African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 427 Prince Hermann

 After arranging the army's departure, Ernst's first stop in Trieste was the Royal Dockyard, where Ernst met Archduke Ferdinand.

"Ernst! Why did you arrive in Trieste suddenly?" Archduke Ferdinand was still a little surprised by Ernst's arrival.

“Father-in-law, aren’t I preparing for the wedding in advance! Of course, before the wedding, I will stop by Europe to buy factories and machinery.”

 “Haha!” Archduke Ferdinand sneered, and the second half of the sentence was the truth. As for preparing for the wedding, it doesn’t matter if we come back to it in a few months.

“Forget it, let’s not argue with you. You just happened to be here, and you can also take a look at the ship we built.”

As Ernst predicted a few months ago, due to the impact of the Great Recession, many orders were defaulted, leaving a vacancy.

"The ironclad ship under construction in the dock in front of me was carefully selected by me from many plans. It has not yet been named. It has a displacement of more than 6,990 tons. However, according to your request, I did not build a ship with a displacement of 7,000 tons or more. .”

This made Ernst a little dumbfounded. He was talking about two ships with a displacement of 5,000 tons and upwards, and did not consider the displacement of 7,000 tons and upwards. Ferdinand really pressed the line and built a ship with a displacement of 6,990 tons. Multi-ton battleship.

"Actually, if you can build a warship of 7,000 tons or more at the same price, I personally have no objection as long as it does not exceed the budget. However, if this ship is seen by other countries, it may trigger the navy's Competition,” Ernst said.

The displacement of this ship is almost the same as that of the 7,000-ton class. Together with the Archduke Ferdinand that is being tested, they are two top-notch warships. Uninformed people may suspect that the Austro-Hungarian Empire has plans for the Mediterranean!

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If so, this budget can really barely build an ironclad ship with a displacement of 7,000 tons. Now the shipbuilding price has dropped a lot compared to before. The disadvantage is that this is a warship, and it is cheaper if it is a civilian ship. "

Ernst said directly: "Actually, this ship is not much different from a seven thousand ton ship. If some weapons are added, will it directly surpass it?"

"Almost, almost," Archduke Ferdinand said perfunctorily: "The design of this ship is based on the British's latest ironclad, the Devastated. However, the displacement of the Devastated is more than 13,000 tons. Our ironclad is The displacement is only about half that, alas, the British are really rich."

The Ravage is Britain's first fully steam-powered ironclad. Other current ironclads have several towering masts with huge sails hanging on them, and densely packed side forward-mounted guns arranged inside the deck. However, the Ravage only has Two chimneys, like the Archduke Ferdinand, are sails and steam power.

So Ernst asked: "This ironclad is also fully steam-powered like the British Ravage?"

Archduke Ferdinand replied: "Of course it is impossible. Our research on steam engines is not as advanced as that of Britain, so for the sake of safety, we still use the traditional dual-power."

The British are indeed powerful in this regard. Not to mention the Ravage, even the East African main battleship Archduke Ferdinand is one to two thousand tons less than other British ironclads currently in service.

"Ernst, don't forget that it is still powered by traditional power. It can actually be faster than the British Ravager in terms of speed, and it is also technically less difficult." Archduke Ferdinand said.

“Well, it doesn’t even have a shadow in the dock now. In other words, how can we determine the speed?”

"This is of course a reference to the 7,200-ton ironclad ship that Austria just completed. It is also a traditional dual-power one. The speed test was conducted half a month ago, which also provided parameters for our ironclad ship. Both are used. They are all the same model of steam boilers.”

"Oh! I see, you are talking about the ironclad Archduke Ferdinand. It was indeed launched just last month." Ernst said meaningfully.

This sentence is a bit harsh to Archduke Ferdinand. What is the title of Archduke Ferdinand? Isn’t it my own name? Of course, there are not many Archduke Ferdinands in Austrian history, and it is possible that he is just commemorating the person with the same name.

But thinking about it this way, Archduke Ferdinand felt something was wrong. How did Ernst know the name of the ship in the Austrian Navy?

“You are talking about the ironclad ship of the Austrian Navy?”

Seeing Archduke Ferdinand who still didn't understand, Ernst smiled a little unkindly. He said to his father-in-law: "Of course it is the Archduke Ferdinand, the first ironclad ship of our East African Kingdom Navy. It was built just last month. Launched at the Royal Shipyard of Trieste.”

 What is a surprise! No, frightened is more appropriate. At this moment, Archduke Ferdinand’s brain was spinning rapidly, and time went back, and then he suddenly realized that he had been tricked?

A few months ago, Ernst had hinted, or inadvertently mentioned, that one month earlier, when the so-called "Archduke Ferdinand" was launched, he, the Commander-in-Chief of the East African Navy, had also been on board the Ferdinand. Watch Nanda Gonghao.

Archduke Ferdinand was surprised at the time when the Austrian Navy's new ship was launched. Except for Tegetthoff, the commander-in-chief of the Austrian Navy, no big figures were present, and why this ironclad ship had no name. After all, it surpassed Lisa in terms of tonnage. The most advanced "Austrian" warship No. 1, recalled the strange look on Tegetthoff's face when he looked at him.

 “Okay? I’m the only one who’s the clown!”

Hahaha…

 “What are you laughing at?”

Ernst held back and said: "Huh, uh huh...Father-in-law, there is actually nothing strange about this matter. The main thing is! It is because you are the soul of our East African Navy after all, so you must not be shabby!"

Archduke Ferdinand: "It's not like you kept it from me. To be honest, I was very surprised when I learned that the ironclad ship was ours. If you could have told me in advance, I would have been even happier."

"No, I'm still a little unwilling to do so. When the 'Archid Duke Ferdinand' comes back, I must experience it again. This time I have to experience it as the master." Archduke Ferdinand said somewhat unwillingly.

Last month, Archduke Ferdinand was quite envious of the ironclad Archduke Ferdinand. Looking back now, it turns out that he was envious of himself.

Ernst said on the side: "Yes, only a top-notch warship like the Archduke Ferdinand can be worthy of your status as the Commander-in-Chief of the East African Navy."

"Okay, the Archduke Ferdinand hasn't returned to port yet, and I can't even get aboard. Let's continue talking about what the name of this armored ship under construction should be!" Ferdinand interrupted. .

Ernst thought for a moment and said, "Let's name it after a famous person from the German region!"

 “Whose name do you think is better?”

Ernst said: "Prince Hermann."

 “Your grandfather?”

“Yes, after all, in the Second Battle of Bassano, my great-grandfather defeated Napoleon under the command of Marshal Alvinzi.”

 In fact, in the second Battle of Bassano, both the French and Austrian armies suffered serious losses. This battle took place just two months after the more famous First Battle of Bassano, and it is worth mentioning that this was also the first battle defeat suffered by Napoleon's army in his life.

Ernst’s grandfather, Prince Hermann Hohenzollern-Hechingen, was actually one of the former Austrian military commanders and served as marshal of the Austrian army.

Further back, Prince Joseph Friedrich Wilhelm Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Ernst's grandfather's uncle (who inherited the title from his nephew), was also a field marshal during the Holy Roman Empire.

 Generally speaking, the royal family of Hechingen once served the Habsburgs, but this tradition ended after the annexation to Prussia.

 (End of this chapter)