Chapter 99 Coastal Defense Artillery
"What you said makes sense, but I still prefer to give priority to the development of industry, especially since the current population of East Africa is small and industrialization is easy. As for the food problem, we can completely exchange high-value industrial products for low-value agricultural products." Maximilian I said.
"If we look at the actual situation in some European countries, what your Majesty said does make sense. After all, not every country is suitable for developing agriculture. However, East Africa's natural conditions and land area determine that developing agriculture is its advantage. And as long as you have food in your hands, you won't be worried."
The person in charge continued, "Prince Ernst often emphasizes that agriculture is the easiest industry to be independent. After all, no one can live without food. To develop industry, various conditions must be met, and the threshold is very high. Especially developed countries have a strong advantage. They are constantly updating technology, and the threshold for industrialization in those backward countries is constantly increasing."
"For example, in East Africa, we currently lack the basic conditions for industrialization. Most of our residents come from rural areas and have little knowledge of industry. Our food production is not enough to support large-scale industrialization and cannot provide sufficient raw materials. Our transportation conditions are even worse, not even as good as those of most backward countries. The length and density of dirt roads cannot compare to those of countries and regions with a little history. The most important thing for developing industry is to import machinery and equipment from Europe, but the Hei Xingen Consortium still needs to make a profit, and East Africa is temporarily unable to import large-scale industrial facilities from Europe."
Maximilian I listened silently to the words of the head of the sisal factory and fell into deep thought, thinking of his life experience.
He had always believed in liberalism. This was the case when he was in power in Milan (he was appointed Governor of Lombardy and Venice at the age of 25). He implemented many policies that he considered advanced and humane, which eventually aroused his brother's dissatisfaction and he was dismissed.
This was also one of the reasons why I chose to go to Mexico later, just to prove that I was not a utopian and that my policies could promote national development.
Unfortunately, reality was very disappointing. The Mexicans didn't buy into his account at all and even wanted to execute him in the end. He offended everyone.
Looking back now, Mexico was indeed not suitable for the development of a monarch. Mexicans were deeply influenced by republican ideas. At the same time, the previous royal family's consumption had overdrawn the trust of the Mexicans. Going to Mexico was a wrong decision from the beginning.
Of course, Maximilian I was also deceived. The French forged a Mexican public opinion poll and tricked the overwhelmed Maximilian I into going to Mexico to be the scapegoat.
The Mexicans opposed their own rule and chose their own rulers, while Ernst's East African colonies were just the opposite, with Ernst choosing the people he ruled.
Maximilian I thought that the East African colonies would be able to enforce discipline and Ernst could give full play to his talents.
…
September 11, 1867.
Mtwara Port.
"One, two, three. Hi! One, two, three..."
Hundreds of dock workers were working hard to carry the artillery pieces unloaded from the ships. These were large pieces brought over from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The East African colonies lacked tools for carrying the artillery pieces, so they had to rely on manpower.
Recently, all cement imported into East Africa has been used to build port defences.
Influenced by the Paraguayan War, Ernst suddenly felt that the location of the East African colonies in Africa was somewhat similar to that of Paraguay in South America. Both were located in the east-central part of their respective continents. The difference was that Paraguay had no access to the sea, while East Africa had a long coastline.
This is also the advantage and disadvantage of the East African colonies compared to Paraguay. The advantage is that East Africa, with many ports, has greater development potential, while the disadvantage is that East Africa faces greater maritime threats.
The East African colonies currently have no navy, which means that the door to the Indian Ocean is open, and they have to deal with enemies from the Indian Ocean.
There are only two ways. One is to form your own naval force, and the second is to build fortifications along the coast, especially important facilities such as artillery batteries that have the ability to fight back.
The navy! That's a money-burning thing, and it's completely useless if it's small in size. At most, it can bully some fishing boats, and armed merchant ships are not easy to mess with.
Moreover, the navy is a purely technical branch of the military. Without accumulated experience and extensive training, it is difficult for it to perform at its best.
Given the current economic situation in the East African colonies, there is no need to have any illusions. It is more practical to just build some artillery batteries.
There is now a good window to purchase large-caliber artillery from some retired ships in Europe. The last Battle of Lissa, the confrontation between Austrian and Italian ironclad ships, accelerated the pace of upgrading naval ships in various countries.
Many old warships are facing retirement, and the large-caliber artillery on the warships facing retirement will naturally also be retired.
In order to make the best use of it, some countries may dismantle it and continue to keep it in service, such as using it as coastal defense artillery, while some countries will find buyers to take it over.
Ernst found a batch of large-caliber artillery retired from warships in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although they were second-hand, they were still sturdy and durable, and far more deterrent than the few "shelf" guns left by the Zanzibar Sultanate.
As the southernmost seaport in East Africa, Mtwara naturally enjoyed the convenience in advance. Ships traveling from Europe to East Africa first arrived at the Port of Mtwara.
The port of Mtwara, which had received the news long ago, built the basic outline of the basic artillery position in advance. The design drawings were designed by professionals from the Austro-Hungarian Navy Department and were absolutely the most advanced at that time.
Now, we just have to wait for the artillery to arrive and do the final calibration.
After great efforts, the workers finally transported the artillery to the designated location. The Austro-Hungarian naval adviser on board the ship personally directed the filling of ammunition and the selection of targets.
After all the preparation procedures were completed, the artillery was aimed at the prepared target on the sea, a wooden floating object marked with red paint.
"put!"
"coax……"
With a roar and accompanied by thick smoke from the muzzle, the coastal defense artillery fell accurately into the designated area and exploded.
A huge wave instantly exploded on the sea surface, and the floating target was broken into pieces and flew into the air.
The operators and observers on the shore near the launching point all felt a roar in their ears and a distinct air wave the moment the ammunition was fired.
It seems that the power of this batch of artillery is definitely enough to deal with some large armed ships of the current era.
However, there are also disadvantages. The ammunition still needs to be imported from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it is not cheap, so it must be used sparingly. The gunners must also improve their professional qualities on a daily basis to make up for the disadvantages caused by the insufficient amount of ammunition.
(End of this chapter)
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