fellows' status was earned through fighting on the battlefield. They might not be good at other things, but they were definitely not afraid of fighting.

Before these military strongmen went to see God, the private army of the Shinra nobles was an important armed force.

"Your Excellency, there is no point in talking about this. Since your country really wants to sell the Morocco region, then give me a price first? "

It could be seen that Wesenberg was in a good mood. It seemed that Bullard's flattery was effective, and he seemed to be very satisfied with this transaction.

Minister Bullard: "Okay, Your Excellency. The Morocco region has great economic, military, and political value. I think 300 million BDH is a reasonable number. "