Chapter 672 Danger and Opportunity
"Ernst, according to the latest intelligence, in the war between France and the Far Eastern Empire in Keelung, the French have failed again!" Ferdinand said gloatingly.
The news was sent back by the Pacific Fleet, which is very close to the military base in the South Ryukyu Islands, so the East African Navy obtained first-hand information.
The war between the Far Eastern Empire and France actually began last year, but the Far Eastern Empire did not officially declare war on France until August this year. And according to Ernst's prediction, the outcome of this war will still end in a whimper.
This is not because the Far Eastern Empire lacks combat effectiveness, but because of its low desire to fight and indecision at the top of the government. In recent years, the Far Eastern Empire government has greatly improved its weapons and equipment, and has gained advantages in conflicts and wars against Tsarist Russia, Japan, and the United States. However, when it comes to the negotiation stage, it will eventually end in concessions and compromises, so it is simply a hopeless case.
Ernst already knew the outcome of the war, so he was not interested in what happened to the Far Eastern Empire.
"Has the war affected our trade routes with the Far Eastern Empire?" Ernst asked.
"Of course not. Even if the main battle at sea takes place in the Taiwan Strait, the first to worry will be the British. Besides, we can bypass Taiwan from the east." Ferdinand continued, "And the Pacific Fleet can also provide escort services for our merchant ships at any time."
At this time, the role of the South Ryukyu Islands was reflected, and the only countries that had ambitions for this region were Japan and East Africa. East Africa completely defeated Japan, whose naval power was just starting, in the last competition.
"Although the Pacific Fleet has some strength in the Far East waters, it lacks the support of large ships. According to consultations within our navy, we plan to assign two ironclad ships to the Pacific Fleet." Archduke Ferdinand stated his plan.
"Does the South Ryukyu Islands have the ability to accommodate large ironclad ships?" Ernst asked.
The South Ryukyu Islands are too remote in the territory of East Africa, so Ernst did not pay attention to the construction progress of the South Ryukyu Islands for a long time.
"We have built the home ports of the Pacific Fleet on the two islands of Miyakojima and Ishigakijima. Especially on Miyakojima, all the construction work has been completed, and the construction of related infrastructure on the island has also been completed, so it is urgent to strengthen the fleet in the Far East."
Ernst: "The Lan Fang Overseas Province in the Nanyang region should also be allocated a ship. I remember that the conditions in Pontianak Port should be very good. This will also better connect the safety between the mainland and the Eastern route."
Ferdinand: "That's not impossible, but we have to make a new plan, and three ironclad ships would be quite damaging to the Home Fleet."
Although he said that, Ferdinand didn't feel bad at all. Because of Ernst's promise, the navy had been building new warships for replenishment in recent years. It was just a bit hard for his daughter. Karina was pregnant again this year, so new warships would be launched next year. The most important thing was that the navy didn't have to pay for it.
And to be honest, some ships in East Africa are about to be retired, so it would be a good idea to directly tow them to the Far East and South Pacific and continue to serve. Even if they sink, it won't be too sad.
"Navy funding has increased rapidly in recent years, and we should retire some old ships to make room for new ones. So let's find a time to sell the ships that are nearing the end of their service life at a good price while they are still useful!" Ernst said directly.
East Africa is still building warships too fast, so it is better to dispose of many old ships. The maintenance costs alone are beyond the capacity of the East African Navy.
"That shouldn't be the case! Our warships are generally no more than 20 years old. With routine maintenance, it's normal for them to serve for another 30 or 40 years. And they have good destinations now, such as the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and even our Atlantic coast."
"The navy needs continuous accumulation and innovation of technology, and East Africa's finances are not as abundant as those of several other powers, so it naturally cannot afford to support such a large fleet. In addition, East Africa's military expenditures have recently been tilted towards the army, so the navy should not take advantage of you. Compared with you, the army has hardly made any progress in the past ten years."
It is naturally an exaggeration to say that there has been no development in the army. In fact, there has not been much change in the world's armies in recent years. Instead, competition in the navy has become increasingly fierce. In particular, the United States, the Far East Empire, Japan and other countries have also begun to focus on their navies, mainly to cope with the increasingly tense international situation in the 1880s.
There was peace among the European powers, but this was also the most dangerous time for backward countries and regions, including East Africa.
Apart from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire due to geographical restrictions, Britain, Tsarist Russia, France and even the United States successively caused trouble for the Far Eastern Empire. This was a notable feature of the 1980s.
East Africa cannot be taken lightly either, because East Africa ate too much in the 1970s, and now East Africa is also considered a piece of fat. However, other countries are still unsure about the quality of East Africa's food.
As for Portugal, which had fought with East Africa, it cannot be used as a reference standard. After all, Portugal was a colony and fought against the East African mainland.
Just like when Britain invaded Afghanistan, it was actually the Indian colonial army fighting against Afghanistan. Even if it failed, no one would look down on Britain.
After all, it was a colony, and its military strength could not be compared with that of the mainland. Sometimes, the Portuguese colonial army could not even defeat the indigenous people from all over the world. It had suffered setbacks at the hands of the Indians, the Far East, Africa, Arabia, etc., so it was normal for it to be bullied by East Africa.
East Africa is now just waiting to see when Portugal and Britain will test the strength of the East African army. After all, the East African Army has not fought a war for some years, and previous battle records cannot be used as a reference. At that time, East Africa’s opponents were all indigenous people and had no gold content. After all, the British also suppressed the indigenous people in their colonies, such as India, Canada, and Australia.
"Who are you going to sell the warship to?"
"Let's ask the Far Eastern Empire if they are interested! After all, the French should be able to make them more aware of the importance of the navy this time. Moreover, the Far Eastern Empire has too many enemies, and the threats they will have to deal with in the future will be greater than ours, so the demand is also greater."
Second-hand ironclad ships are not easy to sell. It would not be a loss if we could find a customer to take over East Africa. After all, the great powers can basically produce them themselves, and small countries cannot afford them. Only a large country like the Far Eastern Empire needs such ironclad ships.
Now the Far Eastern Empire still relies mainly on a bunch of gunboats to maintain its presence, and it has no knowledge of ironclad ships. In fact, as long as the Far Eastern Empire is willing to work hard, it can also build ironclad ships on its own.
After the Battle of Mawei, the Fujian Shipyard learned from its mistakes, became self-reliant, and finally built the Far Eastern Empire’s first domestically-produced ironclad ship, the Pingyuan, in the late 1980s.
Therefore, at this time, the Far Eastern Empire's military industry could actually catch up with the great powers. It was not difficult to imitate various Western weapons. For example, the level of the "Pingyuan" was no worse than its European counterparts.
This can also be seen from East Africa and Japan's military shipbuilding industry. The navies of both countries started relatively late, but at the end of the 19th century, crises and opportunities coexisted. Countries that seized the opportunity were able to take advantage of the general trend of the Second Industrial Revolution and quickly catch up with the old powers in national strength.
(End of this chapter)
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