Chapter 428 Discussion
To be honest, can Hermann be considered a German celebrity? Of course he is, but it is still a bit far-fetched. He is more like a local celebrity. According to the size of the Principality of Hechingen, he should be a county-level celebrity. If it were not for the title of a principality, it is estimated that Germans would not know much about him. But it does not matter. After all, he is Ernst's grandfather, and his family must give him some praise. Not only by naming him, but also by publishing biographies and various cultural works in the future to beautify the history of the Hechingen royal family.
"Ernst, taking advantage of the current recession in the shipbuilding industry, I think the plan you made earlier is still a bit conservative. For example, this pseudo 7,000-ton ironclad ship must have been priced sky-high before, but now I only paid 5,000-ton manufacturing price for it, so I suggest you buy two more."
"Father-in-law, as I said before, the budget is still the same. If you have the ability to buy a few more ships based on my initial procurement plan, I have no objection. You can handle this matter as you wish. Our East African Navy still has a lot of homework to do. Troop carriers, supply ships, frigates, training ships... are all in short supply. We must purchase ships according to East Africa's national conditions and actual needs, not just for the sake of pomp and appearance."
"Increasing the funding a little bit is not a big problem. You know, although the coastline of East Africa is only more than 2,000 kilometers, we actually have to cover more than that. Think about it, after occupying the New Hamburg Bay in South Africa, our navy actually has a foothold in the south. Together with the Comoros Islands, the waters we actually want to control extend from East Africa to South Africa and through the entire Mozambique Channel. In other words, the waters we actually want to control in East Africa are more than 4,000 kilometers long from north to south."
Archduke Ferdinand directly ignored Mozambique, which was stuck in the middle. If he had said this before, Archduke Ferdinand would definitely have thought twice, because the East African Navy was really an empty shell at that time. Now, hasn't the times changed? Once the East African Navy's ship purchase plan is completed, the hegemony of the Western Indian Ocean will be inevitable, although there is no decent navy in the Western Indian Ocean except Britain and France.
"Then how many do you plan to add? Also, the most fundamental problem of our East African Navy is not the lack of strong ships and powerful guns, but the lack of relevant naval talents. Without operators, even the most advanced warships are just a big target on the sea."
Ernst's words brought Archduke Ferdinand back to reality. The navy is a system, not just equipment. Was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy strong before? Why did it fail twice at the hands of Austria? The fundamental reason was the difference in personnel quality.
After waking up, Archduke Ferdinand thought carefully and said, "You are right. It seems that what we need most now is personnel training. I need to make some serious plans on how to provide sufficient talents for the East African Navy in a relatively short period of time."
Being too ambitious is not necessarily wrong. In fact, East Africa's annexation of the Transvaal Republic was like having one's cake and eating it too. Zimbabwe started a war before it had even digested the food. Fortunately, East Africa won the gamble. The Transvaal Republic had not yet developed into a country that was good at guerrilla warfare and had the strength to embarrass powerful countries. The main reason was that the population was too small and concentrated, and the Boers were not united and failed to reach a consensus in the first place. If the war had not gone so smoothly, not to mention whether it could have obtained South Africa, Zimbabwe might also have suffered a backlash.
"We still need your cooperation in this regard. We should not only send naval students to Austria, but also to Germany and the Netherlands. If we only rely on our Habsburg family's relationship to put people into the Austrian naval education system, we can't get many people in. Your Hohenzollern family should also contribute in this regard. I believe that if Constantine personally takes action, the Prussian Navy can also absorb some. Although the Prussian Navy is not as good as the Austrian Navy, it can still train basic talents."
Ernst nodded and said, "In this regard, we can discuss with the German and Swedish royal families. Although the navies of these two countries are not top-notch, they are not bad in the world. As for the Netherlands, it is a bit difficult, but there is still a lot to learn from the Dutch shipbuilding industry. We also lack technicians to maintain warships."
There is nothing wrong with sending people to the Netherlands to learn ship repair. The shipbuilding industry in the Netherlands has always been good and has a very solid foundation. In fact, although the Dutch navy is not good, the main reason is funding issues, but the technology of civilian ships is also remarkable in Europe.
As for Austria's naval education system, it is actually one of the best in Europe, but it cannot meet the needs of East Africa, or East Africa is somewhat lagging behind.
For example, the Royal Mechanical School is also an important training base for Austrian naval talents, but East Africa does not have talents with this academic qualification to study abroad, so East Africa can only send people to the Royal Naval College, the Royal Schiffjungen College, the Royal Maritime College and the next-level naval schools.
The Austrian Navy's training system is sufficient on its own, but if East Africa is included, it will be completely insufficient. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also has naval crash courses, but the naval crash courses are also based on recruiting middle school students and then educating them. The few middle school students trained in East Africa each year are not allocated at all, and it is still difficult to join the navy without a certain cultural foundation.
"Regarding the training of naval talents, I actually have an idea. We plan to set up a naval school (Ferdinand Naval Academy) in East Africa. The biggest problem at present is the issue of teachers. East Africa is in urgent need of naval teachers, but poaching from Austria is not very smooth. The main reason is that some lecturers from the Austrian Naval School are too embarrassed to work in East Africa. So we should find another way to solve this problem, that is, to cooperate with the Austrian Naval School in running schools, and let the lecturers from the Austrian Naval School serve as lecturers at the Ferdinand Naval Academy. In this regard, I can personally act as a lobbyist and negotiate with various Austrian naval schools." Ferdinand suggested.
"Of course there is no problem. If you have an idea, just go for it. We can give them the best treatment in terms of funding," Ernst replied.
It is indeed a bit difficult to go to East Africa to teach, but no one has a problem with money. In fact, the lecturers and instructors of the Austrian Naval Academy are not short of money. Even if the economic depression affects the government funding, it will not affect the salary. The income is high to begin with, and as long as you don't spend money lavishly, you will definitely have a certain amount of savings.
Moreover, if it comes to cooperative education, East Africa's main negotiating partner is the college, not the teachers as before. If the college agrees, then the teachers generally have to obey the arrangements.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ernst began to say goodbye to Archduke Ferdinand.
"Are you going directly to Vienna next?"
"Yes, there are still many things to do. The first stop is far away in Vienna, mainly to discuss the railway issue with His Majesty Franz. After arranging Austria, we will go directly to Germany. There are many excellent assets waiting to be harvested there."
(End of this chapter)
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