Chapter 316: Chapter 3: France’s Response
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On March 26, 1861, the Austrian Navy set sail from the Port of Venice to commence its global voyage, with the Ottoman Empire as its first destination.

Unfortunately, the Sultan Government had relocated inland; otherwise, they could have truly experienced what pressure feels like. Despite the relocation, the Sultan Government was greatly shocked.

Seven ironclad ships, along with a dozen auxiliary warships, formed the world’s most powerful fleet, utterly incomparable to any sailing warship fleet.

The visit was just that, a visit. Franz had no intention of complications this time; after giving the Sultan Government a good scare and then visiting various Mediterranean countries, he headed straight to Asia.

Paris

Stimulated by this, Napoleon III declared during a government meeting, “We must build a larger ironclad fleet to let the world recognize the power of France.”

Napoleon III could not help but react strongly. Being inferior to the British Navy was one thing—he could comfort himself by saying that the British were a pure naval power while France had both land and sea forces—but he could not tolerate being outdone by the Austrians.

Now, France’s naval advantage over the Austrian Navy lay only in tonnage and combat experience.

Unfortunately, this experience was rooted in the Age of Sail. With the advent of the Ironclad ship era, many aspects had become outdated, including tactics and concepts. Despite the tonnage advantage being several times greater, sailing warships simply couldn’t defeat ironclad ships.

There was no way around it; the artillery on sailing warships was designed to fight other sailing ships and proved inadequate against the suddenly menacing ironclads.

The confident Naval Minister Deco replied, “Your Majesty, please rest assured. We have already started building the Ironclad Fleet. Currently, two ironclad ships are in service, and three more will be operational by the end of the year.

The Ministry of the Navy plans to build ten ironclad ships, which can be completed in a maximum of two years, to show the world our strength.”

The technological barrier had been overcome, so building ironclad ships was no longer a problem. This was still the pace of shipbuilding in peacetime, but if one were to expedite the process, a warship could be built in just a few months.

During this period, the tonnage of ironclad ships hadn’t skyrocketed yet. The larger ones were only eight or nine thousand tons, while the smaller ones were about two or three thousand tons. The shipyards required no alteration, and were basically able to meet the demands of shipbuilding.

Napoleon III responded with satisfaction, “Good!”

Unable to secure the title of the world’s foremost navy, coming in second was something the French could not afford to lose yet again.

Currently, according to the international ranking of military power, France’s land and sea forces were both second, closely followed by Austria, whose land and sea forces were both ranked third. The overt military strength of both nations was very close.

Before the dawn of the Ironclad ship era, the Austrian Navy ranked around the sixth, seventh, or eighth place. However, at the critical moment of the transition, they overtook others, leaving behind Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Many now believed that the Austrian Navy could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the French Navy. This notion was quite popular in the Mediterranean Region, and even Napoleon III did not have a solid answer to it.

In terms of naval tonnage, the Austrian Navy was close to seventy percent of the French Navy, and taking into account the combat power of ironclad ships, this claim was very convincing.

Thus, the French Navy also announced their long-planned shipbuilding project. Once this batch of warships was commissioned, the gap in naval strength between the two nations would widen once more.

As for Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, they were already lagging behind, unable to participate in this grand naval feast.

After a brief pause, Naval Minister Deco added, “Your Majesty, our naval budget is insufficient. To build so many ironclad ships, we need the government to increase funding.”

Clearly, the Navy’s request for Napoleon III to personally witness the Austrian Navy fleet was not without ulterior motives. On the surface, the French Navy might have lost face, but in reality, it was all for shipbuilding funds.

Without attending to the minor schemes of the Ministry of the Navy, Napoleon III inquired, “How much more is needed?”

Minister Deco solemnly replied, “We need at least an additional allocation of 120 million Francs to complete the project.”

The mere construction of ships would not cost that much. The figure also had to cover basic training, personnel staffing, and the development of new technologies…

The current funding was merely an initial expense. Once construction was finished, the future maintenance costs of the Navy would also increase—in other words, naval spending was set to rise.

Before Napoleon III could respond, Finance Minister Monier, unable to wait, interjected, “No, this is like asking for the moon.

How much does it cost to build a single ironclad warship? 120 million Francs is inconceivable. The most it could cost would not exceed 80 million Francs, and perhaps with prudent spending, 70 million Francs might even be enough.”

The fiscal revenue of the French Empire had reached 1.72 billion Francs (approximately 68.8 million British Pounds), giving the French a confident swagger, while the revenue of the British during the same period was about 70 million pounds.

(Note: The statistics seem to refer only to domestic revenue.)

But no matter how high the fiscal revenue, money is always short. The Treasury must always be frugal and decisively curb such outlandish demands.

