Author: Seven Years Period

The only way Franz could think of to break the situation was to use steam battleships.

At this time, Austria already had its own steam shipyard, and it was not difficult to develop steam warships.

Some large steamships can even be equipped with artillery and can be used as battleships with a little modification. The price/performance ratio is very cost-effective. The Austrians have done this in history.

The advantage of steam battleships is unparalleled speed. The speed of first-class battleships is usually 8-9 knots, while the speed of steam battleships can easily exceed 15 knots, and is very little affected by the weather.

Austria wanted to defeat the Egyptian fleet not necessarily through a large-scale naval battle, but also through a quick and effective sneak attack.

After all, according to later generations' "On Sea Power", it is easier for the attacking party to take the initiative and have an advantage.

The speed of steam ships is exactly what Austria needs.

This is because Austria relies on diplomatic tightrope-like means to maintain its international status, but the embarrassing thing is that its large (albeit fat) nature prevents it from relying on balancing means to avoid the great powers from paying too much attention to or despising it.

Otherwise, what awaits Austria is a European-wide encirclement network, and the response of Britain and France is particularly important here.

Therefore, Franz hoped to achieve a diplomatic victory rather than a bloodbath.

No one is afraid of a clown, and no powerful country hopes that another powerful country will appear around it. Austria is a land power. There is no doubt that, but if Austria becomes a naval power, will it have a negative impact on the situation in the Mediterranean and even the world?

It’s hard to say what impact the situation will have.

As for uniting Egypt to fight against the European powers, don't even think about it.

An earthworm shakes a tree, which is both admirable and ridiculous.

The Egyptian Pasha, Muhammad Ali, started out in the wilderness and became an emperor. He invited the heroes of Europe to fight against the blue sea. Although his success failed and his dreams were shattered, he could not be called unheroic.

However, this great Arab hero tried his best, tried all his tricks, and spent all the money he had saved in his life. In the end, he could not even scratch the paint of the British flagship.

At this time, Britain had 16 first-class battleships, 21 second-class battleships, 57 third-class battleships, and countless small auxiliary ships.

France has 6 first-class battleships, 7 second-class battleships, and 10 third-class battleships.

Russia has 5 first-class battleships, 16 second-class battleships, and 19 third-class battleships.

The United States has 2 first-class battleships.

Spain has 1 first-class battleship and 1 second-class battleship.

The Ottomans had 3 first-tier battleships, 6 second-tier battleships, and 6 third-tier battleships.

The Kingdom of Sardinia has 1 second-tier battleship and 1 third-tier battleship.

*Statistics between major powers will not count non-capital ships.

Britain had the ability to concentrate all the battleships in Europe and sink them all.

Austria has only a few third-class battleships that have exceeded their service life and are in the scrapping stage, anchored in Venice Port.

As for the British's desire to unilaterally monopolize Egypt, it is impossible. As long as they do the same thing as the British did in the Straits Convention, the final result will most likely be that the interests of all the powers will be equally shared.

In this way, Austria has one more product dumping ground and one more source of cotton, so it no longer has to worry about the Americans.

At this time, the cotton used in Europe was mainly produced in the United States, so the United States was also called the "Cotton Kingdom".

This Turkish-Egyptian war will do more harm than good to Austria. Austria needs to maintain its dignity as a great power and at the same time avoid falling into the struggle between Britain, Russia, and Britain and France.

But there is no need to change history to help Egypt. After all, Muhammad Ali Pasha does not seem to be a grateful person.

In order to gain more bargaining chips for the Austrian Empire, Franz planned to meet the first man in the history of the Austrian Empire's navy, Archduke Friedrich Ferdinand Leopold.

Schonbrunn Palace, Royal Gardens.

Archduke Friedrich looked very reluctant. He was already sixteen years old. He had graduated from the military academy when he was thirteen. Everyone said that he would be the greatest naval admiral in the history of the Austrian Empire. He

I am convinced of this myself.

As soon as Archduke Friedrich entered the navy, the naval commander entered a state of semi-retirement. The entire navy followed his lead. His father promised to provide him with a sponsorship of two million florins, and the Minister of War, Count Tural, also expressed his willingness.

Try your best to secure a budget for the Navy.

Archduke Friedrich was proficient in naval warfare, knew battleship design, was a professional in artillery, and was even proficient in ship-operating techniques. He felt that he would be able to build a maritime force capable of suppressing the Kingdom of Sardinia in ten years.

Historically, he did spend ten years building a fleet and then drowned as a marshal.

But today Archduke Friedrich had to come to play with the children. What does a seven-year-old kid know? Should I play hide-and-seek with him?

Archduke Friedrich hated this boring social etiquette, but he could only think about it in his heart. After all, he was still very afraid of Archduke Karl.

Archduke Friedrich has been hailed as a genius since he was a child, but he has never been recognized by his father. He did not choose to be as tough as his eldest brother Albrecht, but chose to escape.

Although escaping is shameful, it is very useful. Friedrich chose to become a navy. As expected, Archduke Carl would not point fingers at things he did not understand. This made Friedrich feel very comfortable. However, he was still very concerned about his strict father.

fearful.

Although Archduke Karl himself often quarreled with the old emperor, he hoped that his descendants would not imitate him. After all, life is too short and one should not waste time just for the sake of temporary motivation.

And when Francis II returned the coin to him, all the discord between the brothers had been put aside.

As a subject of the Austrian Empire, the heirs of Archduke Karl should have a good relationship with the emperor. Archduke Karl himself knew very well that the future emperor of Austria would most likely be Franz Joseph.

Archduke Karl did not want his heirs to repeat his tragedy. After receiving Franz's letter inviting Friedrich to be a guest, he immediately sent someone to kidnap his third son back from the navy.

The chirping of birds, the blooming flowers on the neatly manicured lawns, and the majestic Arc de Triomphe could not interest Archduke Friedrich.

To be honest, since his mother's death, his only entertainment activities were discussing battles with the whole family, or designing his own ships.

Archduke Friedrich, who was walking while thinking with his head down, collided with a towering mountain peak.

Due to the high speed of the opponent, Friedrich was knocked unconscious and a little angry. He just looked up and saw an elf with long golden hair.

This was a bit too exciting for Friedrich, who had not seen a woman in the navy for several months.

A fountain of blood gushes out

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