Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 834 - 97: Missing One

Everyone has goals, the Austrian Navy set its sights on reaching eighty percent of the Royal Navy’s capability, and the French Navy naturally would not shy away.

As the second most powerful naval force in the world, it was obligatory to surpass the Austrian Navy, aiming for about ninety percent of the tonnage of the Royal Navy.

Everyone was quite respectful and did not intend to challenge British naval supremacy; their shipbuilding plans were merely meant to come close, not surpass.

Of course, this was just the perspective of France and Austria, but within the eyes of the London Government, it was seen differently.

Whether it was eighty percent or ninety percent of the tonnage, this threatened the hegemonic status of the Royal Navy.

Each was a global empire; their navies could not always be concentrated. Should someone break the unspoken rules and launch a surprise attack, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Even if the Royal Navy could win, it would suffer heavy losses. After eliminating one challenger, it would be unable to handle another.

This kind of war, where both parties suffered losses, was something France and Austria, both strong land powers, could afford. Even in defeat, they had the chance to make a comeback.

But Britannia could not afford this; should the Royal Navy suffer heavy losses, past enemies would pounce and divide up their global empire, leaving no chance for resurgence.

The imminent threat was very real, and the British Government, having initiated the arms race, certainly would not back down now.

Inside the Downing Street Government Building, comparing the shipbuilding plans of France and Austria, Prime Minister Gladstone chuckled, "It seems our opponents are quite ambitious!

Austria plans to build five battleships, with the total tonnage of all types of warships nearly reaching eighty percent of our plans; the French are building six battleships, with their total nearing ninety percent."

"An eight-point threat theory and a nine-point counterbalance theory, do they really think the navy is just about building ships?"

In the naval realm, Britannia had the confidence to look down on any competitors. While the navies of France and Austria had been developing for many years, their core nature was still that of land-based powers.

This deep-rooted cultural influence wasn’t something that could change overnight. As long as their core didn’t change, they would struggle to truly compete with the British Navy.

This was mainly reflected in finances; other aspects might be compensated for, but insufficient military spending was intractable.

In recent years, the French Navy’s budget was roughly 55% of that of the Royal Navy, while the Austrian Navy’s budget was about 50%.

It wasn’t that the governments of the two countries didn’t have money or didn’t want to increase spending, but they also had large armies to support at home.

Taking Austria as an example, in recent years the expenditure on both navy and army had been nearly equal. As the favored army, its annual budget was only a couple percentage points higher than that of the navy.

Of course, Austria maintaining sixty-five percent of the Royal Navy’s tonnage with half the budget didn’t mean that they were cutting corners in training.

Apart from slightly lower military personnel costs, the main reason was that they had fewer overseas colonies than the British, less range to cover, and consequently fewer missions abroad, allowing most ships to remain nestled in their home bases.

Foreign Minister George said, "Who knows? But right now, public opinion is very positive in both France and Austria, and their desire to build ships is strong.

According to reports from our embassy in Paris, various civil organizations like the French Navy Union and the French Navy Club are calling on the public to donate funds for shipbuilding.

In just three days, they have raised over eighteen million francs, enough to finance the construction of one battleship."

Austria has not yet accepted private donations, but organizations like the German National Unity Committee and the German Renaissance Union are already promoting the idea.

If the arms race continues, it’s likely they will start fundraising throughout the Germany Region.

Under the influence of public opinion, the armament deal we previously reached with the North German Government was rejected by their Sub-State Parliament.

The Hanover Government hoped we could provide them with shipbuilding technology to help them fulfill orders at their domestic shipyards, otherwise, the business would ultimately fall into Austrian hands.

This was not the first time the Sub-State Parliament had rejected the British Army purchasing plan. In fact, since the formal establishment of North Germany, not a single approval had been granted.

The main reason the orders frequently faced rejection was nationalism, with most people believing the United Kingdom to be the chief culprit behind the division of the Germany Region, opposing any form of military cooperation with the British.

Faced with overwhelming public opinion, the weak Central Government of North Germany naturally could not withstand it. The Sub-State Parliament was merely a tool pushed to the forefront.

Hearing this explanation, Prime Minister Gladstone’s good mood vanished instantly as he cursed, "It’s that damned nationalism again, undoubtedly the biggest ideological cancer in the world.

I would bet that if one day the situation in Europe gets out of control, it would definitely be caused by nationalism.