Naval Minister Deco seriously explained, “Count, how can we afford to skimp on this? Our delay behind the Austrians in entering the Ironclad ship era was primarily due to insufficient military funding.”

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“If we cut military spending now, how can we develop new technology?”

“Ironclad ships are different from the sailing warships of the past. After they enter service, our soldiers must be retrained to operate them proficiently, which is another expense.”

“Moreover, ironclad ships have a much larger tonnage than sailing warships, which means many of our military ports need to be rebuilt. All of these things cost money.”

Finance Minister Monier was unimpressed: “Don’t give me that nonsense. Aside from research and development and the adoption of new technology, every other project receives annual funding—don’t even think about double-dipping in the budget.”

“Even if the Treasury does allocate funds to you, you won’t pass future government audits. Make a detailed budget again, then we can discuss the funding issue.”

This statement was very politically astute. The ships would definitely be built, as that was the will of Napoleon III, but shipbuilding funds would still be cut. Otherwise, how could the seriousness and responsibility of the Treasury be demonstrated?

Knowing that there was more posturing than substance to the argument between the two men, Napoleon III still watched the squabble with apparent detachment. Clearly, as an emperor, his political acumen was up to par.

If his subordinates united against him, the emperor would have a hard time. Such small conflicts, although seemingly routine, would still instill deep-rooted discord over time.

The Treasury’s power was too great, as all departments relied on its disbursements; they couldn’t afford to offend the god of wealth. If there were no conflicts, and the Treasury were to curry favor everywhere, the emperor would lose sleep over it.

…

Seizing the right moment, Napoleon III cut off their argument: “Enough, if you want to argue, take it back to your own offices and don’t disturb my mood.

“I remember the United States is about to split, how is the Foreign Ministry responding?”

Foreign Minister Auvergne replied, “Your Majesty, our envoy in Washington has reported that we have reached an agreement with England, Spain, and Austria to maintain a unified position in American affairs.”

“We have now convinced the Southern government to agree to abolish slavery. The four countries have officially recognized the legitimacy of the Southern government, and they are currently lobbying more slave states to join the Southern government.”

“If all goes well, the United States should split. If we are lucky, the opportunity for us to return to North America could also arise.”

Napoleon III asked with curiosity, “If the Southern government is willing to abolish slavery, then why do they want independence? Hasn’t the Northern government made any concessions?”

Foreign Minister Auvergne explained, “Your Majesty, the main conflict between the North and South is still tariffs. In recent years, the population in Northern states has grown rapidly, while the Southern population growth has been slow, and the gap in power between the two has widened.”

“The current Northern government represents the interests of capitalists, and their promises have no credibility.

“If the Southern states don’t take action, their interests will gradually be eroded away.

“After the Southern states declared independence, the centrists proposed adding a slave state to balance the power differential, but this was rejected by the Northern government.”

“Others proposed a dual tariff system—raising tariff rates to create trade barriers in the Northern states, while implementing free trade and reducing tariff rates in the Southern states.”

“The person who proposed this is now six feet under. The capitalists refuse to compromise on this issue. They want cheap industrial raw materials and markets.”

Napoleon III nodded in understanding, finding this explanation more logical. There is no love or hate without reason in this world. Could he really expect capitalists to fight a civil war over the interests of slaves?

“If someone were truly that altruistic, why then don’t we see them being kinder to the workers? If they can’t even treat their own people well, what more can be said for the slaves.”

“Does this mean that the Austrian Navy’s global visit is also aimed at the Americans?”

Clearly, Napoleon III’s political insight was not lacking—he had discerned Franz’s true purpose at a glance.

Under normal circumstances, even if an exchange visit was to occur, it would be unlikely to deploy such a significant force, as running a navy is very costly.

“There certainly are those considerations, and the Vienna government is also preparing to assert its authority.

“In recent years, the Austrians have frequently opened up colonies overseas and encountered quite a few difficulties. They might solve some of these problems during this visit,” replied Foreign Minister Auvergne.

After pondering the matter briefly, Napoleon III made a decision: “We cannot just sit by idly. In recent years, our pace of overseas expansion has been somewhat slow.

“This American Civil War is an opportunity—even the Austrians are trying to “fish in troubled waters.” If we miss this chance, we would truly fall behind.

“Prepare a plan as quickly as possible. France must have a share in the interests of the American region.”

In fact, the pace of French overseas expansion hadn’t slowed at all; only in the past two years had they shifted their strategic focus to the Kingdom of Sardinia, which caused them to slow down.

This “slow” was only by comparison; besides Austria, France was now the fastest-expanding nation on the African continent.