CHAPTER 424: CHAPTER 101 FERDINAND NAVAL ACADEMY

Upon hearing this, Ferdinand’s interest was piqued: "How much are you planning to add?"

Ernst: "According to East Africa’s development path, we won’t be investing too much in the military in the coming years, but the navy is an exception. In light of the increasing pressure on East Africa’s coastal defenses, I plan to build the East African Navy into a world ninth naval power by 1880, right after the naval powers of Britain, France, America, Russia, Spain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Germany."

Apart from the countries Ernst mentioned, the Netherlands currently ranks ninth, followed by Italy in tenth place. Before the Italo-Austrian war, Italy was ranked fifth.

The Ottoman Empire’s naval strength cannot be underestimated, as since 1860, Sultan Abdullah of the Ottoman Empire has been vigorously developing its navy, purchasing multiple ironclad ships.

Spain, though weakened, still remains among the world’s powerful navies, much stronger than neighboring Portugal.

No East Asian countries have made the list; the Far East has not yet started to develop naval capabilities, and Japan is relatively poor, having no money for extensive navy development.

The East African Kingdom also lacks funds, but Ernst is as wealthy as a nation and, due to the sale of numerous industries, has plenty of cash on hand.

Thus, Ernst confidently said, "We won’t need too many, just seven ironclad ships. I think that’s a suitable number to handle the current coastal defense situation the East African Navy faces."

"How many? Are you sure you’re not talking about traditional wooden ships? You mean ironclads!" Archduke Ferdinand immediately couldn’t sit still, worried that Ernst might be exaggerating.

Ernst said, "Of course, they are ironclads. However, I must state upfront that these ironclads should have a tonnage of around 3,000 tons. I only plan to build two large ironclads over 5,000 tons. Those over 7,000 tons are currently not within our considerations."

Ferdinand, upon hearing Ernst’s response, stuttered, "Good, good, good...", needing to calm himself first.

Constantine was also somewhat taken aback, suddenly feeling a bit unfamiliar with his son. Was this the same Ernst who used to be so stingy about the navy? Thus he said, "Ernst, if you really intend to do this, it won’t be a small expense. The purchase of warships alone is an astronomical figure."

Ernst reassured his father, "Father, this time I’m not just drawing an empty pie, we have ample funds."

Constantine asked, "What exactly have you been up to in North America? You didn’t rob the American treasury, did you!"

Ernst laughed, "If I really had robbed the American treasury, I’d even think about taking the position of the world’s number one navy."

Turning the topic, Ernst said, "And don’t overthink it, this fund is the naval budget for the next seven years. It’s over two hundred million East African Rhine Shields over seven years. With limited funds, I’ll need your relations in Austria."

Two hundred million East African Rhine Shields are roughly equivalent to nearly seven million British Pounds, while in 1870, the British Royal Navy’s annual budget was nine million British Pounds.

Average it out over seven years, and that means an annual investment of about one million British Pounds from East Africa into building the navy.

However, in reality, the East African government must also allocate a separate budget for the East African Navy each year. Just like the Japanese government, the East African government is quite poor, so the fund isn’t large, but it’s more than enough to pay the East African Navy’s salaries and improve their rations.

Having confirmed he wasn’t dreaming, Archduke Ferdinand seriously nodded and said, "Leave this matter to me! With these funds, I guarantee to build you a powerful navy."

For Archduke Ferdinand, this was indeed a wealthy endeavor. With the financial backing, the East African Navy’s budget would immediately be on par with the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

Though there was no shortage of funds, the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s advantage over the East African Navy lay in its solid foundation, a complete industrial system, comprehensive training system, and rich experience.

Therefore, Archduke Ferdinand said, "With money, indeed, many things can be accomplished, but we also face the issue of establishing a specialized naval education system."

Ernst thoroughly agreed with this point; indeed, it was East Africa’s greatest shortcoming. So he sought advice from Archduke Ferdinand, "Father-in-law, why don’t you share your thoughts?"

Archduke Ferdinand: "The East African Kingdom has no foundation in this regard at all, so it must introduce a complete naval education system from Europe, build naval schools, and cultivate professional naval talents. My idea is to establish a comprehensive naval education system on Bemba Island."

"Bemba Island! That is indeed a good location."

"Yes, Bemba Island can better simulate a naval combat environment; it has a large area, convenient supplies, and ready-made military bases for practical student operations..."

The mention of Bemba Island reminded Ernst of the Jiangtian Island Naval Academy from Japanese films in his previous life, currently known as the Japan Naval Academy.

Japan established its naval school out of necessity since, at that time, Japanese naval students were constantly refused elsewhere for reasons unknown, but possibly related to race.

The Kingdom of East Africa, fortunately, did not have such concerns. Since Archduke Ferdinand established the East African Navy, the East African government sent students to study at the Austrian Royal Navy School annually.

Not to mention Archduke Ferdinand, even considering Constantine and Ernst’s reputations, other European countries would also take in East African students, especially those who previously maintained favorable relations with Prince Heixinggen’s state.

Nonetheless, Archduke Ferdinand believed East Africa should have its own naval training system, which aligned with Ernst’s idea of independence and self-reliance!

Ernst simply hadn’t paid much attention to the navy previously and thus hadn’t thought of this, but now that Archduke Ferdinand brought it up, he might as well implement it altogether.

Ernst: "Alright, for the specifics of how to operate it, I’ll need to trouble you. I’ll fund the construction of the naval school separately, without using the previous ship purchase funds."

"No problem. As for resources like teachers, with my connections, I should be able to bring over some excellent talents from Austria."

Ernst and Archduke Ferdinand reached a consensus on the matter of recruiting from Austria, which was essentially beneficial for Austria too.

The Austrian Navy never received much attention. Even after defeating Italy and reclaiming the Venice region, the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s budget wasn’t increased (historically, at that time, it was even reduced).

One major task of the Austro-Hungarian Navy was to contain the Italian Navy. Now that the unification of Italy seemed impossible, Austro-Hungarian motivation for naval investment decreased, leaving Imperial Navy Admiral Von Tegetthoff quite worried (historically altered, Von Tegetthoff did not die young).

This explains why the Austrian Navy gladly took the commission for the "Ferdinand Archduke" ship. With no money for their ships, it was better to build for East Africa, gaining experience, retaining Austria’s shipbuilding capability, and testing new technologies. Without money, these would otherwise be unattainable in the future.

The "Ferdinand Archduke" type of top-of-the-line warship usually wouldn’t be sold easily by countries due to military secrets, but exceptions could be made for more money.

However, selling to East Africa posed no such concerns. Firstly, the two countries enjoyed close relations; secondly, East Africa lacked such capabilities temporarily; lastly, Archduke Ferdinand, after all, was the emperor’s brother and the former naval leader.

Archduke Ferdinand: "Now, the last matter. What should we name this naval school?"

Ernst: "Use your name—Ferdinand Naval Academy, as it’s under your leadership that the East African Navy was established."

Ernst sincerely said there were few talents worldwide comparable to Archduke Ferdinand in naval development. Archduke Ferdinand’s re-employment in the East African Kingdom’s navy greatly assisted him.

Without Archduke Ferdinand, the development of the East African Navy would have been significantly challenging, much like the Beiyang Fleet in the Far East, which took many missteps guided astray by the British, spending more money without achieving results.

"Ferdinand Naval Academy!"

Hearing the name Ernst proposed, Archduke Ferdinand was evidently pleased, feeling it affirmed his achievements over the years.