No need to bother with them anymore. What’s the difference between giving them the shipbuilding technology and directly handing it to the Austrians?

Tell the North German Government that we can forgo these military ship orders, but they absolutely must not fall into Austrian hands, otherwise, they will be responsible for the consequences."

There was no helping it, the Germany Region was originally the cradle of European nationalist thought; it simply wasn’t something controllable on a whim.

The princes had been warring for hundreds of years, and everyone was already tired of fighting. Originally, Prussia could easily annex many Sub-States of North Germany in the original timeline because of the spread of nationalism and the people’s desire for peace.

Now was no different, and even due to the interference of the great powers in the unification of the Germany Region in those years, the people felt humiliated, and nationalism was even more intense than in the same period in history.

With Austria adding fuel to the fire, anti-English sentiment became mainstream in the Germany Region, and the Hanover ally they nurtured was no longer so submissive.

The British Government had not failed to retaliate, but unfortunately, the effect was not very good; not only did the people not endorse it, but even the rulers showed little interest.

If it were before the rise of nationalism, propagating the Austrian threat theory would definitely have been effective, but sadly the timing was now off.

In the hearts of nationalists, the Austrian threat theory was almost the same as supporting Austrian unification; it simply couldn’t scare anyone.

Under such circumstances, to expect the shipyards of North Germany to keep British shipbuilding technology confidential was asking too much.

It was no wonder Prime Minister Gladstone was angry. Facing an ally that only saw investment without returns and whose stance was wavering, anyone would naturally have grievances.

...

Sir Astley Cooper Key, Minister of the Navy, said, "Prime Minister, the Navy’s new shipbuilding plan has been drafted."

Prime Minister Gladstone took the document and glanced over the number of ships and the cost; the specific parameters were not his concern as a layman.

"Adding six capital ships, isn’t that too much? In case it scares off France and Austria, how will we continue the game?"

Prime Minister Gladstone’s concern was valid. For a nation, pride certainly matters, but pride doesn’t feed people.

If Britannia played too aggressively, it was quite normal for France and Austria to retreat, as they were both continental powers.

Losing the naval arms race was just that, a loss; it was not a matter of life and death. Anyway, with or without an arbiter, anyone could proclaim themselves the winner.

Hearing this number, Finance Minister George Childs was quick to say, "This year’s budget has already been allocated, and even next year’s budget has already been earmarked.

The naval shipbuilding plans of France and Austria both span three to five years; there’s absolutely no need for us to rush. Maybe we could postpone the naval shipbuilding plan for a couple of years."

Indeed, most of the time, the Royal Navy’s shipbuilding plans were conducted separately; this time, it was just to strike first by starting "six battleships" together.

The results were, naturally, excellent. Britannia demonstrated their formidable shipbuilding capabilities to the world and shocked the world once again.

Apart from Britannia, no other country in the world had a record of concurrently starting the construction of six new battleships.

However, being number one in the world also came at a cost, that being the rapid expenditure of money.

Continue your journey with empire

Although they had procured a substantial sum from the Jews, the spending ability of the bureaucrats was undoubtedly remarkable. In just a few months, the spending plans reported by various departments greatly exceeded the total amount.

With foresight, George Childs had opted to divest government debt early to control the government’s spending pace.

Apart from a few important plans that were approved, most were indefinitely shelved—implementation would wait until someone remembered them some year!

In this respect, this session of the British Government was excellent, at least in terms of responsibility.

Sir Astley Cooper Key furrowed his brow and exchanged glances with the Finance Minister for a while, but ultimately he had to admit defeat helplessly.

There was no choice, as the purse strings were too powerful. Even if the shipbuilding funds were allocated, the increased military expenses afterward would also need the support of the Treasury.

Sir Astley Cooper Key, seeking a compromise, suggested, "Shipbuilding can be delayed, but I think it’s best to announce the plans sooner.

To drain the finances of France and Austria, we must put greater pressure on them. Just lukewarm efforts like now will not be effective at all."

The arms race was indeed lukewarm, as it had only theoretically begun. Shipbuilding yards in various countries were not working at full capacity. Constructing two or three battleships a year—how could that be called an arms race?

You see, in normal years, Britannia built two or three battleships annually to compensate for the Royal Navy’s main battle fleet attrition.

...

