Chapter 411: Ferdinand Naval Academy
Upon hearing this, Ferdinand instantly became interested. "How many do you plan to add?"
Ernst replied, "According to East Africa's development path, we won't be making many military investments in the next few years. However, the navy is an exception. Given the increasingly severe pressure on East Africa's coastal defense, I plan to build the East African Navy into the world's 9th strongest by 1880, just behind the UK, France, the US, Russia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Germany."
In addition to the countries Ernst mentioned, the Netherlands is currently ranked 9th and Italy 10th. Before the Italo-Austrian War, Italy was ranked 5th.
The Ottoman Empire's navy is not to be underestimated. Since 1860, Sultan Abdallah of the Ottoman Empire has been vigorously developing the navy, purchasing several ironclad ships.
Spain, though weaker, still holds a position among the world's naval powers, far stronger than neighboring Portugal.
No East Asian country made the list, with only Far Eastern nations having the capacity to develop naval forces. Japan, however, is relatively poor and lacks the funds to develop a strong navy.
The East African Kingdom is also lacking funds, but Ernst is incredibly wealthy, and since he sold many assets, he has cash on hand.
So, Ernst confidently said, "We won't buy too many—seven ironclads. I think that's a suitable number, enough to handle the current coastal defense situation of the East African Navy."
"How many? You mean not traditional wooden ships, but ironclads?" Archduke Ferdinand immediately became unsettled, fearing that Ernst might be misleading him.
Ernst reassured him, "Of course, they will be ironclads. However, I should clarify that these ironclads will be around 3,000 tons. As for larger ships over 5,000 tons, I only plan to build two. We won't consider anything over 7,000 tons for now."
Ferdinand, upon hearing Ernst's response, stammered, "Okay... okay... okay...," needing a moment to calm down.
Constantinoe was also surprised. He suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar with his son. This was still the same Ernst who had been so frugal about the navy! He said, "Ernst, if you really plan to do this, it won't be a small expense. Just purchasing the warships alone is astronomical."
Ernst gestured for his father not to worry. "Father, I'm not just making empty promises. We are fully funded."
Constantinoe asked, "What exactly did you do in North America? Did you steal from the US treasury?"
Ernst chuckled, "If I had stolen from the US treasury, I'd be willing to challenge even the world's number one navy."
Ernst shifted the conversation, "And don't worry too much. This money is for the navy's budget for the next seven years, totaling over two hundred million East African Rhine Shields, so the funds are limited. I'll need you to leverage your Austrian connections as well."
Two hundred million East African Rhine Shields is roughly equivalent to seven million pounds. In 1870, the British Royal Navy's annual budget was nine million pounds. Spread over seven years, East Africa would invest about one million pounds each year to build its navy.
However, the East African government also needs to allocate separate funds for the navy each year. The East African government, like Japan, is quite poor, so the money isn't much, but it's enough to pay wages and improve the food situation for the East African Navy.
Having realized this was not a dream, Archduke Ferdinand nodded seriously, "Leave this to me! With this money, I guarantee we'll build you a powerful navy."
For Ferdinand, this was an easy task. As long as the money was in place, the East African Navy's budget would quickly match that of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Although funding wouldn't be an issue, the Austro-Hungarian Navy still had advantages over the East African Navy due to its rich history, established industrial system, talent cultivation infrastructure, and wealth of experience.
So Ferdinand said, "With the money, many things can indeed be done. However, there's still one issue that we need to resolve—the professional naval education system."
Ernst agreed wholeheartedly with this, acknowledging that this was indeed East Africa's biggest shortcoming. He asked Ferdinand, "Father-in-law, perhaps you can share your ideas with me."
Ferdinand responded, "The East African Kingdom has no foundation in this area, so we must introduce a complete naval education system from Europe. We need to build naval schools to train professional naval personnel. My idea is to build the entire naval education system on Bemba Island."
"Bemba Island, huh! That's indeed a great location."
"Yes, Bemba Island is ideal for simulating naval combat environments. The area is large, supplies are easy to obtain, and there are existing military bases for student internships..."
Bemba Island reminded Ernst of the Japanese naval academy in the movies, such as the Etajima Naval Academy, now known as the Japan Naval Academy.
Speaking of Japan's naval academy, it was a somewhat desperate measure. During that time, Japan's naval students were being rejected everywhere, possibly due to racial reasons. However, the East African Kingdom didn't face such issues. Since Archduke Ferdinand founded the East African Navy, every year, the East African government has sent students to study at the Austrian Royal Naval Academy.
Not to mention Ferdinand himself, but even in the case of Constantinoe and Ernst, other European countries would enroll East African students. At least countries that had a good relationship with the Kingdom of Black Hechingen didn't have problems with this.
However, Ferdinand still believed that East Africa should have its own naval training system. This was also in line with Ernst's idea—independence!
Previously, Ernst didn't emphasize the navy and hadn't thought of this matter. Now that Ferdinand brought it up, they decided to proceed with the plan.
Ernst said, "Okay, how we operate it will require your help. I'll fund the construction of the naval school separately. It won't come from the ship purchasing budget."
"No problem. As for teachers, I believe my connections can bring many excellent talents from Austria."
Ernst and Ferdinand reached an agreement to recruit from Austria. In fact, this was also good for Austria.
The Austrian navy had always been neglected. Though they had defeated Italy and recaptured Venice, the Austro-Hungarian Navy's budget hadn't increased (historically, it was even reduced during this period).
One important task of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was to suppress the Italian Navy, but now that Italian unification was impossible, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had even less motivation to invest in the navy. This worried Admiral von Tegetthoff greatly (historical changes meant that von Tegetthoff did not die young as in reality).
This was one of the key reasons why Austria agreed to build the "Archduke Ferdinand" ship. Austria had no funds to build warships, but by building for East Africa, they could accumulate experience, avoid losing their shipbuilding capabilities, and test new technologies. While they couldn't use them now, they would be ready when the time came.
A warship like the "Archduke Ferdinand" was not typically sold easily due to military secrecy concerns, but selling it to East Africa posed no such risks. First, the two countries had a close relationship; second, East Africa didn't have the capability to build such ships; and lastly, Ferdinand was the emperor's brother and a former naval leader.
Ferdinand then asked, "Now, one last thing. What should we name this naval academy?"
Ernst replied, "How about naming it after you—Ferdinand Naval Academy? After all, the East African Navy was established under your leadership."
Ernst spoke frankly. There were very few people in the world more suited to developing naval talent than Ferdinand. The East African Navy was greatly aided by Ferdinand's help.
Without him, East Africa's navy would have struggled, just like the North Eastern Navy, which was misled by the British into wasting money and taking ineffective paths.
"Ferdinand Naval Academy!"
Hearing Ernst's choice, Ferdinand clearly felt happy, as it was a recognition of his achievements over the years.
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