Chapter 316 Global Cruise

It has to be said that the Colonial Department has chosen a good time. The Anglo-American rivalry over Central America can continue until ten years ago. Because of mutual restraint and stabbing, no one has taken advantage of it.

In order to fully suppress the Indian rebellion, the British conducted a limited strategic contraction overseas. In 1859 the London government made concessions, giving up the sphere of influence in Central America.

Originally, the southern radicals of the United States planned to incorporate Central America as a slave state, but this was opposed by the northern business owners.

The conflict between the North and the South has to start with the Mexican-American War. Because of the seizure of a large area of ​​Mexico, the conflict between the North and the South was detonated.

Planters in the South wanted to turn these areas into slave states, and industrial owners in the North demanded that they become free states.

Disputes over interests were not negotiable, and conflicts between the North and the South became public.

The economic crisis of 1857 exacerbated this contradiction. Northern capitalists demanded higher tariffs to protect markets, and southern planters demanded lower tariffs to allow agricultural exports.

Don't get me wrong, northern capitalists are not just raising import tariffs on industrial and commercial products, they are also demanding higher export tariffs on agricultural products so that they can get cheap raw materials.

Cutting off people's wealth is like killing one's parents. The plantation owners in the South could not bear it any longer. This was cutting flesh directly on them to exploit agriculture and deny industry.

As for the abolition of slavery, it was really just an excuse for the outbreak of war. If it is only for abolition of slavery, as long as the government is willing to pay a compensation, most slave owners can still accept it.

Anyway, the cost of contract labor is not much higher than that of slaves. There are also many labor exporting companies active in the United States, and they can still easily obtain enough cheap labor.

Obviously, the capitalists in the north have abolished so much effort, not only for the liberation of slaves, but everyone's moral cultivation is not so high.

It is their ultimate goal to turn the South into a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for industrial and commercial products.

Because both sides knew that they could not be eased, after the failure of political struggles in history, the southern planters directly chose to preempt.

Now both the North and the South are working hard for the general election, and there is already a lot of trouble, and there is no energy to take into account the Central America region.

In this context, Austria will reach deep into the tentacles. Of course, this action is very small, and it is still in commercial activities.

If the American Civil War does not break out, there is no doubt that the unsettled Austrian forces will not be able to defeat the Americans, and the Colonial Department is also gambling.

Unlike Britain and France, Austria has no foothold in the Americas. If you want to intervene in the American Civil War, you must prepare in advance.

The Army can wait, and the Navy must not be absent.

The southern plantation owners were absolutely reluctant to submit to the northern capitalists. As long as the shipping lanes were preserved and the plantation owners saw that the European countries were standing behind them, they would not surrender easily.

Although there is a huge gap in strength between the North and the South, this gap can be narrowed. There are European countries to provide logistics, but they can gain the upper hand in weapons and equipment.

To put it bluntly, it is now the era of great sailing. A single ship can transport thousands of tons at a time, and it only takes a few months to travel to and from North America.

As long as it has the support of the major European powers, it is not a problem to replenish tens of thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition every month.

Today's America is not the American emperor of later generations, but just a diaosi. They don't have the capacity to produce tens of thousands of tons of ammunition every month.

If European countries block the material supply of the northern government again, the northern government's advantage will only be manpower.

The manpower advantage is not without solution. The southern government has money. They can use cotton and tobacco as mortgage loans to recruit mercenaries in Europe.

If everyone is shameless, first pretend to be the southern navy, crippling the northern navy, and then attack the northern coastal cities from time to time.

There is no need to land, as long as dozens of tons of artillery shells are fired into the city every day, it will not be long before the northern economy is over.

What will happen in the end, Franz is not a prophet and cannot be sure. Anyway, the longer the war is fought, the wider the scope will be, and the more difficult it will be for the United States to recover after the war.

The power of hatred should never be underestimated. When the north and the south are covered with blood, even if they are reluctantly unified, they will not be stable.

Franz asked: "How long will the new Bavaria, Lombard, Württemberg, Hesse, Saxony be ready for service?"

The Navy Department also sold the naming rights for these warships, and the governments of the states assumed one-third of the shipbuilding costs before they got the naming rights.

Even Franz encouraged the governments of the states to establish their own navies, but unfortunately everyone was not fooled. They are all landlubbers, and they don't even have an outlet to the sea. How can they raise everyone's interest?

Ken paid extra money to sponsor the navy, and it was all for the sake of face. Can't other countries have it, just don't have it?

It just so happened that the states of the New Holy Roman Empire were not poor, and hundreds of thousands of aegis could still be easily taken out.

Therefore, under the bewitchment of the Admiralty, these state governments paid a sponsorship fee to make the scale of the new Holy Roman Empire navy even larger.

After the completion of these ironclad ships, Austria became the world's third naval power after Britain and France.

The total tonnage of the navy has also crossed the 100,000-ton mark, and it also has ten ironclad ships, making it the country with the largest number of ironclad ships in the world.

Of course, this advantage will not last long. After a few months at most, they will be opposed by the British again.

Overtake; within a year or two, they will be overtaken by the French again.

Naval arms race? Franz is not ready to play anymore, and now these ships are built mainly for sale.

As soon as the Civil War broke out, he would sell a part to the southern government at a high price, and of course it is also possible to sell it to the northern government.

It is based on the situation that the South is at a disadvantage. The best choice is to let the Americans kill each other. It is very necessary to maintain the balance of power between the two sides.

As for saying how big the North's advantage is, it will definitely win, in fact, it is very nonsense. Just look at how long the Civil War lasted. If the strength of the two sides is delayed, how can it be possible to fight for four years.

The advantage of the north is in industry and population, and the advantage of the south is in military. The capitalists did not have the courage to carry their guns into battle, but the planters did.

The United States is a country of immigrants, and the public's sense of identity is not high. In later generations, the people who were propagandized by the Americans to join the army actively, in fact, most of them were enthusiastically joined the army.

Especially the new immigrants, who were originally in the period of the Great Revolution, came here to avoid the chaos of the war, and now they have to go to the battlefield, it is strange if they are willing!

"Your Majesty, the Bavaria is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and the remaining ships will not be completed until early next year. All these warships will be in service until around May next year." Admiralty Minister Philkes replied.

After thinking about it, Franz found that this time was still sufficient. No matter how the butterfly effect is, the American Civil War cannot be over in a few months, and there is still time for the Austrian Navy to rush over.

"The Admiralty's global cruise plan can be launched, and seven ironclad ships will be sent to visit the world, starting with Asia, then the Americas, and finally returning to European countries."

To brush the sense of existence, it is best to go to overseas countries, so as not to stimulate the sensitive nerves of European countries.

After this lap is over, these warships are almost sold, and when they return to Europe, they will not be eye-catching.