As the British continued to up the stakes, the arms race started in earnest. Watching the stunning performance of the governments of England, France, and Austria, Alexander III appeared especially desolate.

At such a crucial moment, the Russian Empire was noticeably absent.

You should know, even declining countries like Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands had announced their shipbuilding plans, biting the bullet.

Though the scale was smaller, or rather symbolic just to make their presence felt, at least they participated.

It’s not that the Russian Empire was so poor that they couldn’t afford to build even one warship; the key issue was that they lacked the technology.

Russia’s major shipyards hadn’t received a military ship order in decades; the technology was long neglected. Forget modern battleships; they hadn’t even built any primitive ironclads.

The so-called shipbuilding data they possessed was still from the Age of Sail. With no technical accumulation, it was a joke to think they could leap straight to the Era of Pre-Dreadnoughts.

Alexander III, concerned, asked, "How can it be, have the Austrians agreed to transfer shipbuilding technology?"

These days, shipbuilding technology was essentially a national representation of the highest level of technological confidentiality.

Foreign Minister Oscar Ximenes: "The Austrian Government has agreed to the technology transfer, but we need to negotiate the specific costs directly with the shipyards.

Our representatives visited several Austrian battleship manufacturers, and the results were not promising. Apart from wanting exclusive contracts, their quotes far exceeded our capacity.

The lowest bid from the Venice Shipyard, for transferring the latest battleship technologies, stood at 8 million Divine Shield, plus an order of 4 battleships, 10 destroyers, 6 cruisers, and 36 auxiliary ships."

This was no longer a simple technology transfer but rather an outright extortion. But there was no choice, as only a few countries possessed these technologies.

Shipyards possessing technology to build new battleships numbered fewer than twenty worldwide, and even fewer were willing to sell this technology.

In fact, Oscar Hemenes had not disclosed that the Venice Shipyard, which had offered the lowest bid, had never built a new battleship before.

How advanced the so-called advanced technology really was, no one could answer.

In fact, many of the Austrian shipyards were capable of building warships, but their main business was still the construction of civilian merchant ships.

Participating in warship production, the primary goal was to make their own mark, similar to advertising.

Generally speaking, the recognized standard was that only shipyards capable of building main fleet ships were considered first-rate;

those that could build destroyers and cruisers were considered second-rate;

and those only capable of building auxiliary warships were considered third-rate;

those who couldn’t build warships at all were considered tiny family workshops, regardless of their size.

Just like this Venice Shipyard, which had been beaten in the bidding process but still did not give up on related technology development.

Originally planning to bid again next time, upon hearing that the Russians wanted to introduce technology, they prepared to overcharge.

As for the other shipyards that participated in the bid, of course, they colluded to raise the price. If the deal went through, the Venice Shipyard would owe everyone compensation.

Expecting shipyards to lower their prices due to competition was sheer wishful thinking; no one would go against money.

Alexander III expressed his surprise, "Why is it so expensive?"

Foreign Minister Oscar Hemenes explained, "Mainly because very few factories control this technology. It also involves core business technology which is generally not for sale.

If it weren’t for the desire to secure our navy’s order, these shipyards wouldn’t even quote a price."

Alexander III nodded, "It’s quite normal for them to deliberately quote a sky-high price to scare us off, considering they don’t really want to sell the technology."

Buying warships overseas was never an option. Without access to the most advanced shipbuilding technology, having a few more warships would be meaningless to the Russian Empire.

After pondering for a moment, Alexander III bitterly said, "Let’s take it slow! We’re not in a hurry, since this arms race has nothing to do with us.

If we can’t get the most advanced shipbuilding technology, we’ll settle for the technology of the warships we currently have."

If it weren’t for Austria delivering a fleet of warships, Alexander III would never have considered buying shipbuilding technology.

Now with no other option but to buy the technology from Austria, the warships’ maintenance had to be done at Austrian shipyards.

This confined the Russian navy to only operate in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, unable to dispatch a fleet into the Baltic Sea.

As for the Russian shipyards, there were quite a few volunteering to do the maintenance, but the Navy Department didn’t trust them, fearing that these treasures would be mishandled.

Not only the navy, but Alexander III himself didn’t trust them either. Having received a modern education, he was well aware of how complex naval matters could be.

If there were problems with the maintenance of warships, it might not seem significant in peacetime, but it could be lethal at critical moments.