Chapter 542 Birth of a Fleet

"Father-in-law, how is your work in the Navy lately? Have you encountered any trouble?" Ernst asked after taking a sip of tea.

Today, Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Charlotte came to First Town to see their daughter and grandson as usual.

Karina is a model of a good wife and mother. She inherited all the advantages of Queen Mother Sophie and kept the house in order. Of course, Queen Mother Sophie is famous for her conflicts with Princess Sissi's bad mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

In fact, Queen Mother Sophie's strength is related to her family environment. Franz inherited the throne from his uncle Ferdinand I, or he ascended the throne during a riot.

Therefore, part of the reason why Queen Mother Sophie participated in politics was out of ambition, and part of it was due to helplessness. Ambition is not a bad word. After all, mothers generally hope that their sons can make a difference, so he asked Franz Extremely strict, but unfortunately Franz was too young when he took office, so he needed the help of Queen Mother Sophie to maintain political stability.

After all, she was called "the only man in the palace" by people at the time. From this, we can see the political skills and abilities of Queen Mother Sophie.

Karina has no such worries. East Africa is basically Ernst’s domain, and the relationship between the royal family of Hechingen is not complicated. There were only Ernst and Constantine before, so Karina doesn’t have any mother-in-law or daughter-in-law. For troublesome things like conflicts, just be Ernst's good wife.

In fact, Queen Mother Sophie seemed very strong, which was related to the softer character of her husband and son. Since Franz got older, they have gotten much better.

Of course, Franz is a rather old-fashioned person, so he does not reconcile family conflicts very much. This is one of the reasons for the turmoil in the Habsburg court. Princess Sissi also has a more active personality, so naturally she cannot stay in one place.

Ernst's family situation is much simpler. With Karina's help, he can feel more relaxed. Constantine is also very relieved about his son and daughter-in-law. Ferdinand and his wife are also very satisfied with Ernst's son-in-law. The family is harmonious. Beautiful.

Ferdinand held his grandson in his arms. His big beard had been shaved clean over the years and he looked much younger and more energetic than before. He and Princess Charlotte came to the palace to see his grandson when they had nothing to do, which made little Friedrich laugh in his arms. Xihehe laughed.

"There hasn't been much work in the Navy recently. The main reason is that the manpower has come in. My work doesn't have to be as busy as before. I even thought about retiring after a few years and finding some hobbies."

The East African Navy now has a relatively complete talent training system. In addition to the well-run military school, many international students who went to the Austro-Hungarian Naval Academy have also returned, greatly sharing Ferdinand's pressure.

Of course, the East African navy is still in a state of vigorous development. Although there are no plans to add new ships recently, it has achieved remarkable results in base construction.

Especially with the addition of Lanfang Overseas Province, the scope of East African naval activities has expanded to the entire Indian Ocean region, and is no longer limited to the Western Indian Ocean.

However, Lanfang Overseas Province is somewhat far away from East Africa after all, so the main fleet in East Africa will not be stationed there.

It just so happens that the immigration business has declined recently, and there are many more empty ships, so the armed merchant ships have been modified and become the main fleet of the Lanfang Overseas Province Navy. Although they are not as good as Britain and France and other countries in the Nanyang region, they are comparable to the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. It is more than enough to wait for a comparison among other countries.

Now is the era of ironclad ships. Small countries can no longer keep up with the development trend of the times. After all, national power is limited, and it is normal to build rather than buy. Generally speaking, the navy in East Africa also buys, but at least two of them are built by themselves, but the price/performance ratio is not good. It is high, but in order to cultivate the shipbuilding industry in East Africa, it is appropriate to spend more money.

"Ernst, the navy has expanded rapidly in recent years, and its ships have also become slightly insufficient. I wonder what you think."

Ferdinand just mentioned casually that he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy after all, and it was his responsibility to ask for funds. As for whether Ernst would give it or not, that was entirely up to Ernst.

"There have been a lot of projects in East Africa recently, and construction is going on everywhere. For example, the navy is also building large bases, so the military expenditures are less."

Not to mention the navy, the army is also struggling. The Juba comprehensive training base is so large that the money is not a small amount.

The navy has invested more in the base. After all, the East African coastline is still somewhat straight compared to other countries, so there are relatively few harbors that can be used. East Africa needs to carry out artificial transformation in this regard.

Anyway, there are not many profitable projects, which means that an economic system like East Africa can afford it. Of course, losing money now is true, and it will continue to create a steady stream of profits for East Africa in the future. It is to take advantage of the extremely low labor costs now. In East Africa Go big on construction.

Otherwise, when all the black slaves are used up in the future, there will be no group that is easy to exploit. It is okay to use the slavery system, provided that you do not belong to the slave camp.

"Then you really don't plan to buy new warships. Technology has been evolving very quickly in the past few years."

"We still need to add more warships, but since we build them ourselves, we don't need to build too many. Now that the number of immigrants is declining, I will also add a few more armed merchant ships to temporarily support the navy."

"Bagamoyo Shipyard?"

"Father-in-law, you also live in Bagamoyo. You should believe in the strength of your own shipyard. Haven't you already had experience in shipbuilding before? Once you are familiar with it, we will be able to achieve complete autonomy in the naval military industry in the future."

The shipbuilding industry is a long-term investment industry. You must not think about becoming fat in one bite, and you must not be afraid to try.

The foundation of East Africa is much better than that of many countries in the world, so since there are conditions to support its own shipbuilding industry, Ernst naturally supports it strongly.

Archduke Ferdinand: "I understand. After all, I also support the independence of equipment. However, coastal defense is not child's play. There are some needs that are temporarily dependent on procurement. There is no problem in buying one."

"Don't worry, father-in-law, I have already thought about it. When Karina becomes pregnant with her second child, I will buy an advanced battleship. This will also be the case in the future, until the East African military shipbuilding industry develops completely."

Karina said angrily: "You guy!"

Archduke Ferdinand looked at the little moves between his son-in-law and daughter and joked: "What if the first child is twins?"

"Hehe, then buy two boats, don't favor one over the other!"

After hearing Ernst's words, Archduke Ferdinand really hoped that the next child would be twins. Although what Ernst said just now was a bit out of tune, the promises he made would always be fulfilled.

Princess Charlotte was speechless and said: "You just like to make this kind of joke. Then don't you just buy a new ship every year when you have a baby? What if Karina gives birth to more than a dozen babies? Just buy a fleet and come back?"

Ernst smiled and said nothing. He took Karina's little hand and helped calm her blushing face. As for the fleet, Ernst's financial resources could still produce it, but it was just not necessary.

The strength of the East African navy is just right now. If it is fed too much, it will easily become useless. One of the reasons why the American shipbuilding industry declined in the previous life was that too many freeships were built during World War II. Many shipping companies stopped using the idea that they could not be used. Shipyards could not get new orders, and in the end the technology iteration could not keep up with other countries, and the American civilian shipbuilding industry declined.

To give an inappropriate example, the same was true for Far East Jinyuan Football in the previous life. However, the failure of football to develop has a lot to do with the national conditions. After all, there is the college entrance examination, and most parents will not let their children choose football and sit in the classroom. Liduo is safe, and bumping into each other in competitive sports is no joke.